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The Runespoor is a three-headed snake native to Burkina Faso in Africa. Runespoors are six to seven feet long, with orange and black stripes. Since they are very easy to spot, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Magic has had to make several forests Unplottable for the Runespoor's use.

The Runespoor has long been associated with Dark Wizards, and what is known of their habits is due in large part to the Parselmouths that have conversed with the creatures.

Each of the Runespoor's head serves a different function. The left head is the planner, it decides where the Runespoor is to go and what it is to do next. The middle head is the dreamer (it is common for a Runespoor to remain stationary for days lost in glorious visions and imaginations) and the right head is the critic whose fangs are highly venomous. It evaluates the efforts of the left and middle heads with a continual irritable hissing. It is common to see the far right head missing, as the other two heads often band together to bite it off when it critises the other two heads too much. Because of this, the Runespoor rarely lives to a great age.

The Runespoor bears its young in eggs that it produces through its mouth, and is the only magical beast known to do so. Their eggs are very valuable in making potions to stimulate mental agility and have flourished on the black market for several centuries.

In the runic alphabet, the three heads of the Runespoor are used to represent the number three.

Appearances

 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 * J. K. Rowling's Official Site

Notes and references
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