Decoy Detonator

Decoy Detonators
Object information
Location	Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
Manufacturer	Fred and George Weasley
Usage	Used to create a diversion
Owners	Fred and George Weasley Harry Potter

Fred Weasley: "And our Decoy Detonators are just walking off the shelves, look. You just drop one surreptitiously and it'll run off and make a nice loud noise out of sight, giving you a diversion if you need one."

Harry Potter: "Handy."

— Fred Weasley showing Harry Potter Decoy Detonators

Decoy Detonators were black horn-like magical objects designed to create a diversion. After being dropped, the decoy ran a fair distance away, made a noise like a loud bang, and released clouds of black smoke, diverting attention from the user.

History

Invented by Fred and George Weasley, they were for sale at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Fred and George gave several of these devices to Harry Potter, refusing payment on the grounds that his thousand galleon investment had allowed them to start the business.

"Crouching down beneath the Cloak, he placed the Decoy Detonator on the ground. It scuttled away at once through the legs of the witches and wizards in front of him. A few moments later, during which Harry waited with his hand upon the doorknob, there came a loud bang and a great deal of acrid smoke billowed from a corner. The young witch in the front row shrieked: Pink pages flew everywhere as she and her fellows jumped up, looking around for the source of the commotion."

— Harry Potter causing a distraction in the Ministry of Magic

Harry used one on 2 September 1997, during the Infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, to create a diversion to distract several Ministry of Magic employees. He subsequently entered Dolores Umbridge's office to search for Salazar Slytherin's Locket, one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxex.

Decoy Detonators were among the various magical items that became trapped as Foundables across the Wizarding world in the Calamity, which happened during the 2010s.

In April 2020, The Burrow was mentioned as an important historical site in a travel guide titled One Hundred Historical Sites from the Second Wizarding War, leading to a massive influx of tourists visiting the house and a resulting Calamity surge focused on it and its residents. Ron Weasley sent his father, Arthur, a box of Decoy Detonators in an attempt to scare off the tourists, but they only managed to startle the family chickens, who covered Arthur in feathers and pecked him relentlessly.

Behind the scenes

Concept art of a Decoy Detonator

• The Decoy Detonator makes an appearance in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It serves the same purpose as in the book, but in the film the device is capable of multiplying itself to cause widespread confusion. However, it could also be assumed that this was a magical effect added later on by Harry or Hermione Granger, similar to Geminio.
• In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, both Fred and George Weasley have Decoy Detonators as controllable "pets".
• In the Magic Mischief' game in The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes, Decoy Detonators can be used to distract an enemy to continue in the game.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Appeared on DVD 2nd-disc Special Feature)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Harry Potter (website) (Mentioned only)
• The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned in History of Magic classes)
• The Art of Harry Potter: Mini Book of Graphic Design