Boggart-Banishing Spell

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

"'R-r-riddikulus!' squeaked Neville. There was a noise like a whip-crack."

— Neville Longbottom casts this spell

The Boggart-Banishing Spell (Riddikulus) is a charm that is used in defence against a Boggart. It causes the creature to assume a form that is humorous to the caster, along with a whip-crack noise, thereby counteracting the Boggart's ability to terrorise.

Boggarts are defeated by laughter, so forcing them to assume an amusing form is the first step to defeating them. However, because Boggarts are amortal, this spell does not truly destroy them, similar to the Patronus Charm, but merely "banish" them — meaning the defeated Boggart will appear to vanish, and presumably rematerialize elsewhere.

History

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

Casting

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

Known uses

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Unidentified Hufflepuff girl	Between 1908 and 1914	The student casts the spell on a boggart during a class taught by Albus Dumbledore immediately before fellow Hufflepuff Newt Scamander.
Newt Scamander		In a class taught by Albus Dumbledore, Newt casts the spell against a Boggart.
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 number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

Etymology

"Riddikulus" is an adaptation of "ridiculous" as well as of ridiculum (Latin, "joke") and ridere (Latin, "to laugh").

Behind the scenes

• 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.
• 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 on Pottermore 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 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.
• In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, the spell was first appeared in the first Herbology class of Year 3, when Penny was confronted with one Boggart in the form of a werewolf, and Pomona Sprout used the spell to banish the Boggart. The spell was later taught by Filius Flitwick in Charms class instead of an absentee Defence Against Dark Arts professor.

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
• 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
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite