Curse

Curse
Incantation	Varies
Type	Dark charm (worst kind)
Hand movement	Varies
Light	Varies
Effect	Extensive suffering
Creator	Severus Snape Herpo the Foul Urquhart Rackharrow, etc.

"An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."

— Rubeus Hagrid informing a young Harry Potter about curses

A curse was one of the three types of dark charms, along with Jinxes and Hexes. Curses were the worst and most heinous kind of Dark Magic, and therefore their effects were the most severe. The effects of a curse caused extreme harm to the target or otherwise affected them in a strongly negative manner.

Curses came in many strengths and forms, but were usually reserved for causing immense suffering to the victim. The worst curses known to Wizardkind were the three Unforgivable Curses; the Cruciatus Curse which caused the victim excruciating pain, Imperius Curse which made the victim totally obedient to the caster, and the Killing Curse, which instantly killed the victim.

Curses placed on objects could sometimes last for hundreds or thousands of years, depending on the skill of the caster.

Nature

"So — straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms."

— Bartemius Crouch Junior (disguised as Alastor Moody) regarding curses

A curse was classified as a Dark charm, which was primarily defined as any spell that affected the object in a negative manner, typically associated with varying levels of discomfort. A curse was the worst kind of Dark Magic, affecting the target in a severely negative manner.

While curses came in many strengths and forms, they were generally the most wicked, strongest, longest-lasting, and least reversible of the Dark charms. The Unforgivable Curses were the strongest known Dark charms in existence, as their effects were very powerful and their use required skill.

Blood maledictions were a specific type of curse that might not kill the target but could remain within the victim's body, and be passed down as a genetic defect that could resurface generations later. Astoria Malfoy suffered from such as curse, as her ancestor passed down a malediction that showed up in her, causing Astoria's body to be frail, and childbirth was what weakened her to the point of death a few years later.

Unicorn blood

Drinking unicorn blood extended one's lifespan even if at the brink of death, but it cursed the drinker's life, for they had slain an innocent animal to selfishly extend their own life. It was said to be an act that only those who had nothing to lose and everything to gain would commit.

Curses were said to be rather difficult spells to master, as first-year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were not considered by adult wizards and witches to be experienced or knowledgeable enough to cast such powerful Dark spells.

Usage

"A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he’s about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful."

— Bartemius Crouch Junior (disguised as Alastor Moody) regarding how malicious curses were used by wizards

Fourth year students learning about the Unforgivable Curses

Like jinxes, Hogwarts students studying Defence Against the Dark Arts only learnt a few minor curses in a defensive manner, such as for duelling and defence against Dark creatures, but especially learnt how to deal with them using defensive magic. Curses might be blocked or deflected with a Shield Charm, and be removed with a counter-curse. The two most notable exceptions to this were the Killing Curse and the Cruciatus Curse, two of the Unforgivable Curses, which could only be dodged, intercepted or blocked with physical objects.

Curses could have also been spread by touching cursed objects. The Opal Necklace had a deadly curse placed on it that would kill upon touch. A cursed CD case that had the laughing curse placed on it would affect anyone who touched it with uncontrollable laughter.

Wizards and witches appeared to have had the ability to send curses in the post, as a piece of Hermione Granger's hate mail in 1995 claimed that it was possible.

Dark wizards used curses to reanimate human corpses as Inferi.

Objects could be cursed by wizards in a number of ways. For example, items could be unintentionally cursed by wizards with intense negative emotions and traumatic experiences, as demonstrated with Dai Ryusaki's amulet.

List of curses

	Name	Incantation	Effect
A	Antonin Dolohov's curse		The curse was cast by Antonin Dolohov using "a sudden slashing movement with the wand", causing a streak of purple flame to strike the target. This curse could inflict severe injuries on the victim, even death.
B	Bee pendant's curse		This curse caused a the person afflicted to fall into a deep sleep that could only be broken if the person's lover grasped their hand at sunrise and told the person cursed how much they loved them.
	Babbling Curse		This curse caused a person to uncontrollably babble whenever they tried to speak.
	Black sisters' keepsake box curse		This curse had many effects, including bursting into green fire and summoning a magical knight, all designed by Bellatrix Lestrange to stop people from accessing the contents of the box.
	Blasting Curse	Confringo	This curse was a spell that caused anything that the spell came into contact with to explode. It was possibly used in the murder of twelve Muggles.
	Blood malediction		A curse that resurfaced after many generations to affect descendants of the one who had originally been cursed.
C	Conjunctivitis Curse		A curse that caused irritation in the target's eyes, causing them to swell shut like the infection conjunctivitis. The Oculus Potion ended the effects of this curse.
	Cruciatus Curse	Crucio	One of the three Unforgivable Curses, a curse that inflicted intense, excruciating physical pain on a human or living creature. Prolonged exposure would cause extreme, irreversible brain damage.
	Curse of the Bogies	Mucus ad Nauseam	A curse that gave the recipient a strong cold, that could make him or her collapse if not treated, as well as an extremely runny nose.
	Curse on Marvolo Gaunt's ring		A powerful curse was placed upon Marvolo Gaunt's ring, around the time that Lord Voldemort turned it into a Horcrux, as a defence against anyone who might try to destroy it. This curse was designed to quickly kill anyone who dared to wear the ring.
	Cursed barrier		A curse used to create a magical barrier which prevented the members of the Order of the Phoenix from entering through it. Bill Weasley also invented his own cursed barrier to prevent Death Eaters from entering through it.
	Cursed ice		This was ice that was cursed to spread throughout Hogwarts Castle between 1984 to 1986, encasing everything in its path.
E	Ear-shrivelling Curse		This curse caused the target's ears to shrivel up.
	Entrail-Expelling Curse		Its exact effects are unknown, but presumably it caused one's entrails to be expelled from the body.
	Expulso Curse	Expulso	A curse used to produce immense explosions, blasting the target apart with a burst of blue light; it had enough force to throw people into walls.
F	Fiendfyre	Pestis Incendium	A bewitched flame of abnormal size and heat, infused with Dark Magic, capable of seeking out living targets despite being non-sentient and destroying all that came into contact with it.
	Flagrante Curse	Flagrante	A curse that caused objects to emit searing heat when touched.
	Full Body-Bind Curse	Petrificus Totalus	A curse that instantly paralysed the opponent.
	Furnunculus Curse	Furnunculus	Caused the target to erumpt in painful boils/pimples.
	Floating eye curse		Conjured a large, floating eye to hover stationary over an area.
G	Gemino Curse	Geminio	A spell used to duplicate an object, creating an exact replica of the target entity. It could also be used to bewitch an object into multiplying repeatedly when touched.
	Granum Dale's curse		Transfigured the feet any of his descendants into purple beets should they have entered the Dale Family Tomb.
	Gormlaith Gaunt's curse		A powerful curse that put people into a deep enchanted slumber.
H	Hair Loss Curse	Calvorio	A curse that removed the victim's hair or headdress.
	Head growing curse		Caused the victim to grow extra heads.
I	Imperius Curse	Imperio	One of the three Unforgivable Curses, a curse that placed the victim completely under the caster's control, though a person with exceptional strength of will was capable of resisting it.
J	Jelly-Fingers Curse		A curse that caused the victim's fingers to take on an almost jelly-like consistency.
	Jelly-Legs Curse	Locomotor Wibbly	A spell that caused the victim's legs to collapse.
K	Killing Curse	Avada Kedavra	One of the three Unforgivable Curses, a curse that inflicted instantaneous, painless death on a living person or creature when used successfully.
L	Leg-Locker Curse	Locomotor Mortis	A curse that was used to bind the legs of the victim together.
	Laughing curse		A curse that caused uncontrollable laughter in the victim, could be used on objects to spread the curse via touch.
O	Opal Necklace curse		A very deadly curse. When it made physical contact on the victim, the curse would spread rapidly on the recipient, the level of the effect dependent on the amount of contact made. It was known to have killed nineteen Muggles.
P	Portrait curse		A curse which imprisoned victims in portraits.
R	Reductor Curse	Reducto	A curse that could be used to blast solid objects into pieces. It was rather easy to reduce a target to a fine mist or a pile of ashes.
	Ragnuk's curse		Deprived the victim of their sight, completely blinding them. Only Ragnuk could lift it.
S	Sleepwalking curse		A curse that was used to put an individual into a deep sleep from which they might never wake, inducing a condition similar to that of somnambulism.
	Sectumsempra		A dangerous curse invented by Severus Snape. Its effect was the equivalent of an invisible sword; it was used to slash the victim from a distance, causing rather deep wounds and making the them bleed profusely. This curse could also be used to remove body parts from the victim, which couldn't be grown back with healing magic.
	Sponge-Knees Curse		A curse which presumably made the target's legs spongy, making it difficult for them to walk.
	Slug-Vomiting Charm	Slugulus Eructo	A curse that caused the victim to vomit slugs and slime.
	Statue curse		A curse which petrified the victim, transforming them into stone.
	Sunken Vault's curse		A curse placed upon the Sunken Vault which caused whoever entered it to relive their worst memories.
T	Tongue-Tying Curse	Mimble Wimble	Bound the target's tongue to keep them from talking about a specific subject.
	Thief's Curse		A spell that could be applied to books. Its effect is not fully understood, but it activated if someone tried to read a book for too long without paying for it.
	Transmogrifian Torture		A curse of unknown exact effect, although it was possibly capable of torturing the target to death.
V	Victor Rookwood's curse		Caused the victim considerable pain and illness which resided in them for many years.

Behind the scenes

• According to W.O.M.B.A.T., it may not be possible to cure a curse victim without the correct counter-curse.
• J. K. Rowling defined curses as "the worst kinds of Dark Magic".
• Even though Rowling herself specified the differences between curses, hexes, and jinxes, she states that "Within the Potter world, the boundaries are flexible and I imagine that wizards may have their own ideas." This shows that the categorisation of Dark charms is not set and stone, and may sometimes be used interchangeably. This explains why some spells are known by multiple names, like why the Slug-vomiting Charm is a curse, and why the Jelly-Legs Curse is also sometimes known as the Jelly-Legs Jinx. This also explains why some curses, such as the Leg-Locker Curse, Jelly-Legs Curse and Full Body-Bind Curse, which don't cause any lasting injury, seem to fall more under the definition of a jinx or hex, while Voldemort's Jinx on the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher has had serious, lasting consequences for several of those affected, which would seem more like a curse.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Mentioned only)
• Quidditch Through the Ages (Mentioned only)
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Mentioned only)
• Daily Prophet Newsletters (Mentioned only)
• J. K. Rowling's official site (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World
• Harry Potter: The Wand Collection (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter Official Site
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Harry Potter: The Character Vault
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• LEGO Dimensions
• Harry Potter: Spells
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells
• Wonderbook: Book of Potions
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
• Harry Potter for Kinect
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Harry Potter: Magic Caster Wand