Sacrificial protection

"*Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.*"
— Dumbledore regarding the power of love

**Sacrificial protection** was an ancient, powerful, and long-lasting counter-charm. It was endowed when one person (whom we will call "the victim" for purposes of this article) ultimately sacrificed their own life willingly and out of deep, pure love to save the life of one or more people (to whom this article will refer as "beneficiaries"). Some people regarded sacrificial protection as "the ultimate protection".

## Requirements

In order for the protection to form, the victim must be given the option to live, but consciously chose death.

This is why James Potter's death didn't confer magical protection on Liliana and Harry in 1980; as Voldemort was set upon killing James and thus never gave him an opportunity to choose to save himself. On the other hand, Liliana was offered the chance to step aside because Voldemort had promised Regulus Black that he wouldn't kill her unless she got in his way. Her conscious refusal to comply with Voldemort's demand was why unusually strong magical protection was conferred upon her son.

It would seem that the protection could take effect even if the opportunity for self-preservation was presented only by circumstance. In 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort gave Harry one hour to surrender himself, vowing to hunt him down if he did not show up in that time. Although Voldemort was determined to kill Harry, his sacrificial protection worked to save his friends, presumably because he willingly gave himself up despite having enough time to try to run away, whereas James was only given a minute's notice of Voldemort's arrival. He even arrived to face Voldemort just after the required hour and by that time Voldemort thought he wasn't coming.

### Effects

"*But I knew too where Voldemort was weak. And so I made my decision. You would be protected by an ancient magic of which he knows, which he despises, and which he has always, therefore, underestimated — to his cost. I am speaking, of course, of the fact that your mother died to save you. She gave you a lingering protection he never expected, a protection that flows in your veins to this day.*"
— The effects of sacrificial protection

Sacrificial protection could be conferred on a single beneficiary or on a group of them. After the sacrifice, the protection would live on in the beneficiary's veins.

In cases involving a single person, the protection prevented whoever had murdered the victim from physically touching the beneficiary without experiencing excruciating pain, and would cause a Killing Curse cast at the beneficiary by the murderer to rebound.

In cases involving multiple beneficiaries, the extent of the protection isn't known, but it seems that it was less than in single-beneficiary cases. The spells cast by the murderer at those beneficiaries would simply wear off more quickly rather than be reflected back, although it is unknown how that would apply to the Killing Curse. However, the difference in the level of protection could also be attributed to whether or not the victim actually died since, in the only known case in which sacrificial protection was conferred to a group of people, the victim survived.

## Blood connection

Another defensive effect of sacrificial protection bound the beneficiary to life when his or her blood was transferred to another person as long as that person lived. This was seen when Harry cast the counter-charm and suffered a Killing Curse again, but survived. However, if the blood was transferred to the murderer, then the murderer would be able to overcome some aspects of the protection. Evidence of this could be seen in the way that Lord Voldemort was able to touch Harry Potter and harm him after his rebirth and resurrection.

"*She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you.*"
— Explanation of the bond of blood

If the victim was related to the beneficiary, then a powerful charm known as the bond of blood charm could be cast upon the beneficiary to give them additional protection, although it is unknown how closely the two must be related for this charm to work. This charm prevented any harm from coming to the beneficiary from the murderer while they were in a blood-related relative's home.

In order for this charm's power to take effect, the living blood-relative must first take the saved person into their home willingly.. However, the additional protection would break automatically when the saved person moved out permanently or turned seventeen (the age of majority in the British wizarding world), whichever happened first.

## Known occurrences

**Harry Potter**: "*I was ready to die to stop you hurting these people —*"
**Lord Voldemort**: "*But you did not!*"
**Harry Potter**: "*— I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them.*"
— Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort in their ultimate duel.

 Harry Potter
 Nathara Prince-Slytherin | Her family and friends