|"Are you a wizard or not?"
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- Ron: "Hagrid did well, didn't he? How come all the spells bounced off him?"
- Hermione: "It'll be his giant blood. It's very hard to Stun a giant, they're like trolls, really tough... but poor Professor McGonagall... four Stunners straight in the chest and she's not exactly young, is she?"
- — Ron and Hermione discuss Hagrid's surviving multiple Stunning Spells.[src]
Spell resistance is the ability to shrug off or protect oneself from the main effects of a spell. Wizards and witches may have this trait naturally, such as Harry Potter's and Barty Crouch Jr.'s resistance to the Imperius Curse. Young witches and wizards may often lose control of their magical skills when they are under emotional strain. This may have a defensive use when in danger. Magical creatures and beings such as Giants and Half-Giants may also have a natural ability to resist spells. Strong mental capabilities are required when resisting spells, which include resisting the Imperius Curse, the obscure art of Occlumency and non-verbal magic.
Giants, dragons and possibly trolls have considerable spell resistance due to thick hides that repel all but the most concentrated and powerful spells, although they are still vulnerable to attacks on their eyes such as the Conjunctivitis Curse, possibly owing to the eyes being weak. This attribute is also shared with Half-giants, such as Rubeus Hagrid, who was able to resist stunning in 1996, although to what extent Half-giants can resist is unknown. Shield Hats, Cloaks, and Gloves also protect the wearer from minor to moderate hexes and jinxes, but would provide little defence against the Unforgivable Curses.
It is doubtful whether all spells could be resisted by a person of wizard blood only, such as the Stunning Spell, or any number of hexes and jinxes.
The natural resistance to certain spells is among the information contained on creatures in the Folio Bruti. This is measured by a series of bars, one each for each combative spell being assessed by the book. The further to the right the bar is, the weaker that creature's resistance to that spell.
If somebody willingly gave their life for another person or people they would be protected. This is called Sacrificial Protection .
- Lily Potter willingly gave her life for her son Harry Potter, so when Voldemort sent a Killing Curse at the child it just rebounded and hit Voldemort.
- When Harry Potter gave his life during the Battle of Hogwarts his friend Neville Longbottom should have died as Voldemort paralysed him and set him on fire, but Harry Potter's magical protection let him break free of the spell and kill one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
- When someone close to Harry dies, Voldemort cannot stand Harry's grief. This may or may not be sacrificial protection, but someone dies to protect someone else.
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Game Boy Advance version only)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Wonderbook: Book of Potions (Mentioned only)
Notes and references
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) - Game Boy Advance version
- ↑ Wonderbook: Book of Potions