Vanishment

# Vanishment (Harry Potter)

> So... today we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until ***N.E.W.T.*** level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your ***O.W.L***.
>
> Professor McGonagall regarding Vanishing Spells, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

**Vanishment** was the magical art of vanishing objects i.e., causing object to cease to exist. Vanished objects went "into non-being, which is to say, everything". It was one of the four branches of Transfiguration, and was the opposite of Conjuration, which brought objects into existence.
It was taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to fifth-years, it was considered O.W.L.-level magic. Hogwarts students found it horribly difficult, as it usually took both time and practice to master. Template:Class

## History

***Ilvermorny*** Scholars wrote an essay on their Vanishment report that was in ***Transfiguration Today***.
In 1991, Harry Potter accidentally vanished a plane of glass for a snake enclosure in the Reptile House at a ***zoo*** in ***Surrey***, releasing the Boa constrictor inside.

 File:Vipera Evanesca.gif  In 1992, Gilderoy Lockhart attempted to mend Harry Potter's broken arm after a Quidditch match with the healing spell *Brackium Emendo*; however his incompetence meant he ending up vanishing Harry's arm bones instead of mending them. Later that year, Severus Snape used the Snake-Vanishing Spell to vanish a snake that Draco Malfoy had conjured for Harry Potter during the Duelling Club.

#### Vanishing Spells

> The contents of Harry’s potion vanished; he was left standing foolishly beside an empty cauldron.
>
> Professor Snape using *Evanesco* to vanish a Draught of Peace potion, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Unlike Conjuring Spells, vanishing different things could all be accomplished with accomplished with the same Vanishing Spell — *Evanesco*. *Evanesco* is the spell taught to the fifth-year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is practised throughout the school year at Hogwarts. The Vanishing Spell is apart of the O.W.L. exam, which means that the spell is considered ordinary magic by the Ministry.
There could also exist spells for vanishing specific things, such as the Snake-Vanishing Spell. The Snake-Vanishing Spell seemed to be a specific spell that could only be used to vanish the intended target, which in this instance was snakes.

## Known practitioners

Albus DumbledoreProfile - Minerva M McGonagall.pngMinerva McGonagallProfile - Hermione Granger-COS Promo.jpgHermione GrangerSeverus SnapeProfile - Harry Potter-COS Promo.jpgHarry Potter
* Various ***fifth-year*** students

## Behind the scenes

* According to ***W.O.M.B.A.T.***, it may be possible to Vanish both inanimate and animate objects.
* It is interesting to note that Vanishment, rather than actually causing something to cease to exist, was said to go "*into non-being, which is to say, everything."* Unless this is to be interpreted metaphysically, a possible implication might be that the arrangement of the atoms that gives the Vanished thing in question a sense of shape and weight is simply being altered, with the distance between the atoms expanding to the point where the object loses its essential properties and seems to disappear — causing it, in essence, to be everywhere and nowhere. This would be consistent with the law of conservation of mass, but the required energy to achieve this (breaking all of the object's chemical bonds) would seemingly be explained only by magic.
* It is unknown if the Vanishment of a living creature would result in said creature's death, or merely send it into a conscious, intermediate state until it is conjured back into existence. According to Minerva McGonagall, vanished objects enter "everything", possibly suggesting that Vanished entities do have some form of existence, albeit an unknown kind.
* 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.

## Appearances

* Template:PS Template:1st
* Template:COS
* Template:HBP
* Template:DH
* Template:DH
* Template:PM Template:Mention
* Template:WW Template:Mention
* Template:TCG
* Template:HM
* Template:PAS
* Template:MA

## Notes and references

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1. ↑ Template:DH[Vanished objects go] into non-being, which is to say, everything." - Prof. McGonagall.
2. ↑ Template:See image
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:PS
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Template:COS

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