The Dark Side of The Bubble

Written By Hillary Hortum (silvertail8)

There’s hardly a witch or wizard who hasn’t heard of “Pokegum”, the latest in the hilarious and only slightly dangerous collection of prankster tools sold by Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. However, most haven’t heard of the dark side of this particular product.

Pokegum, the newest product to go flying off of the shelves at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, is a rather whimsical trick. The chewer of the gum needs only to blow a bubble, close it off, and propel it towards their victim to trap them for a maximum of fifteen minutes (although the bubble is impenetrable, it also allows oxygen and carbon dioxide to flow freely through its membrane). This feat of magical engineering genius can be squarely attributed to the main proprietor of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, George Weasley.

However, since its explosive debut on the wizarding scene early last year, Pokegum has turned out to have a rather interesting set of clientele. While most purchasers of the gum are students looking to embarrass their friends and professors, the product also does very well both with Aurors from the Ministry of Magic and a slightly more shady customer.

Although buyers of the gum now go through an under-the-radar background check, it is public knowledge that some early purchasers of the product were old Death Eaters or other supporters of the Dark Arts (the use of Pokegum, while limited in its early days, was witnessed at the Battle of Hogwarts). Since that horrific battle, Pokegum has been spotted being used in simple wand-point robberies, a few custody battles, and the occasional kidnapping.

While the gum has primarily been used to trap unsuspecting victims, it can also be used as a sort of emergency shield. In the event that a witch, wizard, or squib is caught without their Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes Shield Hat or Shield Glove, they can encase themselves in their Pokegum. Essentially, it doubles as a shield except for the small downside of not being able to apparate while in it. This does, however, lead to the rather hilarious situation where the person using a Pokegum as a shield must now run like a hamster in a ball to get away from their assailant.

As such, many junior Aurors at the Ministry of Magic have been issued a pack of Pokegum to be used “only in the most dire and desperate of circumstances”. Of course, while it does serve to protect the Auror for its fifteen minutes of life, it may have also been used for the pure hilarity of a person running about in a giant, pink, transparent ball.