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Many of the greatest wizards in the Harry Potter universe invented their own spells.

  • Dumbledore, acknowledged as one of the greatest wizards of the age:

    "Examined him myself in Transfiguration and Charms when he did NEWTs ... Did things with a wand I'd never seen before..."
    -- Griselda Marchbanks, HP and the Order of the Phoenix, chapter 31: OWLs.

  • Snape, perhaps not one of the greatest but certainly a very talented student while at Hogwarts, and a master of the rare art of Occlumency in later life, invented numerous spells including Levicorpus, Liberacorpus, and Sectumsempra.

What about Harry Potter? After defeating the Dark Lord, he's surely seen as one of the greatest Aurors of his time, and he always topped his Defence Against the Dark Arts class (I think?)
Did he ever invent any of his own spells?

(I'd also be interested in Hermione, who's perhaps a more accomplished witch in everything other than Defence Against the Dark Arts, or indeed anyone in Harry's generation - students at Hogwarts during his time there - since I can't recall any mention of spells invented by any such people.)

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Rand al'Thor
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  • Let me know if you think this is too broad, and I'll cut out the final paragraph to restrict it to just Harry. – Rand al'Thor Dec 02 '15 at 02:29
  • I think Snape also mastered legilemency in order to read Harry's mind... –  Dec 02 '15 at 02:37
  • @MathiasFoster He knew how to do it, sure, but it didn't take an expert Legilimens to invade the mind of an untrained teenager. – Rand al'Thor Dec 02 '15 at 02:38
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    Harry spell is "deer-in-headlights-ioso" which prevents someone from showing any facial expressions. Hermione's spell is "oo-oo-pick-me-ius" which causes teachers to call on you when you raise your hand, no matter how many times you've already answered questions that day. lol – RedCaio Dec 02 '15 at 02:39
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    I think we can safely add Tom Riddle to the list, also Luna's mum – Au101 Dec 02 '15 at 05:02
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    I'm witholding my +1 until you edit the question slightly. IMHO, the last paragraph contradicts the question slightly. I'd prefer it if you asked if anyone in Harry's generation (perhaps restricted to the students we know at Hogwarts) invented any spells; as it stands the last paragraph sort of messes up the main question specifically about Harry – Often Right Dec 02 '15 at 05:27
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    "After defeating the Dark Lord, he's surely seen as one of the greatest Aurors of his time" It seems to me this phrase is kind of equivocal--you aren't distinguishing between "one of the greatest Aurors" in the sense of "most skilled with magic" and "one of the greatest Aurors" in the sense of "an Auror who did one of the most memorable and heroic things in the history of the group, even if he wasn't really in the very top percentile when it comes to magical skills". Just because Harry is a "great Auror" in the latter sense doesn't mean he's especially "great" in the first sense. – Hypnosifl Dec 02 '15 at 16:28
  • @Hypnosifl That's almost the point of the question. He was a "great Auror" in the second sense, but by other measures of greatness - such as inventing his own spells - maybe not so great after all. – Rand al'Thor Dec 02 '15 at 21:04
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    @RedCaio And I believe Snape knew the counter-spell for "oo-oo-pick-me-ius"... –  Dec 02 '15 at 23:47

3 Answers3

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Fred and George appear to have invented a toy that is enchanted to so that the user is a witness to a daydream.

Patented Daydream Charms

One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic, thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable (side effects include vacant expression and minor drooling). Not for sale to under-sixteens. You know," said Hermione, looking up at Harry, "that really is extraordinary magic!"

"For that, Hermione," said a voice behind them, "you can have one for free."

Though the book is very unclear on this, their is some speculation that Hermione herself created the 4 point spell Harry uses in the tri wizard tournament. however, again this is mostly speculation so take it as you will.

"...the Four-Point Spell, a useful discovery of Hermione's which would make his wand point due north, therefore enabling him to check whether he was going in the right direction within the maze."

The spells incantation is "Point Me", the fact that its in English and we only see Harry's crew use it is why some believe Hermione invented it herself.

Thanks @luna for finding this quote.

Often Right
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Himarm
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    I like this answer a lot, but I have to say, I think the fact that the book is unclear is proof enough that Hermione "discovered" the spell in one of the library books, for surely, surely, if 15-year-old Hermione had invented the spell herself, Jo Rowling would not have left it so unclear, nor remarked upon it so tangentially – Au101 Dec 02 '15 at 03:34
  • @Au101 my primary answer about fred and george is what i stand by, the Hermione spell i personally just believe she created, but its left unclear. – Himarm Dec 02 '15 at 03:35
  • Oh by all means :) I think you're quite right about Fred and George and I think your reference to the discussion about "Point Me" is a perfectly proper part of the answer. But, for the sake of the question, I thought it worth mentioning why I doubt the spell was Hermione's invention. But I think it belongs in your answer and I +1'ed it without hesitation – Au101 Dec 02 '15 at 03:39
  • It's been a while since I read them, but I distinctly thought I remembered the book saying outright that "Point Me" was Hermione's invention. I took note of it because as far as I remember, and certainly as far as I knew at the time I first read GoF, it's the only direct reference in the whole series to the idea that spells can be created. – David Z Dec 02 '15 at 11:00
  • I believe the enchanted coins is an invention of Hermione. Even if it is a combination of other spells, but I think in fine most spells are variations of other spells. – clem steredenn Dec 02 '15 at 13:48
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    I'm just amused that anyone needs magic to experience a daydream in class. Seriously, can't anyone in the Potterverse do anything without magic? Millions of muggle students do that every day in classrooms around the world. I feel like that maybe just works via placebo effect. – Darrel Hoffman Dec 02 '15 at 14:40
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    @DarrelHoffman its because these are Custom daydreams! things you might not normally daydream about, imagine if you loaded a whole episode of a tv show into one of those puppies!! – Himarm Dec 02 '15 at 14:48
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    @DavidZ FWIW here is the exact quote from GoF, Ch 31 (emphasis mine): "...the Four-Point Spell, a useful discovery of Hermione's which would make his wand point due north, therefore enabling him to check whether he was going in the right direction within the maze." It all seems to depend on how you interpret "discovery" - whether it's discovery in a book, or discovery within the realm of magic. See also Can wizards create their own spells? :) – Luna Dec 02 '15 at 15:33
  • @Luna yes, indeed. I consider it quite a stretch to interpret this as discovery within a book, unless there were some additional evidence to support that interpretation. – David Z Dec 02 '15 at 16:19
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    @Himarm - They have that too now. It's called "smartphone in your lap". Works best for girls because they can more easily hide the ear-buds in their hair. Of course you're more likely to get caught that way. The other non-magical solution would be ordinary hallucinogens - which come to think of it sounds pretty much like what they're offering, minus the more serious side-effects. Were the Weasley brothers just drug dealers? – Darrel Hoffman Dec 02 '15 at 17:04
  • @DarrelHoffman i feel like they had special items in the back of the store, for a real good time if you know what i mean :P – Himarm Dec 02 '15 at 17:05
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    @DavidZ well indeed there was, it's clear from the previous chapter that, well "For the next few days he spent all of his free time either in the library with Hermione and Ron, looking up hexes, or else in empty classrooms, which they sneaked into to practise." and "She looked down the list they had made in the library" I personally think it's a stretch to interpret discovery as "invented" when, good as Hermione is, she's 15 and tends to approach magic from a by-the-book stance. If she'd created it, rather than found it in a book, I think JKR would've made more of a big deal of it. – Au101 Dec 02 '15 at 17:46
  • But then I guess that's the fun of reading isn't it, we sometimes have different interpretations – Au101 Dec 02 '15 at 17:47
  • @Au101 that's not evidence supporting the interpretation that she found the spell in a book. As I recall, the only other mention of the spell in the stories is when Harry uses it in the maze, in which case there's no such evidence to be found in the books. It probably is best to agree to disagree. – David Z Dec 02 '15 at 18:05
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    @DavidZ Or we could put it to the vote? :) http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/109398/did-hermione-invent-the-four-point-spell-herself – Au101 Dec 03 '15 at 00:32
  • @Au101 Whether Hermione invented the spell is not decided by popular opinion – David Z Dec 03 '15 at 03:44
  • @DavidZ I didn't mean it like that! I was just going for something a little light and fun :) What I really meant was: this comment thread is hidden away and I think this is an interesting question to discuss - with a clear difference of opinion - and I have some points I'd like to air and see what people think and I'm not gonna be able to support them in the comments with the character limits. I'm also interested to hear more about the arguments against and I'm not gonna get that down here. But that didn't have quite the same ring to it :) – Au101 Dec 03 '15 at 03:46
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Taking inspiration from Himarm, I can offer another half-answer. Fred and George's headless hats certainly use an innovative extension of an existing spell, if not a spell of their own creation:

'How do those hats work, then?' said Hermione, distracted from her homework and watching Fred and George. 'I mean, obviously it's some kind of Invisibility Spell, but it's rather clever to have extended the field of invisibility beyond the boundaries of the charmed object ... I'd imagine the charm wouldn't have a very long life though.'

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - p.477 - Bloomsbury - Chapter 24, Occlumency

To further expand on this part answer, it's clear that the invention of spells is, if not illegal, regulated to some degree:

'Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness ...'

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - p.34 - Bloomsbury - Chapter 3, The Burrow

And, regarding Hermione in particular, I think it's worth taking note of her attitude to the Prince's spells:

'So you just decided to try out an unknown, handwritten incantation and see what would happen?'

'Why does it matter if it's handwritten?' said Harry, preferring not to answer the rest of the question.

'Because it's probably not Ministry of Magic-approved,' said Hermione. 'And also,' she added, as Harry and Ron rolled their eyes, 'because I'm starting to think this Prince character was a bit dodgy.'

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - p.226 - Bloomsbury - Chapter 12, Silver and Opals

Now, obviously, her attitude here is partly towards who wrote the spell, but also, it's clear that trying out someone else's spell, without knowing what it does is different to conducting your own experiments. It could be anything. It could be a prank. But, I think her reasoning is suggestive. "'It's probably not Ministry of Magic-approved.'"

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Au101
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    Re approval: Translate magic to medicine and assume there are approved pills (including approved recipes to mix your own medicine) and than you find an unknown handmixed bunch of unknown chemicals and stick it inyour mouth. This would even be unreasonable with unidentified mushrooms, say. – Hagen von Eitzen Dec 02 '15 at 19:23
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I doubt that the book ever mentions such matters. While Rowling chooses to mention his successful career as an auror, she never says anything about his magical prowess. It is important to remember that the relationship between Harry and Voldemort was highly special, yet not necessarily requiring a level of magic akin to Dumbledore on the part of Harry.

In other words, I think the answer is just, no.

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    You forget there is a vast amount of supplementary work out there, whilst it is more than likely that the answer is no, I would refrain from stating so until I had checked all of those works. – CandiedMango Dec 02 '15 at 02:44
  • by definition the supplementary works are not valid though correct? Unless somebody clarifies - I think answers should stick to canon sources (or at least identify non-canon answers as secondary) – NKCampbell Dec 02 '15 at 03:19
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    I think supplementary works are things like Pottermore, author interviews and clarifications, etc. - which usually count. Fanfiction and the wikia, on the other hand, wouldn't count, I'd say – Au101 Dec 02 '15 at 03:36
  • @NathanK.Campbell What he said ^ – CandiedMango Dec 03 '15 at 00:44
  • Hermione never became an Auror, according to J.K. Rowling. She entered a profession that was dedicated to pro-Muggleborn legistlation, and was dedicated to fairness in all manners. I believe she started her career in the Dept. of Magical Creatures, and then moved on to the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement (Which is more than just Aurors.). After Kingsley Shackelbolt became Minister for Magic, Hermione was one who helped deconstruct the many anti-Muggleborn laws, and more, that had increased during Voldemort's reign. :) – Slytherincess Dec 24 '15 at 20:32