The Wizard's Duel

• Effect: A formal or informal magical combat between two or more witches or wizards. The goal can range from disarming an opponent to injuring or killing them.
• Type: Magical Combat, Wizarding Traditions

A wizard's duel is a long-standing tradition in the wizarding world, serving as a method to settle disputes, prove magical superiority, or fight in earnest combat. Throughout history, several duels have become legendary.

• Albus Dumbledore vs. Gellert Grindelwald (1945): Widely considered the greatest duel of all time, this confrontation ended the Global Wizarding War. Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, who was then wielding the Elder Wand, and took possession of it.
• Duelling Club at Hogwarts (1992): Professor Gilderoy Lockhart started a short-lived club to teach students defensive magic. Notable duels included Professor Severus Snape easily disarming Lockhart, and Harry Potter against Draco Malfoy. During this duel, Malfoy cast `Serpensortia`, and Harry unknowingly revealed his ability to speak `Parseltongue`.
• Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort (1995): Taking place in the Little Hangleton graveyard, this was Harry's first true duel against Voldemort. Due to their wands sharing a core from the same phoenix, `Fawkes`, the `Priori Incantatem` effect was triggered, forcing Voldemort's wand to regurgitate the echoes of its most recent spells.
• Albus Dumbledore vs. Lord Voldemort (1996): This duel in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic showcased incredibly powerful and advanced magic. Both combatants used a variety of non-verbal spells, transfiguring their surroundings for attack and defence, and wielding elemental forces like fire and water.
• Harry Potter vs. Draco Malfoy (1997): A vicious duel in a Hogwarts bathroom where Harry, in a moment of panic, used the `Sectumsempra` curse on Malfoy, a spell he learned from the Half-Blood Prince's textbook, causing near-fatal injuries.
• Minerva McGonagall vs. Severus Snape (1998): When Snape was Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall confronted and duelled him, forcing him to flee the castle just before the Battle of Hogwarts.
• Molly Weasley vs. Bellatrix Lestrange (1998): During the Battle of Hogwarts, Molly Weasley engaged Bellatrix Lestrange in a furious duel after Bellatrix tried to kill Ginny Weasley. Molly's protective rage fueled her magic, and she killed the powerful Death Eater with a curse that struck her heart.
• Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort (1998): The final duel of the Second Wizarding War. Harry, the true master of the Elder Wand, faced Voldemort in the Great Hall. When Voldemort cast the `Killing Curse`, the Elder Wand refused to kill its master, and the spell rebounded, killing Voldemort for good. Harry's chosen spell was his signature, `Expelliarmus`.

While many duels are life-or-death struggles with no rules, formal duelling follows a specific etiquette.

• The Bow: A traditional duelling courtesy involves both participants facing each other and bowing before they begin. Gilderoy Lockhart instructs his students to do this, and Lord Voldemort cruelly forces Harry Potter to perform this ritual in the graveyard, stating, “We bow to each other, Harry… Dumbledore would have taught you to show respect to your adversary.”
• Wands at the Ready: After bowing, duelists take their positions and hold their wands at the ready, typically beginning to cast on a signal or count.
• Spells: In a formal or sporting context, only certain spells might be permitted, with curses like the `Unforgivable Curses` being strictly forbidden. In a real battle, however, any spell may be used. Common duelling spells include the Disarming Charm (`Expelliarmus`), the Stunning Spell (`Stupefy`), and the Shield Charm (`Protego`).
• Training: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry teaches students the basics of duelling and defensive magic in `Defence Against the Dark Arts` classes. Extracurricular activities like the `Duelling Club` also provide practical training.

The word duel originates from the Latin word duellum, an archaic form of bellum, meaning “war.” Over time, it evolved to specifically mean a prearranged combat between two persons.

• In the film adaptations, duels are often highly stylised, with wizards engaging in more dynamic physical movements than typically described in the novels. The visual representation of spells often involves streams of coloured light that connect between the two wands, a visual motif that is not a consistent feature in the book's descriptions, with the notable exception of `Priori Incantatem`.
• The final duel between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is significantly different from the book. In the film, they duel throughout the castle grounds, flying through the air while locked in a magical struggle, whereas in the novel, their final confrontation is a brief, static moment in the Great Hall witnessed by everyone (film).
• The concept of Duelling Champions and specific rules for competitive duelling has been expanded upon on the Wizarding World website (Pottermore).