Summoning Charm

Summoning Charm
Incantation	Accio AK-see-oh
Type	Charm
Hand movement	Point wand at target
Light	None
Effect	Summons an object from a distance

"And then he heard it, speeding through the air behind him; he turned and saw his Firebolt hurtling towards him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead in mid-air beside him, waiting for him to mount."

— The Firebolt, under influence of this spell.

The Summoning Charm (incantation: Accio) was a charm that caused an object at a distance from the caster to fly into his or her arms. It was one of the oldest spells known to wizarding society.

History

This spell's most famous use was, according to Miranda Goshawk, by the Accionites and their leader, Gideon Flatworthy.

In the traditional wizarding tale "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" from The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the son of the titular pot's original owner Summoned a lost donkey belonging to one of his fellow villagers.

Casting and effects

Harry using the Summoning Charm to Summon his Firebolt.

The Summoning Charm could not be used on buildings. In addition, it did not work on most living things, and those few on which it did were generally not considered worth Summoning, such as flobberworms.

The farther the desired object was from the caster, the harder it was to Summon. However, there was apparently some controversy over this claim, as Hermione Granger stated that it did not matter how far away the object was — so long as the caster had it clearly in mind, they should be able to Summon it with ease.

There were counterspells that could be placed on objects to keep them from being Summoned. Most wizarding goods sold as of the 20th century and early 21st century came pre-enchanted with anti-theft spells to keep them from being Summoned by anyone but their rightful owners.

Successful uses

Caster(s)	Dates	Notes
Molly Weasley	1994	Molly Weasley used several Summoning Charms to find many different magical sweets Fred and George Weasley were trying to sneak out of the house to the Quidditch World Cup in 1994.
Hermione Granger Harry Potter	1994	Hermione Granger taught the charm to Harry Potter, who later used it in the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament to Summon his broom to him to outmanoeuvre the Hungarian Horntail.
Barty Crouch Jr. (disguised as Alastor Moody)	1995	Barty Crouch Jr. used the Summoning Charm to take the Marauders Map away from Severus Snape before he could read it.
Harry Potter	24 June, 1995	Harry Potter used this charm to Summon the Triwizard Cup, which had been made a Portkey, in order to escape Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters in 1995.
Harry Potter	1995	Harry Potter on his toad with which he was practicing his Silencing Charm in Charms class (in 1995).
Hermione Granger Ron Weasley	1996	During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries Hermione Granger used it to retrieve wands, and Ron Weasley Summoned a brain in a tank to himself while under the effects of a disorienting curse.
Death Eaters	1996	During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Death Eaters attempting to pull the prophecy sphere from Harry's hands.
Harry Potter	1997	Harry Potter Summoned Madam Rosmerta's brooms to himself and Albus Dumbledore to get back to Hogwarts in 1997.
Hermione Granger	1997	Hermione Granger Summoned books about Horcruxes from the Headmaster's office in 1997.
Harry Potter	31 July, 1997	Harry Potter Summoned his glasses on his 17th birthday.
Fred Weasley	August 1997	Fred Summoned hairs from a Muggle boy in Ottery St. Catchpole in order to help Harry disguise himself for the wedding using Polyjuice Potion.
Lord Voldemort	2 May, 1998	He summoned the Sorting Hat non-verbally; it flew through a shattered window of Hogwarts Castle.

Unsuccessful uses

Caster(s)	Dates	Notes
Harry Potter	1994	Harry Potter tried to cast the charm while Hermione Granger was teaching him how to use it in preparation for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Harry Potter	Summer of 1995	Harry Potter tried to cast the charm wandlessly to retrieve his wand after Dudley hit him when they were attacked in 1995 by two Dementors sent by Dolores Umbridge.
Death Eaters	1996	The Death Eaters tried to cast the charm on the prophecy during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, but Harry managed to hold on to it, having cast a Shield Charm to protect himself.
Harry Potter	1 September, 1996	Harry Potter tried to cast the charm nonverbally and wandlessly to retrieve his wand after Draco Malfoy hit him with a Full Body-Bind Curse in 1996.
Harry Potter	1997	Harry Potter tried the Charm to Summon Salazar Slytherin's fake locket in the Horcrux cave in 1997.
Harry Potter	27 July, 1997	He tried it to Summon Hedwig and Rubeus Hagrid during the Battle of the Seven Potters.
Hermione Granger Harry Potter	1997	Hermione Granger tried the Summoning Charm to Summon Salazar Slytherin's Locket in Regulus Black's bedroom at 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry also tried Summoning the locket while he was in Dolores Umbridge's office while they were infiltrating the Ministry of Magic.
Harry Potter	24 December, 1997	Harry tried to Summon his wand after it had been knocked out of his hand during his fight with Nagini at Godric's Hollow.
Harry Potter	December, 1997	Harry tried to summon the Sword of Gryffindor from the frozen pool in the Forest of Dean.
Harry Potter	1 May, 1998	Harry tried to Summon Helga Hufflepuff's Cup when he was in the Lestrange Vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank during the break-in, but he was unsuccessful because the vault was bewitched.
Hermione Granger	1998	Hermione Granger tried to use a Summoning Charm to Summon Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Room of Requirement and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup in the Lestrange Vault, but the protections on the Horcruxes made this impossible.
A Death Eater	1998	A Death Eater tried the charm to Summon Harry's Cloak of Invisibility.

Etymology

The Latin word accio means "I call" or "I summon". In the Hungarian translation, the spell is called "Invito", possibly from the word "to invite".

Behind the scenes

• In the 2006 short film The Queen's Handbag, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley both use the charm in an attempt to retrieve Queen Elizabeth II's handbag, which has been lost. They are unsuccessful and Hermione suggests they're too far away from it, suggesting the charm may have a maximum range. However, in Goblet of Fire, Hermione stated that distance didn't matter, as long as the caster was concentrating hard enough. Also, the short film's canonicity is uncertain, so it is unlikely this applies to mainstream continuity.
• In the console and PC versions of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, it can be bought at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment in Diagon Alley.
• In the handheld versions of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Accio can move an object in any direction, not just towards the caster. In some cases, it moves an object directly away from the caster, working more like its opposite.
• When Hermione Summoned Secrets of the Darkest Art from Dumbledore's office, she simply said "Accio Horcrux books", instead of the specific book name, meaning that this spell can function even when the item's description is not detailed.
• According to Wonderbook, the hand motion is thus:
  
• Given that the Summoning Charm will not work on most living objects, the Summoning of the donkey in "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" may have been one of the uses of poetic licence on the part of Beedle the Bard.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Quidditch Through the Ages
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard
• The Queen's Handbag
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells