Cornish Pixies

• Ministry of Magic Classification: XX (Harmless / may be domesticated) (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
• Native To: Cornwall, England
• Distinctive Features: Electric blue colour, small stature, flight, and surprising physical strength.

Cornish Pixies are small, mischievous magical beasts, standing about eight inches high. They are a vibrant electric blue in colour, with pointed faces and high-pitched, shrill voices that sound like gibberish to humans. Despite their small size, Cornish Pixies possess several notable abilities:

• Flight: They are capable of flying, enabling them to move quickly and cause widespread chaos.
• Superhuman Strength: Pixies have a surprising amount of strength for their size. A pair of them were able to seize Neville Longbottom by the ears and lift him into the air, hanging him from a chandelier in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

They are known to be extremely troublesome, delighting in playing pranks and causing destruction.

The only significant appearance of Cornish Pixies in the novels occurs during the 1992-1993 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Gilderoy Lockhart, in his first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, brought a covered cage full of “freshly caught” Cornish Pixies into the classroom. Hoping to create a practical lesson, Lockhart unleashed the pixies, who immediately began to wreak havoc. They squirted ink, shredded books, broke windows, and lifted Neville Longbottom onto a chandelier. When Lockhart attempted to subdue them with a made-up spell (`Peskipiksi Pesternomi`), it had no effect. He then fled his own classroom, deputizing Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger to handle the remaining pixies. While Harry and Ron struggled, Hermione Granger successfully used the Freezing Charm, `Immobulus`, to freeze the last few pixies and restore order to the classroom.

• Cornish: This directly refers to the county of Cornwall in south-west England. In Muggle folklore, this region is famous for its tales of pixies, fairies, and other magical beings.
• Pixie: A pixie is a mythical creature from British folklore. They are typically depicted as small, human-like beings who are fond of pranks and mischief, a characterisation that aligns perfectly with their depiction in the wizarding world.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Cornish Pixies are depicted with small, insect-like wings, which are not mentioned in the book's description.
• The film also shows Hermione Granger using the `Immobulus` spell to freeze the entire swarm of pixies in mid-air. In the book, she uses the charm to freeze the last two pixies that were tampering with the chandelier after most had already been dealt with or escaped.
• The incantation `Peskipiksi Pesternomi` used by Gilderoy Lockhart is almost certainly a useless spell he invented on the spot. Its name is likely a nonsensical combination of “pesky pixie” and “pester”. Its complete failure is a key indicator of Lockhart's magical incompetence.