Reviving Spell

Reviving Spell
Incantation	Rennervate (REN-ner-VAH-tay)
Type	Charm
Hand movement	Point wand at chest
Light	Red or none
Effect	Awakened target from unconsciousness

"He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Rennervate!" Winky stirred feebly."

— Amos Diggory using the spell on Winky

The Reviving Spell (Rennervate) was a charm that awakened a living target from a state of unconsciousness. Consequently, it served as the counter-charm to the Stunning Spell.

Effect

This spell was sometimes accompanied by a flash of brilliantly coloured red light, as seen when Harry Potter used it on Albus Dumbledore. However, when Amos Diggory used it on Winky, when Dumbledore used it on Viktor Krum, and when Dumbledore used it on Bartemius Crouch Junior, no light accompanied their incantations. It might be possible that Harry was a less experienced caster, or that Dumbledore was unconscious from an extremely powerful potion and not a spell, or both.

It could be used to counteract a single Stunning Spell, although it was ineffective against multiple Stunners hitting an individual. It was also ineffective against Dark Magic, such as the Drink of Despair, when only used once.

When the spell was used on deceased bodies with the intent to reanimate them, however, they wouldn't come back to life, but rather their physical form could be controlled by the wizard in a form of necromancy.

Known uses

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Gellert Grindelwald	Winter of 1932	Used to reanimate and bewitch a Qilin that he killed to hijack the ICW Election so he could automatically win during the walk of the Qilin.
Minerva McGonagall	1980s/1990s	Used it to try to revive Jacob's sibling's date after being cursed by a bee pendant before Valentine's Day.
Amos Diggory	25 August 1994	Used it to revive Winky after he and other Ministry employees stunned her during an attempt to stun Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger after the 422nd Quidditch World Cup riot.
Albus Dumbledore	24 May 1995	Used it to revive Viktor Krum after he was stunned by Bartemius Crouch Junior disguised as Alastor Moody while watching over Bartemius Crouch Senior.
	24 June 1995	Used it to revive Bartemius Crouch Junior after he was stunned by him.
Harry Potter	Late May 1995	Possibly used it to revive Ron Weasley after he stunned him to prepare for the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament.
	30 June 1997	Used it to revive Albus Dumbledore after he drank the Drink of Despair while searching for the Horcrux locket in the crystal cave.
Morag Campbell	2011 or 2012	Used it to revive Ewan Ward after he was knocked out by Ianna Afolayan with a potted plant.
Constance Pickering	December 2021	Used the spell to revive Grim Fawley soon after she stunned him following Harry Potter's and Hermione Granger's persuasion to do so.

Known practitioners

Gellert Grindelwald

Minerva McGonagall

Amos Diggory

Albus Dumbledore

Harry Potter

Morag Campbell

Constance Pickering

Etymology

The original incantation was Enervate, which means "to weaken". Due to this misconception, J. K. Rowling officially renamed it to "Rennervate", which means "to energise".

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• Hogwarts Legacy
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (First identified as Reviving Charm)

See also

• Revive Potion