Slowing Charm

Slowing Charm
Incantation	Arresto Momentum (ah-REST-oh mo-MEN-tum)
Type	Charm
Hand movement	Capital "M" figure
Light	None
Effect	Slows or stops target's velocity
Creator	Daisy Pennifold (1711)

"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

The Slowing Charm (Arresto Momentum) was a charm that could be used to slow the velocity of an object. It was taught in second year Charms class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

History

Spielman using this spell to prevent his death

In 1927, the German wizard Rudolph Spielman used this charm to save his life after Gellert Grindelwald threw him and his wand from his Incarceration Carriage, using the spell to miraculously stop him from hitting the water at such a high impact, allowing him to fall into it safely.

During the 1988–1989 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Filius Flitwick taught his fifth-years how to cast this particular charm in Charms class. This spell was later used that school year by Patricia Rakepick, to slow down the falling debris in the Portrait Vault after the resident Hungarian Horntail dragon had awoken.

In 1993, Albus Dumbledore used this charm wandlessly to slow down a falling Harry Potter after he was attacked by Dementors during a Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match.

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.

Known practitioners

Rudolph Spielman

Albus Dumbledore

Filius Flitwick

Hermione Granger

Patricia Rakepick

Jacob's sibling

• Daisy Pennifold
• Unnamed referee in the 2014 Quidditch World Cup

See also

• Freezing Charm

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

• An alternative spelling, "Arresto Momento", is given in the seventh video game and first LEGO game.
• This spell was meant to be in the Game Boy Advance version of the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is evidenced by the game's debug menu, which is inaccessible during normal gameplay but can be accessed via a cheating device such as an Action Replay. One of the options is a list of all of the text in the game, with "Arresto Momento" (using the alternate spelling mentioned above) being listed along with the game's other spells.
• In the fifth and eighth films, the spell's effect is to directly stop movement as opposed to merely slowing it.
• In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, it is taught to second years while in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, it taught to fifth years.

Appearances

Slowing Charm as appears in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (First appearance) (First identified as Arresto Momentum)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game) (Cut from final version)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game) (NDS version only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (First identified as Slowing Charm)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Quidditch Through the Ages (real) (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Portable versions only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite