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"He was on the sixth stair when there was a loud, wailing, klaxon-like sound and the steps melted together to make a long, smooth stone slide like a helter-skelter."
— Use of this spell as a security measure[src]

The Sliding Spell[2] (Glisseo) was a Transfiguration spell that could be used to transform a staircase into a smooth slide.[1] It was very old, having been in use since the Middle Ages.[3]

This spell could have been used to enchant a staircase to become a slide if certain people tried to climb it, so it was useful for preventing people from reaching a certain place. It was also useful in a combat scenario, as sliding down a slide was a much faster means of escaping pursuing enemies than running down a set of stairs.[2]

History[]

The Sliding Spell was used by the Hogwarts founders circa 993, when they enchanted the stairs of the girls' dormitories to turn into slides should any boy attempt to enter, but not vice versa, as they believed girls to be more trustworthy than boys.[3]

During the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998, Hermione Granger cast this spell on the stairs on which she, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley were standing, flattening them into a chute down which they slid very fast in an effort to escape the Death Eaters pursuing them, with their Stunning Spells shooting over them.[1]

Known practitioners[]

Etymology[]

This spell's incantation originates from the French verb "glisser", meaning "to slide".

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 32 (The Elder Wand)
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Sliding Spell at Wizarding World
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 17 (Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four)
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