Extra: About Paracelsus

Paracelsus appeared three times in the Harry Potter universe:

His first appearance was in Chapter 6 of the first original book. When Harry first boarded the Hogwarts Express to attend school, he received a Chocolate Frog card featuring Paracelsus.

Among the 102 official cards released by Rowling, Paracelsus's card had only a brief description. The original text was as follows:

Paracelsus was a "secretive wizard" about whom little is known

This meant that Paracelsus was a mysterious wizard about whom the world knew very little.

His second appearance was in Chapter 14 of the fifth original book, where Peeves often used his bust to drop on people from high above. (Author: Hehe, a bust—get it now?)

His third appearance was in the first Fantastic Beasts film. When Newt discovered that the Thunderbird was still in the suitcase and had not escaped, he said, "Thank Paracelsus."

Now, let's talk about the real-life inspiration for Paracelsus:

In the real world, Paracelsus was a real person. He was born in Switzerland in 1493, and his name was Theophrastus von Hohenheim. In his era, he was known as a genius of alchemy.

He was the son of a German physician and devoted his life to many great medical studies. For example, the theory that the human body needed to maintain a balance of minerals was his. But he was also a scholar of the occult; for instance, he proposed the theory of the four elements—water, fire, wind, and earth.

Later, he was expelled from Germany for conducting numerous experiments on corpses, because in that era, the study of corpses was regarded as "Necromancy."

After leaving Germany, he traveled everywhere. In the end, he mingled with many Arabian wizards and priests in Turkey, studying magic and writing a large number of books about it. As a result, his identity as a scientist and physician was called into question, and the scientific community mockingly dubbed him a "pseudoscientist."

Readers who watch Japanese anime might find his surname familiar.

That's right—his legendary life had long since made its way into the world of Japanese anime.

Fullmetal Alchemist

The two protagonist brothers and their father all had the surname Hohenheim.

And the study of Necromancy, human transmutation, and sacrificing living people to create the Philosopher's Stone were all, to varying degrees, inspired by Paracelsus's legendary life.