- Ginny Weasley: "They're really cute!"
- Fred Weasley: "They're fairly cuddly, yes."
- — Ginny Weasley and her brother Fred discussing Pygmy Puffs in August 1996 in the Weasley brothers' shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes[src]
A Pygmy Puff is a miniature Puffskein, bred by Fred and George Weasley and sold at their shop Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes at 93 Diagon Alley in London, as one of the known products in the WonderWitch range. It is one of their most popular products, as George said they were having trouble breeding them fast enough for the demand.[1] Ginny Weasley bought a purple Pygmy Puff named Arnold in August 1996,[4] which she played with at Hogwarts.[5] Baby Pygmy Puffs are on also sale at the Magical Menagerie.[6]
Ginny once joked that her brother Ron had a tattoo of a Pygmy Puff, without saying where, when Romilda Vane was pestering her about whether Harry Potter had a tattoo of a Hippogriff.[7]
During the investigation of their 9th case, Mathilda Grimblehawk and her partner have to follow a trail of blood. Once arrived to the graveyard it led to, Mathilda says "Why am I surprised? It was hardly going to lead to a basket of Pygmy Puffs!".[8]
Characteristics
Ginny looking at the Pygmy Puffs at the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
Pygmy Puffs resemble little fluffy balls that roll around, squeak and come in various shades of pink and purple.[1] Luna Lovegood believed that all Pygmy Puffs sing on Boxing Day.[9] A group of Puffskeins or Pygmy Puffs is called a poffle.[10]
Behind the scenes
- While some magical creatures can naturally change their size, Pygmy Puffs would appear to be violations of the Ban on Experimental Breeding. However, as they are merely miniature pink or purple Puffskeins, this may not count as an offence as Fred and George Weasley may have attained a special licence to breed them and/or simply used the Colour Change Charm (or Crinus Muto) with the Shrinking Charm or Diminuendo or some Shrinking Solution.
- Despite the blanket ban on the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products on Hogwarts, Ginny somehow managed to bring Arnold with her into Hogwarts. This may be because the Pygmy Puffs are not joke items and that the ban Argus Filch placed on Weasley's Wizard Wheezes may only affect their joke products.
- It was reported in the 28 November 1926 issue of The New York Ghost that a Pygmy Puff that had been mistaken for a pincushion had been rescued from a No-Maj haberdashery[11] and it advertised Pygmy Puff Pelmanism as one of the games in its game section on the cover of its 1 December 1926 issue.[12] but it's odd since the Pygmy Puffs are originally bred by Fred and George Weasley and that the breeding of magical creatures in New York was ban at the time.[13]
Pink and Purple Pygmy Puff Plushes
- Pink and purple Pygmy Puff plushes of various size (some with squeeze-activated sound), earmuffs and key chains, as well as pink Pygmy Puff slippers are available for purchase at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Zonko's shop (some Pygmy Puff plushes are in pink cages, exactly like in the movie and there’s the naming ceremony, a mini-show that accompanies purchasing a pygmy puff plush, in which a shopkeeper will ring a bell and announce that you have adopted one and sometimes, the name you have chosen for yours) and on the Official online merchandise store of the park. Pygmy Puff t-shirts are also available in the theme parks at Zonko's Joke Shop. Including shirts with the inscription: "Mini Puffskeins - Pygmy Puffs - Peacefully Pet the Puffs",[14] the same inscription we can see on the pygmy puff cage's label in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) during the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes shop scene. Plushes are also available at Harry Potter: The Exhibition online store. Keychains and plushes with sound (featuring tiny white feet protruding from the fur of the Pygmy Puff and bright blue acrylic eyes standing out against its pale pink face) are also available at the The Making of Harry Potter and its online store.
- The campaign and website www.adoptapygmypuff.com was launched by The Fwooper Foundation, an animal rights group focused on “empowering young witches and wizards to get active for the magical creatures in our world by using parallels from the Harry Potter series”.
A Pygmy Puff inside a cage with a label, for sale at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in 1996
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 6 (Draco's Detour) (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7 (The Slug Club)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 11 (Hermione's Helping Hand)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 14 (Felix Felicis) (Latest Appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 25 (The Seer Overheard) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Mobile version only)
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter: The Creature Vault
- J. K. Rowling's Twitter account (Mentioned only)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (Mentioned in articles)
- Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World (Hidden object in Case 7: Flames of Attraction, Mentioned in Case 9: Cloke and Dagger)
- The Making of Harry Potter
See also
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 6 (Draco's Detour) - "“Haven’t you girls found our special WonderWitch products yet?” asked Fred. “Follow me, ladies. . . .” Near the window was an array of violently pink products around which a cluster of excited girls was giggling enthusiastically. Hermione and Ginny both hung back, looking wary. “There you go,” said Fred proudly […] “What are those?” She was pointing at a number of round balls of fluff in shades of pink and purple, all rolling around the bottom of a cage and emitting high-pitched squeaks. “Pygmy Puffs,” said George. “Miniature puffskeins, we can’t breed them fast enough.“ […] Ginny, putting a finger through the bars of the cage and watching the Pygmy Puffs crowd around it. “They’re really cute!” “They’re fairly cuddly, yes,” conceded Fred. […] “Mum, can I have a Pygmy Puff?” said Ginny at once. “A what?” said Mrs Weasley warily. “Look, they’re so sweet. . . .” Mrs Weasley moved aside to look at the Pygmy Puffs […] Mrs Weasley and Ginny were bending over the Pygmy Puffs."
- ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay, Scene 18 - "NEWT: No, there’s only one breeder of Appaloosa Puffskeins in the world and he lives in New York, so no . . ."
- ↑ Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test, Grade One, Part One - Magical Law, Question 7 on jkrowling.com (31 March 2006) - "7. Which of the following should receive the LIGHTEST punishment from the Wizengamot? a. Horns created accidentally on a culprit's mother, caused by broken wand b. Jelly-Legs Jinx performed on threatening Muggle c. Breeding fanged Puffskeins d. Underage witch performs Cleaning Charms in privacy of own home"
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7 (The Slug Club) - "The Ministry cars glided up to the front of the Burrow to find them waiting, trunks packed; Hermione’s cat, Crookshanks, safely enclosed in his travelling basket; and Hedwig; Ron’s owl, Pigwidgeon; and Ginny’s new purple Pygmy Puff, Arnold, in cages."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 11 (Hermione's Helping Hand) - "…Harry watched Ginny Weasley playing with Arnold the Pygmy Puff for a while…"
- ↑ The Making of Harry Potter (see here)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 25 (The Seer Overheard) - "“…all Romilda Vane does is ask me if it’s true you’ve got a Hippogriff tattooed across your chest.” […] “And what did you tell her Ron’s got?” “A Pygmy Puff, but I didn’t say where.” Ron scowled as Hermione rolled around laughing."
- ↑ Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World - Case 9: Cloke and Dagger (see this image)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
- ↑ J.K. Rowling defines "poffle" on Twitter (08:23 - 30 November 2015) - "“@jk_rowling herd, quiver, brood, flock.... What is a group of Puffskeins or Pygmy Puffs called?” “A poffle.”"
- ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (see this image)
- ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (see this image)
- ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay, Scene 19 - "TINA (O.S.): Hey. By the way, we closed that guy down a year ago. We don’t allow the breeding of magical creatures in New York."
- ↑ (see this image)
