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"...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[src]

The Colour Change Charm[2] (Colovaria),[1] also known as the Colour-Changing Charm,[4] was a charm that changed the colour of the target.[2] Its incantation was similar to that of the Growth Charm.[2][5]

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.[5]

During the 1987–1988 school year, Professor Minerva McGonagall taught this charm to her fourth-year students in Transfiguration class.[3]

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.[2]

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.[6]
Merula Snyde Unknown Used the charm to change her natural eye colour to lavender.[7]
Merula Snyde 1988–1989 school year Used the charm on Mrs Norris to attract Argus Filch's attention.[8]
Jacob's sibling Used the charm to reverse the effects of Merula's spell in Filch's office.[8]
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.[9]
Blue Wig
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.[10]

Known practitioners[]

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[]

Colovaria

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

ColovariaPAS

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 End-of-Term Feast to change the colour of the house banners from green and silver (Slytherin) to red and gold (Gryffindor),[11] but it is possible that he used a different spell, such as a Switching 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).

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 5 images related to Colour Change Charm.

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 31 (O.W.L.s)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Chapter 14 (The Spider's Lair) - Transfiguration Lesson "Colovaria"
  4. Wizarding World - A handy guide to the lesser known spells in the wizarding world
  5. 5.0 5.1 Hogwarts Legacy, Main Quest "Charms Class"
  6. 6.0 6.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 2, Quidditch Season 1, Chapter 1 (Welcome to Quidditch)
  7. INSIDE THE MAGICAL '80S ART OF HARRY POTTER: HOGWARTS MYSTERY
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, "VALENTINE'S DAY BALL" Achievement
  9. 9.0 9.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 7 (The Sorting Hat)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 7 (The Will of Albus Dumbledore)
  11. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 17 (The Man with Two Faces)
Charms (class)
PS Wingardium Leviosa feather
Charm-book writers and developers
Blagdon Blay · Daisy Pennifold · Delfina Crimp · Miranda Goshawk · Jarleth Hobart · Basil Horton · Helixa Hyslop · Syna Hyslop · Randolph Keitch · Levina Monkstanley · Orabella Nuttley · Mnemone Radford · Scarpin · Elliot Smethwyck · Felix Summerbee · Violeta Stitch
Professors Fortinbras · Filius Flitwick · Abraham Ronen · Unidentified male professor · Unidentified medieval professor
Textbooks Achievements in Charming · Extreme Incantations · Quintessence: A Quest · The Standard Book of Spells
Charms studied at Hogwarts
Anti-Alohomora Charm · Ascension Charm (Ascendio) · Banishing Charm (Depulso) · Blackboard Writing Spell · Blue sparks · Bombardment Spell (Bombarda) · Box Blasting Charm (Cistem Aperio) · Bubble-Head Charm · Cheering Charm · Cleaning Charm · Colour Change Charm (Colovaria) · Confundus Charm (Confundo) · Counter-charm for hiccoughs · Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra) · Descendo · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Disillusionment Charm · Drought Charm · Entrancing Enchantments (theoretically) · Eradication Spell (Deletrius) · Engorgement Charm (Engorgio) · Extinguishing Spell · Fire-Making Spell (Incendio) · Freezing Charm (Immobulus) · Freezing Spell (Glacius) · Full Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus) · General Counter-Spell (Finite Incantatem) · Gouging Spell (Defodio) · Growth Charm · Ice Jinx · Impervius Charm (Impervius) · Knitting Charm · Knockback Jinx (Flipendo) · Leg-Locker Curse (Locomotor Mortis) · Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa) · Locking Spell (Colloportus) · Locomotion Charm (Locomotor) · Lumos Solem Spell (Lumos Solem) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Memory Charm (Obliviate) · Muffliato Charm (Muffliato) · Nonverbal spells · Pack Charm (Pack) · Red Sparks (Vermillious) · Reductor Curse (Reducto) · Scouring Charm (Scourgify) · Seize and pull charm (Carpe Retractum) · Severing Charm (Diffindo) · Shrinking Charm (Reducio) · Silencing Charm (Silencio) · Slowing Charm (Arresto Momentum) · Skurge Charm (Skurge) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Spell for growing legs · Substantive Charm · Summoning Charm (Accio) · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Unlocking Charm (Alohomora) · Vinegar to wine spell · Wand-Extinguishing Charm (Nox) · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos) · Lumos Maxima · Water-Making Spell (Aguamenti)
Transfiguration (class)
COS Vera Verto demo
Branches of Transfiguration Transformation · Vanishment · Conjuration · Untransfiguration
Notable practitioners Circe · Emeric Switch · Falco Aesalon · Mirabella Plunkett · Thaddeus Thurkell
Professors Albus Dumbledore · Minerva McGonagall · Charles Rookwood · Matilda Weasley
Textbooks A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration · Intermediate Transfiguration · A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration
Transfiguration spells taught at Hogwarts
Colour Change Charm (Colovaria) · Change of hair colour and style (Crinus Muto) · Hardening Charm (Duro) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Partial Vanishment · Reparifarge · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Switching Spell · Vanishing Spell (Evanesco)
Conjuring Spells Bird-Conjuring Charm (Avis) · Inanimatus Conjurus Spell · Bouquet Spell (Orchideous) · Snake Summons Spell (Serpensortia)
Transforming Spells Animal to water goblet (Vera Verto) · Armadillo to Pillow · Bowling Ball to Balloon · Beetle into Button · Cauldron to badger · Cat to cauldron (Felifors) · Cauldron Cakes to Cabbages · Chair to cat · Cross-Species Switches · Desk Into Pig · Fairy Cakes to Fairies · Feather Duster to Ferret · Ferret to Feather Duster · Gobstone to butterfly · Goldfinch to Golden Snitch · Flobberworm to Fritter · Gnomes to Lawn Gnomes · Guinea fowl to guinea pig · Gobstone to Skunk · Hedgehog to pincushion · King to Rook · Lovebird to Love Note · Match to needle · Meddling Man to Monkey · Mice to Snuffboxes · Owl to Opera Glasses (Strigiforma) · Pawn to Queen · Porcupine to Pin Cushion (Hystrifors) · Puffskein to Paperweight · Rubbish to Raccoon Dog · Small Child to Rat · Small object to dragon (Draconifors) · Snail to Teapot · Target to bird (Avifors) · Target to matchbox (Flintifors) · Target to rabbit (Lapifors) · Teacup into Gerbil · Teacup to Rat · Teapot to Tortoise · Thimble to Thestral · Toad to Toadstool · Tortoise to Trumpet · White rabbits to slippers

See also[]

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