Cauldron

Cauldron
Object information
Usage	Used to brew potions Carrying supplies Cooking
Owners	Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students Wizardkind Muggles

"Cauldrons have had a magical association for centuries. "

— Description

A cauldron is a vessel similar to a bucket or kettle, which was used to brew and hold potions and also used to carry supplies. Cauldrons were heated over an open fire and could be hung over a fire from an iron handle.

History

Early history

Cauldrons were once used by Muggles and wizards and witches alike, being large metal cooking pots that could be suspended over fires. In time, magical and non-magical people alike moved on to stoves; saucepans became more convenient and cauldrons became the sole province of witches and wizards, who continued to brew potions in them. A naked flame was essential for the making of potions, which made cauldrons the most practical pot of all.

Modern developments

Two different varieties of cauldron

While cauldrons remained classic potion-making utensils, there were attempts to revolutionise the cauldron, like the invention of the Self-Stirring Cauldron by Gaspard Shingleton, or the Collapsible Cauldron. Humphrey Belcher once theorised "the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron" (Albus Dumbledore would later comment he had been "woefully wrong" in this belief).

The Fire Crab, which resembled a tortoise with a jewelled shell that shot fire out its back end, was prized for its shell for use as a cauldron. This practice of poaching led to protected colonies in its native habitat of Fiji island.

All cauldrons were enchanted to make them lighter to carry, as they were most commonly made of pewter or iron. Modern inventions included the self-stirring and collapsible varieties of cauldron, and pots of precious metal were also available for the specialist, or the show-off.

The Felifors Spell was a Transfiguration spell which could transform cats into cauldrons. It was taught to third-year students in Transfiguration during the 1986–1987 school year at Hogwarts by Professor McGonagall.

Cauldron thickness

"We're trying to standardise cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade too thin — leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three percent a year."

— Percy Weasley's explanation of cauldron regulation

In general, cauldrons had to stand up to great wear and usage. As one of his first assignments with the Ministry of Magic, Percy Weasley worked with the Department of International Magical Co-operation lobbying for a standard for cauldron thickness. Apparently, there was an issue with sub-standard imported cauldrons having defective, thin bottoms. Perhaps this was the cause for Neville Longbottom's knack for melting cauldrons during Potions class. First years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry used pewter standard size 2 cauldrons, as mentioned on the list that accompanied their Hogwarts acceptance letter.

Types of cauldron

Here is a list of known types of cauldrons, including those created as prank devices:

A standard size 2 Brass Cauldron: could be purchased for the price of 21 Galleons (£103.50) at Potage's Cauldron Shop in Diagon Alley

A standard size 2 Copper Cauldron: could be purchased for the price of 25 Galleons (£123.20) at Potage's Cauldron Shop in Diagon Alley

A standard size 2 Pewter Cauldron: could be purchased for the price of 15 Galleons (£73.95) at Potage's Cauldron Shop in Diagon Alley

Collapsible Cauldron

Self-Stirring Cauldron

• Exploding Cauldron
• Sloshing Cauldron
• Cheese cauldron
• Silver Cauldron
• Solid Gold Cauldron

Cauldrons in wizarding culture

• The Leaky Cauldron of London was a popular pub for wizards and witches.
• Cauldron Cakes were treats beloved by wizarding children.
• Singer Celestina Warbeck sang tunes called "You Stole My Cauldron but You Can't Have my Heart", and "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love".
• Chocolate Cauldrons were boxed chocolates (eight to a box) shaped like cauldrons and filled with firewhisky.
• In the wizarding sport Creaothceann, players wore cauldrons strapped to their heads.
• There existed a business which fixed cauldrons.

Behind the scenes

A melted cauldron on Pottermore

A cauldron as seen in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the song Something Wicked This Way Comes was performed by the Hogwarts Student Choir at the Sorting Feast. The lyrics are taken from the opening scene of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. It was by John Williams.
• Pottermore once allowed users to brew potions, prior the site's revamp in 2015. When making them, ingredients are added to the cauldron, sometimes after being crushed with the pestle and mortar. The cauldron must be kept at the right temperature using the buttons below the cauldron on the brewing page; if the temperature is too high, the cauldron will melt and the potion maker will lose five points. When a cauldron melts, it cannot be reused and the potion maker must replace it with a new one from Potage's Cauldron Shop.
• Users of Pottermore were allowed to own only one of every available type of cauldron at Potage's Cauldron Shop - Pewter Cauldron, Copper Cauldron, Brass Cauldron.
• Due to its low melting point, a real pewter cauldron would be useless.

Author's comments

"Cauldrons have had a magical association for centuries. They appear in hundreds of years' worth of pictures of witches, and are also supposed to be where leprechauns keep treasure. Many folk and fairy tales make mention of cauldrons with special powers, but in the Harry Potter books they are a fairly mundane tool. I did consider making Helga Hufflepuff's hallow a cauldron, but there was something slightly comical and incongruous about having such a large and heavy Horcrux; I wanted the objects Harry had to find to be smaller and more portable. However, a cauldron appears both in the four mythical jewels of Ireland (its magical power was that nobody ever went away from it unsatisfied) and in the legend of The Thirteen Treasures of Britain (the cauldron of Dyrnwch the giant would cook meat for brave men, but not for cowards)."

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• The Archive of Magic: The Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Mentioned only)
• Quidditch Through the Ages (Mentioned only)
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard
• Daily Prophet Newsletters (Mentioned only)
• J. K. Rowling's official site
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter (website)
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Creator: Harry Potter
• Creator: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter for Kinect
• Harry Potter: The Character Vault (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault (Mentioned only)
• The Making of Harry Potter
• Harry Potter: The Wand Collection (Mentioned only)
• Wonderbook: Book of Potions
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them VR Experience
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• Hogwarts Legacy
• The Art and Making of Hogwarts Legacy
• The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac