======Protective Enchantment======
=====Spell Information=====
  * **Incantation:** //Various//. Specific enchantments may have their own [[Incantation]]s (e.g., //[[Protego Totalum]]//, //[[Repello Muggletum]]//) or be performed non-verbally. The most powerful forms, such as [[Sacrificial Protection]], require no incantation at all.
  * **Pronunciation:** N/A
  * **Wand Movement:** //Various// or N/A, depending on the specific charm or spell being cast.
  * **Light:** //Various//. Many protective enchantments are invisible to the naked eye. When visible, they can manifest as heat hazes, shimmering air, or powerful, tangible barriers of light, such as the silvery shield that protected [[Hogwarts Castle]].
  * **Effect:** To guard a person, object, or location from harm, intrusion, or detection. The effects are wide-ranging, from simple concealment and noise-cancellation to repelling [[Muggle]]s, deflecting minor to moderate [[Hex]]es, and blocking lethal [[Curse]]s.
  * **Type:** [[Enchantment]], [[Charm]], [[Defensive Magic]]. This is a broad category of [[Magic]] rather than a single spell.
=====History and Known Uses=====
Protective enchantments are a fundamental and widely used branch of [[Magic]], employed by witches and wizards to secure everything from campsites to castles. Their use is documented throughout wizarding history, with some of the most powerful examples playing a crucial role in the First and Second Wizarding Wars.
**Sacrificial Protection**
The most profound known protective enchantment was a form of ancient, love-powered [[Magic]] created when [[Lily Potter]] sacrificed her own life to save her infant son, [[Harry Potter]], from [[Lord Voldemort]].
  * This [[Magic]] resided in Harry's blood and rendered him untouchable by [[Voldemort]], causing the [[Dark Lord]]'s own [[Killing Curse]] to rebound upon him.
  * [[Albus Dumbledore]] extended this protection by tying it to Harry's blood relative, [[Petunia Dursley]]. As long as Harry could call the Dursleys' house at [[4 Privet Drive]] his home, he was protected there from [[Voldemort]] and his followers. This protection broke when Harry came of age at seventeen.
**Location-Based Protections**
Securing locations is the most common application of protective enchantments.
  * **[[Hogwarts Castle]]:** The castle is protected by numerous ancient enchantments, most famously one that prevents [[Apparition]] and Disapparition on its grounds. During the [[Battle of Hogwarts]], the school's defenses were massively reinforced by Professors [[Minerva McGonagall]], [[Filius Flitwick]], [[Horace Slughorn]], and [[Molly Weasley]], who cast powerful defensive shields over the entire castle.
  * **[[Fidelius Charm]]:** An immensely complex and powerful [[Charm]] used to conceal a secret within the soul of a chosen Secret-Keeper. It was used to hide the [[Potter Cottage]] in [[Godric's Hollow]], the [[Order of the Phoenix]] headquarters at [[12 Grimmauld Place]], and [[Bill Weasley]] and [[Fleur Delacour]]'s home, [[Shell Cottage]].
  * **Campsite Protections:** While on the run, [[Hermione Granger]] routinely cast a series of protective enchantments around the trio's tent. These included //[[Salvio Hexia]]//, //[[Protego Totalum]]//, //[[Repello Muggletum]]//, and the //[[Muffliato Charm]]// to ensure they remained hidden and unheard.
  * **Other Locations:** Other heavily protected locations included [[The Burrow]], the [[Horcrux]] cave (which required a blood sacrifice to enter), [[Malfoy Manor]], and the high-security vaults of [[Gringotts Wizarding Bank]].
**Object-Based Protections**
Enchantments are also used to protect specific items.
  * [[Dumbledore]] protected the [[Goblet of Fire]] with an [[Age Line]], a thin golden line that prevented underage students from crossing it to enter the [[Triwizard Tournament]].
  * The [[Philosopher's Stone]] was guarded by a series of complex magical protections set by various [[Hogwarts]] professors, including a three-headed dog, [[Devil's Snare]], and a logic puzzle involving [[Potion]]s.
**The [[Taboo]] [[Curse]]**
During the Second Wizarding War, [[Voldemort]] and his [[Death Eater]]s twisted the concept of a protective enchantment by placing a [[Taboo]] on the word "Voldemort." Anyone who spoke the name would instantly have their location revealed and any protective enchantments they were using, such as those cast by Hermione, would be broken.
=====Learning and Counter-Spells=====
The difficulty of casting protective enchantments varies greatly. Simpler spells like the //[[Muffliato Charm]]// are taught to students at [[Hogwarts]]. More advanced layered defenses, such as those Hermione used, require considerable skill and knowledge, as noted by [[Ron Weasley]].
The most powerful enchantments, like the [[Fidelius Charm]], are exceptionally difficult and are considered N.E.W.T.-level magic or beyond. [[Ancient Magic]] like [[Sacrificial Protection]] cannot be learned conventionally at all and arises from specific, extreme circumstances.
Countering these protections can be equally difficult. Powerful [[Dark Magic]] can shatter defensive shields, as seen during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]]. The [[Taboo]] provided a clever magical loophole to bypass many standard protections. Otherwise, dismantling them often requires identifying the specific [[Charm]]s used and employing the correct counter-spell, a task that can be highly complex.
=====Etymology=====
  * **Protective:** Derived from the Latin ''prōtegere'', meaning "to cover in front" or "to shield."
  * **Enchantment:** Derived from the Old French ''enchantement'', which in turn comes from the Latin verb ''incantare'', meaning "to sing over, to cast a spell on, to bewitch." In magical theory, an [[Enchantment]] is a type of spell that adds properties to an object or area, as opposed to [[Transfiguration]], which changes its fundamental nature.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * In the film adaptation //Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2//, the professors and members of the [[Order of the Phoenix]] use the incantations //Protego Maxima//, //Fianto Duri//, and //Repello Inimicum// while casting the giant shield over [[Hogwarts]]. These specific incantations do not appear in the novel (film).
  * The visual depiction of the protective shield around [[Hogwarts]] in the film is a large, shimmering, semi-permeable dome that glows blue and shatters under the [[Death Eater]]s' assault. In the book, it is described as a "shimmering, silvery shield" that rose from the towers (film).