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Ron Weasley: "Fred and George have invented Extendable Ears, see. They're really useful."
Harry Potter: "Extendable — ?"
Ron Weasley: "Ears, yeah. Only we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found out and went berserk."
— Harry Potter's introduction to Extendable Ears[src]

Extendable Ears were magical items created by Fred and George Weasley.[1] They were good for eavesdropping on conversations.

Description[]

They were long, flesh-coloured pieces of string which one can insert in one's ear, then shove the other end under (for example) a door, and one will hear the conversation or other noise as clear as if it was mere foot away, unless, that is, the door has been Imperturbed.[1]

The ears were invented sometime prior to Harry Potter's arrival at 12 Grimmauld Place in August 1995. Upon learning of their existence, Molly Weasley was outraged and binned as many of them as she could find. A number of the ears, however, survived this purge and remained in use.[1]

Known users[]

Hermione Granger: "If only we could hear what they're saying!"
Ron Weasley: "We can! Hang on — damn — Extendable Ears, look!"
— The trio use Extendable Ears to eavesdrop on Draco Malfoy[src]
Extendable Ears

An Extendable Ear used by Fred and George Weasley with the trio in attempt to listen in on an Order of the Phoenix meeting

The twins' Extendable Ears proved very useful to Harry Potter when he was trying to listen in on the Order of the Phoenix's conversations, and trying to figure out what the Death Eaters were doing.[1] Harry also used them in 1996 when he was trying to listen to the conversation between Draco Malfoy and Mr Borgin.[2]

Hermione packed a few Extendable Ears when she, Ron, and Harry went to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes in 1997.[4] The trio used them at one point to listen to a group of Muggle-born fugitives, including Dean Thomas, that had briefly stopped outside their tent while they were on the run from horrible Snatchers.[3]

The use of Extendable Ears during lessons at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was prohibited, with infracting students being subject to reprimand.[5]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

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Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 4 (Number Twelve Grimmauld Place)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 6 (Draco's Detour)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 15 (The Goblin's Revenge)
  4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 12 (Magic is Might)
  5. Pottermore (see this image)
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