Nagini

"Nagini tells me that the old Muggle caretaker is standing just outside the door. Step aside, Wormtail, so I can give our guest a proper greeting. Avada Kedavra!"

- Voldemort after Nagini speaks to him in Parseltongue

Nagini was a long, green female serpent belonging to Lord Voldemort. She can be compared to Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk, both of the snakes sharing an important role as a creature loyal to the Dark Lord. She can also be seen as a countpart to Fawkes, Albus Dumbledore's Phoenix, or Hedwig, Harry Potter's pet owl, both sharing deep bonds with their owners. Nagini was killed by Neville Longbottom in 1998.

Species
Nagini possesses highly poisonous venom that is capable of keeping wounds open and melting stitches. It is unknown what true species of snake Nagini was.

Bond with Voldemort
"Then she closed her eyes and several things happened at once: Harry's scar prickled painfully; the Horcrux twitched so that the front of his sweater actually moved; the dark, fetid room dissolved momentarily. He felt a leap of joy and spoke in a high, cold voice: Hold him!"

- Nagini, in Bathilda Bagshot's body, communicates with Voldemort

Voldemort was able to communicate to Nagini due to the fact that he was a Parseltounge, which gave him a lot of command over Nagini. He also turned Nagini into one of his Horcruxes, which may have given him additional control over her, and an ability to communicate with her silently and across great distances, as she is able to signal to him when Harry Potter arrived at Godric's Hollow. According to Dumbledore, she is one of the few things Voldemort cares about, although mostly due to her being a Horcrux.

Lord Voldemort was able to possess Nagini, which he did in December 1995, when he possessed her, entered the Ministry of Magic, and attacked Arthur Weasley, who was on watch duty (guarding Harry's prophecy) for the Order of the Phoenix in the Department of Mysteries. Arthur survived this attack — just barely — due to Harry dreaming about and being connected with Voldemort/Nagini at the time: Harry was able to warn Professor McGonagall, who subsequently told Dumbledore, who managed to save Arthur. It took quite a while for Arthur to recover in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, due to the fact the stitches and wounds bled profusely when the bandages were removed.

History with her master


Voldemort used Nagini to help him regain strength after he lived in a non-corporeal state after being struck by a Killing Curse that rebounded off an infant Harry Potter. With the help of Peter Pettigrew, he milked her venom, which created a potion that helped him stay alive until he could regain a body. Nagini further kept Voldemort alive by serving as one of his Horcruxes; his habit of keeping her unusually close to him is what led to Albus Dumbledore suspecting that she had become a Horcrux.

Nagini was frequently used by Voldemort to kill others, or to dispose of their dead bodies. In 1995, he promised Nagini that she could devour Harry Potter after he had killed him. However, she was denied this when Harry escaped from the graveyard a bit after the promise was made. It is likely that Frank Bryce met that intended fate, sometime in 1994 (nearly a year earlier). Voldemort threatened Pettigrew with being fed to Nagini if Bartemius Crouch Sr. was able to contact Albus Dumbledore about the plot behind the Triwizard Tournament. He also used Nagini in the aforementioned attempt to kill Arthur Weasley. In 1997, Voldemort's prisoner, Hogwarts Muggle Studies teacher Charity Burbage, was fed to Nagini.

At Christmas in the same year, Nagini was stationed at Godric's Hollow, posing as Bathilda Bagshot using extremely powerful Dark Magic. When Harry and Hermione Granger arrived there, she lured them into the late witch's home, signaled Voldemort, and attacked Harry. Nagini bit and coiled herself around Harry to hold him in place. Hermione came to his assistance, using a Blasting Curse against the snake, and the two escaped just before Voldemort arrived.

Later, on Potterwatch, Lee Jordan revealed that the remains of Bathilda's body had been found after being informed by the Order of the Phoenix.



In 1998, Nagini was placed in a protection orb by the Dark Lord, who told her it was for her own good, while in reality he was only trying to ensure his own immortality. Later on, while in the Shrieking Shack she killed Severus Snape, under the orders of Voldemort, by biting his neck and injecting him with her deadly poison. After Voldemort tried to kill Harry Potter in the Forbidden Forest, she was released from the orb, as Voldemort believed there to be no more threat of her being killed. She was beheaded by Neville Longbottom during the Battle of Hogwarts, who cut off her head with Godric Gryffindor's Sword.

Since she was Voldemort's last remaining Horcrux, her death set up the climatic duel between him and Harry Potter. With no Horcruxes remaining and thus mortal again, Voldemort's death in that duel was final.

Etymology

 * "Naga" is "snake" in Sanskrit and "Nagin" means "female snake" in Hindi and Urdu. A reference to Rudyard Kipling's cobra character Nagaina, referred to as Nagini in some translations.

Behind the scenes

 * "Nagini" comes from the Hindi word "Nagin" meaning, "Female snake". There is also a mythological snakelike creature of a similar name, Naga.
 * It was officially stated that the murder Voldemort used to make Nagini a Horcrux was Bertha Jorkins. However, she never appeared in the films alongside the other dead characters (as Harry's parents appeared right after Frank Bryce) so in the film timeline, he could have used the murder of Frank Bryce instead.
 * Nagini is killed by Neville using Gryffindor's Sword, which is an object that can destroy Horcruxes. It is unknown if living Horcruxes can be destroyed by anything that cannot destroy an inanimate Horcrux; however, it is likely, because the Horcrux inside Harry was destroyed by Voldemort using Avada Kedavra. Although, it is still possible that living horcruxes cannot be destroyed by anything that would not destroy an inanimate Horcrux considering that the killing curse is a one-of-a-kind unblockable instant death spell.
 * Nagini and the Basilisk are both giant snakes who serve Voldemort, and both are killed with Gryffindor's Sword, when someone pulls the sword out of the Sorting Hat. Also both their deaths contributed to Voldemort becoming mortal (as the Basilisk fangs were used to destroy two Horcruxes, and the venom absorbed by Godric Gryffindor's Sword allowed the destruction of three more). Also, the Basilisk is related to the first appearance of a Horcrux in the series, while Nagini was the last Horcrux.
 * As a living container of a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul, it is unknown what would happen if she died of old age or if she could.
 * In the films she was portrayed as some species of python; this contradicts the book's description of her as a venomous snake. However, it is possible she is a fictional species of venomous python within the movie continuity.
 * It is unknown whether Voldemort owned Nagini before or after his fall in 1981, but he may have found the snake during his exile in Albania.
 * It is also possible that Nagini was a kind of magical snake, such as a basilisk.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts I and II

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