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"Harry had already attempted a few of the Prince's self-invented spells. There had been a hex that caused toenails to grow alarmingly fast."
— The toenail-growing hex[src]

A hex was one of the three types of dark charms, along with Jinxes and Curses.[1] Hexes were intermediate Dark Magic, and therefore their effects were moderately severe. The effects of a hex caused a major inconvenience and/or a low level of harm to the target.[2]

Usage[]

Hexes could be defended against using Hex-deflection;[6][7] Salvio hexia was a protective enchantment used for this purpose.[8][7] Hexes could also be countered by using a Hex-Breaker or Hex Zapper, which both countered their effects.[9]

Hexes could be used in both a defensive and offensive capacity.[10][11][12][13][14][4] For instance, Ginny Weasley gained a reputation for being an accomplished caster of the Bat-Bogey Hex,[15] particularly in 1996 after using it to free herself from Dolores Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad[14] and also for casting it on Zacharias Smith from her carriage on the Hogwarts Express.[16]

List of hexes[]

Name Incantation Effect
B Bat-Bogey Hex Caused the target's bogeys to turn into large, black bats and fly out their nose to attack them.[14][3]
Bedazzling Hex Disguises things.[17]
C Confusion Hex Impaired foes by weakening their mental awareness, making them more vulnerable to attack.[18]
D Densaugeo Grotesquely elongated teeth.[11][19]
Deterioration Hex Impaired foes and reduced an opponent's stamina.[20]
H Horn Tongue Hex Turned the target's tongue into a horn.[21]
Hurling Hex Caused a broomstick to attempt to hurl its rider off.[22][23]
I Illegal growth hex Head growth.[24]
Impediment Hex[25] Impedimenta[26] Slowed down the movement of the target.[26]
Insect Hex[27] Entomorphis[28] Induced insectoid characteristics in the victim, such as feelers.[29][27]
Instant scalping hex Shaved all the hair off a target's scalp.[21]
K Knee-Reversal Hex Switched knees from front of legs to back.[30][3]
P Pepper Breath Inflicted fiery hot breath.[21]
Pus Squirting Hex Caused pus to erupt from the victim's nose.[31]
S Sardine Hex[32] Caused the victim to sneeze sardines.[33]
Stickfast Hex Colloshoo Made target's shoes stick to ground.[34]
Stinging Hex[12] Stung the victim's flesh.[12][35]
T Tickling Hex Titillando Tickled target and weakened.[34]
Toenail-growing hex Caused its victim's toenails to grow alarmingly fast.[36]
Twitchy-Ears Hex Made victim's ears twitch.[6][3]
W Weakening Hex Impaired foes and reduced the damage they could cause via their spell casting.[18]

Etymology[]

The word "hex" may have been derived from Pensylvania German hexe meaning "to practise witchcraft" or German hexen "to hex",[37] a meaning that the word still retains today when used as a verb. Its usage as a noun in contemporary English may refer to "a magic spell" or "a charm" and usually carries an connotation of ill will (though it used to refer to a an evil witch; such as a Hag as well).[37][38] In Dutch, a witch is called a heks, which is pronounced the same way as hex.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Even though Rowling herself specified the differences between curses, hexes, and jinxes, she states that "Within the Potter world, the boundaries are flexible and I imagine that wizards may have their own ideas."[1] This shows that the categorisation of dark charms is not set and stone, and may sometimes be used interchangeably. This explains why some spells are known by multiple names, like why the Stinging Jinx is also sometimes known as the Stinging Hex.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Pottermore - The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 J.K.Rowling Official Site - Extra Stuff
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Wonderbook: Book of Spells
  4. 4.0 4.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 28 (Flight of the Prince)
  5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 28 (The Madness of Mr Crouch)
  7. 7.0 7.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 2 (Grave Danger) - Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson "Hex-Deflection"
  8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 14 (The Thief)
  9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
  10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 3 (The Burrow)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 18 (The Weighing of the Wands)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 24 (Occlumency)
  13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 27 (The Centaur and the Sneak)
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 33 (Fight and Flight)
  15. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 6 (The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black)
  16. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7 (The Slug Club)
  17. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 21 (The Tale of the Three Brothers)
  18. 18.0 18.1 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
  19. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 26 (Chaos Ensues) - Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson "Densaugeo"
  20. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (see this image)
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 20 (The First Task)
  22. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 11 (The Firebolt)
  23. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 2, Quidditch Season 1, Chapter 2 (The Road to Tryouts)
  24. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 24 (Sectumsempra)
  25. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  26. 26.0 26.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 31 (The Third Task)
  27. 27.0 27.1 Harry Potter (website) - A guide to the lesser known spells in the wizarding world
  28. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
  29. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 1 (Dudley Demented)
  30. Quidditch Through the Ages, Chapter 3 (The Game from Queerditch Marsh)
  31. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 10 (The House of Gaunt)
  32. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay (see this image)
  33. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) - GBC version
  34. 34.0 34.1 Pottermore - Curses and Counter-Curses
  35. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor)
  36. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 12 (Silver and Opals)
  37. 37.0 37.1 Hex, etymology of
  38. Hex, definition of
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