• Creature The Mackled Malaclaw is a creature of the shore and coastline, resembling a lobster. The malaclaw’s bite gives the victim bad luck for up to a week. It has light gray shell with green spots and is around twelve inches long. While it looks edible the Mackled Malaclaw should never… Read More
• Character Walden Macnair was a Death Eater and Ministry of Magic employee who sported a black moustache. In the years between the first and second wars against Voldemort, Macnair worked as an executioner of dangerous creatures for the Ministry of Magic (PA16, PA21, GF33). MacNair was… Read More
• Event The Magical Congress of the United States  was housed in a secret edifice somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains until 1760, when it was relocated to Williamsburg, Virginia, the home of Thornton Harkaway, then President of MACUSA (Pm). Unfortunately for the local No-Maj population, President Harkaway raised Crups, a type of… Read More
• Businesses, merchants, and shops The Magical Menagerie is a very crowded pet store in Diagon Alley, noisy with the sounds of all the animals, where Hermione bought Crookshanks. The proprietor is a witch who wears heavy black spectacles. She offers advice and sells things like rat tonic. Other creatures for sale… Read More
• Creature Magical pests are a variety of destructive and/or mischievous magical creatures who like to inhabit human spaces. Read More
• Occupations A Magizoologist is a witch or wizard who studies magical creatures (FB). Read More
• Character Magorian acts as the leader of the Centaurs of the forest. He is not as rash as Bane, but he does not trust humans (OP30, OP33). Read More
• Creature Magpies are common birds in the same family as crows and considered to be some of the most intelligent non-magical creatures in the animal kingdom. The bird is used as a mascot by the Quidditch team the Montrose Magpies. Read More
• Headlines and advertisements Making sure the purchaser of your old wand is human is a public information article in the Daily Prophet, following a report about goblin riots (DP3). A handy guide to species identification was included on page 11 of the Prophet after the goblins rioted in Chipping Clodbury using illegally obtained wands. Read More
• Diseases and healing A Maledictus is a witch or wizard who suffers from a blood curse. One form of this affliction, referred to as a “malediction,” had been inherited by Draco Malfoy’s wife Astoria Greengrass. Astoria died from the blood curse in August of 2019 (CC). Another form causes its victim to slowly… Read More
• Character Mallory Twiddle wrote a letter to the Daily Prophet, complaining that Gringotts was using Sphinxes to guard its high security vaults (DP1)… Read More
• Plants Centaurs burn this, observing the fumes and flames to refine the results of their stargazing (OP27). Read More
• Character Malodora Grymm was a famous hag. She used a beautification potion to conceal her true form, married a king, and used a charmed mirror to reinforce her self-image. She became jealous of the most beautiful girl in the land and fed her a poisoned apple to get rid of her. Read More
• Creature The Manticore is a beast with a human-like head, a lion’s body, and the tail of a scorpion. Read More
• Character Marlow was a Bowtruckle in Newt Scamander’s case (WFT). Read More
• Quidditch The Mascot Restriction was a motion to restrict mascots to “herbivores, creatures smaller than a cow and nothing that breathes fire”. It was defeated by an overwhelming majority in 1995. Quidditch supporters worldwide have been opposed to any meddling with what they see as a traditional, colourful part… Read More
• Creature The Matagot is a magical beast that resembles a large, black cat with bulging blue eyes. They are spirit familiars that guard the French Ministry of Magic but will not harm anyone unless they are provoked. When attacked, they multiply and mutate becoming more aggressive. If taken from their… Read More
• Character Mauler is one of three pet Kneazles belonging to Newt Scamander and his wife Porpentina (FB). Read More
• Countries Mauritius is a tiny island nation found east of Madagascar in the southern Indian Ocean, and is famous both in the Muggle world and the wizarding world as the home of the Diricawl, which Muggles refer to as the dodo. Though Muggles believe that the bird died out over a… Read More
• Event Minerva McGonagall disguised as her cat Animagus arrives outside the home of the Dursley family on Privet Drive early in the morning of November 1, 1981. At half-past 8 a.m., Vernon Dursley leaves his driveway and notices a tabby cat reading a map on the corner near his house, which made… Read More
• Thing A book about fantastic creatures found in Newt Scamander’s shed inside his brown leather suitcase (WFT). Read More
• Oceans and seas Sandwiched between Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean has for centuries been one of the most trafficked bodies of water in the world. Yet somehow merpeople (including the Greek Sirens), the hippocampus and the sea serpent have managed to live in the sea undetected. The Mediterranean Sea is also a natural… Read More
• Character Melusine was a French witch who lived in, and previous to, the 1920s. She worked at the French Ministry of Magic in the Records Room Archives. She is described as “a very old woman” who permits Newt Scamander and Tina Goldstein into the archives when they claim to… Read More
• Communication In the basement of MACUSA memos write themselves, then fold into origami rats. They use the glass tubes to scurry to the offices above. On occasion they will start to fight and tear each other apart, leaving the intended recipient memo-less. Read More
• Spells The Memory Modifying Charm is also called “Memory Charm”. Modifies or erases portions of a person’s memory. A person who has their memory erased can be described as “Obliviated” (WFT). Memory Modifying Charms are often used to uphold the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy and to avoid frightening Muggles. Officials… Read More
• Creatures' homes, lairs, and territories • Hogwarts castle and grounds • Towns The merpeople’s village is located in the center of the lake, a quarter of a mile from Hogwarts castle. The edge of the village is marked by a large rock with paintings of merpeople on it; they are carrying spears and chasing the giant squid. The village consists of clusters… Read More
• Art and Culture A gold-framed painting of a blonde-haired mermaid hangs in the Prefects’ Bathroom on the fifth floor of Hogwarts. She sits on a rock and is usually asleep and snoring. She  flirts with the young gentlemen while they bathe, which doesn’t seem to impress Myrtle much (GF25). She resembles the mermaids of… Read More
• Languages Merfolk language used above water (FB, DH8); Merfolk speak human languages underwater. It sounds like horrible screeching if heard in air. Dumbledore (GF26, HBP30) and Barty Crouch Sr. (GF7) can speak Mermish. Miranda Goshawk’s original The Book of Spells was translated into Mermish (BoS). Read More
• Creature Merpeople are sentient beings who live underwater in lakes and seas, although they can breathe air for short periods of time. Read More
• Creature A distinct variety of Merperson from the lakes and seas of Ireland. They live in cooler waters than the selkie of Scotland, and are generally considered less beautiful than their Scottish cousins (FB). Read More
• Creature Mice are small, long-tailed common mammals found all over the world. Mice are used at Hogwarts for practicing various transfiguration spells (PS16… Read More
• Character Milly is one of three pet Kneazles owned by Newt Scamander and his wife Porpentina (FB). Read More
• Ministry of Magic • Wizarding culture Ministry of Magic licenses are issued for a number of activities which are deemed dangerous, which could be misused for nefarious purposes, or which require special training or actions to keep the wizarding world hidden from the Muggles. These include: Ownership of Crups (FB, JKR-W1) Sale of magical artifacts… Read More
• Rules and laws Ban on Experimental Breeding 1965 written by Newt Scamander (FB) Code of Wand Use clause 3: no non-human creature permitted a wand (GF9) Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery 1875 (CS2, CS5, PA3, OP2, OP8) Violation under paragraph… Read More
• Character Mirabella Plunkett was a witch famous for falling in love with a merman in Loch Lomond while on holiday there. When her family forbade her to marry him, she transfigured herself into a haddock and was never seen again (FW). Read More
• Furniture and household items Ordinary mirrors are found in bathrooms, dormotories and on corridors in Hogwarts. Read More
• Games, toys, and jokes Harry and the other Triwizard champions drew small model dragons out of a silk bag. The type of model indicated which dragon thay had to face. Harry drew the Hungarian Horntail. (GF20). Each tiny model moved its wings and snarled; Harry’s even curled up and went to sleep the… Read More
• Nature preserves The Modesty Rabnott Snidget Reservation was established in the fourteenth century in Somerset to protect a dwindling population of Golden Snidgets. Dwindling because they were being hunted for sport as well as killed in Quidditch matches, the Chieftainess of the Wizards’ Council, Elfrida Clagg, made the… Read More
• Event A century earlier, Barberus Bragge had instigated Snidget hunting into the game of Cuaditch, an early form of Quidditch. Now, in the mid-1300s, the small birds are nearing extinction. The head of the Wizards’ Council, Elfrida Clagg, bans Snidget-hunting altogether, as well as its use in… Read More
• Creature A moke is a small magical lizard of Britain and Ireland which grows up ten inches long. The moke has never been noticed by Muggles thanks to its ability to shrink at will. This habit of  shrinking when approached makes the lizard’s silver-green skin prized by wizards and witches for purses and… Read More
• Character Eupraxia Mole was the headmistress of Hogwarts in 1876, when she negotiated an end to a standoff with Peeves by signing a contract allowing the poltergeist certain privileges. Read More
• Books and Literature The Monster Book of Monsters is a book about magical creatures. It is the required textbook for Care of Magical Creatures class in Harry Potter’s third year (PA1, PA4). Hagrid sends Harry a copy for his birthday, but he has to hold it shut with… Read More
• Creature A Mooncalf is a strange creature with smooth pale gray skin and narrow legs with large hooves that only comes out of it’s burrow during a full moon. It’s eyes are very large and bulgy, they sit on the top of it’s head. It’s enormous flat hind feet leave intricate… Read More
• Food and drinks Newt Scamander kept a crate of Mooncalf Pellets in his work shed. In 1926, Jacob Kowalski fed them to the Mooncalves inside Newt Scamander’s case (WFT). Read More
• Creature Someone interviewed by The Quibbler claimed to have brought back a bag of moon frogs to prove his claim that he had flown to the moon on a Cleansweep 6 (OP10). Read More
• Character Professor Moonshine is a researcher whose specialty is potions that affect hags (DP4)… Read More
• Titles, nicknames, and honorifics Nicknames of the Marauders used amongst themselves and in the creation of the Marauders Map. Moony = Remus Lupin, refers to being a werewolf Wormtail = Peter Pettigrew, refers to being a rat Animagus Padfoot = Sirius Black, refers to being a black dog – also another name for The… Read More
• Character Morfin Gaunt was the son of Marvolo Gaunt. He is first seen dressed in rags, his thick hair so matted with dirt the color was indistinguishable. He was missing several teeth, and his eyes, like those of his father and sister, looked in opposite directions. Morfin is a Parselmouth and… Read More
• Character Morgan is young wizard who is the subject of “The Rhyme of Gormless Morgan”, which appears in the Book of Spells (BoS). He is ordered to capture a Gorgon, however the attempt ends very unhappily for him. Read More
• Character A Ministry raid on his house in August 1992 turned up some extremely odd ferrets (CS3). Read More
• Character Female acromantula, wife of Aragog (CS15). Read More
• Event Mascots have been a problem at several Quidditch matches. An attempt by the International Confederation of Wizards Quidditch Committee (ICWQC) to restrict the size and nature of mascots to “herbivores, creatures smaller than a cow and nothing that breathes fire” was defeated in 1995 (Pm). Currently… Read More
• Creature The Mountain Troll is the largest and most violent of the various troll species. It stands twelve feet tall, with grey skin, a lumpy body, and flat horny feet. It exudes a powerfully awful smell, “a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to… Read More
• Headlines and advertisements Muggles Not as Stupid as We Think, says Ministry Report is the headline for a lead article in the Daily Prophet (DP1). This article in the Prophet outlines the findings of a report by a committee on Muggles, headed by Professor Phoebus Penrose, entitled “A Study… Read More
• Magical objects Newt Scamander’s magical suitcase had a brass dial that could be turned to “MUGGLEWORTHY” so the No-Maj customs inspectors would not see the dangerous magical creatures inside. With a turn of the dial, Muggles would only see common objects such as maps, an alarm clock, and a Hufflepuff scarf (WFT). Read More
• Creature The preserved remains of a body, human or animal, from which fluids have been removed. Read More
• Glossary The preserved remains of a body, human or animal, from which fluids have been removed. Although mummification can occur through natural processes in very dry conditions, the most common conception of a mummy is that of one deliberately embalmed as a preparation for burial, for which additional preservative measures have… Read More
• Character Merchiefteness of the Merfolk living in the Hogwarts lake.  She is described as “a particularly wild and ferocious-looking female.” (GF26)… Read More
• Creature The Murtlap is a rat-like creature with a growth on its back resembling a sea anemone, which when pickled can be used to promote resistance to curses. Read More
• Diseases and healing The bite from the rat-like Murtlap initially causes the victim to pass out. While not considered serious, there can be side-effects within 48 hours, such as flames erupting from their bottoms. Therefore victims should be monitored closely (WFT). Read More
• Diseases and healing Tentacles of a seashore-dwelling rodent. A solution of strained and pickled Murtlap tentacles, yellow in color, soothes and heals cuts and other wounds. Read More
• Magical effects Music is a powerful magic often associated with healing and lifting the spirit. Read More
• Place Mykonos is a small island off the southeast coast of Greece, in the Aegean Sea. It was at one point home to the Chimaera (Dai Llewellyn was eaten by one while on holiday in Mykonos – FB), though today it is a popular upscale resort island, making it unlikely that… Read More
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Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
Did Moaning Myrtle ever find out that it was Hagrid that was accused of being responsible for her murder? I know she was intent on haunting Olive Hornby for a while after her death. But, it was 50 years before Hagrid’s name was cleared. Did Myrtle ever wonder how… Read More