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[[File:Unicorn_blood_1.jpg|thumb|260px|A pool of unicorn blood]]
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[[File:136-unicorn-blood.png|thumb|A jar of unicorn blood]]
{{Quote|...it is a monstrous thing, to slay a [[unicorn]]. Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The [[blood]] of a [[unicorn]] will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from [[death]], but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a [[curse]]d life, from the moment the [[blood]] touches your lips.|[[Firenze]] explains to [[Harry Potter]] why the slaying of a [[unicorn]] is a crime.|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone}}
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{{Quote| ''[...]'' it is a monstrous thing, to slay a [[unicorn]]. Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The [[blood]] of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from [[death]], but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.|[[Firenze]] explains to [[Harry Potter]] why the slaying of a unicorn is a crime.|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone}}
   
'''Unicorn blood''' is a thick, silvery substance that runs within a [[Unicorn]]'s veins. The blood of a unicorn can be drunk in order to keep a person alive. However, the act of slaying a unicorn will cause the drinker to suffer a cursed life<ref>''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]''</ref> though what this actually entails specifically is unknown. It is probably a Non-Tradeable Item, since the sale of this substance is controlled by the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]], making it strictly forbidden.
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'''Unicorn blood''' is a thick, silvery substance that runs within a [[unicorn]]'s veins. The blood of a unicorn can be drunk in order to keep a person alive. However, the act of slaying a unicorn will cause the drinker to suffer a cursed life<ref>''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]''</ref> though the specifics of what this actually entails are not known well. It is probably a Non-Tradeable Item, since the sale of this substance is controlled by the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]], making it strictly forbidden.
   
 
==History==
 
==History==
 
===1992===
 
===1992===
[[File:Voldemort drinking blood.jpg|thumb|right|192px|Quirrell drinking unicorn blood on Voldemort's behalf.]]
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[[File:Voldemort_drinking_blood.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Quirrell drinking unicorn blood on Voldemort's behalf.]]
In [[1992]], [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] used unicorn blood to sustain his life until he could steal the [[Philosopher's Stone]] in order to regain his true body. As he was possessing [[Quirinus Quirrell]] at the time, Quirrell drank the blood on Voldemort's behalf. Late in the [[1991–1992 school year]], when [[Harry Potter]], [[Hermione Granger]], [[Neville Longbottom]], and [[Draco Malfoy]] were caught out of bounds, they were punished with detention in the [[Forbidden Forest]]. At the edge of the forest, they joined [[Rubeus Hagrid]], the [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts]] gamekeeper, who told them that a unicorn had been injured and that they were to search for it. After some initial difficulty with Malfoy's behaviour, Harry, Malfoy, and Hagrid's hound [[Fang]] found the slain unicorn. Before they could report their discovery to Hagrid, a hooded figure swept upon them, causing Malfoy and Fang to flee. Harry was paralysed with fright and the pain in his scar and could not run away. As Harry collapsed to the ground, he was saved by the [[centaur]] [[Firenze]].
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In [[1992]], [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] used unicorn blood to sustain his life until he could steal the [[Philosopher's Stone]] in order to regain his true body. As he was possessing [[Quirinus Quirrell]] at the time, Quirrell drank the blood on Voldemort's behalf, because Quirrell's body was dying as it is from sharing it with Voldemort's fragmented soul. Late in the [[1991–1992 school year]], when [[Harry Potter]], [[Hermione Granger]], [[Neville Longbottom]], and [[Draco Malfoy]] were caught out of bounds, they were punished with detention in the [[Forbidden Forest]]. At the edge of the forest, they joined [[Rubeus Hagrid]], the [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts]] gamekeeper, who told them that a unicorn had been injured and that they were to search for it. After some initial difficulty with Malfoy's behaviour, Harry, Malfoy, and Hagrid's hound [[Fang]] found the slain unicorn; however, before they could report their discovery to Hagrid, a hooded figure swept down upon them, causing Malfoy and Fang to flee. Harry was paralysed by fright and the pain in his scar and could not run away. As Harry collapsed to the ground, he was saved by the [[centaur]] [[Firenze]].
   
 
===1994===
 
===1994===
In [[1994]], [[Peter Pettigrew]] used unicorn blood along with [[Nagini]]'s [[Nagini's venom|venom]] to create a [[Rudimentary Body Potion|potion]] which would create a temporary body for Voldemort, until he could regain his [[Regeneration Potion|true body]]. It is unknown if producing such a potion and proceeding to use it (orally or otherwise) creates a similar curse upon the user's life. In Voldemort's case, his re-usage of unicorn blood (having indirectly consumed some two years prior) may have a cumulative effect on the curse's potency.
+
In [[1994]], [[Peter Pettigrew]] used unicorn blood along with [[Nagini]]'s [[Nagini's venom|venom]] to create a [[Rudimentary Body Potion|potion]] which would create a temporary body for Voldemort, until he could regain his [[Regeneration Potion|true body]]. It is unknown if producing such a potion and proceeding to use it (orally or otherwise) creates a similar curse upon the user's life. In Voldemort's case, his re-usage of unicorn blood (having indirectly consumed some two years prior) may have had a cumulative effect on the curse's potency. Voldemort's questionable degree of humanity, however, may have diluted, or even negated entirely, the efficacy of the curse.
   
 
==Behind the scenes==
 
==Behind the scenes==
  +
[[File:UnicornSlaying.png|thumb|200px|A [[Slytherin Dungeon tapestries|Medieval tapestry]] depicting wizards slaying a [[unicorn]], and collecting its blood.]]
*As [[Quirinus Quirrell|Quirrell]] had been drinking the unicorn blood on Voldemort's behalf, it is uncertain if he or Voldemort would have been the one afflicted with the "cursed life" mentioned by Firenze, if not both of them. It is also possible this curse may have played a part in Quirrell's death after his abandonment by Voldemort at the end of the school year.
 
  +
* A sign above the Hog's Head forbade the sale of unicorn's blood, and warned customers not to ask about it.
*It is unknown if or how Voldemort was affected by his use of unicorn blood through Quirrell in the [[1991–1992 school year]] and again in his [[Rudimentary Body Potion]] in [[1994]]. It is even possible it may have played some part in leading to his eventual downfall in [[1998]].
 
*It is unknown whether a person who drank unicorn blood without being the one to kill the unicorn, or even knowing what they were drinking, would be cursed.
 
   
 
==Appearances==
 
==Appearances==
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*''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'' {{mention}}
 
*''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'' {{mention}}
 
*''[[LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4]]''
 
*''[[LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4]]''
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*''[[Pottermore]]''
   
 
==Notes and references==
 
==Notes and references==
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[[Category:Blood]]
 
[[Category:Blood]]
 
[[Category:Potion ingredients]]
 
[[Category:Potion ingredients]]
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[[Category:Creature products]]
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[[Category:Plot to steal the Philosopher's Stone]]
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[[Category:Immortality]]
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[[Category:Unicorns|Blood]]

Revision as of 20:45, 9 October 2014

136-unicorn-blood

A jar of unicorn blood

" [...] it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."
Firenze explains to Harry Potter why the slaying of a unicorn is a crime.[src]

Unicorn blood is a thick, silvery substance that runs within a unicorn's veins. The blood of a unicorn can be drunk in order to keep a person alive. However, the act of slaying a unicorn will cause the drinker to suffer a cursed life[1] though the specifics of what this actually entails are not known well. It is probably a Non-Tradeable Item, since the sale of this substance is controlled by the Ministry of Magic, making it strictly forbidden.

History

1992

Voldemort drinking blood

Quirrell drinking unicorn blood on Voldemort's behalf.

In 1992, Lord Voldemort used unicorn blood to sustain his life until he could steal the Philosopher's Stone in order to regain his true body. As he was possessing Quirinus Quirrell at the time, Quirrell drank the blood on Voldemort's behalf, because Quirrell's body was dying as it is from sharing it with Voldemort's fragmented soul. Late in the 1991–1992 school year, when Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Draco Malfoy were caught out of bounds, they were punished with detention in the Forbidden Forest. At the edge of the forest, they joined Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, who told them that a unicorn had been injured and that they were to search for it. After some initial difficulty with Malfoy's behaviour, Harry, Malfoy, and Hagrid's hound Fang found the slain unicorn; however, before they could report their discovery to Hagrid, a hooded figure swept down upon them, causing Malfoy and Fang to flee. Harry was paralysed by fright and the pain in his scar and could not run away. As Harry collapsed to the ground, he was saved by the centaur Firenze.

1994

In 1994, Peter Pettigrew used unicorn blood along with Nagini's venom to create a potion which would create a temporary body for Voldemort, until he could regain his true body. It is unknown if producing such a potion and proceeding to use it (orally or otherwise) creates a similar curse upon the user's life. In Voldemort's case, his re-usage of unicorn blood (having indirectly consumed some two years prior) may have had a cumulative effect on the curse's potency. Voldemort's questionable degree of humanity, however, may have diluted, or even negated entirely, the efficacy of the curse.

Behind the scenes

UnicornSlaying

A Medieval tapestry depicting wizards slaying a unicorn, and collecting its blood.

  • A sign above the Hog's Head forbade the sale of unicorn's blood, and warned customers not to ask about it.

Appearances

Notes and references

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