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Magical
Creatures
Owls "All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'." -- Rubeus Hagrid
Owls are the primary means of personal communication in the wizarding world. Messages are tied to the leg of the owl or the bird carries the item in it's claws or beak. Owls also carry parcels, sometimes several owls together if the package is large (SS10, PA1). Through magic, owls can always find the recipient, although the trip is not always an easy one. Occasionally other birds have been used to carry letters (GF owls:
The Owlery was a circular stone room, rather cold and drafty, because none of the windows had glass in them. The floor was entirely covered in straw, owl droppings, and the regurgitated skeletons of mice and voles. Hundreds upon hundreds of owls of every breed imaginable were nestled here on perches that rose right up to the top of the tower, nearly all of them asleep, though here and there a round amber eye glared at Harry. He spotted Hedwig nestled between a barn owl and a tawny, and hurried over to her, sliding a little on the dropping-strewn floor. (GF15)When necessary, such as when they have had to fly through very bad stormy weather, Hagrid nurses post owls back to health before they return to the owlery ( web link: "The Owls of Harry Potter" from "Arabella Figg's Hogwarts Express" website. |