Today, we’re going to be discussing five spells from the wizarding world of Harry Potter. But before we get started, I want you to brace yourselves to the fact that these aren’t just any old five spells.
These are five of the most powerful, destructive spells the wizarding world has ever seen. Spells so formidable that even the notorious Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra, pales in comparison.
The Role of Magic in Combat
Within the wizarding world, magic can be leveraged for a wide variety of functions, from helping with everyday tasks like cleaning, to picking locks, to teleportation.
However, one of the most important uses of magic in a tumultuous wizarding world that seems to embrace a new dark wizard every few decades is the ability to perform martial magic—magic for combat.
In everyday contexts, martial magic is not necessary, but it certainly never hurts to be prepared for an invasion of Death Eaters or dark wizard acolytes. This is probably why most of these five powerful spells were created in the first place.
The 5 Most Powerful Offensive Spells
Without further ado, here are five of the most powerful offensive spells in the wizarding world.
5. Entrail Expelling Curse
The Entrail Expelling Curse is fairly self-explanatory. It’s a curse that forces your entrails—insides, organs—to be magically expelled, ripped from the body. The curse is incredibly lethal and unquestionably kills you a lot more brutally than Avada Kedavra.
The curse itself was invented by a certain Urquhart Rackharrow, a 17th-century wizard who was purportedly a healer. Given that he is credited as the creator of such a brutal curse, it is speculated that he mistakenly created it without any nefarious intent.
It’s theorized that the original intention of the curse was to expel blockages from entrails. However, somewhere along the way, someone must have realized the true destructive potential of this lethal curse. Rackharrow’s portrait is hung in the Dai Llewellyn Ward in St. Mungo’s Hospital.
4. Confringo Blasting Curse
In Harry Potter, there are a variety of different blasting curses—spells which produce a sort of explosion on impact. From Reducto to Confringo to Bombarda, all of these spells have the capacity to do extensive damage, particularly if they’re aimed at a living thing.
However, there are a few key differences separating them, with one in particular being much more dangerous than the rest.
- Reducto produces small explosions that are more focused and precise, often used for blowing apart specific structures or objects.
- Bombarda is similar to Reducto but produces a slightly larger explosion.
- Bombarda Maxima is an advanced version of Bombarda that creates an even larger explosion capable of destroying thick concrete walls.
The most powerful blasting curse of all is Confringo. Similar to the spells mentioned above, Confringo is also a blasting curse. However, what sets Confringo apart is its ability to cause almost anything to explode in a fiery blaze.
The spell is particularly useful against enemies who are hiding behind cover. If it makes contact with a living thing, you can be certain that it will be blown to pieces.
The fact that this spell causes such a massive area of damage and has the capacity to blow up multiple people at once makes it much more lethal than Bombarda, especially considering that the killing curse can be blocked via inanimate objects.
3. Firestorm
Throughout the Harry Potter books and films, Dumbledore demonstrates his exceptional proficiency in elemental magic on multiple occasions.
Notable examples include his duel with Voldemort in the Ministry Atrium and his encounter with Inferi. One spell that stands out above the rest is Firestorm, also known as Fire Rope.
But then, through the darkness, fire erupted: Crimson and gold, a ring of fire that surrounded the rock so that the Inferi holding Harry so tightly stumbled and faltered.
Dumbledore was on his feet again, pale as any of the surrounding Inferi, but taller than any too, the fire dancing in his eyes. His wand was raised like a torch, and from its tip emanated the flames, like a vast lasso encircling them all with warmth.
Firestorm, otherwise known as Lasso of Flames or Fire Rope, is an incantation that produces a large ring of fire from the caster’s wand. When the caster moves, the ring of fire moves with them and will effectively ward off anyone trying to hurt them.
While the ring of fire circles them, the caster also holds the ability to shoot individual jets or balls of flames at their opponents. This ability pairs well with a spell by the name of Partis Temporus, which allows a gap in the flames for the caster to safely pass through.
Dumbledore used this spell to ward off the masters of Inferi who were guarding the Horcrux. Even in his weakened state, this spell proved to be more than enough to serve its purpose, and I would place this spell well above Avada Kedavra in terms of power.
2. Fiend Fire
Next up, we have another fire spell: Fiend Fire. A vicious, dark, and powerful curse that produces massive enchanted flames which incinerate everything in their path. The flames produced by the curse are also known to take on the forms of giant fiery beasts.
It was not normal fire. Crabbe had used a curse of which Harry had no knowledge. As they turned a corner, the flames chased them as though they were alive, sentient, intent upon killing them. Now the fire was mutating, forming a gigantic pack of fiery beasts.
Flaming serpents, chimeras, and dragons rose and fell and rose again, and the detritus of sentries on which they were feeding was thrown up in the air into their fanged mouths, tossed high on clawed feet, before being consumed by the inferno.
Basically, Fiend Fire destroys everything, and the sheer size and scale of this spell make it more dangerous than nearly every other spell in the wizarding world.
1. Protego Diabolica
Last up, we have Protego Diabolica, the most advanced form of the much more innocent shield charm Protego. In its most basic form, Protego produces an invisible shield around its caster that reflects spells.
Protego Diabolica, however, is the most destructive spell in the entire wizarding world—a spell that makes Avada Kedavra look like bluebell flames. We first witness Protego Diabolica on screen in The Crimes of Grindelwald, where Grindelwald casts it inside the Lestrange mausoleum.
Protego Diabolica has a few levels to it, but in its most basic form, the curse creates a ring of protective black fire around the caster (though it was blue in the film for visual effect) that instantly incinerates any of the caster’s enemies.
In this way, Protego Diabolica demonstrates the logical evolution of Protego, which is also a defensive spell. However, here’s where it gets a lot crazier.
The spell is not just a static circle of flames; it has an offensive component as well. In the film, we see Grindelwald controlling the spell like a weapon, extending tendrils of black fire toward his enemies.
These tendrils incinerate targets in the same manner as the black circle. Beyond these tendrils, the curse escalates even further, evolving into what can only be described as a fiery-winged demon which causes destruction in its wake.
It is mentioned that if the Fantastic Beasts protagonists hadn’t banded together to stop this demon, it would have destroyed all of Paris.
And that’s it for this blog! Did I miss any spells? Have a need to add? Leave a comment down below.
