Mending Charm

Mending Charm
Incantation	Reparo (reh-PAH-roh)
Type	Charm
Hand movement
Light	None
Effect	Fixes broken objects
Creator	Orabella Nuttley (1754)

"The Mending Charm will repair broken objects with a flick of the wand. Accidents do happen, so it is essential to know how to mend our errors."

— Book of Spells

The Mending Charm, also known as the Repairing Charm (Reparo), was a charm that could be used to seamlessly repair a broken object and worked on most materials. This incredibly useful and practical charm was invented by Orabella Nuttley, in or before 1754.

History

The charm was invented by Orabella Nuttley, an employee of the Improper Use of Magic Office in the British Ministry of Magic, in or before 1754. She used her charm to repair the Colosseum after it had been accidentally destroyed. Thereafter, it became famous; this instance was recorded in Book of Spells, by Miranda Goshawk.

There were various textbooks containing instructions for this spell, including The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 (a first-year Charms textbook at Hogwarts), although there was still a spellbook designated entirely to the teaching of this charm.

During the 1985–1986 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, this spell was taught to second-year students in Transfiguration by Professor Minerva McGonagall.

Effects

"They stood back to back, the tall thin wizard and the short round one, and waved their wands in one identical sweeping motion. The furniture flew back to its original places; ornaments re-formed in midair, feathers zoomed into their cushions; torn books repaired themselves as they landed upon their shelves; oil lanterns soared onto side tables and reignited; a vast collection of splintered silver picture frames flew glittering across the room and alighted, whole and untarnished, upon a desk; rips, cracks, and holes healed everywhere, and the walls wiped themselves clean."

— Albus Dumbledore and Horace Slughorn using this charm to repair a destroyed living room in a Muggle house

The Mending charm's effects

The Mending Charm was effective at repairing most materials. However, damage caused by certain rare, powerful curses such as Fiendfyre were impossible to undo.

The charm was suitable for use only on inanimate objects. Use on living beings was entirely proscribed. Serious scarring could result if it were cast on a person or animal in an attempt to heal wounds.

This charm mending a broken plate

While a properly cast Mending Charm was generally enough to fix an object, it seemed less experienced casters might not have succeeded in returning liquids to broken containers.

This charm did not seem to work on objects of powerful and complex magic, such as broken Vanishing Cabinets or wands. Draco Malfoy proved the former by having spent almost an entire school year to repair the damaged cabinet through other means, due to the complexity of the magical passage. For snapped wands, although this charm can repair the physical form, the magical capacity would be damaged beyond repair, causing the wand in question to fall apart again upon attempted use; the sole exception goes to the Elder Wand which repaired Harry's wand, due to the strength and magnitude of the Elder Wand.

Known uses

"Harry missed the pod, hit the bowl, and shattered it. Reparo, he said hastily, poking the pieces with his wand, and the bowl sprang back together again."

— Harry Potter using the charm to repair a bowl

Successful

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Orabella Nuttley	1754	Nuttley invented this spell and in or around 1754 she stepped forward and fixed several columns with the Mending Charm she had invented. Preventing a breach of the Statute of Secrecy.
Eleazar Fig	1 September 1890	Eleazar used it to repair a bridge to the ruins of Percival Rackham's house.
Unidentified 19th-century Hogwarts student	2 September 1890	Taught the spell by Professor Abraham Ronen.
		Used this spell on broken items and buildings in Hogsmeade after the troll attack.
	1890–1891 school year	Used it to repair a suit of armour in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library in order to get through.
Mirabel Garlick		Used it to repair the broken glass caused by the shrieks of Mandrake roots in Herbology class.
Bob Ogden	1925	Used it to repair a pot that Merope Gaunt had broken.
Newt Scamander	6 December 1926	Used it nonverbally to repair Jacob Kowalski's apartment after several beasts escaped from his magical suitcase and broke up his belongings and blasted through a wall.
MACUSA Aurors	7 December 1926	Used it nonverbally to repair buildings after an Obscurial went on a path of destruction through New York City.
Jacob's sibling	1986–1987 school year	Used it to repair broken items in the Dragon Clubhouse.
		Used it to repair Gerald's broken pot.
	1987–1988 school year	Used it to repair a cabinet Sickleworth had damaged in the Artefact Room.
		Used it to repair Torvus's broken arrow for him in the Forbidden Forest.
Bill Weasley	August 1994	Used it to repair the table leg a couple days before the 422nd Quidditch World Cup.
Hermione Granger	1 September 1994	Used it to repair the broken glass in the door to a railway carriage compartment.
	30 May 1996	Used it to repair a teacup that Ron Weasley had broken during a Transfiguration class.
	10 March 1997	Used it to repair a set of scales broken by young girl (Vincent Crabbe or Gregory Goyle under Polyjuice Potion) in the corridor outside the Room of Requirement.
Seamus Finnigan	1 September 1995	Used it to repair the bed hangings, which fell when he pulled them with huge violence after quarrel with Harry Potter in the Gryffindor common room.
Harry Potter	10 September 1995	Used it to repair the china bowl of Murtlap Essence he had knocked to the floor. The spell couldn't put the liquid back in the repaired bowl.
	14 September 1996	After cutting the covers off the old and new Potions textbooks in his possession and swapping them, Harry 'repaired' the two swapped covers simultaneously by tapping each.
	15 October 1996	Used it to repair a bowl he had broken during a Herbology class.
	1 August 1997	Used it to repair Luchino Caffe after duel.
	2 May 1998	Used it with the Elder Wand to repair his own broken one, which worked due to the power the Elder Wand possesses.
Severus Snape	8 March 1996	Used it to repair a shattered jar in his office during Occlumency lesson.
Horace Slughorn	12 July 1996	Used it nonverbally (and in a masterly way) to undo the damage Slughorn had inflicted upon his borrowed living quarters in Budleigh Babberton.
Albus Dumbledore
Ron Weasley	1 August 1997	Used it to repair Luchino Caffe after duel.
Mathilda Grimblehawk's partner	Unknown	This spell was used many times to repair various clues found during investigations.

Unsuccessful

Caster	Date	Notes
Newt Scamander	6 December 1926	Intended to repair a structure at the Central Park Zoo that got destroyed by his Erumpent. Was unable to finish the incantation when a Baboon took his wand.
Jacob's sibling	1986–1987 school year	Used it to repair a statue but failed due to the protective spells cast on it.
Rubeus Hagrid	27 July 1997	Used it to keep the sidecar attached to the flying motorbike, but unsuccessful.
Hermione Granger	25 December 1997	Used it to repair Harry Potter's wand, but only physically, and the wand fell apart again upon attempted usage.

Known practitioners

Orabella Nuttley

Eleazar Fig

Abraham Ronen

Unidentified 19th-century Hogwarts student

Mirabel Garlick

Bob Ogden

Newton Scamander

Jacob's sibling

Minerva McGonagall

Filius Flitwick

William Weasley

Hermione Granger

Harry Potter

Severus Snape

Sirius Black

Horace Slughorn

Albus Dumbledore

Rubeus Hagrid

Ronald Weasley

Wandkeeper

Seamus Finnigan

Long Shouren

• Mathilda Grimblehawk's partner
• Unidentified Muggle-born Hogwarts student

Variations

Two similar spells existed: Oculus Reparo, which was used to repair glasses, and Papyrus Reparo, which could be used to restore torn pieces of paper. Their history and relationship to the original Mending Charm - apart from the etymology and effects - are unknown.

It is also possible that these incantations were just the Mending Charm with the appropriate spell modifier added.

Etymology

Reparo is a play on reparo (latin for fix, mend, or put back).

Behind the scenes

The spell's icon in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells

• A variation of this spell is the first verbal spell cast in the film series (Oculus Reparo) while the Mending Charm itself was the last spell cast in the book series.
• In the video games, this spell is either blue, violet or pink depending on the game.
• In many portrayals, the spell can cause entire areas of broken objects to be restored, reverse any damage and displacement, even levitating fallen objects back into their original place (such as books being put back in their shelves). It is similar to reversing time on broken objects to undo the damage.
• In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Minerva McGonagall possibly uses this charm to repair Neville Longbottom's desk in Transfiguration class after Neville accidentally vanished one of its legs by dropping his wand on the floor, with a wave of her wand. However, since Neville damaged his desk with transfiguration, it is possible that McGonagall instead used conjuration or a counter-spell to restore the vanished leg.
• This charm is notably used many times in the film inspired by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
• In Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the Mending Charm is depicted as a healing spell which can restore the stamina of teammates whilst playing challenges. This cannot be considered canonical, as canon states the charm only works to repair physical objects, not heal human injuries; in fact, this spell can cause serious scarring if attempted on wounds.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (First identified as Mending Charm) (Console versions)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game) (GBA and NDS versions only)
• 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 (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game) (Nintendo DS version only)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Harry Potter: Spells
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Harry Potter: The Wand Collection (Mentioned only)
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Non-canonical appearance)
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

Notes and references

The Standard Book of Spells
Grade 1 · Grade 2 · Grade 3 · Grade 4 · Grade 5 · Grade 6 · Grade 7
Charms included in the series: Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra) · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Engorgement Charm (Engorgio) · Fire-Making Spell (Incendio) · Freezing Charm (Immobulus) · General Counter-Spell (Finite Incantatem) · Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa) · Locking Spell (Colloportus) · Memory Charm (Obliviate) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Nonverbal spell · Severing Charm (Diffindo) · Skurge Charm (Skurge) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Substantive Charm · Summoning Charm (Accio) · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Unlocking Charm (Alohomora) · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos)