Severing Charm

Warning!

At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article.

"With the Severing Charm, cutting or tearing objects is a simple matter of wand control. The spell can be quite precise in skilled hands, and the Severing Charm is widely used in a variety of wizarding trades. Useful as it is, this charm should be practised with caution, as a careless swipe of the wand can cause injury."

—Miranda Goshawk^[src]

The Severing Charm (Diffindo) was a charm used to precisely and accurately cut something.^[3] It has been taught in second year charms classes,^[4], and Fourth year classes^[5], and if used inappropriately can cause death or injury.^[3]

History

"The Severing Charm was created in the fifteenth century by wizarding seamstress Delfina Crimp who created it as an easy and convenient way of cutting cloth and thread."

—Book of Spells

This spell was invented in the fifteenth century by wizarding seamstress Delfina Crimp. She made the spell because prior to her discovery, cutting spells were apt to burn or shred things. However, a fellow seamster nearly killed her after he raided her shop, having realised that she could do magic, and held her tied up. Nonetheless, upon being released to scratch a wart on her chin the wart brought her wand forth and she disapparated with a sack of gold.^[3]

Known uses

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Delfina Crimp	1400s	The charm was invented in this time by Delfina Crimp and used by her to make and tailor clothing.^[3]
Filius Flitwick & Jacob's sibling	1987–1988 school year	Professor Filius Flitwick taught this spell to his Fourth year charms students.^[5]
Harry Potter	November 1994	He cut Cedric Diggory's bookbag with this spell to delay him from class so that he could warn Cedric privately about the First Task.^[6]
	18 June, 1996	Harry used this to attempt to defend Ron against some brains that were attacking him.^[7]
	1996	Later that year, he used the charm to detach the front cover of his shop-bought potions textbook to replace it with a vandalised version using the mending spell.^[8]
	2 September, 1997	Harry tried to break Mary Cattermole free of a chained chair; it failed.^[9]
	3 September, 1997	Harry also used this to attempt to destroy a locket in the woods, but failed.^[10]
	January 1998	Harry used this a fourth time to break the ice from the frozen pool where a sword was hidden.^[9]
Ron Weasley	25 December, 1994	He used it to sever the lace sleeves of his dress robes before the Yule Ball.^[6]
Hermione Granger	1 August, 1997	Hermione used this to remove the bindings on Ron Weasley after a fight in a cafe; she trembled so much that she cut Ron with it.
Hermione Granger	24 December, 1997	She used the spell again to remove a locket from Harry Potter's chest shortly after they were attacked by the dark lord.

Known practitioners

Etymology

The incantation is the Latin first person active indicative for "to split, cleave or open".

Behind the scenes

In the Harry Potter Trading Card Game, Diffindo is incorrectly labelled as a Transfiguration spell.
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 and LEGO Dimensions, it allows the player to cut through red LEGO walls.
A spellbook for this charm can be found in one of the Herbology greenhouses; this is also detailed in both Book of Spells and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1.

Appearances

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: Fire-Making Spell · Levitation Charm · Locking Spell · Mending Charm · Softening Charm · Severing Charm · Unlocking Charm · Dancing Feet Spell · Disarming Charm · Engorgement Charm · Freezing Charm · General Counter-Spell · Memory Charm · Tickling Charm · Summoning Charm · Banishing Charm · Substantive Charm

[0] Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PC, Mac),Wonderbook: Book of Spells

[1] Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)

[WON-2] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Wonderbook: Book of Spells

[VG2-3] Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)

[HM412-4] 5.0 ^5.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Chapter 12 (Working with Snape)

[GOF-5] 6.0 ^6.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

[OOTP-6] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[HBP-7] Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

[DH-8] 9.0 ^9.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

[DHF-9] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)

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