balloon, enchanted Balloons can be enchanted to produce effects when they burst (or not to burst at all).

• When the golden balloons burst at the end of the wedding ceremony, singing birds of paradise and tiny chiming golden bells flew and floated out of them (DH8).

• See BALLOON, NON-EXPLODABLE, LUMINOUS and compare CRACKER, CRIBBAGE'S WIZARDING.

balloon, non-explodable, luminous

• Harry got a package of these in his Christmas crackers during his first year (PS12)

bat, Beater's
In Quidditch, the Beaters use enchanted wooden bats to hit the Bludgers in an effort to affect their flight (away from fellow team members and/or toward opposing team members). The enchantments are necessary because of the weight and composition of the Bludgers. See (QA6) for details of their development.

blackboard, advertising

• The Quidditch World Cup stadium had a huge blackboard upon which gold writing appeared as if written by a huge invisible hand. The space displayed advertising before the match, then became a scoreboard once play commenced (GF8).

• c.f. CEILING, ENCHANTED.

Bludger
A round jet-black iron ball, 10 inches in diameter - that is, slightly smaller than a Quaffle - one of the four balls used in playing the game of Quidditch (in which two Bludgers are used at any one time). A Bludger always attacks and attempts to unseat the nearest player, which is why Beaters attempt to knock Bludgers toward opposing players (PS10, QA6).

• Originally a Bludger was just a rock enchanted to make it attack the players as a modern Bludger does, but the use of rocks was abandoned in favour of other substances since Beaters' bats could eventually smash them into gravel (QA6).

• Lead was experimented with, but abandoned because after a lead Bludger had taken a beating, indentations would be left on its surface that affected its ability to fly properly (QA6).

Bluebottle
See entry on the broomsticks page.

boats
There are different types of enchanted boats in the Harry Potter universe.

• The arriving first-years travel across the lake to the castle in a flotilla of small boats, propelled by magic (PS6).

• The Horcrux cave contained an enchanted boat, hidden underwater such that "none but a very great wizard could find it" (HBP26). The boat was very small and glowed green.

  • Dumbledore believed that it had been enchanted so that the weight it was expected to carry was not relevant, but rather the amount of magical power in its passenger(s), possibly with some emphasis on age and/or experience (HBP26). (Compare AGE LINE, FEATHER-LIGHT).

  • Like the Hogwarts boats, this boat moved without the help of its passengers (HBP26).

books

• see dangerous books

• see books by title

• see books by topic

Boomerang, Ever-Bashing
Joke item.

• Added to the list of items banned in the castle at the start of Harry's fourth year (GF12)

Booster, Invisibility
Activated by a silver button on the dashboard, this turns Arthur Weasley's old Ford Anglia and everything in it invisible (CS5).

brooms
The most widely used and accepted form of magical transportation in Britain, although this is a cultural thing. In some parts of the world, the flying carpet appears to be the preferred form of transportation instead (QA1). See broomstick entry for more.

broomstick servicing kit
Hermione bought Harry one for his thirteenth birthday, which included a Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broom Care, a tin of Fleetwood's High-Finish handle polish, and Tail-Twig Clippers (PA1).

Brush, Self-Straightening
Included on the Twigger 90 (QA9).

Bus, Knight
See Knight Bus.

Buzzer, Anti-Burglar
Presumably this magical device or charm buzzes when anyone tries to steal the item it's attached to (GF8). (Since electrical devices don't work alongside magic, this must be a spell or magical device of some kind).

• The Bluebottle has one built in (GF8).