Inferius (Harry Potter)

An **Inferius** (pl. **Inferi**) was a dead body reanimated by a Dark wizard's curse. They were similar, but intrinsically distinct from a zombie. Inferi were created through the magical branch of Dark Arts called necromancy, which was the art of raising the dead. The spells used to reanimate the corpse were very complex.

## History

### Early history

There was once a Relic that was able to summon Inferi and heal those afflicted by Dark Magic by the way of a sacrifice. It was first discovered by a student of Salazar Slytherin in the first millennium A.D., who recorded in his notes. Eventually, Sebastian Sallow sought out this artefact in the hopes of curing his sister, Anne, from a curse. Upon getting his hands on it, Sebastian summoned a horde of Inferi that endangered the town of Feldcroft, until the artefact was destroyed by his uncle, Solomon Sallow.

In 1899, it was mentioned that the Dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, sought to create an army of Inferi, and believed that the Resurrection Stone could grant him such powers. It is unknown as to whether he succeeded, though his conception of the stone's abilities was in fact incorrect, as it brings back souls from the realm of the dead as more-than-ghost but less-than-alive state, not as a living body.

### First Wizarding War

During the First Wizarding War, Voldemort was known to have created an army of Inferi from the large number of people he murdered. He placed such an army within the lake of Salazar Slytherin's Locket's hiding place.

The Inferi in question were mostly vagrant, homeless Muggles murdered by Voldemort, but some of them were the earthly remains of wizards and witches who 'disappeared' during the war without explanation. This could possibly include wizards from the Ministry, members of the Order that were never found, or just random unlucky witches and wizards.

In 1979, when Regulus Black attempted to destroy the said Horcrux, he succumbed to the Drink of Despair's effects and tried to take a drink of water from the lake, only to trigger the Inferi, who killed him. Kreacher, his house elf, managed to make it out of the cave with the locket. Regulus' body most likely remains in the crystal cave as part of Voldemort's army.

### Second Wizarding War

"*The wandlight had slid over a fresh patch of water and showed Harry, this time, a dead man lying faceup inches beneath the surface, his open eyes misted as though with cobwebs...*"
— Harry looks at an Inferius in the lake in the Crystal Cave[src]

The Ministry warned the community that Lord Voldemort may be using Inferi once again in the Second Wizarding War, and it was mentioned that he did use Inferi during the First War.

During the 1996–1997 school year, Professor Severus Snape taught his sixth year Defence Against the Dark Arts class about the Inferi. In his first lesson, he showed them gruesome pictures of a person killed by an Inferi, as a bloody mass upon ground.

In 1997, Mundungus Fletcher impersonated an Inferius during an attempted burglarly, and was arrested and sent to Azkaban for it. It was reported in an article in the Daily Prophet.

Later that year, Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore encountered the very same army of Inferi as Regulus in their attempt to destroy Voldemort's locket Horcrux. At a point in time Dumbledore deduced the location of one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and discovered its hiding place as a crystal cave by the sea. At first, the Inferi remained inert as the two sailed in the boat towards the central island. Harry saw something move below the water and at that time that was the most physical movement they showed.

When Dumbledore suffered from the Drink of Despair's thirst-inducing effects, Harry had to take some water from the lake (as this was the only option available to quench the thirst). Contact with the water triggered the Inferi, whom nearly dragged Harry to the depths of the lake to drown. Dumbledore successfully repelled them by conjuring a ring of fire, big enough to surround both Harry and himself. Once all the Inferi returned into the lake they did not resurface even when Dumbledore's ring of fire faltered.

For some reason Voldemort did not have his Inferi Army join the rest of his forces to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts. It's possible that he had no way to transfer them from his cave, though there is a distinct chance that they *did* participate and simply weren't noticed by Harry. It's unknown what happened to the Inferi after the end of the Second Wizarding War, though it is possible that since the magic animating them originated with Voldemort and said magic often dies when the wizard who cast it dies, the Inferi merely returned to being actual dead corpses.

### 2014 Quidditch World Cup

"*Malicious and baseless…*"
— The ICWQC on rumours that Haitian National Quidditch team[src]

In 2014, rumours that the Haitian National Quidditch team was using Inferi to intimidate other teams were dismissed by the International Confederation of Wizards Quidditch Committee as untrue.

However, the rumours proved true when Inferi attacked crowds in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, devouring those who tripped. In the end, 300 casualties from shock, broken bones, and bites resulted from the disastrous opening ceremony, one being an infected Sasabonsam bite on Jamaican keeper Kquewanda Bailey.

## Description

### Physical appearance

An Inferius was a grisly puppet. The Inferi were gaunt, skeletal beings that closely resembled zombies. Being human corpses, they had individual appearances based on the humans they had been created from. For example, one Inferius might have dull teeth, while another might have sharp teeth.

Some might have hair, others might not have any at all — depending on the age of the human at time of death and the corpse's state of decay. The most obvious sign that one was facing an Inferius rather than a living human were the white and cloudy eyes, indicating their owner was devoid of any form of life.

### Nature

"*The Inferius is a corpse that has been reanimated by a Dark wizard's spells. It is not alive, it is merely used like a puppet to do the wizard's bidding.*"
— Severus Snape regarding what an Inferius is[src]

The spells used to reanimate a human body were much more complex than those used, for instance, to make inanimate objects fly. The Inferius might be cursed to respond lethally if disturbed, to kill indiscriminately, and to undertake perilous jobs for its master. Its limitations were, however, obvious; it had no will and no brain of its own, and would not be able to think its way out of unforeseen trouble. As a warrior or guardian with no regard for its own safety, however, it had many uses.

Due to their status as being unfeeling dead, the Inferi were immune to bodily damages such as slashing, and had great physical strength, enough to kill a human or drag them away. Due to their superior strength and surprising speed, they were especially dangerous en masse.

As no spell could bring back the dead, the Inferi were not alive, just corpse puppets. Despite this, it may have been possible that they could speak. Preserved indefinitely by dark magic, an Inferius could only be destroyed by fire, for no spell had been found to render dead flesh impervious to burning. Inferi were therefore usually enchanted to avoid flames by their master.

Albus Dumbledore stated that despite the Inferi being used like puppets to do their creator's bidding, they could still feel wrath towards their creator when they were stirred, which is why he believed Voldemort created the boat in the Cave.

## Defence against Inferi

"*However, like many creatures that dwell in cold and darkness, they fear light and warmth... Fire, Harry.*"
— Albus Dumbledore on the defence against Inferius[src]

Because Inferi were creatures of the dark, they disliked light and heat (no spell had been found to render dead flesh impervious to burning). The most effective spell against them was therefore a fire-summoning spell, such as Firestorm. Because of this, the Inferi were enchanted by their master to avoid flames. Other spells might work against a few Inferi, but might not be useful against a whole army of them.

It must be noted that Inferi were resistant to most spells: they couldn't feel pain, and thus were unaffected by many attacks whose main effect was pain such as the Cruciatus Curse. This was evident when Harry Potter attempted to use the dark spell *Sectumsempra* on the Inferi in the Crystal Cave, as they had no blood to spill.

## Etymology

*Inferius* is a tampered form of the Latin word for "underneath; below", *Inferus*, but with an obvious connotation of being 'lesser' than a living human. Meanwhile, *Inferi* means "the dead; underworld". J. K. Rowling has changed this real Latin words to form these creatures.

## Behind the scenes

* According to W.O.M.B.A.T., Inferi may have the ability to speak.
* Inferi may have been briefly referred to by Voldemort in the Little Hangleton Graveyard as part of an "army of creatures whom all fear".
* Inferi may be incredibly strong as a picture in Snape's Defence Against the Dark Arts class shows a bloody mass on the floor, attributing to a person provoking the anger of Inferi. Alternatively, this could be attributed to their viciousness and implacability.
* Zombies are different from Inferi, although they have much in common. It seems that zombies are naturally formed, while Inferi are artificially created. J. K. Rowling decided against naming the Inferi zombies because zombies are not part of British folklore. Also, one tradition has the sorcerer using a zombie's soul, or part of it, to sustain himself, which she decided conflicted with her Horcrux story.
* In the first part video game adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Inferi appear again, despite them not being in the mainstream storyline.

### Rowling's comments

* "*Inferi have much in common with zombies, which are mentioned as separate creatures within Harry's world. I had several good reasons for not wishing to call the guardians of the locket Horcrux 'zombies'. Firstly, zombies are not part of British folklore, but associated with the myths of Haiti and parts of Africa. While the students of Hogwarts would learn about them, they would not expect to meet them walking down the streets of Hogsmeade. Secondly, while zombies of the Vodou tradition can be nothing more than reanimated corpses, a separate but related tradition has it that the sorcerer uses their souls, or part of their souls, to sustain himself. This conflicted with my Horcrux story, and I did not wish to suggest that Voldemort had any more use for his Inferi than as guards of his Horcrux. Lastly, zombies have been represented and reinterpreted on film so often in the last fifty years that they have a whole raft of associations that were of no use to me. I'm part of the 'Thriller' generation; to me, a zombie will always mean Michael Jackson in a bright red bomber jacket.*
* *The name Inferius was a play on 'Inferus', which is Latin for 'below', but with an obvious connotation of being 'lesser' than a living human. 'Inferi' means the underworld*."