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"Chasers were also becoming increasingly irritated by the necessity of diving continually towards the ground to retrieve the Quaffle and so, shortly after the Quaffle's change of colour, the witch Daisy Pennifold had the idea of bewitching the Quaffle so that if dropped, it would fall slowly earthwards as though sinking through water, meaning that Chasers could grab it in mid-air."
— Description of the spell's invention[src]

The Slowing Charm[4] (Arresto Momentum)[1][2] was a charm that could be used to slow the velocity of an object. It was taught in second-year[7] and fifth-year[5] Charms class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

History[]

This charm was invented by the witch Daisy Pennifold in 1711 so it could be used to slow down falling Quaffles in Quidditch matches, allowing for Chasers to grab them in mid-air.[3]

1980s[]

"Welcome to Charms class! Today we will be covering Arresto Momentum, a spell that decreases an object's velocity. Listen closely, or else you may find it's your education, rather than your target, that gets stalled."
— Professor Flitwick to his fifth-year students[src]
ArrestoMomentumHM

A ball being slowed down with this charm

During the 1890–1891 school year at Hogwarts, Flying Instructor Madam Kogawa taught this charm to the new fifth-year student to catch them up to their classmates outside of Flying class.[8]

During the 1988–1989 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Filius Flitwick taught his fifth-year students how to cast this charm in Charms class.[5]

2010s[]

During the Calamity in the 2010s, this spell was used heavily by the volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force to slow down and freeze various Confoundable that were guarding Foundables, in particular pixies. A Calamity Investigator working for the task force also used a combination of this spell and the Summoning Charm to harvest hair from even the swiftest Granian winged horses. The investigator found that the hair from extremely swift Granians was even more potent, reducing the brewing time for their Exstimulo Potion.[6]

Known uses[]

Caster(s) Date Notes
Chiyo Kogawa Before 1890 Used this spell to save a boy who fell off his broomstick during class.[8]
Rudolph Spielman 30 May 1927 Used this charm to save his life after Gellert Grindelwald threw him and his wand from his Thestral-drawn carriage, using the spell to miraculously stop him from hitting the water at such a high impact, allowing him to fall into it safely.[9]
CoG Spielman Slowing Charm
Patricia Rakepick 1989 To slow down the falling debris in the Buried Vault after the resident Hungarian Horntail dragon had awoken.[10]
Albus Dumbledore 6 November 1993 Used this charm wandlessly to slow down a falling Harry Potter after he was attacked by Dementors during a Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match.[11][1]
Qui LeBlanc 2010s Used this charm during Field Studies to slow down the fall of an unidentified student.[12]
Calamity Investigator in the Statute of Secrecy Task Force Late 2010s or early 2020s Used this charm in combination with the Summoning Charm to slow down Granian winged horses for long enough to collect their Granian hair.[6]

Known practitioners[]

Etymology[]

  • Likely the combination of two words; the Anglo-French "arester", meaning "to bring to a stop", and the Latin "Momentum", meaning "the force or strength gained whilst moving". Literal translation: "bring its momentum to a stop".

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

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Notes and references[]

See also[]

Charms (class)
PS Wingardium Leviosa feather
Charm-book writers and developers
Blagdon Blay · Daisy Pennifold · Delfina Crimp · Miranda Goshawk · Jarleth Hobart · Basil Horton · Helixa Hyslop · Syna Hyslop · Randolph Keitch · Levina Monkstanley · Orabella Nuttley · Mnemone Radford · Scarpin · Elliot Smethwyck · Felix Summerbee · Violeta Stitch
Professors Fortinbras · Filius Flitwick · Abraham Ronen · Unidentified male professor · Unidentified medieval professor
Textbooks Achievements in Charming · Extreme Incantations · Quintessence: A Quest · The Standard Book of Spells
Charms studied at Hogwarts
Anti-Alohomora Charm · Ascension Charm (Ascendio) · Banishing Charm (Depulso) · Blackboard Writing Spell · Blue sparks · Bombardment Spell (Bombarda) · Box Blasting Charm (Cistem Aperio) · Bubble-Head Charm · Cheering Charm · Cleaning Charm · Colour Change Charm (Colovaria) · Confundus Charm (Confundo) · Counter-charm for hiccoughs · Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra) · Descendo · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Disillusionment Charm · Drought Charm · Entrancing Enchantments (theoretically) · Eradication Spell (Deletrius) · Engorgement Charm (Engorgio) · Extinguishing Spell · 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 · Ice Jinx · Impervius Charm (Impervius) · Knitting Charm · Knockback Jinx (Flipendo) · Leg-Locker Curse (Locomotor Mortis) · Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa) · Locking Spell (Colloportus) · Locomotion Charm (Locomotor) · Lumos Solem Spell (Lumos Solem) · 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 Charm (Skurge) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Spell for growing legs · Substantive Charm · Summoning Charm (Accio) · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Unlocking Charm (Alohomora) · Vinegar to wine spell · Wand-Extinguishing Charm (Nox) · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos) · Lumos Maxima · Water-Making Spell (Aguamenti)
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