Reductor Curse

"...he tried the Reductor Curse again. It wasn’t very effective, but it burned a small hole in the hedge..."

— Harry using the spell during the Third Task.^[src]

The Reductor Curse is a spell used to blast solid objects into pieces. The incantation for this spell is Reducto. The number of pieces may vary, depending on the power of the curse. If used with extreme force, the object may disintegrate.With weak force the object only becomes little.

Known uses

Severus Snape may have used this spell nonverbally on rose bushes during the Yule Ball in 1994.
Harry Potter attempted to use this spell on a cloud of golden mist in the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament. The spell had no effect.^[2]
In meetings of Dumbledore's Army, Parvati Patil and Ginny Weasley produced Reductor Curses so powerful that they disintegrated a table and Death Eater duelling simulacrum/dummy respectively.^[3]

Ginevra Weasley's use of the spell
Harry, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood all used this spell to break shelves in the Hall of Prophecies in an attempt to distract the Death Eaters during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.^[3]
Later in the battle, Luna used the spell again to blow up a model of the planet Pluto while defending herself, a cursed Ron, and Ginny from the Death Eaters, but accidentally broke Ginny's ankle in the process.^[3]
A member of the Order of the Phoenix tried to blast the door of the Astronomy Tower open with the Reductor Curse when Death Eaters had cornered Albus Dumbledore there.^[4]
Harry Potter used this spell in a failed attempt to destroy Salazar Slytherin's Locket.

Etymology

Reducto may come from the English verb reduce, "to bring down, destroy".

Although in Latin 'Reducto' also means 'Reduced' when translated from English-Latin.

Behind the scenes

Molly Weasley may have used this spell to blast Bellatrix Lestrange to pieces during their duel in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
In both of the LEGO Harry Potter games, the Reductor Curse is used to destroy Metal LEGO Pieces and, in the latter and only if the character possesses the Elder Wand, Gold LEGO Pieces.
The fifth film gives the appearance that Ginny Weasley can cast a more powerful Reductor Curse than most of the others; in the book, this was the Patil twins that could do so.

Appearances

Notes and references

Defence Against the Dark Arts (D.A.D.A.)

D.A.D.A. at Hogwarts
Classroom 3C · Classroom 3C backrooms · Temporary Classroom · Hogwarts Turris Magnus · Teacher's Office · Storeroom · Staircase · Storage room · Lesson Cup · Race Cup · Duelling Club · Dumbledore's Army
Professors
Isidora Morganach · Dinah Hecat · Arsenius Jigger · Albus Dumbledore · Galatea Merrythought · 1984–1985 professor · 1985–1986 professor · 1986–1987 professor · 1987–1988 professor · Patricia Rakepick · 1989–1990 professor · First 1990–1991 professor · Olivia Green · Quirinus Quirrell · Gilderoy Lockhart · Remus Lupin · Bartemius Crouch Junior (as Alastor Moody) · Dolores Umbridge · Severus Snape · Amycus Carrow (as Dark Arts teacher) · Unidentified professor · Brindlemore
Textbooks
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection · Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts · Break with a Banshee · Gadding with Ghouls · Holidays with Hags · Travels with Trolls · Voyages with Vampires · Wanderings with Werewolves · Year with the Yeti · The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts · Defensive Magical Theory · Dark Arts Defence – Basics for Beginners · Confronting the Faceless · Defence Against the Dark Arts
Spells studied at Hogwarts under D.A.D.A.
Aqua Eructo · Boggart-Banishing Spell (Riddikulus) · Bombarda Maxima · Cave inimicum · Concealment Charms · Counter-curses · Counter-jinxes · Cruciatus Curse (Crucio) · Curse of the Bogies (Mucus ad Nauseam) · Cursed barrier spell · Densaugeo · Deprimo Spell (Deprimo) · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Ear-Shrivelling Curse · Everte Statum · Freezing Spell (Glacius) · Full Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus) · Fumos Duo · Green Sparks · Hex-Breaker· Hex-deflection · Hex Zapper · Homorphus Charm · Human-presence-revealing Spell (Homenum Revelio) · Impediment Jinx (Impedimenta) · Imperius Curse (Imperio) · Imperturbable Charm · Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra) · Knockback Jinx (Flipendo) · Lacarnum Inflamari · Langlock · Levitation Spell (Levioso) · Limbo Mist anticharm · Nonverbal spells · Patronus Charm (Expecto Patronum) · Pimple Jinx (Furnunculus) · Protective enchantments · Red Sparks (Vermillious) · Reductor Curse (Reducto) · Salvio hexia · Sea Urchin Jinx · Seize and pull charm (Carpe Retractum) · Shield Charm (Protego) · Smokescreen Spell (Fumos) · Snake-Vanishing Spell (Vipera Evanesca) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Stretching Jinx · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Tongue-Tying Curse (Mimblewimble) · Trip Jinx · Twitchy-Ears Hex · Verdimillious Charm (Verdimillious) · Verdimillious Duo Spell (Verdimillious) · Verdimillious Tria · Vermillious Duo · Vermillious Tria · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos)
Creatures studied at Hogwarts under D.A.D.A.
Banshee · Boggart · Chameleon Ghoul · Charmed skeleton · Cornish Pixie · Dementor · Dugbog · Erkling · Flesh-Eating Slug · Ghost · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Gytrash · Hag · Hinkypunk · Iguana · Imp · Inferius · Kappa · Manticore · Nocturnal beasts · Nogtail · Poltergeist · Red Cap · Snake · Troll · Vampire · Vampire bat · Werewolf · Yeti · Zombie

[1] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)

[2] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

[OTP-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[4] Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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