Books

J.K. Rowling Reveals Sad Hagrid Life Details :(

by Caitlin White

Hermione Granger had the otter. Luna Lovegood had the hare. Severus Snape had the doe. Ron Weasley had the Jack Russel terrier. And Harry Potter had the stag, just the same as his father's Animangus. But what was Rubeus Hagrid's Patronus? J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter character Hagrid's didn't have a Patronus, according to the author on the Twitter. This revelation may mean that the beloved Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts has a sadder life story than we realized.

Rowling has never shied away from answering Harry Potter fan questions on Twitter, so when a Twitter user asked the author "What was Hagrid's Patronus?" Rowling had a simple answer: "Hagrid couldn't produce a Patronus. It's a very difficult spell." At first glance Rowling may be talking about Hagrid's magical skill level — after all, he never did graduate from Hogwarts. But, when you really dig into what the Patronus charm is, it may mean something much, much sadder.

I'll let Miranda Goshawk explain exactly what a Patronus charm is to you Muggles, because who better than the charms and spell books specialist:

This ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring it.

A Patronus is probably the most famous and difficult charm in the entire wizarding world, and it works as a defense against the evil Dementors, who will feed off the Patronus rather than feeding off the wizard who has conjured it using Expecto Patronum! Like in the examples above, nearly all Patronuses are real-life animals, but Professor Albus Dumbledore has a mythical phoenix because of course he does, he's Dumbledore. But in this clip from the movies, Harry delves deeper into what exactly helps wizards find their Patronus:

Expecto Patronum only works if you can concentrate fully on the happiest memory you have.

Hagrid doesn't have a Patronus. Does that mean he doesn't have any truly happy memories? Tears. Streaming.

Oh, J.K.. We're going to need you to write new, happy, loving backstories to Hagrid's life now.