Horklumps

• Type: Magical Creature
• Ministry of Magic Classification: X (Boring) (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
• Native To: Scandinavia (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)

A Horklump is a magical creature that strongly resembles a fleshy, pink mushroom. Its surface is covered with sparse, wiry black bristles. Instead of roots, a Horklump possesses sinewy tentacles which it uses to spread and to search for its preferred food, Earthworms, underground. They are known to multiply at a prodigious rate, capable of infesting an average garden in a matter of days (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).

Horklumps are primarily known in Herbology and Potions for their value as an ingredient. The juice extracted from the creature, known as Horklump juice, is used in various healing Potions. Despite their pest-like nature, they are not particularly dangerous. Their primary diet consists of Earthworms, which they hunt by spreading their tentacles beneath the soil. Control and eradication of Horklump infestations can be achieved in several ways:

• Gnomes are a natural predator of Horklumps.
• The venom of the Streeler is known to be a potent poison to Horklumps and is used as an effective herbicide against them (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).

Originating in Scandinavia, the Horklump has since become a common magical pest throughout northern Europe. Due to its uninteresting nature and lack of any dangerous qualities, the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures assigned it the lowest classification of X, meaning “Boring” (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them). They are a well-known nuisance to wizarding world gardeners.

Horklumps are first mentioned by Professor Slughorn during a Potions lesson. While discussing valuable ingredients, he dismisses Horklump juice as not being particularly valuable, though he confirms its use in healing Potions (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). The creatures are described in more detail when Harry Potter reads an excerpt from Rita Skeeter's biography, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. The book derisively notes that the garden of the famed magical historian Bathilda Bagshot in Godric's Hollow was severely infested with Horklumps, which Harry Potter and Hermione Granger later see for themselves (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows).

• Most of the detailed information about Horklump classification, diet, and control methods comes from the supplementary textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, rather than the main novels.
• In the video game Hogwarts Legacy, Horklumps are a collectible magical beast ingredient. They are commonly found in caves and other damp areas, and their juice is a required ingredient for brewing the Wiggenweld Potion (video game).