The Warlock is a fictional character in the wizarding world invented by Beedle the Bard. The character appears in both the real-world and in-universe versions of the story, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, in the The Tales of Beedle the Bard.[1]
Story[]
The warlock with the maiden
A young and handsome warlock watches his friends fall in love and feels that they turn foolish and lose their dignity. He decided he will never suffer such weakness and uses the Dark Arts to gain immunity to it. The warlock rips out his own heart and places his great treasure in a crystal casket. His family are unaware so they laugh at how cold he is and say that he will change when a maiden enters his life.
The years go by and he doesn't change. His youth wanes while his friends wed and have children but he sneers at their care for their offspring. The warlock is proud of his choice and he lives a carefree life with great wealth. Eventually, his parents die and he lives alone in their castle. He tranfers his heart to the deepest dungeon and continues to live an easy life. Believing he is the envy of everyone who knows of his solitude, he is horrified when he hears two of his servants talking about their pity for his lonely life, while the other laughs at his inability to attract a wife.
The warlock decides that he needs to find a beautiful wife superior to everyone else's, and they will feel envy when they behold her. She also has to be a witch so their children will have great magical gifts, and she has to be rich like he is so he is gauranteed to carry on living comfortably. The day after, a maiden arrives in the neighbourhood to visit her family who reaches every one of his needs. She is a beautiful witch with prodigious skill and a lot of gold. But the warlock feels nothing for her and considers her a prize.
The warlock pursues the maiden and appears to change to the surprise of everyone. The young maiden is fascinated by his apparent affection for her but she does not enjoy his attentions because she senses the coldness behind his warmth and flattery. But her family encourage her to marry him and accept the warlock's invitation of a great feast for her.
The feast
The warlock puts on a great feast where he speaks low to the maiden while they sit upon thrones. He tries to court her by stealing the words of poets without knowing their true meaning, while she is puzzled and tells him she would delighted by his attention if only he had a heart. He smiles at her and tells her she has nothing to worry about. He takes her to the deepest dungeon to show her his greatest treasure - his beating heart still in the crystal casket, but it has been separated from his body for too long so it has shurken and grown hair.
The warlock kills the maiden
The maiden is horrified of what he has done and tells him to put it back where it belongs. The warlock is eager to please her and puts it back into his chest. She then tried to show him true love but her touch pierce his newly, awakened heart which has developed perverse, savage appetites during its blind exile. The warlock falls into a frenzy and rips out the maiden's heart with his wand. When the other guests at the party discover them, the maiden is dead and the warlock is holding her heart. He is trying to exchange it for his own but his hairy heart is too strong.
After trying to pull his hairy heart out with his wand, he gives up and hacks it out with a dagger. For a brief moment, he holds both hearts until he falls over the maiden's body and dies.