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{{Imageless}}
 
 
 
{{Spell infobox
 
{{Spell infobox
|image=
 
 
|name=Vanishing Spell
 
|name=Vanishing Spell
 
|image=
|incantation= Evanesco (ev-an-ES-koh)
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|incantation=''Evanesco''<br/>(ev-an-ES-ko)
|type=[[Transfiguration]]
 
  +
|pronunciation=
 
|type=[[Transfiguration]]<ref name="OotP15"/>
 
|hand=
 
|hand=
  +
|light=None<ref name="OotP5"/>
|counter-charm=
 
|effect=Makes things vanish
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|effect=[[Vanishment|Vanishes]] things<ref name="OotP5"/>
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|creator=
 
}}
 
}}
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{{Quote|The contents of Harry’s potion vanished; he was left standing foolishly beside an empty [[cauldron]].|[[Professor]] [[Severus Snape|Snape]] vanishes [[Harry Potter]]'s [[Draught of Peace]]|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}}
The '''Vanishing Spell''' (''Evanesco'') is a [[Transfiguration]] [[spell]] causes things and living beings to [[Vanishment|Vanish]].
 
   
  +
The '''Vanishing Spell'''<ref name="OotP15">{{OOTP}} (''Chapter Fifteen - The Hogwarts High Inquisitor'')</ref> (''Evanesco''<ref name="OotP5">{{OOTP}} (''Chapter Five - The Order of the Phoenix'')</ref>) is a [[transfiguration|Transfiguration]] [[spell]] used to [[Vanishment|vanish]] both animate and inanimate objects "into non-being, which is to say, everything".
  +
 
== History ==
  +
In [[1992]] when [[Colin Creevey]] was taking his picture and asking him to sign it, Harry wished he knew a good Vanishing Spell to escape the embarrassment. in [[1993]] [[Neville]] used this spell by mistake on one of the legs of his desk when [[McGonagall]] announced that, in spite of the attacks on students and the suspension of [[Albus Dumbledore]] and [[Hagrid]], students would still be given their end of year exams. Fifth years at [[Hogwarts]] had to practice the Vanishing spell for some of their first piece of [[Transfiguration]] homework that year, they started with snails and then working their way up to mice.
 
==Nature==
 
==Nature==
  +
The Vanishing Spell is one of the most complicated [[spell]]s taught at [[Ordinary Wizarding Level]]<ref name="OotP13" />.
The spell is practised at O.W.L. level in [[Transfiguration]] [[Transfiguration (class)|class]] and is considered one of the hardest spells to be tested in the [[Ordinary Wizarding Level]] exams and can be used on both the living and otherwise. As stated by [[Minerva McGonagall|Professor McGonagall]], the difficulty of the Vanishing Spell increases along with the complexity of the animal to be Vanished. Hence, when taught, the class is first to Vanish snails, then mice, then kittens; snails (being invertebrates) are considered easier to Vanish than the mice, which are vertebrates and mice are considered easier than kittens, the latter of which are "higher mammals" (i.e. more complex) than mice.
 
   
  +
It becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be [[Vanishment|vanished]]; for instance, a [[snail]], as an invertebrate, is rather simple, whereas the [[mouse]], as a mammal, presents a great challenge<ref name="OotP15" />. The greatest challenge, however, is the [[vanishment]] of a [[Cat|kitten]], which [[Hermione Granger]] managed to do by [[1995|mid-year]]<ref name="OotP16">{{OOTP}} (''Chapter Sixteen - In the Hog's Head'')</ref>.
==History of use==
 
  +
*[[William Weasley|Bill Weasley]] used it in [[1995]] to make several parchments, which looked like plans for a building to [[Harry Potter]], Vanish.
 
  +
[[Minerva McGonagall]] stated in May of [[1998]] that Vanished objects go "''into non-being, which is to say, everything''".<ref>{{DH}}</ref>
*In [[1995]], [[Severus Snape|Professor Snape]] used it to Vanish a [[potion]] Harry ruined.
 
  +
*[[Hermione Granger]] also used it later in the year 1995 to Vanish a potion of Harry's that she thought he had finished.
 
  +
==Teaching==
  +
[[Professor]] [[Minerva McGonagall]] introduced this [[spell]] in her very first [[Transfiguration (class)|Transfiguration class]] with the [[fifth year]] students, giving them a lecture and then setting them on vanishing [[snail]]s<ref name="OotP13" />.
  +
  +
When none of the students except [[Hermione Granger]] could perform the spell properly, Professor McGonagall told the students to practise the spell overnight, for a fresh start [[4 September|the next day]]<ref name="OotP13" />.
  +
  +
In [[4 September|their second lesson]], the students were given questions on the Vanishing Spell for homework<ref name="OotP13" />. On the [[6 September|6th]], however, the students were given a break from this [[spell]] and instead were given a long and difficult essay on the [[Inanimatus Conjurus Spell]]<ref name="OotP14">{{OOTP}} (''Chapter Fourteen - Percy and Padfoot'')</ref>.
  +
  +
Later on in the year, [[Professor]] [[Minerva McGonagall|McGonagall]] returned the class to Vanishing Spells, this time working to make [[Mouse|mice]] [[Vanishment|disappear]]<ref name="OotP15" />. However, in the week leading up to the [[Gryffindor]]-[[Slytherin]] match, she abstained from giving them homework so that the [[Gryffindor Quidditch team]] could practise<ref name="OotP19">{{OOTP}} (''Chapter Nineteen - The Lion and the Serpent'')</ref>.
  +
  +
==Known uses==
  +
{| class="wikitable" border="1" 500px;"
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|-
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! align="center" width="20%" |Caster(s)
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! align="center" width="20%" |Date
  +
! scope="col" |Notes
  +
|-
  +
|[[Bill Weasley]]
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|[[August]] [[1995]]
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|Bill used this spell to make a stack of scrolls disappear while cleaning up after a meeting of the [[Order of the Phoenix]] during Harry's first night at number twelve, [[Grimmauld Place]].
  +
|-
  +
|[[Severus Snape]]
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|1995
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|Snape used this spell to get rid of Harry's less-than-perfect first attempt at a [[Draught of Peace]].
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|-
 
|[[Harry Potter]]
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| colspan="1" rowspan="2"|[[June]] [[1996]]
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|Harry vanished the whole of an iguana during his practical [[Transfiguration]] [[O.W.L.]]
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|-
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|Fifth years
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|One task on the practical [[Transfiguration]] [[O.W.L.]] was Vanishment.
  +
|}
  +
  +
==Know practitioners==
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*[[Fifth year]] students<ref name="OotP13" />
  +
*[[Babbitty]]<ref name="tToBtB">''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard (real)]]''</ref>
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*[[Hermione Granger]]<ref name="OotP13">{{OOTP}} (''Chapter Thirteen - Detention with Dolores'')</ref>
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*[[Lee Jordan]]<ref name="OotP17" />
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*[[Severus Snape]]<ref name="OotP17">{{OOTP}} (''Chapter Seventeen - Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four'')</ref>
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*[[William Weasley|Bill Weasley]]<ref name="OotP5" />
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*[[Harry Potter]]<ref name="OotP31">{{OOTP}} (''Chapter thirty-one - O.W.L.S'')</ref>
   
 
==Etymology==
 
==Etymology==
  +
The [[incantation]] "''Evanesco''" is a [[Latin]] word meaning "''vanish''" or "''disappear''"<ref name="etymology">[http://translate.google.ca/#la/en/evanesco Evanesco] on [http://translate.google.ca/ Google Translate]</ref>.
Comes from the word "evanescence", something that is meaning fleeting or disappears, and from the Latin word evanesco, which means "disappear".
 
   
 
==Behind the scenes==
 
==Behind the scenes==
  +
*This [[spell]] is referred to by [[Professor]] [[Minerva McGonagall|McGonagall]] in its plural form when she introduces it, along with [[Conjuring Spells]], in [[1995]]<ref name="OotP13" />.
*The fictional [[Babbitty]] made a hat disappear, probably using this spell.
 
*[[Harry Potter]] may have used this to inadvertantly vanish the glass at the snake tank at the zoo in [[1991]].
+
*[[Harry Potter]] may have used this [[spell]] [[Underage magic|unintentionally]] to make the glass at the [[Zoo]] disappear. This, however, is unconfirmed.
  +
*After being forced to take a [[Portraits|photo]] with [[Gilderoy Lockhart]] for [[Colin Creevey]], Harry Potter wished that he knew a good Vanishing Spell.<ref name="CS6">{{COS}}, Chapter 6 - (''Gilderoy Lockhart'')</ref>
*Whilst [[Severus Snape|Snape]] used [[Vipera Evanesca|a similar spell]] to Vanish a snake [[Conjuration|conjured]] by [[Draco Malfoy|Malfoy]] during [[Duelling Club]], that was not strictly a Vanishing spell; it was a [[counter-curse]] with a different incantation yet similar effect.
 
  +
*[[Neville Longbottom]] may have also used this spell unintentionally in [[May]] [[1993]] during a [[Transfiguration (class)|Transfiguration]] lesson with Professor McGonagall. Following her announcement that he and the other students would be having [[Second year exams|exams]] in one week, his [[Neville Longbottom's first wand|wand]] slipped and one of the legs on his desk vanished.<ref name="CS16">{{COS}}, Chapter 16 - (''The Chamber of Secrets'')</ref>
*The spell ''[[Evanesce]]'' which appears in the [[Harry Potter Trading Card Game]] may be a variation or earlier version of the Vanishing Spell, given its similar etymology.
 
  +
*In "[[The Wizard and the Hopping Pot]]" from ''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]'', the son of the original owner of the pot tries to Vanish the pot, but the spell has no effect.<ref name="tbb">''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard (real)|The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]'' - "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot"</ref>
==See also==
 
*''[[Evanesce]] ''
 
*''[[Vipera Evanesca]] ''
 
   
 
==Appearances==
 
==Appearances==
*''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' {{C|First possible appearence}}
+
*''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' {{Possible}}
 
*''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)]]'' {{Possible}}
 
*''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)]]'' {{Possible}}
*''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''
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*''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'' {{1st Mention}} {{Possible}}
*''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2]]'' {{Possible}}
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*''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'' {{1st ID}}
  +
*''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard (real)|The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]'' {{Mention}}
*''[[Harry Potter Trading Card Game]]''
 
  +
  +
==Notes and references==
  +
{{Reflist}}
   
 
{{Transfiguration}}
 
{{Transfiguration}}
Line 43: Line 88:
 
[[es:Encantamiento desvanecedor]]
 
[[es:Encantamiento desvanecedor]]
 
[[fr:Sortilège de Disparition]]
 
[[fr:Sortilège de Disparition]]
  +
[[pl:Evanesco]]
  +
[[ru:Эванеско]]
 
[[Category:Spells with Incantations of Latin Origin]]
 
[[Category:Spells with Incantations of Latin Origin]]
 
[[Category:Vanishments]]
 
[[Category:Vanishments]]

Revision as of 17:25, 9 April 2015

"The contents of Harry’s potion vanished; he was left standing foolishly beside an empty cauldron."
Professor Snape vanishes Harry Potter's Draught of Peace[src]

The Vanishing Spell[1] (Evanesco[2]) is a Transfiguration spell used to vanish both animate and inanimate objects "into non-being, which is to say, everything".

History

In 1992 when Colin Creevey was taking his picture and asking him to sign it, Harry wished he knew a good Vanishing Spell to escape the embarrassment. in 1993 Neville used this spell by mistake on one of the legs of his desk when McGonagall announced that, in spite of the attacks on students and the suspension of Albus Dumbledore and Hagrid, students would still be given their end of year exams. Fifth years at Hogwarts had to practice the Vanishing spell for some of their first piece of Transfiguration homework that year, they started with snails and then working their way up to mice.

Nature

The Vanishing Spell is one of the most complicated spells taught at Ordinary Wizarding Level[3].

It becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be vanished; for instance, a snail, as an invertebrate, is rather simple, whereas the mouse, as a mammal, presents a great challenge[1]. The greatest challenge, however, is the vanishment of a kitten, which Hermione Granger managed to do by mid-year[4].

Minerva McGonagall stated in May of 1998 that Vanished objects go "into non-being, which is to say, everything".[5]

Teaching

Professor Minerva McGonagall introduced this spell in her very first Transfiguration class with the fifth year students, giving them a lecture and then setting them on vanishing snails[3].

When none of the students except Hermione Granger could perform the spell properly, Professor McGonagall told the students to practise the spell overnight, for a fresh start the next day[3].

In their second lesson, the students were given questions on the Vanishing Spell for homework[3]. On the 6th, however, the students were given a break from this spell and instead were given a long and difficult essay on the Inanimatus Conjurus Spell[6].

Later on in the year, Professor McGonagall returned the class to Vanishing Spells, this time working to make mice disappear[1]. However, in the week leading up to the Gryffindor-Slytherin match, she abstained from giving them homework so that the Gryffindor Quidditch team could practise[7].

Known uses

Caster(s) Date Notes
Bill Weasley August 1995 Bill used this spell to make a stack of scrolls disappear while cleaning up after a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix during Harry's first night at number twelve, Grimmauld Place.
Severus Snape 1995 Snape used this spell to get rid of Harry's less-than-perfect first attempt at a Draught of Peace.
Harry Potter June 1996 Harry vanished the whole of an iguana during his practical Transfiguration O.W.L.
Fifth years One task on the practical Transfiguration O.W.L. was Vanishment.

Know practitioners

Etymology

The incantation "Evanesco" is a Latin word meaning "vanish" or "disappear"[11].

Behind the scenes

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Chapter Fifteen - The Hogwarts High Inquisitor)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Chapter Five - The Order of the Phoenix)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Chapter Thirteen - Detention with Dolores)
  4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Chapter Sixteen - In the Hog's Head)
  5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Chapter Fourteen - Percy and Padfoot)
  7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Chapter Nineteen - The Lion and the Serpent)
  8. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (real)
  9. 9.0 9.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Chapter Seventeen - Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four)
  10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Chapter thirty-one - O.W.L.S)
  11. Evanesco on Google Translate
  12. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 6 - (Gilderoy Lockhart)
  13. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 16 - (The Chamber of Secrets)
  14. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot"
Transfiguration (class)
COS Vera Verto demo
Branches of Transfiguration Transformation · Vanishment · Conjuration · Untransfiguration
Notable practitioners Circe · Emeric Switch · Falco Aesalon · Mirabella Plunkett · Thaddeus Thurkell
Professors Albus Dumbledore · Minerva McGonagall · Charles Rookwood · Matilda Weasley
Textbooks A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration · Intermediate Transfiguration · A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration
Transfiguration spells taught at Hogwarts
Colour Change Charm (Colovaria) · Change of hair colour and style (Crinus Muto) · Hardening Charm (Duro) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Partial Vanishment · Reparifarge · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Switching Spell · Vanishing Spell (Evanesco)
Conjuring Spells Bird-Conjuring Charm (Avis) · Inanimatus Conjurus Spell · Bouquet Spell (Orchideous) · Snake Summons Spell (Serpensortia)
Transforming Spells Animal to water goblet (Vera Verto) · Armadillo to Pillow · Bowling Ball to Balloon · Beetle into Button · Cauldron to badger · Cat to cauldron (Felifors) · Cauldron Cakes to Cabbages · Chair to cat · Cross-Species Switches · Desk Into Pig · Fairy Cakes to Fairies · Feather Duster to Ferret · Ferret to Feather Duster · Gobstone to butterfly · Goldfinch to Golden Snitch · Flobberworm to Fritter · Gnomes to Lawn Gnomes · Guinea fowl to guinea pig · Gobstone to Skunk · Hedgehog to pincushion · King to Rook · Lovebird to Love Note · Match to needle · Meddling Man to Monkey · Mice to Snuffboxes · Owl to Opera Glasses (Strigiforma) · Pawn to Queen · Porcupine to Pin Cushion (Hystrifors) · Puffskein to Paperweight · Rubbish to Raccoon Dog · Small Child to Rat · Small object to dragon (Draconifors) · Snail to Teapot · Target to bird (Avifors) · Target to matchbox (Flintifors) · Target to rabbit (Lapifors) · Teacup into Gerbil · Teacup to Rat · Teapot to Tortoise · Thimble to Thestral · Toad to Toadstool · Tortoise to Trumpet · White rabbits to slippers