Splinching

: "Splinching, or the separation of random body parts, occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continually upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation…"
: — Apparition instructor Wilkie Twycross explains splinching[src]
Splinching was what occurred when a witch or wizard Apparated or Disapparated unsuccessfully, leaving part of his or her clothes or body behind in their former location. The degree of splinching could range from minimal, such as loss of hair, to life-threatening, such as loss of flesh, muscle, or bone, though the damage was usually repairable.
Splinching was obviously painful and dangerous, and therefore some wizards chose other slower but safer methods of transportation such as broomsticks, the Floo Network, or Portkeys.
== Known cases of splinching ==
: "There was a horrible screech of pain and everybody looked around, terrified, to see Susan Bones of Hufflepuff wobbling in her hoop with her left leg still standing five feet from where she had started. "
: — Description of Susan Bones being splinched[src]
In 1994, Arthur Weasley told Harry, Ron and Hermione about two wizards who tried Apparition without a licence and splinched themselves, leaving part of themselves behind.
Susan Bones splinched herself during her first Apparition lesson, losing a leg. Her leg ended up separated from the rest of her body, but it was reattached. The Heads of House put her back together with "a great bang and a puff of purple smoke". The incident, however, left her shaken. It was said to be the first "exciting thing happening" during the lesson.
Ron Weasley failed his Apparition test due to leaving half of an eyebrow behind. Having left school in his Seventh year without ever having passed the test, he was badly injured after splinching away part of his upper arm while escaping from the Ministry of Magic and Grimmauld Place in 1997. He was saved through the quick first-aid work of Hermione Granger, who applied Essence of Dittany to the wound in Perkins's tent in the countryside, where they arrived in and resided for refuge. When he briefly abandoned Harry Potter and Hermione, he ended up losing a pair of fingernails.
It is unknown when and where Ron Weasley and Susan Bones retook the Apparition test a second time, or if they ever passed or even took the test again at all.
Apparating across great distances to other countries or continents was illegal due to possibilities of "extreme splinching" according to WOMBAT Test 3.
== Behind the scenes ==
* According to W.O.M.B.A.T., it may be possible to prevent bad luck by turning on the spot three times and deliberately splinching one's thumbs. According to Wilkie Twycross, the splinched body parts are random, meaning it is impossible to deliberately splinch the thumbs.
Category:Ailments
Category:Apparition
Category:Horcrux H Hunt