Overview

The Devil's Snare was a magical plant that had the power to suffocate or restrict anything that came into contact with it or its surroundings. Devil's Snare was not widely available, although certain Herbologists were able to obtain it.
It was similar to the Flitterbloom, consisting of a mass of soft, springy tendrils and vines with a slight feeling of touch. Anybody who touched this plant was ensnared by its creepers and tendrils, which bound their arms and legs until finally suffocating them. Devil's Snare shackled its victims quicker and tighter the harder they tried to escape. The plant would release its hold on the sufferer if they were able to remain calm and mindful. A stronger force of constriction would be exerted by the plant in response to resistance or struggle against it. The plant likes their surroundings to be wet and gloomy. It would flee from the heat of fire and cease moving in an area with bright light, therefore a well-placed spell involving fire or light, such the Lumos Solem Spell, Fire-Making Spell, Wand-Lighting Charm, or Bluebell Flames, would successfully drive it away from its targets.

History

19th Century

The Hidden Herbology passage was once home to a gigantic Devil's Snare that was used by Mirabel Garlick's predecessor. The plant soon overran the passage and forced its closure. An Unidentified 19th-century Hogwarts student entered the corridor during the 1889–1890 academic year on behalf of Duncan Hobhouse, who was rumored to still be in search of a leaf from a massive Venomous Tentacula. The kid advanced along the hallway, attacking the Devil's Snare in the process.

School Year 1984-1985

Soon after her entrance in 1984, fourth-year Slytherin students showed Merula Snyde a Devil's Snare. To make up for lost house points, she deceived Jacob's sibling later in the year into entering the room with the idea that they were delivering pickled slugs to Professor Severus Snape. Merula was upset that they had prevented her from harassing Ben Copper and jealous of the student's accolades from their first classes. The student used the Wand-Lighting Charm to temporarily repel the plant's attack while they called for assistance. Rubeus Hagrid came to their aid.

School Year 1995-1996

A comatose patient at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in 1995 was Broderick Bode, an Unspeakable employed by the British Ministry of Magic, who had been tricked into trying to steal a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. A Death Eater sent a potted Devil's Snare disguised as a Christmas gift to the hospital when Bode started to heal, hoping to silence him.
Healer Miriam Strout left the plant next to his bed, thinking it was a harmless flitterbloom, in defiance of St. Mungo's rigorous rules against decorations in the wards. She thought that treating it on his own could aid in his recuperation. Later that night, it subsequently asphyxiated Bode.

1998

Devil's Snares were set up around the Hogwarts castle in 1998 by Professor Pomona Sprout and Neville Longbottom to fend off invading Death Eaters and Giants, as well as the equally deadly Venomous Tentacula and Snargaluffs.

Credits/References

Written by Emil Crim.
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.