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"From everyday uses such as fire-lighting, to igniting the occasional Christmas pudding the Fire-Making Spell is one of the most useful spells around the wizarding household."
— Entry on this spell in Book of Spells.[src]

The Fire-Making Spell[1] (Incendio) is the incantation of a spell that set things alight.

Known uses

""Incendio!" said Mr Weasley, pointing his wand at the hole in the wall behind him. Flames rose at once in the fireplace, crackling merrily as though they had been burning for hours."
— Arthur Weasley uses this spell at the Dursleys' house in 1994.[src]
Caster(s) Dates Notes
Albus Dumbledore (possibly) 1895 or 1896 He may have used this spell in his fourth-year at Hogwarts, "accidentally" setting his bed curtains on fire.
Albus Dumbledore (possibly) 1938 He may have used this spell combined with a Flame-Freezing Charm, to demonstrate his magical ability to eleven-year-old Tom Riddle in a Muggle orphanage. Both were used non-verbally.
Peter Pettigrew (possibly) 24 June, 1995 He may have used this to light a fire under Voldemort's cauldron in the Little Hangleton Graveyard.
Rubeus Hagrid (possibly) 1991 He may have used this spell to light a fire in the grate of the Hut in which the Dursley family and Harry Potter were staying to avoid the barrage of Harry's Hogwarts letters. Vernon Dursley had previously failed in lighting a fire there.
Minerva McGonagall (possibly) 1992 She may have used a nonverbal version of this spell to light a grate in Severus Snape's office before Dumbledore arrived, when Harry and Ron smashed a Flying Ford Anglia into the Whomping Willow.
Tom (possibly) 1993 He may have used this to light a fireplace.
Arthur Weasley 1994 He used this spell to start a fire in the Dursley's fireplace, which terrified them.
Alastor Moody (possibly) 1995 He may have used this to burn a piece of parchment used to reveal the location of 12 Grimmauld Place to Harry.
Thorfinn Rowle 1997 He used this spell to set fire to Rubeus Hagrid's cabin.[2]
Incendio Hut
Hermione Granger 1998

She used this spell to try and destroy the locket of Salazar Slytherin.

HP-7-WBZ.avi 003748280
Harry Potter 1998 He too used this spell to try and destroy the locket, though without any incantation (non-verbally).

Known practitioners

Etymology

  • In Latin, incendio is the dative or ablative singular of incendium, "fire", and can mean "to fire" or "for fire" (dative), "by fire" or "with fire" (ablative of instrument or means). Thus, the incantation is a way of calling upon fire to burn a desired object, since the spell caster wills harm to be done to an object "by (means of) fire."
  • "Incendio" is the Catalan and Portuguese word for "fire".
  • "Incendio" (pronounced in-cen-DI-u) is also the first person singular of the present of the Spanish verb "incendiar", meaning "to set fire to".

Behind the scenes

This may be the spell Remus Lupin used on the Hogwarts Express 1993, combined with a Flame-Freezing Charm when the lights went out as he is described as "holding a handful of flames" though it is more likely that he used the charm for Bluebell flames[12]. This may also be the spell he used to relight candles during the Patronus lesson[10].

  • In the video game adaptations of Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets, Incendio is the Bluebell flames charm Hermione uses in the first book. It is used primarily to wilt dank-loving, threatening plants and burn through spider webs. In the later games it resumes its use as a spell to conjure a small burst of normal fire.
  • When Rowle used the spell offensively against Hagrid's hut, it caused an explosion, rather than simply lighting it on fire.
  • Incendio is the first known spell to be cast in the series, although magical devices (Albus's Put-Outer), abilities (Animagi) and beings (Hagrid) appeared before.
  • In the sixth film, Bellatrix uses this spell to set Hagrid's hut on fire instead of Rowle.
  • According to Pottermore, the hand movement is shown as thus:
    Fire-making-spell

Appearances

Notes and references

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)
The Standard Book of Spells
Book of Spells 1
Grade 1 · Grade 2 · Grade 3 · Grade 4 · Grade 5 · Grade 6 · Grade 7
Charms included in the series: Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra) · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Engorgement Charm (Engorgio) · Fire-Making Spell (Incendio) · Freezing Charm (Immobulus) · General Counter-Spell (Finite Incantatem) · Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa) · Locking Spell (Colloportus) · Memory Charm (Obliviate) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Nonverbal spell · Severing Charm (Diffindo) · Skurge Charm (Skurge) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Substantive Charm · Summoning Charm (Accio) · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Unlocking Charm (Alohomora) · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos)
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