ANIMAL CHARACTERS

Editor: Simon Branford

· Hedwig

· Errol

· Hermes

· Pigwidgeon

· Fawkes

· Crookshanks

· Mrs. Norris

· Fang

· Fluffy

· Ripper

· Buckbeak

· Norbert

· Nagini

· Scabbers

· Trevor

Animals figure highly in the Harry Potter series. There are the owls who collect and deliver the post: Hedwig (Harry's), Errol (The Weasleys'), Hermes (Percy's) and Pigwidgeon (Ron's); the magical phoenix Fawkes who belongs to Dumbledore; the cats who seem to possess super intelligence: Crookshanks (Hermione's) and Mrs Norris (Filch's); the dogs with their own individual characteristics: Fang (Hagrid's dog), Fluffy (Hagrid’s three headed guard dog) and Ripper (Aunt Marge’s); and many other animal characters: Buckbeak (the hippogriff living with Sirius), Norbert (Hagrid’s dragon), Nagini (Voldemort’s snake), Scabbers (Ron's rat) and Trevor (Neville's toad).

HEDWIG

"... a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing." [1]

"... with her enormous amber eyes, and clicking her beak in the way that meant she was annoyed about something." [2]

Is Hedwig some sort of lookout or Guardian for Harry? It has been suggested that Hagrid purchased Hedwig for Harry so that she could be used as some sort of look out and perhaps as an informant about Harry’s activities to Dumbledore. [3]

Is Hedwig German? Hedwig was a German Saint and there is a town in Germany with this name. [4]

Hedwig – Harry's favourite bird? Much has been discussed about whom Harry should date. Here is one of the more unusual ideas. How about Harry and Hedwig? It is fairly clear that Hedwig is Harry’s favourite bird (apologies for the poor pun) and members of the group have wondered about the possibility (in a tongue in cheek way). This would require Harry to become an animagus snowy owl with trademark emerald green eyes. Or imagine Hedwig transformed into alluring human form! She could ‘tawit-tawoo' Harry and as a bonus her head would turn through 360 degrees. [5]

ERROL

"... a moulting, grey feather duster – at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw that it was breathing." [6]

HERMES

"The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made a prefect." [7]

Hermes – The Greek God
Hermes was the Greek ‘Messenger of the Gods' [8]

PIGWIDGEON

"What appeared to be a small, grey, feathery tennis ball had just collided with the side of Harry's head. Harry massaged his head furiously, looking up to see what had hit him, and saw a minute owl, small enough to fit into the palm of his hand, whizzing excitedly around the room like a loose firework." [9]

“I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it’s my fault he no longer has a rat.” [10]

Pigwidgeon – Small and Pretty? Pigwidgeon is a one of the favourite animal characters in the series. He has been compared to a hyperactive little child, always willing to show off. [11]

FAWKES

"Standing on a golden perch behind the door was a decrepit–looking bird which resembled a half–plucked turkey. Harry stared at it and the bird looked balefully back, making its gagging noise again. Harry thought it looked very ill. Its eyes were dull and, even as Harry watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its tail." [12]

"Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix, was standing on his golden perch beside the door. The size of a swan, with magnificent scarlet and gold plumage, he swished his long tail and blinked benignly at Harry." [13]

“You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you.” [14]

“Phoenix tears …healing powers …” [15]

Summoned to Harry, by virtue of Harry's loyalty to Dumbledore, at the end of CoS, Fawkes helped defeat Tom Riddle by pecking out the eyes of the basilisk and by healing Harry's wounds with his tears.

Tail feathers from Fawkes form the cores of the wands of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. More information on this link is contained in the Wand FAQ. (link needs to be inserted)

CROOKSHANKS

"The cat's ginger fur was thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bow–legged and its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall." [16]

Crookshanks: Ms Rowling has linked some character names with their physical characteristics. Crookshanks is described as bowlegged. Crook = bowed and shanks = legs.

Smart Cat or Animagus? [17]

“This cat isn’t mad. He’s [Crookshanks] the most intelligent of his kind I’ve ever met.” [18]

“This cat – Crookshanks, did you call him?” [19]

There have been copious debates by the members of the group as to whether Crookshanks is an animagus. Below is listed the comments made to support or squash this theory. With magical animals seemingly possessing a greater range of powers than their muggle counterparts, Rowling is the only one who can finish this debate.

Loyalty: Cats are not known for their loyalty; instead they are usually fickle, showing interest only when they can see the benefits. Yet in PoA (Ch 17), we see Crookshanks leap onto the chest of Sirius Black to protect him from Harry, who is seriously contemplating killing him.

Recognition: Crookshanks recognised that Scabbers and Sirius were animagi. If animagi can recognise each other, which this fact suggests, then Black would have known if Crookshanks was an animagus. But maybe Black didn't have time to reveal this fact, or he had a reason not to reveal Crookshanks' identity.

Intelligence: He obtained the list of Gryffindor passwords from Neville, and he took the broomstick order to the post office for Sirius.

Illegal: If Crookshanks is an animagus, then he must be an illegal one. Hermione looked up animagi while she was doing her homework (PoA Ch 18) and this included looking at the physical description of the animal they turn into and the markings they have. Hermione would surely have recognized her own cat if it was mentioned.

Actions: In GoF, Ron and Harry are making up their Divination homework [20] and Crookshanks stares at them in the same manner that Hermione would have done if she had been there. This is another example of him seemingly understanding what is being said and what is going on.

Pet-shop: Crookshanks had been in the pet shop for a very long time before Hermione was mysteriously drawn to him. Is this a case of Hermione choosing a cat or of the cat choosing Hermione? Crookshanks basically threw himself at her. Is he there to keep an eye on Harry?

Before the pet shop: Could he have belonged to someone else before Hermione found him in Magical Menagerie? It has even been suggested that he used to belong to Lily and James Potter.

Transformation: Could he be the result of a curse, such as the one used on Draco,[21] which in some way failed and has left him stuck as a cat? Also as he is an intelligent animal, there is the possibility that he may get transfigured into a human being in one of the later books. If humans can turn be turned into animals, why not the reverse?

Magical abilities: He may have specific, feline magical abilities, a bit like those of the phoenix or of the post-carrying owls. All magical animals seem to have some sort of special abilities, such as the rats in the pet shop.[22] As Crookshanks is a magical cat, then it is likely that he will also have special abilities.

From other books: In Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci book, there is a cat called Fiddle, which was not only created from a violin, but which holds one of the lives of the nine-lived enchanter Cat Chant, the main character in the book. At one point, Cat touches Fiddle's head and can feel the wood of the violin under his fur.

Unusual Theories: Crookshanks is the offspring of McGonagall in cat animagus form and a tomcat. This does lead to interesting ideas of how pregnancy affects an animagus and whether or not they have to stay in one form.

Kneazle? [23]

With the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, many of our members believe that we apparently have the answer to the Crookshanks' true nature. The description of Kneazles in this book strongly suggests that Crookshanks may be at least part Kneazle.

Crookshanks was able to work out that Ron's rat (Scabbers) was in fact a hidden animagus. One of the key characteristics of a Kneazle is being able to detect unsavoury or suspicious characters. However, it seems confusing that Hermione, who spends most of her time reading books, has not pointed out that Crookshanks is more than an ordinary cat if this is the case. One wonders if this means that Crookshanks is just an ordinary cat or whether she thinks that no one would believe her if she mentioned it.

MRS NORRIS

"Filch owned a cat called Mrs Norris, a scrawny, dust-coloured creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch..." [24]

Mrs Norris and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

It has been noted by members of the group that Mrs Norris, Filch's cat, is loosely based on the character of the same name in Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.[25]

Scenting out Troublemakers

Whenever Mrs Norris is seen around the school she seems to be attracted towards where the trouble or rule-breakers are. She also seems to have a psychic link with Filch, as she can summon him to the place of trouble in an instant. She acts as if she is just an extension of Filch. [26]

FANG

"... enormous black boarhound." [27]
"Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked." [28]

FLUFFY

“They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog which filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.” [29]

“Yeah – he’s mine – brought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las’ year …” [30]

RIPPER

“ …old and eviltempered bulldog.” [31]

BUCKBEAK

“Half grey horse, half giant eagle, Buckbeak’s fierce orange eyes flashed at the sight of them.” [32]

NORBERT

“ … A Norwegian Ridgeback. They’re rare, them.” [33]

NAGINI

“ … a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long.” [34]

SCABBERS

"I've got ... Percy's old rat." [35]

"... his fat grey rat, Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun." [36]

Scabbers – An Animagus?

When we were first introduced to Scabbers in PS, he was portrayed as a lazy old rat. In PoA, the truth was out as we found out he was in fact the unregistered Animagus Peter Pettigrew. More information on Scabbers is contained in the Animagus FAQ. (link needs to be inserted)