The Sorcerer's Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter (74 page)

World folklore is also filled with tales of men and women who, like Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew, can assume just one animal form. In Europe, the best-known legends concerned
werewolves
—men who turned into bloodthirsty wolves for short periods of time. But in parts of the world where wolves were uncommon, other were-creatures prowled the night (
wer
means “man” in Old English). In the Amazon there were tales of jaguar-men, in India tiger-men, in Africa hyena-men, and in other parts of the world, men were fabled to transform into coyotes, bears, jackals, crocodiles, and snakes. Many of these legends probably grew out of the rituals of tribal
magicians
and shamans who, on ceremonial occasions, dressed in animal skins and imitated animal behavior (snorting, howling, and pawing the ground) and perhaps, in their own minds and the minds of their audiences, temporarily
became
a stag, a bear, or a jaguar.

No doubt many of us have imagined what it might be like to actually be another creature—to experience the power or grace of a leopard or see the world from an eagle’s point of view. But few would want to experience the taste of rodent life that Mad-Eye Moody gives Draco Malfoy by transfiguring him into a bouncing ferret. Sometimes it seems better to just be yourself.

When Hermione lets slip that she can perform a Protean
Charm
to magically alter the date on a Galleon, her classmates are impressed. After all, it’s a N.E.W.T. level skill, well beyond the ability of most fifth-years. While we don’t know how to perform the charm either, we do know that it takes its name from Proteus, the elusive shape-shifting master of Greek mythology.

The son of the Titans Oceanus and Thetis, Proteus was a giant
merman
and guardian of sea creatures, who lived on the island of Pharos, near the mouth of the Nile River in Egypt. Known as “the Wise Old Man of the Sea,” Proteus possessed two remarkable gifts: He could assume any form at will, and he had an unerring gift of
prophecy
, given to him by the sea god Poseidon. Pursued by mortals because of his prophetic gift, the sea god eluded them all by rapidly slipping from one identity to another. There was, however, one way to get him to talk, and that was to seize him while he slept and not let go—even if you suddenly found yourself holding a
snake
, a rock, a lion, running water, a tree, or a bear. Eventually Proteus would exhaust his repertoire of shapes, or run out of steam, or just give up, whereupon he would return to his original form and reveal what you wanted to know.

Because of his ability to assume any form, Proteus came to symbolize the primal matter out of which all of existence was said to have been created.

lthough the word “troll” has been used to describe many a monster, very specific traits distinguish actual trolls from other beings that go bump in the night. Trolls are extremely ugly supernatural creatures that make their homes in the cold, northern European countries of Scandinavia. They are fierce, evil beings with a taste for human flesh and an eye for stolen treasure; they are also gigantic, tremendously strong, and notoriously dumb. But perhaps all of these off-putting traits can be forgiven, at least momentarily, when we recall that it was due to a twelve-foot mountain troll that Harry, Ron, and Hermione became fast friends.

Trolls have reportedly lived in the woods and mountains of Scandinavia since man first inhabited that region of the world at the end of the Ice Age. They appear in the earliest myths and folktales of Norway and Sweden. In addition to their gigantic size, trolls’ most prominent features are their long, crooked noses, bushy tails, huge flat feet, shortage of fingers and toes (they only have three or four), and the shaggy, mossy growth that covers their heads and noses. There have also been reports of trolls that have only a single eye in the middle of their wrinkled foreheads, trolls with two or three heads, and still others that have trees growing out of their noses. In later folktales trolls were described as being either very small or human size and more intelligent than their ancient predecessors.

(
photo credit 84.1
)

Trolls live in communities deep inside caves, mountains, or hills. Some also live underground, or under rocks or uprooted trees. Their preference for subterranean living makes perfect sense given that they hate noise and exposure to daylight turns them into stone, or can even make them burst. Bizarre shaped rocks that enliven the Scandinavian countryside are said to be trolls who ignored their crucial curfew.

Troll dwellings are described as gorgeous, glowing palaces filled with stolen treasure. Exceedingly greedy, trolls pilfer all the gold and silver they can find. Their avarice is not only for human treasure but for treasured humans. They abduct human children, replacing them with their own infants, in the hope of having them raised as human. Legend has it that if a human mother suspects her baby is a troll changeling, she should threaten to burn the child in a fire. Supposedly, the easily fooled troll mother will rush to her baby’s rescue, at which point a human mother can recover her own child. However, this nuisance can be avoided completely if the child is baptized, as trolls despise Christianity (the sound of church bells is enough to send them fleeing in the opposite direction).

Unfortunately, brainpower and church bells aren’t always enough to protect people from trolls, who possess many invincible magical powers. They are adept shape-shifters and can make themselves invisible. These talents help them both to steal treasure and to hide it, which they often do by making their ill-gotten gold resemble something completely different, like a pile of rocks and stones. Anyone who encounters a troll and is unable to escape usually suffers a horrible fate, such as being imprisoned, enslaved, or worst of all, eaten. Trolls have a strong appetite for human flesh and blood, and all that remains of their unfortunate victims are bare, gnawed skeletons.

There have been rare reports of benevolent trolls who reward families they like with riches and good luck. These trolls are masterful craftsmen and talented metalworkers who create distinctive swords, knives, and bracelets. They use their knowledge of magic and herbs to cure sickness and they are very fond of music and dancing. However, given the higher likelihood of encountering the flesh-eating variety of troll, if you find yourself in a forest that is particularly
trolsk
(Norwegian for “spooky”), we recommend that you
flykte
(Norwegian for “get out quick!”).