Pygmy Puffs were magical creatures first bred and sold by the shop Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, a joke shop that Fred Weasley and George Weasley ran at 93 Diagon Alley, London. They were one of the most popular products there among the known products. Eventually, Pygmy Puffs came to be sold in other shops, especially the Magical Menagerie from where Hermione got Crookshanks. The Magical Menagerie shop sold baby Pygmy Puffs.
Pygmy Puffs were just miniature puffskeins that were magically altered to change their size and sometimes color. The Pygmy Puffs were a popular product in the WonderWitch range, and it was believed that the supply did not match the demand and that there was a massive demand for Pygmy Puffs in the Weasley Wizard Wheezes.
Physical Appearance and Food Habits
Pygmy Puffs resembled tiny mice that had been covered with cotton candy. They were very fluffy and squeaky and also had a furball-like appearance. They had several similarities with puffskeins as puffskeins were fluffy beings covered with fur too. They had extremely long tongues, which they used to catch their prey as they were scavengers. Puffskeins like Pygmy Puffs did not object to being thrown around like furballs. It is not known if all puffskeins were pink or if there were purple puffskeins as well. Pygmy Puffs may have had tiny white feet and bright blue acrylic eyes, although it is not known for sure.
A puffskein was also a popular pet among wizards and witches as it was found to be a very friendly pet and very easy for a guardian to take care of. While the food habits of Pygmy Puffs are not known for certain, it is highly likely that they fed on moths and spiders, among other things.
Appearance in the Harry Potter Universe
The first appearance of a Pygmy Puff in the Harry Potter universe happened in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione, Ginny Weasley, and Mrs Weasley went to the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes in August of 1996. Ginny came across a basket of Pygmy Puffs and bought a purple Pygmy Puff named Arnold as her new pet. On their way to Hogwarts, Ginny placed Arnold in a small cage, just like Hedwig and Pigwidgeon. On the Hogwarts Express, Luna Lovegood saw Arnold and claimed that all Pygmy Puffs sing on Boxing Day.
It is believed that despite there being a ban on Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes products in Hogwarts under the orders of Mr Filch, Arnold, the Pygmy Puff was allowed into Hogwarts for being a harmless pet and since he was not a joke item. It is also possible that the ban was only for joke items and not for other products, as Romilda Vane is believed to have used a love potion she bought from the Weasley Wizard Wheezes when in Hogwarts.
Interestingly, when Romilda Vane asked Ginny Weasley if Harry Potter had a tattoo of a hippogriff, Ginny is supposed to have jokingly said that it is not true, but she did know that her brother Ron had a tattoo of a Pygmy Puff.
Mathilda Grimblehawk once mentioned Pygmy Puffs to her partner at the time of the investigation of their 9th case. The duo had to follow a trail of blood, and when they reached the end of the trail, it led to a graveyard. She exclaimed to her partner, “Why am I surprised? It was hardly going to lead to a basket of Pygmy Puffs.”
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, one of the most popular theme parks related to Harry Potter, has several Pygmy Puff merchandise available in its Magical Menagerie, Zonko’s Joke Shop, and the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. One of the most popular products there is the Pygmy Puff plush which comes in different shades and sometimes with special offers during purchase.
On jkrowling.com, the website of the author J. K. Rowling, there is something called a Wizards’ Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test. On Grade One, Part One – Magical Law, of the test, the seventh question reads, “Which of the following should receive the lightest punishment from the Wizengamot?” to which one of the options is “breeding fanged puffskeins” which is a similar exploit as that of breeding Pygmy Puffs. However, it is possible that fanged puffskeins are dangerous, unlike Pygmy Puffs which just serve as pets and never have any harmful or dangerous attributes.
Would Pygmy Puffs Sell in the Muggle World?
Pygmy Puffs are probably one of the most likely to sell products in the Muggle market if adapted from the magical world. Unlike many other products from the magical world, especially the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, Pygmy Puffs were an objectively adorable pet that even Muggle kids would probably enjoy keeping as a pet to themselves. Furthermore, there exist several non-living items that resemble Pygmy Puffs that are a hit in the Muggle world, like soft toys, wallets, and even the fluffy furry plushes that we previously mentioned as being sold in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. In a world where people adore pets like kittens and puppies, the Pygmy Puff would most certainly be a great pet, and several muggles would fight at the opportunity to have a Pygmy Puff for a pet.
FAQs
What do Pygmy Puffs do?
Pygmy Puffs were known to make great and adorable pets for wizards and witches. They were very fluffy as they were covered with fur and would bounce and roll around when in the company of their owners, making them an ideal and engaging pet to have. They were very small, and unlike bigger pets like cats and owls, they were easy to maintain and feed.
What was Ginny’s Pygmy Puff called?
Ginny’s Pygmy Puff was named Arnold. Arnold was a purple-colored Pygmy Puff who warmed up to Ginny instantly. He would hang on to Ginny’s shoulders like a purple ball of fur. Luna Lovegood, Ginny’s friend, was also excited to see Arnold and claimed that all Pygmy Puffs sing on Boxing Day.
Which Harry Potter movie has Pygmy Puff?
The sixth movie in the Harry Potter movie series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has a Pygmy Puff in it. Pygmy Puffs are introduced in the sixth book of the book series as well. Ginny finds a basket of fluffy animals, which turn out to be Pygmy Puffs in the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, and decides to buy a purple one among the lot named Arnold.
