Severing Charm

Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

The Severing Charm (Diffindo) was a charm used to precisely and accurately cut something.^[1] It was taught in second year charms classes^[4] and Fourth year classes,^[5] and if used inappropriately can cause death or injury.^[1]

A spellbook for this charm could be found in one of the Herbology greenhouses;^[2] this was also detailed in both Book of Spells^[1] and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1.^[6]

History

This spell was invented in the fifteenth century by seamstress and witch Delfina Crimp. She made the spell because prior to her discovery, cutting spells were apt to burn or shred things. However, a rival muggle clothesmaker, Snickerton, realised that she could do magic and raided her shop with friends. They held her tied up and nearly killed her. However, she convinced them to release her to scratch a wart on her chin, revealing the wart to be her hidden wand. She brought her wand forth and disapparated with a sack of gold.

It is implied that Crimp may have continued to use it, or cast a curse on Snickerton with similar effects, as all of his subsequent creations were found sliced up. ^[1]

Known uses

Successful

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.[1]
Filius Flitwick & Jacob's sibling	1987–1988 school year	Professor Filius Flitwick taught this spell to his Fourth year charms students.[5]
Harry Potter	23 November, 1994	Used it to cut Cedric Diggory's bookbag to delay him from class so that he could warn Cedric privately about the First Task of Triwizard Tournament.[7]
	14 September, 1996	Used it to detach the front cover of his shop-bought potions textbook to replace it with a vandalised version using the Mending Charm.[8]
	28 December, 1997	Used it to break the ice from the frozen pool in the Forest of Dean, where Severus Snape had hidden the Sword of Gryffindor.[9]
Ron Weasley	25 December, 1994	Used it to sever the lace sleeves of his dress robes before the Yule Ball.[10]
Hermione Granger	1 August, 1997	Used it to remove the bindings on Ron Weasley conjured by Antonin Dolohov after a fight in a cafe; she trembled so much that she cut Ron with it.[11]
	25 December, 1997	Used it to remove the Salazar Slytherin's locket from Harry Potter's chest shortly after they were attacked by Nagini in Bathilda Bagshot's home in Godric's Hollow.[12]
Peter Pettigrew (possibly)	24 June, 1995	Used it nonverbally to break Tom Riddle's Gravestone.[13]
Lord Voldemort (possibly)	March, 1998	Used it nonverbally to break Albus Dumbledore's tomb.[13]

Unsuccessful

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Harry Potter	18 June, 1996	Used it to sever the tentacles of brain, which attacked Ron Weasley after he summoned it in the Brain Room during the battle in Department of Mysteries, but unsuccessful.[14]
	2 September, 1997	Used it to break Mary Cattermole free of a chained chair, but unsuccessful.[15]
	3 September, 1997	Used it to destroy the Salazar Slytherin's locket in Dartmoor, but unsuccessful.[16]

Known practitioners

Etymology

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

See also

• Sectumsempra

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.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• LEGO Dimensions
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Pottermore
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

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

Charms (class)
Charmbook writers and developers
Blagdon Blay · Daisy Pennifold · Delfina Crimp · Miranda Goshawk · Jarleth Hobart · Basil Horton · Randolph Keitch · Levina Monkstanley · Orabella Nuttley · Mnemone Radford · Scarpin · Elliot Smethwyck · Felix Summerbee · Fred Weasley · George Weasley · Violeta Stitch
Professors	Fortinbras · Filius Flitwick
Textbooks	Achievements in Charming · Extreme Incantations · Quintessence: A Quest · The Standard Book of Spells
Charms studied at Hogwarts
Banishing Charm (Depulso) · Blackboard Writing Spell · Bubble-Head Charm · Cheering Charm · Cistem Aperio · Cleaning Charm · Colour Change Charm (Colovaria) · Confundus Charm (Confundo) · Counter-charm for hiccoughs · Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra) · Descendo · Disillusionment Charm · Drought Charm · Eradication Spell (Deletrius) · Engorgement Charm (Engorgio) · Exploding Charm (Bombarda) · Fire-Making Spell (Incendio) · Freezing Charm (Immobulus) · Freezing Spell (Glacius) · Full Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus) · General Counter-Spell (Finite Incantatem) · Gouging Spell (Defodio) · Growth Charm · Knitting Charm · Knockback Jinx (Flipendo) · Leg-Locker Curse (Locomotor Mortis) · Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa) · Locking Spell (Colloportus) · Locomotion Charm (Locomotor) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Memory Charm (Obliviate) · Muffliato Charm (Muffliato) · Nonverbal spells · Pack Charm (Pack) · Red Sparks (Vermillious) · Reductor Curse (Reducto) · Scouring Charm (Scourgify) · Seize and Pull Charm (Carpe Retractum) · Severing Charm (Diffindo) · Shrinking Charm (Reducio) · Silencing Charm (Silencio) · Slowing Charm (Arresto Momentum) · Skurge Scouring Charm (Skurge) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Spell for growing legs · Substantive Charm · Summoning Charm (Accio) · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Unlocking Charm (Alohomora) · Vinegar into Wine · Wand-Extinguishing Charm (Nox) · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos) · Lumos Maxima · Water-Making Spell (Aguamenti)