25 Strongest & Most Useful Harry Potter Spells Ranked

Any spell can be of great importance when uttered at the right moment. We have encountered so many in the Harry Potter world and remember the majority. There are probably many who practiced them after reading the books, imagining what it would look like to have magical powers and a wand in one’s hand.

Some spells are very important, very dangerous to cast and some are a good introduction to all the ones that need to be mastered later. Some wizards show more inclination towards them, some have a hard time mastering some, and some are as if they were born with the incantations in their words and a wand in their hand.

In this article, we will rank the 25 strongest and most useful Harry Potter spells.

25. Colloportus

The Locking Spell was used to lock doors and make it impossible to open them manually. The door could be opened only by using a key or the unlocking spell. Its counter charm was the Alohomora. Professor Flitwick taught it in the fourth year at the end of the 1980 in his Charms class.

24. Aberto

Also known as the Opening Charm, it was used to open doors. It didn’t prove very functional, since it failed in doing what the regular Unlocking Charm (Alohomora) also didn’t manage to do.  

23. Muffliato

This spell was used to prevent someone from hearing something secret or very important. This person would have to be close to the caster to make the spell effective. This charm used to fill someone’s ears with a buzzing sound which made it impossible for them to overhear any conversation in the vicinity.

It was invented by Severus Snape. Harry Potter used it numerous times and Hermione Granger firstly strongly disapproved of it, but eventually started using it, too.

22. Aparecium

The Revealing Charm was used to show the invisible ink used in diaries and different kinds of paper, hiding secret messages. One of the most famous situations which demanded the use of this spell was when Hermione Granger used it on Tom Riddle’s diary to find out if anything was written in it. Hermione is also one of the few magicians who used it.

21. Revelio

The Revelio Charm was used to reveal hidden objects, messages, or passages. It was considered to be difficult for the second year students at Hogwarts. It was also used on humans, to discover the true form and identity of someone who used a spell to hide their true appearance. Still, it didn’t have any effect on a transformed Animagus.

20. Immobulus

The Freezing Charm was used to stop living or animated targets from moving. It would immobilize and stop their actions. Hermione Granger used it very successfully, once even instead of a teacher who failed to freeze a pair of pixies in her second year at Hogwarts.

19. Rictusempra 

Also known as the Tickling Charm, it was used to weaken the opponents by making them laugh. Its meaning comes from the Latin word rictus which means “the expanse of an open mouth” and semper which means “always”. So, the meaning of this charm is “always smiling”.

It was taught in the Charms class and in the Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was also used in duels as a diversionary tactic. Harry Potter used it on Draco Malfoy at the Duelling Club during their second year at Hogwarts.

18. Reparo

This spell is used to repair things, such as broken glass or a shattered window. Its name itself says it. It is one of the simplest spells, but very useful and can come in handy when needed. It was first used by Arthur Weasley on Harry Potter’s glasses in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, although we didn’t hear it. But it was used numerous times throughout the whole series, to repair china bowls, torn bags, or torn books. 

Hermione also used it on Harry’s glasses and it was in fact her first spell in the movie series. She changed it somewhat, adding the item in front of the spell, so she used it as “Oculus reparo”. And in the final book we learn that it can be used to repair magical items, too. 

17. Riddikulus

Also called Boggart – Banishing Spell, it was used to defeat a Boggart. The caster casts a spell and transformed the menacing creature into something that made him laugh so it could be defeated by laughter. But since they are immortal, this charm only makes them disappear. It doesn’t destroy them completely.

Dumbledore taught this funny and interesting spell in his Defence Against the Dark Arts class in 1910 which was attended by Newt Scamander and Leta Lestrange. Harry Potter and his schoolmates learned it in their third year at Hogwarts, taught by Professor Lupin.

It is a simple charm, but it requires concentration and a calm mind because before imagining something amusing, the wizards need to acknowledge what they fear most and then transform the Boggart. One of the most memorable Riddikulus charms is when Nevile Longbottom pictured Professor Snape and put him in his grandmother’s clothes.

16. Legilimens 

This was a pretty difficult and demanding spell that required concentration and skill. A highly skilled magician could perform it without a wand or incantation, such as Tom Riddle. The Legilimency Spell was used to enter someone’s mind and see this person’s thoughts, memories and emotions.

Highly skilled Legilimens could control their victims and create realistic images in their heads. Lord Voldemort used it very often, especially with Harry. But Harry could access his mind, too, so Voldemort decided to block it with the spell Occlumency.

15. Stupefy

The Stunning Spell was often used in dueling. It is a charm that stunned the opponent, making them unconscious. That’s why they used it in duelling, since it could end the battle very quickly, without causing lasting damage. It has the ability to halt moving objects.

This spell was mostly used with creatures that had greater resistance to charms, such as dragons, trolls, giants and half-giants. The use of more spells simultaneously will amplify the effect. It might cause more injuries to ordinary individuals. This happened to Professor McGonagall in 1996 after she was hit by numerous employees of the Ministry of Magic and had to be moved to St. Mungo’s after it.

14. Silencio

The Silencing Charm was used and useful with both beasts and beings. This charm rendered the victim temporarily mute, but it had to be cast properly. It was pretty difficult to perform and if not done in the right way, the target would swell up immensely and start making deafening sounds.

Professor Flitwick taught it in his class and there were many other successful practitioners of this charm, such as Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, among others. This spell also worked inside moving portraits and it happened to Penelope Fawley who got trapped inside a portrait and placed under the effects of this spell. 

13. Accio

Also known as the Summoning Charm, it is one of the oldest and first used spells in the wizarding world. Once again, it is not especially difficult to use, but a lot of concentration is required because the object must be in the caster’s mind. The further the object is, the more difficult it is to summon it. Hermione didn’t have problems with that fact, of course. She explained that the most important thing indeed is to have the object clearly in your mind. 

It is a widely used spell and a very useful one. It has many practitioners who more or less successfully managed to cast it. Its opposite is the Banishing Charm.

12. Alohomora

Alohomora or the Unlocking Charm or Thief’s Friend. It is a charm that unlocks doors or windows. It was first used in Africa by an Ancient African sorcerer who taught it to a thief Eldon Elsrickle who brought it later to his native Britain. He used it for criminal activities, such as burglary and stealing. He terrorized the Muggles and wizards of London.

Until the countercharm has been invented, the Anti – Alohomora. Alohomora was learned in the first year at Hogwarts, being one of the first spells its students learned.

11. Crucio

One of the three unforgivable curses, a pretty powerful, but also ruthless charm. It was a tool of the Dark Arts. One of the most sinister spells known to the wizarding world is also known as the Torture Spell or the Cruciatus Curse. 

When successfully cast on a victim, it would cause an immense, excruciating physical pain which would eventually result in insanity, if the victim was under it for a longer period of time. There’s also been a sentence for casting this spell on another human being. The penalty was a life sentence in Azkaban.

10. Protecto 

This charm was very useful and often used. Known as the Shield Charm, it was taught in the sixth year as a part of the Defence Against the Dark Arts. It protected the caster with an invisible shield that blocked physical entities and reflected spells. There are multiple forms of this spell. 

Although relatively moderate to master, it wasn’t properly used by many adults, at least according to Fred and George Weasely. They concluded that many adult wizards, even those in the Ministry of Magic couldn’t produce a functional Shield Charm. Of course, they made advantage of that when they decided to sell protective clothing upon which permanent Shield Charms were cast.

9. Petrificus Totalus

This spell was used to temporarily paralyze one’s opponent. Young and inexperienced often cast it, as it gave them an advantage over the ones in their way. It is also known as the Full Body-Bind Curse. It is a pretty ruthless spell, too, since the only thing not functioning on a victim are his arms and legs. 

They are snapped together and therefore the victim would end on the floor, not being able to move. But the victim would hear, smell, see and think normally. It could also work on inanimate objects, but it didn’t have any real effect since the object didn’t move in the first place.

8. Wingardium Leviosa

One of the first spells young students of Hogwarts learned in their first year of school. It is the Levitation Charm that was used to make objects fly, i.e. levitate.  It is a pretty old charm which gained many transformations and alteration, but still had a bad side to it.

It didn’t work on humans since it wasn’t strong enough to make a human being move more than a few feet above the ground. What actually made them fly were their clothes which could levitate. Almost anything could be lifted with this charm, but as always it depended a lot on the caster and in this case on the weight of the object.

7. Sectumsempra

This spell was created by Severus Snape when he was a student at Hogwarts. He invented it to use it on his enemies and it became one of his specialties. It lacerates the target and causes severe hemorrhaging.

It’s not completely known when he invented it, but Sirius Black once stated that Severus Snape knew more curses than any other kid in seventh year when he arrived at school. He even wrote the spells in his textbook. Many years later Harry came into possession of the textbook and learned this spell, too, among all others inside. One of its most dramatic moments was when Harry used it on Draco Malfoy.

6. Lumos

This spell was used to blind the opponents and it was advised to wear sunglasses when practising it. It is a spell taught in first year at Hogwarts since it was important to teach them how to defend themselves against the Devil-Snare. The spell was covered in the Herbology class, but also by Professor Flitwick in the Charms class in the seventh year. 

5. Expelliarmus

A spell that was frequently used in duels since its purpose was to disarm the opponent. Therefore the name is the Disarming Charm. It would make the opponent lose anything he was holding in his hands. It is unknown who created this charm, but some even claim that it was invented by Merlin himself.

Expelliarmus became Harry Potter’s signature spell. He used it often and it helped him defeat Lord Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts by backfiring from his own Killing Curse.

4. Avada Kedavra

Another one belonging to the three Unforgivable Curses, it was primarily used by the master of the Dark Arts. When cast successfully on another person, it would immediately cause their death. No physical pain, no sign of evidence. It was accompanied by green light and a distinctive rushing sound when cast. The only counterspell for the Killing Curse was the act of love, shown through sacrificial protection. 

It was possible to cast the spell nonverbally, but to perform it in general, you needed to be a very skilled wizard or witch and have an enormous urge to kill. You need to be prepared to use and want to kill your opponent. Lord Voldemort was ready to cast it on then one year old Harry, but the act of love saved him. Severus Snape used it on Dumbledore, after Draco Malfoy failed.

3. Obliviate

The Memory Charm or the Forgetfulness Charm was a spell that managed to erase specific memories from someone’s mind. It was often used by the British Ministry of Magic to keep the Muggles from learning about the wizarding world.

This charm was made popular by the obnoxious professor Gilderoy Lockhart who perfected it and bragged about using it without failing. Until he cast it with a broken wand which made it backfire and erased his memory instead. It had to be used properly, because it might end in severe memory loss and even brain damage.

2. Confundo

The Confundus Charm worked on living and inanimate things, as long as there was something that could be confused. There were various degrees of confusion caused by this spell, such as unawareness of the current situation or forgetting important information. 

It required great skill and concentration to perform this spell because it would become more difficult as the misdirection got more complicated. It didn’t work only on living creatures, but also on sentient objects.

1. Expecto Patronum

The most famous spell in the Harry Potter world, one of the most useful and undoubtedly one of the most powerful. It was an extremely difficult charm that consisted of evoking positive energy in the form of an animal that would defend the victim from Dementors. There was also a non corporeal Patronus which didn’t protect against Dementors in the same way. Remus Lupin chose to cast this type of a Patronus charm to hide his identity as werewolf.

The Patronus represents the hidden and unseen side of a person, often revealing their true characteristics, such as loyalty, bravery or kindness There are more than hundred possible forms of a Patronus charm and each wizard has his own. Hermione’s was an otter, Harry’s a stag and Dumbledore’s a phoenix.