Duelling

"I'd take you on any time on my own. Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

- Draco Malfoy challenging Harry Potter to a duel in 1991

A duel is a confrontation between two or more wizards or witches. The combatants face each other, bow, and then attempt to disarm, injure, or kill each other in order to force submission, and thus a winner is decided. Opponents are only permitted to use magical means of combat.

Rules
There are rules and customs that define how a proper duel is performed and that are normally known to wizards and witches born to magical families, even at a young age. Ron Weasley, for instance, told Harry Potter some of the rules of duelling as a first year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after Harry was challenged to a duel by Draco Malfoy in 1991 In the 1992–1993 school year Gilderoy Lockhart formed the duelling club, in which duelling strips were used in a system similar to that of modern fencing. .

The Challenge
"You've been taught how to duel, I presume? Yes? First we bow to each other... Come now, Harry, the niceties must be observed. Dumbledore would not want you to forget your manners, would he? I said, bow."

- Lord Voldemort to Harry Potter in the graveyard of Little Hangleton

In a formal duel, one wizard or witch challenges another, although it is implied that duels are not commonplace in modern polite society. If the other person accepts, they then arrange a meeting time and place for the duel. Opponents bow to one another before beginning to fight, as Lord Voldemort reminded Harry Potter before their duel in the graveyard of Little Hangleton in 1995. Lockhart has gone as far as twirling his hands while bowing, possibly trying to make himself look more gentlemanly. However, duellists who do not respect their opponents do not usually bow correctly, as Snape simply jerked his head, while Harry, Draco Malfoy, and Voldemort barely bent their heads at all. Draco challenged Harry this way in their first year, though it was really an attempt to get Harry into trouble for being out of his dormitories after curfew.

Seconds
"Well, a second's there to take over if you die..."

- Ron Weasley

Duellists will often have a "second" in a formal duel — a person, usually a trusted ally, who will act as a replacement for one duellist if necessary. Ron Weasley volunteered to be Harry's second in the aforementioned planned duel with Draco, who chose Vincent Crabbe.

Limits
There is a standard rule in duels that only magical means may be used to fight an opponent, and that there is to be no physical contact between the duellists. Millicent Bulstrode broke this rule when she duelled Hermione Granger in 1992 in the Duelling Club; the much larger girl ended up wrestling Hermione to the ground and holding her in a headlock.

The parties of a duel might also agree to other limits, unless planning to duel to the death, which is only common practice in a war. Minerva McGonagall, for example, informed fellow professor Horace Slughorn just before the Battle of Hogwarts that if any Slytherin attempted to sabotage their defence efforts or to fight them, they would "duel to kill", which alarmed him. This may indicate that duellists generally agree not to use particularly dangerous and/or illegal spells, such as the Unforgivable Curses.

Practice Duels
Duels can also be used for training purposes, as was the case in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1992, when Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Gilderoy Lockhart founded the short-lived Duelling Club. Its function was to teach students self-defence while "Slytherin's Monster" was on the loose. The club did not last long, as Professor Lockhart was incompetent.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)