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"And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. He screwed up his eyes, trying to see what it was. It looked like a horse."
— Harry Potter's corporeal stag Patronus[src]

Deer is the common name for a family of ruminant animals grouped by the fact that the males grow antlers in adulthood.[2] A male deer is called a stag,[3] whereas a female a doe.[4] One particular species of deer was the Scottish stag. Deer was the preferred food of the Hebridean Black breed of dragon.[5]

It was a possible corporeal form of the Patronus Charm.[6][7][8] Deer had become synonymous with the Potter family, as Harry Potter's stag Patronus was widely known.

Venison is meat from deer consumed by humans, dragons, and Snargaluffs as food.[9][10][11]

History[]

The deer was a reoccurring Patronus within the Potter family: James Potter,[1] his wife Lily,[1] and his son Harry[7][8] all had deer for Patronuses. James Potter was also an Animagus who could take the form of a large stag.[12]

Doe next step module

The doe that led Harry Potter to the Sword of Gryffindor

Professor Severus Snape, as a sign of his undying affection for Lily, also had a doe for a Patronus, which persisted long after her death.[13]

In 1998, Snape cast this Patronus as a guide to lead Harry Potter to the Sword of Gryffindor hidden within a frozen lake of the Forest of Dean.[13] Harry felt an instinctual familiarity with the doe Patronus.[14]

Deer lived in the Forbidden Forest. In 1890, a deer drinking at a lake in the forest was suddenly attacked and killed by a strangely aggressive Dugbog, with its death witnessed by Poppy Sweeting and her friend.[15] In May of 1996, when Rubeus Hagrid was discussing Grawp with Harry and Hermione, he said that he was able to get his own food; "birds an' deer an' stuff".[16]

Deer Patronuses[]

Appearances[]

PatronusPOPVinyl

Harry Potter's stag Patronus in POP! Vinyl form

Notes and references[]

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