Dangling Jinx(-Harry Potter)

> Oh, that one had a great vogue during my time at Hogwarts. There were a few months in my fifth year when you couldn't move for being hoisted into the air by your ankle.
>
> Remus Lupin regarding the popularity of this jinx, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The **Dangling Jinx** (*Levicorpus*) was a jinx, which was intended to be cast nonverbally but the incantation could also be spoken aloud, caused the victim to be hoisted into the air by their ankle; the counter-jinx for this jinx was ***Liberacorpus***.Template:Real Magical Spell

## History

> Pointing his wand at nothing in particular, he gave it an upward flick and said Levicorpus! inside his head... There was a flash of light... Ron was dangling upside down in midair as though an invisible hook had hoisted him up by the ankle.
>
> Harry uses the spell for the first time on Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

 File:LevicorpusHM.png
This jinx was invented by Severus Snape and recorded under his pseudonym the "***Half-Blood Prince***" during his time as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. According to ***Remus Lupin*** this spell became quite popular during his school times and students could barely move about without being hoisted up in the air by their ankle, apparently unaware that Snape had invented it.
It is unclear when Severus Snape invented this jinx, as James Potter knew it in his ***fifth year***, whereas it was noted in Snape's ***NEWT***-level textbook. Furthermore, according to Sirius Black, Snape "*knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year*."

## Known uses

### Successful

> James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants.
>
> James Potter using this jinx to humiliate Severus Snape, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

## Known practitioners

Severus SnapeProfile - James Potter 00I.jpgJames PotterProfile - Harry Potter-COS Promo.jpgHarry PotterProfile - Hermione Granger-COS Promo.jpgHermione GrangerProfile - Draco Malfoy COS.pngDraco MalfoyProfile - Lucius Draco Malfoy-COSF.jpgLucius MalfoyTom Riddle
## Etymology

The incantation can be divided into two separate Latin words; *levare* means "lift", and *corpus* is translated to "body". It could also be translated as "Light Body".

## Behind the scenes

* The effect of this spell may be a reference to the Hanged Man, a Tarot card that depicts a saint-like figure being hung upside down from his ankle.
* Despite being a non-verbal spell, it apparently does work verbally, as Hermione Granger successfully used it in Template:DH by speaking the incantation out loud.
* In Template:OOTP (and its video game adaptation), this is a verbal spell taught to Dumbledore's Army; it is used to lift people in this medium, but not by the ankle, as the victims of the spell are seen being levitated onto the air as long as the user concentrates, whereas loss of concentration causes the spell to break immediately and the victim to fall to the ground. This was shown when Cho Chang was distractedly looking at Harry while Nigel, who she was levitating, suddenly fell to the floor. However, when Luna Lovegood uses it on a Death Eater in the Ministry of Magic, it sends the Death Eater flying upwards, similarly to *Alarte Ascendare*, except that the victim does not come back down, suggesting it does suspend him in the air or to the ceiling. Despite this, Harry does not become aware of this spell himself until Template:HBP, so its inclusion in DA lessons in the fifth film cannot be considered canon for this reason.
* Also in the film, James Potter levitated Severus off the ground with the Impediment Jinx instead of *Levicorpus*, though Severus still was dangled upside-down.
* In Template:HPK, Voldemort can use this spell against Dumbledore in the final Duel in the Ministry Atrium as they engage in a normal duel.
* In Template:HM, the spell can be unlocked by reaching the maximum level of friendship with George Weasley.

## Appearances

* Template:GOF Template:C
* Template:OOTP
* Template:HBP Template:Indirect Template:1st ID
* Template:HPK
* Template:PM
* Template:WW Template:1st ID
* Template:HM
* Template:MA Template:HoM mention

## Notes and references

Template:Reflist

1. ↑ Template:WW - A handy guide to the lesser known spells in the wizarding world
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Template:HBP
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `HBP24`
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Template:DH
5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `HBP-Q`
6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `PM`
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Template:HBP
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Template:HBP Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "HBP16" defined multiple times with different content
9. ↑ Template:GOF
10. ↑ Template:OOTP
11. ↑ Template:DH