Pigwidgeon
From UnknowableWiki
| Creature profile | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pigwidgeon | |
| Also known as | Pig |
| Species | owl |
| Owner | Ron Weasley |
| Appearance | tiny, grey |
| First appearance in canon | Owl Post Again (PA) |
Sirius Black used the owl to send a letter to Harry Potter after his escape from Hogwarts. Harry received the letter on the Hogwarts Express on his way back to London in June 1994. In the letter, Sirius told Ron he could keep the owl in compensation for the loss of his rat Scabbers, who had really been Peter Pettigrew in disguise. Ron was happy to keep it after he let Crookshanks examine it to assure that it was really just an owl (PA22).
During the summer holidays, Ginny Weasley named the owl against Ron's consent, and it refused to listen to anything else. Annoyed, Ron shortened "Pigwidgeon" to "Pig". He had to keep Pigwidgeon in his room because Errol and Hermes were annoyed by his behaviour (GF5).
Pigwidgeon delivered a letter to Harry in which Ron invited him to the Quidditch World Cup. When Harry came back from breakfast with the Dursleys, he whizzed around the room while Hedwig clicked her bead disapprovingly. After colliding with Harry's head, he dropped the letter at his feet. Harry first doubted that he had read correctly when Ron referred to the owl as "Pig" in his letter. With great difficulty, Harry tied his response to Pigwidgeon's leg while the owl hopped on the spot in excitement (GF3). Harry met him again in Ron's bedroom at The Burrow, where he hooted shrilly and hopped around in a tiny cage. Here, Ron and Ginny finally explained the strange nickname to him (GF5).
On the evening before their return to Hogwarts, Ron told Harry to give Pigwidgeon some Owl Treats to shut him up. As a result, the owl started making spluttering noises as it was choking on an overlarge Owl Treat while Mrs. Weasley gave Ron his second-hand dress robes. Ron unstuck his beak, complaining that everything he owned was rubbish (GF10). The next day, Pigwidgeon made a terrible racket during the taxi drive to King's Cross. He kept hooting during the train ride and Ron threw his dress robes over his cage to muffle the shrill sound (GF11).
The Trio used Pigwidgeon to deliver a long letter to Sirius the evening after the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. He was overexcited by the prospect of a delivery and Ron had to catch him and hold him still while Harry tied the letter to his leg. When Ron threw him out of the window, he plummeted twelve feet before he could pull himself up as the letter was so heavy (GF21). He returned one evening shortly before Christmas and met the Trio on the marble staircase on their way back from dinner. His antics attracted the attention of several students and Ron snatched him and reprimanded him for showing off. Several third-year girls were shocked by Ron's rough treatment, but Pigwidgeon hooted more happily than ever when Ron angrily waived him around in his fist (GF23).
With the help of two school screech owls, Pigwidgeon delivered a huge food parcel containing a whole ham to Sirius after the Trio had seen how starved he was on their visit (GF28).
On the way back to London, Ron once again covered Pigwidgeon's cage to silence him (GF37). He took the owl with him to number twelve, Grimmauld Place. Pigwidgeon was excited by Harry's arrival there and zoomed around the Trio's heads during their reunion and the ensuing argument (OP4).
When the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade, Luna Lovegood offered to carry Pigwidgeon, as Ron, being a prefect, had to oversee the other students (OP10).
On the Knight Bus back to Hogwarts after Christmas break, Ron carried Pigwidgeon's cage on his lap. When the bus changed locations with a bang, Ron's chair toppled over and Pigwidgeon burst out of the cage, twittering madly. He landed on Hermione Granger's shoulder and stayed there (OP24).
In September 1996, Pigwidgeon delivered a copy of Advanced Potion-Making to Ron and was nearly crushed under the heavy parcel when he landed (HBP11).
Categories: Owls | Pets
