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"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him."
Hermione Granger regarding jinxes[src]

A jinx is a type of Dark charm[1], whose effects are irritating but amusing.[2] As a minor type of Dark magic, jinxes have the least severe effects of the three dark charms.

Usage

In order to successfully cast a jinx, the caster must keep eye contact on the target.[3]

Jinxes can also be used in a defensive capacity, and hence students of Defence Against the Dark Arts may learn some of them, such as the Knockback Jinx and Impediment Jinx.

Jinx effects can be blocked or removed by a counter-jinx[4] or a counter-curse,[3] and they can be prevented by an Anti-Jinx. The former category is being taught in Defence Against the Dark Arts class, while the latter is presumably part of several protective enchantments, and therefore mostly covered in Charms class. In case of major jinx effects, like backfired and unliftable ones, wizards would have to let themselves be treated in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries or at least by any Healer or expert in the knowledge of Dark magic.

List of Jinxes

Name Incantation Effect
A Anti-Disapparition Jinx Prevents Disapparition within a certain area
Anti-intruder jinx Repels intruders
B Backfiring Jinx Causes spells to backfire and hurt caster
Biting jinx Causes jinxed object to bite the user
Broom jinx Makes a broomstick attempt to buck its rider off[3]
C Cantis Makes things and people sing[5]
Cascading Jinx Targets multiple enemies
Cracker Jinx Conjures exploding Wizard Crackers
D Dancing Feet Spell Tarantallegra Forces the victim to dance wildly[6]
Drone Jinx Produces undesirably loud noise
Ducklifors Jinx Ducklifors Turns things to ducks[7]
Dumbledore's Army parchment jinx Causes boils to spell "SNEAK" on the face of a traitor[8]
E Ebublio Jinx Ebublio Traps target in giant bubble[9]
F Finger-removing jinx Removes a person's fingers
I Impediment Jinx Impedimenta Temporarily slows target[[10]
J Jelly-Brain Jinx Presumably affects the victim's mental processes
Jelly-Legs Jinx Locomotor Wibbly Collapse legs[1]
Jinx against marriage Makes an individual refuse marriage
Jinx on the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Every Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts cannot stay in the position for more than one year and without suffering an unpleasant fate[11]
K Knockback Jinx Flipendo Knocks opponent over[1]
L Langlock Affixes tongue to the roof of the mouth[12]
Leek Jinx Leeks sprout from ears[13]
Levicorpus Lifts people[14]
M Melofors Jinx Melofors Encases victim's head in pumpkin[15]
Multi-Shot Jinx Multiple offensive blasts
O Oppugno Jinx Oppugno Assaults target with directed object(s)
Orbis Jinx Orbis Sucks the target into the ground[7]
P Pimple Jinx Furnunculus Boils erupt
Pullus Jinx Pullus Transforms things into chicken and geese[7]
R Revulsion Jinx Relashio Releases the target's grip[16][17]</nowiki>
S Sea urchin jinx Makes tiny spikes erupt all over the victim[18]
Special Jinx When lured out of the object it appears as a blue floating ball of magic[19]
Stinging Jinx Stings flesh[20]
Stretching Jinx Increases the target's height
T Tempest Jinx Strikes target(s) with lightning bolts
Tentaclifors Turns victim's head into tentacle[5]
Trip Jinx Trips victim causing them to fall[21]
V Ventus Jinx Ventus Jet of spiralling wind[22][7]
Vermiculus Jinx Vermiculus Turns things into worms[7]

See also

Behind the scenes

  • J.K. Rowling defined jinxes as "spells whose effects are irritating but amusing."[2]
  • As with most spell names, this classification is not hard and fast; for instance, Tom Riddle's Jinx on the Defence Professorship of Hogwarts was neither a minor effect, nor amusing, nor truly irritating. Indeed, it proved lethal for its targets on several occasions. Less strikingly, other jinxes, while admittedly "amusing", have also demonstrated lethal consequences, such as the tree animating jinx. 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."[23] This shows that the categorization 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

Notes and references

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