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A sacrificial ritual, also called a dark ritual or just a ritual, is a type of magic that can produce greater effects than ordinary spells but requires the permanent sacrifice of something that is consumed during the ritual.

The most common sacrificial ritual is probably the Unbreakable Vow.

Chant[]

A sacrificial ritual chant always names first that which is sacrificed and then the use commanded of it.

Ritual chants don't generally sound very impressive even though rituals are generally more impressive the more powerful they are. As such, when Harry designs a fearsome fake ritual to help the S.P.H.E.W. against bullies, Tom Riddle (as Professor Quirrell) says that it is much more impressive than any actual ritual he encountered and that if a true such ritual existed, "it would melt the Earth".

Examples[]

According to Tom Riddle, an Unbreakable Vow involves a three-way sacrifice:

  • the person who receives the Vow sacrifices the possibility to trust the Vower by binding them instead;
  • the person who makes the Vow sacrifices their capacity for choice;
  • the binder sacrifices a small portion of their own magic to sustain the Vow forever.

Fiendfyre requires the sacrifice of one drop of the caster's blood (the caster's body is lighter by that drop of blood forever).

Tom Riddle mentions a ritual to "summon Death" which likely means to create a Dementor. The ritual requires a rope which has hanged a man and a sword which has slain a woman.

Riddle says in Parseltongue that the making of a traditional Horcrux is not a sacrificial ritual: instead the required murder is used to produce the burst of magic that sometimes creates a ghost (canon). However, Riddle later calls the new, different Horcrux he invented a sacrificial ritual.

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