Salamander

• Type: Magical Beast
• Ministry of Magic Classification: XXX (Competent wizard should cope)
• Native Habitat: Magical fires
• Key Features: Fire-dwelling lizard, color changes with fire temperature, blood has powerful magical properties

A salamander is a small magical lizard that is born from and lives within fire. Its natural appearance is a brilliant white, but it may appear to be blue or scarlet red depending on the heat of the fire it inhabits. During a Care of Magical Creatures lesson, they were described as being slimy to the touch.

Salamanders are intrinsically linked to fire. Their life cycle begins when they are spontaneously generated by magical flames, and their lifespan is determined by the longevity of the fire from which they were born. If their source fire is extinguished, they will perish.

• Diet: The primary diet of a salamander consists of flames. They can, however, survive outside of their native fire for a short period, reportedly up to six hours, provided they are regularly fed hot pepper.
• Blood: Salamander blood has potent curative and restorative properties. It is a known ingredient in various potions, including the Strengthening Solution.
• Reproduction: It is known that salamanders can lay eggs. These eggs are valuable as Potion ingredients and were sought by Fred Weasley and George Weasley for use in their Skiving Snackboxes.

Salamanders are encountered on two notable occasions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

• During Harry Potter's third year, Rubeus Hagrid conducted a Care of Magical Creatures lesson focused on salamanders. The students were tasked with collecting the creatures from a large bonfire and feeding them Flobberworms.
• In the subsequent school year, Fred Weasley and George Weasley were observed in the Gryffindor common room experimenting on a salamander. They were attempting to force-feed it a magically engorged Flobberworm, hoping this would induce it to lay eggs for their Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes product development.

• The magical salamander of the wizarding world is based directly on the mythological creature of the same name from European legend. Historically, salamanders were believed to be born from fire and to be immune to its effects, a belief likely originating from real-world salamanders that hibernate in logs and would scurry out when the wood was placed on a fire.
• There is a minor discrepancy in the canon regarding the salamander's diet. The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them textbook states they feed on flames and pepper, while in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, students are instructed to feed them Flobberworms. It is possible this is not a contradiction, as the worms may have served a purpose other than simple sustenance, such as encouraging egg-laying.
• The Care of Magical Creatures lesson featuring salamanders does not appear in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film).