- "They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag -- never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?" Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming."
- —Hagrid explains Quirrell's fear of hags.[src]
A hag is a savage being that looks like an ugly, old witch but has more warts.[4] They possess rudimentary magic, similar to that of a troll.[5] Little is known of them, though it is thought that they are what Muggles think are witches and are therefore popular in Muggle literature.
History[]
- Quirinus Quirrell supposedly had a "nasty bit o' trouble" with a hag sometime in 1991 during his Grand Tour.[6]
- Sometime in or before 1992, Gilderoy Lockhart published a book called Holidays with Hags; the book probably does not contain any useful information on them, though.[7]
- In 1993, Harry Potter thought he saw a hag ordering a plate of raw liver from behind a thick balaclava.[8]
- A hag sent in "A Word in Support of Hags" to the Daily Prophet, offering babysitting services.[9]
Ministry classification[]
The Ministry of Magic classifies hags as beings, a fact that causes centaurs and merpeople to desire the classification of beast.[3]
Known hags[2][]
Habitats[]
Hags can occasionally be encountered in Diagon and Knockturn Alleys, as well as Hogsmeade[8]; however, some hags like Annis Black live in caves.[2]
Diet[]
Hags eat children[2] and raw liver are part of their diets.[8]
Etymology[]
From hægtesse, meaning witch.
Behind the scenes[]
- It is possible that Honoria Nutcombe is a hag, given that she founded the Society for the Reformation of Hags in the seventeenth or eighteenth century.[9]
- Hags have only four toes on each foot[10]
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) (Disc 2) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Possible appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- The Queen's Handbag (Mentioned only)
- Pottermore (Mentioned only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 If Quirrell really did have a run-in with one, it must have some sentience, and must be partially part of the magical community.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Famous Witches and Wizards Cards
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (real)
- ↑ Pottermore
- ↑ J. K. Rowling's Official Site
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Daily Prophet Newsletters
- ↑ The W.O.M.B.A.T. test asks which statement is false: ghosts can cause movement of both liquid and gas, freshwater merpeople are less warlike than salt, the werewolf's snout is shorter than that of a true wolf, there are no male Veela and hags have four toes on each foot. Pottermore states that ghosts can move both liquid and gas; Peter Pettigrew mentions that there is a difference in size between the werewolf's snout and the true wolf's snout (Order of the Phoenix, chapter 29). Since there is no mention of any male Veela, combined with the fact that they are able to enchant men but not women, it make sense to assume that all Veela are female. Thus, the only two choices left are the statement about merpeople and the statement about hags; there is no mention of any difference among merpeople and thus that is the false statement, leaving the fact that hags have four toes on each foot to be true.