|| DISILLUSIONMENT CHARM || DID YOU KNOW ? ||
Today I'm going to do a brief post on disillusionment charms. In my "Did You Know" post on Invisibility Cloaks I touched on the fact that many witches and wizards prefer a disillusionment charm to an Invisibility Cloak. Presumably, a disillusionment charm would be able to be learned by a majority of witches and wizards, can be done by a flick of the wand, and lessen the demand for Invisibility Cloaks (which are very rare and expensive). As well, we find out that Invisibility Cloaks don't stay on very well while flying. What is a disillusionment charm? We're first introduced to disillusionment charms in Order of the Phoenix:
‘Come here, boy,’ said Moody gruffly, beckoning Harry towards him with his wand. ‘I need to Disillusion you.’
‘You need to what?’ said Harry nervously.
‘Disillusionment Charm,’ said Moody, raising his wand. ‘Lupin says you’ve got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won’t stay on while we’re flying; this’ll disguise you better. Here you go -’ He rapped him hard on the top of the head and Harry felt a curious sensation as though Moody had just smashed an egg there; cold trickles seemed to be running down his body from the point the wand had struck.
‘Nice one, Mad-Eye,’ said Tonks appreciatively, staring at Harry’s midriff. Harry looked down at his body, or rather, what had been his body, for it didn’t look anything like his any more. It was not invisible; it had simply taken on the exact colour and texture of the kitchen unit behind him. He seemed to have become a human chameleon.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Pages 53-54 - Bloomsbury - chapter 3, The Advance Guard
A disillusionment charm turns one into a human chameleon, which is pretty cool if you think about how fast the average human walks or runs, and how rapidly the camouflage must keep changing in order for a person to remain hidden. A disillusionment charm doesn't prevent, for example, someone stumbling into and touching a person who's under the effects of a disillusionment charm, and the other person realizing Hey, there's someone here! The same would be true for an Invisibility Cloak, of course. According to J.K. Rowling, Albus Dumbledore can perform a disillusionment charm so powerful he can render himself truly invisible, but this level of disillusionment charm is not typical¹.
Owners of winged horses, such as Abraxans; Thestrals (already invisible to those who have not seen death); Aethonans; and Granians, are required by law to perform disillusionment charms on their horses at regular intervals, according to Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. As well, owners of Hippogriffs are obligated to keep their animals from being spotted by Muggles by using disillusionment charms.
Did you know?
¹The Tales of Beedle the Bard - page 97 - Bloomsbury - The Tale of the Three Brothers
‘Come here, boy,’ said Moody gruffly, beckoning Harry towards him with his wand. ‘I need to Disillusion you.’
‘You need to what?’ said Harry nervously.
‘Disillusionment Charm,’ said Moody, raising his wand. ‘Lupin says you’ve got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won’t stay on while we’re flying; this’ll disguise you better. Here you go -’ He rapped him hard on the top of the head and Harry felt a curious sensation as though Moody had just smashed an egg there; cold trickles seemed to be running down his body from the point the wand had struck.
‘Nice one, Mad-Eye,’ said Tonks appreciatively, staring at Harry’s midriff. Harry looked down at his body, or rather, what had been his body, for it didn’t look anything like his any more. It was not invisible; it had simply taken on the exact colour and texture of the kitchen unit behind him. He seemed to have become a human chameleon.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Pages 53-54 - Bloomsbury - chapter 3, The Advance Guard
A disillusionment charm turns one into a human chameleon, which is pretty cool if you think about how fast the average human walks or runs, and how rapidly the camouflage must keep changing in order for a person to remain hidden. A disillusionment charm doesn't prevent, for example, someone stumbling into and touching a person who's under the effects of a disillusionment charm, and the other person realizing Hey, there's someone here! The same would be true for an Invisibility Cloak, of course. According to J.K. Rowling, Albus Dumbledore can perform a disillusionment charm so powerful he can render himself truly invisible, but this level of disillusionment charm is not typical¹.
Owners of winged horses, such as Abraxans; Thestrals (already invisible to those who have not seen death); Aethonans; and Granians, are required by law to perform disillusionment charms on their horses at regular intervals, according to Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. As well, owners of Hippogriffs are obligated to keep their animals from being spotted by Muggles by using disillusionment charms.
Did you know?
¹The Tales of Beedle the Bard - page 97 - Bloomsbury - The Tale of the Three Brothers