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"Heart of a lion, this one"
Ron, sarcastically, after Gilderoy Lockhart pretends to faint upon seeing the shed skin of the Serpent of Slytherin[src]

A lion is a carnivorous mammal. It is the second-largest living cat after the tiger.[1] It is the mascot of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as it represents courage and chivalry, the two most pronounced traits of a Gryffindor. In addition, Luna Lovegood made a hat in the shape of a lion's head, and would wear it at all Quidditch games between Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses, to show her support for Gryffindor, over Slytherin.

It is a possible corporeal form of the Patronus Charm.[2][3]

History

On 6 December 1926, a lion escaped from the Central Park Zoo in New York as a results of damages done by the Erumpent set loose from Newton Scamander's suitcase. It was seen later wandering the streets of the Diamond District by Newton Scamander, Jacob Kowalski, and the New York Police Department.[4]

At the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, the scarves for those supporting Bulgaria were adorned with lions that really roared.[5]

Later that year, while introducing a dance lesson for the Yule Ball, Professor McGonagall stated that inside every boy was a lordly lion prepared to prance.[6]

A Sphinx is a magical creature that has the body of a lion, but a human head.[7]

Kneazles have a lightly plumed tail, like a lion.

Behind the scenes

  • One of the many forms a Fiendfyre can take is a lion.
  • In the summer of 1996, when observing him for the first time, the Prime Minister thought that Rufus Scrimgeour looked rather like an old lion.[8]
  • When asked about what magical pet he would like to have, he said it would be a pink lion, an animal not featured in canon.[9]

Appearances

Notes and references

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