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Which different forms of Patronuses appear across Harry Potter Canon?

To be clear, I am asking for specific examples, not general rules.

Which animal forms do patronuses take?

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  • 5
    This seems really broad and ill-defined.
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 22:17
  • 1
    harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Patronus_Charm
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 22:18
  • 1
    @Richard the answer would be a finite (and relatively small) list.
    – ibid
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 22:18
  • Could you not copy & paste this article yourself?
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 22:19
  • @Richard I could, but I won't considering that it has little references, and some inaccurate information. (eg. It lists James Potter under stag just because of his animagus)
    – ibid
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 22:22

1 Answer 1

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  • Stag (Harry Potter)

    An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry’s wand; its antlers caught the dementor in the place where the heart should have been; it was thrown backward, weightless as darkness, and as the stag charged, the dementor swooped away, batlike and defeated.
    (Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix - Chapter 1)

  • Otter (Hermione)

    Hermione’s Patronus, a shining silver otter, was gamboling around her.
    (Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix - Chapter 27)

  • Swan (Cho)

    “Oh, don’t be such a killjoy,” said Cho brightly, watching her silvery swan-shaped Patronus soar around the Room of Requirement during their last lesson before Easter. “They’re so pretty!”
    (Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix - Chapter 27)

  • Cat (Umbridge)

    The moment he had passed the place where the Patronus cat patrolled, he felt the change in temperature: It was warm and comfortable here. The Patronus, he was sure, was Umbridge’s, and it glowed brightly because she was so happy here, in her element, upholding the twisted laws she had helped to write.
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 13)

  • Weasel (Arthur Weasley)

    They all saw it at the same time: a streak of light that came flying across the yard and onto the table, where it resolved itself into a bright silver weasel, which stood on its hind legs and spoke with Mr. Weasley’s voice.
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 7)

  • Lynx (Kingsley)

    Graceful and gleaming, the lynx landed lightly in the middle of the astonished dancers. Heads turned, as those nearest it froze absurdly in mid-dance. Then the Patronus’s mouth opened wide and it spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt.
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 8)

  • Phoenix (Dumbledore)

    “Dumbledore’s dead,” he said. “I saw it happen, I saw the body. He’s definitely gone. Anyway, his Patronus was a phoenix, not a doe.”
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 20)

  • Goat (Aberforth)

    “I still say I saw a stag Patronus!” shouted the first Death Eater.
    “Stag?” roared the barman. “It’s a goat, idiot!”
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 28)

  • Cat with spectacle markings (McGonagall)

    She marched toward the door, and as she did so she raised her wand. From the tip burst three silver cats with spectacle markings around their eyes.
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 30)

  • Jack Russell terrier (Ron)

    He saw Ron’s silver terrier burst into the air, flicker feebly, and expire.
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 32)

  • Hare (Luna)
  • Boar (Ernie Macmillian)
  • Fox (Seamus)

    And then a silver hare, a boar, and fox soared past Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s heads: the dementors fell back before the creatures’ approach. Three more people had arrived out of the darkness to stand beside them, their wands outstretched, continuing to cast Patronuses: Luna, Ernie, and Seamus.
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 32)

  • Doe (Snape)

    “For him?” shouted Snape. “Expecto Patronum!”
    From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe.
    (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 33)

  • Giant (Andros the Invincible)

    Alleged to have been the only known wizard to produce a Patronus the size of a giant.
    (Famous Wizard Cards)

  • Mouse (Illyius)

    Never forget, though, that one of the most famous Patronuses of all time was a lowly mouse, which belonged to a legendary young wizard called Illyius, who used it to hold off an attack from an army of Dementors single-handedly.
    (Pottermore - Patronus Charm)

  • Owl

    Strangely, given their long connection with wizardkind, owl Patronuses are unusual.
    (Pottermore - Patronus Charm)

  • Dragon
  • Thestral

    Most uncommon of all possibly Patronuses are magical creatures such as dragons, Thestrals and phoenixes.
    (Pottermore - Patronus Charm)

  • Jack rabbit (Tonks)

    Thus Nymphadora Tonks’s Patronus changes from a jack rabbit to a wolf (not a werewolf) when she falls in love with Remus Lupin.
    (Pottermore - Patronus Charm)

  • Bear
  • Wolf
  • Wild boar

    At first, the villagers’ lines of Patronuses (bears, and wolves, and wild boar) held firm, but gradually the sheer numbers of Dementors began to overwhelm them.
    (Wonderbook: Book of Spells)

  • Woolly Mammoth (Hedley Fleetwood)

    Wizards and witches famous for their unusual Patronuses include Hedley Fleetwood (Woolly Mammoth: extinct Patronuses are exceptionally rare)
    (Wonderbook: Book of Spells)

  • Ladybird (Symposia Rawle)

    Symposia Rawle (Ladybird: in spite of its miniscule size, this Patronus was exceptionally powerful).
    (Wonderbook: Book of Spells)

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  • 2
    Seems most interesting to me that McGonagall's was three cats.
    – Probst
    Commented Mar 2, 2016 at 5:11
  • 3
    @Probst - I always interpreted it as that she was casting three separate patronuses.
    – ibid
    Commented Mar 2, 2016 at 5:12
  • 1
    @apollo - Are you sure about that? As far as I recall, they have been promising a patronus quiz since the beginning, but never actually delivered. Do you have any screenshots to back up this claim?
    – ibid
    Commented Mar 2, 2016 at 7:57
  • 1
    @ThruGog - But it's much more fun to think that it's a singular patronus which takes the form of three individual cats. :)
    – ibid
    Commented Mar 2, 2016 at 22:00
  • 1
    Well that makes sense, tbh part of me thought that a patronus was unique and you could only have one at a time though.
    – Probst
    Commented Mar 2, 2016 at 22:02

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