Hydra

Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery & Hogwarts Legacy. As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

The hydra was a serpent-like creature with several heads.^[2] The hydra's heads were used to symbolise the number nine in the runic alphabet.^[3]

History

In 1996, Severus Snape described the Dark Arts as though they were a creature similar to the classical depiction of a hydra: one that regrew two heads for every one that was cut off.^[4]

Behind the scenes

• The Lernaean Hydra is a serpentine creature in Greek mythology which famously had many heads, nine heads being a commonly cited number. In at least some versions of the legend, for every head that was amputated, two grew back in its place. It was slain by the Greek hero Heracles (Hercules) as the second of his twelve labours. He cut the heads off of the creature while his nephew, Iolaus, cauterised the neck wounds to prevent the heads from growing back.
• It's unknown whether or not hydras actually exist in the Harry Potter series, as they are not mentioned in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It is possible that they are mythical; however, as cockatrices and Qilins are also omitted, it is certainly possible that hydras do exist.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Possibly mentioned)
• J. K. Rowling's official site (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Hogwarts Legacy (First appearance) (Appears in painting(s)) (Appears as a constellation representation)

Notes and references

Study of Ancient Runes
Professors: Bathsheda Babbling · Clodagh Dromgoole · Elspeth MacGillony
Textbooks: Advanced Rune Translation · Ancient Runes Made Easy · Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms · Rune Dictionary · Spellman's Syllabary
Known runes: Acromantula · Demiguise · Ehwaz · Eihwaz · Fwooper · Graphorn · Hydra · Quintaped · Runespoor · Salamander · Unicorn · Unknown · Mark of Merlin