Blood pact

Blood pact
Type	Binding magical contract
Effect	Creates a magical bond between two people through the sharing of blood

A blood pact (incantation unknown), also known as a blood troth or Oath, was a type of magically binding agreement between two parties who shared their blood.

Once made, the phial that contained one's blood pact was viewed as being irreversible in nature and nearly impossible to destroy, though there were few instances across the wizarding history where the blood pacts were broken once and for all, that many chose to simply call it "fate".

Description and effects

It could be made by the parties cutting their hands with their wands and interlacing them and making the desired oath. Upon doing this, two glowing drops of blood would raise from their palms and mingle into one. Thereafter, a phial would take shape around it, enclosing the drop, signifying that the deal was struck and serving as a physical manifestation of it.

Once made, a Blood pact could inflict physical harm upon the owner if they even thought about violating its terms.

There was one known way to destroy a Blood pact and render it void, if the the terms of the pact are violated inadvertently. For example, Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald made a Blood pact to never fight each other, however, when Dumbledore shielded someone from Grindelwald's attack, their spells clashed, technically violating the terms of their pact without meaning to.

Known uses

Dumbledore and Grindelwald

Dumbledore seeing himself and Grindelwald in the Mirror of Erised, cutting their hands

During their teenage years, Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald made a blood pact where they swore an oath never to fight each other - presumably as a fail-safe to ensure no rift were to set them apart in their grand endeavour to ignite the revolution between the magical and the non-magical aggregations wherein the former was intended to prevail in the end to mark an era of sovereignty over the latter, with Albus and Gellert spearheading it equally as unified leaders with neither wizard lesser or greater than the other. By 1927, Grindelwald still possessed the phial from this pact to protect it from Dumbledore, so that Dumbledore would not be able to ever attack him directly. However, the pact worked both ways and was therefore a double-edged sword, as while it protected Grindelwald from Dumbledore, it also prevented Grindelwald himself from personally eliminating Dumbledore, the greatest threat to his cause.

Newt giving Dumbledore his blood pact pendant at Hogwarts

It nevertheless served Grindelwald well by leaving Grindelwald personally undefeatable at the hands of Dumbledore but knowing fully well Dumbledore may still be capable of interfering in his revolution, he searched for a way to kill his rival should he act against his army. Eventually, Grindelwald discovered the extremely powerful Obscurus, Credence Barebone, who was the only one potentially capable of killing Dumbledore, and so planned to use him as a weapon against his rival. However, during the Battle in the Lestrange Family Mausoleum at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France, Grindelwald's vial was stolen without his knowledge by a Niffler belonging to Newt Scamander. This occurred even while Grindelwald had already begun swaying Credence against Dumbledore. Scamander subsequently brought the vial to Dumbledore at Hogwarts shortly thereafter, so he could attempt to destroy it.

The blood pact was finally broken when Dumbledore and his brother Aberforth shielded Credence Barebone from Grindelwald's Killing Curse, inadvertently violating the terms of the pact, rendering it void. The blood pact fell to the ground and shattered, instantly enabling the two to duel each other. When asked how it was possible, Dumbledore wasn't sure, telling Newt that "he sought to kill, I sought to protect. Our spells met. Let's call it fate." With the terms of the pact broken, Dumbledore was finally able to defeat Grindelwald many years later in 1945.

List of blood pacts

Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald's blood pact

See also

• Binding magical contract
• Unbreakable Vow

Behind the scenes

• In many cultures, blood is seen as a prevailing symbol of life. The tradition to affirm a contract, alliances or vow in blood, was regarded as making the deal irreversible in nature and involved a solemn ritual that involved the mixing of two drops of blood as a sacred seal.

Appearances

• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore: Movie Magic
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Appears in the spell book)