Shrunken head

Shrunken Head
Species information
Native to	Unknown

Shrunken Head: "I say! No underage wizards allowed in today! Shut the damn door!"

Hermione: "So rude."

Ron: "Thick heads."

— Hermione and Ron to the talking Shrunken Heads guarding Three Broomsticks Inn in 1993.

A shrunken head is a head that has been shrunk, by removing the head's skull and fat. In the wizarding world, shrunken heads are animated, providing sentience, and having the ability to talk and move. Some may be considered dark objects, while others may be kept by wizards as a mascot, such as Dre Head, in the Knight Bus and a bunch of shrunken heads, at the Three Broomsticks Inn. Shrunken heads may be bought at Knockturn Alley.

History

1992

Harry Potter noticed some shrunken heads on display in a shop window across from Borgin and Burkes, at Knockturn Alley. Among them was Heady, Dre Head's cousin.

1993-1994

Harry Potter encountered Dre Head, an animated shrunken head when travelling on the Knight Bus from Little Whinging to the Leaky Cauldron in London. Later in the school year, during one of the Hogsmeade weekend trips, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were prevented from entering the Three Broomsticks Inn by three shrunken heads.

1995

The heads of house-elves mounted on a wall in the Black family home.

When Harry Potter was brought to 12 Grimmauld Place, Mrs. Weasley assisted him to Ron and Hermione's room upstairs. While they were passing along the dark staircase, Harry saw a row of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall. After a closer look, he noticed that the heads belonged to house-elves. Harry later discovered that beheading old house-elves and mounting their heads on display was something of a tradition in the Black family.

1996

Hermione once mentioned that Vincent Crabbe had a shrunken head which was confiscated by Argus Filch on the pretext of it being a Dark object.

Known shrunken heads

• Dre Head
• Heady
• Ned
• Shrunken heads in the Three Broomsticks
• House of Black house-elves (at least from 1931)

Behind the scenes

The Knight Bus' shrunken head

• The talking shrunken heads were additional characters for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, never appearing in the Harry Potter books nor in previous or subsequent film adaptations. J. K. Rowling was particularly fond of the idea of talking, comical shrunken heads, stating, "I wish I'd thought of that" in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD Special Feature: Interview with J. K. Rowling and Alfonso Cuarón. This is presumably why in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Rowling decided to add that Vincent Crabbe got a shrunken head confiscated by Filch. The same DVD also featured Dre Head partaking in comical interviews with the cast.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) (As skeleton heads)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince(Mentioned only)
• 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) (As skeleton heads)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Harry Potter LEGO Sets