Dangling Jinx

Dangling Jinx
Incantation	Levicorpus (leh-vee-COR-pus)
Type	Jinx
Hand movement
Light	Green
Effect	Suspends people by the ankles in the air
Creator	Severus Snape

"Oh, that one had a great vogue during my time at Hogwarts. There were a few months in my fifth year when you couldn't move for being hoisted into the air by your ankle."

— Remus Lupin regarding the popularity of this jinx

The Dangling Jinx (Levicorpus) was a jinx, which was intended to be cast nonverbally but the incantation could also be spoken aloud, caused the victim to be hoisted into the air by their ankle; the counter-jinx for this jinx was Liberacorpus.

History

"Pointing his wand at nothing in particular, he gave it an upward flick and said Levicorpus! inside his head... There was a flash of light... Ron was dangling upside down in midair as though an invisible hook had hoisted him up by the ankle."

— Harry uses the spell for the first time on Ronald Weasley

An individual under the effects of this jinx

This jinx was invented by Severus Snape and recorded under his pseudonym the "Half-Blood Prince" during his time as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. According to Remus Lupin this spell became quite popular during his school times and students could barely move about without being hoisted up in the air by their ankle, apparently unaware that Snape had invented it.

It is unclear when Severus Snape invented this jinx, as James Potter knew it in his fifth year, whereas it was noted in Snape's NEWT-level textbook. Furthermore, according to Sirius Black, Snape "knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year."

During the 1986–1987 school year, Cecil Lee put on a sock which had been bewitched with this spell. He was eventually freed from it by Jacob's sibling and Merula Snyde.

Known uses

Successful

"James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants."

— James Potter using this jinx to humiliate Severus Snape

Caster(s)	Victim(s)	Date	Notes
James Potter	Severus Snape	June, 1976	Used it to bully him after an O.W.L. exam.
Unknown (via a cursed sock)	Cecil Lee	The 1986–1987 school year	The curse was placed on a sock which was intended to be used as a demonstration of curse-breaking for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students, but ended up jinxing the replacement instructor, Cecil Lee.
Death Eaters	Roberts family	22 August, 1994	Used during the attack at the 422nd Quidditch World Cup, by Death Eaters to torture a family of Muggles.
Harry Potter	Ron Weasley	12 October, 1996	Used it nonverbally without a clear idea of what the effects would be, after he found the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion-Making that contained this spell. Ron dangling in the air
		1 March, 1997	Used it to levitate Ron when he hit him after Harry ridiculed his obsessive feelings for Romilda Vane, due to eating Harry's Chocolate Cauldrons spiked with Love potion.
Hermione Granger	Harry Potter	1 May, 1998	Used it to levitate Harry by the ankle in the Lestrange Vault during break-in so that he could reach the Horcrux Cup.
Draco Malfoy		2020	Used it during his duel with Harry.
Tom Riddle	Mykew Gregorovitch	2 September, 1997	Used it to suspend Gregorovitch in the air, before interrogating and murdering him in his wand shop.

Unsuccessful

Caster(s)	Victim(s)	Date	Notes
Harry Potter	Draco Malfoy	Early May, 1997	Harry tried and failed to cast this nonverbally on Malfoy in the sixth-floor boys' bathroom, but the spell was blocked by the Shield Charm.
	Severus Snape	30 June, 1997	Harry tried and failed to cast this on Snape near Hagrid's Hut during Snape's departure from Hogwarts, after he had killed Albus Dumbledore.

Known practitioners

Severus Snape

James Potter

Harry Potter

Hermione Granger

Draco Malfoy

Lucius Malfoy

Tom Riddle

Etymology

The incantation can be divided into two separate Latin words; levare means "lift", and corpus is translated to "body". It could also be translated as "Light Body".

Behind the scenes

• The effect of this spell may be a reference to the Hanged Man, a Tarot card that depicts a saint-like figure being hung upside down from his ankle.
• Despite being a non-verbal spell, it apparently does work verbally, as Hermione Granger successfully used it in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by speaking the incantation out loud.
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (and its video game adaptation), this is a verbal spell taught to Dumbledore's Army; it is used to lift people in this medium, but not by the ankle, as the victims of the spell are seen being levitated onto the air as long as the user concentrates, whereas loss of concentration causes the spell to break immediately and the victim to fall to the ground. This was shown when Cho Chang was distractedly looking at Harry while Nigel, who she was levitating, suddenly fell to the floor. However, when Luna Lovegood uses it on a Death Eater in the Ministry of Magic, it sends the Death Eater flying upwards, similarly to Alarte Ascendare, except that the victim does not come back down, suggesting it does suspend him in the air or to the ceiling. Despite this, Harry does not become aware of this spell himself until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, so its inclusion in DA lessons in the fifth film cannot be considered canon for this reason.
• Also in the film, James Potter levitated Severus off the ground with the Impediment Jinx instead of Levicorpus, though Severus still was dangled upside-down.
• In Harry Potter for Kinect, Voldemort can use this spell against Dumbledore in the final Duel in the Ministry Atrium as they engage in a normal duel.
• In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, the spell can be unlocked by reaching the maximum level of friendship with George Weasley.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (Seen in trailer)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Appears in flashback(s))
• 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 (First identified as Levicorpus)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Indirectly mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (DS/PSP versions)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (DS version)
• Harry Potter for Kinect
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World (First identified as Dangling Jinx)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned in History of Magic classes)