- "The most commonly cited signs [of pure-blood status] were...dislike or fear of pigs and those who tend them (the pig is often considered a particularly non-magical animal and is notoriously difficult to charm)..."
- — A description of 18th century works about blood purity.[src]
A pig, or swine, is a type of animal in the biological family Suidae. The pig is considered to be a difficult animal to charm and thus incredibly non-magical. It is for this reason that certain 18th century works considered dislike or fear of pigs to be a sign of pure-blood status.[1]
Hogwarts gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid is known to have kept pigs during the 1991–1992 and 1992–1993 school years at Hogwarts. In 1991, he used a spell to give Dudley Dursley a pig's tail. The spell was supposed to have transfigured Dudley into a pig entirely, but Hagrid commented that Dudley was already so much like a pig, there wasn't much left to do. A bit later that year, Minerva McGonagall transfigured a desk into a pig and back again in front of her first year Transfiguration class as both a demonstration of her power and of the type of magic they would eventually be able to do after many years if they applied themselves.[2] At some point after the start of the 1991-1992 school year, but before Hallowe'en, the password for Gryffindor Tower was "pig snout."[3] The Weasleys are also known to have kept a few pigs. In Ancient Greece, a woman named Circe turned lost sailors into pigs. For this she had her own Wizard Card. In 1995, while discussing a 10 year old boy that Dudley Dursley beat up, Dudley stated that the boy deserved it, as he had cheeked him. Harry asked if the boy had stated that Dudley looked like a pig that had been taught to walk on its hind legs, telling him "That's not cheek, Dudley. That's true." In the 1995–1996 school year Severus Snape called James Potter a swine.
"Pig" was also the nickname of Ron Weasley's owl, Pigwidgeon.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (As an insult)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Mentioned in flashback(s))
- LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
- Harry Potter LEGO Sets
- Pottermore
Notes and references
- ↑ Pure-Blood on Pottermore
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 8 - (The Potions Master)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 9 - (The Midnight Duel)