Changes: Prior Incantato

Revision as of 20:53, 27 September 2012

"There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?"

— Amos Diggory describing the spell's usage to Winky^[src]

Prior Incantato is a spell that, if pointed at a wand, can show the last spell performed. It was used by Amos Diggory to learn whose wand had been used to cast the Dark Mark at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup. The Prior Incantato spell could be confused with the Priori Incantatem effect that can be triggered by wands sharing a common core that are forced to duel with each other, but which also can be induced with analytical spells. The spell used to erase the shadow created by the previously used spell (which in turn is produced by this spell) is Deletrius.

Etymology

Latin prior, "previous", and incantate, "to speak a spell" (past participle incantatum).

Behind the scenes

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor in 1998 Bellatrix Lestrange used this spell on Hermione Granger's wand to learn if she used a Stinging Hex on Harry Potter to make him unrecognizable.

Appearances

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Indirect mention)

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 {{quote|There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a [[wand]] performed, [[House-elf|elf]], did you know that?|[[Amos Diggory]] describing the spell's usage to [[Winky]]|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire}}
 '''Prior Incantato''' is a [[spell]] that, if pointed at a [[wand]], can show the last spell performed. It was used by [[Amos Diggory]] to learn [[Harry Potter's wand|whose wand]] had been used to cast the [[Dark Mark]] at the [[1994]] [[Quidditch World Cup]].
-The ''Prior Incantato'' [[spell]] could be confused with the ''[[Priori Incantatem]]'' effect that can be triggered by [[wand]]s sharing a common core that are forced to [[Duel|duel]] with each other, but which also can be induced with analytical [[Spell|spells]]. The spell's incantation might come from the words ''prior'' and ''incantation''.
+The ''Prior Incantato'' [[spell]] could be confused with the ''[[Priori Incantatem]]'' effect that can be triggered by [[wand]]s sharing a common core that are forced to [[Duel|duel]] with each other, but which also can be induced with analytical [[Spell|spells]]. The spell used to erase the shadow created by the previously used spell (which in turn is produced by this spell) is ''[[Deletrius]]''.
-The spell used to erase the shadow created by the previously used spell (which in turn is produced by this spell) is ''[[Deletrius]]''.
 ==Etymology==
 Latin ''prior'', "previous", and ''incantate'', "to speak a spell" (past participle ''incantatum'').