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We see in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that McGonagall has her Transfiguration students practice the Vanishing Charm (Evanesco) on mice (and has previously had them do snails):

“As I was saying, the Vanishing Spell becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be vanished. The snail, as an invertebrate, does not present much of a challenge; the mouse, as a mammal, offers a much greater one. This is not, therefore, magic you can accomplish with your mind on your dinner. So — you know the incantation, let me see what you can do. . . .”

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

...and Ron manages to vanish most of his mouse:

“Well, it’s a start,” said Ron, holding up a long, wriggling mouse tail and dropping it back into the box Lavender was passing around.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This raises the question of is it possible to Vanish humans? We've seen that mammals (such as our friendly, little mouse) are not exempt from being Vanished. Does this hold true for humans?

(Related Question)

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  • That's probably why that line is there in the first place. To show that Vanishing a human would be very difficult. – Adamant Jun 25 '19 at 22:26
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    I reopened the question, since my answer here doesn't really address the other question. – Alex Jun 25 '19 at 23:15
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    @Adamant The real question is: is it possible? –  Jun 26 '19 at 00:38
  • Possible duplicate: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/q/49757/51379 – Adamant Jun 26 '19 at 01:42
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    @Adamant This was literally just unmarked as a duplicate of that question... See Alex's comment... –  Jun 26 '19 at 03:00
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    I know. We both have gold tag badges in the tag. I don't think it should have been reopened. – Adamant Jun 26 '19 at 03:32
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    Since, as of now, both the initial closure and reopening were made almost unilaterally, other users should have a chance to see what they think of the duplicate target. – Adamant Jun 26 '19 at 04:02
  • Seems like your own quote suggests that this is a question of scaling. If a mouse is a much greater challenge than a snail, then a human is a much, much, much, much greater challenge. – Aww_Geez Jul 16 '20 at 15:43

2 Answers2

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In Chapter Eleven of Philosopher's Stone we are told about referees vanishing:

that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.

It is not entirely clear how they were vanished, or where they were for the interim period, but this does at least show that some form of vanishing humans is possible.

In Chapter Six of Chamber of Secrets Harry wants to use a Vanishing Spell on himself, which might imply that it is possible to vanish humans:

"Off you go, move along there," Lockhart called to the crowd, and he set off back to the castle with Harry, who was wishing he knew a good Vanishing Spell, still clasped to his side.

However, it is also possible that Harry incorrectly thinks that you can vanish people, or that he knows that it's not possible but wishes it was possible.

Alex
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    +1 for that last quote but the rest doesn't really seem in-context for my question... –  Jun 25 '19 at 23:31
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    Sorry, but there's no capital V there in the first quote. I don't see any indication that it's the same spell. In fact, they might mention that it's due to turning their brooms into Portkeys in Quidditch Through the Ages. – Adamant Jun 26 '19 at 01:35
  • @Adamant If their brooms were portkeys it wouldn’t take them months to turn up there. – Alex Jun 26 '19 at 01:36
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    I just checked the book, and it's explicitly mentioned to be a Portkey. I assume it takes months to find them. – Adamant Jun 26 '19 at 01:39
  • Anyway the answers to the other question materially encompass this one, and they're basically the same. I don't think it should have been reopened. – Adamant Jun 26 '19 at 01:40
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    @Adamant I would think that "they were found months later" would be a more accurate description than "they turned up months later" if that were the case. But, hey, portkeys probably hadn't been invented yet when Philosopher's Stone was written. – Alex Jun 26 '19 at 01:52
  • Nor had Vanishing spells, most likely. Both aren't mentioned until later. But one fits much better and is the official explanation. – Adamant Jun 26 '19 at 01:53
  • @Adamant Neither of the previous two comments make any sense, whatsoever... Just because they don't show up...? Why do you expect Harry to know about every little bit of magic that exists when he is first introduced to it? –  Jul 02 '19 at 01:15
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Probably not

When Barty Crouch, Jr, needed to secretly dispose of his father's remains, he chose transfiguration and burial:

'When everyone was gone, I Transfigured my father’s body. He became a bone … I buried it, while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid’s cabin.'

— Barty Crouch, Jr; Goblet of Fire, Chapter 35: Veritaserum

Vanishing, if it had been an option, would have been faster and less likely to result in discovery.

Gaultheria
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  • If he's skilled enough to Transfigure a human, why not Vanish him? The principles are essentially the same... –  Jul 02 '19 at 01:13
  • @Voldemort'sWrath exactly - maybe it isn't possible. – marcellothearcane Aug 04 '19 at 18:15
  • You would have a large invisible object lying around, which people may find. If I recall correctly, Dumbledore searched the woods and may have used a 'unvanish everything here' spell but not a 'reveal transfigured buried corpses' spell. – marcellothearcane Aug 04 '19 at 18:17