Overview

An Unbreakable Vow was a spell that made a type of binding magical contract and resulted in the instant death of either party if they were to violate its terms in any way. Making the Unbreakable Vow required three people, the two who were making it and a third party who stood in as witness. The two people must be kneeling or standing opposite one another. The third person, the witness, would need to be standing close to the pair and holding their wand, placing the tip of the wand onto the linked hands. The first person then would begin to ask a series of vows of the other which the second person would then have to accept the term given. A thin stream of fire would be emitted from the witnesses wand weaving around pairs hands. The spell itself being fairly advanced and not often used in a light manor as well as over all in general as a means of agreement or contract. Once the vow was completed the one who accepted the terms would die if they broke any unless there were circumstances in which the vow could go unfulfilled without the person dying. This was if the vow was physically impossible to achieve through no fault of their own and if the wording of the vow was open to interpretation. The death of one who breaks the vow would only happen once the rule had been broken entirely.

Effects

Bound one person to the other person's wishes and demands set and agreed upon, causing them to have to be fulfilled fully. If broken in any way then both parties would die.

History

• 1985/1986 - Fred and George Weasley attempted to convince their at the time 5-year-old brother Ron to make an Unbreakable Vow with them. They made it as far as being in the position to do so before their father Arthur Weasley caught them in the act stopping it before it could properly start.
• Summer of 1989 - Merula Snyde made an Unbreakable Vow with her aunt Verucca Buckthorn-Snyde to ensure she remained loyal to her true family.
• Summer 1996 - Severus Snape made an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of Lucius Malfoy. The bonding was witnessed and held out by Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa’s sister as well as a fellow Death Eater. He promised to protect Draco Malfoy from harm and guide him as well in the task the Dark Lord had given him.

Credits/References

Written by Aleric Selwyn
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.