Colour Change Charm

Colour Change Charm
Incantation	Colovaria (co-loh-VA-ree-ah)
Type	Charm
Hand movement
Light	None
Effect	Changes colour of target

"...he wished he had not mixed up the incantations for Colour Change and Growth Charms, so that the rat he was supposed to be turning orange swelled shockingly and was the size of a badger before Harry could rectify his mistake."

— Harry Potter mistaking the Growth Charm for this spell

The Colour Change Charm (Colovaria), also known as the Colour-Changing Charm, was a charm that changed the colour of the target. Its incantation was similar to that of the Growth Charm.

Nature

Although typically only able to change one colour to another, a variation of this spell existed which allowed the caster to make objects multi-coloured, however it required more focus and skill than the standard charm as well as reasonable skill with the Duplication Charm.

History

At the start of the first fifth-year Charms class during the 1890–1891 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Abraham Ronen asked his students about the difference between the incantations of the Colour Change and Growth Charms, something the students were not able to answer.

During the 1987–1988 school year, Professor Minerva McGonagall taught this charm to her fourth-year students in Transfiguration class.

During Harry Potter's Charms O.W.L. in 1996, he accidentally switched the incantations for this and the Growth Charm, so that instead of turning the rat orange, it grew to the size of a badger before he could reverse his mistake.

Known uses

Caster(s)	Dates	Notes
Penny Haywood	1985–1986 school year	Used the charm on Face Paint Kid to turn his botched Quidditch face paint to his House colours.
Merula Snyde	Unknown	Used the charm to change her natural eye colour to lavender.
Merula Snyde	1988–1989 school year	Used the charm on Mrs Norris to attract Argus Filch's attention.
Jacob's sibling		Used the charm to reverse the effects of Merula's spell in Filch's office.
Andre Egwu	1989–1990 school year	Used the charm on his trousers which turned them multicoloured.
Jacob's sibling		Used a variation of the charm to change the colour of Penny Haywood's best-ever hot chocolate from grey to red and green.
Harry Potter	In or before 1991	Used this charm unknowingly to change the wig of his teacher at St. Grogory's Primary School a vivid blue colour.
	31 July 1997	Used this charm when he came of age to change the robes of the Chudley Cannons posters in Ron's bedroom to bright blue.

Known practitioners

Minerva McGonagall

Jacob's sibling

Penny Haywood

Merula Snyde

Andre Egwu

Harry Potter

Etymology

The incantation for this charm comes from the Latin words color, colour in English, and variāre, which it means vary. So the incantation would mean something like "to change/modify the colour".

Behind the scenes

The spell's icon in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

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

• It is possible that this spell was used on the colour changing Mahoutokoro uniform.
• It is possible that Albus Dumbledore used this charm non-verbally and wandlessly at the 1992 Leaving Feast to change the colour of the house banners from green and silver (Slytherin) to red and gold (Gryffindor), but it is possible that he used a different spell, such as a Switching Spell or Altering Spell.
• In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, before the player starts to learn this charm in Transfiguration, McGonagall says that Tonks is exempted from this lesson for obvious reasons. While Tonks being a Metamorphmagus does have the ability to change her own physical appearance at will, this charm can work with other objects outside of one's body too, so it isn't really a good reason for Tonks to not learn this spell. Also, McGonagall associates this charm only with hair-colour changing. At the end of the lesson, the player will change a cat's colour instead of their own hair, but on the page where Transfiguration lessons are displayed, this charm is listed as "transforms the colour and style of the caster's hair" (not somebody or something else's hair). However, in a question asked by Rowan, the correct answer is that this charm is used to "change something's colour" (not just hair).
• Despite the charm only being taught in Transfiguration, Harry is tested on it during his practical Charms O.W.L exam. It is possible that the charm was instead taught in Charms during Harry's time at Hogwarts, but whether or not this is actually the case is unknown.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned) (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First identified as Colour Change Charm)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter (website) (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game (First appearance)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Hogwarts Legacy (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Caster Wand

See also

• Crinus Muto
• Multicorfors Spell
• Flashing paint charm
• Altering Spell