Snake

# Snake (Harry Potter)

> ...serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with ***evildoers***.
>
> An anonymous member of the ***Dark Force Defence League***, as quoted by ***Rita Skeeter***, *HARRY POTTER "DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS"*, *Daily Prophet*, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

A **snake** (also called a **serpent**) is a long, thin, legless, carnivorous reptile. The snake was the main animal for the Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.Template:Creature

## Snakes in the wizarding world

 File:Slytherin-2.jpg  The snake was the official symbol of Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, relating due to the fact that the founder of Slytherin House, Salazar Slytherin, was himself a Parselmouth, a wizard with the rare hereditary ability to communicate with snakes.
Many magical species of snake existed in the wizarding world. The ***Ashwinder*** was a magical fire-dwelling snake that was born out of the flames of any magical fire that was left to burn unchecked. They only lived for an hour and laid their ***eggs*** before collapsing into dust. The ***Runespoor*** was a three-headed snake native to ***Africa***, with each head possessing its own evaluative function and venomous ***fangs***, which were known to be long-lived, and their ***eggs*** were used in ***Potion-making***.
The ***Horned Serpent*** was a giant water-dwelling snake, that many species were found worldwide. They had horns on their heads, in particular the ***North American*** variety, with jewels that granted the powers of invisibility and flight, and shavings of their horns could be used as wand cores. They were intelligent creatures with fierce eyes, who emitted a low musical note whenever they sensed danger. The Horned Serpent was the House mascot and symbol of the ***House*** of the same name at ***Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry***, as one of its founders, ***Isolt Sayre***, had a close relationship with a Horned Serpent whilst exploring the ***United States of America***.
The ***Sea Serpent*** was an aquatic beast found in several seas worldwide, including the ***Atlantic***, ***Pacific*** and the Mediterranean. It reached over a hundred feet long with a ***horse***-like head and serpentine body; it was seen as a fearsome creature by many, although they did not harm humans, apart from the flesh-eating ***Selma***.
The most feared of these snakes however was the Basilisk, a monstrous gigantic serpent known as the "King of Serpents", and the mortal enemy of spiders. It was an incredibly powerful beast of dark magic, whose stare was capable of causing death upon any living being who came into direct visual contact with, or petrification through indirect visual contact. It was illegally bred by Dark wizards, through the hatching of Chicken eggs beneath toads.
Apart from the Basilisk, snakes on the whole were often associated with the Dark Arts, a sentiment which was both true and untrue. Many Dark wizards, such as ***Herpo the Foul***, Salazar Slytherin and Tom Riddle, were all Parselmouths, wizards with the ability to communicate with snakes. Riddle himself, better known as Lord Voldemort, also owned a female pet snake called ***Nagini***, who also served as one of his Horcruxes, as well as having his symbol the ***Dark Mark***, as the ghoulish image of a terrifying snake coming out of the mouth of a skull.
The Snake Summons Spell (*Serpensortia*) was a transfiguration spell which was used to conjure snakes out of thin air. Its counter-spell was the Snake-Vanishing Spell (*Vipera Evanesca*), which was used to vanish the conjured snake in a puff of thick black smoke.
The ***skin*** of the ***Boomslang***, a highly venomous green snake, was one of the ingredients used in the brewing of Polyjuice Potion. Snake fangs were also a common ***potion*** ingredient, such as in the ***Cure for Boils***, ***Wideye Potion*** and the ***Strength Potion***. An unidentified orange snake was used as one of the ingredients in the ***Ageing Potion***.

Snakes were easier to conjure from nothing than any other animal, apart from ***birds***.

Furthermore, the curse ***Fiendfyre*** was capable of conjuring cursed and immensely destructive and dangerous flames of enormous size which could manifest in the shapes of fiery serpents, along with other beasts such as ***dragons*** and ***Chimaeras***.

## History

 File:Nagini transforms.gif
During the ***1988–1989 school year*** at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the then Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor ***Patricia Rakepick***, taught her fifth-year DADA students how to perform the Snake-Vanishing Spell, mostly to help them deal with and defend themselves against dangerous and venomous species of snakes.

 File:Harry-Snake-PSF.png  On ***23 June*** 1991, during a trip to a ***zoo*** in ***Surrey***, Harry Potter accidentally set loose a male boa constrictor on his cousin ***Dudley Dursley*** when using Parseltongue to speak to it and accidentally vanishing the glass with magic.

 File:Serpensortia.gif  In 1992, during the first (and last) meeting of the Hogwarts Duelling Club led by Gilderoy Lockhart and Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy used the Snake Summons Spell to conjure a snake out of thin air whilst duelling Harry Potter. After Lockhart foolishly provoked it, the snake became aggressive and turned on the other students watching, forcing Harry Potter to speak to the snake in Parseltongue unwillingly, much to the shock of everyone watching and himself, which was the first time he became aware of his rare and strange ability. The snake was subsequently vanished by Snape with Snake-Vanishing Spell in a puff of black smoke.

 File:Basilisk trying to eat Harry Potter.gif  During the 1992–1993 school year, the Chamber of Secrets was reopened, unleashing the Serpent of Slytherin, the Basilisk which previously belonged to Salazar Slytherin, upon the Muggle-born students of Hogwarts, which resulted in many Hogwarts residents being petrified. After the petrification of Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley (along unwillingly with Gilderoy Lockhart) into the Chamber of Secrets to stop the attacks. After Ron and Lockhart got separated, Harry ventured into the Chamber, where he met the disembodied soul of Tom Riddle, who revealed himself as Lord Voldemort and commanded the Basilisk to kill Harry. Harry managed to slay the evil beast using the Sword of Gryffindor and then used the Basilisk's fang imbued with its venom to destroy Tom Riddle's diary, one of his Horcruxes.
The notorious Dark wizard Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort, had Nagini, the Maledictus from the carnival, as a pet and one of his most faithful servants, also serving as a Horcrux. Riddle acquired Nagini at an unknown point, although she played a huge and pivotal role in his ***return to power*** and his mission throughout the Second Wizarding War. In ***1994***, she was present during Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew's meeting in the ***Riddle House***, and on the ***24 June*** ***1995***, the day Voldemort returned in the ***Little Hangleton graveyard***, Nagini was slithering around the graveyard, and was offered the chance of eating Harry Potter's ***flesh*** by her master once he had killed him, although Harry escaped.
In December of that year, she also attacked Harry Potter and Hermione Granger at Godric's Hollow, after she possessed the corpse of ***Bathilda Bagshot*** after having killed her along with her master. During the ***Battle of Hogwarts*** on 2 May 1998, she killed Severus Snape on her masters orders, but was later slain that battle, by Neville Longbottom with the Sword of Gryffindor.
During the ***Calamity*** which affected the wizarding world in the ***2010s***, several large red snake ***Confoundables*** appeared guarding baby ***Unicorn*** ***Foundables***. Volunteer members of the ***Statute of Secrecy Task Force*** had to repel these monstrous serpents using the Exploding Charm, which would stun the snake and allow the baby Unicorn Foundables to return to their rightful place in the wizarding world.

## Language

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 File:Speaking Parseltongue.gif  Snakes all over the world spoke a language called Parseltongue (with apparent regional variations, as a Brazilian snake once used a term rendered in English as "*amigo*"). To those who did not speak it, Parseltongue mostly sounded like barely-audible hissing, easily dismissed as ambient noise by one who was unaware of a snake's presence.
It was possible, though arduous, for humans (and, presumably, other Beings) to learn this language; noted wizarding genius and scholar Professor Albus Dumbledore learned to understand it, but never managed to speak it, while a young Ron Weasley managed to speak a few words but never made an effort to expand his vocabulary.
A small percentage of wizards possessed an innate knowledge of this eldritch tongue, and were called Parselmouths; this ability was long associated with Dark wizards in the wizarding world's eye, as three of the most notorious Dark wizards of all times, Lord Voldemort, Salazar Slytherin and ***Herpo the Foul***, were Parselmouths. Other Parselmouths included ***Corvinus Gaunt***, ***Marvolo Gaunt***, ***Morfin Gaunt***, ***Merope Gaunt***, ***Delphini***, and due to soul contamination from Voldemort's Horcruxes, Harry Potter.

## Species of snake

Basilisk - FBcases.pngBasiliskBoa Constrictor.jpgBoa constrictor
## Notable snakes

NaginiGF.PNG***Nagini***, Voldemort's pet snake and final ***Horcrux***Basilisk2.PNGSerpent of SlytherinBoa at Zoo.jpgBoa constrictor at the zoo
## Behind the scenes

* The ability of even mundane snakes to communicate with Parselmouths and hold meaningful conversations with them implies that even non-magical snakes are notably more intelligent in the Harry Potter universe compared to the real world.
	+ In the same game Snake Marks are used as keys to open or move something. These can only be used by Harry Potter and Tom Riddle because they speak Parseltongue.
* Some snakes in the magical world seem to be different species undiscovered in the ***Muggle*** parts of the world. ***Nagini***'s form once turned into a snake, for example, was as large as a Boa Constrictor, but her venom suggests that she was more akin to a supersized viper (though a prehistoric viper-like serpent of this size did exist in the ***Muggle world***). And the Basilisk was obviously no common serpent (though it may be a mutated, magical version of the ancient 50-foot serpent).

## Appearances

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# Snake (Indiana Jones)

> Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?
>
> Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark

A **snake**, or **serpent**, is a legless reptile. Snakes come in many varieties, from small to large, non-venomous and venomous, and can be found on six continents. In many human cultures, snakes, though not domesticated, but often seen as a pest to livestock, were made a part of myths and legends.

## Adventures with snakes

Indiana Jones suffered from a ***fear of snakes*** brought on from when he fell into a crate of them aboard the ***Dunn and Duffy Circus Train*** in ***1912*** while trying to evade ***Fedora***, from whom Indy had taken the ***Cross of Coronado***.

 File:Cobra.jpg  Jones frequently ran across snakes in his adventures.

In ***1935***, while camping along the way to ***Pankot Palace***, Jones and ***Willie Scott*** had a nocturnal encounter with a large python and "***Snake Surprise***" formed part of the menu at the palace. Later that year, Jones discovered the ***Temple of the Forbidden Eye***, which had a chamber filled with snakes, including one gigantic cobra.

In ***1936***, after escaping from the ***Hovitos***, Jones had a close encounter with a boa constrictor named ***Reggie***, who shared his seat in ***Jock Lindsey***'s plane. Later that year, Jones discovered that the ***Well of the Souls*** was filled with dangerous ***asps***, and even a ***cobra***.

In 1957, a ***rat snake*** came to Jones' unlikely aid as ***Mutt Williams*** used it as a rope to pull ***Marion Ravenwood*** and Jones to safety from a dry sand pit.

## Snake variants

* Anaconda
* Asp
* ***Black Mamba***
* Boa constrictor
* ***Bushmaster***
* ***Cobra***
* ***Coral Snake***
* Green mamba
* Python
* Rattlesnake
* Rat snake
* Sea Snake

### Supernatural snakes

* Basilisk
* ***Dreamtime spirit snake***
* ***Kukulkan***
* ***Quetzalcoatl***

### Non-canonical appearances

* ***LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures***
* ***LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues***

## Sources

* ***The Adventures of Indiana Jones***
* ***The World of Indiana Jones***
* ***Indiana Jones and the Rising Sun***
* ***Indiana Jones Artifacts***
* ***Indiana Jones Adventures***
* ***Star Wars Insider 92*** - ***It's Official: Indy is Back!***
* ***The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones***
* ***Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide***
* ***Top Trumps: Indiana Jones***
* ***The Indiana Jones Handbook***

## External links

* Template:WP

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## Notes and references

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1. ↑ Template:PS
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Template:COS
3. ↑ Template:GOF
4. ↑ Template:HBP
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Template:DH
6. ↑ Template:DH
7. ↑ Template:DH
8. ↑ *Paramount's Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade*
9. ↑ *Paramount's Indiana Jones and-the Raiders of The Lost Ark*
10. ↑ *Paramount's Indiana Jones and-the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull*