Skiving Snackbox

• Type: Magical joke product, Edible Charms
• Owners: Fred Weasley and George Weasley (creators), sold to various Hogwarts students
• Maker: Fred Weasley and George Weasley

A Skiving Snackbox is a cardboard box containing an assortment of magical sweets invented by Fred Weasley and George Weasley. The packaging is likely colourful and flamboyant, in keeping with the branding of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Each sweet within the box is designed to induce a specific, temporary malady. The key feature of the sweets is their two-part design, which typically involves two different colours on each sweet. One part of the sweet causes the illness, while the other part contains the antidote, allowing the user to make a swift recovery once they have achieved their goal (e.g., leaving a class). Known varieties include:

• Puking Pastilles: Bright pink and purple sweets that cause violent vomiting. The orange end induces vomiting, while the purple end stops it.
• Nosebleed Nougat: Causes a profuse and dramatic nosebleed.
• Fainting Fancies: Induces fainting.
• Fever Fudge: Gives the eater a high fever, complete with large, pus-filled boils.

The primary function of a Skiving Snackbox is to provide a student with a plausible, albeit magically induced, excuse to leave a lesson or avoid other duties. The magic is cleverly contained within the sweets themselves and requires no wand work from the user. The user consumes the “illness” half of the sweet to trigger the desired symptom. Once they have successfully been excused from their activity, they can consume the “antidote” half to cure themselves almost instantly. This ingenious two-step method is what made the products so effective and popular, as the user retained full control over the duration of their feigned illness. The sweets were a testament to the Weasley twins' exceptional talent for inventive, practical Charms.

The concept for what would become the Skiving Snackbox began during Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts. Fred Weasley and George Weasley started developing and testing prototypes, such as sweets that caused tongue-swelling, on themselves and willing first-year students on the Hogwarts Express. Their ambition was to earn enough money to start their own joke shop. After the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter gave them his winnings of one thousand Galleons, providing the capital they needed to perfect their inventions. By their seventh year, during Dolores Umbridge's tenure as High Inquisitor, the Skiving Snackbox was fully developed and became a massive commercial success within Hogwarts. The twins conducted market research in the Gryffindor common room, offering sweets to students in exchange for feedback. The Snackboxes became a popular tool of rebellion, allowing students to frequently leave Umbridge's Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. Hermione Granger, in her role as a prefect, strongly disapproved and often threatened to confiscate them. The success of the Snackboxes was a major factor in the twins' decision to leave Hogwarts prematurely and open Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes in Diagon Alley, where the Skiving Snackbox became one of their flagship and best-selling products.

The Skiving Snackbox serves as a primary symbol of the Weasley twins' magical talent, rebellious spirit, and entrepreneurial ambition. It represents a form of creative, humorous resistance against the oppressive authority of Dolores Umbridge, uniting students in a small but significant defiance. The product's development and success are central to Fred and George's character arcs, marking their transition from school pranksters to successful businessmen. Furthermore, Harry Potter's decision to fund their venture with his Triwizard Tournament winnings is a crucial moment, solidifying his deep friendship with the Weasley family and enabling the twins' dreams to become a reality. The Snackboxes demonstrate that magic has practical and commercial applications far beyond the standard curriculum taught at Hogwarts.

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Fred and George are shown actively marketing the Skiving Snackboxes to younger students in the common room. A montage shows various students successfully using the sweets to fall ill during Umbridge's O.W.L. examinations, causing chaos and frustrating her completely. (film)