The Vanishing Spell causes things to vanish; its incantation is Evanesco, which is Latin for "disappear."
Bill Weasley used it in 1995 to make several parchments, which looked like plans for a building to Harry Potter, vanish. That same year, Professor Snape used it to vanish a potion Harry ruined. Hermione Granger also used it later in the year to vanish a potion of Harry's that she thought he had finished.
The spell is practised in Transfiguration class and is considered one of the hardest spells to be tested in the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. The class is first to Vanish snails, then mice, then kittens. Snails, being invertebrates, are considered easier to Vanish than the mice, which are mammals. As stated by Professor McGonagall, the difficulty of the Vanishing Spell increases along with the complexity of the animal to be Vanished.
Behind the Scenes
- The fictional Babbitty made a hat disappear, probably using this spell.
- According to Professor McGonogall, Vanished Objects go into "nonbeing, which is to say, everything."
- According to W.O.M.B.A.T., it may be possible to vanish both inanimate and animate objects.
- It may be possible to retrieve vanished objects, as Bill Weasley vanished some of the Order of the Phoenix's plans in order to hide them.
- Harry Potter may have used this to inadvertedly vanish the glass at the snake tank at the zoo in 1991.
