Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery & Harry Potter: Magic Awakened. |
- "It was not normal fire; Crabbe had used a curse of which Harry had no knowledge: As they turned a corner the flames chased them as though they were alive, sentient, intent upon killing them. Now the fire was mutating, forming a gigantic pack of fiery beasts: Flaming serpents, Chimaeras, and dragons rose and fell and rose again, and the detritus of centuries on which they were feeding was thrown up in the air into their fanged mouths, tossed high on clawed feet, before being consumed by the inferno."
- — Description[src]
Fiendfyre, or the Fiendfyre Curse (Pestis Incendium),[1] was a deadly curse that produced powerful enchanted flames of immense size and heat that were capable of destroying nearly anything and everything in its path. The flames could also take the form of gigantic fiery magical beasts such as serpents, Chimaeras, and dragons that sought out living targets. It required extreme skill and intense concentration to control the flames and the beasts they could become.[2]
This curse was an advanced type of Dark Magic, and it was one of the few known substances capable of destroying Horcruxes.[2]
Description and effects[]
Fiendfyre was an immensely powerful fire, burning at severely high temperatures. It could not be extinguished by normal or conjured water.[2][3] It was also very difficult for the caster to control,[2] flowing from their wand in a continuous stream of flame. If the caster flicked their wand when the stream of flame was still running from it, a jet of fire would shoot off and take the form of a large beast made of flame that almost seemed to have a mind of its own.[4]
When cast, the fire appeared with a roaring, billowing noise and gave its victims only a split-second's warning to escape, quickly consuming anything in the vicinity of its caster; it was difficult for the caster to control the movement of the abnormally large flames. The flames could take the form of fiery serpents, dragons, and Chimaeras, constantly mutating into other beasts as well as powerful, formless flames that destroy all things around itself at the caster’s wishes. The fire even possessed a sentience of its own, a continuous (though far from latent) desire to burn anything it could.[2] It would pursue any nearby lifeforms and anything that it could destroy, and was even capable of incinerating anything through mere contact.[4]
As Fiendfyre was extremely dangerous and even vaguely sentient, most casters had major difficulty with controlling the fire once it had been unleashed. Vincent Crabbe never learnt how to control the flames, therefore costing him his own life.[2] Casters with greater skill had an easier time controlling the flames, and could direct them to attack their opponents.[5][6] It was unknown if the fire was able to burn off on its own; it could be extinguished, but not with normal water and was hard to extinguish.
Fiendfyre was one of the few substances known with the ability to destroy Horcruxes. Hermione Granger was aware of this, but never considered the use of it against Voldemort's Horcruxes due to the inherently dangerous, uncontrollable nature of the spell.[2]
Known uses[]
Caster(s) | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|
Merula Snyde | 1988–1989 school year | Merula tried to teach Jacob's sibling this curse in Classroom 3C, however she lost the control of the fire until Professor Patricia Rakepick came and immediately extinguished it.[3] |
Verucca Buckthorn-Snyde | 22 June 1991 | Verucca conjured Fiendfyre in anger at the Viaduct to attack Peregrine with cursed flames. The flames made him fall off the Viaduct without his wand.[6] |
Amycus Carrow | 1997–1998 school year | Harry Potter speculated that Amycus was the one to teach Vincent Crabbe how to summon Fiendfyre, since he was the Dark Arts professor.[2] |
Vincent Crabbe | 2 May 1998 | Crabbe cast it during a skirmish in the Room of Requirement, during the Battle of Hogwarts, while it was transformed into the Room of Hidden Things. He conjured it in an attempt to kill Harry, Hermione and Ron in the room. He died in the ensuing magical inferno, having been unable to extinguish the flames. His use of Fiendfyre also destroyed Ravenclaw's Diadem[2], which was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. |
Known practitioners[]
Etymology[]
In Latin, pestis means "plague" or "pest". A plague is "a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and kills many people". Incendium means "fire". Together, Pestis Incendium means "fire plague", which alludes to the Fiendfyre Curse's ability to spread rapidly and kill many people if left uncontrolled and/or unchecked.
Behind the scenes[]
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Gregory Goyle conjures Fiendfyre and dies instead of Crabbe, since Jamie Waylett (who played Vincent Crabbe) had been cut from the film. Also, whereas Crabbe died because he could not run fast enough from the fire, Goyle was depicted as having been unable to stop the flame from pouring out of his wand (who then ends up throwing it into the flames), and falling into the flames from grabbing a loose chair while climbing up a mountain of various objects to safety. Additionally, water could be used to douse the fire, though the rate the flames spread limited its effectiveness.
- In the film adaptation, Fiendfyre was not used to completely destroy Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem. Instead, Harry stabbed it with the Serpent of Slytherin's fang to fatally damage it first, and then Ron kicked it into the Fiendfyre to finish the job. This led Voldemort's mangled soul to possess the flames briefly and scream in pain before it was destroyed.[4]
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the spell used by Durmstrang students at the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament for show bears resemblance to Fiendfyre,[7] though as the film came out before the curse debuted in the books, it's likely that the similarity was coincidental.
- Fiendfyre was used to assist in duels twice in the films. In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Lord Voldemort conjures a giant fire snake during his duel with Albus Dumbledore, who manages to hold off the flames.[8] Likewise, Bellatrix Lestrange likely uses Fiendfyre to destroy the Burrow in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.[9] However, both events contradict the events of the books. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore forces Voldemort to conjure a silver shield, and Rufus Scrimgeour visits the Burrow in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince instead of Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback. Therefore, of these acts of Fiendfyre, none could be considered canon yet within the continuity of the books.
- The protective Dark charm Protego Diabolica is remarkably similar in its effects to Fiendfyre, with the notable exception of the former being harmless to those allied with the caster; it is possible that both of these exceptionally Dark and destructive spells were related in some way.
- It is possible that Gormlaith Gaunt may have used this curse to burn down her sister's cottage as she was able to easily rescue her niece without being harmed.[10] The house also seemed to burn down unnaturally fast, which could have been a result of this curse having a mind of its own.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (Possible appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Non-canonical appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Non-canonical appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Possible appearance) (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
- Pottermore
- Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter for Kinect
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
- Harry Potter: Magic Caster Wand (First identified as Pestis Incendium)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter: Magic Caster Wand (see this image and this image)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 28 (About Merula)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film), Chapter 29 (Wizard's Duel)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 57 (The Final Battle)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (see this image)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (see this image)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (see this image)
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" at Wizarding World