Stunning Spell

"Stunning is one of the most useful spells in your arsenal. It's sort of a wizard's bread and butter, really."

- Harry Potter regarding the usefulness of the spell

The Stunning Spell (Stupefy), also known as the Stupefying Charm, or Stunner for short, is a charm that stuns the target, rendering them unconscious. This charm is a fundamental duelling spell, as it can quickly end a duel without causing lasting damage. The spell also has the ability to halt moving objects. The counter-charm to the Stunning Spell is the Reviving Spell.  

History
In 1927, Leta Lestrange used a Stunning spell on the Matagots security guards in the French Ministry of Magic to try to subdue it, but instead it multiplied itself and attacked her, Newt, and Tina.

Flavius Belby tried to use a Stunning Spell against a Lethifold, but only succeeded in blasting a hole through his bedroom door. The spell is also effective against Pogrebins.

This spell was used by Ministry wizards to try to stop whomever cast the Dark Mark during the 1994 Quidditch World Cup Campsite riots, and was used in the Forbidden Forest that same year by multiple dragon keepers at the same time to manage dragons for the Triwizard Tournament. In 1995, Harry Potter learned this spell in preparation for the third task of the very same tournament. He practised it on Ron Weasley who complained about it not being easy to aim where you fall when you are stunned.



Harry also taught this spell to Dumbledore's Army during the 1995-1996 school year, during one of the meetings. The spell was used numerous times during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, by both the D.A. and the Order of the Phoenix; it was also used during many other battles of the Second Wizarding War, such as the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, the Battle of the Seven Potters, the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor, the 1998 Break-in of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, and the Battle of Hogwarts.

It may be assumed that this spell was also used frequently during the First Wizarding War as well, by the wizarding community at large.

Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter, discuss whether to use this spell to destroy the Experimental Time-Turner that they stole from Hermione Granger's desk at the Ministry.

Effect
The Stunning Spell is used to instantly render a target unconscious without causing lasting damage. The use of multiple Stunning Spells simultaneously will amplify the effect. This is particularly useful towards creatures with Spell resistance, such as dragons, trolls, giants and half-giants, but may result in injury for ordinary individuals. For example, Professor McGonagall had to be moved to St Mungo's after being hit with the spell by multiple Ministry of Magic employees in 1996, and Madam Pomfrey expressed surprise that it did not kill her.

Defence against stunning
"The effects of the Stunning Spell may be counteracted by 'Rennervate', but will also wear off with time on their own. Another method of avoiding the spell is to deflect it with a Shield Charm."

- Defence against the spell

The effects of a Stunning Spell may be counteracted with the Reviving Spell, but will also wear over time. It can also be deflected by a Shield Charm. Species known to be naturally resistant to the spell include dragons, trolls, giants and half-giants. Rubeus Hagrid was unaffected by this spell when, in 1996, several Ministry of Magic employees attempted to remove him from Hogwarts grounds.

It is also possible to bewitch objects to be resistant to the spell. Fred and George Weasley bewitched their fireworks to explode when hit by Stunning Spells.

Etymology
"Stupefy" comes from the English stupefy, which means "to stun" or "to amaze". It may also come from the Latin stupere, meaning "to be stunned".

Behind the scenes

 * Another variation of the spell is Stupefy Duo.
 * The Stunning Spell has been identified as a jet, a flash or a burst of red, blue, white or green light in the film adaptions.
 * In the books, it is described as a "jet of red light," and appears as such at the beginning of, when Ministry of Magic Officials apparate near the trio and attempt to stun them after the destruction of the Quidditch World Cup fair grounds. However, from on, it is shown as blue light that often just knocks people off their feet, as well as leaving them unable to think or react.
 * Harry counters unidentified green curses cast by Death Eaters with the Stunning Spell, causing the spells to collide and explode in midair. If these green curses were Killing Curses, this would serve as a demonstration of the Killing Curse being parried and blocked by another spell.
 * In the video game adaptation of, Stupefy is shown as a ball of red light, but when cast by opponents, it is green, like the Killing Curse. Also at the end after Harry defeats Bellatrix Lestrange outside Hagrid's hut he casts Stupefy but instead of the red light it came out as a green ball of light.
 * In, Hermione attempts to use a Stunning Spell on one of the enemy giants, but is prevented from doing so by Ron as it would "crush half the castle." However, it was Hermione herself who pointed out in that Stunning Spells are almost completely ineffective against Giants, even when cast by multiple wizards.
 * In, it can be bought at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment in Diagon Alley.
 * Flavius Belby tried to use this spell against a lethifold, however it had no effect as lethifolds can only be repelled by the Patronus Charm like with Dementors.
 * In, Hermione casts Stupefy at Blaise in the Room of Requirement instead of Gregory Goyle. This is due to Crabbe's part being replaced by Blaise and thus is Goyle is the one to conjure the Fiendfyre.
 * It has been implied that Dobby does this to Wormtail in . However, when Harry does this to Umbridge and Mafalda, they are instantly knocked out, while Wormtail stands for a few seconds, says "Ow" (hinting that the spell was quite painful) and collapses. This, as well as his unintended non-reappearance in Part 2, suggests that he may be dead, or that Dobby used a different spell to knock him out.
 * Also in Deathly Hallows: Part 1, When Ron (disguised as Reginald Cattermole) hits Yaxley with a non-verbal Stunning Spell, it seems to strike his chest rather hard, causing him to groan in pain and leaving him incapacitated for several minutes before he catches up with the trio and attempts to stop their escape.
 * In Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Voldemort casts Stupefy at Neville Longbottom out of anger, after Harry Potter seemingly came back to life. Neville was blown backward into the Great Hall, and remained unconscious until he woke to slay Nagini.
 * In Harry and Voldemort can use this spell against each other in the final battle during Voldemort's Last Stand as they engage in a normal duel.
 * In the video game adaption of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, the player's stunning spells are blue, while enemy stunning spells are red, bosses such as Snape and Bellatrix cast green stunning spells.
 * In the Deathly Hallows, Harry uses the combined power of the wands of Draco Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange and Peter Pettigrew to cast a stunning spell on Fenrir Greyback, causing him to be lifted up, smash into the ceiling and them slammed onto the ground, it can be implied here that spells can be more powerful when being cast by multiple wands at once. In the Film adaption, Harry uses it against Lucius Malfoy and it causes him to be launched to the other side of the room just as he is about to touch his Dark Mark.

Appearances

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Notes and references
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