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"What d'you mean, 'we all hate Hagrid'? What's this rubbish about him getting a bad bite off a Flobberworm? They haven't even got teeth!"
Harry Potter to Draco Malfoy about Rita Skeeter's exaggerated claims in the Daily Prophet[src]

The Flobberworm was a herbivorous, ten-inch, toothless brown magical worm which ate mainly lettuce and cabbage.[2][4]

Description[]

Flobberworm WBS

An uninteresting Flobberworm

It was not considered a particularly interesting creature, with a Ministry of Magic Classification of X, or "boring", which was the lowest possible rank.[2]

Each end was identical to the other, from which they chewed vegetation and exuded mucus, which was sometimes used to thicken potions.[7] It moved very little and preferred to live in damp ditches.[2]

Contrary to the claims of Draco Malfoy and his gang, which were designed to attack Hagrid and his qualities as a professor (although he was doing a pretty good job of that himself), Flobberworms did not possess teeth and thus did not bite.[5]

Flobberworms were apparently edible and Flobberworm fritters were sometimes served for lunch at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, much to the dismay of the student body.[8] Flobberworms could also be transfigured into fritters with a spell.[9]

The Flobberworm was notable for being one of the few living creatures capable of being summoned with the Summoning Charm, although it was generally not considered worth summoning.[10]

Usage in potions[]

Flobberworm Mucus

A bottle of Flobberworm Mucus

"The mucus from the Flobberworm is sometimes used to thicken potions."
— Description[src]

Flobberworm Mucus was a green and slimy substance commonly used as a thickener in many potions. A popular and useful ingredient, it was used in potions such as the Wiggenweld Potion, Herbicide Potion, and the Sleeping Draught.[6]

History[]

"Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after the action-packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hagrid seemed to have lost his confidence. They were now spending lesson after lesson learning how to look after Flobberworms, which had to be some of the most boring creatures in existence. 'Why would anyone bother looking after them?' said Ron, after yet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the Flobberworms' throats."
— Ron gripes about looking after the Flobberworms[src]
Flobberworm FBCFTWW

The Flobberworm

During the 1986 summer holidays, Rubeus Hagrid bred an excess amount of Flobberworms in his hut, but he was unsure what to do with them.[11]

When he taught Care of Magical Creatures, Silvanus Kettleburn normally covered them in third-year classes. However, in the 1986–1987 school year, Severus Snape needed them for Potions, so students who started learning the subject in 1986 did not cover them in the class until their fifth year.[1]

Flobberworm PSG GBA

A live Flobberworm

After losing his nerve during the Hippogriff debacle in his first Care of Magical Creatures lesson during the 1993–1994 school year, Rubeus Hagrid had his third-year students raise Flobberworms for a term. The exercise was completely pointless, as they preferred to be left alone. They didn't require much care, but they would die if overfed.[4] Later on in the school year, the Flobberworms died from overeating lettuce.[3] During the third year exam in Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid provided a fresh tub of Flobberworms for the class and had the students keep them alive for one hour to pass the exam.[12]

In the 1996–1997 school year, Snape's first detention of the year for Harry Potter involved sorting out rotten Flobberworms from fresh ones to be used in Potions (despite Snape no longer teaching the subject), saying that Harry need not bring protective gloves.[13]

During the 2010–2011 school year, Daniel Page, who needed some Flobberworm Mucus to use to brew a Sleeping Draught, went with a Muggle-born student to ask Rubeus Hagrid for some mucus from his Flobberworms. After Daniel and his friend helped Hagrid collect Dittany to brew Essence of Dittany to help heal the Hippogriff Teartalon and fought off the forest troll that initially attacked her, Hagrid gave them the mucus they needed.[14]

In the same school year, Kevin Farrell wanted to learn how to care for a Flobberworm. He was planning to adopt one as a pet. He told the student that they were great pets if the owner doesn't mind their indifference or slime.[15]

During the Calamity in the 2010s, several Foundable Flobberworms could be found trapped in large magical green bubble Confoundables. Volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to release these Flobberworms from containment using the Severing Charm to return the Flobberworm Foundables to their original place.[16]

Etymology[]

To flobber means "to sag and wobble".

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

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Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 31 (After the Vault) - Care of Magical Creatures Lesson "Flobberworm"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  3. 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 11 (The Firebolt)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 8 (Flight of the Fat Lady)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 24 (Rita Skeeter's Scoop)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Pottermore
  7. Wonderbook: Book of Potions - see video
  8. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
  9. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 23 (A Brilliant Surprise) - Transfiguration Lesson "Flobberworm to Fritter"
  10. Wonderbook: Book of Spells
  11. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, Chapter 2 (Boggarts and Butterbeer)
  12. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 16 (Professor Trelawney's Prediction)
  13. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 11 (Hermione's Helping Hand)
  14. Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, Year 3, Card Primer: Essence of Dittany
  15. Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (NPC dialogue)
  16. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
Care of Magical Creatures
Fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-pottermore
Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts
Hagrid's Hut · Forbidden Forest · Care of Magical Creatures Classroom · Magical Creatures (club) · The Paddock
Professors Silvanus Kettleburn · Rubeus Hagrid · Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank (substitute teacher)
Textbooks The Monster Book of Monsters · Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Creatures studied at Hogwarts
Blast-Ended Skrewt · Bowtruckle · Chimaera · Crup · Demiguise · Diricawl · Doxy · Dugbog · Fairy · Fire Crab · Fire Dwelling Salamander · Flobberworm · Fwooper · Glumbumble · Gnome · Golden Snidget · Griffin · Hippogriff · Imp · Jackalope · Knarl · Kneazle · Moke · Murtlap · Niffler · Occamy · Porlock · Quintaped · Streeler · Thestral · Unicorn · Yeti
Magical creatures by classification
X Flobberworm · Horklump
XX Augurey · Bowtruckle · Chizpurfle · Clabbert · Diricawl · Fairy · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Imp · Jobberknoll · Mooncalf · Porlock · Puffskein · Ramora · Winged horse
XXX Ashwinder · Billywig · Bundimun · Crup · Doxy · Dugbog · Fire crab · Fwooper · Glumbumble · Hippocampus · Hippogriff · Hodag · Jarvey · Knarl · Kneazle · Leprechaun · Lobalug · Mackled Malaclaw · Moke · Murtlap · Niffler · Nogtail · Pixie · Plimpy · Pogrebin · Red Cap · Salamander · Sea serpent · Shrake · Streeler · Winged horse
XXXX Centaur · Demiguise · Erkling · Erumpent · Golden Snidget · Graphorn · Griffin · Hidebehind · Kappa · Kelpie · Merperson · Occamy · Phoenix · Re'em · Runespoor · Snallygaster · Sphinx · Tebo · Thestral · Thunderbird · Troll · Unicorn · Winged horse · Yeti
XXXXX Acromantula · Basilisk · Chimaera · Dragon · Horned Serpent · Lethifold · Manticore · Nundu · Quintaped · Wampus cat · Werewolf
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