Shrinking Charm

Shrinking Charm
Incantation	Reducio (ruh-DOO-see-oh)
Type	Charm
Hand movement
Light	Purple
Effect	Shrinks target

"These straightforward but surprisingly dangerous charms cause certain things to swell or shrink. You will be learning both charms together, so that you can always undo an over-enthusiastic cast. There is thus no excuse for having accidentally shrunk your homework down to microscopic size or for allowing a giant toad to rampage through your school’s flower gardens."

— Miranda Goshawk

The Shrinking Charm (Reducio) is a charm that causes an object to shrink. It is the counter-charm to the Engorgement Charm, causing enlarged objects to return to their original size. The Shrinking Charm is also used as the potion-making spell for the Shrinking Solution.

The use of a Shrinking Charm on a human is considered both complicated and dangerous.

History

During the 1985–1986 school year, the Shrinking Charm was covered in second year classes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Known practitioners and uses

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Jacob's sibling	1985–1986 school year	Jacob's sibling used an Engorgement Charm alongside the Shrinking Charm to sneak into another House common room.
Accidental Magic Reversal Squad	August 1993	The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad was called when Harry lost his temper and non-verbally cast the Inflating Charm on Marge causing her to inflate. They shrank her back to her normal size and used the Memory Charm to wipe her memory of the event.
Arthur Weasley	August 1994	Arthur Weasley used this charm to shrink the size of Dudley Dursley's swelled tongue after Fred Weasley purposefully gave him a Ton-Tongue Toffee, at 4 Privet Drive.
Bartemius Crouch Junior	September 1994	Whilst impersonating Alastor Moody, after having enlarged a spider with the Engorgement Charm, used this to return it to its normal size, during a fourth year Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.
Poppy Pomfrey	October 1994	When Hermione Granger was hexed by Draco Malfoy, her front teeth grew huge. Madame Pomfrey shrunk her teeth with this spell. Hermione used this occasion to avoid having braces because her teeth were originally larger than normal teeth and caused her to be compared to a chipmunk by other students.
Harry Potter	27 December, 1997	Harry, who had enlarged a spider with an Engorgement Charm with another's wand, tried to use this to return it to its normal size, but it didn't work. Later, he used it after he enlarged a lamp fire after he got another wand.

Known practitioners

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Filius Flitwick

Poppy Pomfrey

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Arthur Weasley

Bartemius Crouch Junior

Harry Potter

Jacob's sibling

Etymology

The incantation is a Latin word meaning "to reduce" or "is reducable", fitting for this spell's effects.

Behind the scenes

• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 the scene in which the spider is enlarged is replaced by a mirror scene including Bluebell Flames.
• The effects of this charm bear great similarity to those induced by the incantation of Diminuendo, used by Nigel Wolpert in 1995.

See also

• Diminuendo
• Head Shrink Spell

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells
• Wonderbook: Book of Potions
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery