Reductor-Curse

> With this powerful curse, skilled wizards can easily reduce obstacles to pieces. For obvious reasons great care must be exercised when learning and practising this spell, lest you find yourself sweeping up in detention for it is all too easy to bring your classroom ceiling crashing down, or to reduce your teacher's desk to a fine mist.
>
> Miranda Goshawk, Wonderbook: Book of Spells

The **Reductor Curse** (*Reducto*) was a curse that blasted solid objects to pieces. It was rather easy to reduce a target to a fine mist or a pile of ashes. Harry Potter taught this curse to ***Dumbledore's Army*** during the ***1995–1996 school year***.

## Reductor Curse

### Incantation

*Reducto*
(re-DUCK-toh)

## History

It is unknown when and who invented this spell. It was also featured in the ***Book of Spells***, and was commented on by ***Miranda Goshawk***, the ***book***'s author.

During the ***1988–1989 school year*** at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the then Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor ***Patricia Rakepick*** taught this spell to her ***fifth-year*** D.A.D.A. students, in order to teach them something both highly practical and useful in their education.

This was one of the spells that Harry Potter taught ***Dumbledore's Army***, having previously used the spell during the ***Triwizard Tournament***. It was used heavily by members of the D.A. that participated in the ***Battle of the Department of Mysteries*** in ***June*** ***1996***.

## Known uses

> Five different voices behind him bellowed, "*REDUCTO!*" Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit; the towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor —
>
> D.A. members smashing the shelves in the Hall of Prophecy, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 ***24 June***, 1995
 3 September, 1997

## Known practitioners

Ginny WeasleyHarry PotterHermione GrangerRon WeasleyNeville LongbottomFilius FlitwickSeverus Snape
## Etymology

The incantation "*reducto"* is derived from Latin *reduco,* meaning *"*reduce" or "bring down".

## Behind the scenes

* In of *The Film Adaptation* of *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Only Ginny casts the Reductor Curse to smash the shelves in the Hall of Prophecy, instead of every D.A. member present.
* The Reductor Curse is the standard offensive spell that enemies, in particular ***Death Eaters***, will cast at the player's character to attack them.
* In *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2*, Hermione uses this curse to destroy a railing in order to clear her path so she could jump onto the Ukrainian Ironbelly, and again to force the dragon to take off from the top of Gringotts' spire when it stopped for a rest.

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Template:WBS (see this video for confirmation)
2. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix* (film) - Chapter 15 (*Dumbledore's Army*)

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