Reviving Spell

• Incantation: Rennervate (formerly Ennervate)
• Pronunciation: REN-ner-vayt
• Wand Movement: Unknown
• Light: Red jet of light
• Effect: Revives an unconscious individual, particularly one who has been rendered unconscious by a Stunning Spell. It is the direct counter-charm to Stupefy.
• Type: Counter-Spell, Charm

The Reviving Spell is a practical and essential piece of magic used to rouse a person from unconsciousness, most notably from the effects of the Stunning Spell. It appears several times throughout the series during critical moments.

• In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the spell is used on multiple occasions. After the riot at the Quidditch World Cup, Ministry of Magic official Amos Diggory uses it to awaken his house-elf, Winky, who was found stunned at the crime scene. Later, after Viktor Krum is stunned by Barty Crouch Jr. near the Forbidden Forest, Albus Dumbledore uses the spell to revive him. Dumbledore uses it a final time on Barty Crouch Jr. himself after he has been stunned by Professor McGonagall inside Hogwarts Castle.
• In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter casts the spell on Albus Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower. Dumbledore had been weakened to the point of unconsciousness by the Emerald Potion protecting Voldemort's locket Horcrux, and Harry successfully revived him just before the arrival of the Death Eaters.

The Reviving Spell functions as a direct counter-spell, primarily for the Stunning Spell. As it is a restorative charm, it does not have a counter-spell of its own; one would simply need to re-apply the magic that caused the unconsciousness in the first place, such as casting Stupefy again. The difficulty of the spell is not explicitly stated, but its use by both Ministry officials and a sixth-year student like Harry Potter suggests it is a standard but vital spell for any competent witch or wizard to master, particularly those expecting to engage in magical combat.

The incantation, Rennervate, is likely derived from the Latin prefix re-, meaning “again,” and the verb nervo, meaning “to strengthen” or “to fill with nerve.” Combined, the name effectively means “to give strength again,” which perfectly describes the spell's function of restoring consciousness and vitality. The original incantation, Ennervate, is a direct contradiction. The English word “enervate” means to weaken or drain of energy, deriving from the Latin enervare (“to remove the sinew”). This is the opposite of the spell's effect and was likely a mistake in early editions.

In early UK and US editions of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the incantation was written as Ennervate. This was later corrected to Rennervate in subsequent printings to resolve the etymological conflict with the English word's meaning. The film adaptations consistently use the corrected incantation, “Rennervate.” (film)