Weasley family ghoul

The Weasley family ghoul lives in the attic at The Burrow. Considered to be more of a pet than a pest by the Weasleys, the ghoul is largely ignored although it does bang on the pipes when it feels the house is too quiet.

In 1997, Ron Weasley came up with a plan to use the ghoul in his plans to assist Harry Potter and Hermione Granger search for Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. Since he would not be at school, and did not want to endanger his family, he convinced his brothers, Fred and George, to help him transfigure the ghoul so it looked more human, and dress it in pyjamas. Arthur Weasley also helped, against the wishes of his wife.

Ron's plan called for the ghoul to take up residence in his room while he was away. The Transfiguration work also made the ghoul appear to have Spattergroit, a highly contagious disease. It was Ron's hope that this would convince any Ministry officials or Death Eaters that he was seriously ill, since no Wizard would risk getting close.

The plan worked, to a certain point. After being interrogated following the fall of the Ministry on August 1st, the Weasley file kept in Dolores Umbridge noted that Ron was seriously ill and confined to his bed. He narrowly missed detection when he temporarily abandoned Harry and Hermione and was caught by Snatchers; he told them that he was Stan Shunpike and then managed to escape. Another close call came when Ron, Harry and Hermione were ambushed at the Lovegood House; Hermione threw Harry's Invisibility Cloak over Ron as they escaped so that Death Eaters Selwyn and Travers did not see him.

However, after Harry accidentally broke the Taboo on Voldemort's name in 1998, the Death Eaters learned that Ron was with Harry; the rest of the Weasleys were forced into hiding and prevented from going to their jobs.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows