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"The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing."
— Description of Cornish pixies[src]

The pixie was a small, bright blue, mischief-making magical beast.[1][2]

Description[]

The pixie was able to fly, and enjoyed lifting people up by their ears and depositing them on the tops of trees and buildings, showing incredible strength for creatures of their tiny size. It could also steal things. Pixies could only communicate with other pixies; their voices were described as "so shrill it was like listening to a lot of arguing budgies".[1] Pixies made squeak sounds.[1] They bore live young.[2]

History[]

Dymphna and a pixie

Dymphna Furmage being terrorised by pixies

In Cornwall in the 17th century, Dymphna Furmage, a witch on holiday, was abducted by pixies. This led to a lifelong fear of them, which drove her to request that the British Ministry of Magic humanely eradicate the pixie species. Her request was declined, and she died in 1692.[3][4][5]

During the 1986–1987 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Murphy McNully tried Pixie Spotting with Jacob's sibling and Barnaby Lee in the Magical Creatures Reserve to hone his visual acuity.[6]

During the 1988–1989 school year, Patricia Rakepick taught fifth-year students in Defence Against the Dark Arts class how to handle pixies.[7]

Gilderoy Lockhart: "Yes. Freshly caught Cornish pixies. Yes?"
Seamus Finnigan: "Well, they're not — they're not very — dangerous, are they?"
Gilderoy Lockhart: "Don't be so sure! Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"
— A discussion regarding Cornish pixies in a 1992 second-year Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson[src]
Pixie

Cornish pixies frozen stiff after making havoc in Classroom 3C

In 1992, Gilderoy Lockhart brought a group of "freshly caught" Cornish pixies to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during his tenure as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Claiming that they were devilishly tricky creatures, he thought they would be perfect for a practical lecture on Defence. He lost control of them, and attempted to round them up using the incantation Peskipiksi Pesternomi. This however did not work, as Lockhart most likely fabricated this charm, amongst numerous other things. The pixies picked up Neville Longbottom by the ears and attacked other classmates who were trying to whack them with their books, hanging Neville on the ceiling. Lockhart hurried out of the room, asking Harry, Ron, and Hermione to "nip the rest of them back into their cage". Hermione Granger ended the riot using a Freezing Charm.[1] Due to this, Ron Weasley proclaimed that the only thing he learned from Lockhart was "not to let pixies loose".[8]

During the 1993–1994 school year, a water well on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry became infested with five swarms of pixies. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger were tasked to clearing out the infestation with use of the Tickling Charm.[5]

During the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998, Harry Potter came across a cage containing Cornish pixies in the Room of Requirement, whilst he was searching for Ravenclaw's Diadem.[9]

During the 2008–2009 school year, Professor Brindlemore taught her first-year Defence Against the Dark Arts students about pixies and instructed them to send the pixies back to their cage using the Freezing Charm.[10]

During the Calamity in the 2010s, several pixie Confoundables starting appearing throughout the wizarding world, guarding many valuable magical artefacts and object Foundables, ranging from Crystal balls, to Vanishing Cabinets and even the Hand of Glory. Volunteers of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force were sent to deal with these pixies with a variety of spells, such as the Knockback Jinx, Ebublio Jinx and Slowing Charm to immobilise these pixies, and allow for the Foundables to be freed and return to their rightful places of belonging.[11]

Behind the scenes[]

Pixie Cage 2

Pixies in a cage in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

PixiePOP

A pixie as a POP! Vinyl

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 72 images related to Pixie.

Notes and references[]

Magical creatures by classification
X Flobberworm · Horklump
XX Augurey · Bowtruckle · Chizpurfle · Clabbert · Diricawl · Fairy · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Imp · Jobberknoll · Mooncalf · Porlock · Puffskein · Ramora · Winged horse
XXX Ashwinder · Billywig · Bundimun · Crup · Doxy · Dugbog · Fire crab · Fwooper · Glumbumble · Hippocampus · Hippogriff · Hodag · Jarvey · Knarl · Kneazle · Leprechaun · Lobalug · Mackled Malaclaw · Moke · Murtlap · Niffler · Nogtail · Pixie · Plimpy · Pogrebin · Red Cap · Salamander · Sea serpent · Shrake · Streeler · Winged horse
XXXX Centaur · Demiguise · Erkling · Erumpent · Golden Snidget · Graphorn · Griffin · Hidebehind · Kappa · Kelpie · Merperson · Occamy · Phoenix · Re'em · Runespoor · Snallygaster · Sphinx · Tebo · Thestral · Thunderbird · Troll · Unicorn · Winged horse · Yeti
XXXXX Acromantula · Basilisk · Chimaera · Dragon · Horned Serpent · Lethifold · Manticore · Nundu · Quintaped · Wampus cat · Werewolf
Defence Against the Dark Arts (D.A.D.A.)
Subjectsdada
D.A.D.A. at Hogwarts
Classroom 3C · Classroom 3C backrooms · Temporary Classroom · Hogwarts Turris Magnus · Teacher's Office · Storeroom · Staircase · Storage room · Lesson Cup · Race Cup · Duelling Club · Dumbledore's Army
Professors
Isidora Morganach · Dinah Hecat · Arsenius Jigger · Albus Dumbledore · Galatea Merrythought · 1984–1985 professor · 1985–1986 professor · 1986–1987 professor · 1987–1988 professor · Patricia Rakepick · 1989–1990 professor · First 1990–1991 professor · Olivia Green · Quirinus Quirrell · Gilderoy Lockhart · Remus Lupin · Bartemius Crouch Junior (as Alastor Moody) · Dolores Umbridge · Severus Snape · Amycus Carrow (as Dark Arts teacher) · Unidentified professor · Brindlemore
Textbooks
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection · Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts · Break with a Banshee · Gadding with Ghouls · Holidays with Hags · Travels with Trolls · Voyages with Vampires · Wanderings with Werewolves · Year with the Yeti · The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts · Defensive Magical Theory · Dark Arts Defence – Basics for Beginners · Confronting the Faceless · Defence Against the Dark Arts
Spells studied at Hogwarts under D.A.D.A.
Aqua Eructo · Boggart-Banishing Spell (Riddikulus) · Bombarda Maxima · Cave inimicum · Concealment Charms · Counter-curses · Counter-jinxes · Cruciatus Curse (Crucio) · Curse of the Bogies (Mucus ad Nauseam) · Cursed barrier spell · Densaugeo · Deprimo Spell (Deprimo) · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Ear-Shrivelling Curse · Everte Statum · Freezing Spell (Glacius) · Full Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus) · Fumos Duo · Green Sparks · Hex-Breaker· Hex-deflection · Hex Zapper · Homorphus Charm · Human-presence-revealing Spell (Homenum Revelio) · Impediment Jinx (Impedimenta) · Imperius Curse (Imperio) · Imperturbable Charm · Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra) · Knockback Jinx (Flipendo) · Lacarnum Inflamari · Langlock · Levitation Spell (Levioso) · Limbo Mist anticharm · Nonverbal spells · Patronus Charm (Expecto Patronum) · Pimple Jinx (Furnunculus) · Protective enchantments · Red Sparks (Vermillious) · Reductor Curse (Reducto) · Salvio hexia · Sea Urchin Jinx · Seize and pull charm (Carpe Retractum) · Shield Charm (Protego) · Smokescreen Spell (Fumos) · Snake-Vanishing Spell (Vipera Evanesca) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Stretching Jinx · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Tongue-Tying Curse (Mimblewimble) · Trip Jinx · Twitchy-Ears Hex · Verdimillious Charm (Verdimillious) · Verdimillious Duo Spell (Verdimillious) · Verdimillious Tria · Vermillious Duo · Vermillious Tria · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos)
Creatures studied at Hogwarts under D.A.D.A.
Banshee · Boggart · Chameleon Ghoul · Charmed skeleton · Cornish Pixie · Dementor · Dugbog · Erkling · Flesh-Eating Slug · Ghost · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Gytrash · Hag · Hinkypunk · Iguana · Imp · Inferius · Kappa · Manticore · Nocturnal beasts · Nogtail · Poltergeist · Red Cap · Snake · Troll · Vampire · Vampire bat · Werewolf · Yeti · Zombie
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