Blast-Ended Skrewt

Blast-Ended Skrewt
Species information
Eye colour	None
Skin colour	Pale
Related to	Fire crab Manticore
Native to	Hogwarts Castle
Alternative names	Bang-Ended Scoots (by Rita Skeeter)
Length of average adult	10 ft
Affiliation	Rubeus Hagrid
Status	Possibly extinct

"I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive. Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

— Draco Malfoy's sarcastic comment on the creatures

The Blast-Ended Skrewt is a hybrid creature bred by Rubeus Hagrid in the autumn of 1994, by crossing Manticores and Fire crabs. Whether Hagrid used magic or somehow got the two to mate is unknown.

Description

A young Blast-Ended Skrewt on a leash

Newly hatched Skrewts looked like pale, slimy deformed shell-less lobsters. They had legs sticking out at odd angles. They were about six inches long and smelled strongly of rotten fish. Sparks flew out of their rear ends every so often, which propelled them forward a few inches. The males had stingers and the females had suckers on their body to suck blood. The skrewts do not hibernate during winter.

After two months of caring for the Skrewts, they had grown to three feet long and became extremely ill tempered, making it hard to get close to one. They grew grey, shiny armour over their pale bodies and began to resemble a cross between giant scorpions and elongated crabs. The males held their stingers over their backs, and were highly dangerous and repulsive.

By June, the Skrewts had grown ten feet long, and were incredibly dangerous (and probably quite lethal). They resembled giant scorpions with stingers curled over their backs. Their shiny armour deflected most spells, and they used their blasts to propel themselves at a foe. Its single undefended spot was its armour-less underside.

History

Several of these Skrewts were placed inside the Triwizard Tournament maze, and Harry defeated one of them by using the Impediment Jinx on its underside.

Hagrid began breeding the Skrewts at the beginning of September, and had several hundred. By the following June, he only had one, which was the one that was placed in the maze. Hagrid never discovered what they ate. They often killed each other off , so it is not surprising they died so quickly. The remaining Skrewt may have been released into the forest. It is also possible that Hagrid kept it for breeding, or it eventually died.

Rita Skeeter claimed that the Daily Prophet had a zoological column every Wednesday and said that the Bang-Ended Scoots could be the event that day if Hagrid gave an interview. However, the Skrewts never did feature in the Daily Prophet's zoological column.

In June 1996, following the Stunner attack on Minerva McGonagall by Dolores Umbridge and other British Ministry of Magic officials, Ronald Weasley suggested feeding Umbridge to a box of starving Blast-Ended Skrewts as an appropriate punishment. Harry Potter thought the idea "had its merits."

Behind the scenes

An illustration of the Skrewts on Pottermore as a spoiler for the third instalment

• The Skrewts appeared to be massive violations of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, but Hagrid was never charged for it. This may be because Hagrid eventually had some placed in the Triwizard Tournament, possibly indicating his intent to breed them for that purpose.
• In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Skrewts are encountered as enemies in several locations, rather than just being found in the maze during the Third Task. The Skrewts have sexual dimorphism: males and females are red- and orange-tinged, respectively. Also, they bear little resemblance to their description in the book.
• In the DS version of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, there are some Skrewts trying to kill Buckbeak, so the player has to cast spells on them to make them go away.
• Harry Potter felt that the idea of a teenage Dumbledore "was simply odd, like trying to imagine a stupid Hermione or a friendly Blast-Ended Skrewt."

Appearances

A Skrewt in the video game

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (Disc 2)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (DS version)
• Pottermore