Changes: Homorphus Charm

Revision as of 18:42, 1 January 2015

"Simple, yet effective — and another village will remember me forever as the hero who delivered them from the monthly terror of werewolf attacks."

— Lockhart bragging about his supposed use of this spell to end a village's terror^[src]

The Homorphus Charm was described by Professor Gilderoy Lockhart as what he used to cure the Wagga Wagga Werewolf.

Nature

He described the spell as being "immensely complex." He later admitted to having stolen the credit from an Armenian warlock.

Since Lockhart is known for providing phony spells, and given that there is no known cure for Lycanthropy, it is possible that this spell does not truly exist or that it has a different effect than Lockhart described (possibly just temporarily forcing a transformed person back into human shape, rather than preventing the change).

Etymology

Homorphus is a combination of the Latin Homo meaning 'man' and the Greek morphe- meaning 'shape' or 'form'.

Behind the scenes

Although this spell is described as a charm, its effects seem closer to Transfiguration.
It is possible that this is the Animagus reversal spell that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin used to force Peter Pettigrew to reveal his true form in June of 1994, given the apparent similarities between an Animagus and a Werewolf and Lockhart's apparently non-existent magical knowledge.

Appearances

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First mentioned)

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |name=Homorphus Charm
 |image=
-|incantation=
+|incantation=Unknown
 |type=[[Charm]]
 |hand=
 |light=
-|effect=Returns transformed to [[Human|original form]]
+|effect=Temporarily changes a transformed werewolf back into their human form (according to [[Gilderoy Lockhart]])}}
+{{Quote|Simple, yet effective — and another village will remember me forever as the hero who delivered them from the monthly terror of werewolf attacks.|Lockhart bragging about his supposed use of this spell to end a village's terror|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}}
-}}
-The '''Homorphus Charm''' was described by Professor [[Gilderoy Lockhart]] as what he used to cure the [[Wagga Wagga Werewolf]]. He described the [[spell]] as being "immensely complex." He later admitted to having stolen the credit from an [[Armenian Warlock|Armenian warlock]]. This [[charm]] will [[Transfiguration|transfigure]] most things back to their original state such as [[Animagus|Animagi]] or transfigured objects.
+The '''Homorphus Charm''' was described by Professor [[Gilderoy Lockhart]] as what he used to cure the [[Wagga Wagga Werewolf]].
+== Nature ==
+He described the [[spell]] as being "immensely complex." He later admitted to having stolen the credit from an [[Armenian Warlock|Armenian warlock]].
+Since Lockhart is known for providing phony spells, and given that there is no known cure for [[Lycanthropy]], it is possible that this spell does not truly exist or that it has a different effect than Lockhart described (possibly just temporarily forcing a transformed person back into human shape, rather than preventing the change).
 ==Etymology==
@@ Line 14: / Line 19: @@
 ==Behind the scenes==
+* Although this spell is described as a [[charm]], its effects seem closer to [[Transfiguration]].
-*This is possibly the [[Animagus reversal spell|spell]] that [[Remus Lupin]] and [[Sirius Black]] used to reveal [[Peter Pettigrew]].
+* It is possible that this is the [[Animagus reversal spell]] that [[Sirius Black]] and [[Remus Lupin]] used to force [[Peter Pettigrew]] to reveal his true form in [[June]] of [[1994]], given the apparent similarities between an [[Animagus]] and a [[Werewolf]] and Lockhart's apparently non-existent magical knowledge.
-*Although this spell is described as a [[charm]], its effects seem closer to [[Transfiguration]].
 ==Appearances==
 *''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'' {{1st mention}}
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' {{Possible}}
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)]]'' {{Possible}}
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)]]'' {{Possible}}
 [[fr:Sortilège d'Homomorphus]]