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In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry performs accidental magic and lets a boa constrictor out of it's cage in a zoo. What happened to it? The story seems to have just let it run out to Brazil. Did the accidental magic reversal squad show up to get the mess fixed?

Any canon level answer is appreciated.

user13267
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    Odds are the muggle zoo staff noticed that a snake was running free, caught it, and put it back in its cage, though I don't know if there are any canon statements to that effect. – nick012000 Mar 10 '23 at 08:49
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    @nick012000 how would they explain the explain the missing glass in the enclosure? That kind of thing is a job for the AMRS. – user13267 Mar 10 '23 at 08:58
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    @freedomn-m Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. – user13267 Mar 10 '23 at 09:17
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    @freedomn-m `The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.

    "But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"`

     – user13267 Mar 10 '23 at 09:17
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    @user13267 my bad, I thought Dudly got stuck inside when Harry restored the glass - guess that didn't happen in the books, don't have one to hand. – fdomn-m Mar 10 '23 at 09:21
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    @freedomn-m That didn't happen in the books, but did happen in the film – Au101 Mar 10 '23 at 16:16

2 Answers2

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We don't know. The last we see of the boa constrictor in any canon work is as it leaves the scene with a hearty

‘Brazil, here I come … Thanksss, amigo.’

JKR doesn't seem to have discussed its fate, other than to confirm that it's not Nagini.

Valorum
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    Its been awhile, but I thought it was born in captivity. So though it's species is from Brazil, it has never been in the wild. [EDIT: Yes I checked. It was born in the that Zoo. So has never been in the wild. It is very unlikely it will make it to Brazil.] – NJohnny Mar 09 '23 at 22:29
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    @NJohnny - Mebbe it did, mebbe it didn't. – Valorum Mar 10 '23 at 05:24
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    @NJohnny Trust in Me... (PS: Yeah I know, it's a Python and not a Boa,). – Clockwork Mar 10 '23 at 07:56
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    Because if it had been to Brazil, that would somehow help it swim across the Atlantic, @NJohnny? :) – terdon Mar 10 '23 at 10:48
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    @terdon: There is precedent for airborne snakes. – psmears Mar 10 '23 at 11:39
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    @NJohnny It's a snake, it probably doesn't know what Brazil looks like. It may slither to the nearest park, and consider that "Brazil". – Abigail Mar 10 '23 at 12:05
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    @terdon - or it could turn left and go through Europe, Asia and then across the Pacific. – Valorum Mar 10 '23 at 12:55
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    @Abigail A snake whose natural habitat is Brazil would probably not last long in a British winter outside. He could be like Nagini, that is, a snake that used to be a human. Maybe he knows a guy with access to a portkey or any number of other magical means of long distance transport somewhere. We'll probably never know. – Darrel Hoffman Mar 10 '23 at 14:27
  • @DarrelHoffman I never claimed or assumed the snake would survive winter. – Abigail Mar 11 '23 at 16:50
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It's not really a mess needing magical fixing, a kid fell into a terrarium and a non-venomous snake escaped without harming people, the only witnesses to the glass itself disappearing are Harry and Dudley, and both know better than claim the glass disappeared and reappeared to the public.
They seem to get involved when the magic itself needs reversing like an aunt blowing up, not when a kid (or a cake) falls.

Didi Kohen
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