Like most snakes, black mambas can be associated with great wisdom and a sharp mind. Snakes are powerful symbols, and those whose patronus takes the form of a serpent tend to also be powerful people in kind. The black mamba is unique in that it only forms for those who show a special kind of mind. Though gentle friends and purveyors of entertainments of the mental sort, black mambas are cunning, patient individuals that can hold onto grudges for a very long time if wronged. While they tend to be quiet, sometimes even shy, and not be wont to impose, it doesn’t meant that they can’t get things done. When applied correctly, a black mamba has the potential to a master planner, calculating and observant, willing to stay close to even their rivals if it means achieving what they’re trying to do.
Black mambas are an asp snake found scattered across parts of Africa. They are named not for the color of their scales, which tend to be brown or grey, but for the color of the inside of their mouths. They are diurnal reptiles that hunt a variety of small animals by ambush, such as bats and the hyrax. Mambas are well-known for having one of the nastier venoms out there, being neurotoxic, with bites sometimes being called “the kiss of death” on its home continent. Despite this, human bites are rare and black mambas are not aggressive animals, shying away from danger and keeping to themselves. They will sometimes willingly share territory with other snakes whether or not they are the same species, and are on the whole an agreeable sort of snake that just wants to be left alone.
