Patented Daydream Charms

• Type: Magical Device / WonderWitch Product
• Owners: Customers of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
• Maker: Fred Weasley and George Weasley

Patented Daydream Charms are a magical product invented and sold by Fred Weasley and George Weasley. The product is a spell that, once cast using a simple incantation, induces a highly realistic daydream. While the physical appearance of the product sold is not explicitly described in the novels, the marketing in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes presents it as a complete, easy-to-use solution. The advertisement in the shop promises: “One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic, thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson…” This suggests the product may be sold as a kit containing instructions for the incantation and wand movement. The packaging and branding are consistent with the twins' vibrant and mischievous style, aimed primarily at the student market as part of their WonderWitch line.

The primary function of a Patented Daydream Charm is to allow the user to enter a vivid and convincing daydream that lasts for approximately thirty minutes. This makes it a popular item for Hogwarts students wishing to mentally escape boring classes. Key properties include:

• High Realism: The daydreams are described as “top-quality” and “highly realistic.”
• Ease of Use: The effect is triggered by a single, simple incantation.
• Discretion: The Charm is marketed as being “virtually undetectable” to observers, such as teachers.
• Side Effects: Known side effects are a “vacant expression and minor drooling” on the part of the user, which could potentially give them away.

These charms were also likely related to the range of products in the Skiving Snackboxes, which were designed to help students feign illness and miss class.

The concept for Patented Daydream Charms was developed by Fred Weasley and George Weasley during their final years at Hogwarts. Their early research and development for their joke-shop enterprise was secretly funded by Harry Potter, who gave them his Triwizard Tournament winnings of one thousand Galleons in 1995. After leaving Hogwarts prematurely, the twins established Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes at Number 93, Diagon Alley. The shop opened in the summer of 1996, and the Patented Daydream Charms were one of their flagship products. They were prominently advertised and proved to be immensely popular, contributing to the twins' rapid commercial success. Molly Weasley initially disapproved of their enterprise, believing products like these encouraged laziness, though she was eventually won over by their obvious talent and success.

The Patented Daydream Charms are first seen in *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* when Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger visit the twins' bustling shop in Diagon Alley. The product serves as a key example of Fred and George's genius for magical invention and their entrepreneurial spirit. Their existence and popularity underscore the twins' successful transition from school pranksters to respected business owners. Furthermore, the light-hearted and clever nature of the charms provides a stark contrast to the growing darkness and fear spreading through the wizarding world at the start of the Second Wizarding War. While not central to the main plot, they are a significant world-building element that showcases the twins' enduring legacy of humor and innovation.

• In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, the packaging for the Patented Daydream Charms can be seen amongst the packed shelves of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It is depicted as a small, ornate box, fitting the aesthetic of the other WonderWitch products. (film)