Dragons in Harry Potter
The fantastic universe imagined by Joanne Rowling (better known by her author name J.K. Rowling) in her famous Harry Potter saga is crowded with magical, impressive and sometimes even frightening creatures…
Between goblins, centaurs, and werewolves, the wonderful world of wizards is full of surprises, even for the bravest and the most cured among them!
But today we're going to take a closer look at the Dragons of the Harry Potter universe.
So, are you ready to get to know all the specifics of the dragons in the world's best-selling saga? Let's discover the Dragons in Harry Potter!
But first, don't forget to check out our incredible selection of dragon T-shirts:
1. Dragons in Harry Potter: the different species
The universe imagined by the author is immense and the story could not be satisfied with just one dragon. During the different chapters, the characters face several dragons. In the course of our reading, we meet a dozen different species.
A) Dragons in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Let's start with the four species that I'm sure you remember. These are the four dragons in Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In this episode, the Three Wizards Tournament takes place and aims to put students from each school of wizards in competition with each other. One of the steps consists of stealing a golden egg that is hidden among real dragon eggs. Of course, these eggs are protected by a dragon!
In this tournament, not three, but four students finally have to compete. Each of them will have to defy a different dragon. These are the first four dragons in Harry Potter!
The dragons from the Three Wizards Tournament
The first species comes from China, the Chinese Fireball (also known as Lion Dragon). Its name comes from the shape of the flames it throws when it is angry. Its scarlet red scales are completed by a row of golden spines. It is known to feed on humans when the opportunity arises. It is Viktor Krum who faces him in the competition and he is doing quite well as he manages to collect the golden egg.
The Chinese Fireball
The second fire breather is the Common Welsh Green, which Fleur Delacour has to deal with. Originating from the Wales mountains, where his green coat helps him to blend into the grassy landscape, this dragon throws fiery jets of fire. Although he generally avoids humans, he will have no choice but to protect his eggs from the hands of the champion of Beauxbâtons, the French school of witchcraft.
The Common Welch Green
The third dragon is the Swedish Short-Snout. This dragon is not normally used to encounter human beings since it lives in a remote area. Its silvery-blue skin gives it a beautiful appearance. However, it is no less dangerous. The blue flames it produces can turn wood or even bone into dust in just a few seconds. Cedric Diggory must confront it.
The Swedish Short-Snout
Finally, the dragon that Harry Potter must fight is by far the most dangerous: the Hungarian Horntail. You can see why he is considered the worst dragon just by looking at it. It has a frightening appearance, with its black scales, bronze horns, and especially its tail strewn with spikes. It is a kind of big-winged lizard with yellow eyes split by vertical pupils, and of course, it also breathes fire!
The Hungarian Horntail
B) The Other Dragons in Harry Potter
During his adventures, Harry will meet other dragons. Some of them are also simply evoked by certain characters. These are the six other species that inhabit this world.
The Romanian Longhorn is an endangered species notably because of the traffic of dragon horns (we will see it later!) It still exists in the largest dragon reserve which is used as a study ground by sorcerers.
The Romanian Longhorn
One of the two species originating from Great Britain (along with the Welsh Green) is the Hebridean Black. It usually attacks deer and other roe deer.
In another style and much smaller, there is the Peruvian Vipertooth. It is the smallest dragon that is known to exist. It likes human flesh. So you have to be careful, what's small isn't necessarily nice.
In opposition to this small dragon, let's now mention the biggest dragon of the fictional world: the Ukrainian Ironbelly. This one requires close supervision to avoid the big troubles it could cause.
The last two dragons we are interested in are respectively the rarest and the most beautiful in J.K. Rowlings' universe: the Norwegian Ridgeback and the Antipodean Opaleye. The former is best known in history as the breed of dragon that Hagrid raises. The second only appears in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".
2. The dragon's place in the wizard's world
We have just listed the different species of dragons featured in Harry Potter. We have mentioned one of the roles played by these big beasts in the story, but dragons are not just used for inter-school wizard competitions, far from it!
A) Guardian Dragons
Many of them live in the largest dragon reserve in the world. They are observed and studied by sorcerers like Charlie Weasley. It's best to be an experienced wizard to dare to approach a dragon.
Besides, some dragons are used as guardians. They are chosen to make sure that they protect what they want to hide. Wicked wizards just have to behave themselves!
Although in Harry Potter's time, raising dragons was forbidden, this was not always the case. In the past, dragons were bred to be sold, or only parts of them, for magical purposes…
B) Some dragon in the potions
The dragons in Harry Potter are often found in magic potions, unfortunately for them.
And yes, these fearsome creatures have horns, skin or teeth that are the stuff of choice for the most knowledgeable sorcerers. Thus, throughout their epic journey, Harry Potter and his friends have to deal with potions made from dragons or wands made from dragon parts.
For instance, the use of dragon ventricles and hearts to make magic wands. This gives them great power. Hermione, Lucius Malfoy or Bellatrix Lestrange all possess a wand made of dragon ventricles.
The blood that these dragon ventricles and hearts contain has magical properties. There are said to be twelve of them, including the ability to reduce pain. Sometimes dragon meat is applied to wounds to soothe the pain. Dragon liver is also used as a healing treatment.
Dragon eggs are also magical. They are regulated products and cannot be traded, as they are subject to a legal sanction from the Ministry of Magic.
Dragon skin is used (and this may not surprise you) for the manufacture of protective clothing or accessories. This skin is indeed very strong and resistant to many magic tricks and spells. This makes it a very interesting element for a sorcerer.
The Romanian Longhorn has, as its name suggests, horns. These dragon horns are first powdered before being used in magic potions.
3. A modern saga inspired by old European legend
Undeniably, Harry Potter share some commonalities with many other myths and legends of the European culture. And its dragons too. These fearsome creatures are typical of the western dragon. There is an interesting parallel between the task given to Harry and one of the labors Hercules has to accomplish in the Greek mythology, or even Saint George: all of them have to face a dragon. Also, the dragon in Harry Potter reminds us of the mighty creatures in Game of Thones, or Skyrim.
And finally, don't forget to check out our incredible selection of dragon T-shirts: