Dangling Jinx

Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in:Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery &Harry Potter: Magic Awakened. As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

Dangling Jinx

Incantation

Levicorpus^[1]
(leh-vee-COR-pus)^[1]

Type

Jinx^[1][2][3]

Hand movement

Light

Green^[4]

Effect

Suspends people by the ankles in the air^[1]

Creator

Severus Snape^[5][6][7]

TheDangling Jinx^[3] (Levicorpus)^[1] was ajinx,^[2] which was intended to be castnonverbally^[1] but theincantation could also be spoken aloud,^[8] caused the victim to be hoisted into the air by their ankle; thecounter-jinx for this jinx wasLiberacorpus.^[1]

History[]

This jinx wasinvented bySeverus Snape and recorded under his pseudonym the "Half-Blood Prince" during his time as a student atHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.^[5][6][7] According toRemus 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.^[9]

It is unclear whenSeverus Snape invented thisjinx, asJames Potter knew it in hisfifth year, whereas it was noted in Snape'sNEWT-level textbook. Furthermore, according toSirius Black, Snape "knew morecurses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year."^[10]

During the1986–1987 school year,Cecil Lee put on asock which had beenbewitched with this spell. He was eventually freed from it byJacob's sibling andMerula Snyde.^[11]

Known uses[]

Successful[]

Caster(s)	Victim(s)	Date	Notes
James Potter	Severus Snape	June1976	Used it to bully him after anO.W.L. exam.[12][9][13]
Unknown (via acursed sock)	Cecil Lee	1986–1987 school year	The jinx was placed on asock which was intended to be used as a demonstration ofcurse-breaking forHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students, but ended up jinxing the replacement instructor, Cecil Lee.[11]
Death Eaters	Roberts family	22 August1994	Used during the attack at the422ndQuidditch World Cup, byDeath Eaters to torture a family ofMuggles.[4][14]
Harry Potter	Ron Weasley	12 October1996	Used itnonverbally without a clear idea of what the effects would be, after he found theHalf-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion-Making that contained this spell.[1]
		1 March1997	Used it to levitate Ron when he hit him after Harry ridiculed his obsessive feelings forRomilda Vane, due to eatinglove potion-spikedChocolate Cauldrons intended for Harry.[15]
Tom Riddle	Mykew Gregorovitch	2 September1997	Used it to suspend Gregorovitch in the air, before interrogating andmurdering him in hiswand shop.[16]
Hermione Granger	Harry Potter	1 May1998	Used it to levitate Harry by the ankle in theLestrange Vault duringbreak-in so that he could reach theHorcruxCup.[8]
Ringkull	Tiburon Merriweather's great-grandchild	2010s	Used it to suspend the student in the air while he was trying to trap them in an attempt to bring his master back to life.[17]
Draco Malfoy	Harry Potter	September2020	Used it duringhis duel with Harry.[18]

Unsuccessful[]

Known practitioners[]

Severus Snape^[5][6][7]

James Potter^[12][9][13]

Harry Potter^[1][15][2]

Hermione Granger^[8]

Draco Malfoy^[18]

Lucius Malfoy^[4][14]

Tom Riddle^[16]

Ringkull^[17]

Etymology[]

Theincantation can be divided into two separateLatin words;levare means "lift", andcorpus is translated to "body". It could also be translated as "Light Body".

Behind the scenes[]

• The effect of this spell may be a reference toThe Hanged Man, aTarot 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, asHermione Granger successfully used it inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by speaking the incantation out loud.
• In thefilm adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (and itsvideo game adaptation), this is a verbal spell taught toDumbledore'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 whenCho Chang was distractedly looking at Harry whileNigel, who she was levitating, suddenly fell to the floor. However, whenLuna Lovegood uses it on aDeath Eater in theMinistry of Magic, it sends the Death Eater flying upwards, similarly toAlarte 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 untilHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 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 theImpediment Jinx instead ofLevicorpus, though Severus still was dangled upside-down.
• InHarry Potter for Kinect, Voldemort can use this spell against Dumbledore in the finalduel in the Ministry Atrium as they engage in a normal duel.
• InHarry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, the spell can be unlocked by reaching the maximum level of friendship withGeorge Weasley.

Appearances[]

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire(First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)(Seen in trailer)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix(Appears in flashback(s))
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince(First identified asLevicorpus)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)(Indirectly mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play)
• Pottermore
• HarryPotter.com(First identified as Dangling Jinx)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4(DS/PSP versions)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7(DS version)
• Harry Potter for Kinect
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened(Mentioned inHistory of Magic classes)

Notes and references[]