Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Pigwidgeon

Overview
Pigwidgeon, or Pig, a Scops owl, was a gift from Sirius Black to Ron. Ron's sister, Ginny, named the owl. The owl refused to answer to anything else after that.

Prisoner of Azkaban
At the end of the last chapter, as Harry travels on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione notices a little owl just outside the window. Harry catches it and takes it inside. It carries a note for Harry from Sirius: Sirius has hidden far away, and is thinking about letting himself be seen by a Muggle, so that security at school can be lowered. He was the one who had sent Harry the Firebolt; he had gotten Crookshanks to deliver the order to the post office. Hermione says that she had known it was him. Sirius also says that he feels responsible for causing Ron to lose his rat Scabbers; now that Ron has no pet, he may keep the owl if he wishes. Ron holds the owl under Crookshanks' nose, and Crookshanks purrs (apparently stating it is just a normal animal, not like Ron's previous pet, Scabbers, an Animagus), so Ron keeps the owl.

Goblet of Fire
Ron sends Pigwidgeon to Harry with the information that whether or not the Dursleys will allow him to go to the Quidditch World Cup, the Weasleys will be coming to get him; and saying that Harry should let Ron know whether it will be a visit or a rescue by return owl. Harry is bemused; he hasn't yet learned Pigwidgeon's name, and doesn't understand why Ron refers to him in his note as "Pig".

Once Harry has arrived at The Burrow, he learns the owl's name. This year, there is a requirement that all students have formal robes; Harry's are elegant, but Ron's are musty, have lace around the collar and sleeves, and look to date back to the previous century. Pigwidgeon chooses this moment to choke on an over-large owl treat, and Ron, hurrying to help him, laments about how everything he owns is rubbish.

Near Christmas, Ron sends Pigwideon off with a message for Sirius Black. Pigwidgeon apparently takes about three weeks to deliver the message and return, although by this time Sirius is reportedly somewhere in England.

Order of the Phoenix
Pigwidgeon flies madly around Harry, Ron and Hermione as they greet one another excitedly on Harry's arrival at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. He continues to fly around, twittering madly, as Harry yells at Ron and Hermione, but retreats to the top of the wardrobe, joining Hedwig, when Fred and George Apparate into the room.

After the meeting that evening, Hedwig and Pigwidgeon are clattering around on top of the wardrobe. Ron throws some Owl Treats up there for them, explaining that Dumbledore doesn't want them out hunting too often, it would raise questions.

On the last day before the start of classes, Harry climbs on a chair to clean all the owl droppings off the top of the wardrobe. Finishing, he tosses the accumulated owl droppings into a wastebasket, which swallows them and belches loudly. During the conversation that follows, the wastebasket occasionally makes soft gagging noises as it coughs up the owl droppings.

Pigwidgeon is almost certainly on the luggage cart which Mad-Eye Moody brings to the platform, but his presence is not mentioned. The first time we see him is when Ron returns to Harry's compartment and puts Pigwidgeon's cage beside Hedwig's. As they near Hogsmeade station, Ron and Hermione, being prefects, must supervise the other students' preparations, so Pigwidgeon is left for Harry to carry. Luna volunteers to carry Pigwidgeon for him. She is separated from Harry in the crush of students, but catches up to him and Ron as they prepare to enter the horseless carriages, much to Ron's relief.

The next time Pigwidgeon is mentioned is as Ron is returning to school after the Christmas holidays. They are traveling on the Knight Bus, which is full of chairs rather than four-poster beds, it being daytime. As the Knight Bus travels with its normal great Bang!, Ron's chair is knocked over and Pigwidgeon, in his lap, bursts out of his cage and flies to the front of the bus, to rest on Hermione's shoulder.

Hedwig and Pigwidgeon are then not seen again until the trip back to London on the Hogwarts Express. It is noted that Hedwig and Pigwidgeon are disturbed by Ron's outburst when he learns that Ginny is going out with Dean.

Deathly Hallows
When Harry turns 17 and he is no longer bound by the restriction against underage sorcery, he celebrates by sending a number of Ron's possessions flying around the bedroom they share. The commotion disturbs Pigwidgeon, who starts fluttering madly around in his cage.

Pigwidgeon does not accompany Ron on his travels; we don't see him after Ron, Harry, and Hermione leave The Burrow.

Strengths
Despite his size, Pigwidgeon is a valiant owl. He is always eager for a delivery job, and will tackle any delivery, even if it is so large that he is barely able to lift it. In one scene, Ron tosses him out the window of the Owlery at the school with a letter to carry, and Pigwidgeon falls halfway to the ground before he manages to reach flying speed.

Weaknesses
Pigwidgeon is very small. Though he has a valiant spirit, a standard sized letter is too large for him to handle physically. On one occasion, Pigwidgeon takes several weeks to travel a distance that Hedwig travels in two days. Unlike the other post owls, who apparently can be sent on deliveries with enough accuracy that they can be expected to reach their destination at a specific time, Pigwidgeon, overwhelmed by his cargo, is almost as erratic as the superannuated Errol in making his deliveries on time.

Relationships with Other Characters
Pigwidgeon is owned by Ron Weasley, who seems to be very scathing towards Pigwidgeon in public, referring to him as a "stupid little feathery git", as he constantly seems to try to show off. However, despite appearances, Ron is actually very attached to Pigwidgeon, as he is the first owl he owns. Ginny also seems quite taken with the owl when Ron first gets him, as she is the one who names Pigwidgeon in the first place.