Errol

Errol
Biographical information
Born	Long before 1984
Died	Between August 1994 and April 2020
Physical information
Species	Great grey owl
Gender	Male
Feathers	Grey
Affiliation
Loyalty	Weasley family (owners)

Ron Weasley: "I was getting really worried when you didn’t answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol’s fault at first —"

Harry Potter: "Who’s Errol?"

Ron Weasley: "Our owl. He’s ancient. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d collapsed on a delivery."

— A discussion regarding Errol

Errol was one of the Weasley family's owls. He was a great grey owl, or Strix nebulosa.

He was "ancient" by 1992, and his poor eyesight caused him to hit objects in flight. According to Harry Potter, he resembled a moulting feather duster. Ron Weasley often called Errol a "bloody bird," a "ruddy bird," or a "menace".

Biography

Errol had been with the Weasley family since at least 1984, before Charlie Weasley started at Hogwarts School. During a game of truth-or-dare with friends sometime during in 1989–1990, Bill Weasley revealed that, in his youth, Charlie used to try and turn the family pets into dragons. Since this was before he knew any spells, he settled on sticking paper wings on Scabbers using Spellotape and on making Errol fly around with a dragon mask, and then following them around while jotting down his "observations of dragon behaviour".

Errol's clumsiness and bad eye-sight

When Ron Weasley didn't hear from Harry Potter all summer, he initially thought it was Errol's fault because it wouldn't be the first time he collapsed on delivery. Errol was absolved when Ron learned that Dobby had deliberately prevented Harry from receiving post.

Errol later delivered Hermione Granger's letter to Ron and Harry. Hermione advised Ron to use another owl next time because another delivery might finish Errol off. He also delivered Molly Weasley's Howler to Ron after he and Harry stole Arthur Weasley's flying Ford Anglia and drove it to Hogwarts.

Errol with Hedwig and a Hogwarts owl

On 31 July 1993, on Ron's behalf, Errol delivered Harry's first birthday present, a letter, and the Daily Prophet article about the Weasleys winning the Grand Prize Galleon Draw before his third year at Hogwarts. He lost consciousness during the journey, and he had to be carried into 4 Privet Drive by Harry's owl Hedwig and a Hogwarts owl. Later that day, Harry sent Hedwig to stay at The Burrow with Errol while Marge Dursley visited Privet Drive.

When she heard that Harry was expected to live on an extreme diet in the summer of 1994, Mrs Weasley sent Errol with an enormous fruitcake and assorted pasties. This was too much for Errol, whom Harry described as "elderly and feeble," and he needed five full days to recover. Errol and Percy Weasley's owl Hermes had become annoyed by Ron's excitable owl Pigwidgeon, which forced Ron to keep him in his own room.

Errol passed away at some point between August 1994 and April 2020, with subsequent letters from Arthur and Molly Weasley being delivered by either an unidentified barn owl or briefly by Fawkes.

The Calamity

In April 2020, Errol appeared as a Foundable during another surge of the Calamity. Volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force were able to return him to his original time.

Etymology

Errol is a village in Scotland, near Perth, which may have served as inspiration for the name of the Weasley family owl.

It is also the name of a dragon in an early Terry Pratchett novel that flies into windows and has the tendency to explode.

It is also possible that his name refers to "error" (as the two words are similar), because of the bird's age and known characteristics.

Behind the scenes

• Errol appears in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as he bumps into the kitchen window at The Burrow. Later in the film, he lands in a bowl of crisps in the Great Hall in Hogwarts when delivering Ron a Howler from his mom. It is later mentioned that he was used by Ron to deliver Hagrid's release papers. Due to the fact that Errol got lost, Hagrid's release from prison was delayed.
• When J. K. Rowling first dreamt up Errol, she had in her mind a picture she had seen of "a very comical, large, fluffy, grey, bewildered-looking bird whose breed I had never known". When she first visited the aviary at Leavesden Studios, when Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was being filmed, she saw a big line of great grey owls that were "an exact replica" of what she had in mind.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite