Knownly Incarcerous Spell

> Thin cords shot from ***Lupin's wand*** this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.
>
> Description, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The **Incarcerous Spell** (*Incarcerous*) was a spell that conjured thick ropes or thin cords from "thin air", that bound whatever the caster was pointing their wand at.Template:Real Magical Spell

## Known uses

> **Incarcerous!** A few of them stumbled, one or two of them bound in ropes, but those climbing onto the rock behind them merely stepped over or on the fallen bodies.
>
> Harry Potter conjuring ropes against attacking Inferi with this spell, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

## Known practitioners

Quirinus Quirrel.jpgQuirinus QuirrellSeverus Snape OOTP.jpgSeverus SnapeRemus Lupin Deathly Hallows promo image.jpgRemus LupinWormtail DH1.jpgPeter Pettigrew600full-Albus-Dumbledore-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-photo.jpgAlbus DumbledoreHarry Potter movies hbp promostills 6.jpgHarry PotterDraco Malfoy TDH.pngDraco MalfoyMinerva McGonagall MA.pngMinerva McGonagall
## Etymology

The incantation "*incarcerous*" most likely derives from the Latin word "*incarcerus*", meaning "*to jail*" or "*to imprison*". "*Incarcerus*" is also the Danish translation of "*Incarcerous*".

## Behind the scenes

* In Template:PS, Quirinus Quirrell did not used this spell on Harry Potter by nonverbally and wandlessly to bind and gag Harry, during the Attack in the Underground Chambers.
* In the books, the ropes simply wrap themselves around the centaur's arms and chest; in the film, they also encase his throat, slowly strangling and crushing him while forcing him to the ground. The ropes were animate and therefore could move and constrict their victims similarly to a constrictor snake.
* In the film adaption of Template:DH, a Snatcher is seen casting this spell on Ron Weasley who is bound in chains, of course it could have been a similar spell such as "Incarcereta" (which was used in an early script of the Half Blood Prince film when Harry attacked Snape for killing Dumbledore) but it seems most likely that it was Incarcerous.
* Also in the film adaption of Template:DH, while fighting their way down to the boathouse, Harry is seen casting this spell where a great flash of orange light escapes his wand and a Death Eater that was trying to lunge at him was instantly bound in chains, again it is unclear if this was Incarcerous or a different capturing-type spell.
* An etymologically and functionally related spell is ***Incarcifors***, which transforms objects into prisons to restrict a person's movement.
* Based on conjecture, it is likely that ***Relashio*** or ***Emancipare*** could act as counter-spells to *Incarcerous*. The Revulsion Jinx would be able to release a person from the binding ropes of *Incarcerous*, while the incantation for *Emancipare* is derived from Latin for "set free", suggesting its ability to release a person from any form of incarceration.
* In Template:DH, Minerva McGonagall uses a ***spell to conjure a silver rope*** to tie ***Alecto and Amycus Carrow*** up to the ceiling, which could be Incarcerous or a possibly a variation of it.
* Based on the text files from the PC version of Template:LEGO, *Incarcerous* may have been intended to have a different effect from how it acts in the final game. In the released version of the game, *Incarcerous* is one of the "joke spells" used only to temporarily incapacitate minifigures. The text files of the game, however, call it "the Indy whip tie" [sic], presumably meaning the spell was originally meant to act similarly to Indiana Jones's whip from the *LEGO Indiana Jones* games.

## Appearances

Template:Imagecat

* Template:OOTP Template:1st ID Template:1st
* Template:HBP
* Template:DH
	+ Template:DH
	+ Template:DH
* Template:CC
* Template:CC
* Template:LEGO Template:1st ID
* Template:LEGO
* Template:FBC
* Template:HPV Template:Mention
* Template:HM
* Template:MA Template:1st ID

## See also

* ***Incarcifors***
* ***Fulgari***
* ***Brachiabindo***
* ***Rope Bind***

1. ↑ Template:HBP
2. ↑ Template:DH
3. ↑ *LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4* (Windows) on The Cutting Room Floor