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O Coração Peludo do Mago
"The young warlock resolved never to fall prey to such weakness, and employed Dark Arts to ensure his immunity."
— Opening of the story[src]

The Warlock's Hairy Heart was one of the stories in the wizarding fairy tales collection The Tales of Beedle the Bard. This story was the darkest of the five stories from The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and it was intended to teach young wizards and witches not to dabble with the Dark Arts.[1]

It was also the only story that Beatrix Bloxam did not rewrite in The Toadstool Tales, as it traumatised her when she was a child. The warlock's ability to remove his own heart from his own body and preserve his own life with it stored externally was considered an impossibility outside of fairy tales, as Albus Dumbledore commented.[1]

Summary[]

The main character of the story was a handsome, skilled and rich young warlock who saw emotions as a weakness, and decided to take measures to prevent himself from ever falling in love, using the Dark Arts. The warlock became deluded, believing himself to be envied for his "perfect" solitude, which made him all the more upset to overhear two servants talking about him; one servant was taking pity on him, while the other was ridiculing him for not having found a wife. This swung a blow to the warlock's pride, and he decided to find a beautiful, magically talented and wealthy young maiden, so that he would be envied by all.[1]

O Coração Peludo do Mago2

The Meeting Dinner

The next day, he had the fortune of meeting such a woman; though the maiden was both "fascinated and repelled" by the warlock, he persuaded her, along with her family, to come to a dinner feast at his castle. The warlock attempted to flatter the young woman, using words he stole from a poet. The maiden retorted that she would only believe such lovely words if she thought he had a heart. The warlock took her down to the dungeon of his castle and showed her an enchanted crystal casket, within which lay his own beating heart.[1]

Because the heart had been parted from its body for so long, it had become shrivelled and covered in black hair. The maiden asked the warlock to put his heart back inside his chest, which he did. The woman was so pleased that she ran forwards and embraced him. However, the heart had been consumed by the dark magic used to remove it, and had degenerated into a savage, bestial state, driving the warlock to take by force a truly human heart. He tore out the maiden's heart to replace his own, but his own heart was too strong and did not allow him to use magic. Not wanting to be mastered by his heart, he cut his own heart out. Before he could replace his own heart with the maiden's heart, he died across the maiden's dead body with one heart in each hand.[1]

Behind the scenes[]

"Warlock's Hairy Heart is really, quite gothic, it's quite dark that one, and Voldemort would've done well to know that story before he set out on his campaign of terror."
J.K. Rowling PotterCast Interview

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Tales of Beedle the Bard, "The Warlock's Hairy Heart"
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
By Beedle the Bard
Tales of Beedle the Bard
Stories

Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump · The Fountain of Fair Fortune · The Warlock's Hairy Heart · The Tale of the Three Brothers · The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

Characters

Altheda · Amata · Amata's lover · Antioch Peverell · Antioch Peverell's enemy · Antioch Peverell's killer · Asha · Babbitty · Brigade of Witch-Hunters · Cadmus Peverell · Cadmus Peverell's fiancée · Captain of the Brigade of Witch-Hunters · Charlatan · Death · Evil sorcerer · Gigantic white worm · Ignotus Peverell · Ignotus Peverell's son · King · Maiden · Maiden's kinsfolk · Old man · Old man's donkey · Old man's family · Peasant woman · Peasant woman's granddaughter · Sabre · Sir Luckless · Warlock · Warlock's family · Warlock's friends · Wizard · Wizard's father · Young woman · Young woman's child

Objects

Altheda's potion · Altheda's wand · Cloak of Invisibility · Creepers · Crystal casket · Elder Wand · Fountain · Gold statue of Babbitty · Hairy Heart · The Hopping Pot · Poisonous toadstool · Poultice for warts · Resurrection Stone · Silver chalice

Locations

Altheda's home · Cadmus Peverell's house · Enchanted garden · Lonely, winding road · Never-ending hill · River

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