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Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article. |
Vulcan was a Fire Dwelling Salamander belonging to Cecil Lee.[1]
Biography[]
Cecil Lee acquired Vulcan during his nephew, Barnaby Lee's, childhood, with the boy finding the creature fascinating. Cecil trained Vulcan over several years of building trust to reheat drinks, particularly hot cocoa, upon hearing Cecil ask his party guests if they were "up for a nice cosy cocoa." As part of the trick, Vulcan would approach the drink and curl around it, re-heating the contents with his body heat.[1]
On one night before Barnaby started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Cecil took Barnaby, his parents, and his grandmother on a camping trip where he made a roaring campfire and served them some of his famous cocoa, complete with Vulcan performing the cocoa-warming trick. Barnaby later recalled that everyone loved seeing the trick, even his parents, claiming that the moment was one of the only happy memories he had of them.[1]
During the 1986–1987 school year, Cecil was attacked by a pack of dogs after mistakenly trying to arrest them, believing them to be werewolves, and was hospitalised in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries while he recovered. While in St Mungo's, Cecil sent Vulcan to Barnaby at Hogwarts so he could look after him. Desiring to do his uncle proud by looking after Vulcan properly, Barnaby met with Rubeus Hagrid at Hagrid's Hut in order to try to learn as much as he could about Fire Dwelling Salamanders, asking Jacob's sibling to meet with them as well.[1]
After informing Jacob's sibling of the situation and introducing them to Vulcan, Barnaby and Jacob's sibling discussed salamanders with Hagrid, learning that they would die if kept away from heat and fire for too long. Barnaby explained that he had also borrowed a magically-heated rock enchanted to stay hot at all times for Vulcan to use to keep warm no matter where Barnaby went. Barnaby revealed that he had called Jacob's sibling to the meeting to ask them about his idea to help make Vulcan's time at Hogwarts extra special by holding a campfire party to celebrate Fire Dwelling Salamanders, suggesting that Jacob's sibling could bring the Fire Dwelling Salamander they had bonded with in order to keep Vulcan company.[1]
After Jacob's sibling agreed to the plan, Hagrid asserted that it would be good for the salamanders to interact with other members of their kind and stated that he would make sure the fire was safe and contained. Hagrid revealed that he had already selected a spot by the Great Lake for the campfire that evening while Barnaby and Jacob's sibling agreed to meet in the Courtyard to discuss ideas for the campfire. Jacob's sibling collected their salamander and brought it to the Courtyard to meet with Barnaby and Vulcan, where the two salamanders quickly bonded while resting on the heated rock. Barnaby claimed that he had had several ideas for the campfire, including setting off fireworks, but had been warned by Hagrid that some of those ideas would be too elaborate and unpredictable.[1]
After discussing simpler ideas for the campfire, Barnaby revealed his idea to have Vulcan use his cocoa-heating trick to heat hot cocoa at the party. Upon learning how much this idea meant to Barnaby, Jacob's sibling agreed that they should perform the trick at the party, although Barnaby wasn't sure if he could repeat the trick, claiming that, although Cecil had showed it to him once, he had never gotten Vulcan to do it himself. After some encouragement from Jacob's sibling, Barnaby agreed to meet them in the Great Hall to see if they could get Vulcan to do the trick, asking that they bring their salamander as well for moral support.[1]
When Jacob's sibling and their salamander arrived in the Great Hall, Barnaby explained how the coca-warming trick worked. Barnaby claimed that, although the trick sounded simple, Fire Dwelling Salamanders weren't known for performing tricks and that it had taken years to train Vulcan to perform the trick in the first place. After further encouragement regarding his affinity with magical creatures by Jacob's sibling, Barnaby attempted to demonstrate the trick by having Vulcan reheat a teapot, although Vulcan failed to replicate it. Jacob's sibling theorised that Barnaby might not be speaking the correct command words, although Barnaby explained that Cecil never used to command Vulcan directly, instead simply standing up and asking everyone if they were "up for a nice cosy cocoa." At that moment, Vulcan immediately ran over to the teapot and curled around it, rapidly heating it up and warming its contents, with Barnaby elated that he had found the right words to get Vulcan to do the trick.[1]
Now confident that he could get Vulcan to perform the cocoa-heating trick at the campfire, Barnaby and Jacob's sibling excitedly wondered if they could get Jacob's sibling's salamander to learn the trick as well. Barnaby explained that Cecil was only able to train Vulcan to perform the trick after building extensive trust between him and Vulcan. Barnaby stated that he would continue practising the trick with Vulcan while Jacob's sibling met with Hagrid in the Forest of the Magical Creatures Reserve to gather firewood, bringing their salamander along as well.[1]
When Jacob's sibling and Hagrid returned from collecting firewood, Barnaby met with them at Hagrid's Hut and revealed to them that Vulcan had suddenly started showing signs of sickness. Hagrid calmed everyone down, stating that they didn't even know what was wrong with Vulcan yet. The trio observed Vulcan closely in an attempt to determine his symptoms, discovering that some of Vulcan's scales were turning dull and flakey, with some even falling off. Hagrid identified that Vulcan was suffering from scale rot, for which the dull, flaking scales were a telltale sign, to which the frantic Barnaby questioned if there was a way to treat the disease and save Vulcan. Jacob's sibling suggested that they could rub Vulcan's scales with Chilli powder, to which Hagrid agreed, claiming that a little Chilli powder and rest would return Vulcan to normal, much to Barnaby's relief. Jacob's sibling questioned whether they should cancel the campfire, with Hagrid reassuring them that Vulcan would most likely be better by then, although it would be best to avoid stressing him out too much to be safe.[1]
Barnaby sadly stated that he couldn't possibly expect Vulcan to perform the cocoa-warming trick while he was recovering, asserting that Jacob's sibling's salamander would have to perform it instead. Jacob's sibling agreed, but asserted that they would have to train their salamander properly first, to which Barnaby agreed to meet them in the Great Hall. After a lengthy training session, the pair were successfully able to train Jacob's sibling's salamander to perform the cocoa-heating trick. Having prepared everything they needed for the campfire, Barnaby asserted that the bond between Jacob's sibling and their salamander was just as strong as that between Cecil and Vulcan, with Jacob's sibling agreeing that that would greatly help them when performing the cocoa-warming trick. The pair waited until nightfall, where they met up with Hagrid, Ben Copper, Penny Haywood, and Nymphadora Tonks, along with Vulcan and Jacob's sibling's salamander, on the shore of the Great Lake for the campfire party. Barnaby explained that Vulcan had fully recovered and was ready to spend his evening by the campfire.[1]
However, before Jacob's sibling could start the campfire, Todd Cribb appeared, claiming that he wanted revenge against Jacob's sibling in addition to the blood of both salamanders. Todd asserted that Jacob's sibling had caught them off guard when he had encountered them previously in the reserve’s forest and that he had gotten lost in the forest after locating his disarmed wand, claiming that he was tired, hungry, and eager for revenge. When Todd produced his wand, Jacob's sibling noticed it was damaged, leading Todd to explain that he had accidentally stepped on it while searching for it in the forest. Jacob's sibling tried to dissuade Todd from using a broken wand, but Todd asserted that his wand was as good as new after repairing it with Spellotape and attempted to use the Freezing Spell on them. However, the spell quickly backfired and encased Todd's body in a block of ice.[1]
After deciding wether to leave Todd frozen, make him leave, or allow him to join their bonfire, Jacob's sibling lit the campfire with the Fire-Making Spell, officially beginning the campfire party. Jacob's sibling used the command words to tell their salamander to heat up the cocoa Barnaby had previously prepared, to which their salamander responded by performing the trick perfectly. The group enjoyed the campfire, with Barnaby asserting that Vulcan hadn't had this much fun since the family camping trip when he was a child and that Jacob's sibling's salamander was doing a great job of keeping the cocoa hot. Barnaby thanked Jacob's sibling for helping him relieve a childhood memory and share it with his new friends as the group continued to drink hot cocoa by the campfire into the night.[1]
Also during the 1986–1987 school year, Vulcan accidentally burnt the salon in the Lee family house down, forcing Barnaby Lee's grandmother to have to try and rent out the Leaky Cauldron instead to host the Lee Family Toast. Vulcan went along to the Toast and may have gotten a verse written about him in the Book of Toast Giver verses.[2]
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First appearance)