Blasting Curse

Blasting Curse
Incantation	Confringo (con-FRING-go)
Type	Curse
Hand movement
Light	Fiery orange
Effect	Explosion

"As they soared upwards, away from the two remaining Death Eaters, Harry spat blood out of his mouth, pointed his wand at the falling sidecar, and yelled, Confringo!"

— The curse being used in the Battle of the Seven Potters

The Blasting Curse (Confringo) was a curse that caused the target to explode.

This curse could incapacitate, as well as injure, and in some cases, kill, so it was popular when it came to duelling. It could also be used to destroy objects and fight back against animals. However, it wasn't always the most precise spell and for that reason could result in unintended consequences.

History

A powerful explosion caused by this curse

The Blasting Curse was invented some time before the year 1430, when Alberta Toothill used this curse in the All-England Wizarding Duelling Competition. Toothill defeated Samson Wiblin, who was the favourite.

In the 1890–1891 school year, the Slytherin student Sebastian Sallow showed an unidentified student a secret chamber known as the Undercroft in which he taught the student the Blasting Curse and allowed them to practise it on items in the chamber, including hanging candelabras. Upon learning it, the student used it several times, including in various Trials of Merlin in the Scottish Highlands surrounding the Hogwarts grounds. They likely also utilised it in combat from then on.

A spellbook for this curse could be found nearby an old building close to an Acromantula lair and some abandoned nuclear power plants.

Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter discussed whether to use this curse to destroy the experimental Time-Turner that they stole from the British Ministry of Magic.

Known uses

"Hermione screamed, ‘Confringo!’ and her spell flew around the room, exploding the wardrobe mirror and ricocheting back at them, bouncing from floor to ceiling; Harry felt the heat of it sear the back of his hand."

— Hermione using this curse against Nagini in Bathilda Bagshot's home

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Alberta Toothill	1430	She used this curse to defeat Samson Wiblin in the All-England Wizarding Duelling Competition.
Sebastian Sallow	1890	He used this curse among many others during his time at Hogwarts, and also taught an unidentified student the curse in the Undercroft.
Unidentified 19th-century Hogwarts student	1890	Upon learning to cast the Blasting Curse from Sebastian Sallow in the Undercroft, this student tested and practised the curse on various items in the chamber. They then used it for several puzzles and riddles, like Trials of Merlin, around the lands surrounding Hogwarts, and likely also in combat against several adversaries.
Pieter Talli	1986–1987 school year	During his duel with Merula Snyde.
Patricia Rakepick	Start of 1987–1988 school year	Taught this curse to Jacob's sibling whilst training them to prepare for the Cursed Vaults, and previously used this spell against them to help them master the Shield Charm.
	End of 1987–1988 school year	Used this spell to blast and incapacitate Ben Copper in the Clock Tower Courtyard, after he attacked Jacob's sibling, Rowan Khanna and Charlie Weasley while disguised as R's messenger.
Jacob's sibling	1987–1988 school year	Jacob's sibling used this spell whilst practising duelling with Patricia Rakepick.
Harry Potter	27 July 1997	Harry used this curse to destroy Sirius Black's flying motorcycle's side-car during the Battle of the Seven Potters.
Hermione Granger	24 December 1997	Hermione used it in an attempt to kill Nagini and facilitate her and Harry's escape from Bathilda Bagshot's house in Godric's Hollow, but broke Harry's wand in the process.
Corban Yaxley	1998	Used during the Battle at the Ministry to attack some Ministry visitors.

Possible uses

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Peter Pettigrew	1 November 1981	Likely used an extremely powerful Blasting Curse to decimate a street and kill twelve Muggles at once in London, while evading Sirius Black, who was blamed for the crimes and Pettigrew's alleged death. The explosion was so fierce, it left a massive crater in the street, with the pipes showing. The Ministry gave an excuse of a "gas leak" to the surviving Muggles, and thought that Black was the one who used the curse.
Death Eater	1980s	It was possible that this was the curse used by a Death Eater to kill Benjy Fenwick, as he was blasted into pieces and fellow members of the Order of the Phoenix only managed to find bits of his body.
Unknown	1998	This curse may have been the cause of the explosion which killed Fred Weasley during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Known practitioners

Sebastian Sallow

Ominis Gaunt

Unidentified 19th-century Hogwarts student

Alberta Toothill

Pieter Talli

Patricia Rakepick

Jacob's sibling

Hermione Granger

Harry Potter

Corban Yaxley

Etymology

Confringo is Latin for "I break".

Behind the scenes

This spell as seen in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells

• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Professor McGonagall possibly uses the Blasting Curse to duel against Snape (just in case this is not the Blasting Curse, it is referred to as the fiery offensive spell), defeating Amycus and Alecto Carrow in the process. Though it did not burn them and simply knocked them down, leaving them incapacitated.
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Harry uses the Blasting Curse against Nagini in an attempt to kill her and possibly to provoke Voldemort to chase Harry, so the snake would stay behind unprotected. This fails in that the spells bounces off Nagini, due to her magical protection, and instead strikes multiple Death Eaters, though they are only knocked over and otherwise seem undamaged by the explosive spell. Immediately after this instance, Voldemort also casts several of what appear to be Blasting Curses at Harry as he jumps into a corridor and escapes Voldemort's wrath.
• Both this spell and Expulso share similar effects, though - unlike the latter - Confringo is sometimes accompanied by fiery explosions. However, in the Deathly Hallows video games, Confringo is an explosive spell, while Expulso serves as a sort of "machine gun" spell, causing damage similar to gunshots.
• In different varieties of games and films, the colour of Confringo varies. Its two main colours so far are a light blue and purple, or simply a fiery explosion.
• In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the colour of the curse varies. For the player, the curse is blue; enemies fire red curses; bosses, Snape, Greyback and Bellatrix fire green curses.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Mentioned on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Mentioned on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Possibly mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Possibly mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Possibly mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play) (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore (Mentioned on a Famous Wizard Card)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Possible appearance)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter: Spells
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Hogwarts Legacy
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

See also

• Bombarda Maxima
• Bombardment Spell
• Expulso Curse

External links

• Confringo at the Hogwarts Legacy Wiki