Extraordinary NonVerbal Spell

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 File:OOTP Umbridge spelling a couple apart.gif
A **nonverbal spell** was a spell which was performed without the casting wizard or witch speaking the incantation aloud. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry began teaching nonverbal magic to students in their ***sixth year*** in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfiguration; the students were expected to use spells nonverbally from then on.

## Performance

Performing spells non-verbally was very difficult and required a good deal of practice, as it required concentration and mental discipline alone. Harry Potter noted that several students in his class looked "*like they had received an overdose in **U-No-Poo***", (a product of *Weasley's Wizard Wheezes* that caused constipation), while attempting nonverbal spells.

Different wand-woods might also affect the performance of casting non-verbal magic. Many wands made from ***Dogwood*** were rather noisy, and refused to perform non-verbal magic, whereas wands of ***Pine*** were some of the most sensitive to non-verbal magic. ***Willow*** wands possessed a well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic, but of all woods, ***Alder*** was known as being the best suited for non-verbal magic.

### Effectiveness

Some spells, such as *Levicorpus*, were easier to perform nonverbally than others. Most spells, however, seemed to be less effective than normal when the incantation was not said. For example, according to Hogwarts ***nurse*** Poppy Pomfrey, the unnamed curse that critically injured Hermione Granger during the ***Battle of the Department of Mysteries*** might have been fatal had ***Antonin Dolohov*** not been silenced when he used it.

## Known practitioners

The following is a list of wizards and witches known to have nonverbally performed spells that are usually performed with an incantation.

* Arthur Weasley
* Cornelius Fudge
* Draco Malfoy
* Filius Flitwick
* Gilderoy Lockhart
* Harry Potter
* Hermione Granger
* Lord Voldemort
* Lucius Malfoy
* Minerva McGonagall
* Molly Weasley
* Poppy Pomfrey
* Quirinus Quirrell
* Rubeus Hagrid
* Severus Snape

## Behind the scenes

* In many of the Harry Potter films, especially in the later ones, combat and duels are portrayed as being conducted almost entirely nonverbally, such as the ***Duel in the Ministry Atrium*** and Harry's final duel with Voldemort during the ***Battle of Hogwarts***. This is probably done to keep the duels fast-paced and dramatic. It may also be that gestures or wand movements translate into the spell that the user desires to cast, making it not always necessary to speak it.
* In Template:PS, Quirrell used a non-verbal wandless spell to start up some fire in order to stop Harry Potter from running.
* Hermione Granger may have used *Wingardium Leviosa* or ***Descendo*** in Template:OOTP to levitate the prophecies to smash one of the ***Death Eaters*** chasing them.
* It is notable that Rubeus Hagrid was able to perform non-verbal magic despite him having been expelled from Hogwarts well before his sixth year and despite having had his wand snapped. This means that if a wizard or witch is sufficiently talented, they can perform non-verbal magic effectively even if they had not been trained in its use.
* In a chat with fans on ***the-leaky-cauldron.org*** ***J. K. Rowling*** answered a fan's question why Albus Dumbledore was sometimes able to see Harry under the Cloak of Invisibility that he used the ***Revelio Charm*** with non-verbal magic.
* In the film Template:COG, ***Gellert Grindelwald*** casts ***Protego Diabolica*** nonverbally. This is not ***canon***, as he speaks the incantation aloud in the ***script*** itself.

## Appearances

* Template:PS Template:1st
* Template:COS
* Template:POA
* Template:GOF
* Template:OOTP
* Template:HBP Template:1st ID
* Template:DH
* Template:DH
* Template:DH
* Template:FB
* Template:FB
* Template:COG
* Template:COG
* Template:SOD
* Template:SOD
* Template:PM Template:Mention
* Template:WW Template:Mention
* Template:WWHP
* Template:HM
* Template:MA
* Template:HL

## Notes and references

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Template:Charms
Template:Regular Defence Against on-the Rare Dark Arts

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Template:HBP
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Template:WW
3. ↑ Template:OOTP
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Template:POA
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Template:PSTemplate:PS Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "PS" defined multiple times with different content
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Template:COS
7. ↑ Given the fact Riddle was not technically alive at this point, only a sentient memory, is can be argued that he wasn't actually casting a spell.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Template:POA
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Template:GOF
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Template:DH
11. ↑ In Template:DH, Harry casts his Patronus at ***Luna Lovegood***'s urging and with great effort. No incantation is mentioned, but Harry's perception of sound at the time was severely distorted by the presence of many ***Dementors***, and there is also no mention of the others who also cast the Patronus speaking the incantation. It is also not specifically stated to be a nonverbal or silent use. See this article's talk page for more information.
12. ↑ Template:COS
13. ↑ Template:CC
14. ↑ Template:OOTP
15. ↑ J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript on the-leaky-cauldron.org