Puffskein

"...a basket of funny custard-coloured furballs that were humming loudly..."

- Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the Magical Menagerie on 31 August 1993

A Puffskein is covered in soft fur and spherical in shape. It is a popular pet found worldwide that does not object to being cuddled or thrown about. The Puffskein is a scavenger, eating anything from leftovers to spiders, but it particularly likes to use its long thin pink tongue to eat wizards' bogeys while they sleep. This makes them a popular wizarding pet. The Puffskein is easy to care for, and they emit a low humming sound when they are content. A group of Puffskeins or Pygmy Puffs is referred to as a poffle. Shaved (or trimmed with a clipper) Puffskein hair has magical properties, and is useful as a potion ingredient, such as in Zygmunt Budge's variation of the Laughing Potion which requires a few handfuls.

History
According to Albus Dumbledore, a copy of resides in almost every wizarding household in the country used by generations of wizards in search of the best way to cure their pet Puffskein of drinking out of the toilet.

Ron Weasley owned a Puffskein at one point. Its demise is attributed to Fred, who supposedly used it for Bludger practise.

George Weasley reported that a nest of dead puffskeins was discovered by Molly Weasley at 12 Grimmauld Place under the sofa in the drawing room in August 1995.

For Zygmunt Budge, Puffskeins are pointless creature in the name but an invaluable creature for the potion maker and the fact that anyone would want such a tedious beast as a pet is quite beyond him.

The Magical Menagerie sales Puffskeins.

They were modified by Fred and George to create Pygmy Puffs.

Behind the scenes

 * Inspiration for the puffskein may have come from the television series Star Trek's Tribbles, as they share many of the same characteristics, such as emitting a purring or humming sound when content, and that they are both balls of fur.
 * Fanged Puffskeins are mentioned as a possible answer to a question on the W.O.M.B.A.T., letting us know that puffskeins don't have fangs.
 * In PS G they move by jumping, enjoy sitting on warmers, eat bushes and give Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in return after burping loudly. During one of the quest they can plug holes in the ground which lets Harry Potter reach other places. There are berries for Puffskeins in.
 * In, the Bronze trophy named ‘Fur-ther learning’ can be won after discovering everything about Puffskeins, to achieve this you will need to find all 3 notes on the Puffskein on Page 7 of the ‘Laughing Potion’ chapter (the areas you need to investigate with the the magnifying glass are the body, hair and the tongue).

Appearances

 * PS G
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account
 * J. K. Rowling's Twitter account

Notes and references
Puffskein Boursouf Pufki Карликовый пушистик Blærball