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- "Vermillious, otherwise known as Red Sparks, is an excellent spell for emergencies. If you're ever in danger, fire Red Sparks into the air to call for help."
- —Filius Flitwick[src]
Red Sparks (Vermillious) is a charm that precipitates a jet of red sparks from the tip of the wand,[2] something that may be useful to signal an emergency and call for help.[1] It can also be used offensively as a minor duelling spell,[3][4] but it is not effective against armoured or metallic opponents.[5] It is covered in the book The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble.[2]
Vermillious Duo and Vermillious Tria are more powerful versions of Red Sparks.[4][5]
History
A Hogwarts student casting Red Sparks
During the 1987–1988 school year, Red Sparks was part of the fourth-year Charms curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]
In 1992, while searching for an injured unicorn, Rubeus Hagrid instructed Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Draco Malfoy to send red sparks in the air if they were trouble, and Neville Longbottom did use it later that night.[6]
In 1995, champions who were lost in the Third Task Maze would send up red sparks, and when Viktor Krum got knocked out, Cedric Diggory used the Red Sparks to signal that he was down.[7]
Following the American National Quidditch team's win at the semi-finals of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup against Liechtenstein, red, white and blue sparks filled the air so thickly it was difficult to see or breathe.[8]
Known practitioners
Add a photo to this galleryEtymology
- Vermillious derives from the English word vermilion, a term for a shade of brilliant red. Interestingly, the incantation has two letter "L"s, but the proper spelling of vermilion has only one "L".
See also
Behind the scenes
- It's possible that the Order of the Phoenix might have used the spell in 1995 as the signal for the Advance Guard escorting Harry Potter to 12 Grimmauld Place.[10]
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry's usage of Red Sparks was replaced by using Periculum.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (GBC version) (First appearance as Vermillious)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (GBC version)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Possible appearance)
- Pottermore (First identified as Red Sparks) (Spells/Duels)
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First identified as both Red Sparks and Vermillious)
- Harry Potter Trading Card Game (First identified as Vermillious)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Chapter 4 (Curse-Breakers) - Charms Lesson "Vermillious"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pottermore - When selecting The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection under the "Spells" menu. (see this image)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 9 (The Midnight Duel) - "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage."
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) - GBC version
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) - GBC version
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 15 (The Forbidden Forest)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ Pottermore - USA VERSUS LIECHTENSTEIN (Archived)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedHHcharms - ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
