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"Sir. I was just admiring your hourglass."
Harry Potter[src]

Slughorn's Hourglass[3] was a clock made of two glass vessels connected with a narrow passage through which sand and a green fluid flowed, and green serpentine features adorning the outside. The serpent imagery in its design symbolised Slytherin house, of which Slughorn was the Head. It was kept in Slughorn's Potions Classroom on his desk, though it was presumed to also reside in his office.[2]

Description[]

The sand ran accordingly with the quality of the conversation: if stimulating, the sand ran slowly.[2]

History[]

Halfblood-03321

Tom Riddle tapping Slughorn's hourglass

Little is known about how or when Slughorn acquired this object, but it is known that he already owned this object by the time that teenage Tom Riddle was studying at Hogwarts.[1]

During the 1987–1988 school year Slughorn used this hourglass to test whether or not Jacob's sibling was an interesting person, and given that the sand ran very slowly during their conversation Slughorn announced that Jacob's sibling had passed the test. Later, Slughorn gave Jacob's sibling a miniature copy of this hourglass on a pendant as a reminder of their first encounter.[4]

Horace Slughorn had this hourglass in his possession during the 1996–1997 school year, during which when he explained the properties of the hourglass to Harry Potter the sand ran quickly (as it isn't a very deep conversation) but later as they discussed Lord Voldemort, and what he was like at school, the sand moved so slowly that it seemed to freeze.[2]

Behind the scenes[]

  • This hourglass is never mentioned in the books.
  • The sand inside the hourglass seen in the films is white, however the replica hourglass offered by the Noble Collection contains green sand.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) - Chapter 18 (A Sluggish Memory)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) - Chapter 12 (Slug Club)
  3. The Making of Harry Potter (see this image)
  4. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Side Quest "Joining the Slug Club"
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