Hedwig is Harry's owl, a snowy female. He got her as a birthday present from Hagrid on their first trip to Diagon Alley. She likes to deliver her letters efficiently to make her look good when compared with other owls, and dislikes when Harry uses other owls to send letters instead of her. She is forced to remain locked in her cage for the whole summer in the second book, as Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia don't want him to be contacting anyone from Hogwarts. In the third book, after Vernon gets annoyed by the racket she makes, Hedwig is allowed outside at nights during the summer, but only after Harry swears not to use her to send letters to anyone in the wizarding world. Hedwig flies all the way to France (where Hermione is on holiday) to make sure that Harry gets something for his birthday from Hermione. In book IV, Hedwig gets upset at the fact that Harry is using different owls to send letters to Sirius, and refuses to come near him or pay attention to him for a while.