Boggart-Banishing Spell

Boggart-Banishing Spell
Incantation	Riddikulus (ri-di-KULL-lis)
Type	Charm
Hand movement
Light	None
Effect	Turned a Boggart into something amusing

"The spell that defeats a Boggart can be tricky, because it involves making the creature into a figure of fun, so that fear can be dispelled in amusement. If the caster is able to laugh aloud at the Boggart, it will disappear at once. The incantation is ‘Riddikulus’, and the intention is to force the Boggart to assume a less-threatening and hopefully comical form."

— Description of the Boggart-Banishing Spell

The Boggart-Banishing Spell (Riddikulus) was a charm that was used to defeat a Boggart. It caused the creature to assume a form that was humorous to the caster, along with a whip-crack noise, thereby taking away the Boggart's ability to terrorise.

Boggarts were defeated by laughter, so forcing them to assume an amusing form was the first step to defeating them. However, because Boggarts were amortal, this spell does not truly destroy them, similar to the Patronus Charm, but merely "banish" them — meaning the defeated Boggart will vanish, and presumably re-materialise elsewhere; it is also possible that Boggarts did not dissipate and instead fled, afraid of laughter.

History

"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please ... riddikulus!"

— Remus Lupin teaching third years how to perform this charm in a 1993 Defence Against the Dark Arts class

This was one of the spells that Professor Albus Dumbledore taught his Defence Against the Dark Arts class in the 1910s. Among those students were Newton Scamander and Leta Lestrange; the aforementioned of which mastered the spell, whilst the latter failed to do so.

At the start of the 1986–1987 school year, Professor Pomona Sprout used this spell to banish a Boggart that manifested in the Greenhouse after Herbology class. Throughout the school year, Jacob's sibling used this spell on various occasions against Boggarts that had been released due to someone having tampered with the Vault of Fear, including the break-in of the Vault by themselves.

In September 1993, Professor Remus Lupin taught this spell to his third year Defence Against the Dark Arts class in. Thanks to Lupin's teaching, Harry Potter was able to use this against a Boggart in the Triwizard Maze in 1995.

This spell was apart of the practical examination of the Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.

During the Calamity of the 2010s, members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force often used this charm to combat Boggart Confoundables in order to release Foundables.

Casting

"...You will raise your wand — thus — and cry 'Riddikulus' — and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag."

— Professor Lupin teaching the spell to Neville Longbottom

The comical nature of this charm

A simple charm that required the force of mind, to cast, the spell caster must first acknowledge what they fear the most (as it will most likely be what the Boggart will take the form of) and then visualise it into something amusing.

The problem was because the Boggart would have assumed said form at the moment of direct encounter, the one attempting to use this charm would usually have lost concentration after seeing the Boggart manifest their worst fears, making this spell useless. As such, it was always advisable to first take one step at a time when practising this spell.

Known uses

"'R-r-riddikulus!' squeaked Neville. There was a noise like a whip-crack. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag."

— Neville Longbottom casts this spell successfully

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Unidentified Hufflepuff girl	1913	The student cast the spell on a boggart during a class taught by Albus Dumbledore immediately before fellow Hufflepuff Newt Scamander.
Newt Scamander		In a Defence Against the Dark Arts class taught by Albus Dumbledore, Newt successfully cast the spell against a Boggart.
Unidentified student		Used the spell to turn a Boggart in the shape of a shark into a flotation device in the same lesson.
		Used the spell to turn a Boggart in the shape of a zombie into having the head of a pumpkin in the same lesson.
		Used the spell to turn a Boggart in the shape of a vampire into a buck-toothed bunny rabbit in the same lesson.
Lyall Lupin	Late 1950s or early 1960s	Banished a Boggart for the Muggle Hope Howell after it turned into an evil, large looking man for her in a dense forest; he turned it into a field mushroom.
Pomona Sprout	1986–1987 school year	Used it to banish a Boggart in the Hogwarts greenhouses, after it manifested as a werewolf for Penny Haywood.
Jacob's sibling		Used it to banish a Boggart in the form of Merula Snyde for Tulip Karasu.
		Used it to banish a Boggart in the form of Lord Voldemort in Jacob's room.
		Used it to banish several Boggarts in the Vault of Fear.
		Used it to banish the Boggart in Hogsmeade.
Neville Longbottom	September 1993	Used it to defeat a Boggart in the form of Severus Snape, during a Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Remus Lupin.
Ronald Weasley		Used it to defeat a Boggart in the form of a giant spider, by removing its legs.
Seamus Finnigan		Used it to defeat a Boggart in the form of a banshee, by silencing its voice.
Dean Thomas		Used it to defeat a Boggart in the form of a Loose Hand, by trapping it in a mousetrap.
Parvati Patil		Used it to defeat a Boggart in the form of a mummy, by unravelling its sheets.
Remus Lupin		Used it to defeat a Boggart in the form of a full moon, by turning it into a cockroach.
Third-years	June 1994	The third year Defence Against the Dark Arts exam was an obstacle course of dark creatures which included; climbing into an old trunk and battling a Boggart.
Harry Potter	24 June, 1995	Harry used this against a Boggart in the maze during the Triwizard Tournament.
	June 1996	Harry cast the spell "perfectly" during the practical part of his Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.
Molly Weasley	August 1995	Molly tried and failed to use this spell against the Boggart at 12 Grimmauld Place.
Remus Lupin		Used this spell to deal with the Boggart at 12 Grimmauld Place, after when Molly Weasley failed to.
Unidentified Muggle-born Hogwarts student	2010–2011 school year	Used this spell against a Boggart in the form of an Acromantula.
Daniel Page		Used this spell against the same Boggart in the form of his mother as a criminal.

Known practitioners

Newton Scamander

Lyall Lupin

Pomona Sprout

Jacob's sibling

Penny Haywood

Barnaby Lee

Tulip Karasu

Remus Lupin

Neville Longbottom

Ronald Weasley

Seamus Finnigan

Dean Thomas

Parvati Patil

Harry Potter

Molly Weasley

Alastor Moody

Daniel Page

• Unidentified Muggle-born Hogwarts student

Etymology

"Riddikulus" is an adaptation of the English adjective "ridiculous" as well as of the Latin noun ridiculum ("joke") and Latin verb ridere ("to laugh").

Behind the scenes

This spell's icon in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells

The spell's wand movement path as seen in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

• Despite the spell canonically producing no light, the July 2018 trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald shows a brief flash of white light upon the incantation being spoken, both times the spell is cast. This may have been done for stylistic choices.
• The effect of the Boggart-Banishing Spell varies throughout the series. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it has its stated effect of forcing a Boggart into an amusing form and otherwise does not harm it. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, however, Harry uses the spell to make a Boggart-Dementor explode into a wisp of smoke (though it is possible he found a Dementor collapsing into wisps of smoke "funny", and the Boggart was forced to take the form of an exploded Dementor, more than it actually exploded in earnest). Various anecdotes onPottermore describe Riddikulus transforming Boggarts in a variety of ways, not all of which being directly related to making the Boggart funny.
• The wand movement given for the Boggart-Banishing Spell resembles a large grin, likely on purpose.
• In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, only Ron and Hermione learn this spell due to Harry being locked out of the class by Draco Malfoy while Lupin is teaching it to his class. Harry instead learns Expecto Patronum from Lupin to defeat his Dementor boggart, and in return Ron and Hermione do not learn Expecto Patronum.
• In LEGO Dimensions, Riddikulus is one of Hermione's abilities, though it does nothing more than break nearby objects and damage nearby enemies.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (Appears in flashback(s))
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Appears in flashback(s))
• LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Dimensions
• Harry Potter: The Character Vault
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened