9

Early in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry observes Nymphadora Tonks casting the Patronus Charm:

As Harry swung the cloak back over himself, she waved her wand; an immense silvery four-legged creature erupted from it and streaked off into the darkness.

"Was that a Patronus?" asked Harry, who had seen Dumbledore send messages like this.
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Chapter 8 - Snape Victorious)

Due to a comment by Snape, Harry determines that Tonks's Patronus must have changed forms recently, and he asks Lupin about it:

"Tonks’s Patronus has changed its form," he told him. "Snape said so, anyway. I didn’t know that could happen. Why would your Patronus change?"

Lupin took his time chewing his turkey and swallowing before saying slowly, "Sometimes … a great shock … an emotional upheaval …"
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Chapter 16 - A Very Frosty Christmas)

However, at no point does anyone identify what Tonks's Patronus used to be.

What form did Tonk's Patronus take before it changed?

1
  • As far as I can tell, the only place on this site that had this information was a comment on an answer to a related question: scifi.stackexchange.com/a/172784/59105. I'm self-answering to put it in a more permanent form.
    – Lucas Y.
    Feb 23, 2018 at 20:39

2 Answers 2

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Pottermore's article on the Patronus Charm, written by J.K. Rowling, answers this question:

The form of a Patronus may change during the course of a witch or wizard’s life. Instances have been known of the form of the Patronus transforming due to bereavement, falling in love or profound shifts in a person’s character. Thus Nymphadora Tonks’s Patronus changes from a jack rabbit to a wolf (not a werewolf) when she falls in love with Remus Lupin.

Therefore, Tonks's Patronus Charm took the form of a jack rabbit.

-1

J.K rowling confirms that her Patronus changed from a Jack rabbit to a wolf on Pottermore. So that means her old Patronus was a Jack rabbit .

3
  • Could you edit your answer to provide the link to the relevant Pottermore page to back this up and include the relevant quote?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Aug 16, 2019 at 13:21
  • Hey if you could find a link to where you read this it would help re-enforce you answer.
    – Himarm
    Aug 16, 2019 at 13:21
  • 5
    This answer is no different from Lucas's answer (the accepted one above)...
    – user112267
    Aug 16, 2019 at 13:32

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