Nagini

Nagini was a long, green female snake belonging to Lord Voldemort, with whom she had a special bond. She also became a Horcrux, after her master killed Bertha Jorkins in 1994. After Voldemort's initial downfall, he used Nagini's venom as one of the ingredients for a potion in order to regain strength, which eventually led to his rebirth. In 1995, she attacked Arthur Weasley, but he managed to survive. During the Second Wizarding War, she had to be destroyed in order for Voldemort to be finally defeated. Nagini was killed by Neville Longbottom in 1998, and was the last Horcrux to be destroyed.

Biography
"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

It is unknown when, where or how Lord Voldemort encountered Nagini but she became his magical familiar and the only living creature, apart from himself, that Voldemort cared about. Since he liked to possess snakes it is possible that the Dark Lord found Nagini whilst he was in Albania after attempting to kill Harry Potter. He used Nagini to help him regain strength and a basic physical form after living in a weak, spectral state, following his attempt to kill an infant Harry Potter, during which he was struck by his own rebounding Killing Curse. He had Peter Pettigrew milk her venom, and with it, create a potion that sustained him until he could regain a body. Nagini further kept Voldemort alive after he turned her into a Horcrux, with the murder of Bertha Jorkins, in 1994; his habit of keeping her unusually close to him was what led Albus Dumbledore to suspect that she had become a Horcrux. Nagini was also able to alert her master to the fact that Frank Bryce was listening in to a conversation between Peter Pettigrew and himself, leading Voldemort to kill the unsuspecting Muggle man.

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 shortly after the promise was made. It is likely that Frank Bryce met that intended fate, sometime in 1994. 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. Later, when Thorfinn Rowle and Antonin Dolohov failed to capture Harry, Voldemort offered them a choice in punishment: being tortured by Draco Malfoy further or be killed and devoured by 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 until Hermione came to his assistance, using a Blasting Curse against the snake; 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 an enchanted barrier by the Dark Lord, who told her it was for her own good, though since he was trying to ensure his own immortality, it was primarily for his. Later on, while in the Shrieking Shack, she killed Severus Snape on Voldemort's command, biting his neck and injecting him with her deadly venom. 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, and he wore her around his neck and shoulders, like a scarf. She was beheaded by Neville Longbottom using Godric Gryffindor's Sword during the penultimate confrontation.

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



Physical Appearance
Nagini was a green viper, roughly twelve feet long and as thick as a man's thigh. As a viper, she was known to be venomous, and her venom was used to sustain her master prior to his return to true physical form.

Personality and traits
Little is known about Nagini's personality, except that she was completely loyal to Lord Voldemort. While she remained aloof to most others, she obeyed Voldemort completely, and seemed to enjoy being close to him, as she often slithered up to his shoulders to recieve his affection.

Lord Voldemort
"I think he is perhaps as fond of her as he can be of anything. He certainly likes to keep her close and has an unusual amount of control over her, even for a Parselmouth."

- Albus Dumbledore on Voldemort's bond with Nagini

Voldemort had a special relationship with Nagini, as she was his magical familiar and one of his Horcruxes. According to Dumbledore, Voldemort had strong feelings for Nagini that he had not for anyone else; she was the one thing that he cared about. He was able to communicate with Nagini as a Parselmouth, and he turned her into a Horcrux in 1994, after murdering Bertha Jorkins, which accounted for the unusual amount of control he had over her. By 1997, and likely before then, he was able to communicate with her silently and across great distances, as she was able to signal to him when Harry Potter arrived at Godric's Hollow. This may have been due to her nature as a Horcrux, giving her a link to Voldemort like the one Harry possessed.

"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

Lord Voldemort was also able to possess Nagini, which he did in December 1995. When he possessed her, she 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 — as a result of Harry dreaming about and being connected with Voldemort/Nagini at the time: Harry was able to warn Professor McGonagall, and subsequently Dumbledore, who managed find Arthur before his injuries proved fatal. It took quite a while for Arthur to recover in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries due to the fact that Nagini's venom seemed to delay blood clotting, and even dissolved stitches, causing the wounds to bleed profusely when the bandages were removed.

In 1994, Peter Pettigrew milked Nagini's venom to return Voldemort to a rudimentary body, and as a Horcrux, her very existence contributed to maintaining Voldemort's immortality. Voldemort usually sent her on missions, such as infiltrating the Ministry, or holding Harry Potter in Godric's Hollow. He allowed her to consume the corpses of those he killed as a reward, though this also served as a way for him to dispose of bodies.

He stopped sending Nagini on missions after he realised Harry Potter knew about the existence of his Horcruxes and was tracking them down. Eventually, Nagini was beheaded by Neville Longbottom during the Battle of Hogwarts. Voldemort was furious, and attempted to kill Neville. Nagini was the last destroyed horcrux, and her death led to Voldemort's final defeat.

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

 * In, Albus Dumbledore stated that Nagini was made into a Horcrux through the murder of an "old muggle man", likely referring to Frank Bryce. However, J. K. Rowling said in an interview that the murder Voldemort used to make Nagini a Horcrux was Bertha Jorkins. Bertha did not appear in the film adaptation of.
 * Nagini is killed by Neville using Gryffindor's Sword, which is an object that can destroy Horcruxes due to the fact that it had been impregnated with Basilisk venom in 1993. 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. Nevertheless, 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 two or three more). Also, the Basilisk is related to the first appearance of a Horcrux in the series, while Nagini was the last Horcrux.
 * An old folklore belief holds that a stag can lure serpents with its breath to trample them. This led to one theory regarding the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in which Harry destroys Nagini, along with one of Voldemort's Horcrux, with his stag Patronus.
 * As a living container of a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul, it is unknown what would happen if she could die naturally.
 * In the films she was portrayed as a reticulated 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 film continuity.
 * It is unknown whether Voldemort owned Nagini before his fall in 1981, or if he found her during his exile in Albania.
 * It is never said why Harry's wounds from Nagini are able to be healed just with Dittany, while others, such as Severus Snape or Arthur Weasley (almost), are killed by her venom. The protective enchantments put in place with Lily Potter's death may act against Nagini's venom, but this protection had already faded when Harry was wounded (although it can be argued that the protection still existed due to Voldemort taking Harry's blood) . It is also possible that Nagini can choose whether or not to apply the venom into her bites, which is very likely as Lord Voldemort makes it clear that Harry's life is reserved for his own taking.
 * Nagini was usually sent on missions on Voldemort's behalf, making her rather vulnerable, which is against the general purpose of a horcrux: to protect the portion of the soul. She shares this trait with the diary Horcrux.

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: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Notes and references
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