Will “Fantastic Beasts” Reveal the 12 Uses of Dragon’s Blood?
In the decade and more since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released, J.K. Rowling has expanded her wizarding world, giving us additional material through Pottermore, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the Fantastic Beasts films, and Twitter. Despite this, the fandom still has a plethora of questions yet unanswered.
One of these unanswered questions pertains to the 12 uses of dragon blood, which are mentioned in passing in the Harry Potter books. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle back in 1999, Rowling revealed that the 12th use of dragon’s blood was as oven cleaner – perhaps dragon’s blood is the secret ingredient in Mrs. Skower’s All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover. Whether or not this was a serious answer by Rowling, I’m keen to learn what the remaining 11 uses of dragon’s blood are. The closest we get to having this answered is in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when Hermione was “reciting the twelve uses of dragon’s blood” (SS 14).
With Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald being released in November this year, fans have wondered – as the series introduces Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s stories – how it, and future films, will keep the series tied to magical creatures. From a filmmaking perspective, incorporating dragons into the series would provide audiences with grand visual spectacles.
In his book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Newt glowingly describes dragons as “the most famous of magical beasts” and acknowledges that their blood has “highly magical properties.” We already know from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that Newt worked with Ukrainian Ironbellies during World War I. Moreover, the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book reveals that he worked with the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau at the Ministry of Magic. We also know that Dumbledore was fond of Newt. The teaser trailer for Crimes of Grindelwald revealed that Newt was sent to Paris on Dumbledore’s orders. With Nicolas Flamel set to make an appearance in Crimes of Grindelwald, could we see Newt and the alchemist cross paths?
If Newt was extensively studying the blood of various breeds of dragons, then that might explain why the Ministry had an issue with him being under Dumbledore’s orders. Dragons are a grave threat to the International Statute of Secrecy, which as we saw in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, at least in America, was strictly upheld during the 1920s. Ron says as much in Sorcerer’s Stone.
Dragon-breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks’ Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It’s hard to stop Muggles noticing us if we’re keeping dragons in the back garden – anyway, you can’t tame dragons, it’s dangerous.
Additionally, in Sorcerer’s Stone, Dumbledore tells Harry that he doesn’t “need a cloak to become invisible” (SS 12). Although Dumbledore may have been referring to the Disillusionment Charm, check out Newt’s description of the Horned Serpent:
The largest and most diverse group of Horned Serpents still in existence is to be found in North America, of which the most famous and highly prized has a jewel in its forehead, which is reputed to give the power of invisibility and flight.
How likely do you think it is that Newt helped Dumbledore with his research on dragon’s blood? Could we see dragons in Crimes of Grindelwald or future Fantastic Beasts films? Would you be interested in knowing what the 12 uses of dragon’s blood are, or would you rather they remain a mystery?
