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"A loud bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of green light shot out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him reeling backwards onto the grass... Ron opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he gave an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth on to his lap."
— Ron accidentally cursing himself with this spell[src]

The Slug-vomiting Charm[3] (Slugulus Eructo)[1] was a curse,[2] that forced the victim to vomit slugs. They may also have taken on a sallow complexion as a side-effect. It was described as a green jet of light.[2] Treacle fudge can cure the effects in a few seconds,[4] although it will eventually wear off on its own.

History[]

During the 1988–1989 school year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Jacob's sibling ventured out to Knockturn Alley with a companion, during which they encountered a dark witch who maliciously used this curse on Jacob's sibling's companion.[5]

Ron vomiting slugs

Ron vomiting slugs

Towards the start of the 1992–1993 school year, Ron Weasley attempted to curse Draco Malfoy with this spell after Draco referred to Hermione Granger as a "filthy little Mudblood". However, because his wand was broken, the spell backfired, causing Ron to curse himself instead. Ron was then taken inside to Rubeus Hagrid's Hut where he threw up slugs every so often into the basin given to him by Hagrid.[2]

Known practitioners[]

Behind the scenes[]

  • In the British editions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the spell was stated as "Slug-vomiting Charm", with the uppercase S and C,[6] while in the American editions, the spell was stated in all lowercase, "slug-vomiting charm".[7]
  • In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ron shouts "Eat slugs!" but does not say the incantation whilst casting and so must have been casting it nonverbally (and hence must have practised it a lot in the past).
    • Before its actual incantation was revealed, it was believed by some that its incantation was indeed "Eat Slugs" and that the effects had been turned into the opposite by Ron's malfunctioning wand.
  • In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ron throws up single slugs. In the book version, he hurls up numerous slugs of varying sizes at once, sometimes a few, sometimes a veritable flood, like when he was laughing in Hagrid's hut, spilling them onto the floor.
  • In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, the incantation, Slugulus Eructo, is revealed. When shopping in Diagon Alley, if one enters Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, they can buy this spell with 500,000 studs. In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, the spell can be purchased from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. On use, the victim will belch slugs for a short time.
  • Rupert Grint stated that vomiting slugs was the most challenging scene to film in the second film: "I think coughing up slugs was quite hard. Ron has a scene where he has to cough up these giant slugs. I had this giant slug in my mouth loaded with slime and I spat them out. I think it was plastic. I hope it was plastic."[8]
    • Despite the challenge, Rupert apparently enjoyed filming the scene: "It was so fun because they had all these different flavours of slug slime. There was chocolate, there was lemon, there was orange, there was peppermint. All these flavours - they made them taste really nice."[9]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 7 (Mudbloods And Murmurs)
  3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 19 (The Lion and the Serpent) - The spell is referred to by this name in the narration: "Harry was reminded forcibly of the time that Ron had accidentally put a Slug-vomiting Charm on himself".
  4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (GBC version)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 10 (Knockturn Alley)
  6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 19 (The Lion and the Serpent), page 356 (UK hardback: ISBN 13: 978-0-747-55100-3 / ISBN: 0-7475-5100-6)
  7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 19 (The Lion and the Serpent), page 402 (US hardback: ISBN 13: 978-0-439-35806-4 / ISBN: 0-439-35806-X)
  8. Scholastic Interview with Rupert Grint
  9. Mugglenet Profile on Rupert Grint
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