Summoning Charm

"And then he heard it, speeding through the air behind him; he turned and saw his Firebolt hurtling towards him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead in mid-air beside him, waiting for him to mount."

- The Firebolt, under influence of this spell.

The Summoning Charm (incantation: Accio) was a charm that caused an object at a distance from the caster to fly into his or her arms. It was one of the oldest spells known to wizarding society.

History
This spell's most famous use was, according to Miranda Goshawk, by the Accionites and their leader, Gideon Flatworthy.

Casting and effects
The Summoning Charm could not be used on buildings. In addition, it did not work on most living things, and those few on which it did were generally not considered worth Summoning, such as flobberworms.

The farther the desired object was from the caster, the harder it was to Summon. However, there was apparently some controversy over this claim, as Hermione Granger stated that it did not matter how far away the object was — so long as the caster had it clearly in mind, they should be able to Summon it with ease.

There were counterspells that could be placed on objects to keep them from being Summoned. Most wizarding goods sold as of the 20th century and early 21st century came pre-enchanted with anti-theft spells to keep them from being Summoned by anyone but their rightful owners.

Etymology
The Latin word accio means "I call" or "I summon". In the Hungarian translation, the spell is called "Invito", possibly from the word "to invite".

Behind the scenes

 * In the 2006 short film The Queen's Handbag, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley both use the charm in an attempt to retrieve Queen Elizabeth II's handbag, which has been lost. They are unsuccessful and Hermione suggests they're too far away from it, suggesting the charm may have a maximum range. However, in Goblet of Fire, Hermione stated that distance didn't matter, as long as the caster was concentrating hard enough. Also, the short film's canonicity is uncertain, so it is unlikely this applies to mainstream continuity.
 * In the console and PC versions of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, it can be bought at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment in Diagon Alley.
 * In the handheld versions of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Accio can move an object in any direction, not just towards the caster. In some cases, it moves an object directly away from the caster, working more like its opposite.
 * When Hermione Summoned Secrets of the Darkest Art from Dumbledore's office, she simply said "Accio Horcrux books", instead of the specific book name, meaning that this spell can function even when the item's description is not detailed.
 * According to Wonderbook, the hand motion is thus:

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * The Queen's Handbag
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * Harry Potter Trading Card Game
 * Wonderbook: Book of Spells

Notes and references
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