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"'R-r-riddikulus!' squeaked Neville. There was a noise like a whip-crack."
— Neville casts this spell.[src]

Riddikulus is a charm that is used in defence against a Boggart. It causes the creature to assume a form that is humourous to the caster, thereby counteracting the Boggart's ability to terrorise. Boggarts are defeated by laughter, so forcing them to assume an amusing form is the first step to defeating them. However, as Boggarts are ammortal, this spell does not truly dispel them, similar to the Patronus Charm.

To cast, the spellcaster must first acknowledge what they fear the most (as it will most likely what the Boggart will take form of) and then visualize it into something amusing. The problem is, because the Boggart would have assume said form at the moment of direct encounter, the one attempting to use this charm would have lost concentration after seeing the Boggart manifest their worst fears, making this spell useless. As such, it is always advisable to first take one step at a time when practicing this enchantment.

Professor Remus Lupin taught this to his third year Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Thanks to Lupin's teaching, Harry Potter was able to use this against a Boggart in the Triwizard Maze in 1995.

Etymology

"Riddikulus" is an adaptation of "ridiculous" as well as of ridiculum (Latin, "joke") and ridere (Latin, "to laugh").

Behind the scenes

  • In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, only Ron and Hermione learn this spell due to Harry being locked out of the class while Lupin is teaching it to his class. Harry instead learns Expecto Patronum from Lupin to defeat his Dementor boggart, and in return Ron and Hermione do not learn Expecto Patronum.

Appearances

Notes and references

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