Shield Charm

### **CLASSIFICATION:**

The following spell: **Shield Charm** has been given the designation as a ***charm***. For more information, click on the link above.

## Shield Charm

### Effects:

Reflected spells and blocked physical forces

The **Shield Charm** (*Protego*) was a charm that protected the caster with an invisible shield that reflected spells and blocked physical entities.

It was apart of the Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum and was taught to sixth years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There were also multiple variations of the Shield Charm.

## Casting and effects

When cast, a (usually) invisible shield was conjured in front of the caster's wand, creating a protective barrier between themselves and their attacker. This shield could block and reflect a multitude of spells, such as most **Jinxes**, hexes, and minor **Curses**, as well as block physical forces. Exceptionally powerful Shield Charms were even able to knock people off their feet. However, this shield aren't completely impenetrable, as it couldn't block Unforgivable Curses.

The difficulty of casting a Shield Charm was relatively moderate. Fred and George Weasley realised that most adult wizards, even those employed by the Ministry of Magic, could not produce a functional Shield Charm (something that not only could Harry Potter accomplish at age fourteen, but also imparted to members of the D.A.). They used this to their advantage when marketing their line of protective clothing (hats, cloaks, gloves), upon which permanent Shield Charms were cast

## Variations

* Protego Totalum
* Protego Maxima
* Protego Horribilis
* Protego Diabolica

# Protego Totalum

## Protego Totalum

### Incantation:

Protego Totalum(pro-TAY-goh TOH-tuh-luhm)

### Effects:

Protects an area

***Protego totalum*** was the incantation of a protective enchantment used to shield a certain area or dwelling for an extended period of time. It was a variation of the ***Shield Charm***, and was used to stop and repel any intruder and/or spell from the protected area, except the most powerful ***curses***, including the ***Unforgivable Curses***.

# Salvio Hexia

***Salvio hexia*** was the incantation of a protective enchantment which deflected hexes from the area.

## History

During the 1988–1989 school year, Patricia Rakepick, the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor for that academic year, taught this charm to her fifth-year DADA students, as something useful and practical to learn, considering the poor teaching that they had received from previous Professors.
In 1997, during their Horcrux hunt, Hermione Granger used this protective charm to seal off an area in the Forest of Dean where she, Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter were staying, to protect them from any dark forces that might have harmed them there, along with other protective charms. Harry Potter cast this spell before he and Hermione visited Bathilda Bagshot.
In 1998, Hermione performed this spell again to protect her, Ron and Harry in a field somewhere in Devon, after they disapparated away from the Lovegood House, where they were attacked by Death Eaters.
After the trio retrieved Hufflepuff's Cup from Gringotts Harry cast this spell on an embankment before breaking into Hogsmeade.

# Repello Muggletum

The **Muggle-Repelling Charm** (*Repello Muggletum*) was a charm that prevented Muggles from seeing or entering an area. Any non-magic person that would get close to the vicinity of the enchantment would remember something urgent to do and leave.

Every inch of the Quidditch Trillenium Stadium was covered in Muggle-Repelling Charms for the 1994 Quidditch World Cup in Dartmoor.

Hogwarts Castle and Durmstrang Castle were both protected by Muggle-Repelling Charms.

## Known Uses

According to Newton Scamander in *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*, Muggle-Repelling Charms were used on the habitats of some magical creatures. Also according to him, the powers of certain magical creatures — such as the Kelpie or Pogrebin — could negate the effects of the Muggle-Repelling Charm, due to their own innate powers *existing* to attract humans.

Hermione Granger and Harry Potter used this spell to protect their campsite from 1997-1998 while hunting Horcruxes.

# Protego Maxima

## Protego Maxima

### Effects:

Summons a large protective barrier

***Protego Maxima*** was a stronger version of the Shield Charm that, when cast in combination with *Fianto Duri* and *Repello Inimicum*, conjured up an almost impregnable magical protection barrier.

## Effect

People who were out of the shield couldn't see and hear the wizards or witches that were protected. Spells cast at it (if not of enough power to break it) created large, resonating explosions. This spell was the core of the shield summoned around Hogwarts; it was the shield itself that was seen descending over the castle. It should be noted however that on occasion protective enchantments could be breached with a shield penetration spell.

# Fianto Duri

## Fianto Duri

### Effects:

Strengthens magical protections

***Fianto Duri*** was the incantation of a charm that, when combined with a protective spell such as *Protego Maxima*, could cause magical defences to become hard or more durable.

## Effects

Bodies crossing the boundaries of the barrier disintegrate on the spot (which may or may not be an effect of this spell,) while spells cast at it (if not of enough power to break it) create large, resonating explosions. This spell's effect was most likely one that, when combined with the other two, bolsters the strength of the shield itself against extremely powerful spells; this was unlike minor shield spells, which only block weak jinxes, hexes and curses. Given its etymology, it was likely this spell causes a solid barrier to be made out of spells such as *Protego Maxima* or other protective spells.

# Repello Inimicum

## Repello Inimicum

### Incantation:

Repello Inimicum(re-PEH-lloh ee-nee-MEE-cum)

### Effects:

Repels enemies; if used with Protego Maxima and Fianto Duri, it disintegrates anything that comes in contact with the barrier

***Repello Inimicum*** was the incantation of a charm that, when cast in combination with *Protego Maxima* and *Fianto Duri*, conjured up a barrier of magical protection around the place the caster is trying to protect.

## Effects:

Bodies crossing the boundaries of the barrier of this spell disintegrated on the spot and spells cast at it if they are unable to break the barrier, create large, resonating explosions.

# Protego Horribilis

## Protego Horribilis

### Incantation:

Protego Horribilis(proh-TAY-goh hor-i-BIL-luhs)

### Effects:

Summons a powerful protective barrier

***Protego horribilis*** was the incantation of a powerful protective charm.

## Description

It was probably the most powerful version of the Shield Charm, which was used as a protective enchantment against anything approaching the protected area, and against any dark magic, except the Killing Curse, which was unblockable with *any* Shield Charm and passed through it, presumably leaving holes into the magical shield. By extended use of the shield penetration spell, the magical shield could eventually be broken down.

## History

This spell was cast by Charms Master Filius Flitwick to protect the boundaries of Hogwarts Castle from the Death Eater forces in the late hours of 1 May, 1998, prior to the Battle of Hogwarts that started the next day.

# Protego Diabolica

## Protego Diabolica

### Incantation:

Protego Diabolica(proh-TAY-goh dia-BOHL-i-cuh)

### Effects:

Creates protective black fire that only burns the caster's enemies whilst leaving their allies unharmed

***Protego Diabolica*** was the incantation of a powerful dark charm that allowed the user to create a protective ring of black fire around them that completely incinerated enemies of the caster who came into contact with it while leaving their allies unharmed. It was similar to ***Fiendfyre***, but was a different spell.

## History

In 1927, Gellert Grindelwald cast this spell in the Lestrange Mausoleum to test the loyalty of his followers and kill a number of his enemies, most of whom were Aurors trying to arrest him. Because they were loyal, Vinda Rosier, Queenie Goldstein, Abernathy, and Credence Barebone all passed through the fire into the circle. Krall, who considered turning against Grindelwald, failed to enter. Several victims who never attempted to cross either escaped the ring or fell to its wrath.

During the 1990–1991 school year, Professor Albus Dumbledore came to conclude that Jacob's life-threatening burns that he was being treated for at St Mungo's was *Protego Diabolica*, and informed Jacob's sibling about it. Jacob's sibling then told Healer Miriam Strout about this at St Mungo's, and she went to adjust Jacob's treatments accordingly, telling them that their brother would be healed soon, and that she was surprised he had survived such a spell, assuming Jacob must have used the Shield Charm at the right time. Strout's treatments managed to save Jacob's life, and a recovering Jacob told their sibling from his hospital bed that he had indeed found Dai Ryusaki's Dark Scroll in a cave in Japan, and that *Protego Diabolica* sprung a trap around it when he tried to reach it.