Slugs

• Type: Creature, Potion Ingredient
• Habitat: Gardens and other damp areas.
• Varieties:
  • Common Garden Slugs
  • Flesh-Eating Slugs

Slugs are common, non-magical gastropod molluscs. They are typically slimy, shell-less creatures found in gardens and damp environments. While ordinary slugs are harmless, a magical variant known as the Flesh-Eating Slug also exists. Though their exact appearance is not described in detail, they are known to be a pest in the magical world, particularly for those cultivating magical plants. The most vivid description of slugs comes from the effects of the Slug-vomiting Charm, which causes the victim to regurgitate a continuous stream of large, slimy slugs.

Slugs, both mundane and magical, have several uses and connections to the wizarding world.

• Potion Ingredient: Stewed slugs are a required ingredient for the Shrinking Solution, a potion taught to third-year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
• Magical Pest: Flesh-Eating Slugs are a known nuisance that can damage or destroy magical plants. Professor Sprout keeps a supply of Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent in the Hogwarts greenhouses to protect her plants, including the Mandrakes.
• Curse Effect: Slugs are the primary effect of the Slug-vomiting Charm. When this curse is cast successfully, the victim is forced to vomit slugs. The charm is infamous due to a notable incident involving Ron Weasley.

Slugs appear at several points throughout the series, most significantly in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

• In their first Herbology lesson of the second year, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger are tasked with re-potting Mandrakes. Professor Sprout mentions the danger Flesh-Eating Slugs pose to her plants, establishing them as a magical pest.
• The most memorable event occurs after a Quidditch practice when Draco Malfoy calls Hermione Granger a “filthy little Mudblood”. Enraged, Ron Weasley attempts to curse Malfoy with the Slug-vomiting Charm, but because his wand is broken and held together with Spellotape, the curse backfires. Ron begins vomiting large, slimy slugs and is rushed to Hagrid's hut for help, where he continues to expel them into a bucket. This incident highlights Ron's fierce loyalty to his friends and the dangerous unreliability of a broken wand.
• In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, stewed slugs are mentioned by Professor Snape as a necessary ingredient when he takes over teaching the Shrinking Solution in Professor Lupin's absence.

• The incantation for the Slug-vomiting Charm is Slugulus Eructo (Pottermore, video game).
• In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, the scene of Ron vomiting slugs is shown graphically. Large, glistening slugs are seen being ejected from his mouth into the bucket provided by Hagrid (film).
• Flesh-Eating Slugs appear as enemies that the player must fight in some of the early *Harry Potter* video games (video game).