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Species information
Skin colour
Brown
Length of average adult
Ten inches
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Herbivorous
Mouths on both sides
Toothless
Produces Flobberworm Mucus
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
X
Status
Extant
[Source]
"What d'you mean, 'we all hate Hagrid'? What's this rubbish about him getting a bad bite off a
flobberworm? They haven't even got teeth!"
—Harry Potter to Draco Malfoy about Rita Skeeter's exaggerated claims in the Daily Prophet[src]
The Flobberworm was a herbivorous, ten-inch, toothless brown magical worm which ate mainly
lettuce and cabbage.
Contents[show]
Description
Flubberwurm
An uninteresting Flobberworm
It was not considered a particularly interesting creature, with a Ministry of Magic Classification of X,
or "boring," which was the lowest possible rank.
Each end was identical to the other, from which they chewed vegetation and and exude mucus,
which was sometimes used to thicken potions.[1] It moves very little and prefers to live in damp
ditches.[2]
Contrary to the claims of Draco Malfoy and his gang, which were designed to attack Hagrid and his
quality as a professor (although he was doing a pretty good job of that himself), Flobberworms did
not possess teeth and thus did not bite.
Flobberworms were apparently edible and Flobberworm fritters were sometimes served for lunch at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, much to the dismay of the student body.
The Flobberworm was notable for being one of the few living creatures capable of being summoned
with the Summoning Charm, although it was generally not considered worth summoning.[3]
History
"Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after the action-packed first class, had
become extremely dull. Hagrid seemed to have lost his confidence. They were now spending lesson
after lesson learning how to look after flobberworms, which had to be some of the most boring
creatures in existence. 'Why would anyone bother looking after them?' said Ron, after yet another
hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' throats."
—Ron gripes about looking after the flobberworms.[src]
Flobberworm FBCFTWW
The Flobberworm
Screenshot 781
A live Flobberworm
When he taught Care of Magical Creatures, Silvanus Kettleburn normally covered them in third year
classes. However, as in the 1986–1987 school year, Severus Snape needed them for Potions,
students who started learning the subject in 1986 did not get them covered in the class until their
fifth year.[4]
After losing his nerve during the Hippogriff debacle in his first Care of Magical Creatures lesson
during the 1993–1994 school year, Rubeus Hagrid had his third year students raise Flobberworms for
a term. The exercise was completely pointless, as they prefer to be left alone and to do nothing.
They didn't require much care, although they seemed unable to control how much food they needed
as they will die if overfed.[5]
In the 1996–1997 school year, Snape's first detention of the year for Harry Potter involved sorting
out rotten flobberworms from fresh ones, to be used in Potions, with him requesting Harry need not
bring protective gloves.[6]
During the Calamity in the 2010s, several Foundable Flobberworms could be found trapped in large
magical green bubble Confoundables. Volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had
to release these Flobberworms from containment using the Severing Charm to return the
Flobberworm Foundables to their original place.[7]
Usage in potions
FlobberwormMucus
A bottle of Flobberworm Mucus
Etymology
To flobber means "to sag and wobble".
Contents[show]
Nature
Physiology and ecology
Horklumps 1
Horklumps originated in Scandinavia, but eventually spread throughout northern Europe,[1] and
could be found in Scotland by 1991.[2] They resemble fleshy pink mushrooms covered in a sparse
scattering of coarse black bristles.[1] Despite their fungi-like appearance, Horklumps are
animals.[1][3] Their preferred prey is the earthworm, which they hunt using the thin, muscular
tentacles that they spread underground (similar to how fungi spread mycelia).[1] Horklumps are very
fast breeders and could cover an average-sized garden in only a few days.[1]
Horklumps are the favourite food of the gnome.[1] Streeler venom is a known substances that can
kill Horklumps.[4]
Horklumps had no discernible use to wizards and witches, according to the famous magizoologist
Newt Scamander, and were given the classification "XX" ("harmless / may be domesticated") by the
Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.[1] However, their juice was used in
a range of potions,[5] including the Wiggenweld Potion.[2] and Herbicide Potion.[5]
It is rumoured that Honoria, the aunt of Albus Dumbledore, called off her engagement to a wizard
because she was shocked to catch him in the act of fondling some Horklumps (although she insisted
it was because he was cold-hearted).[6]
In his book Marauding with Monsters, Gilderoy Lockhart wrote of how he once supposedly visited
some fans in rural Essex, and helped clear a path through their Horklump-infested yard.[3]
Afterward, the fans allegedly offered him some of their homemade Celery and Beetroot Wine in
gratitude, which he graciously declined.[3] However, like most of Lockhart's accounts, this story may
have been greatly exaggerated or completely fabricated.
Lockhart recommended the following method for removing a Horklump in his book Marauding with
Monsters: hitting it with a Knockback Jinx, taking a firm hold of it, and then twisting and yanking it
out of the ground.[3]
Even though they are labelled as X by the Ministry of Magic Classification, which would mean they
are completely inoffensive, the poisonous gas which they release is shown to be significantly
dangerous in the Goblet of Fire video game and in the PC version of Chamber of Secrets. However,
this ability does not appear or is mentioned in any other source of canon.
Given their ability to overrun gardens within days and attract problem species, Horklumps are likely
viewed as pests by Wizardkind. If this is true then it may explain why gnomes became so common in
the first place; biological control is the control of a pest population's size by introducing the
appropriate predator or parasite and so gnomes may have been introduced by wizards and witches
to their gardens to rid them of Horklumps in the past before the gnomes themselves turned pest (a
danger of this method of pest control).
Although Horklumps are referred to as pink in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, they have
also been spotted in other media of the franchise in other colours (such as the yellow or green
Horklumps of the games). These may represent mutant breeds, though it is also possible that it is
one of the many mistakes made whenever Harry Potter is presented in a non-book form.
Augurey
Species information
Eye colour
Blue[1]
Feather colour
Greenish-black[1]
Related to
Bird[1]
Native range
Britain & Ireland[1]
Alternative names
Irish Phoenix[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Cries foretell rainfall[1]
Feathers repel ink[1]
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Augurey, also known as the Irish Phoenix, was a thin and mournful looking magical bird,
somewhat like a small underfed vulture in appearance, with greenish black feathers and a sharp
beak.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Its diet consisted of insects, fairies and flies, which it hunted for in the heavy rain. Intensely shy, the
Augurey lived in a tear-shaped nest in thorn and brambles. The cry of the Augurey signalled
approaching rainfall.[1]
It was native to Great Britain and Ireland, but it had spread to the rest of Northern Europe. It was
long believed that the mournful cry of the Augurey foretold death, and wizards would go to great
lengths to avoid Augurey nests. However, research determined that the Augurey merely sings when
it is about to rain. Why I Didn't Die When the Augurey Cried, written by Gulliver Pokeby, was
published in 1824 by Little Red Books, and dispelled the myth that the cry of the Augurey signalled
impending death.[1]
Augurey feathers repelled ink, making them useless as Quill feathers.[1] However, the magical Quill
of Acceptance that recorded prospective students for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in
the Book of Admittance was believed to come from an Augurey.[2]
When it was learned that Augureys could foretell the coming of rain, they were used as weather
forecasters. However, the continual moaning from them during the winter months was difficult to
bear.[1]
History
Uric the Oddball once owned fifty pet Augureys. On one particularly rainy day, they all cried at once,
leading Uric to believe that he had died and was now a ghost. This led to him giving himself a
concussion by trying to walk through walls.[1]
Jacob Kowalski encountered an Augurey Patrick in 1927, one of several kept in Newt Scamander's
apartment.[3][4]
The gloomy, oversized Augurey Hans was the mascot for the Liechtenstein National Quidditch
team.[5]
Euphemia Rowle kept an Augurey in a cage while Delphini was growing up; Delphini would later
adopt it as her symbol and had a tattoo of an Augurey on the back of her neck.[6]
Etymology
Augury was the ancient Roman practise of foretelling the future by observing the flight patterns of
birds.[7] Today the word more generally means, "a sign of what will happen in the future; an omen."
The Augurey itself is a bird, and thus a play on words. As is the fact that the cry of the Augurey is
used to predict rainfall, and was once thought to foreshadow death.
The addition of "-ey" at the end may indicate a portmanteau with the word "grey". Rainwater is
grey, the Augurey is a greenish-black, and grey is often shown to be a sad, mournful colour.
History
Bowtruckle2
A bowtruckle in a Care of Magical Creatures lesson during the 1987–1988 school year
During the 1987–1988 school year, Bowtruckles were studied by fourth year Care of Magical
Creatures students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, taught by Professor Silvanus
Kettleburn, who described them to be slipperier than Frog Spawn Soap.[7] One of the Bowtruckles
was named by Jacob's sibling, and was named either Jacob, Barnaby Junior or Newt, after a person
of the same name.[8]
Bowtruckles were studied by fifth year Care of Magical Creatures students at Hogwarts during 1995–
1996 school year, taught by substitute Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank.[2]
In the 21st century, a branch of bowtruckles was unleashed as a Confoundable by the Calamity and
had to be dealt with by the Statute of Secrecy Task Force and returned to the Black Forest in
Germany.[9]
Etymology
The word "bow" was an old Scottish dialect means "dwelling," and "truckle" means "limb of tree" in
old English dialect. This means "to take a subordinate position."
Chizpurfle
Species information
Eye colour
Black
Skin colour
Brown with green pincers
Native range
Worldwide
Length of average adult
Up to a twentieth of an inch (with fangs)
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Attacks magical and electrical objects
Resembles crab
Affiliation
Crups
Augureys
Magic and electricity
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Chizpurfles are parasites that are attracted to magic. Their carapaces are used as ingredients in
certain potions but are particularly difficult to split open."
—Folio Bruti[src]
The Chizpurfle was a type of very small magical parasite. Crab-like in appearance, this beast can
grow up to a twentieth of an inch including its fangs. They were attracted to sources of magic and
were commonly found in the fur and feathers of Crups and Augureys, respectively.[1] The carapaces
and fangs[2] of the Chizpurfle were used in Potion-making.[1]
ChizpurfleFBI
An illustration of the Chizpurfle
Contents[show]
Biology and Habits
Chizpurfles attacked magical objects like wands and cauldrons, gnawing through to the magical core
or gorging on the last remnants of potions.[1] They were also attracted to spells, such as the Wand-
Lighting Charm.[3]
In the absence of magic, Chizpurfles attacked Muggle items powered by electricity. This explained
the sudden failure of various new electrical goods.[1]
Chizpurfle infestations were usually easily handled by patented potions on the market, but more
severe infestations need to be dealt with by the Pest Sub-Division of the Department for the
Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.[1]
Etymology
The word "Chiz" is an English word for "cheat" or "swindle", presumably a cognate of "chisel". The
word "Purfle" is a fur trimming border of a garment.
As they feed off of magic, Chizpurfles are thaumavores, and as they can also feed off of electricity,
they are also electrovores, but prefer magic over electricity.
In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Rowan Khanna says Rubeus Hagrid was once very upset and
cried when he thought he trod on a Chizpurfle.
Clabbert
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
Skin colour
Mottled green
Native range
Existing worldwide
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles cross between Frog and Monkey
Illuminated pustule
Webbed hands & feet
Small horns
Sharp Teeth
Long legs
Tree-dwelling
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
A Clabbert was a magical tree-dwelling beast that resembled a cross between a monkey and a frog.
Its pustules were used in Potion-making.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Its smooth skin was mottled green, and it had short horns and a wide grinning mouth full of razor
sharp teeth. Its long arms and webbed hands and feet allowed it to move gracefully through the
trees. On the Clabbert's forehead was a large pustule which flashed red when the Clabbert sensed
danger. It fed on small lizards and birds.[1]
in:
Beasts, Creatures found worldwide, Folio Bruti entries, XX Creatures
Clabbert
English
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Clabbert
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
Skin colour
Mottled green
Native range
Existing worldwide
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles cross between Frog and Monkey
Illuminated pustule
Webbed hands & feet
Small horns
Sharp Teeth
Long legs
Tree-dwelling
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
A Clabbert was a magical tree-dwelling beast that resembled a cross between a monkey and a frog.
Its pustules were used in Potion-making.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Its smooth skin was mottled green, and it had short horns and a wide grinning mouth full of razor
sharp teeth. Its long arms and webbed hands and feet allowed it to move gracefully through the
trees. On the Clabbert's forehead was a large pustule which flashed red when the Clabbert sensed
danger. It fed on small lizards and birds.[1]
Etymology
Clabbert
The word "Clabber" is a Scottish and Anglo-Irish word for "mud", "soft dirt", and "wet clay". In US
dialect, it means "to curdle" or the way to mix a milk.
Diricawl
Species information
Feather colour
Bluish-pink
Related to
Birds
Native range
Mauritius, Indian Ocean
Alternative names
Dodo
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Apparates at will
Flightless
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX[1]
Status
Extant
(Believed extinct by Muggles)
[Source]
The Diricawl (known to Muggles as the Dodo), was a plump, fluffy-feathered and flightless magical
bird, native to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.[1]
Contents[show]
History
Diricawls
A Diricawl and its babies
While Muggles believed this bird to be extinct, in reality, it existed and had the ability to disappear
and reappear elsewhere as a means of escaping danger, similar to apparation, while Muggles remain
unaware. The International Confederation of Wizards had not seen fit to reveal that the animal still
existed, since it seemed to have raised Muggle awareness of the consequences of slaying their
fellow creatures indiscriminately.[1]
During the 1989–1990 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor
Silvanus Kettleburn taught his sixth year students in Care of Magical Creatures class how to handle
these birds.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
They possessed diminutive intelligence, and lived mainly in woodlands or glades.[1] The fairy was a
vain creature, and would often allow itself to be used as decoration by wizardkind. Due to their
vanity, fairies were almost constantly grooming themselves.[2] They possessed a weak brand of
magic that allowed it to evade its predators such as the Augurey.[1]
Fairy-wings
Fairy wings
The fairy could not speak; instead, it made a high-pitched buzzing noise to communicate with its
fellow fairies, but they were able to laugh[3] in a similar way to the Flitterbies playful buzzing with
the wings.[4] Their wings were used as an ingredient in certain potions; removing their wings, while
it would not kill them, tended to cause them extreme annoyance, as it did not play to their vanity.[2]
FairyCocoons
Fairy cocoons
Fairies could lay up to fifty eggs in one go, laying them on the underside of leaves. The eggs hatched
into brightly coloured larvae, and, at six-to-ten days, they span themselves into a cocoon. They
emerged a month later as adult fairies. Bowtruckles ate fairy eggs.[1]
Muggles' impression of the fairy was a generous one, having been ingrained into children's minds in
the form of "fairy tales". Wizards believed that, of all the magical creatures in the world, the fairy,
along with the unicorn, had received the best Muggle "press".[1]
History
FairyHM
A Fairy seen around the Hogwarts grounds
Fairies
Fairies in Hogsmeade
Fairies were known to be found living by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In 1986, Fang
found one in the pumpkin patch by Hagrid's Hut and ran away.[5]
There was at least one organisation committed to the preservation of fairies and their natural
habitats in Britain: the Witches' Holistic Institute for Friends of Fairies (WHIFF), whose only members
were Winifred Whittle and Sage Bragnam.[6] In the 1987–1988 school year, they managed to
temporarily get Hogwarts to stop using fairies.[7]
During the 1988–1989 school year, fifth year Care of Magical Creatures students at Hogwarts were
taught about how to analyse and care for Fairies by Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, during their
O.W.L. classes that year.[8]
It was mentioned that at Christmas time on Harry's third year at Hogwarts that Professor Flitwick
may have used live Fairies as Christmas lights.[9]
During the Yule Ball in Harry's fourth year, fairies were sitting in the conjured rosebushes and flying
around the statues outside the castle.[10]
See also
Doxy
Imp
Leprechaun
Pixie
Behind the scenes
Fairies have a wide, many-varied appearance in mythology and legend, though they are commonly
humanoid and possess magical powers of some form. The small, insect-winged creatures depicted in
Harry Potter are consistent with the modern depiction of fairies, though in more ancient times they
were described as more akin to angels or trolls, and usually lacked wings.
The use of fairies as decorations around Christmas time in ways that Muggles use Christmas lights is
presumably a reference to the fact that said decorations are called "fairy lights" in the United
Kingdom. This reference is reinforced in the series itself, as "fairy lights" is one of the passwords
used to get into Gryffindor Tower.
Ghoul
Species information
Eye colour
Green
Skin colour
Greyish green
Related to
Hidebehind
Chameleon Ghoul
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Slimy
Buckteeth
Ugly
Humanoid
Generally harmless
Resembles Ogres
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"...in wizarding families the ghoul often becomes a talking point or even a family pet."
—Newt Scamander on the roles ghouls play in wizarding homes[src]
A Ghoul is a magical beast that resembles a slimy, buck-toothed ogre.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
GhoulFBE
A Ghoul occupying an attic
They tend to live in the attics or barns of wizards and witches. They are relatively harmless creatures
and are just seen as nuisances because of the noise they make. They are relatively dimwitted, and
live off of bugs and other household pests. At most, they will groan and throw objects.[1]
A Ghoul Task Force exists at the Ministry of Magic, under the Department for the Regulation and
Control of Magical Creatures. The Task Force is used to remove unwanted ghouls from houses that
have passed in to Muggle ownership. There is a variety of ghoul, called the Chameleon Ghoul.[1]
History
The attic in the Weasley family's home, The Burrow, was also home to a ghoul who occasionally
banged on the pipes, when it felt that the house wss too quiet.[2] In 1997, Ron's family transfigured
their Ghoul to look more like Ron. The idea was to make the ghoul look like Ron to replace him when
he, Harry and Hermione set off to find the Horcruxes in case any Ministry workers were suspicious of
Ron not attending school. The Ghoul had a contagious look to him so when the Ministry workers
went to the The Burrow to check, the family said that he had a highly contagious disease called
Spattergroit.[3]
During the 1993–1994 school year at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy, with the help of Gregory Goyle and
Vincent Crabbe released a ghoul to attack Neville Longbottom in the Muggle Studies Classroom as a
cruel prank. Thankfully, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley managed to rescue Neville from the
fearsome ghoul.[4]
GaddingWithGhouls
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
There was a "murderous old ghoul" in a toilet in 12 Grimmauld Place, which was encountered by
Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Tonks when they were cleaning the house in 1995.[5]
Ghouls are taught about at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Ghoul Studies classes.
The subject is taught in a classroom off the Serpentine Corridor. In the 1988–1989 school year at
Hogwarts, ghouls were taught in a fifth year Defence Against the Dark Arts class by the then
Professor Patricia Rakepick.[6]
The wizarding celebrity author Gilderoy Lockhart authored a book about Ghouls, titled Gadding with
Ghouls, about his supposed encounters and experience with these creatures.[2][7]
Known ghouls
Weasley Ghoul
Weasley family ghoul
NevilleandtheGhoul
Ghoul in the Muggle Studies Classroom
Contents[show]
Nature
Gnomes can reach a size of approximately one foot (making them smaller than Erklings.[1] They are
usually brown in colour and have disproportionately large heads, making them look like potatoes
with legs. Although not dangerous creatures, they possess razor sharp teeth and tend to bite.
in:
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Gnome
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Hand pointing right transparent Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards
Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.
As such, spoilers will be present within the article.
Gnome
Species information
Skin colour
Brown
Native range
Europe
North America
Alternative names
Garden gnome
Gernumbli gardensi
Gernumblies (plural)
Height of average adult
1 ft. (max.)
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Potato-like heads
Sharp biting teeth
Harmless nature
Tend to infest gardens
Feast on vegetation and worms
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The gnome is a common garden pest found throughout northern Europe and North America."
—Description[src]
A gnome, or garden gnome, is a small magical beast commonly known to infest the gardens of
wizarding households. The correct taxonomical name for gnomes is, purportedly, Gernumbli
gardensi, or sometimes referred to as Gernumblies. They are found throughout northern Europe and
North America. A gnome in the Muggle world is an inanimate statue that looks like a small Father
Christmas.[1]
Contents[show]
Nature
Gnomes can reach a size of approximately one foot (making them smaller than Erklings.[1] They are
usually brown in colour and have disproportionately large heads, making them look like potatoes
with legs. Although not dangerous creatures, they possess razor sharp teeth and tend to bite.
The Official Digital Toolset for Dungeons & Dragons
Ecology
DeGnomingPMB2TheBurrow
The Gnome infestation living in the Weasley garden
Gnomes live in burrows underground, known as gnomeholes,[2] where they dig up and eat the roots
of plants[3], creating little heaps of earth around gardens a lot like moles (and as such causing
considerable damage to them). Gnomes prefer to live in wizarding gardens, and may run out and
attempt to trip the unwary traveller.[4]
Gnomes also seem to like worms[5] and Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans. The natural predator of
the Gnome is the Jarvey. The Jarvey essentially resembles an overgrown ferret.
Crookshanks was fond of chasing gnomes around the garden of The Burrow, and the gnomes
seemed just as fond of being chased. According to Muriel they are quick breeders.[6]
According to Xenophilius Lovegood, having an infestation of these creatures in one's garden is a sort
of blessing. When his daughter Luna was bitten by a gnome, he exclaimed that gnome saliva had
many unusual and beneficial properties, such as the ability to suddenly increase one's creativity (in
particular, he said it might make one have the urge to sing opera, or give speeches in Mermish).[6]
Luna Lovegood then told Harry that her father had done a lot of research of Gernumbli magic, so at
least in the Lovegood's view of things (which always has to be taken with a grain of salt) gnomes may
possess unique magical abilities, distinct from wizarding magic.[6]
Because of the havoc they wreak upon gardens and the fact that they are somewhat of a giveaway
of wizarding homes,[3] gnomes are deemed pests by the wizarding community. 'Gnome-control'
typically consists of taking hold of the gnomes, swinging them around until they are dizzy, and then
throwing them beyond the yard's perimeter fence or wall. Gnomes have the ability to speak, or at
least make noises, squealing "Gerroff me!" when caught,[2] and can be taught swear words.[6] They
are also able to scream when thrown away and mumble angrily when they walk away. However they
often laugh when a de-gnoming is not done properly.
Interestingly, the species has such a low level of intelligence that when a de-gnoming is being carried
out they will hurry out of their burrows to see what's causing the commotion, which only renders
them easier to catch. Alternatively, one can use a Jarvey to de-gnome a garden, but this method is
considered much too violent and thus is seldom used.
The Weasleys had to regularly de-gnome the garden by throwing them over the hedge. However,
the gnomes always sneaked back in since Arthur Weasley was soft on them and thought they were
funny. This may suggest that they have a bit of intelligence, or a clever sub-species of the gnomes
exist.
Contents[show]
Life cycle
The first stage of a Grindylow's life cycle is the larval stage, where it is referred to as a Grypt. It is also
known by several local names, such as a "Pollywiggle" in Ilkley, a "Candypole" in Kettlewell, and a
"Jarvis" in Sheffield.[3]
Behaviour
Aggressive towards witches, wizards and muggles alike, the Grindylow has only ever been tamed by
merpeople; the half-fish water dwellers who sometimes keep them as pets.[3]
Diet
Grindylows survive, for the most part, on fish, algae, and small sea creatures; however, occasionally
they will eat humans (it is for this reason that they are classified as dark creatures).[3]
Habitat
These creatures are found in the weed beds at the bottom of lakes in Great Britain and Ireland.[3]
in:
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Grindylow
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Hogwarts Mystery Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts
Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article.
Grindylow
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
White[2]
Green
Skin colour
Sickly green[1]
Native range
Great Britain[3]
Ireland[3]
Height of average adult
Less than 5 feet
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Horned
Aggressive nature
Inhabit water
Carnivorous
Affiliation
Merpeople
Dark Arts
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"A sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces
and flexing its long, spindly fingers."
—Description[src]
A Grindylow is a small, horned, pale-green skinned water demon native to Great Britain and Ireland.
Contents[show]
Life cycle
The first stage of a Grindylow's life cycle is the larval stage, where it is referred to as a Grypt. It is also
known by several local names, such as a "Pollywiggle" in Ilkley, a "Candypole" in Kettlewell, and a
"Jarvis" in Sheffield.[3]
Behaviour
Aggressive towards witches, wizards and muggles alike, the Grindylow has only ever been tamed by
merpeople; the half-fish water dwellers who sometimes keep them as pets.[3]
Diet
Grindylows survive, for the most part, on fish, algae, and small sea creatures; however, occasionally
they will eat humans (it is for this reason that they are classified as dark creatures).[3]
Habitat
These creatures are found in the weed beds at the bottom of lakes in Great Britain and Ireland.[3]
Physical appearance
The Grindylow is a sickly green colour, with green teeth and small pointy horns on its head. It has
long, strong (albeit brittle) fingers which it uses to strangle its prey, and is a rather good swimmer,
since it is adapted to live in water.[3]
Defence
The Grindylow has long, brittle fingers which despite their fragility are rather strong. The trick to
escaping a Grindylow is to break their grip on a person; it can also be noted that the Revulsion Jinx
may help with this task, as underwater it shoots jets of boiling hot water.[5] The Ebublio Jinx is also
highly useful when dealing with them underwater.[6]
History
Grindylow FB
Grindylow in Newt Scamander's suitcase
Newton Scamander had several Grindylows in his suitcase during his travels to New York in 1926.[7]
In the 1989–1990 school year, the Grindylows or the Black Lake attacked the Merpeople in the
lake.[8]
Professor Remus Lupin ordered a Grindylow in 1993 for his third year class to study for Defence
Against the Dark Arts.[1] After his resignation, he left behind the tank in which the Grindylow was
kept.[9] After the Battle of the Seven Potters, at the Burrow. Remus Lupin verified Harry's identity by
asking "What creature sat in the corner the first time that Harry Potter visited my office at
Hogwarts?" Harry thought if Remus is angry and he answered Grindylow.
One year later, the Grindylows of the Black Lake at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
attacked the students competing in the 1994-1995 Triwizard Tournament. They caused the early
retirement from the task of Fleur Delacour, and harassed Harry Potter. Harry however managed to
repel a swarm of Grindylows by using the Revulsion Jinx underwater, blasting them with hot water
and releasing himself from their tight grip, allowing him to continue swimming.[5]
GrindylowFBIE
A Grindylow, as depicted in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Illustrated Edition
The Grindylow is a name for a type of water spirit said to grab little children from the edge of a body
of water and drown them. The term is used in the folktales of Yorkshire and Lancashire.
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Grindylow is a small creature with
tentacles and two dangling tentacles on its head. In the book, there is no such description. The
books also describe Grindylows as sickly green in colour; the movies depict them as beige.
Originally, the Grindylow were meant to be more like Angler Fish according to The Creature Vault.
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Illustrated Edition, as imagined by illustrator Olivia
Lomenech Gill, Grindylows are humanoid creatures, much more how like the devil or demons are
traditionally depicted.
Although Grindylows are aggressive dark creatures and are covered in Defence Against the Dark Arts
classes, they are classified as XX by the British Ministry of Magic. The reason why is most likely that
they can be tamed by Merpeople, and that also they can be repelled easily by wizards and witches
using spells such as the Revulsion Jinx or Ebublio Jinx.
Imp
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
Skin colour
Grey
Hair colour
Bald
Related to
Pixie (most likely)
Native range
Britain & Ireland
Height of average adult
Six to eight inches
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Love of slapstick humour
Similar height to the Pixie
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Found only in Britain and Ireland, the imp has a slapstick sense of humour and will amuse itself by
pushing and tripping the unwary."
—Chocolate Frog Card[src]
The Imp was a magical beast found only in Britain and Ireland, notable for its sense of slapstick
humour. Imps delighted in tripping and pushing anybody they could get their hands on, as well as
lobbing Wizard Crackers and other small projectiles at anybody that they wished to torment.[1]
While rather nonthreatening, an Imp could nonetheless be dispatched rather easily by anyone, by
throwing back Wizard Crackers that it had thrown,[1] or by using a Knockback Jinx to daze it, and
then dropping it into the nearest cage, hole, or bottomless pit.[2][3]
Contents[show]
Description
The height of the Imp was considered comparable to that of the Pixie, between six to eight inches,
but that was where the physical similarities ended. The Imp could not fly like the Pixie, nor was it as
brightly coloured. Imp breeding habits were like the Pixies, but their young hatched full formed.[4]
Imps made their home in damp or marshy areas, where they indulged their slapstick sense of
humour by pushing and tripping the unwary.[4]
The Jobberknoll never makes any noise until the moment before it dies. It then releases a long
scream, which consist of every sound it ever heard backwards. It lives in northern Europe and North
America and feeds mainly on small insects.[1] Jobberknoll feathers are used as potion ingredients in
Truth Serums and Memory Potions.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
The Mooncalf has smooth, pale grey skin, and four spindly legs that end in large flat webbed feet.
The Mooncalf also has a very long neck and bulging blue eyes that sit on the top of its head.[1]
Once the Mooncalf is in the moonlight, it performs complicated dance moves while standing on its
hind legs. It is believed that this is part of the Mooncalf mating ritual, but also has the side effect of
creating geometric patterns in wheat fields that confuse Muggles.[1]
Mooncalf dung, if harvested before the sun rises, will make magical plants grow fast and strong.[1]
History
Newt Scamander had a herd of Mooncalves in his suitcase during his visit to New York in 1926.[3] He
also kept another small group in the basement of his apartment. However, it is possible that these
were part of the same herd.
Etymology
Mondkalb
Jacob Kowalski feeds Newt Scamander's Mooncalves
In modern terminology, a "mooncalf" is a foolish person. The term originally meant a deformed calf
born under the malign influence of the full moon. In the 17th century, it came to mean a deformed
baby, and later, a hideously deformed individual; as in Shakespeare's Tempest, when Stephano calls
Caliban a "mooncalf."
Porlock
Species information
Eye colour
Blue
Skin colour
Black
Hair colour
Red and brown
Native range
England
Southern Ireland
Height of average adult
Two feet
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Walks on two cloven hooves
Mistrustful of humans
Rough, shaggy hair
Large nose
Small arms
Four stubby fingers
Affiliation
Horses
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Porlock was a magical beast that tended to guard horses, native to England and southern
Ireland.
Contents[show]
Description
They were small, reaching a height of two feet on average when they were fully grown, and covered
in a large amount of rough, shaggy hair. It had a large nose, small arms ending in four stubby fingers,
and it walked on two cloven hooves.[1]
The Porlock guarded horses, and lived on grass. It can either be found nesting in the straw of a
stable, or in the middle of the herd it was protecting. Porlocks were mistrustful of Humans, and hid
at their approach.[1]
History
In the fourteenth century, Porlocks were classified as beings by the Wizards' Council based on the
fact that they were able to walk on two legs. They were later reclassified as beasts.[1]
During the 1980s, Amos Diggory, working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of
Magical Creatures, brought a porlock, along with a Fire Crab and Murtlap, as a potential new magical
creature for Rubeus Hagrid as part of his Rubeus Hagrid's birthday celebration.[2]
Porlocks were studied by fifth year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Care
of Magical Creatures class during the 1995-1996 school year.[3]
Puffskein
Species information
Hair colour
Custard[1][2] (also described as yellow)[3]
Related to
Pygmy Puff
Appaloosa Puffskein
Fanged Puffskein
Mortality
Mortal[4]
Distinction
Small and furry
Spherical shape
Scavenger
Emits low humming sound when happy
Hair has magical properties
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Round, furry creatures adored by wizard children."
—Description[src]
A Puffskein is a small magical beast covered in soft fur and spherical in shape. It is a popular
wizarding pet found worldwide, that does not object to being cuddled or thrown about.[2]
Contents[show]
Nature
The Puffskein is a scavenger, eating anything from leftovers to spiders, but it particularly likes to use
its long thin pink tongue to eat wizards' bogeys while they sleep.[2]
The Puffskein is easy to care for, and they are known to emit a low humming sound when they are
content.[2] Shaved (or trimmed with a clipper) Puffskein hair has magical properties, and is useful as
a potion ingredient, such as in Zygmunt Budge's variation of the Laughing Potion, which requires a
few handfuls.[3]
History
According to Albus Dumbledore, a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them resides in
almost every wizarding household in the country[6], used by generations of wizards, in search of the
best way, to cure their pet Puffskein of drinking out of the toilet.[7]
Ron Weasley owned a Puffskein at one point. Its demise is attributed to Fred, who supposedly used
it for Bludger practise.[2]
George Weasley reported that a nest of dead puffskeins was discovered by Molly Weasley at 12
Grimmauld Place under the sofa in the drawing room in August 1995.[8]
Zygmunt Budge considered Puffskeins as largely pointless creatures, although invaluable for the
Potioneer, and the fact that anyone would want such a tedious beast as a pet was quite beyond
him.[9]
The Magical Menagerie sold Puffskeins.[10][1]
They were the favourite creature of the Gryffindor student Ben Copper at Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, who attended the school in the 1980s.[11]
During the Calamity in the 2010s, several Puffskeins were turned into Foundables which were
appeared throughout the Wizarding world, guarded by Confoundables. Volunteer wizards and
witches who worked for the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to retrieve these Confoundables using
various spells, to return them to their rightful places.[13]
See also
Weasleys' Puffskein
Weasleys' Puffskein patch
Hogwarts Puffskein Patch
Behind the scenes
Inspiration for the puffskein may have come from the television series Star Trek's Tribbles, as they
share many of the same characteristics, such as emitting a purring or humming sound when content,
and that they are both balls of fur.
Fanged Puffskeins are mentioned as a possible answer to a question on the W.O.M.B.A.T., letting us
know that puffskeins don't have fangs.[14]
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) they move by jumping, enjoy sitting on
warmers, eat bushes and give Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in return after burping loudly.[15]
During one of the quest they can plug holes in the ground which lets Harry Potter reach other places.
There are berries for Puffskeins in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game).[16]
In Wonderbook: Book of Potions, the Bronze trophy named ‘Fur-ther learning’ can be won after
discovering everything about Puffskeins, to achieve this you will need to find all 3 notes on the
Puffskein on Page 7 of the ‘Laughing Potion’ chapter (the areas you need to investigate with the the
magnifying glass are the body, hair and the tongue).[9]
The cover of the Bloomsbury edition of the 2017 edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
was designed by Jonny Duddle and feature a Puffskein on the back cover.
Because Pygmy Puffs were created from puffskeins, it is likely that they inherited the scavenger trait,
meaning they eat everything from leftovers to bogies.
Ramora
Species information
Skin colour
Silver
Native range
Indian Ocean
Length of average adult
Longer than ships[1]
Distinction
Anchors ships in place
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Ramora was a silver fish native to the Indian Ocean that had strong magical power to anchor
ships in place. The Ramora was an immensely powerful magical fish in the world of magic, and was a
guardian of the seafarers. The International Confederation of Wizards enforced anti-poaching laws
to protect this creature from illegal capture from wizards.[2]
Etymology
"Ramora" is another version of Remora, which in latin means 'delay', hence its ability to anchor ships
in place. A real fish family, Echeneidae, contains several species collectively known as remoras. The
most distinct feature of these fish is their modified first dorsal fin, which forms a suction disc. The
disc is used by the fish to latch onto — and hitch a ride with — larger aquatic animals (including
sharks, rays, whales, and even occasionally swimming humans) or seagoing vessels. An old
superstition held that a remora attached to a ship had the ability to slow or halt the ship's progress,
which is the source of the fantastical version of the Ramora. This belief is also referred to in
mythology, as in ancient Greek times, the Remora were blamed for the death of Mark Antony at the
Battle of Actium and indirectly for the death of Caligula.
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Winged Horse
Species information
Related to
Horse
Abraxan
Aethonan
Granian
Thestral
Native range
Worldwide
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Horses with wings
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XX-XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Winged horses exist worldwide. There are many different breeds, including the Abraxan
(immensely powerful giant palominos), the Aethonan (chestnut, popular in Britain and Ireland), the
Granian (grey and particularly fast) and the rare Thestral (black, possessed of the power of invisibility
and considered unlucky by many wizards). As with the Hippogriff, the owner of a winged horse is
required to perform a Disillusionment Charm upon it at regular intervals."
—Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
The winged horse was a magical species of horse, distinct for possessing wings which enabled them
to fly. Winged horses were found worldwide, with many different breeds existing, including the
Abraxan, Aethonan, Granian and Thestral. Owners of winged horses were required by law to cast
Disillusionment Charms on them regularly.[1] Owners may compete in a winged horse race.
Contents[show]
History
A team of Abraxan winged horses were owned by Beauxbatons Academy of Magic headmistress
Olympe Maxime, and only drank single malt whiskey. They were used to pull a carriage to transport
a delegation of Beauxbatons students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the Tri-
Wizard Tournament in 1994, and again in 1997 for the funeral of Albus Dumbledore.
Contents[show]
Physical description
Aswinder
Frozen Ashwinder eggs
The Ashwinder was thin and pale-grey with glowing red eyes. They rose from the embers of the
dying fire and slithered off into a dark corner to lay their eggs, leaving an ashy trail behind.
Ashwinders only lived for an hour and will collapse to dust when they have laid their eggs.[1]
Ashwinder eggs are red and give off intense heat. If frozen, they can be used in a Love Potion or
eaten whole as a cure for ague.[1]
Habitat
Since Ashwinders were created by magical fires, they could be found in many magical residences.
However, if they managed to roam free and lay their eggs, the eggs will ignite and may burn the
building down within minutes.
History
Ashwinders
Ashwinders on the Incarceration Carriage during Grindelwald's escape
In the search for his escaped magical creatures, Newt Scamander met with Gnarlak, the goblin
proprietor of The Blind Pig. Gnarlak was not immediately forthcoming with information, so Newt
offered him a number of bribes, including a frozen Ashwinder egg.[2]
While Armando Dippet was Headmaster of Hogwarts, an Ashwinder was used to represent the
"bloated and blind" worm that appeared in the retelling of 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune' during a
Christmas pantomime. Unfortunately, the creature was enlarged using an Engorgement Charm,
causing it to explode in a shower of hot sparks and dust.
This pantomime signalled the end of Hogwarts's pantomime tradition, as it resulted in the Great Hall
catching fire caused in part by the tremendous heat from the Ashwinder's huge eggs, and a packed
Hospital wing. Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, who taught Care of Magical Creatures and supplied the
enlarged Ashwinder for the production, was put yet again on probation.[3]
Etymology
"Ash" comes from the colour of itself and ashes are connected to fire. "Winder" recalls the sideway
movement of some snakes, which are aptly-named "sidewinders", such as the rattlesnake.
Billywig
Species information
Eye colour
Grey
Skin colour
Bright blue
Native range
Australia
Height of average adult
Half an inch
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Flies very fast
Wings atop head
Stinger causes levitation
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Billywig was a magical insect native to Australia. It was rated XXX, and was around half an inch
long and of a vivid sapphire blue colour. The speed of the Billywig may be why it was rarely noticed
by Muggles, and wizards and witches often only spotted it once they had been stung.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
The Billywig's wings were attached to the top of its head rotated extremely fast, spinning the
Billywig so that it could fly.[1] Xenophilius Lovegood used Billywig wings for his recreation of Rowena
Ravenclaw's Diadem because he believed they "induce an elevated frame of mind".[2]
in:
Beast Chocolate Frog Cards, Beasts, Creatures from Australia, and 4 more
Billywig
English
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Hand pointing right transparent Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards
Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.
As such, spoilers will be present within the article.
Billywig
Species information
Eye colour
Grey
Skin colour
Bright blue
Native range
Australia
Height of average adult
Half an inch
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Flies very fast
Wings atop head
Stinger causes levitation
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Billywig was a magical insect native to Australia. It was rated XXX, and was around half an inch
long and of a vivid sapphire blue colour. The speed of the Billywig may be why it was rarely noticed
by Muggles, and wizards and witches often only spotted it once they had been stung.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
The Billywig's wings were attached to the top of its head rotated extremely fast, spinning the
Billywig so that it could fly.[1] Xenophilius Lovegood used Billywig wings for his recreation of Rowena
Ravenclaw's Diadem because he believed they "induce an elevated frame of mind".[2]
Uses
DriedBillywigStings
Dried Billywig stings
Dried Billywig stings were used as ingredients in several potions, and were believed to be a
component in Fizzing Whizzbees.[1]
Behind the scenes
Billywig
In the fifty-second edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in response to the entry
about their usage as ingredients in Fizzing Whizzbees, Harry Potter or Ron Weasley wrote in the
page's margin, "last time I eat them".[1]
Bundimun
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
Skin colour
Green
Native range
Worldwide
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles fungus
Has many eyes
Acidic secretion, capable of rotting building structures
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The Bundimun at rest resembles a patch of greenish fungus with eyes. Useful in some potions,
including Doxycide."
—Description[src]
The Bundimun was a magical beast that was found worldwide.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
It was a greenish, many-eyed pest that fed on dirt and could destroy a whole house. Their presence
was indicated by the foul stench of decay. The secretions of the Bundimun werw extremely acidic
and rot building structures, and with a large enough infestation the building could collapse. Scouring
Charms could clear out small infestations, but large colonies needed to be dealt with by the
Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (Pest Sub-Division). Bundimuns spat
out its acidic ooze when annoyed, but when diluted, were used in some magical cleaning
solutions.[1]
History
During the 1987–1988 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rubeus Hagrid's
hut suffered a severe bundimun infestation which Jacob's sibling helped eradicate.[2]
The creature first appears in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban video game for PC.
In the DS version of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, it appears under a sofa and the player has to use
Wingardium Leviosa to stop it and use Reducto to destroy it.[3]
Crup
Species information
Eye colour
Varies
Hair colour
White and brown
Related to
Dog
Native range
England
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles the Jack Russell terrier
Forked Tail
Fiercely loyal towards wizards
Hostile towards Muggles
Skillful scavengers
Affiliation
Wizardkind
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The Crup originated in the southeast of England. It closely resembles a Jack Russell terrier, except
for the forked tail. The Crup is almost certainly a wizard-created dog, as it is intensely loyal to
wizards and ferocious towards Muggles. It is a great scavenger, eating anything from gnomes to old
tyres. Crup licences may be obtained from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical
Creatures on completion of a simple test to prove that the applicant wizard is capable of controlling
the Crup in Muggle-inhabited areas."
—Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
A Crup was a wizard-bred dog that originated in the southeast of England.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
CrupFBI
Appearance of an adult Crup
Crup Puppy
A Crup puppy, or "Cruppy"
CrupHM
An excited and cheerful Crup
The Crup strongly resembled a Jack Russell terrier, except that a Crup had a forked tail. They were
clearly wizard-bred dogs since they were extremely loyal to wizards, and ferocious toward Muggles.
Crups were great scavengers, eating everything from gnomes to old tyres.[1]
A group of crups was known as a "pack". Crup puppies were known as cruppies.[2]
Crup owners were required by British wizarding law to remove the forked tail of the animal when it
was six to eight weeks old, using a painless Severing Charm, in case they were noticed by Muggles. A
licence from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures also had to be
obtained, and the owner had to pass a test to show that they were able to control the animal in
Muggle-inhabited areas.[1]
History
The Crup originated in southeast England. By the 18th century, Crups could be found in the United
States, and Thornton Harkaway, President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America
in 1760, was a breeder of Crups until his pack savaged several local No-Majs in Williamsburg, Virginia
leaving them only able to bark for a period of 48 hours. This lead to Harkaway leaving office in
disgrace and the relocation of the Magical Congress of the United States of America headquarters to
Baltimore, Maryland.[3]
Liz Tuttle's sister owned a crup. At some point around the late 1980s, the crup had cruppies.[2]
Rubeus Hagrid's fifth year Care of Magical Creatures class studied this magical creature in 1996.[4]
They were amongst those creatures that most often came up on Ordinary Wizarding Level
examination and thus part of the British Ministry of Magic approved curriculum for Care of Magical
Creatures students at that level.[5]
The popular singer Celestina Warbeck was a known breeder of rough-coated crups.[6]
Distribution
Preferring cold climates, the Doxy was found throughout Northern Europe and North America.
in:
Beast Chocolate Frog Cards, Beasts, Creatures from Europe, and 4 more
Doxy
English
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Hand pointing right transparent Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards
Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.
As such, spoilers will be present within the article.
Doxy
Species information
Skin colour
Purple
Brown
Hair colour
Black
Related to
Fairy
Pixies
Native range
North America
Northern Europe
Alternative names
Biting Fairy
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Two sets of limbs
Beetle-like wings
Two rows of venomous teeth
Common household pests
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The Doxy is often mistaken for a fairy though it is a quite separate species. Like the fairy, it has a
minute human form, though in the Doxy’s case this is covered in thick black hair and has an extra
pair of arms and legs. The Doxy’s wings are thick, curved and shiny, much like a beetle’s. Doxys are
found throughout northern Europe and America, preferring cold climates."
—Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
The Doxy, sometimes referred to as the Biting Fairy, was a small Fairy-like magical beast, sometimes
mistaken for a Fairy.
Contents[show]
Nature
Physiology & Life cycle
Doxy FB
The Doxy was covered in coarse black hair, and had an additional set of arms and legs. Doxies had
shiny beetle-like wings, and a double row of sharp teeth. If bitten, a wizard or witch should take an
antidote immediately, as their venom was highly poisonous.[1] Doxies buried their eggs
underground, and Doxy Queens can lay up to five-hundred at once. The eggs generally hatched in
two to three weeks.
Distribution
Preferring cold climates, the Doxy was found throughout Northern Europe and North America.
DoxyHP7
Uses
Fred and George Weasley used Doxy venom for their Skiving Snackboxes, sold at Weasleys' Wizard
Wheezes. Harold Dingle used Doxy droppings to pretend it was powdered Dragon claw to sell to fifth
years, but was confiscated by Hermione Granger.[3]
Etymology
Doxy is an archaic English term, meaning "prostitute". It derives from the German word Docke,
meaning "doll".
In the GBC video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Folio Bruti entry
for these creatures is titled "Doxy Drone". This might mean that, like the male honey bees, doxies
may have a biological haplodiploid sex-determination system or simply that male doxies have
distinct behavioural patterns.
Despite being described as being covered in coarse black hair in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them, their depictions in the video games normally include little or no hair and a dark blue or purple
colour.
In some of the video games, most of the time a Venomous Tentacula is another way to effectively
get rid of a doxy, for doxies are its favourite food.
In one of the featuretes for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film), a Doxy is seen using a
chamelon-like tongue to catch and eat a Billywig.
Despite gaining a new appearance in the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Doxy
seen in Cases of the Wizarding World returns to its original appearance.
Dugbogs
Species information
Native range
North America
South America
Europe
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles dead wood
Finned paws
Sharp teeth
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Dugbog is a marsh-dwelling magical beast found in Europe and the Americas.
Contents[show]
Description
It resembles a piece of dead wood while stationary. It has finned paws and sharp teeth, and glides
through marshland, feeding on small animals, and occasionally attacking the ankles of humans who
venture into its habitat. Its favourite food is the Mandrake, and due to this, Mandrake-growers have
found their plants nothing more than a bloody mess when they pulled them out of the ground.[1]
Dugbog
History
In 1926, The New York Ghost reported the attack on a No-Maj by a Dugbog, whilst this person was
hiking in Great Lakes.[2]
When Ron Weasley was to write an essay on resisting Dementors in his sixth year for Professor
Snape for the Defence Against the Dark Arts, due to the Spell-Checking Quill's effects eroding from
time, the term "Dementors" on the essay changed to "Dugbogs".
Fire Crab
Species information
Eye colour
Black
Skin colour
Grey[2]
Native range
Fiji[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Jewelled shell which is extremely valuable
Shoots flames from rear end[1]
Affiliation
Fire
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX[3]
Status
Endangered
[Source]
"Despite its name, the Fire Crab greatly resembles a large tortoise with a heavily jewelled shell. In its
native Fiji, a stretch of coast has been turned into a reservation for its protection, not only against
Muggles, who might be tempted by its valuable shell, but also against unscrupulous wizards, who
use the shells as highly prized cauldrons. The Fire Crab does, however, have its own defence
mechanism: it shoots flames from its rear end when attacked. Fire Crabs are exported as pets but a
special licence is necessary."
—Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
The Fire Crab is a large, tortoise-like crab magical beast native to the island of Fiji.
Contents[show]
Description
It has six legs, and a heavily jewelled shell, with different colours. It is able to defend itself by
shooting flames from its rear end when it is attacked.[1] The Fire Crab is a protected species, and a
reservation has been created to protect this species from Muggles, who would value the jewelled
shell, and wizards who use the shells as cauldrons.
Fire Crabs are sold and exported as pets such as in the Magical Menagerie[4], but the owners require
a special licence. The Ministry of Magic states that a competent wizard should be able to cope with
this animal.[3] Fifth years, for their Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L., had to demonstrate how to
feed and clean out a Fire Crab cage without sustaining serious burns.[5]
FireCrabPottermore
A Fire Crab's jewelled shell
Different fire crab variants exist, which can be identified by the jewels in their shells. Noted variants
include shells fitted with rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.[6] Rubeus Hagrid was somehow able to
get Fire Crabs and Manticores to mate, creating the hybrid Blast-Ended Skrewts.[7]
According to Liz Tuttle, Fijian wizards sometimes used fire crabs to power the cooking pits during
their luau feasts.[8]
See also
Blast-Ended Skrewt
Fire Dwelling Salamander
Behind the scenes
Despite being a protected species, fire crabs appear as enemies that can be killed in many Harry
Potter video games. Therefore, their role as such is likely not canon.
In the Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets GBA and PC video games based on the series, the
player must hit a fire crab with the Tickling Charm to stun it, then cast the Knockback Jinx to push it
into a pit. It will then either cease its attacks on you or be unable to attack you.
Fire crab
The first try to create a Fire Crab appears in the left corner of this scene in Philosopher's Stone for PC
In the PC versions Fire Crabs can be encountered in the Forbidden Forest, Rictusempra Challenge,
Skurge Challenge or in certain areas of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
In the PC version of Philosopher's Stone, Harry encounters a "Fire Turtle" in the Fire Seed Caves in
the Forbidden Forest. The "Fire Turtle" appears to be an early version of the Fire Crab. Its look is
likely due to the "first-time creation."
In the GBA version of Chamber of Secrets, a fire crab is a Vaults Guardian at Gringotts Wizarding
Bank.
In the GameCube version of Chamber of Secrets, Incendio can be cast at a flipped over Fire Crab to
kill it.
Fire-crab
A Fire crab in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
In the Prisoner of Azkaban game, it can be knocked over and' and pushed around with the Tickling
Charm.
In the GBA version of Goblet of Fire, they have to be splashed with water on their rear end.
In the DS, PSP and IOS versions of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, fire crabs are an enemy that can't be
killed, but can be stunned using Stupefy. They also appear in the following game.
Fwooper
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow[1]
Feather colour
Brightly coloured
Orange
Pink
Lime green
Yellow
Native range
Africa[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Song causes insanity[1]
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Fwooper was a magical African bird with brightly-coloured feathers, which could include orange,
pink, lime green and yellow.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Listening to the Fwooper's high pitched, twittering song would drive the listener insane, so each bird
must be sold with a Silencing Charm placed on it. The Charm had to be reinforced monthly, and a
licence was required to own one of the birds.[1]
Fwooper feathers were used as quills, and they laid patterned eggs.[1]
Fwooper was featured on the front window of Magical Menagerie at Diagon Alley.[2]
Fwooper
The number four, in runic
The four colour varieties of the Fwooper were used to represent the number four, in the runic
alphabet.[3]
History
Fwooper FB1
Fwooper in the Newt Scamander's suitcase
Uric the Oddball once tried to convince the Wizards' Council that the Fwooper song was actually
beneficial to a Wizard's health, and listened to it continuously for three months. His presentation did
not go well, when he turned up wearing nothing but a toupee that, on closer examination, was
revealed to be a dead badger.[1]
Newton Scamander had a Fwooper in his suitcase during his visit to New York in 1926.[4]
Fwoopers were covered in a sixth year Care of Magical Creatures class in the 1989–1990 school
year.[5]
HippocampusFBI
An illustration of the Hippocampus
Originally from Greece, it is generally found in the Mediterranean, although a blue roan specimen
was caught by Merpeople off the coast of Scotland in 1949 and domesticated.[1]
The Hippocampus lays large, semi-transparent eggs through which the young hippocampus, known
as a Tadfoal, can be seen.[1]
Etymology
Hippocampus is derived from the words "hippos" means "horse" and "kampos" means "sea
monster".
The Hippocamp or Hippocampus, like many creatures in the Harry Potter series, is derived from
Greek mythology. A Hippocampus-like creature can be seen in the painting "The Chariot of
Poseidon".[2]
Hippocampus also refers to a major component of the brains of humans and other mammals. It is
what enables the conscious short term memory, and was famously removed from Henry Molaison,
when a doctor suspected that removing it would cure his epilepsy.[3]
Hippogriff
Species information
Eye colour
Orange
Hair colour
Stormy gray
Chestnut
Bronze
Pinkish roan
Chestnut
Inky black
Feather colour
Same as hair colour
Related to
Griffin
Native range
Europe
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Front half of a giant eagle
Rear half of a horse
Capable of flight
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Half horse, half eagle creatures, immensely proud and extremely dangerous."
—Description of a Hippogriff[src]
A Hippogriff was a magical beast that had the front legs, wings, and head of a giant eagle and the
body, hind legs and tail of a horse. It was very similar to another magical creature, the Griffin, with
the horse rear replacing the lion rear.[1]
The breeding of fancy Hippogriffs was an established wizarding career, with known breeders
including Newton Scamander's mother. Images of fancy Hippogriffs were sometimes put onto
calendars.[2]
hippogriff was one rare possible corporeal form of the Patronus Charm.[3]
Contents[show]
Description
Physical appearance
Buckbeak WB F3 ConceptOfBuckbeaksHeadColour Illust 100615 Land
Hippogriffs had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of giant
eagles, with cruel, steel-coloured beaks and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front
legs were half a foot long and deadly-looking.[4]
It was stated that, once you get over the initial shock of seeing something that's half horse, half bird,
you start to appreciate the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, which changed smoothly from feathers to
hair. Hippogriffs came in several different colours, including: stormy grey, bronze, pinkish roan,
gleaming chestnut, and inky black.[4]
Behaviour
Hippogriffs were carnivorous and were extremely dangerous until tamed, which should only be
attempted by a trained witch or wizard. The diet of the Hippogriff consisted mainly of insects, birds,
and small mammals such as ferrets. They would sometimes paw at the ground for worms if no other
food was readily available.[5]
When breeding, Hippogriffs built nests on the ground, and laid only a single, fragile egg. The egg
usually hatched in twenty-four hours. Infant Hippogriffs were capable of flight within a week, but it
took many months before they were strong enough to accompany their parents on long journeys.[1]
Etiquette
"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud. Easily offended, hippogriffs are.
Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do. Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter
make the firs' move. It's polite, see? Yeh walk towards him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows
back, yeh're allowed to touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those
talons hurt."
—Rubeus Hagrid teaches his first class about hippogriffs[src]
Buckbeak Harry
Harry approaching Buckbeak the Hippogiff slowly and carefully
When Humans approach Hippogriffs, a proper etiquette must be maintained to avoid danger.
Hippogriffs were intensely proud creatures, and an individual must show proper respect by bowing
to them, and waiting for them to bow in return before approaching. Eye contact should be
maintained at all times, without a single blink.[4]
The Hippogriff should be allowed to make the first move, as that was polite. If offended, it might
attack. Hippogriffs were tamable, but only by experts in their care (such as Rubeus Hagrid, Care of
Magical Creatures Professor and Gamekeeper at Hogwarts).[4]
Although proud, Hippogriffs could also be fiercely loyal and protective of those who had earned their
trust, as demonstrated by Buckbeak on at least two occasions: when he attacked Severus Snape in
defence of Harry Potter during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, and again when he led Hogwarts'
Thestrals in attacking Voldemort's giants during the Battle of Hogwarts.[6]
Hippogriffs at Hogwarts
Main article: Hogwarts Hippogriff herd
"Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."
—Rubeus Hagrid talking to the class about Hippogriffs[src]
B3C6M3
Hippogriff Lesson in 1993
A herd of Hippogriffs were kept at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Rubeus Hagrid
used them in his first Care of Magical Creatures class in 1993.
Buckbeak was a hippogriff that was a part of the Hogwarts' herd and had many encounters with the
trio during the course of their education. He lived with Rubeus Hagrid and many other Hippogriffs,
but was later sentenced to death, due to being taunted and provoked by Draco Malfoy and attacking
him.[4] Buckbeak was sentenced for this act by the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous
Creatures, most of whom had been threatened by Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, into voting for that
verdict.[8]
With the help of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and her Time-Turner, Buckbeak escaped execution
in 1994 and he came under the care of Sirius Black.[5] Sirius kept Buckbeak with him while on the
run during the 1994–1995 school year, and later kept him in hismother's bedroom while in hiding at
12 Grimmauld Place.[2]
After Sirius's death, Buckbeak came to be owned by Harry Potter through Sirius's will, though Harry
allowed him to live with Hagrid. He participated in two battles of the Second Wizarding War, most
notably the Battle of Hogwarts.[9] He also showed great affection and loyalty to Harry, defending
him whenever he was in danger.[10]
Other appearances
During the Yule Ball at Hogwarts in 1994, Hippogriffs were mentioned in the Weird Sisters song, Do
The Hippogriff. The song encouraged listeners to do a dance that drew its inspiration from this
creature, "flyin' off from a cliff" and "swooping down to the ground..."[11]
In the winter of 1995, Sirius Black sang a Christmas Carol, "God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs."[2]
A Hippogriff was discovered by Mathilda Grimblehawk and her partner to have attacked Gordon
Horton, Quidditch keeper for the Chudley Cannons, while defending its nest and young in the Old
Bell Tower. It was subsequently relocated.[12]
In the 21st century, adult and baby hippogriffs were caught in Confoundables caused by the Calamity
and had to be rescued by volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force.[14] One such
Hippogriff was seen in Japan.[15]
Etymology
Derived from the Greek word "hippos" meaning "horse", and the magical creature known as the
griffin. In this case, it has the body of a horse as opposed to a lion, but keeps the head of an eagle.
Hodag
Species information
Eye colour
Red, glowing[1]
Hair colour
Black and grey
Native range
North America, mostly Wisconsin[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Frog-headed
Roughly the size of a large dog
Horned (horns have magical properties)
Inhabits Muggle farms
Feeds on Mooncalves
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"A horned, frog-headed hunter with a taste for Mooncalves."
—Description[src]
The Hodag was a magical, frog-headed beast that was known to exist in the New World.[1] They
tended to be drawn to Muggle farms and MACUSA's Department of No-Maj Misinformation worked
hard to cover up its sightings.
Contents[show]
Physical traits
It was horned with a frog-like head and glowing, red eyes. It was also roughly the size of a large
dog.[1]
Much of the Hodag's magic was contained in its horns; when powdered they could make a person
immune to the effects of alcohol and able to go without sleep for seven days and nights. It fed
largely on Mooncalves.[1]
History
In the 1620s, Isolt Sayre and the Pukwudgie, William took trips together to observe these creatures
hunting.[2]
During its search for Mooncalves, the Hodag had been attracted to Muggle farms at night, peaking
No-Maj interest and curiosity in it, much like the Snallygaster. The MACUSA Department of No-Maj
Misinformation had worked hard to convince the No-Maj community of America that sightings of
Hodags were hoaxes. The Hodag was largely confined to a protected area around Wisconsin.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
The Jarvey is capable of Human speech, although true conversation with a Jarvey is impossible. The
creature uses short, usually rude, statements and phrases in an almost constant stream.[1]
Jarveys live below ground, and their diet consists of moles, voles, rats, and Gnomes. Jarvey are
particularly good at hunting Gnomes, and are sometimes employed to de-gnome a garden, although
their methods are usually brutal.[1]
History
A Franciscan monk, Brother Benedict, once had a run-in with a Jarvey in the grounds of his
monastery. The Jarvey called him a "baldy", then bit him on the nose so hard that the Monk was
excused from Vespers. However, the incident did call Brother Benedict's testimony into question
when he relayed it, and the Friar wondered if he'd been drinking Brother Boniface's Turnip Wine.[1]
in:
Beasts, Creatures from Great Britain, Creatures from Ireland, and 2 more
Jarvey
English
EDIT
SHARE
Hogwarts Mystery Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts
Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article.
Jarvey
Species information
Eye colour
Black
Hair colour
Brown
Native range
Great Britain
Ireland
North America
Alternative names
Talking Ferret
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles an overgrown ferret
Capable of human speech
Long bushy tail
Sharp teeth
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Jarvey is magical beast which resembles an overgrown ferret in appearance, and is commonly
found in Great Britain, Ireland, and North America.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
The Jarvey is capable of Human speech, although true conversation with a Jarvey is impossible. The
creature uses short, usually rude, statements and phrases in an almost constant stream.[1]
Jarveys live below ground, and their diet consists of moles, voles, rats, and Gnomes. Jarvey are
particularly good at hunting Gnomes, and are sometimes employed to de-gnome a garden, although
their methods are usually brutal.[1]
History
A Franciscan monk, Brother Benedict, once had a run-in with a Jarvey in the grounds of his
monastery. The Jarvey called him a "baldy", then bit him on the nose so hard that the Monk was
excused from Vespers. However, the incident did call Brother Benedict's testimony into question
when he relayed it, and the Friar wondered if he'd been drinking Brother Boniface's Turnip Wine.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Knarl
Appearance of the Knarl
KnarlAndHedgehogs
A Knarl between two hedgehogs. The hedgehogs have a lighter face
It resembles the hedgehog so much so that there is only one known (behavioural) difference
between them: when food is left out for a hedgehog it will appreciate and enjoy the gift; a knarl will
see it as an attempt to lure it into a trap and hence savage the garden of the householder who left
the food. Muggle children have often been blamed for damage committed by a Knarl.[1]
Diet
Knarls eat wild daisies. A potioneer will often have to remove Knarls from a daisy patch in order to
pick the flowers. Casting a well-aimed Stunning Spell at the Knarl will work well and will not do any
permanent harm to the animal.[2]
Uses
Knarl quills have magical uses. Fred and George Weasley once paid Mundungus Fletcher six Sickles
for a bag of knarl quills, to experiment with for possible use in their Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
products.[3]
History
They were featured in the Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L. during the 1995–1996 school year,
where students had to locate it amongst a group of hedgehogs.[4] The trick was to offer each
creature some milk. Given how Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and milk is thus poisonous to them,
the Knarl being more intelligent, may be actually be aware of this fact.
Kneazle
Species information
Eye colour
Varies
Hair colour
Varies
Related to
Cat
Native range
Britain
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Cat-like, flecked, speckled or spotted fur, out-sized ears and a tail like that of a lion's
Highly intelligent
Uncanny ability to detect untrustworthy individuals
Independent
Sometimes aggressive
Capable of guarding homes
Affiliation
Humans
Wizardkind
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
Ron Weasley: "What was that?"
Harry Potter: "It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger."
— Ron and Harry meet Crookshanks for the first time[src]
A Kneazle is a magical beast related to, and similar in appearance to, a cat.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Crookshanks FH
Crookshanks, a Half-Kneazle and pet to Hermione Granger
They have spotted, speckled or flecked fur, large ears and a lightly plumed tail, akin to that of a
lion's. They are thought to have separate breeds, like cats, and therefore vary in appearance. They
make excellent pets if they like a witch or wizard. Kneazles can interbreed with normal cats, and
generally have up to eight kittens in every litter. Kneazle owners are required to have a licence to
own the animals.[1] Some wizards and witches make a living by breeding Kneazles or part-Kneazles.
Arabella Figg, a Squib, made her living in this manner, which would explain why she has so many
cats.[2][3] One notable Kneazle hybrid is Hermione Granger's half-Kneazle, Crookshanks, who was
purchased by her from the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley in 1993, which is known to sell
Kneazles.[4]
Kneazle whiskers can be used in wand cores although they are said to make inferior wands when
compared with Unicorn hair, Phoenix feather and Dragon heartstring.[5]
Nature
KneazleWU
An adult Kneazle
They have a very high level of intelligence, are independent and occasionally aggressive, and have an
uncanny ability to detect suspicious and distrustful people.[6] They can also safely guard their
owners home. Because of their aggression towards certain individuals, Kneazles have an XXX
classification by the Ministry of Magic, if they are not interbred with another species.[1]
History
In 1832, wizard Abel Treetops of Cincinnati claimed to have patented a method of taming Wampus
cats for use as guards over wizarding houses. Treetops was exposed as a fraud when MACUSA raided
his home and found him putting Engorgement Charms on Kneazles.[7]
During the Calamity in the 2010s, several Kneazle Foundables were guarded by Fire-breathing
chicken Confoundables, which appeared throughout the Wizarding world. Volunteer members of the
Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to liberate these Kneazles being provoked by these Fire-breathing
chickens by using the Ebublio Jinx to trap the chickens and allow the Kneazle Foundables to return to
their rightful place of origin.[8]
Pure kneazles
Hoppy
Kneil
Mauler
Milly
Half-kneazles
Crookshanks
Mr Paws
Mr Tibbles
Snowy
Tufty
Behind the scenes
While their exact life expectancy is never stated, it is known that Hoppy, Milly and Mauler have lived
with Newt and Tina from at least 1991 - 2017, at least 26 years, an age that would be considered
very old if reached by a non-magical cat.
Leprechaun
Species information
Skin colour
Green
Native range
Ireland
Alternative names
Clauricorn
Height of average adult
Six inches
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Mischievous nature
Herbivorous
Affiliation
Irish National Quidditch team
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Leprechaun, sometimes known as the Clauricorn, is a mischievous magical beast, although it is
not malicious. They have a reputation as pranksters, but have never inflicted lasting damage on a
Human. Native only to Ireland, they are fully sentient and capable of speech but have never
requested the British Ministry of Magic to reclassify them as Beings.[1]
Contents[show]
Physical appearance
Green in colour, the Leprechaun reaches a height of around six inches, and normally wear clothing
made out of leaves. Leprechauns main diet consists of vegetation, primarily leaves.[1]
Although they are humanoid-like creatures, it is unlikely that they are related to humans or any
other human-related beings, such as goblins.[1]
History
GOF Irish mascot Leprechaun
A Dancing Leprechaun mascot for the Irish National Quidditch team
Ludo Bagman paid Fred and George Weasley in Leprechaun gold-galleons when he lost a bet
concerning the Ireland and Bulgaria Quidditch teams during the Quidditch World Cup. Ron paid
Harry in it as well to cover the cost of the Omnioculars that Harry got for him to view the match. Ron
was very upset when he found out the gold disappeared, and that he hadn't really paid back Harry at
all, but Harry didn't mind.[2]
Merpeople used the Lobalug as a weapon, and the venom was used by Wizards as a potion
ingredient, though this practise was strictly controlled.[1]
Mackled Malaclaw
Species information
Eye colour
Black[1]
Skin colour
Grey with green spots[1]
Native range
Europe[1]
Alternative names
Malaclaw[1]
Length of average adult
12 inches[1]
Mortality
Mortal[1]
Distinction
Resembles lobster[1]
Bites cause bad luck[1]
Causes illness when eaten[1]
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Mackled Malaclaw is a magical land beast which closely resembles the lobster in appearance.
The Malaclaw has light grey skin with green spots, and can reach a length of twelve inches. Although
it resembles a lobster, it is unfit to eat, and anyone who eats flesh of a Malaclaw will come down
with a nasty fever and develop a green rash.[1]
Description
The Malaclaw is found along the rocky coastline of Europe and dines mainly on crustaceans. A bite
from a Malaclaw has the unusual side effect of making the victim unlucky for up to a week. Any
witch or wizard bitten by a Malaclaw should call off all bets, wagers and ventures since they will
definitely go against him.[1]
The tail of the Malaclaw can be used in potions. At the age of fourteen, the Potioneer Zygmunt
Budge was capable of correcting his Potions Professor on the use of Mackled Malaclaw tails in
potion-making. This, among other signs, made Budge feel he was prepared to enter the Wizarding
Schools Potions Championship despite being underage.[2]
Moke
Species information
Skin colour
Silver-green
Related to
Lizard
Native range
Great Britain
Ireland
Length of average adult
Ten inches
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Shrinks at will
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Moke is a magical lizard with silver-green skin that is native to the Great Britain and Ireland.[1]
The Moke was covered in sixth year Care of Magical Creatures classes, at least in the 1989–1990
school year.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
It can reach up to ten inches in length. The Moke has never been noticed by Muggles since it has the
ability to shrink at will.[1]
Mokeskin is highly prized in the making of purses and money-bags. A Mokeskin purse will shrink at
the approach of a stranger, making it virtually impossible for a stranger to find. Once the owner puts
something inside the bag, no one but the owner can get it out.[1] Rubeus Hagrid gave Harry Potter a
Mokeskin bag as a gift on his seventeenth birthday.[3]
Murtlap
Species information
Native range
Great Britain
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles rat but with tentacles
Affiliation
Water
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Murtlap was a magical marine beast resembling a rat with a growth on its back resembling a sea
anemone, found on the coastal areas of Britain.[1]
Contents[show]
Nature
The favoured prey of the Murtlap were crustaceans, though they also went for the feet of any
human foolish enough to step on them.[1]
Uses
Murtlap growth
The growth off the back of a Murtlap; the tentacles are visible
The growth on the Murtlap's back may be pickled and eaten to improve one's resistance to jinxes,
although eating an excess of pickled murtlap may cause one to grow unsightly purple ear hair.
Murtlap Essence was a home remedy for cuts and abrasions. Murtlap tentacles were included in
Murtlap Essence which Hermione let Harry dip his hand in to heal the cuts after his detention with
Dolores Umbridge.[2] Getting bit by a Murltlap was usually not serious, but some serious reactions
to it can cause sweating, twitching and flames out of the anus.
History
Murtlap
A Murtlap from Newt's suitcase
A Murtlap escaped from Newton Scamander's suitcase during his visit to New York in 1926 and
attacked No-Maj Jacob Kowalski. Newton Scamander and Porpentina Goldstein found Jacob
unconscious after the attack and when the responsible Murtlap burst from hiding, Newt quickly
grabbed it and put it back in his case.[3]
Niffler
Species information
Hair colour
Black
Native range
Great Britain
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Rodent-like
Long snout
Gentle disposition
Attracted to shiny objects and metals
Skilled at hunting for treasure
Can wreck indoor environments
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Long-snouted, burrowing creatures native to Britain with a penchant for anything shiny."
—Description of a Niffler[src]
A Niffler was a magical beast with a long snout and a coat of black, fluffy fur.[1] They were attracted
to shiny things, which made them wonderful for locating treasure, but that also meant that they
could wreak havoc if kept (or set loose) indoors.[1] Nifflers in general are usually harmless.
Students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry learnt about Nifflers in Care of Magical
Creatures class, an elective that could be chosen in the third year of their education.
Nifflers were assigned to Curse-Breakers by the Gringotts Head Goblin to burrow underground in
search of treasures hidden in cursed sites.
Contents[show]
Description
Nifflers were rodent-like creatures with a long snout similar to that of a platypus and a coat of black,
fluffy fur.[1] Native to Britain, they lived in burrows as deep as twenty feet below ground, and
females produced six to eight young in a single litter.[1]
Niffler gold
A Niffler's pouch can hold numerous items
Nifflers had a pouch on their bellies which held far more than at first seemed possible, like the
effects of an Undetectable Extension Charm on a container.[2]
Nifflers were gentle by nature and could even be affectionate towards their owners.[1] However,
they could destroy belongings looking for sparkly objects, and for that reason it was inadvisable to
keep them as a house pet.[1] It was also implied that they could turn vicious if provoked, as the
second Niffler released into Dolores Umbridge's office apparently tried to take a chunk out of her
leg.[3]
History
Nifflers were kept by Goblins to burrow for treasure.[1]
Baby nifflers
BabyNifflerWU
A baby Niffler
AlbinoNiffler
An Albino Niffler
Newton Scamander owned a niffler, which escaped twice from his suitcase during his visit to New
York in 1926 and tried to rob both the Steen National Bank and a jewel shop of numerous
valuables.[4] In 1927, the same niffler produced four offspring each in a different colour.[5]
Professor Kettleburn was known to keep 12 of them, even when they had wrecked his house, boat
and his favourite prosthetic leg.[6]
Jacob's sibling could keep one in the Magical Creature Reserve, and borrowed Madam Rakepick's
niffler to help with finding the third Cursed Vault. Her niffler was known to be very well behaved.[6]
Merula Snyde enlarged one using the Engorgement Charm, making it more dangerous.[7]
During the 1994–1995 school year, Rubeus Hagrid used them as part of the Fourth years Care of
Magical Creatures class. Prior to class he hid Leprechaun gold in the earth in front of his hut. He
paired each student with a Niffler and promised a prize to whoever found the most gold. Ron
Weasley asked Rubeus Hagrid if they could buy these Nifflers as pets, and with knowledge, Hagrid
said his mum wouldn't want one because they wreck houses, but this was not a definitive "no". This
means there is a very good chance that wizards could purchase Nifflers. When Hagrid caught
Gregory Goyle pocketing the gold, he explained that trying to steal it was pointless, as Leprechaun
gold was worthless because it disappeared after a few hours. Ron's Niffler found the most gold, so
Hagrid rewarded him with an extremely large slab of chocolate from Honeydukes.[8]
NifflerWU
A Niffler with gold in its pouch
During Dolores Umbridge's tenure as Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
Lee Jordan used the Levitation Charm to levitate two Nifflers through her office window to wreck
the office. Umbridge blamed Hagrid for it, and that did not help him in the least during her Hogwarts
High Inquisitor inspections.[3][9]
Nifflers were among the threats to the Statute of Secrecy that the International Confederation of
Wizards had to deal with in the 2010s.[10]
Fast and hard to catch, the only way to make sure the Nogtail will not come back is to chase it away
with a pure white dog. The Pest Sub-Division of the Ministry of Magic's Department for the
Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures maintains a pack of a dozen albino bloodhounds
specifically for this purpose.[1]
Some people also hunt Nogtails for recreation. For example, Tiberius took his nephew Cormac
McLaggen and colleagues Bertie Higgs and Rufus Scrimgeour hunting for Nogtails in Norfolk. Horace
Slughorn owned a book on this subject, which he offered to loan to McLaggen at the start of the
1996–1997 school year.[2]
Pixie
Species information
Eye colour
Black
Skin colour
Electric Blue
Related to
Fairy
Doxy
Native range
Cornwall, England (mostly)
Height of average adult
Eight inches
Distinction
Revels in mischief
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it
was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing"
—Description of Cornish Pixies[src]
The Pixie is a small, bright blue, mischief-making magical beast.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
The pixie is able to fly, and enjoys lifting people up by their ears and depositing them on the tops of
trees and buildings, showing incredible strength for creatures of their tiny size. It can also steal
things. Pixies can only communicate with other pixies; their voices are described as "so shrill it was
like listening to a lot of arguing budgies". Pixies make squeak sounds. They bear live young.[1]
History
Dymphna and a pixie
Ms Dymphna Furmage being terrorised by Pixies
In Cornwall in the 17th century, Dymphna Furmage, a witch on holiday, was abducted by Pixies. This
led to a lifelong fear of them, which drove her to request that the British Ministry of Magic humanely
eradicate the pixie species. Her request was declined, and she died in 1692.[2][3][4]
Camara-secreta-promocionais (102)
Pixies attacking Neville
In 1992, Gilderoy Lockhart brought a group of "freshly caught" Cornish pixies to Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry during his tenure as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Claiming that
they were devilishly tricky creatures, he thought they would be perfect for a practical lecture on
Defence. He lost control of them, and attempted to round them up using the incantation Peskipiksi
Pesternomi. This however did not work, as Lockhart most likely fabricated this charm, amongst
numerous other things. The Pixies picked up Neville Longbottom by the ears and attacked other
classmates who were trying to whack them with their books, hanging Neville on the ceiling. Lockhart
hurried out of the room, asking Harry, Ron, and Hermione to "nip the rest of them back into their
cage". Hermione Granger ended the riot using a Freezing Charm.[5] Due to this, Ron Weasley
proclaimed that the only thing he learned from Lockhart was "not to let pixies loose".[6]
Pixie
Cornish Pixies frozen stiff after making havoc
During the 1993–1994 school year, a water well on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry became infested with five swarms of Pixies. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and
Hermione Granger were tasked to clearing out the infestation with use of the Tickling Charm.[7]
During the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998, Harry Potter came across a cage containing Cornish
Pixies in the Room of Requirement, whilst he was searching for Ravenclaw's Diadem.[8]
During the Calamity in the 2010s, several Pixie Confoundables starting appearing throughout the
wizarding world, guarding many valuable magical artefacts and object Foundables, ranging from
Crystal balls, to Vanishing Cabinets and even the Hand of Glory. Volunteers of the Statute of Secrecy
Task Force were sent to deal with these Pixies with a variety of spells, such as the Knockback Jinx,
Ebublio Jinx and Slowing Charm to immobilise these Pixies, and allow for the Foundables to be freed
and return to their rightful places of belonging.[9]
Behind the scenes
PixieWU
A Pixie as shown on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Pixie is said to be able to fly despite being wingless,
however in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets they are clearly shown
with wings. This was most likely the result of a design preference of the producers of the film.[10]
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Cornish Pixie is given a Ministry of Magic
Classification of XXX - in Harry Potter's own copy, he humourously notes in his annotation that a
more suitable classification would be "XXXXXXX if you're Lockhart."
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 there is a nest of Pixies in the Room of Hidden
Things. They are presumably killed by Goyle's Fiendfyre.[8]
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, you have to hit them twice with the Freezing Charm the first time
freezes them in a bubble, the second hit destroys them.[11]
In Harry Potter: The Creature Vault, Jody Revenson speculates that J. K. Rowling may have made
pixies blue as a reference to the Picts, an ancient Cornish tribe that painted their skin blue, or as a
nod to the various other blue things associated with Cornwall, like the Cornish Blue rooster and
Cornish Blue cheese.
Twenty Pixie figures will be scattered across the grounds of the Hagrid's Magical Creatures
Motorbike Adventure attraction at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Plimpy
Species information
Skin colour
Yellowish
Native range
Worldwide
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Round in shape
Has two legs
Affiliation
Merpeople
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extent
[Source]
The Plimpy was a small, round and magical fish with two legs ending in webbed feet. It lived in deep
lakes, and fed on water snails. The Plimpy was not dangerous, but would nibble on the feet and
clothing of unsuspecting swimmers. Plimpy eyes were used in potion-making.
Merpeople considered the Plimpy to be a pest, and they dealt with it by tying its legs into a knot and
letting it drift away.[1]
Contents[show]
History
Plimpy
Two Plimpies
When Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger visited Xenophilius Lovegood in 1998, he
covered the kidnapping of his daughter Luna by saying she was out fishing for freshwater plimpies
near Bottom Bridge. Xenophilius later notes that people are always requesting the Lovegood's recipe
for freshwater plimpy soup after he explains the Deathly Hallows to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Etymology
"Plimpey" is an English word for "being a plump".
Etymology
The Pogrebin's name likely stems from the Russian verb погребать [pogrebat'], "to bury", due to its
effect on human emotions.
Red Cap
Species information
Eye colour
Red
Skin colour
Green
Related to
Goblins (Possibly)
Dwarfs (Possibly)
Native range
Northern Europe
Height of average adult
3-4 feet
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Attracted to spilt human blood
Bludgeons unwary to death
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"These dwarf–like creatures live in holes on old battlegrounds or wherever human blood has been
spilled. Although easily repelled by charms and hexes, they are very dangerous to solitary Muggles,
whom they will attempt to bludgeon to death on dark nights. Red Caps are most prevalent in
northern Europe."
—Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
The Red Cap is a small, dwarf-like magical beast that inhabits wherever human blood had been shed,
such as in the dungeons of castles, the potholes of old battlefields, or holes underground.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
They attack those who are lost, and though they are extremely dangerous to lone Muggles, a wizard
can easily repel them with charms and hexes. They can also be repelled by dousing them in
Beautification Potion, as their temporary "beautiful" appearance is repulsive to them.[2] Red Caps
are normally around three or four feet tall, with red eyes and long, sharp nails. Red Caps are most
often found in northern Europe.[1]
Red Caps are less dangerous during their mating season, as they become more interested in
attacking each other than any invaders of their territory.[2]
History
Red cap 1
Redcaps
The enchanted garden that the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship took place in housed an
ancient battlefield infested with Red Caps, which competitors must have evaded or defeated in
order to pass through.[2]
During the 1987–1988 school year, Charles Weasley, Jacob's sibling, and friends ran across a red cap
while using Sickleworth, a niffler, to try and search for a jewelled arrowhead belonging to Torvus the
Centaur.[3]
Remus Lupin taught his third year Defence Against the Dark Arts class about these creatures during
the second lesson of the 1993-1994 school year,[4] and later used them as part of his obstacle
course during the final exam of that year.[5] Among the subjects covered in The Dark Forces: A
Guide to Self-Protection are Red Caps.[6]
Contents[show]
Description
Salamander
A Fire Dwelling Salamander
Salamanders were born out of salamander fires, and lived as long as the flames they were birthed
from continue to burn.[5] However, if they were fed on pepper, they could survive outside out of its
flames for up to six hours.[3] The colour of the Salamander depended on the heat of its birthing
fire,[3] and produces hot flames itself.[2][5]
SalamanderBlood
A bottle of Salamander blood
Salamander blood had powerful regenerative and curative properties, and was used as an ingredient
in the brewing of many potions. The Fire Dwelling Salamander was a rare corporeal form of the
Patronus Charm.[1]
Salamander
The number six, in runic
The maximum number of hours a salamander could survive out of fire as well as the number of legs
most salamanders had was six, and as such, salamanders were used in the runic alphabet to
represent the number six.[6]
Salamander
There were different types of salamanders, such as the blue and the scarlet variety.[7] Scale rot was
an illness that can affect both salamanders and dragons. If left untreated, it could cause a
salamander's tail to detach.[8] Fire Salamanders were vulnerable to the Knockback Jinx, Freezing
Spell[7] and water-conjuring charms (such as the Aqua Eructo Charm and the Ebublio Jinx), as well as
transfiguration spells,[5] but are resistant to Red sparks and the Fire-Making Spell.[2]
There also existed a variant species called the Frost Salamander that instead of dwelling in fire was
closely associated with ice.[2][7]
History
Fred and George Weasley once experimented with feeding fireworks to a salamander, which caused
it to rocket around the room, emitting Tangerine stars. The salamander ended up running back into
the fireplace in the room, looking scared.[9]
In January 1994, Professor Rubeus Hagrid taught his third year Care of Magical Creatures class about
these beasts, providing his class with a "bonfire" full of them, with students very much enjoying his
lesson, collecting dry wood and leaves to keep their fire blazing while the salamanders scampered
up and down the burning logs.[4]
In 1996, Rubeus Hagrid mentioned that he needed to rub more chilli powder on a couple of
salamanders that had scale rot.[8]
Curiously, the world's best known sea serpent, the Loch Ness Monster, is not actually a sea serpent.
It is a Kelpie whose favourite form is that of a Sea Serpent.[1]
Apparently related to the sea serpent is the lake serpent, of which one known variety, the Selma of
Norway, exists.[3]
Shrake
Species information
Native range
Atlantic Ocean
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
[Source]
A Shrake was a magically-created species of fish, found in the Atlantic Ocean. The creature was
covered in spines and sought out and destroyed Muggle fishing nets. The first Shrakes were
supposedly created in the early 1800s by a group of wizard fisherfolk who had been insulted by
Muggles. The Shrake, by damaging the nets used by Muggles to fish in that area of the sea, cause no
end of trouble.[1]
Etymology
"Shrake" comes from the words "shred" and "hake"; a hake is a fish related to the cod.
Streeler
Species information
Related to
Snails
Native range
Africa
Height of average adult
Giant
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Changes colour hourly
Toxic trail, spikes and shells
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The Streeler is a giant snail that changes colour on an hourly basis and deposits behind it a trail so
venomous that it shrivels and burns all vegetation over which it passes. The Streeler is native to
several African countries, though it has been successfully raised by wizards in Europe, Asia and the
Americas."
—Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
The Streeler was a giant magical snail that changed colour every hour, and produced a poisonous
slime.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Streeler-shells-lrg
Snail
Orange Streelers in the Magical Menagerie
Native to Africa, the Streeler had been spread and been bred by wizards in Europe, Asia and North
America.[1]
The Streeler changed colour hourly, and left behind a trail of venom so toxic that it burned all
vegetation that it touched. Streelers had sharp spikes on their shells, which also injected venom. This
defence was most likely to scare off or kill its attackers, such as birds and small to medium sized
rodents.[1]
It was kept as a pet by those who enjoy its kaleidoscopic colour changes. Streeler venom was one of
the few known substances that can kill Horklumps.[1]
Wearing thick protective gloves was a way to avoid getting stung by a Streeler's extremely toxic
shell.[2]
History
During the 1987–1988 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor
Silvanus Kettleburn taught his fourth year Care of Magical Creatures students how to handle
Streelers.[3]
In 1992[4] and 1993, The Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley housed and sold orange Streelers for
purchase. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger saw some of these creatures for sale
when they entered the shop in August 1995, amongst others.[5
Centaur
Species information
Eye colour
Varies
Skin colour
Varies
Hair colour
Varies
Related to
Humans
Horses
Native range
Europe[1], including
Greece[2]
Great Britain[3][4]
Croatia[5]
Height of average adult
Above seven feet
Length of average adult
Humanoid
Distinction
Lower torso is a horse's body
Higher torso is a human's body
Capable of human intelligence and speech
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Forest-dwellers who have the torso of a human but the body of a horse, and who are gifted in
Divination."
—Description of centaurs[src]
A Centaur is a magical creature whose head, torso, and arms appear to be human and are joined to a
horse's body. They are, however, their own individual species, and thus are not half-breeds. They
also have a rich history and are known for being naturally talented in Healing magic, Divination and
Astronomy.
Despite possessing 'human intelligence,' centaurs are classified as Beasts by the British Ministry of
Magic, at their own request, as they were unhappy at having to share Being status with Hags and
Vampires, known dark creatures.[6]
Contents[show]
Description
Physical appearance
"And into the clearing came — was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and
beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail."
—Description of a centaur[src]
Centaur WB F5 CentaurPortrait Illust 100615 Port
A centaur's general appearance
Like horses, centaurs can come in a variety of colours, ranging from deep black to white. A centaur
by the name of Firenze had white-blonde hair, a body light in colour, and possessed astonishingly
blue eyes. Magorian on the other hand possessed black hair and was chestnut in colour. Centaurs
have the body of a horse, and the torso, arms, and head of a human. Also Lavender Brown and
Parvati Patil found the centaur Firenze physically attractive.
Centaurs are not in fact half-breeds, but an entirely different species on their own. They are not very
pleased to be insulted, particularly where their lineage is concerned, as Dolores Umbridge found out
to her cost.
Centaurs are also natural born Seers, in particular the Centaur Firenze who taught alongside Sybill
Trelawney in Divination class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Mannerisms
"Never try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin'
closer'n the moon."
—Rubeus Hagrid[src]
Centaurs are known to be gifted in Divination. Indeed, the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest regularly
made vague allusions to seeing the future, as when the centaur Firenze told Harry Potter that they
were fated to meet again, and when he and Bane spoke of the "intermission" of sorts, between the
First and Second Wizarding Wars.[3] He also mentioned to his class at Hogwarts, that centaurs spend
years trying to master their particular art of divining the fates.[7]
Centaurs on the whole seem also to be rather proud of their species, which was evident in their
testiness whenever anyone even accidentally alluded to them being "used" or in any way employed
by humankind, as when Firenze was chastised for allowing Harry Potter to ride to safety on his back,
after the young wizard encountered Lord Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest — his fellow centaurs
considered allowing such a thing tantamount to becoming a 'common' mule.[3]
Centaurs
A herd of centaurs armed with bows and arrows, their primary weapons
In 1995, they attempted to murder Firenze for his decision to "enter into human servitude," which
was seen as a great and base betrayal.[7] Centaurs also decided to be placed in the Beast Division
instead of the Being Division in the British Ministry of Magic archives, because they wished to not be
associated with hags and vampires, whom the Ministry designates "Beings".[6]
Centaurs also seem to favour nature over technology, the extent of their tools visibly in use being
their bows and arrows. Instead, they cast their attention upon reading signs in nature, and living in
forests appropriated by the Ministry of Magic.
They are territorial creatures by nature, as Rubeus Hagrid mentioned in 1995, upon seeing a herd of
centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, whose land was being consistently reduced, and that they might
revolt against the Ministry as a result. Later the same year, they proclaimed that even Hagrid was
"no longer welcome" within "their" forest, as he had "forfeited the friendship of the centaurs," and
that their "tolerance was waning" (in reference to Hagrid's half-brother, Grawp, whom Hagrid was
hiding in the forest at the time).[7]
Centaurs do have a sense of honour, being unwilling to harm the young, as the herd within the
Forbidden Forest refused to harm Hagrid due to the young Harry Potter and Hermione Granger
accompanying him at the time. However, this patience and generosity can wane, as later they saw
Harry and Hermione deliberately lead Dolores Umbridge into the forest to "use" the centaurs to
eliminate her; this, along the fact that both teenagers are nearing their adulthood, led the herd to
attempt to attack the two.
Abilities
Centaurs do not use wands for magic, but are known to be well-versed in magical healing,
Divination, archery, and Astronomy. Centaurs burn herbs such as mallowsweet and sage to refine
their stargazing findings. In fact, the centaur Firenze taught Divination at Hogwarts, starting in the
1995–1996 school year.[7] They also can perform non-verbal magic while duelling, as shown when
Torvus duelled against Jacob's sibling without a wand or an arrow.[8]
Habitat
Centaurs (Concept Artwork for the HP5 film 02)
Centaurs in the woods
Centaurs are forest-dwelling, and, in each country where colonies exist, the wizarding authority has
set aside land exclusively for their use.[6] One such colony exists in the Forbidden Forest, at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, centaurs have their own methods of
concealment and avoid contact with both wizards and witches and Muggles, as they are not fans of
humans. They generally live in herds of ten to fifty individuals.
A Centaur Liaison Office still exists in the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and
Control of Magical Creatures, though no centaur has ever used it. In fact, the phrase "Being sent to
the Centaur Office" has become an in-joke at the Ministry, meaning that the person in question is
about to be sacked. A centaur was also represented in the Fountain of Magical Brethren at the
Ministry of Magic, at least before the fountain's destruction during the battle between Albus
Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort.
Centaurs have also been known to save wizards from harm, one instance being Firenze saving Harry
Potter, when Lord Voldemort was in the forest, though this was highly looked down upon as
centaurs were not supposed to interfere with "what is to come."
When Harry Potter and Hermione Granger ended up leading Dolores Umbridge into the Forbidden
Forest, a group of centaurs appeared with some of them carrying off Dolores while the rest were
scared away by Grawp in an event known as the Skirmish in the Forbidden Forest. It was mentioned
that Albus negotiated for Dolores' release when he was rehired by the Ministry of Magic.
The centaur herd in the Forbidden Forest also fought against the Death Eaters in the Battle of
Hogwarts.
Known centaurs
08
Bane
Firenzeinharrypotter
Firenze
Centauro
Magorian
Magnus
Magnus
CentaursHagrid
Ronan
Torvus - Hogwarts Mystery
Torvus
Torvus' father
See also
Forbidden Forest Centaur colony
Behind the scenes
Centaurs (face close up - conceptual artwork)
A Centaur's face in the films
CentaurPM
A Centaur as depicted on Pottermore
In the books, Centaurs are described as they are in traditional Greek myths, with the back-end of a
horse, but an ordinary human face and torso in their upper parts. In the films, however, their human
faces are more equine-like, like an exact cross between horse and human. They are covered in hair,
the same as their horse halves, with long protruded faces, and long pointy ears.
Despite the fact that the Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test establishes them to exist,
female centaurs have yet to be physically seen in any Harry Potter media.
In Greek mythology, female centaurs are called centaurides, and though they are not mentioned in
early Greek literature and art, they do appear occasionally in later antiquity.[9]
The word Centaur (Κένταυρος, Kentauros in Ancient Greek), is generally regarded as being of
obscure origin.
A Pottermore riddle consisting of an early Pottermore concept art of a Centaur was added to the
Pottermore insider on 16 October 2014. It is still unknown who this centaur is.[10]
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Newt Scamander describes that Centaurs refuse to
wear any clothing. In the films, Magorian wears pieces of jewellery, shown in detail in the book
Harry Potter: The Creature Vault.
Rowan Khanna, a history buff, wanted to ask a centaur about the 1811 controversy of not accepting
the Being status as they were fascinated by it, but neither Jacob's sibling, Barnaby nor Tonks,
understood their obsession.
Demiguise
Species information
Eye colour
Brown
Blue when predicting future[1]
Skin colour
Beige
Hair colour
Silver
Related to
Hidebehind
Native range
Far East
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Can become invisible
Precognitive sight
Peaceful temperament
Herbivorous
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Peaceful, ape-like herbivores with the ability to turn invisible when threatened."
—Description[src]
The Demiguise is a peaceful, herbivorous magical beast that can make itself invisible and tell the
future which makes it very hard to catch.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
It is found in the Far East, but only wizards and witches trained in their capture can even see them. It
resembles a cross between a sloth and an ape with large, black eyes and long, silky hair.[3]
Demiguise pelts are highly sought after as the hair can be woven into Invisibility cloaks.[3] Cloaks
made from their hair eventually turn opaque, losing their invisibility effects as time passes.
Demiguises have precognitive sight so that the only way to catch them is to do something
completely unpredictable.[4]
The Demiguise's ability to make itself invisible is used to symbolise the number zero, in the runic
alphabet.[5]
History
Demiguise-FB
Dougal the Demiguise
At some point before late-1620[6], Phineas Fletcher smuggled a Demiguise to North America which
escaped and bred with a Ghoul; their offspring were the first Hidebehinds.[7]
Magizoologist Newton Scamander owned a Demiguise called Dougal who escaped from his suitcase
during his visit to New York in 1926 and caused a disturbance in the Ginzberg Delaunay department
store while caring for an occamy that had also escaped. He later found them both with a help of
Queenie and Tina Goldstein, as well as No-Maj Jacob Kowalski.[8]
Contents[show]
Description
Erkling-game
An Erkling
Their high pitch cackles were particularly entrancing to children, and they used this to lure them
away from their guardians to eat them. These creatures also enjoyed shooting darts at unsuspecting
victims. Originating from the Black Forest in Germany, the difference between this creature and
many others was that they can speak Human-language.[1][2]
Strict control by the German Ministry of Magic, beginning in the centuries preceding 1991, had
greatly reduced the number of Erkling attacks.[1]
Known attacks
According to Newt Scamander, the last known Erkling attack was on a six-year-old called Bruno
Schmidt. The Erkling in question was killed when Schmidt hit it over the head with his father's
collapsible cauldron.[1]
During the 1994–1995 school year, they also attacked Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron
Weasley as part of Bartemius Crouch Jr's (disguised as Alastor Moody) Defence Against the Dark Arts
challenge. They managed to defend themselves against these vicious creatures by using a number of
useful jinxes, such as the Orbis Jinx, Melofors Jinx and Pullus Jinx.[2]
During the Calamity which occurred in the 2010s, volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task
Force could fight against Erklings in Fortresses throughout the wizarding world, with the activation
of certain Runestones within these buildings.[3]
Bavarian Erklings
"Do those things ever stop being creepy?"
—Ron[src]
A much worse kind called the Bavarian Erkling exists. Harry, Ron and Hermione came across these in
a greenhouse at Hogwarts.[2]
Etymology
The name Erkling may have been influenced by the English word "irk", meaning to annoy and
"erlkings", elfish creatures in German mythology which have a fatal influence on children. Erlking is a
translation of the German erlkönig which literally means "alder king", and may in turn be an 18th-
century mistranslation of the original Danish word elverkonge, literally "elf king".
Contents[show]
Description
It resembled a rhinoceros with a roundish body.[1] It was a powerful creature, with a thick hide
capable of repelling most curses and charms, a single long horn, and a thick tail. They were treated
with great caution and respect by African wizards and witches.[3] Male Erumpents produced
musk.[1]
The Erumpent did not attack unless provoked, but the results were usually fatal. The horn could
pierce skin and metal, and the horn contained a deadly fluid that caused whatever was injected with
it to explode. There were rare occasions when the injected object or being did not explode, as in the
case of Wilfred Elphick, first wizard to have been gored by an Erumpent. As his Chocolate Frog Card
depicts him in bandages, but very much alive, it can be assumed that he survived the attack and did
not explode.
When Newton Scamander's Erumpent injected its fluid into a tree on the night of 6 December 1926,
it did not explode right away. Instead, it liquefied like glowing bubbles before exploding and fell to
the ground.[1]
Erumpent numbers were not large, because male Erumpents frequently blew themselves up during
mating season. Erumpents only gave birth to one calf at a time.[3]
Erumpent horns, tails, and Exploding Fluid were all widely used in potions, although they were listed
as Class B Tradeable Materials.[3]
An Erumpent was one rare possible corporeal form of the Patronus Charm.[4]
Female Erumpents could reach five times the size of a non-magical hippopotamus, though it was
considered medium-sized in Magizoology.[1][2]
History
In the 12th century, Wilfred Elphick became the first wizard to be gored by an Erumpent, which was
an extremely unlikely event, given the fact that the horn of an Erumpent almost always exploded on
contact.
Erumpent FB
The female Erumpent from Newton Scamander's suitcase
In 1926, a female Erumpent was one of the magical beasts that escaped from Newton Scamander's
suitcase and rampaged through New York.[5] She was found in the Central Park Zoo near the
hippopotamus enclosure. Newton Scamander attempted to coax her back into his case using a
combination of Erumpent musk and a mating dance. However, Jacob Kowalski accidentally spilled
musk on himself when he was hit by a fish thrown by an escaped seal. The Erumpent proceeded to
chase Jacob out of the zoo and down onto the frozen pond in Central Park. Newt was able to quickly
pursue them and pull the Erumpent back into his case.
At some point, Xenophilius Lovegood acquired an Erumpent horn and kept it in his house, believing
that it belonged to a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.[6] When Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione
Granger visited him in 1998, Hermione warned him to get rid of it but Xenophilius maintained his
ignorance and insisted it was a horn from a Crumple-horned Snorkack. When Harry, Ron, and
Hermione realised that Luna was missing and Xenophilius was planning to trade Harry for Luna they
tried to escape before the Ministry members Xenophilius had called could arrive. Fearing they would
get away, Xenophilius attempted to stun Harry, but instead he hit the Erumpent horn, which
exploded and blew up a sizable portion of his house.
Affiliation
Quidditch (formerly)
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX[1][2]
Status
Endangered
[Source]
The Golden Snidget was a small golden magical bird with fully rotational wings, best known for early
use in the game of Quidditch, eventually being replaced by the Golden Snitch.[1][2]
Contents[show]
History
GoldenSnidgetFBE
The Golden Snidget
The Snidget was first introduced into Quidditch in 1269, when the newly appointed Chief of the
Wizards' Council, a man named Barberus Bragge, released a Snidget during a Quidditch match and
offered 150 Galleons to the player who could catch it. In protest of the barbaric treatment of the
fragile bird, Madam Modesty Rabnott of Kent summoned the Snidget to her, fled the pitch, and
released the bird into the wild. Nevertheless, the practise of releasing a Snidget during Quidditch
matches continued, with the stakes changed to 150 points, rather than Galleons, awarded to the
team of the player who caught the Snidget. Ultimately, use of Snidgets in Quidditch, and the
popularity of the sport of Snidget-hunting, depleted the species considerably.[1]
About a century after Barberus Bragg's introduction of Snidgets to Quidditch, when it became
apparent that the Snidget was close to extinction, Elfrida Clagg, then Chief of the Wizards' Council,
declared it a protected species. The Snidget was classifed as XXXX not because of being dangerous,
but because severe penalties apply if it is captured or injured. Clagg also founded the Modesty
Rabnott Snidget Reservation in Somerset, England, named in honour of Modesty Rabnott's early
efforts at protecting Snidgets.[1]
The most notable factor in the protection of the Snidgets was the introduction of the Golden Snitch,
invented by metal-charmer Bowman Wright, to the game of Quidditch.[1]
Physical description
Sniget
The Snidget was completely round, fat, covered in golden feathers, and has a long thin beak. Its eyes
were bright red, and the rotational wings let the Snidget move in any direction with remarkable
agility and speed. The Golden Snidget's feathers and eyes werw so highly prized that it was at one
time in danger of being hunted to extinction by wizards. The Snidgets were extremely fragile birds,
as a human's grip can crush them to death. It had very small legs, making it look like an
apodiform.[1][2]
Graphorn
Species information
Skin colour
Greyish-purple
Native range
Mountains of Europe
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Two gold horns
Humped back
Four toes on each foot
Repels most spells
Aggressive and dangerous nature
Affiliation
Trolls
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Endangered (1920s)
Extant (2020s)
[Source]
"The Graphorn is found in mountainous European regions. Large and greyish purple with a humped
back, the Graphorn has two very long, sharp horns, walks on large, four-thumbed feet, and has an
extremely aggressive nature. Mountain trolls can occasionally be seen mounted on Graphorns,
though the latter do not seem to take kindly to attempts to tame them and it is more common to
see a troll covered in Graphorn scars. Powdered Graphorn horn is used in many potions, though it is
immensely expensive owing to the difficulty in collecting it. Graphorn hide is even tougher than a
dragon’s and repels most spells."
—Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
The Graphorn is a dangerous and aggressive magical beast native to the mountains of Europe.
Contents[show]
Description
The Graphorn is large and hump-backed, with grayish-purple skin tougher than that of dragons. It
can repel most spells, has two golden horns, and walks on large four-thumbed feet. Its mouth is
made of tentacle-like appendages, that are used to grab food and put it in its mouth. It also uses
these to show affection. It is said to resemble a sabre-toothed tiger.[1]
History
Graphorn-FB-film
Graphorns in the Newt Scamander's suitcase
The famous English Magizoologist Newton Scamander had the last pair of breeding Graphorns, along
with two young Graphorns, in his suitcase during his visit to New York in 1926.[2][3] In 1927, a
Graphorn was one of the attractions for the wizarding Circus Arcanus, which toured Paris in 1927.[4]
Mountain Trolls were reported to be riding Graphorns through Hungary in 2020.[5]
During the Calamity in the 2010s, several Fire Confoundables were guarding Graphorn Foundables.
Volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to overpower these Confounables
using the Water-Making Spell to extinguish the fire and allow for the Graphorn Foundables to return
to their rightful places in the Wizarding world.[6]
Uses
Graphorn horns are highly prized potion ingredients and are used in potions such as the Antidote to
Uncommon Poisons.[7] Graphorns are sometimes used as mounts by Mountain Trolls, but the
Graphorn strongly dislikes this - it is more common to see mountain trolls covered in scars from a
Graphorn.
In the Study of Ancient Runes, the Graphorn's two sharp horns are used to represent the number
two.[8]
Griffin
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow[1]
Hair colour
Brownish-yellow[1]
Feather colour
White and brown[1]
Related to
Hippogriff[1]
Native range
Greece[1]
Distinction
Front half of a giant eagle[1]
Rear half of a lion[1]
Capable of flight[1]
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Griffin is a magical beast which originates from Greece.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
GriffinFB
The Griffin guarding treasure
It has the front legs, wings and head of a giant eagle, and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion. The
main diet of the Griffin is raw meat. Griffins are known as fierce creatures, however, despite this,
skilled wizards and witches have been able to befriend them. Griffins are often used by wizards as
guards of treasure, like Sphinxes.[1]
History
Newt Scamander kept a Griffin in his basement in 1927.[2]
The Hogwarts Headmaster's office door has a knocker in the shape of a Griffin.[3]
See also
Tiffin[4]
Griffin Sanctuary[5]
Hippogriff
Behind the scenes
Griffins originate from ancient mythology, having been recorded as far back as ancient Persia and
Egypt, though first commonly seen in Greek myths. They were considered symbols of divinity, as the
lion and eagle were considered the kings of beasts and birds, respectively.
In the Harry Potter films, the Stairwell Gargoyle (who guards the Headmaster's Office) resembles a
large golden griffin, instead of being ugly and made of stone as in the books.
Hidebehind
Species information
Hair colour
Silver
Related to
Demiguise
Ghoul
Native range
Massachusetts, United States of America, North America
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles a spectre
Nocturnal
Can turn invisible
Shapeshifting
Carnivorous; feeds on humans
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"A vicious, nocturnal beast adept at both disguise and disembowelling. The result of accidental
breeding between a Demiguise and a ghoul."
—Description[src]
The Hidebehind is a nocturnal, forest-dwelling spectre-like beast that preys on humanoid creatures.
It can shift its shape, allowing it to hide behind almost any object.[1] This hybrid is an accidentally
created species.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
Although it has the power of Invisibility, those who have seen it describe it as tall with silver-hair,
akin to a skinny bear. It can also contort itself to lurk behind any object.
Its prey of choice is humans, which Magizoologists speculate is the result of the cruelty shown by
Phineas Fletcher to the creatures in his power.[3] Only a witch or wizard would be likely to survive
an attack by these creatures.
History
The Hidebehind was accidentally created when illegal trader Phineas Fletcher attempted to import a
trafficked Demiguise into the New World, with the goal of manufacturing Invisibility cloaks. The
Demiguise escaped while on board the ship and bred with a stowaway ghoul, and the offspring
escaped into the forests of Massachusetts where they still dwell today.[3]
In the early 1620s, a Hidebehind of unusual size and strength was chased away by Isolt Sayre after it
had managed to capture a young Pukwudgie. The same Hidebehind was later responsible for the
deaths of the parents of Chadwick and Webster Boot, but was later defeated by Isolt Sayre and
William the Pukwudgie.[1]
Contents[show]
History
The New York Ghost reported that a Kappa washed up on the Western Seaboard in 1926.[3] A Kappa
was an attraction of the Circus Arcanus.[4] In 1927, one was present during the circus' tour in Paris,
France. Its presence was later detected by Newton Scamander using the Tracking spell when the
Magizoologist was trying to locate Porpentina Goldstein.[5]
FBCOG-TLR-012
Newt detecting the Kappa's presence
In 1993, Professor Remus Lupin introduced his third year Defence Against the Dark Arts class to
Kappas, which was the third creature they studied.[2] When covering the class for Professor Lupin,
Professor Severus Snape incorrectly stated that a Kappa is a red haired imp-like creature.[6]
in:
Beasts, Creatures from Japan, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and 3 more
Kappa
English
EDIT
SHARE
Kappa
Species information
Skin colour
Scaly
Native range
Japan[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Water-filled hollow on top of head[1]
Feeds on human blood[1]
Affiliation
Dark Arts[2]
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"From Red Caps they moved on to Kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys,
with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds."
—The Third year Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum, including Kappas.[src]
The Kappa is a Japanese water demon that feeds on human blood.[1] They are known for strangling
humans that invade their shallow ponds.[2]
Contents[show]
History
The New York Ghost reported that a Kappa washed up on the Western Seaboard in 1926.[3] A Kappa
was an attraction of the Circus Arcanus.[4] In 1927, one was present during the circus' tour in Paris,
France. Its presence was later detected by Newton Scamander using the Tracking spell when the
Magizoologist was trying to locate Porpentina Goldstein.[5]
FBCOG-TLR-012
Newt detecting the Kappa's presence
In 1993, Professor Remus Lupin introduced his third year Defence Against the Dark Arts class to
Kappas, which was the third creature they studied.[2] When covering the class for Professor Lupin,
Professor Severus Snape incorrectly stated that a Kappa is a red haired imp-like creature.[6]
Description
Kappa
An illustration of a Kappa
Kappas feed on the blood of humans, strangling anyone unlucky enough to wade into their ponds or
rivers.[1]
One can protect themselves from, and appease a Kappa by throwing a cucumber inscribed with that
person's name; however, if they can trick it into bowing, the water in its head will spill out,
weakening it.[1]
They live in shallow water, mainly in Japan.[1] When substituting for Professor Lupin in 1993,
Professor Snape incorrectly asserted that they were commonly found in Mongolia.[6]
The Kappa resembles a scale-covered monkey with webbed hands and a water-filled depression
atop its head.[1] The water in this hollow is the source of the beast's strength.[1]
In Japan, some cucumber dishes such as cucumber sushi rolls (kappa-maki; Japanese: かっぱ巻き) and
cucumber pickles (kappa-zuke; Japanese: かっぱ漬け) are named after the creature Kappa. This ties in
with the Japanese urban legend that a Kappa can be appeased by a gift of a cucumber.
Concept art of the Kappa was created by Mark Dubeau for the film inspired by Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them. However, the beast was never developed further for the film.[8]
A Kappa eventually appears in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, though the design looks
quite different from Dubeau's concept art.
Kelpie
Species information
Native range
Great Britain
Ireland
Distinction
Typically appears as a horse
Able to shapeshift
Eats humans
Affiliation
Water
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Lurks in rivers and streams and will kneel in invitation for anyone to ride it across. If this is
attempted, the Kelpie will drag the rider underwater and attempt to eat them."
—Chocolate Frog Card[src]
A Kelpie is a shapeshifting water demon native to Great Britain and Ireland.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
KelpieWonderbook
A Kelpie emerging from a loch
Able to take any form, a Kelpie usually chooses that of a horse with a bulrush mane. After luring
unwary travellers onto their backs, they drag them underwater and eat them, allowing the entrails
to float to the surface of the water. A Kelpie can be rendered docile and harmless by using a
Placement Charm to put a bridle over the creature's head.[1]
Kelpie hair can be used as a Wand core, although it is said to be an inferior substance when
compared with Phoenix feather, and Dragon heartstring.[2]
History
Kelpie-0
Kelpie ridden by Newt in his basement looking like a scottish loch
In 1927, Newt Scamander kept a male Kelpie in his apartment's basement. He tamed it with a bridle,
though he did not use a placement charm, riding it instead.[3][4]
During the 1992–1993 school year, Harry Potter's second year, Gilderoy Lockhart gave Rubeus
Hagrid unsolicited advice about getting kelpies out of a well, which Hagrid found irritating.[5]
On 29 June, 1997, when Harry and Albus Dumbledore had to cross the black lake in the Horcrux
cave, Harry's thought that the lake might hold kelpies, as well as other aquatic beasts such as water
monsters, giant serpents, demons and sprites.[6]
Known Kelpies
Loch Ness Kelpie
Loch Ness Kelpie
The largest reported Kelpie is the Loch Ness Monster, who resides in Loch Ness, Scotland. Its
favourite form is that of a sea serpent which leads to many Muggle sightings.[1]
Merpeople
Species information
Eye colour
Varies[1]
Skin colour
Varies[1]
Hair colour
Varies[1]
Related to
Sub-species
Siren
Selkie
Merrow
Native range
Originally Greece, now found worldwide[1]
Alternative names
Mermaids
Mermen
Height of average adult
Varies[1]
Distinction
Fish-like attributes
Water-inhabitant
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast (by choice)
XXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The oldest recorded merpeople were known as sirens (Greece) and it is in warmer waters that we
find the beautiful mermaids more frequently depicted in Muggle literature and painting. The Selkies
of Scotland and the Merrows of Ireland are less beautiful, but they share that love of music which is
common to all merpeople."
—Newton Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
Merpeople are sentient magical beasts that live underwater. They are found all over the world. Their
customs and habits are mysterious, and, like the centaurs, were offered the being status but refused
in favour of beast, as they did not want to be placed in a status with Hags and Vampires. Merpeople
can breathe above the water for a time, but it is unclear if they can ever truly leave their habitat.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Physical appearance
"Here and there at the dark windows, Harry saw faces...faces that bore no resemblance at all to the
painting of the mermaid in the prefects’ bathroom... The merpeople had greyish skin and long, wild,
dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of
pebbles around their necks."
—Harry Potter compares the selkies of Black Lake to a their warmer watered cousins[src]
One of the Merpeople of Hogwarts Lake (Concept Artwork)
Selkie Mermaid in Hogwarts Lake
Merpeople are creatures resembling half-human, half-fish hybrids (though they are not, in actuality,
half-breeds). Like humans, merpeople come in a variety of appearances,[1] For instance, the
majority of the Black Lake Merpeople colony had green hair, yellow eyes, and grey skin. They also
had silver tails. It is very unlikely a human would resemble that.[2]
Merpeople also seem to be taller than humans, with seven feet appearing to not be an unusual
height, at least for a selkie.[2] Harry encountered one in the lake near Hogwarts who was seven feet
tall with a long green beard and a choker of shark fangs, carrying a spear.
Merpeople are divided up into various sub-species or races, depending on where they live. The
earliest merpeople lived in Greece, and were known as sirens. In modern times, merpeople living in
warmer waters take on a more beautiful appearance, while those in colder waters, such as the
selkies of Scotland and the Merrows of Ireland, are less attractive.[1]
Evidence that the Merpeople have a thriving culture is that they live in highly organised
communities, some containing elaborate dwellings made of stone, and have been known to
domesticate creatures such as the Grindylow, Hippocampus, and Lobalug (the latter being used as
makeshift weaponry).[1] Other signs of their intelligence include jewellery and weapon making,
production of art (both paintings and statues), and an ability to understand basic human
communication via gestures.[2]
History
The merpeople date back to ancient Greece, where they were first known as sirens. By the modern
era, however, merpeople have spread worldwide.[1]
Merpeople PM
The merpeople colony who live in the Black Lake
The history of merpeople's relations with wizardkind, or at least the wizarding British government,
are somewhat rocky. Chief Elfrida Clagg refused to accept merpeople as beings under her definition
of the term as those who could "speak the human tongue". She thought Mermish to be inadequate
as it could not be understood above water. Her decision upset both the merpeople and their allies
the centaurs.[1]
Though they were allowed being status under Minister Grogan Stump's revised 1811 definition of
the term, they would eventually request to be treated as beasts once more, objecting to the fact
that dark creatures such as Hags and Vampires also claimed that status.[1]
Despite being considered beasts at the time, a delegation of merpeople were persuaded to attend
the 1692 summit of the International Confederation of Wizards, where they would help decide what
to do on the matter of hiding the existence of various magical creatures from Muggle
comprehension.[1]
At some point in the 1800s, Mirabella Plunkett, a witch, fell in love with a merman living in Loch
Lomond. When her family disapproved of their marriage, she Transfigured herself into a haddock
and vanished.[3]
During Dolores Umbridge's career in the Ministry, she suggested that Merpeople to be rounded up
and tagged, as her irrational revulsion to anything that have a part-human appearance. However,
the ludicrousness of such an act was never put into effect.[4]
A colony of merpeople lived in the Black Lake on the grounds of Hogwarts Castle.
They played a role in the Second Task of the 1994 Triwizard Tournament. They agreed to keep four
people in an enchanted sleep in their village for an hour, and protect them until the champion sent
to save them arrived. They watched the champions swim around, with spears clutched in their
hands, and tried to stop Harry Potter when he tried to save more than one person.[2]
Wizarding relations
Oddly enough, Merpeople were not represented in the Fountain of Magical Brethren at the Ministry
of Magic. This could not be simply because they have declined formal "being" status with the
Ministry of Magic, because centaurs made a similar decision and were represented in the Fountain.
Merpeople's relationship with Wizardkind is said to be an unstable one.[5] This could stem from a
number of reasons, perhaps wizarding society looks down upon merpeople and see them as inferior.
That is a common occurrence in regards to sentient creatures that are not classified as human.
Despite the rocky relationship that does exist Merpeople are shown to help humans sometimes,
such as agreeing to be a part of the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament.[2] They are also
capable of showing respect to wizards who have earned it, during the funeral of Albus Dumbledore
merpeople were present from within the Black Lake.[6]
Contents[show]
Description
OccamyFB
An illustration of the Occamy
OccamyEggsWU
Occammy eggs
It was a plumed, two-legged serpentine-bodied creature with wings that reached up to fifteen feet
in height. The Occamy was extremely aggressive to anyone who approached it, and lived off of
insects, rats, birds, and occasionally monkeys. It was extremely protective of its eggs, which were
made of the most pure and soft silver. It was found in the Far East and India.[1]
The Occamy was known to be choranaptyxic, meaning it grew or shrank in order to fit available
space.[2]
It was a known rare possible corporeal form of the Patronus Charm.[3]
History
Occamy nest FB
Occamies in the Newt Scamander's suitcase
Newton Scamander had several Occamies in his suitcase during his visit to New York in 1926.[4]
At some point during his teaching career, the Care of Magical Creatures Professor Silvanus
Kettleburn brought an Occamy to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[5]
It was once Gilderoy Lockhart's ambition to create a line of haircare products, as he was very proud
of his naturally bouncy and wavy hair. He wanted to mass produce the products with his secret
ingredient: Occamy egg, as the main ingredient for Occamy egg yolk shampoo.[6] As Occamies are
very territorial, it proved to be too dangerous and too expensive to supply. It is unknown if Lockhart,
a long-term resident of St Mungo's, recalled this failed aspiration.
Etymology
The word "Occamy" is derived from the name of the English philosopher Occam, who invented the
methodological principle "Occam's Razor", which asserts that when evaluating two competing
explanations for a situation one should accept the one that requires least assumptions to be made
(or, in other words, nothing should be presumed to exist that is not absolutely necessary for
explanation).
As such, the naming of this creature as an "Occamy" is a joke on the part of J. K. Rowling, since the
existence of the Occamy itself (and just about every other creature described in Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them) has no reason to exist and came into being solely for the sake of fleshing out
the aforementioned book.[7]
It is currently unknown if Occamies, given their snake-like appearance, can speak Parseltongue.
While some art depicts them as bipedal bird-like creatures, the film showed them as long and
serpentine.
The film version of the Occamy resembles Quetzalcoatl, a god of Central American myth who had
the appearance of a feathered serpent.
Occamies resemble Amphipteres from European Heraldry, and were described as serpentine
creatures with either fully feathered bodies and wings or scaled bodies with semi-feathered wings.
"Occamy" is phonetically similar to the Japanese word "ookami" (大神), which translates into "great
god" or "wolf" (a wordplay used in the video game Okami, which starred a goddess in the form of a
wolf).
Phoenix
Species information
Eye colour
Black
Feather colour
Scarlet
Golden tail
Related to
Hoo-hoo
Thunderbird
Native range
Egypt
India
China
Mortality
Immortal
Distinction
Reborn from ashes upon death
Immense strength
Tears have healing powers
Capable of singing soul-touching song
Affiliation
Dumbledore family
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing
powers, and they make highly faithful pets."
—Albus Dumbledore on the nature of Phoenixes[src]
The phoenix is a large swan-sized scarlet magical bird with red and gold plumage, along with a
golden beak and talons, black eyes, and a tail as long as a peacock's. Its scarlet feathers glow faintly
in darkness, while its golden tail feathers are hot to the touch.[1]
Phoenixes will usually nest on mountain peaks and are gentle herbivores that are not known for
fighting. As phoenixes approach their Burning Day they resemble a half-plucked turkey. Their eyes
become dull, their feathers start to fall out, and it begins to make gagging noises. Then the bird
suddenly bursts into flames only to rise from the ashes shortly after. In a number of days, they grow
back to full size.[2][1] Thanks to this ability, phoenixes live to an immense age.
t is a possible, rare corporeal form of the Patronus Charm,[3] such as Albus Dumbledore's
Patronus.[4]
Contents[show]
Description
Physical appearance
Fawkes WB F2 FawkesIllustration V2 Illust 100615 Land
Phoenixes have crimson feathers on their body and a golden tail as long as a peacock's. Their claws
and beak are gleaming gold and their eyes are black. Their scarlet body feathers glow faintly in
darkness, while their golden tail feathers are hot to the touch. It is unknown if they are actually
capable of burning someone as neither Harry Potter— when Fawkes carried him from the Chamber
of Secrets — nor Albus Dumbledore — when he escaped the Ministry officials with Fawkes's help —
were burned by his tail feather, however, it is possible that Fawkes can control the temperature of
his tail feathers and chose not to burn them.
"A gentle creature, the phoenix lives to an immense age because it can regenerate each time it
bursts into flames. Phoenix song is magical and its tears have healing properties."
—Chocolate Frog Card[src]
The most startling of the phoenix's abilities is its ability to regenerate itself. It periodically bursts into
flames when its body becomes old, and rises from the ashes as a newborn chick. This event is called
Burning Day, and gives these birds a great life span, as well as the ability to take the full force of a
Killing Curse and still be reborn.[5] Phoenixes are immune to the gaze of a basilisk, which would
normally kill anyone who has direct eye to eye contact, or petrify through indirect eye contact, such
as seeing a glimpse of the massive serpent or its reflection.[2]
As stated by Dumbledore, they are extremely loyal creatures, and are capable of arriving to the aid
of beings who share a similar devotion. This was how Fawkes arrived to assist Harry in slaying the
Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets during his second year at Hogwarts.
Their tears have potent healing capabilities. For instance, phoenix tears are the only known antidote
to basilisk venom. Their tears are also able to bring a person back even from the brink of death,
while the phoenix song will increase the courage of the good and strike fear into the hearts of the
evil.[1]
Phoenixes are capable of lifting a great weight with their tails, such as being able to effortlessly fly up
a distance with four people holding on to its tail.[2] They can also leave messages by bursting into
flame to reappear elsewhere, leaving behind a single golden tail feather.[5]
The phoenix can also disappear and reappear at will in bursts of flames and take whoever is holding
them along, similar to Apparition.[6] Phoenix song also has a deep emotional impact, magical in
nature and able to provide support and comfort.[7][8][9]
Fire appears to have an unknown but profound effect on Phoenixes, as Gellert Grindelwald was
effortlessly capable of instantly turning a baby Phoenix into a full adult by conjuring fire from his
hand and setting the baby bird ablaze, from which it emerged as a full adult after being briefly
covered by the flames, although by all fairness, Grindelwald was an immensely powerful wizard who
was extremely skilled in Wandless Magic and fairly apt at handling magical creatures. Nevertheless,
considering a Phoenix's fire-related powers, it is likely that fire can be used to strengthen them.
Domesticated phoenixes
Phoenixes are very difficult to domesticate, as Newton Scamander says in his book Fantastic Beasts
and Where to Find Them: "The phoenix gains an XXXX rating not because it is aggressive, but
because very few wizards have ever succeeded in domesticating it."[1] There are two known
domesticated phoenixes, one Albus Dumbledore's pet phoenix Fawkes[2], and the other Sparky the
team mascot for the New Zealand Quidditch team the Moutohora Macaws.[10]
Phoenixes that have been domesticated are extremely loyal to their owners, and would depart to
find their own paths if their owners die, rather than finding a new master.
Unknown Phoenix in Nurmengard
Phoenix in Nurmengard
Phoenix in Nurmengard
After Battle in Lestrange Mausoleum and recruiting Credence Barebone to his forces, Gellert
Grindelwald reveals in Nurmengard to Credence that the baby bird he has been caring for in Paris
was actually a phoenix. According to legend, a phoenix will appear to anyone of the Dumbledore
Family in dire need. Grindelwald then presented him with a wand, as well as his birth name: Aurelius
Dumbledore.
Fawkes
Fawkes blinding Basilisk
Fawkes blinds Basilisk
Fawkes was a phoenix who was owned by Albus Dumbledore. Fawkes lived with Dumbledore at
Hogwarts Castle for a large part of his life. He was instrumental in helping Harry Potter defeat the
Serpent of Slytherin, bringing Harry the Sword of Gryffindor, blinding the basilisk, and saving Harry
from the venom with his tears.
Fawkes was also used as a communication between his master and the Order of the Phoenix. Fawkes
assisted Dumbledore fighting Lord Voldemort and protected the headmaster from a Killing Curse.
After Albus Dumbledore's death, Fawkes performed a mournful song that seemed to feel like it is
inside the listener, dubbed by wizards the "Phoenix Lament". After the song was completed, Fawkes
departed Hogwarts as a free phoenix, and was never heard from again.
Sparky
Main article: Sparky
Sparky is the phoenix mascot of the New Zealand Quidditch team the Moutohora Macaws. Apart
from Fawkes, Sparky is now the only known domesticated phoenix.
Phoenix feather materials
250px-Harrypotterwand
Harry Potter's wand, Phoenix feather core
Voldemort wand
Tom Riddle's wand, Phoenix feather core
Phoenix feathers are a powerful magical substance, and as such are an accepted wand core. Fawkes
gave two feathers, which ended up in the wands of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort,[11] which is
said to be the reason why they locked in Priori Incantatem when the two wizards attempted to
engage in a magical battle in the Little Hangleton graveyard.[4] Due to phoenixes being very difficult
to tame and are one of the most detached creatures in the world, the wands with such feathers are
the pickiest of owners. The wands containing this core sometimes act on their own accord, due to
having the most initiative of all core types. Phoenix feathers are sometimes used as writing quills.
The phoenix is a creature from Greek mythology. The given native range for the phoenix in Egypt,
India, and China may be in reference to the Egyptian Bennu, the Hindu Garuda and the Chinese
fenghuang, all mythological birds from other cultures sometimes compared to the phoenix (though
it should be noted that the hoo-hoo, which is also based on the fenghuang, apparently exists as an
independent creature in the wizarding world).
The phoenix is Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling's favourite magical creature.[13]
The phoenix is the only life-form in existence that defies the otherwise absolute rule of nothing can
truly bring back the dead, although it is debatable if phoenixes actually die.
Four 40-foot tall gilded statues of phoenixes are located in the lobby of the Magical Congress of the
United States of America.
It is interesting to note that the appearances of Phoenixes, specifically Fawkes, portrayed in the films
and novels look quite different; the Phoenix is depicted and having a longer neck and vaguely
resembling a Hoatzin in the novels and in illustrations on Pottermore, while in the films, it resembles
a large Bird of Prey such as an eagle or a hawk.
In a National Geographic book, it states that designers used the harpy eagle as inspiration for
Fawkes.
Although Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them states that phoenixes are hard to domesticate,
domestication happens to a population due to selective breeding, not to individual animals, which
can be tamed.
Re'em
Species information
Hair colour
Golden
Native range
North America
Far East
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles an Ox
Blood increases strength of drinker
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Re'em was a magical beast native to the wilds of North America and the Far East. The Re'em was
extremely rare, resembling giant Ox with a golden hide. Re'em blood gave immense strength to the
drinker for a limited time. However, since demand far exceeded supply, and obtaining the blood in
the first place was extremely difficult, it could rarely be found in the open market.[1]
Behind the scenes
In the Spanish version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, "Re'em" is translated by "Uro"
(Spanish for "aurochs").
The creature Re'em is often described as a form of unicorn or giant horse whose blood was rare. The
beast and its blood are mentioned in the Bible.[2]
Runespoor
Species information
Skin colour
Orange with black stripes
Native range
Burkina Faso, Africa
Length of average adult
Six to seven feet[1]
Distinction
Three heads
Affiliation
Dark Wizards (formerly)
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Runespoor is a magical three-headed snake native to the African country of Burkina Faso. Since
they are very easy to spot, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Magic has made several forests Unplottable
for the Runespoor's use, and to avoid sightings by non-wizards.[2]
In the runic alphabet, the three heads of the Runespoor are used to represent the number three.[3]
The Runespoor is a possible rare corporeal form of the Patronus Charm.[4] Runespoor eggs are used
in Potion-making.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
Runespoors are commonly six to seven feet long,[1] with orange and black stripes.
in:
Beasts, Creatures from Burkina Faso, Creatures with multiple heads, and 5 more
Runespoor
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Runespoor
Species information
Skin colour
Orange with black stripes
Native range
Burkina Faso, Africa
Length of average adult
Six to seven feet[1]
Distinction
Three heads
Affiliation
Dark Wizards (formerly)
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Runespoor is a magical three-headed snake native to the African country of Burkina Faso. Since
they are very easy to spot, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Magic has made several forests Unplottable
for the Runespoor's use, and to avoid sightings by non-wizards.[2]
In the runic alphabet, the three heads of the Runespoor are used to represent the number three.[3]
The Runespoor is a possible rare corporeal form of the Patronus Charm.[4] Runespoor eggs are used
in Potion-making.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
Runespoors are commonly six to seven feet long,[1] with orange and black stripes.
Some witches and wizards have attempted to create homemade Floo Powder (known as "Faux
Floo") using the fangs of Runespoors, but like all imitation Floo Powder, it doesn't suffice, and causes
injury, as noted by Rutherford Poke in 2010.[4]
History
Runespoor FB1
The giant Runespoor in the Newt Scamander's suitcase
The Runespoor has long been associated with Dark Wizards, and what is known of their habits is due
in large part to the writings of Parselmouths that have conversed with the creatures.
Newt Scamander carried two Runespoors in his suitcase in December 1926: an apparently normal-
sized individual whose right head was wearing a protective cone, and an unusually gigantic
specimen.[5] Newt later told Tina Goldstein in 1927 that she had “gone middle head” during her
investigation on Credence Barebone, explaining it was an expression derived from the three heads of
the Runespoor, the middle of which he claimed was the visionary; he also admitted he was most
likely the only person who used the expression.[6]
Mathilda Grimblehawk and her partner investigated a case involving a Runespoor, and Runespoor
eggs, that had caused Bilius Finbok to be sent to hospital.[7]
The Runespoor could represent the character of a writer: the first head dealing with plot outlines
and story plans, the second head dealing with description and the 'flesh' of the story (often getting
stuck spending hours describing a simple scene) and the third head being the writer's internal critic-
questioning everything they do and making them revise every single word. Of course some writers
start ignoring their internal critic (represented by the runespoors biting off the third head) and
without that criticism the story (or the runespoor) dies.
Snallygaster
Species information
Related to
Occamy[1]
Native range
United States of America
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Part-bird and part-reptile
Resembles dragons
Serrated steel fangs to pierce prey
Naturally curious nature
Bulletproof hide
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Once believed to be a type of dragon, this bird—reptile hybrid has found its way onto the pages of
many a Muggle newspaper."
—Description[src]
The Snallygaster is a dragon-like magical beast known to exist in the New World. It has been
featured in many Muggle newspapers and is so well-known that it competes with the Loch Ness
Monster.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
The part-bird, part-reptile is a distant relative of the Occamy. It cannot breathe fire unlike the
dragon, but uses fangs made of serrated steel to slice through its prey. It is naturally curious and has
a bulletproof hide. Snallygaster heartstrings can be used as Wand cores.[1]
History
Snallygaster
Around 1620, Isolt Sayre and the Pukwudgie, William took trips together to observe these creatures
and fought a Snallygaster. Snallygaster heartstrings can be used as a wand core, as evidenced by Isolt
Sayre and James Steward when they created wands for early Ilvermorny students.[2]
ts natural curiosity, coupled with a bulletproof hide has led it to repeatedly threaten the
International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. The Snallygaster has appeared in Muggle newspapers so
often that it competes with the Loch Ness Monster for the title of 'Most Publicity-Hungry Beast.'
Starting in 1949, the Snallygaster Protection League has been stationed in Maryland to Obliviate
Muggles who see it.[1]
Sphinx
Species information
Eye colour
Almond-shaped
Hazel
Hair colour
Brown
Native range
Egypt
Distinction
Human head and face
Lion body
Highly intelligent
Capable of human speech
Delights in puzzles and riddles
Violent nature
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The Egyptian sphinx has a human head on a lion’s body. For over a thousand years it has been used
by witches and wizards to guard valuables and secret hideaways. Highly intelligent, the sphinx
delights in puzzles and riddles. It is usually dangerous only when what it is guarding is threatened."
—Description of a Sphinx[src]
The Sphinx is a magical beast native to Egypt.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
SphinxFBE
A female Sphinx
It has the head of human, and the body of lion. Sphinxes are highly intelligent and capable of human
speech, and are known for their love of puzzles, riddles, and enigmas. When the Ministry of Magic
began categorising magical creatures, the Sphinx was placed in the Beast category rather than the
Being category due to their violent tendencies.[1]
History
"It had the body of an over-large lion: great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown
tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon Harry
as he approached."
—Description of the Sphinx in the maze[src]
Sphinx
The Triwizard Maze Sphinx
The Sphinx has been used for centuries to guard treasures and has been noted for violence when
something threatens that treasure.[1]
Crispin Cronk (1795-1872) once kept several sphinxes in his backyard. Apparently, the private
ownership of sphinxes is (or was) illegal, as the Ministry of Magic sent him to Azkaban for it after he
ignored their repeated warnings.[2]
A female Sphinx was stationed in the maze during the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament of
1994-1995. The Sphinx guarded the closest route to the Triwizard Cup, and also gave a clue to Harry
Potter concerning the last creature that was guarding the Cup. Harry Potter had to cross the Sphinx,
and this was the riddle that was given to him:[3]
Gringotts Wizarding Bank has been known to place Sphinxes to guard some of the vaults, much to
the annoyance of those customers who want to access their valuables but who are not that good at
riddles.[4]
Abilities
Sphinxes are renowned for being extremely intelligent (they are capable of human speech, and are
known for their love of puzzles, riddles, and enigmas), with the only reason for their exclusion from
the Beings class being their aggressive behaviour towards humans. Their riddles are normally
extremely long and complicated, with profusely subtle references to the answer that most people
would almost certainly miss. They also possess superhuman strength, especially in their brutally
powerful paws — this makes them very dangerous to human beings, and is why they are classed so
high in terms of dangerous species.[1]
The sphinx is a creature from Greek mythology, though the term would later come to be applied to
ancient Egyptian statues of similar appearance, most famously the Great Sphinx of Giza. The
association of sphinxes with riddles comes from the sphinx appointed to guard the city of Thebes by
asking a riddle and killing any who could not answer.
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, the sphinx in the maze is a statue instead of a real one, and the
player must lure the spider to come near it with a fly, which sends away the statue and allows entry.
However, in the DS and IPhone versions you have to pick the right barrel and find the Lego-brick, if
you find it the Sphinx will open a door-hedge next to it.
Tebo
Species information
Eye colour
Brown
Hair colour
Ashen
Related to
Warthog
Native range
Congo
Zaire
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Highly dangerous
Can turn invisible
Extremely difficult to capture or evade
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Tebo was an ash-coloured magical warthog.[1]
Description
It was found in the African countries of Congo and Zaire. The Tebo was very dangerous and could
make itself invisible, rendering it virtually impossible to capture or evade. Tebo hide was strong and
therefore was often used by wizards and witches to make protective shields and clothing.[1]
Thestral
Species information
Eye colour
White
Skin colour
Black
Hair colour
Black
Related to
Winged horse
Abraxan
Aethonan
Granian
Native range
British Isles
France
Iberian Peninsula
Ireland
Height of average adult
Larger than a wingless horse
Length of average adult
Larger than a wingless horse
Distinction
Only visible to those who have witnessed a death and accepted its reality
Affiliation
Hogwarts Castle
Rubeus Hagrid
Luna Lovegood
Harry Potter
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
Luna Lovegood: "They're called Thestrals. They're quite gentle, really... But people avoid them
because they're a bit..."
Harry Potter: "Different. But why can't the others see them?"
Luna Lovegood: "They can only be seen by people who've seen death."
— Harry and Luna discussing Thestrals[src]
The Thestral is a breed of winged horse with a skeletal body, face with reptilian features, and wide,
leathery wings that resemble a bat's. They are native to the British Isles and Ireland, though they
have been spotted in parts of France and the Iberian Peninsula.They are very rare, and are
considered dangerous by the British Ministry of Magic.[1] Thestrals are, undeservedly, known as
omens of misfortune and aggression by many wizards because they are visible only to those who
have witnessed death at least once or due to their somewhat grim, gaunt and ghostly
appearance.[2][3][4][5][6
Due to Thestrals' classification as XXXX, only experienced wizards (or Rubeus Hagrid) should try to
handle Thestrals. Breeding as well as owning these beasts may be discouraged or even illegal
without Ministry consent; in fact, wizards that live in areas not protected against Muggles are forced
by law to perform Disillusionment Charms on their Thestrals regularly.[6]
Contents[show]
Description
Physical appearance
"If he had had to give them a name, he supposed he would have called them horses, though there
was something reptilian about them, too. They were completely fleshless, their black coats clinging
to their skeletons, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonish, and their pupil-less
eyes white and staring. Wings sprouted from each wither — vast, black leathery wings that looked as
though they ought to belong to giant bats. Standing still and quiet in the gathering gloom, the
creatures looked eerie and sinister."
—Description[src]
Thestrals WB F5 ThestralCloseUpPortrait Illust 100615 Port
A Thestral up close
Thestrals have quite a disturbing appearance and the wizards who are capable of seeing them often
only describe these creatures as being sinister and spooky. This is because they are seen as having
big, bony figures and their dragon-like faces which bear white, glittering eyes that lack both
expression and pupils. Additionally, they are lured by the scent of blood.
Being a type of winged horse, most of their anatomy is identical to a horse, excluding their large
wings that sprout from their back. Unlike the Abraxan, another breed of winged horses, Thestral's
wings do not possess any feathers at all; they have vast, black and leathery wings that are more
similar to those of bats.[6]
Their fleshless, lustrous bodies are covered with a translucent and glossy coat. This smooth and dark
skin is a bit slippery and so thin that Thestral's bones are clearly defined through the entire
extension of their sleek bodies. These eerie horses have long black manes, as well as a large tail,
either with flowing black hair, like horses or ending in a tuft, like zebras.[8] Another distinction is
their sharp fangs used to seize and slash their prey.
Behaviour
"...they're dead clever an' useful!"
—Hagrid during a fifth year Care of Magical Creatures lesson[src]
Thestral on land
A Thestral stretching its wings
Thestrals are social creatures who live in herds. Professor Rubeus Hagrid states that they are "dead
clever". In fact trained Thestrals are smart enough to understand their rider's words when they ask
to travel to a specific location.
These magical creatures can be found in dark environments and the forest is their natural habitat.
They communicate with each other through a shrill and strange shriek that resembles some sort of
monstrous bird.
They appear to be loyal creatures, able to discern a friend from an enemy and offering help to
humans in need of transportation. Thestrals would forcefully attack anyone or anything they see as a
threat and in the unusual case of domesticated Thestrals, any enemy of its owners.[9][10] Thestrals
are not marks of ill omen, nor (their spooky appearance notwithstanding) are they in any way
threatening to humans, always allowing for the fright that the first sight of them tends to give the
observer.[11]
In the Battle of Hogwarts, Hogwarts' trained flock of Thestrals cooperated with Buckbeak, the
Hippogriff, to attack the Giants fighting for Voldemort. It's unclear whether or not wild herds can
similarly cooperate with other species.[12]
Diet
Order-of-the-phoenix- Thestrals
Thestral foal eating a piece of raw meat
Thestrals are carnivorous animals and are attracted to the smell of blood. Professor Wilhelmina
Grubbly-Plank mentions that they often attack birds. This indicates that, naturally, they hunt not
only for food in the ground, but also to pursue flying prey.
The Thestrals that live within the Hogwarts grounds, in the Forbidden Forest, are properly fed and
well trained. They don't attack other creatures or students unless seriously disturbed.
Abilities
"The horse crouched slowly, then rocketed upwards so fast and so steeply that Harry had to clench
his arms and legs tightly around the horse to avoid sliding backwards over its bony rump. He closed
his eyes and pressed his face down into the horses silky mane as they burst through the topmost
branches of the trees and soared out into a blood-red sunset. Harry did not think he had ever moved
so fast: the Thestral streaked over the castle, its wide wings hardly beating..."
—A Thestral taking off and in mid flight[src]
The Thestral tail hair is a powerful and tricky substance that can be mastered only by a witch or
wizard capable of facing death. It should be noted that this substance can be used as a core in a
wand's conception and it was used to create the most powerful wand known by wizards, the Elder
Wand.[8]
The most well-known ability of these beasts is their invisibility to those who have not seen death. In
other words, they are only visible to people who have seen someone dying and fully accepted,
understood and internalised the concept.
Thestrals have an extraordinary sense of smell and will easily recognise the smell of blood and fresh
flesh, even if the source of the scent is rather distanced.
They also have quite a useful sense of direction. The Thestral can understand exactly where their
riders need to go. If their riders have a certain destination in mind, they only need to say the
destination and the creature will diligently carry them to the intended location — much like owls do
with letters.
Thestral on air
Thestrals mid-flight, flying at very high-speeds
These gentle, winged beasts are very capable and fast fliers and can travel long distances hardly
beating their large wings. For example, in 1996, six members of the Hogwarts herd (ridden by Harry
Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood) were
capable of flying from Hogwarts (Scotland) to the Ministry of Magic (London) in a brief amount of
time. It is possible that they were faster than even the fastest broomstick, as when Harry rode his,
he did not think he had ever moved so fast, and he was the owner of a top-of-the-line broomstick,
the Firebolt.
Their powerful wings are capable of lifting, at least, the burden of two humans plus their own
weight.
Even with all their useful abilities, Thestrals are rarely used as methods of transportation due to their
reputation as omens of evil and their somewhat dreadful and even distasteful appearance.
When riding a Thestral, the traveller usually holds the creature's mane to ensure balance. To aid the
mounting, the wizards also place their legs behind the wing joints to provide safety. Flying on the
back of a Thestral during a long journey is frequently an unpleasant experience, particularly to those
who dare riding them without seeing the creature. The high speed flight on an invisible steed can be
terrifying. The wind will, eventually, cause a temporary deafness and will force the riders to close
their eyes. It is often difficult to keep balance on their slick backs.
The Hogwarts herd is gentle towards humans, they react satisfactorily to caresses and avoid
attacking owls. However, taking into consideration the Ministry of Magic classification as
"dangerous", this behaviour may be exclusive to well-trained Thestrals,[6] or just mere prejudice
from the Ministry.
Hogwarts herd
"Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here."
—Hagrid referring to the Thestral herd at Hogwarts[src]
Thestrals WB F5 ThestralsHarryAndLunaInTheForest Illust 100615 Land
Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood visiting the Hogwarts Thestral herd
Rubeus Hagrid, the trainer and breeder of this specific herd, strongly suspects that this is the only
trained large group of Thestrals in the whole of Great Britain.
Harry Potter's encounters with Thestrals
Order-of-the-phoenix-Thestrals.jpg
Harry Potter's first encounter with a Thestral that was pulling a Hogwarts carriage
Harry Potter first saw the Thestrals at Hogwarts in September of 1995, after having witnessed the
murder of Cedric Diggory in June. Harry could not see them that June because he had not yet dealt
with what he had witnessed. At first, he wonders why the supposedly horseless carriages are
suddenly pulled by such sinister creatures when they are able to move on their own. He points the
Thestrals out to Ron Weasley , and realises that Ron cannot see them. Sensing his desperation, Luna
Lovegood assures him that she has always been able to see the horses and that he is just as sane as
she is. Given Luna's odd habits and beliefs, this statement does not completely reassure Harry.
They were first identified by name by Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, after Hedwig was found
injured, when she mentioned that Thestrals sometimes go after birds. They were next mentioned by
Hagrid in a Care of Magical Creatures class, where the students were told that they could be used as
mounts, and introduced their navigation abilities.
In June of 1996, Harry, Hermione Granger, Ron , Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Neville
Longbottom flew to London atop the Thestrals in order to find Sirius Black, whom Harry believed to
be in danger in the Ministry of Magic. (Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had trouble mounting their
Thestrals for the ride since, at least to the three of them, the Thestrals were invisible).[5]
Billfleurdesta
Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour use a Thestral as transportation during the Battle of the Seven
Potters
The Order of the Phoenix made use of Thestrals in the summer of 1997 during the Battle of the
Seven Potters. Six of the Order's members took Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as Harry, and
then the "seven Potters" and their protectors fled 4 Privet Drive to safe houses of other members.
Thestrals were used as transportation by the Order, seeing as they are incredibly fast and very
clever. Hermione Granger and Kingsley Shacklebolt flew on a Thestral (Hermione was not confident
on a broom), and so did Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour (Fleur does not like brooms).
During the second stage of the Battle of Hogwarts, Thestrals were seen attacking Lord Voldemort's
Giant soldiers from the air. They were lead by the Hippogriff Buckbeak. It can be assumed that after
the battle Thestrals were treated with much more respect then previously and maybe they are not
considered as unlucky as they were always believed to be.
Nineteen years later, James Potter II teasingly warned his younger brother Albus about the Thestrals
before they left for Hogwarts.[10] This teasing however was stopped by Harry Potter, by informing
his son that Thestrals were not dangerous without reason to be.
ThestralWU
A Thestral as shown on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
J. K. Rowling stated that the core of the Elder Wand is a Thestral tail hair.[8]
J. K. Rowling also stated that the reason Harry was not able to see Thestrals until the beginning of his
fifth year was that when he left Hogwarts in June he had not yet fully come to terms with Cedric's
death.[15]
As described in Goblet of Fire, when Harry and Cedric are transported into the graveyard, Harry's
scar begins to hurt and then Wormtail kills Cedric. It mentions "A blast of green light blazed through
Harry's eyelids, and he felt something heavy fall to the ground beside him." That meant that Harry
had his eyes closed when Cedric died and did not know what fell next to him. Therefore, Harry did
not actually witness Cedric's death and should not have been able to see Thestrals as a result of it.
Despite this, it is canon that Harry can see Thestrals, as it was clearly stated that he could see them
in Phoenix, and thus the way in which he witnessed Cedric's death can be described as a consistency
error. If one considers it a mistake that Harry was able to see Thestrals, then he should not have
been able to see them until either the death of Sirius Black, or Albus Dumbledore, depending on
whether witnessing Black falling through the Veil would count. Thestrals, however, can be seen
someone who has gained a sufficient understanding of what death means, and it is possible this was
enough for Harry to see them, even though he had not witnessed Cedric's death directly.[19]
Harry also had the chance to witness at least two people die before the death of Cedric Diggory in
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. His mother was murdered by Lord Voldemort when he was one,
and Professor Quirrell in his first year. Despite this, Harry is not able to see the Thestrals until the
beginning of his fifth year. J. K. Rowling has explained this stating that he was in his crib when his
mother was murdered, and passed out before Quirrell died.[20] It's also possible that when his
parents died, Harry was too young to truly understand the concept of accepting someone's death.
This creates a paradox in the films, since the first film appears to show Harry seeing Quirrell die.
It may be possible that Bill, Fleur and Kingsley Shacklebolt all saw someone die as they all rode a
Thestral during the Battle of the Seven Potters. The explanation is that Kingsley Shacklebolt most
likely saw a death during the First Wizarding War. However, who Fleur and Bill saw die is unknown. It
is possible, that, like Hermione, Fleur could not see Thestrals, since she lived in France where the
First Wizarding War wasn't as effective, and she was only four years old when Voldemort was
defeated the first time; however, it is equally possible that she witnessed another death during her
life.
In the films, Thestrals do not seem to have visible hair.
Thestrals also don’t seem to have fangs in the film, at least in the young foals. Instead they have a
pointed beak which they use to grab food and then they swallow it, almost without chewing, much
like birds eat worms.
Neville Longbottom does not seem to be able to see Thestrals in the film adaptation of Harry Potter
and the Order of the Phoenix.
Normal NY41373
Thestrals on the cover of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, U.S. 15th Anniversary Edition
Kazu Kibuishi illustrated the cover of the Scholastic special edition version of Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix which features Harry riding a Thestral, and two other people (possibly Ron and
Hermione) riding Thestrals in the background.
In an interview for the fifth film, Daniel Radcliffe described the Thestrals as resembling something
the Four Horsemen would ride, alluding to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse of the Christian
Bible, among whom Death is a member.
After the Second Wizarding War, many students of Hogwarts should be able to see Thestrals as
many saw Voldemort dying.
It is possible that Scorpius Malfoy was able to see thestrals after possibly witnessing the death of his
mother Astoria in the summer of 2019.
It is unknown whether Albus Potter was able to see thestrals after witnessing the death of Craig
Bowker Jr. Thunderbird
Species information
Skin colour
White
Hair colour
Gold
Feather colour
Gold/White
Related to
Phoenix
Native range
Arizona, United States of America
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Can magically create storms
Highly sensitive to danger
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Flying beast that can sense danger, and create storms as it flies"
—Description of the Thunderbird[src]
The Thunderbird is a large, magical avian beast native to North America, and most commonly found
in Arizona in the southwestern United States.[1][2] A close relative of the Phoenix,[2] the
Thunderbird can create storms as it flies and is highly sensitive to danger. A house at Ilvermorny
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is named after this creature.[3]
Contents[show]
Description
Thunderbird concept art2
A Thunderbird creating a storm
The Thunderbird is described as having a head that is "similar to that of an eagle"; or, in the
wizarding world, "similar to that of a Hippogriff". They possess three pairs of powerful wings, and
have feathers that shimmer with cloud-like patterns.[1]
The Thunderbird is known to change colours as it summons storms, its iridescent feathers shifting
from various shades of gold to electrifying blue, to grey and silver, to white, and even to deep navy.
The Thunderbird can also sense danger and creates storms as it flies.
Uses
Thunderbirds' tail feather can be used as a core in a magic wand, with this type of wand being
difficult to master, but powerful and skilled in transfiguration work. They too are also able to sense
danger, much like their donors, also being able to cast curses on their own.
History
Shikoba Wolfe, who was of Choctaw descent, was primarily famous for intricately carved wands
containing Thunderbird tail feathers. Wolfe wands were generally held to be extremely powerful,
though difficult to master. They were particularly prized by Transfigurers.[4]
After rescuing a Thunderbird from traffickers in Egypt around 1926, Newton Scamander named him
Frank and worked to return him to his natural habitat in Arizona.[1] Frank was actually released in
New York to help obliviate the population to a series of recent magical occurrences but ultimately
made it to Arizona.[5]
In late 1927, Madam Seraphina Picquery, then-President of MACUSA, declared the Thunderbird a
protected species, a protection that was later extended to all North American magical creatures.
See also
Thunderbird House at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Phoenix
Augurey
Fwooper
Weather-Modifying Charms
Media
What Is a Thunderbird?
What Is a Thunderbird?
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Hand pointing right transparent Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards
Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.
As such, spoilers will be present within the article.
"Point me!"
This article is about the creature. You may be looking for the N.E.W.T., O.W.L. and W.O.M.B.A.T.
grade or the language.
Troll
Species information
Eye colour
Varies
Skin colour
Varies
Related to
Yeti (possibly)
Native range
Europe
(originally Scandinavia)
Height of average adult
12 feet
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Giant-like appearance
Low intelligence
Generally aggressive nature
Carnivorous
Affiliation
Norwegian National Quidditch team
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Being (formerly)
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Anyone can speak Troll. All you have to do is point and grunt."
—The Troll language[src]
A troll is a magical beast of prodigious strength and immense stupidity. In fact, they are so
synonymous with stupidity that they actually have a wizarding exam failing grade named after them.
Trolls are grouped in the taxonomical genus Troglodytarum.[1] Trolls possess rudimentary magic,
but it is not known how they apply it.
Contents[show]
Description
Physical appearance
Trolls generally reach a height of about twelve feet and weigh up to a tonne. Troll whiskers have
magical properties, and are sometimes used as wand cores. Their feet have two toes, both with
giant toenails.
Behaviour
They are dangerously violent and incredibly aggressive, and they engage in unpredictable behaviour,
comparable to giants. They are also incredibly low in intelligence, of which giants seem to have
more. Trolls are particularly attracted to unpleasant smells, such as Dungbombs.[2]
Diet
Trolls, similar to Acromantulas, have a taste for human flesh. They enjoy it raw, but are not fussy
about what they eat. Trolls are also fond of fish.[3]
History
"I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know,
because I've read all about them."
—Hermione Granger lying after encountering a Troll[src]
Trolls originated in Scandinavia, but are now found all across Europe.[4]
Trolls are not recognised as magical beings, but are instead classified as beasts by the Department
for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures of the British Ministry of Magic, most likely due
to their aggressive natures.[4] Pierre Bonaccord, the first Supreme Mugwump of the International
Confederation of Wizards, wanted to stop troll-hunting and give them rights, but his appointment to
that office was contested by Liechtenstein, since they were having problems with a tribe of very
dangerous mountain trolls at the time.[5]
Artemius Lawson was an outspoken advocate for the strict restraint of trolls. He thought it was
wrong to allow them to roam free, stating that "they were creatures who weighed a ton, but had
brains the size of a bogey".
The Black family kept an umbrella stand made out of a troll's leg in their front hall.[6]
A Troll was Quirrell's contribution to guarding the Philosopher's Stone in the Underground
Chambers, during the 1991–1992 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[7]
Professor Quirrell, to create a diversion so he could go after the Philosopher's Stone, let a mountain
troll into the castle on Hallowe'en, 1991. It wandered around the corridors until Harry Potter and
Ron Weasley locked it in a girls' bathroom, only to realise soon after that Hermione Granger was also
in that particular bathroom. With a combination of using the Levitation Charm and "sheer dumb
luck" (according to Minerva McGonagall), Ron managed to knock it by levitating its club and
dropping it on its head, incapacitating it out and saving Hermione.[8]
Trolls participate in wizarding society to some extent; some witches and wizards make a career out
of training security trolls. These were evidently a different type of troll than the mountain variety,
since they seemed considerably more intelligent and less smelly. Dumbledore hired security trolls to
guard the Fat Lady after Sirius Black attacked her. They spent all their time pacing the corridor in
front of the Fat Lady's portrait, giving dirty looks to everyone who happened by and comparing the
sizes of their clubs. They left at the end of the year, when Sirius was deemed to have left the
country.
The wizarding author and celebrity Gilderoy Lockhart wrote about his supposed adventures with
Trolls in his book Travels with Trolls, which was a mandatory Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook
for his classes in that subject for the 1992–1993 school year when he was that year's Professor.[9] As
Gilderoy Lockhart was in reality a dishonest con artist who fraudulently took the credit of the
achievements of far braver wizards and witches, by erasing their memories of their deeds with the
Memory Charm, Lockhart in reality had no actual experience with these creatures.[10]
During the Calamity, several Trolls started randomly appearing throughout the Wizarding world
guarding various magical Confoundables, with volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task
Force having to incapacitate them with spells such as the the Ebublio Jinx and the Knockback Jinx, in
order to overpower the Confoundables and return them to their rightful place.[11]
Sub-species
Forest troll
Forest troll
Mountain Troll
Mountain troll
RiverTroll
River troll
The Troll of Nadroj
Troll of Nadroj
The mountain troll is the largest and most violent of the various troll species. It stands twelve feet
tall, with grey skin, a lumpy body, and flat horny feet. It exudes a powerfully awful smell, “a mixture
of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.” Its nose is full of what looks like
lumpy, grey glue: troll bogeys.[8]
The forest troll has pale-green skin and straggly hair.[4] This breed of troll is native to forests or
woodlands, some may even live in the Forbidden Forest.[12]
The river troll has hairy purple skin and short horns. It is often found lurking under bridges.[4] They
are often found lurking beneath bridges or in the middle of rivers.
Part-troll are beings with some, but not a total, amount of troll heritage or blood, as well as part
human blood.
See also
Giant
Inflate-a-Troll
Travels with Trolls
Yeti
Behind the scenes
Lego-harry-potter-years-1-4-troll
The troll as a Lego minifigure
The troll is a creature from Norse mythology. Though sometimes depicted as being little different
from humans, later Scandinavian folklore began to increasingly depict them as ugly, stupid, and
brutish, a depiction that has persisted into modern fantasy works.
In the Philosopher's Stone book and PS1/GBC game, there is a room with a troll that belongs to
Professor Quirrell. However, in the film, this scene was omitted.
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Ron Weasley draws a picture of a troll and describes
Gregory Goyle as one.
In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, security trolls are made in
the last parts of the game. They are shown to be watching the library, and will end the game if they
catch the player. To distract them, Ron must throw a Dungbomb around one. If close enough, the
Troll will walk towards them. Humourously, when a Troll walks to a Dungbomb, they seem to lose
sense of the player.
Harry Potter once speculated that Marcus Flint has some traces of Troll blood in him; however, this
might be simply to insult Flint's stupidity and appearance.
Screenshot 931
When Ron Weasley was captured by Snatchers in 1997, he told them he was Stan Shunpike, due to
them not looking very intelligent, and even speculated that one of them might have been part-Troll,
judging by his odour.
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, if someone casts a spell at a security troll, they can create an
expansive wave in self-defence.[13]
Troll whiskers may be used in wand cores, though they are considered inferior to the Supreme
Cores.
There is some contradiction as to the ability of trolls to perform magic. In Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them, it states that trolls have no magic powers other than their naturally enhanced
strength. However, one of the questions on the Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test,
when taken with information on the Patronus Charm from Wonderbook: Book of Spells, implies that
both hags and trolls can use rudimentary magic.
After the details of the Sorting ceremony were revealed in 1991, Ron stated that he was going to kill
his brother Fred, who had suggested that the test to get into Hogwarts involved wrestling a troll.
Screenshot 933
Though often derided as stupid, trolls are obviously intelligent, or at least sapient, beings. This is
seen in their wielding of weapons, dressing themselves, and their attempts to domesticate other
beasts (such as graphorns). This indicates that trolls are early to mid Stone Age in terms of culture,
and likely possess rudimentary intelligence. However, they were either not considered intelligent
enough to understand the laws of the wizarding world or could not control their violence, as the
Ministry of Magic did not grant them being status.
Unicorn
Species information
Hair colour
White (mature)
Silver (aged 2-7)
Gold (first 2 years)
Related to
Horses
Native range
Northern Europe
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Single horn on head
Pure white coat
Golden hooves
Friendlier towards witches than wizards
Blood, hair and horn all have potent magical properties
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of
a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have
slain something so pure and defenceless to save yourself, you will have but a half-life, a cursed life,
from the moment the blood touches your lips."
—The properties of unicorn blood[src]
The Unicorn was a white horse with a horn sticking out of its head. An iconic creature of magic, the
existence of unicorns was one of the worst-kept secrets of the wizarding world, as unicorns were
inextricably associated with magic in the Muggle world.[1] These majestic equines possessed potent
magical properties, with their tail hairs being designed by Garrick Ollivander as one of the "Supreme
Cores," which was a distinction shared by only two other beasts.
Contents[show]
Description
BabyUnicorn
A unicorn foal
UnicornFBE
An adult Unicorn
Unicorn foals were born pure gold in colour. They remained so until they were about two years old,
at which time they turned silver in colour. At around four years old their horn grew in. They were
fully grown at about seven years old, at which at this age they turned a shade of pure white that was
so bright that it made freshly fallen snow looked grey in comparison. Their hooves were golden
(remaining so from their gold stage, the first two years of their life), and their blood was silver-blue
and shone under the moonlight. It was not mentioned how long a Unicorn can live for.[1]
Unicorns inhabited the forests of Europe, including the Forbidden Forest by Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry.[2]
Unicorns preferred a woman's touch, but the young ones were more trusting and do not mind men
as much. Unicorns are also so fleet of the hoof that they can rarely be caught by humans. They were
also fast enough to outrun werewolves with absurd ease. Wandmakers such as the Ollivander family
also plucked hairs from the tails of the creatures to use in wands as cores. Not aggressive without
cause, but should be treated with great respect.[1]
Unicorns were capable of moving faster than Werewolves. During the detention in the Forbidden
Forest in 1992, Harry asked if a werewolf could be killing the unicorns and Rubeus Hagrid replied
that they were not fast enough to catch Unicorns.[3]
Uses
UnicornSlaying
A Medieval tapestry depicting wizards slaying a unicorn, and collecting its blood
Various parts of the Unicorn — the horn and tail hair in particular — were used in potions. Unicorn
hair in general was used for the cores of wands. Unicorn hair can be used in wandmaking; they
produce the most consistent magic, least subject to fluctuations and blockages, most difficult to turn
to the Dark Arts and the most faithful of wands. However, they did not make the most powerful of
wands and were prone to melancholy if mishandled, although the wand wood can compensate this.
The Wandmaker Garrick Ollivander made wands with unicorn hair cores.[4]
The tail hair can also be used as binding in bandages due to its incredible strength.[5] The blood of a
unicorn can be used to keep a person who is near death alive, thus granting the drinker immortality,
but "you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."[3]
Unicorn horn is often used as a common potion ingredient, in potions such as the Antidote to
Common Poisons, Draught of Peace and Wiggenweld Potion.
The unicorn's single straight horn was used, in the Study of Ancient Runes, to symbolise the number
one as a runic number symbol.[6]
A unicorn was one rare possible corporeal form of the Patronus Charm.[7]
History
Merula Snyde's mother owned a unicorn for a short period.[8]
Unicorns death
A dead unicorn in 1992
At least two unicorns were slain by Quirinus Quirrell so Lord Voldemort could drink their blood and
return to power. Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy and Fang found the corpse of one of them in the
Forbidden Forest.[3]
"The Unicorn was so brightly white that it made the snow all around look grey. It was pawing the
ground nervously with its golden hooves, and throwing back its horned head"
—Description of a majestic Unicorn in a 1995 Care of Magical Creatures lesson[src]
In 1995, fourth year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry studied unicorns in
their Care of Magical Creatures class, while Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank was standing in for
Hagrid.[2]
Later, in the 1995-1996 school year, as part of the Ordinary Wizarding Level Care of Magical
Creatures practical examination, students were required to choose from a wide selection of food the
diet they would give a sick Unicorn.[9]
During the Calamity in the 2010s, several baby Unicorn Foundables were being guarded by large,
aggressive red snakes Confoundables, which appeared throughout the Wizarding world. Volunteer
members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to repel the giant serpents with the Exploding
Charm to stun them and liberate the baby Unicorns, allowing the Foundables to return to their
rightful place.[10]
See also
Unicorn blood
Unicorn hair
Unicorn horn
Behind the scenes
Unicorn FBCFTWW
A unicorn as shown on Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
Unicorn Patronus
A unicorn Patronus
The unicorn was a creature that the ancient Greeks believed resided in India. Though commonly
depicted in modern fantasy (as in Harry Potter) as being a horse with a single horn, unicorns in
antiquity were also described as goats, wild donkeys, or some form of a hybrid creature. The concept
of them being more comfortable with witches than wizards possibly stems from medieval beliefs
that only a maiden could tame a unicorn.
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Voldemort tries to sneak up on the unicorn with a knife and fork,
but is scared off by Firenze who shows him his fist. Hagrid then proceeds to care for the sick unicorn
like a child.[11]
It is possible the author was inspired to place Unicorns within the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts,
based on the fact that the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland, where Hogwarts is located.
The unicorn is one of the nine possible Patronus forms for Jacob's sibling. It can be achieved by
having a higher Empathy stat or choosing the option "protect friends" and later, choosing "Equine"
as the Patronus form.[
Yeti
Species information
Skin colour
Grey
Hair colour
White
Related to
Troll (possibly)
Native range
Tibet
Alternative names
Yetti (misspelling)
Bigfoot
The Abominable Snowman
Height of average adult
15 feet
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Human-like traits
Carnivorous
Fears fire
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"4 Yetti [sic] footprints: True sighting or another prank?"
—The Quibbler[src]
The Yeti (also known as the Abominable Snowman or Bigfoot) is a magical beast native to Tibet.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Standing up to 15 feet tall, it is a snowy-white furred humanoid that may be related to the troll. Yetis
are one of the Wizarding world's worst kept secrets as there had been so many Muggle sightings of
the Yeti. Because of this Tibet has one of the worst Wizarding secrecy records, due to its continuing
breaches of Clause 73 of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. The International
Confederation of Wizards had to place a permanent International Task Force up in the mountains to
help control the situation.[1]
The Yeti's alternate name of Bigfoot can also be used to refer to the sasquatch.[1]
The Yeti fears fire, allowing for skilled wizards and witches to repel it. However, the Yeti will attack
and eat anything that it meets, so no witch or wizard has had the opportunity to study it up close
yet.[1]
History
YetiHM
The Yeti on Hogwarts grounds in the 1980s
One time around Christmas, a Yeti was spotted near the grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry during the 1986–1987 school year.[2]
In 1992, Gilderoy Lockhart taught his second year Defence Against the Dark Arts class about the Yeti,
using his book Year with the Yeti.[3] However, based on his fraudulence, his information is taken
from a more accomplished wizard or witch and his own version was twisted with inaccuracy and
arrogance.[4]
In 1998. The Quibbler questioned whether four Yeti footprints were sighted or if it was another
prank. Xenophilius Lovegood misspelled Yeti as Yetti.[5]
Behind the scenes
The Yeti is a mythological creature purported to live in the portions of the Himalayas encompassing
Nepal and Tibet, generally considered in modern times to be a misidentification of various types of
bear native to the region, or a hybrid species of bear.
The name "Abominable Snowman" derives from an account of a sighting of the creature in 1921 by a
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Howard-Bury. Bigfoot, on the other hand, describes a similar creature
supposedly found in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, believed to have derived from a
combination of local folklore, misidentification of local fauna, and various hoaxes.
Acromantula
Species information
Eye colour
Black (white, if blind)
Hair colour
Jet-Black
Related to
Spider
Native range
Island of Borneo
Length of average adult
Greater than 15 feet
(Females are larger)
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Capable of speaking human speech
Taste for human flesh
Cannibalistic
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those surging over the leaves below. Spiders the size of carthorses,
eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic. The massive specimen that was carrying Harry made
its way down the steep slope toward a misty, domed web in the very centre of the hollow, while its
fellows closed in all around it, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of its load."
—Harry Potter's description of the Acromantulas[src]
An Acromantula was a giant magical species of spider, native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia,
particularly Borneo where it inhabited dense jungles. Acromantulas were believed to be a wizard-
bred species, designed to guard dwellings or treasure hoards, and were first created before the Ban
on Experimental Breeding in 1965. These giant spiders with a taste for human flesh were first
spotted in 1794.
Contents[show]
Physical description
Acromantula PS
Acromantula colony in the Forbidden Forest
Acromantulas sported eight, black eyes (white if blind) and were typically covered in thick black hair,
with a leg span that can reach up to fifteen feet. On average, they were the size of a carthorse,
though old specimens such as Aragog may grow to 15 feet in leg span.
They possessed a set of giant pedipalps which they used to eat live prey or their own dead kin. Their
pincers produced a clicking sound when they were agitated or excited.[1] They also secreted poison
when excited.[2] They are sentient, and capable of human speech.
The fangs contained highly toxic venom, valued at 100 Galleons a pint in 1996.[3]
Reproduction
The female was usually larger than the male, and can lay up to one-hundred soft, wide, beach ball-
sized eggs at a time. They usually hatched in six to eight weeks.[1] Acromantula eggs were a Class A
Non-Tradeable Goods.[1]
Social Behaviour
Acromantula-0
In contrary to most non-magical spiders, Acromantulas were social animals, who lived in large
colonies consisting of hundred's of their species. These colonies were led by the oldest male and
female of said colonies, who were highly respected and met with absolute obedience. The
Acromantula Aragog, for example, was able to keep his entire colony from eating Hagrid, despite
their instincts telling them to attack humans, because he respected Hagrid as a friend.[4]
Acromantulas were capable of forming emotional attachments to other sentient beings, but only if
they were raised well from a very young age. A good example was the friendship between Aragog
and Hagrid, with the latter having raised the giant spider from when he was still in his egg.[5]
However, this friendship did not automatically extend to people associated with whoever managed
to win the respect of an Acromantula nor do other members of a colony automatically treated said
person as friend, as they will first and foremost treat humans and other sentient beings like prey.
This is demonstrated after Aragog died, the other spiders immediately tried to eat Hagrid, despite
him being a good friend to their former leader.[3]
Whenever a member of an Acromantula colony died, their corpse were eaten by the other spiders
upon death. This included the leaders of a colony. It was not known if a dead Acromantula will be
mourned by other members of its species so it cannot be said for certain if this was a funeral rite or
simply a way to acquire food.
The basilisk was the worst enemy of all spiders, including Acromantulas, feared so much that they
did not even dare to speak of it, similar to how wizards of Harry Potter's world view Lord Voldemort
and used a euphemism in place of his name. It was their greatest threat due to the basilisk's killing
gaze and the fact that spiders had many eyes that grant extreme field of view, thus making them
highly vulnerable targets.[4]
Habitat
Acromantulas tend to reside in thick jungles and heavily forested areas, and their webs are large and
dome-shaped.[1][4]
A colony of Acromantulas was established in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry by Aragog and his wife, Mosag. Rubeus Hagrid originally kept the young Aragog in a
cupboard box in the school's dungeons. Aragog was released into the Forest by Rubeus Hagrid at
about the time of the 1943 opening of the Chamber of Secrets.[4]
During the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament in 1995, an Acromantula was positioned close to
the Triwizard Cup. Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory joined forces to defeat it.[6]
Tumblr m3f7mtfdjZ1qgt0vro5 250
Acromantulas participate in the Battle of Hogwarts
The Forbidden Forest Acromantula colony participated in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, when the
Death Eaters drove them out of the Forest, and towards Hogwarts Castle. Rubeus Hagrid was
captured by the Death Eaters after he was lost among the swarm in his efforts to protect Aragog's
offspring.[7]
Etymology
The name Acromantula has the Greek ακρος (acros/acro), meaning high or "peak," and -mantula,
from the English "tarantula." True to their name, Acromantulas are massive arachnids who tend to
spin their expansive webs high in tree tops. Despite the names bearing a phonetic similarity to
Tarantulas, they appear more like Wolf Spiders and are, in all depictions, araneomorphae.
The eight eyes of the Acromantula are used to symbolise the number eight in the runic alphabet.[8]
See also
Acromantula venom
Aragog
Spider repelling spell
Forbidden Forest Acromantula colony
Mosag
Behind the scenes
AcromantulaPM
An Acromantula as depicted on Pottermore
AcromantulaWU
An Acromantula, as seen in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter used the Spider
repelling spell (Arania Exumai), a spell for defence use against spiders, while attempting to escape
the Acromantula colony. He learned the spell from Tom Riddle upon visiting the latter's sixteen year
old memory in his diary. The spell was never mentioned in the book.[9]
The Acromantulas in the film more closely resemble wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) than actual
tarantulas (family Theraphosidae), but that may reflect upon the fact that wolf spiders were the first
kind of spider to ever be referred to as "tarantulas".
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Ron pens an added nine "X"s to the Acromantula's
Classification. This is a reference to his fear of spiders. He and Harry also cross out the
"unconfirmed" at the end of the sentence "Rumours of an Acromantula colony being established in
Scotland are unconfirmed" and replace it with "Confirmed by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
In the films, Acromantulas have two big eyes, at the height of human eyes, with a line of four small
eyes underneath and an eye on each side of the head, human temple height. This is a detail that is
not specified in the books.
The boggart in the form of a giant spider that Ron faced off in the film adaptation of Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban closely resembles a Black widow, with the exception of its size, which
may have been the result of his encounter with the much larger sized Acromantulas.[10]
In Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, riders encounter Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest
portion of the the ride.
The Acromantulas inhabiting the Forbidden Forest resemble, at certain point, the Great Spiders of
Mirkwood from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Basilisk
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
Skin colour
Green
Feather colour
Scarlet plume on the head (if male)[1]
Related to
Snake
Chicken
Toad
Native range
Originally Greece, now found worldwide
Alternative names
King of Serpents
Length of average adult
50 ft.
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Deadly gaze, capable of petrification
Venomous fangs, which are extremely poisonous
Affiliation
Dark Arts
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more
deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic
size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its
methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has
a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders
flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of
the rooster, which is fatal to it."
—Most Macabre Monstrosities[src]
The Basilisk is a giant serpent, also known as the King of Serpents. It is a magical beast that is bred by
Dark Wizards. Herpo the Foul was the first to breed a Basilisk; he accomplished this by hatching a
chicken egg beneath a toad which resulted in the creature known as a Basilisk. Basilisk breeding was
banned in Medieval times. The practise can be hidden when the Department for Regulation and
Control of Magical Creatures comes to check by simply removing the egg from the toad.[1]
Looking a Basilisk directly in the eye will immediately kill the victim, but indirect look will merely
render them Petrified. It is also the mortal enemy of spiders, who can intuitively sense them and flee
whenever they do.[2]
The Basilisk has a classification as an XXXXX creature, meaning it is a known wizard-killer that cannot
be domesticated due to its immense powers. Since the Basilisk is still a serpent, a Parselmouth may
place a Basilisk under his or her control. This depends on the relationship between the Basilisk and
the Parselmouth. Tom Riddle was the only one who could command Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk,
while Harry Potter had no control over it.[3]
Contents[show]
Nature
Physical appearance
"The light slid over a gigantic snake skin, of a vivid, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across
the tunnel floor. The creature that had shed it must have been twenty feet long at least."
—Description of the snake skin[src]
Slytherin's Basilisk
The immense size of the Basilisk
The Basilisk can grow up to fifty feet in length, and is a dark green colour with large yellow eyes.
These eyes have the power to instantly kill anyone who looks into them. Basilisk skin is armoured
like that of a dragon's, which deflects spells cast upon it. The Basilisk sheds its skin at intervals, like
all other snakes, when it grows.[1]
Ecology
Basilisks can live a natural life of at least nine hundred years, though Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk lived
for approximately a thousand years. This is accomplished by using Parseltongue to put the creature
into a deep sleep that prevents it from ageing, similar to suspended animation. Their mortal
weakness is the crowing of a rooster. Basilisks feed off vertebrate animals, it is unknown how much
they eat at one time. The Serpent of Slytherin survived on rats. The male can be distinguished from
the female by a single scarlet plume on its head.[1]
A basilisk egg is the egg of said creature. They are chicken eggs hatched beneath a toad, thus
creating the deadly King of Serpents.[4][1]
Abilities
Instant death gaze
Basilisk2
Instant death to the living who look directly into the basilisk's yellow eyes
When a live victim looks directly into the Basilisk's eyes, it results in instant death. Although looking
at the eyes through camera lens or a ghost's transparent body would dampen the lethal effects,
looking through a pair of glasses does not offer the same protection, because glasses still allow one's
line of vision to connect directly and clearly with the serpent's eyes. Myrtle Warren was such an
unfortunate person, as her wearing glasses did not save her from death when she looked directly at
the Serpent of Slytherin's eyes.[5]
If the victim is a ghost, then they can look directly into the serpent's eyes without suffering death, as
the dead cannot die again; however, they would suffer petrification. Should a camera be reflected
onto the serpent's eyes, the lens and film will be melted. A phoenix is immune to the basilisk's gaze,
whether directly or not, as the bird is immortal.[3]
If the basilisk's eyes are damaged (thus rendering it blind), it takes away the lethal ability as well.[3]
Petrification
Main article: Petrification
"Dark Magic of the most advanced kind."
—Albus Dumbledore regarding petrification[src]
Petrified
Petrified victims in hospital
When a victim looks indirectly at the Basilisk's eyes, such as its reflection, they will merely become
petrified, similar to the stare of a Gorgon. This was the case with Hermione Granger, Penelope
Clearwater, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Colin Creevey, Nearly-Headless-Nick and Filch's cat, Mrs Norris.
Myrtle Warren (commonly known as Moaning Myrtle) was not so fortunate and looked directly into
the Basilisk's eyes, which resulted in her immediate death.[6][7][4]
A way of surviving a Basilisk's gaze is by seeing it through another object. An example mentioned
above was when Colin Creevey saw it through his camera, resulting in his petrification and his
camera lens becoming melted.[8] Justin Finch-Fletchley saw the Basilisk through the translucent
ghost Nearly-Headless-Nick, and was petrified. The already deceased Sir Nicholas became petrified
as well, although he did look at the beast's eyes directly.[7] Hermione Granger was petrified, while
gathering information on the basilisk. She discovered it was the monster in the Chamber of Secrets
and that the serpent travelled through the pipes in the school. Hermione was petrified after seeing
the basilisks' eyes in a hand mirror.[4]
Petrification seems quite powerful, as the the legendary Albus Dumbledore concluded that the only
way to reverse the effect was through the use of the Mandrake Restorative Draught.[6] Spiders are
terrified of the Basilisk, described as their enemy and they flee before it. Spiders (such as the
Acromantula Aragog) also refuse to even speak of it or mention its name. Rubeus Hagrid asked
Aragog "many times" to name the monster, but Aragog refused to speak of it.[2]
Basilisk's venom
Main article: Basilisk venom
Hermione Granger: "It doesn’t have to be a basilisk fang. It has to be something so destructive that
the Horcrux can’t repair itself. Basilisk venom only has one antidote, and it’s incredibly rare —"
Harry Potter: "— phoenix tears."
— Disscussion on how to destroy Horcruxes using Basilisk venom[src]
Harry's wound because of the bite of Slytherin's Basilisk 03
Effects after Harry Potter is injured by a baskilisk fang
Basilisk venom is an extremely poisonous substance that only has one known antidote: phoenix
tears.[3] Basilisk venom is so powerful that it can kill a person within minutes, making the person
drowsy and blurry-visioned before they die. It has a very long lasting effect which still remains
potent even up to five years or more after the snake has died.[3] It can also damage inanimate
objects so thoroughly that they are impossible to restore, and thus it is one of the few substances
powerful enough to destroy a Horcrux.[9]
When Harry Potter slew the Serpent of Slytherin with the Sword of Gryffindor in 1992, the sword
became imbued with the basilisk's venom, giving it the ability to destroy a Horcrux.[3] However, the
venom is not poisonous simply by touching it. When Ron Weasley extracted a basilisk fang with his
bare hands in the Chamber, he did not die.[9]
Salazar Slytherin was responsible for the construction of the Chamber of Secrets beneath Hogwarts
dungeons. It was specifically created for the purpose of purging the school of all F students. The
Chamber contained a Basilisk, which could be controlled only by his own 'true heir', and use it to rid
the school of all those he considered unworthy to study magic. In 1943, when heir Tom Marvolo
Riddle opened the Chamber he used the Basilisk to attack Muggle-borns.[3]
The Basilisk actually killed one girl by the name of Myrtle Warren. In 1993 Riddle opened the
Chamber again, through the use of one of his seven Horcruxes. Using the bit of his soul
encompassed by the diary he possessed Ginny Weasley and forced her to do his bidding. During this
second opening of the Chamber numerous Muggle-borns were petrified, due to catching a glimpse
of the Basilisk's reflection. While he still attacked Muggle-born students, his ultimate goal was to
lure Harry Potter into the Chamber and kill him. Harry Potter ultimately slayed Slytherin's Basilisk by
stabbing it with the Sword of Gryffindor.[3]
According to Igor Karkaroff, Alastor Moody has smashed apart a birthday present that he thought in
paranoia was a cleverly disguised basilisk egg before finding out it was a mere carriage clock.[11]
The skeleton of Slytherin's Basilisk lays within the Chamber today and is over 20 feet long. During the
opening stages of the Battle of Hogwarts Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley went down into the
Chamber to fetch Basilisk fangs in order to be rid of Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. They had to
resort to the fangs after losing their earlier means of destroying Horcruxes.[9]
Etymology
The Ancient Greek basil(eus) means "king", with the suffix -iskos being a diminutive, the whole
having the sense of "princeling" or the like, purportedly for the crown-like white spot on its head.
See also
Serpent of Slytherin
Chamber of Secrets
Salazar Slytherin
Herpo the Foul
Herpo the Foul's basilisk
Basilisk venom
Basilisk egg
Tom Riddle
Parseltongue
Dark Arts
Petrification
Behind the scenes
The basilisk is often confused with the cockatrice, but the basilisk is born from a chicken’s egg
hatched beneath a toad, while the cockatrice is hatched by a chicken's egg incubated by a serpent.
The cockatrice is also usually depicted with wings, while the basilisk is not. Due to this, it can be
assumed that J.K. Rowling either had the two confused, or decided to combine the two. A cockatrice
is the product of an egg laid by a cock (a male chicken) and incubated by a toad or a snake, can kill by
looking at a person, touching them, or sometimes breathing on them, and was slain instantly by a
rooster's crow.
Although an average basilisk is said to have an average lifespan of 900 years Salazar Slytherin's
Basilisk lived for approximately 1000 years, being there since Slytherin built the Chamber of Secrets
around that time.
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, the basilisk is male because it has a red plume on its head.
Newt Scamander stated in the fifty-second edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that
there have been no recorded sightings of Basilisks in Britain for the last 400 years. Harry Potter
wrote in his copy of the book "that's what you think".
Wearing glasses will not protect a person from the fatal effect of the basilisk's stare, because glasses
still allow one's line of vision to connect directly and clearly with the serpent's eyes, unlike looking in
a mirror or through a camera.[5]
It has been theorised that spiders fear basilisks because arachnids can see nearly 360-degrees
around them and cannot shut their eyes, leaving them extremely vulnerable to the monster's killing
gaze. However, this theory does not explain why other species, such as frogs and dragonflies, are not
similarly described as fearing the basilisk, since their vision also nears 360-degrees.
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry watches the basilisk by its
shadow on the floor.
It is unknown why there are male and female basilisks, as they are produced by a chicken's egg
hatched by a toad. However, it's possible that basilisks are capable of reproduction as Moody had a
present that "he thought was a well-disguised basilisk egg", suggesting that basilisks can lay eggs.
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Basilisk is shown to hear
Harry Potter, something that Tom Riddle's memory also points out. However, snakes lack ears and
can only 'hear' things approaching by feeling vibrations. Though it is possible that Basilisks, being
magical creatures, indeed have the ability to hear. In the book, Riddle instead only tells the Basilisk
to smell Harry Potter.
Despite written physical descriptions and imagery, it appears basilisks can grow horns (like its distant
American relative the horned serpent; but seems to have shared a trait with European horned
serpents of mythology, i.e. Cernunnos).
Quite ironically, the way of hatching a basilisk - in the nest of a chicken - is also fatal to a Basilisk if
there is a rooster around, which there would be if the chickens are used for breeding.
As described by Pliny the Elder, basilisks don't get very large: only the length of "twelve fingers."
However, in nature, snakes don't stop growing until they die, so it could explain why a basilisk, which
can live over 900 years, would get so huge.
In addition to a rooster's crow, the smell of a weasel is also unbearable and practically fatal to a
basilisk in mythology.
In mythology, it's said that a basilisk can actually kill itself by looking at its own reflection.
Chimaera
Species information
Eye colour
White
Hair colour
Golden
Native range
Greece
Height of average adult
Large
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Head of a lion
Body of a goat
Tail of a dragon
Extremely violent and dangerous
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXXX
Status
Extant (rare)
[Source]
"He kept saying nobody in their right mind would rather study Knarls than Chimaeras."
—Hermione Granger on Rubeus Hagrid's love of these beasts[src]
A Chimaera was a type of hybrid animal and a violent magical beast native to Greece.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
ChimaeraTCGCrop
The Chimaera was a vicious, bloodthirsty beast with a lion's head, a goat's body and a dragon's
tail.[1]
History
Because of their ferocity, Chimaeras were classified by the Ministry of Magic as XXXXX (extremely
dangerous and lethal), and their eggs were classified as Class A Non-Tradeable Materials.[1]
There was only one recorded instance of a wizard killing a Chimaera, although the victor died from
the exhaustion after killing it.[1]
Dai Llewellyn, the famous Caerphilly Catapults player, was killed by a Chimaera while on holiday in
Mykonos, Greece.[2]
ChimaeraHM
Silvanus Kettleburn's Chimaera
In the 1987–1988 school year in Hogwarts, Professor Silvanus Kettleburn repeatedly said that a
Chimaera had escaped and was roaming the castle unleashed.[3] The Chimaera was still loose at the
beginning of the following year.[4]. Jacob's sibling found her in the Forbidden Forest, but was unable
to subdue her with magic. Liz Tuttle managed to calm her down.[5] In the 1988–1989 school year,
Professor Kettleburn taught his fifth year Care of Magical Creatures about how to handle these
beasts.[6]
In 1995, Rubeus Hagrid stated to Hermione Granger that it was difficult to get a Chimaera egg,
causing Hermione to speculate that he had tried to get one, and wanted to use it as part of a Care of
Magical Creatures lesson, while Hermione advised Hagrid better not to bring dangerous beasts to
teach to the Hogwarts students, due to Dolores Umbridge's inspections.[7]
During the Battle of Hogwarts, when Vincent Crabbe cast Fiendfyre (cursed fire), flaming Chimaeras
appeared out of it.[8]
Contents[show]
Description
Early life
"Your dragon requires a lot of care during these first few months."
—Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit[src]
Hatching of a Common Welsh Green
Hatching of a Common Welsh Green
Dragon mothers breathe fire on their eggs to keep them warm. They do not keep their eggs in
nests.[1] Newly born dragons are referred to as chicks.[2] The dragon's first fire breaths, usually
accompanied by thick grey smoke, appear when the dragon is around six months old. However, the
ability to fly is normally developed later, at around twelve months, and the dragon will not be fully
mature until it is two years old and ready to live on its own.[3] Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and
Profit states that you are to feed a baby dragon a bucket of brandy mixed with chicken blood every
half hour.[4] This apparently serves a replacement for dragon milk.[5]
Social behaviour
Not much is known about dragon behaviour, however it seems that, at least with the Chinese
Fireball, females are generally larger and dominant over males. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them states that sometimes females oust males from their territories, at least with the Antipodean
Opaleye. Fantastic Beasts also states that Fireballs are unusual in that they are willing to share
territory with one another, although no more than three dragons will share the same territory. This
indicates that dragons are highly territorial.[citation needed]
Dragons are generally highly aggressive towards anything, even wizards, and will sometimes attack
humans without provocation, such as in the case of the Ilfracombe Incident.[citation needed]
History
The Great Fire of London in 1666 was probably started by a young Welsh Green Dragon kept in the
basement of the house in Puddling Lane.[6]
A rogue Welsh Green dragon descends on a beach full of Muggle holidaymakers.[8] Tilly Toke and
her family happen to be there, and her family casts the largest Mass Memory Charm of this century
on all the Muggles of Ilfracombe. She is later awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class for her quick
action to avoid breaking the International Statute of Secrecy.[8] The Muggles later remember
nothing of the incident, with the exception of an old fellow known as Dodgy Dirk, who still claims
that a “dirty great flying lizard” attacked him on the beach. People think he’s crazy, of course.[8]
In 1799 a Ukranian Ironbelly dragon carried off a Muggle sailing ship, fortunately there was no one
aboard the ship at the time.[citation needed]
In 1802 according to an unsubstantiated report off the coast of Norway A Norwegian Ridgeback
dragon (supposedly) carries off a whale calf.[citation needed]Newt Scamander, for a time, worked in
the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau at the Ministry of Magic. He also spent World War I
working with Ukrainian Ironbelly dragons on the Eastern Front.[citation needed]
The single largest Memory Charm cast in recent memory was in 1932 and required because of a
dragon swooping down on a beach filled with Muggle holidaymakers.[citation needed]
In the 1970s a rogue Antipodean Opaleye dragon killed several kangaroos in Australia. It was a male,
believed to have come to Australia in search of a place to live after being ousted from its territory in
New Zealand by a female.[8]
In 1992 Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger arrived just in time to see a baby
Norwegian Ridgeback emerge from its egg. The baby dragon sneezed some sparks and almost bites
Hagrid (who is delighted). The first signs of hatching must have begun by breakfast time, since it was
then that Harry, Ron, and Hermione received a note from Hagrid informing them of it. They go to his
hut right after their morning Herbology class.
Draco Malfoy's first name comes from the constellation The Dragon ("Draco" in Latin). The motto of
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is Draco dormiens numquam titillandus; Latin for Never
tickle a sleeping dragon.
The Hogwarts gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, loved and adored dragons, briefly owning a Norwegian
Ridgeback named Norbert, who turned out to be a female and was subsequently renamed
Norberta.[4] In 1993, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, suggested placing dragons to guard
the school, after being compelled to remove the Dementors, something that Professor Dumbledore
thought Hagrid would be very happy with.[9]
Many useful materials come from dragons, but they are hard to obtain (see Uses below). It takes
almost half a dozen wizards just to stun a dragon.[10] Muggles believe that dragons are a mere
myth, but have been known on occasion to glimpse these beasts. To prevent them from being seen
by Muggles, and to protect them from poaching, dragons are kept on dragon reserves around the
world, most of which are far from human habitation. Dragons cannot be domesticated, despite
individuals trying to do so. However, it is possible to condition them via torture to make them
somewhat subservient, as Gringotts Wizarding Bank had done to the one guarding the lower vaults,
who had been trained to expect pain upon hearing a certain noise. The selling of dragon products is
closely regulated by the Ministry of Magic, and only dragon species that are over-breeding are killed
to make these items. Those who study dragons are known as dragonologist.
A dragon was mentioned in a song heard by Newt Scamander and his friends at the speakeasy
known as the Blind Pig in 1926 New York. Also Fiendfyre creates dragons made of magical fire and
Gringotts Bank employs dragon feeders. The position includes fireproof robes and pays 7 Galleons
per week.
Uses
Horntail-prm
Harry Potter faces a Hungarian Horntail during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament
Dragons were used in the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament of 1994, in which the champions
had to retrieve a golden egg from a nesting mother. The varieties used were: the Hungarian Horntail,
the Chinese Fireball, the Swedish Short-Snout, and a Welsh Green. Ron Weasley's brother Charlie
worked with dragons in Romania at the time, and helped transport the dragons used in the
Tournament.[10] Dragons are also used to guard certain vaults at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, and one
was used by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger to escape the bank following their
break-in in 1998.[11]
Though they cannot be domesticated, there is one known instance of a dragon being used as a
mount. In May 1998, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger rode on the back of a
dragon, though they had trouble maintaining a grip on their steed, and could not control its
flight.[11] During the 1993–1994 school year, before playing in the Quidditch final against Slytherin,
Harry dreamed that the Slytherin team were flying on dragons instead of broomsticks. When he
awoke he realised that they would not be allowed to ride dragons.[9]
The dragon model, like the model in the First Task of Triwizard Tournament of 1994, was used in a
roast chestnuts sale, near Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, in Diagon Alley to hold the chestnut in place.
Dragon milk can be used to create dragon milk cheese, as noted in the revised edition of Charm Your
Own Cheese.
Material Use
Dragon blood Albus Dumbledore discovered the twelve uses of dragon blood.[4] The twelfth use is
as an oven cleaner.[12] Another one is spot remover.[13] Dragon blood is used in potions within the
Wizarding World.
Dragon claw During the 1995 school year, in the midst of the O.W.L.s, a trade sprang up among
the fifth and seventh year students for various supposed brain stimulants. A student named Harold
Dingle was offering powdered dragon claw, though Hermione Granger confiscated it, as it turned out
to be dried Doxy droppings. Ron Weasley said that dragon claw does work and that it gives your
brain a boost, making you cunning for a few hours, though it is not known if this is actually true.[14]
Dragon dung Dragon dung is sold by the barrel in Knockturn Alley. It is a rich fertiliser used by
students at Hogwarts in Herbology.[15]
Dragon eggs Dragon eggs are classified as a Class A Non-Tradeable Material by the Ministry of
Magic.[8] Despite the ban, many dragon eggs can still be found on the black market. Chinese Fireball
egg shells are highly prized as potion ingredients by Chinese witches and wizards.
Dragon heart Dragon heartstring is an exceptionally powerful, and one of the most common kinds
of core used in wands.[10]
Dragon horn Powdered dragon horn is used in many potions. Romanian Longhorn Horns are listed
as a Class B-Tradable Material by the Ministry of Magic.[8]
Dragon hide Dragon hide is used to make clothing. Where Muggles would wear leather, wizards
wear dragon hide. The skin is very tough, impervious to some spells, and provides the same physical
protection as leather, while at the same time having the same texture and appearance as snake skin.
Dragon hide is used to make gloves, boots, jackets and shields. In high demand at the moment is the
skin of the Swedish Short-Snout. Fred and George Weasley wore dragon skin jackets when they
greeted Harry after his fifth school year.[16] Professor Horace Slughorn has a dragon-skin briefcase,
with gold clasps.[17] When Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime went to be emissaries to the giants,
on Albus Dumbledore's behalf, they brought a roll of dragon skin as a gift for the Gurg.[18]
Dragon liver Dragon liver is sixteen Sickles an ounce, and is often used as an ingredient for
potions.[4][19]
Dragon meat When Hagrid returned from his trip to the giants with many injuries (actually
acquired from his half-brother Grawp), he put a bloody, green-tinged, dragon meat steak, slightly
larger than an average car tire, on his face as it helped the stinging. It is not known if dragon meat is
safe for humans to eat but seems fine for canines.[18]
Books
"Tried and tested tips to help you breed dragons, including the old-time favourite of brandy and
chicken blood every half hour for newly-hatched chicks."
—Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit[src]
Dragon-breeding-for-pleasure-and-profit
Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit
Dragon-species-of-great-britain-and-ireland
Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland
From-egg-to-inferno-a-dragon-keepers-guide-pottermore
From Egg to Inferno: a Dragon-Keeper's Guide
Fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-pottermore
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
Bewitched Sleep Fleur Delacour succeeded in putting a Common Welsh Green into a trance
during the Triwizard Tournament.[10]
Dragon reserves
Reserve Description
Romanian Dragon Sanctuary Home to several types of dragons. Charlie Weasley works and
studies dragons here.
Hebrides The MacFusty Clan cares for their dragons here.
Wales Hidden in the higher mountains.
Sweden Between Arjeplog and Kopparberg. The annual broom race goes right through there.
Known breeds
"There was a silvery blue one with long, pointed horns, snapping and snarling at the wizards on the
ground, a smooth-scaled green one, which was writhing and stamping with all its might, a red one
with an odd fringe of fine gold spikes around its face, which was shooting mushroom-shaped fire
clouds into the air, and a gigantic black one, more lizard-like than the others, which was nearest to
to them."
—Physical descriptions of different breeds[src]
There is no officially sanctioned breeding of dragons, as dragon breeding was outlawed by the
Warlocks' Convention of 1709. However, they have been known to interbreed, producing rare
hybrids. Below is a list of the ten known pure-bred breeds of dragons according to the fifty-second
edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:
Breed Image Description
Antipodean Opaleye Antipodean Opaleye Native to New Zealand, the Opaleye is generally
considered one of the most beautiful dragons, with pearly scales that line its body, and glittering
multi-coloured eyes that have no pupils.
Chinese Fireball (known as "Lion Dragon") Chinese Fireball The Fireball is scarlet and smooth
scaled with a fringe of golden spikes around its snub-snouted face and extremely protuberant eyes.
Common Welsh Green (a native dragon of Great Britain) Common Welsh Green (FBCFTWW) The
common Welsh is green in colour and with two spiked horns that reside on top of its head. The tail is
vert stream-line with a single pointed tip at the end.
Hebridean Black (the other native dragon of Great Britain) Hebridean Black It has dark
rough scales, ridges along its back, and a tail tipped with an arrow-shaped spike. The Hebridean
Black has brilliant purple eyes and can grow to be up to thirty feet long.
Hungarian Horntail (considered to be the most dangerous dragon) Dragon WB F4
HungarianHorntail Illust 100615 Land It has black scales, and is lizard-like in appearance. It also
has yellow eyes, bronze horns and similarly coloured spikes that protrude from its long tail.
Norwegian Ridgeback Norbert-0 It resembles the Hungarian Horntail, except for the black
ridges on its back, the browner texture in its scales.
Peruvian Vipertooth (a highly venomous dragon) Peruvian Vipertooth - FBcases Its scales
are smooth and copper-coloured. It also has black ridge-markings and short horns on its head.
Romanian Longhorn Romanian Longhorn The Romanian Longhorn has dark green scales, and
two long, glittering golden horns.
Swedish Short-Snout SwedishShortSnout The scales are silvery blue, and its powerful flame is
also a brilliant blue colour — and hot enough to reduce timber and bone to ashes in seconds
Ukrainian Ironbelly (the largest dragon breed ever recorded) Ukrainean Ironbelly (FBCFTWW)It is
a bipedal breed, metallic grey in colour, with an immense wingspan, long talons and rough scales
said to be as hard as steel. It is the largest breed of dragon which reaches up to six tonnes, and its
eyes are deep red. Sometimes the eyes seem to be the same colour as its body because of a
protective scale.
The existence of these two dragons are only shown on a page of notes concerning the book Dragon
Breeding for Pleasure and Profit.[20]
Dragons exist in the legends of many cultures worldwide. The dragons of Harry Potter bear the most
resemblance to the modern European dragon in that they fly, breathe fire, and have magically
powerful blood.
Draco Malfoy's first name, Draco, is Latin for both "snake" and "dragon".
There is a wizarding disease called Dragon Pox.
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Fred and George Weasley have a
firework dragon chase Dolores Umbridge through the Great Hall.
One of the many forms Fiendfyre can take is a dragon.
Charles Weasley is a dragon keeper in Romania.
Most of the dragons in the films have the posture of a pterosaur.
The Catalonian Fireball appears to be an early draft on the Chinese Fireball because these were
notes for Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit on J. K. Rowling's official site. The same for the
Portuguese Long-Snout which seems to be an early draft for the Romanian Longhorn and the
Swedish Short-Snout.
According to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in 1932, there was a dragon attack at a
Muggle beach that a family of wizards on holiday defeated. It earned them the Order of Merlin, First
Class. It is known as the Ilfracombe Incident.
In the credits of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it says "No Dragons were
harmed in the making of this movie". This probably refers to the scene in the movie where the
Hungarian Horntail falls off the bridge.
Madam Rosmerta owns a silk dressing gown embroidered with dragons, which she was wearing on
the night in June 1997 when Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore apparated back from the Crystal
Cave.[21]
In rare cases, a corporeal Patronus may take the form of a dragon, according to Pottermore
Horned Serpent
Species information
Eye colour
Blue
Skin colour
Black
Related to
Snake
Native range
Far East
North America
Western Europe (formerly)[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Fierce, but intelligent eyes[2]
Emit a low musical note to sound danger
Jewelled forehead
Inhabits bodies of water
Affiliation
Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Horned Serpent (House)
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"A large, horned snake with numerous magical properties."
—Description[src]
The Horned Serpent was a magical snake found in several regions of the world[1], but was most
common in North America.[2]
Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry founder Isolt Sayre befriended one of these serpents
and named one of the four school houses after it.
Contents[show]
Description
HornedSerpentWU
The Horned Serpent
There were several different species of Horned Serpents found world-wide; large specimens were
found in the Far East, and the most diverse group still in existence was native to North America.
Horned Serpents inhabited bodies of water as their natural habitat.[1]
Horned Serpents had a horned head, thus why they are named. Certain American species also
sported a jewel in the forehead.[1]
These serpents emitted a low, musical note to sound danger. Shavings from its horn can be used as
wand cores. Its jewel was said to grant powers of invisibility and flight, thus making it the most
sought after element of the species.[1]
History
Ancient bestiaries suggested Horned Serpents were once native to Western Europe, but were
hunted to extinction by wizards in search of potion ingredients.[1]
Around 1620, the Irish-born witch Isolt Sayre befriended a Horned Serpent near Mount Greylock in
present-day Massachusetts. She was able to understand the serpent, and when founding Ilvermorny
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry she chose the Horned Serpent as the symbol of one of the
school's four houses. Later, a long shard of horn from the same serpent was used by Isolt and her
husband James Steward to craft the first American-made wands, for their adopted sons Chadwick
and Webster Boot.[2][1]
However, Isolt still visited the serpent over the years because of their strange, shared kinship, and
when she and her eventual family were thinking of names for houses for Ilvermorny School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry she named her house "Horned Serpent" in honour of it. Shortly after, Isolt
received a dream the evening before Chadwick Boot's eleventh birthday. She had promised him a
wand but she did not know what to use as a core. She went to the creek in the dream where the
Horned Serpent rose up out the water and let her take a shard of its horn. When she woke and went
to the creek, she received a horn the same way as she had in her dream. She then made a wand with
the core as a core set in prickly ash wood, subsequently repeating the process with Chadwick's
brother Webster's wand core. This would prove the fulfilment of the serpent's prophecy, as these
wands later warned Chadwick and Webster of the approach of Gormlaith Gaunt.[2]
See also
Horned Serpent House at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Basilisk
Sea serpent
Snake
Behind the scenes
The Horned Serpent is a concept found in many Native American mythologies. Horned Serpents also
being found in East Asia may be in reference to Chinese dragons which are depicted differently than
the European dragons that form the basis of the dragons of Harry Potter.
The Sioux Tribal Nation refer to the Horned Serpent as Unktehi. This creature was seen as the mortal
enemy of the Wakinyan, the Sioux name for the Thunderbird, another house of Ilvermorny.
Lethifold
Species information
Skin colour
Black
Related to
Dementor (possibly)
Native range
The tropics
Alternative names
Living Shroud
Distinction
Resembles a black cloak
Taste for human flesh
Affiliation
Dark Arts
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"It resembled nothing so much as a rippling black cape, the edges fluttering slightly as it slithered up
the bed towards me."
—Flavius Belby's account of a Lethifold attack[src]
The Lethifold (also known as the Living Shroud) is a carnivorous and highly dangerous magical beast.
It is also considered a Dark creature because of its highly aggressive and violent nature.[1]
Contents[show]
Physical description
The Lethifold resembles a black cloak roughly half an inch thick, and appears slightly thicker if the
creature has recently digested a victim. It glides along surfaces in an unknown form of locomotion in
search of its prey, humans. It attacks at night, when the target is asleep, by suffocating and then
digesting it.[1]
History
Belby - Lethifold attack - FB2017
Lethifold attack on Flavius Belby
The Lethifold is a very rare species and has been found only in tropical climates. The only known
survivor of a Lethifold attack was a wizard named Flavius Belby. In 1782, Belby was on holiday in
Papua New Guinea, and he managed to repel the attack because he was not fully asleep at the time.
After unsuccessful repelling attempts with various spells, Belby managed to conjure a Patronus at
the last second, causing the Lethifold to release him and slink away. Previous victims had apparently
been unable to do this because they were either asleep, were Muggles, or unable or did not think to
cast a Patronus Charm.
It is virtually impossible to determine the number of Lethifold victims, as the creatures leave no
clues to their presence. Much easier to calculate is how many people have faked a Lethifold attack,
for their own reasons. One known case of an individual attempting to fake a Lethifold attack was
Janus Thickey, who disappeared in 1973, leaving behind a note reading "Oh no, a Lethifold's got me,
I'm suffocating". Because of this and his empty bed, Thickey's wife and children began mourning
him. However, he was soon discovered living five miles away with the landlady of the Green Dragon
pub.[1]
Celestina Warbeck's parents met when the man who would become her father saved his future wife
from a Lethifold that had disguised itself as a stage curtain during one of her performances.[2]
Etymology
"Lethifold" comes from two roots: lethum, variation of letum, which is Latin for "death",
"annihilation", "ruin", and fold, which possibly pertains to the creature's cloak-like appearance.
Lethi- is also similar to Levi-, which is reminiscent of levitation (an ability of the Lethifold) and levis, a
Latin adjective, meaning "light" (a quality that Lethifold also possess). It can also be related to
"lethal", which means "causing death". It is possible that the Ancient Greek lethe, the name of one
of the rivers of Hades and meaning "forgetfulness", is also a point of origin, since mortals touched by
its waters forgot their lives, ceased to struggle, and (generally) drowned.
Contents[show]
Description
ManticoreFBE
The Manticore feasting on its prey
A Manticore had a the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion that will kill
anyone instantly. A Manticore's skin repelled all known charms, so it was extremely difficult to
subdue a Manticore with magic. It was known to be capable of human speech, and was considered a
sentient beast. The Manticore sang softly as it ate its prey.[1]
History
The Manticore originated in Greece, and is as rare as the Chimaera. The sting of the Manticore
causes instant death, and it is reputed to croon softly to its victims as it devours them.[1]
In 1296, a Manticore savaged a person. It managed to escape execution because it was too ferocious
to be captured.[2]
Manticores were not offered the status of Being by the British Ministry of Magic because of their
violent and extremely dangerous tendencies.[1]
In 1957, Norvel Twonk died while saving a Muggle child from a runaway Manticore. He was
posthumously awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class.[3][4][5]
Rubeus Hagrid somehow managed to get Manticores to breed with fire crabs, creating the hybrid
Blast-Ended Skrewts.[6]
At one point in the late 2010s, a British witch named Theresa Stadt was found to have somehow
raised a Manticore called "Mr Whiskers" from infancy. When the Ministry of Magic was notified of
this Manticore, they sent a Magizoologist member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force to retrieve it,
which proved a "remarkably ghastly affair".[7]
See also
Blast-Ended Skrewt
Behind the scenes
The manticore is a creature from Persian mythology, later adopted by the Greeks and medieval
Europeans.
Although neither mentioned or described, it may be that some defensive spells, such as the Shield
Charm and the Patronus Charm, could be used as a means of protection against Manticores, similar
to many other physical forces and Dark or carnivorous creatures respectively, such as Dementors
and Lethifolds.
Nundu
Species information
Hair colour
Yellow with black spots
Native range
East Africa
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Toxic breath
Moves silently
Carnivorous
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXXX[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"A perilous gigantic leopard, whose breath is fatal."
—Description[src]
The Nundu was a large East African magical beast that resembled a leopard.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
It moved silently, despite its "gigantic" size and was considered by some to be the most dangerous
creature alive. The breath of the Nundu was toxic and filled with disease so potent that it can wipe
out entire villages of people.[1]
Nature
The Nundu was extremely hard to subdue. It had never been defeated by less than around one
hundred wizards working together.[1] Compared to the dragons used in the Triwizard Tournament,
which were stunned into submission by around ten wizards, the prospect of this rare beast became
truly terrifying.
History
Eldon Elsrickle owned a Nundu, which he received as a cub during a voyage to Africa to evade
capture for a series of robberies he had committed. He used this Nundu to protect his home and the
large treasure he had accumulated inside it from robbing other London residents with his newly-
learned Unlocking Charm, keeping it subdued with a daily Stunning Spell when he was home, and
reviving it when he left.[2]
However, when he found that all the houses in the neighbourhood were protected by a new Anti-
Alohomora Charm invented by Blagdon Blay, he was so infuriated upon returning home that he
neglected to Stun his Nundu and was swiftly killed by the beast.[2]
Newton Scamander had a Nundu in his suitcase during his travels to New York in 1926.[3] Its
proximity with the heroes and the other creatures suggests that, like a lot of information on magical
creatures, the information concerning the deathly breath aren't totally accurate and that it isn't an
automatic sign of death.
Alternative names
Hairy MacBoons
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Five legs
Carnivorous, taste for human flesh
Extremely dangerous and hostile towards humans
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Quintaped, also known as the Hairy MacBoon, was a dangerous magical beast with five legs,
each ending in a clubfoot, and was covered with thick, red-brown hair.[1]
Contents[show]
Nature
Distribution
Quintapeds were only found of the Isle of Drear, which lied off the northernmost tip of Scotland. The
isle had been made Unplottable to minimise the danger posed by these creatures.[1]
Abilities
Quintaped have a certain degree of spell resistance, as they resisted the various attempts to
untransfigure them back into human form.
Uses
Quintaped
Runic number five
The five club footed legs of the Quintaped were used to represent the number five, in the runic
alphabet.[2]
History
According to legend, Isle of Drear was once home to two Scottish wizard families, the MacBoon clan
and the McClivert clan, who were apparently rivals. One fateful night, the family heads, Dugald
McClivert and Quintius MacBoon, engaged in a drunken wizard's duel, which resulted in Dugald's
death. In retaliation, the McCliverts snuck up on the MacBoons while they slept, turning them all
into monstrous five-legged beasts. However, the MacBoons were notoriously inept wizards, and the
McCliverts realized too late that they had only made the MacBoons infinitely more deadly. Resisting
desperate McClivert attempts to untransfigure them, the MacBoons killed all the resident
McCliverts.[1]
Cr quintaped
Illustration of Quintaped in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Whether the legend is true or not is unclear. There are no surviving McCliverts or MacBoons today
that can relay the fate of their ancestors. For their part, the Quintapeds have resisted all attempts by
the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to Untransfigure them, and
they are unable to communicate with the Quintaped. It can only be assumed that, if they are indeed
transfigured MacBoons, then they are happy to live the rest of their lives as Quintapeds.[1]It is also
possible that, due to this not having been a proper Animagus transformation, the MacBoons lost
their intelligence in the process.
Etymology
The prefix quint- means "five", while -ped refers to legs. Hence, "quintaped" refers to something
having five legs (maybe saying Fivelegs); this leads to a mystery about a relation to the similar
creature 5 Legger. The Quint-part of the name could possibly be taken from the legend-told Quintius
MacBoon whose first name starts with Quint and was transformed to a Quintaped.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Harry is hiding his Potions textbook in the Room of
Requirement, he sees a cage containing the skeleton of a creature with five legs. This has been
confirmed to be a Quintaped by J.K. Rowling on Twitter, although concept-art for the creature in the
films showed it to be quite different from a Quintaped.
In the 2018 illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quintapeds were
mistakenly given a new classification of XX, though their description remained completely
unchanged
Wampus cat
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
Hair colour
Light brown and white
Related to
Cat
Native range
Appalachian Mountains, North America[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Eyes capable of hypnosis and legilimency
Incredibly fast and strong
Almost impossible to kill
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"A fast and powerful cat native to Appalachia"
—Description[src]
The Wampus cat is a magical cat native to the United States.[2] It is one of the four house symbols of
Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Contents[show]
Description
Somewhat resembling the mundane mountain lion or cougar in size and appearance, the Wampus
Cat is native to the Appalachian Mountains. It can walk on its hind legs, outrun arrows, and its yellow
eyes are reputed to have the power of both hypnosis and Legilimency.[1] The Wampus cat is fast,
strong, and almost impossible to kill.[3]
The Cherokee have most extensively studied the Wampus Cat, with whom they share their native
region, and only they have ever succeeded in procuring Wampus Cat hair for use as a wand core.[1]
History
IMG 3526
Isolt and the Pukwudgie William took trips to observe these creatures and watched newborn
Wampus kittens playing. One of the four houses of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
founded in the 17th century, was named after the Wampus cat.[4] This name of the house was
decided by Webster Boot. Isolt Sayre and James Steward also used the hair for some of their wands.
In 1832, wizard Abel Treetops of Cincinnati claimed to have patented a method of taming Wampus
Cats for use as guards over wizarding houses. Treetops was exposed as a fraud when MACUSA
raided his home and found him putting Engorgement Charms on Kneazles.[1]
The famous wandmaker Johannes Jonker used the hair of this species as a wand core in the early
20th century.[2]
See also
Wampus House at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Legilimency
Kneazle
Behind the scenes
The Wampus cat is a creature that features in the folklore of various indigenous peoples of the
southeastern United States.[5]
Werewolf
Species information
Eye colour
Varies
Skin colour
Varies
Hair colour
Varies
Related to
Wolf
Human
Native range
World-wide
Mortality
Mortal
Affiliation
Lord Voldemort
Order of the Phoenix
Werewolf army
Ministry of Magic Classification
Being
Beast
XXXXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
"You have only ever seen me amongst the Order, or under Dumbledore's protection at Hogwarts!
You don't know how most of the wizarding world sees creatures like me! When they know of my
affliction, they can barely talk to me!"
—Werewolf Remus Lupin regarding his affliction[src]
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope,[1] is a human being who, upon the complete rising of the
full moon, becomes a fearsome and deadly were-wolf. This condition is caused by infection with
lycanthropy, also known as werewolfry.[2] Werewolves appear in the form of a wolf but, there are
distinctions between them and regular wolves.
A mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will seal the wound and allow the
victim to live on as a werewolf, although tragic tales are told of knowing victims begging for death
rather than becoming werewolves.[3] The Wolfsbane Potion, invented by Damocles, allows the
werewolf to keep their human mind during transformation.[3]
A werewolf cannot choose whether or not to transform and will no longer remember who they are
and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity once transformed.[4] Despite this, they
are able to recall everything they have experienced throughout their transformation upon reverting
to their human form.[4]
Contents[show]
Infection
"To become a werewolf, it is necessary to be bitten by a werewolf in their wolfish form at the time
of the full moon. When the werewolf’s saliva mingles with the victim’s blood, contamination will
occur."
—How a wizard becomes a werewolf[src]
FenrirGreyback werewolf
Savage werewolf Greyback in wolf form
Lycanthropy is a magical illness known to be spread by contact between saliva and blood; thus,
when a transformed werewolf bites a human, the bitten will become a werewolf themselves.[3]
Most Muggles, however, will die from the extent of their injuries in the instance of a werewolf attack
as noted by Professor Marlowe Forfang, though some do survive to become werewolves
themselves.[3] If a werewolf is in human form and bites the victim, they will merely gain lupine
tendencies such as a fondness for rare meat.[3] Any bite or scratch obtained from a werewolf,
whether in human or animal form, will leave permanent scars.[3] However, the fresh wound can be
sealed with a mixture of powdered silver and dittany.
The only known human born to at least one werewolf parent (untransformed at time of conception)
was Teddy Lupin, son of werewolf Remus and human metamorphmagus Nymphadora Tonks. Teddy
did not inherit his father's condition, however it is unknown if it definitively cannot be passed on in
this manner or if Teddy did not inherit the condition from pure chance as other than Teddy, there
was no documentation of a werewolf having a child in human form. In Teddy's case it was his father
who was a werewolf, not his mother, therefore it is unknown if a pregnant female werewolf's
transformations would affect the ability to carry the pregnancy to term.
FenrirGreyback PM
Greyback's appearance when in human form has a wolf like quality
If two werewolves mate at the full moon, in their animal forms, something very strange happens.[3]
The result of their mating, which has only ever occurred twice throughout history, has been a pack
of wolf cubs — actual wolf cubs — who grow to become very beautiful wolves and can only be
distinguished from true wolves by their near-human intelligence.[3]
Thus, rumours of werewolves living in the Forbidden Forest in the grounds at Hogwarts Castle are
actually about a pack of lupine werewolf offspring that was released into the woods with the kind
permission of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of the School, and has lived there ever since.[3]
Teachers have never tried to dispel these rumours because they felt that keeping students out of the
forest was highly desirable.[3]
Treatments
"The many Muggle myths and legends surrounding werewolves are, in the main, false, although
some contain nuggets of truth. Silver bullets do not kill werewolves, but a mixture of powdered
silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will ‘seal’ the wound and prevent the victim bleeding to
death (although tragic tales are told of victims who beg to be allowed to die rather than to live on as
werewolves)."
—Treatments that can be done in order to prevent death[src]
Werewolf attack
Remus Lupin (in wolf form) attempting to attack Harry Potter and Hermione Granger
Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for lycanthropy. However, some of the worst effects can be
mitigated by consuming Wolfsbane Potion, which allows a werewolf to retain his or her human mind
while transformed, thus freeing him or her from the worry of harming other humans or
themselves.[3] It is a very difficult potion to make, with many complicated ingredients.[3] According
to Remus Lupin, it tastes disgusting but sugar makes it useless.[4][3] The expensiveness of the
ingredients makes it virtually impossible for werewolves to brew the potion for themselves, as most
are reduced to poverty and cannot taste the potion without revealing their statuses.[3] Because
werewolves only pose a danger to humans, companionship with animals whilst transformed has
been known to make the experience more bearable as the werewolf has no-one to harm and will be
less willing to harm themselves.[3]
According to Gilderoy Lockhart, the Homorphus Charm can force a werewolf back into human shape.
However, due to Lockhart's reputation as a liar, and the many falsehoods he told to inflate his
popularity, his information is highly suspect — as is the very existence of a Homorphus Charm in the
first place. However, as many of Lockhart's claims are also based on the accounts of more
trustworthy wizards (accomplishments he would claim for himself, following the disposal of the
originating witch or wizard), there is a chance that the charm does, in fact, exist.[5]
Contrary to what the Muggle world believes, werewolves are not affected by silver, except in that it
can be used in the mixture of powdered silver and dittany to prevent death and merely closes their
wounds to prevent bleeding in a severe werewolf attack.[3] There may certainly be several other
ways and solutions to prevent and heal werewolf injuries, as Quirinus Quirrell taught about the topic
in first year Defence against the Dark Arts class. None of them, of course, could completely cure an
afflicted person once they are bitten, but can merely prevent and close the physical wounds on the
skin.
Description
Monthly transformations
"There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders
were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed
paws"
—Description of a Remus Lupin's transformation[src]
Remus Lupin turning into Werewolf
Remus Lupin transforming into a werewolf
The monthly transformation of a werewolf is extremely painful if untreated and is usually preceded
and succeeded by a few days of pallor and ill health. The werewolf may display irritation towards
friends.[3] While in his or her wolfish form, the werewolf loses entirely its human sense of right or
wrong. However, it is incorrect to state (as some authorities have, notably Professor Emerett Picardy
in his book Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don’t Deserve to Live) that they suffer from a
permanent loss of moral sense.
While human, the werewolf may be as good or kind as the next person. Alternatively, they may be
dangerous even while human, as in the case of Fenrir Greyback, who attempts to bite and maim as a
man and keeps his nails sharpened into claw-like points for the purpose. Though werewolves usually
only infect their victims through biting, they sometimes take it too far and kill their victims.[3]
Without any humans nearby to attack, or other animals to occupy it, the werewolf will attack itself
out of frustration. This leaves many werewolves such as Remus Lupin with self-inflicted scars and
premature ageing from the difficult transformations.[4]
The real difference between a wolf and a werewolf is in behaviour.[3] Genuine wolves are not very
aggressive, and the vast number of folk tales representing them as mindless predators are now
believed by wizarding authorities to refer to werewolves, not true wolves. A wolf is unlikely to attack
a human except under exceptional circumstances. The werewolf, however, targets humans almost
exclusively and poses very little danger to any other creature.[3]
Reputation
Prejudice and discrimination
"The stigma surrounding werewolves has been so extreme for centuries that very few have married
and had children."
—The prejudice surrounding werewolves in the magical community[src]
Dolores Umbridge
Dolores Umbridge, the drafter of the anti-werewolf legislation
Werewolves are generally regarded with fear and disgust by wizarding society. People seem to think
even when in human form, the werewolf may pose a danger. It is not uncommon for people known
to be werewolves to be shunned by society and discriminated against within the wizarding world. It
is very difficult for a werewolf to get a job in the wizarding community, especially after the passing of
restrictive anti-werewolf legislation by the very prejudiced and hateful Dolores Umbridge in the
1990s.[6]
Umbridge drafted this legislation due to her irrational and vitriolic hatred for what she considered to
be "half-breeds". Because of the difficulty in finding work in the wizarding world, many werewolves
live in poverty. It also forced some, like Remus Lupin to take jobs far below their abilities. After Lord
Voldemort's defeat in 1998, the anti-werewolf legislation was most likely repealed by the new
Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, in his effort to reform the Ministry of Magic, therefore weeding out
corruption and not tolerating prejudice and discrimination.
As a result of the anti-werewolf legislation, many werewolves suffer poverty. Remus Lupin managed
to get by with the aid of his friend James Potter[7] and later by working as Defence Against the Dark
Arts professor at Hogwarts. Though in between he had to work at many jobs that are far below his
level of abilities, resigning and moving on to another before his workmates notice his signs of
lycanthropy. Lupin did this while living in a tumbledown, semi-derelict cottage in Yorkshire. He
decided to resign from this position after his condition was exposed, by Severus Snape, as most
parents would not want their children being around a werewolf, despite the safety precautions
Remus and Albus Dumbledore took; Remus stated that it would have been impossible for him to
even attend Hogwarts as a child if it were not for Dumbledore's kindness, as other headmasters
would not want a werewolf in the school.[4]
In a display of ignorance and arrogance, the Ministry expected werewolves would submit
themselves to the department to sign various conducts and registries, which would also force the
werewolves to promise to secure themselves from attacking others. No person would be prepared
to walk into the Ministry to admit themselves as werewolves, thus showing the Ministry's lack of
respect of werewolves' intelligence and dignity. Lyall Lupin, in particular, regarded werewolves as
"soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death", until his own son was infected as a result of his
prejudicial comment.
Given Kingsley Shacklebolt's friendship with Remus Lupin and the furthering of Muggle-born and
house-elf rights after 1998, it is likely that the reforms of the Ministry under Minister for Magic
Shacklebolt included less prejudicial treatment of werewolves.
Retaliation
Harry Potter: "How come they like Voldemort?"
Remus Lupin: "They think that, under his rule, they will have a better life. "
— Werewolves' involvement in the Second Wizarding War[src]
Savage FenrirGreyback PM
Monstrous Fenrir Greyback, the most savage werewolf of modern times
Due to the oppression and discrimination they face, some werewolves have come to hate the
wizarding society, and as such have created their own society. Under Fenrir Greyback's leadership,
this society works to infect as many people as possible, especially children, with the goal of one day
having enough strength to take control of the wizarding community.
The werewolves under Greyback's command served Lord Voldemort in the Second Wizarding War,
believing that they would have a better life under his rule, though Remus Lupin spied on them for
the Order of the Phoenix.[8] and the Death Eaters looked down on them; for example, they were not
permitted to have the Dark Mark.[9] They were used as a threat to ensure ordinary citizens'
compliance with Voldemort; for example, five-year-old Montgomery was fatally attacked by
Greyback after his mother refused to cooperate with the Death Eaters.[8]
Ministry relations
The Ministry of Magic attempts to regulate werewolves and thus the relationship that exists
between them and the Ministry is a rocky one. According to Newton Scamander, werewolves have
been shunted between the Beast and Being divisions of the Department for the Regulation and
Control of Magical Creatures for years.
At one point, the Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture Unit were both in the Beast Division,
while at the same time the office for Werewolf Support Services was in the Being Division. These
regulations and services were ultimately a failure, as no one would be prepared to walk into the
Ministry to admit themselves as werewolves, and thus none took the prescribed responsibilities of
the Werewolf Code of Conduct.
The Werewolf Code of Conduct of 1637 was meant to give Werewolves a framework for coexisting
safely and legally within the wizarding world. Werewolves were required to sign a copy of the Code
and promise to refrain from attacking and biting non-werewolves. They were also supposed to lock
themselves away during their wolf transformation periods.[3]
Werewolves are classified as a XXXXX creature in their transformed state. Dolores Umbridge herself
incorrectly referred to werewolves as half-breeds, and has drafted an anti-werewolf legislation that
made it almost impossible for werewolves to find a job.
Even when the Ministry was taken over by the Death Eaters, relationship between the bureaucracy
and werewolves remained strained. Death Eaters and their supremacist allies look down on
werewolves, only using them as foot soldiers and to intimidate the rest of the wizarding world into
submission. They did let the werewolves have more freedom of movement than before the
takeover, but in no way showed they were equals; Greyback was not given the Dark Mark despite
being permitted to wear the Death Eater's robe, and genuine Death Eaters looked down on him,
while Greyback himself acknowledged that if he took Harry Potter to the Ministry, he would be left
out of any credits for capturing him. It was not until after the Second Wizarding War, in which
Kingsley Shacklebolt took the position of Minster for Magic, did the Ministry's relationship with
werewolves improve. Kingsley posthumously awarded his werewolf friend, Remus Lupin, the Order
of Merlin, First Class, for his bravery in the war, the first time in history that a werewolf has been
accorded this honour. The example of his life and death played an important role in lifting the stigma
on werewolves among the wizarding society.
Wizarding education
Wizarding children are educated about werewolves from a young age and information about them
can be found in various Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry textbooks, for example The
Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
Werewolf
Third year DADA lesson on werewolves
Werewolves have been mentioned several times in connection with Harry Potter's Defence Against
the Dark Arts Professors, as they are dark creatures which are heavily studied throughout the class.
Quirinus Quirrell had encountered them in Black Forest, and at one point discussed in class how to
treat werewolf bites.[10] Gilderoy Lockhart, supposedly, once defeated the Wagga Wagga
Werewolf, something that may be discussed in his book Wandering with Werewolves. Lockhart
eventually confessed to Ron and Harry that an 'ugly old Armenian warlock' had actually performed
the rescue of a village from werewolves that he himself had taken credit for. Remus Lupin, of course,
is a werewolf.
Werewolves were discussed in a third year Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, with an essay
assigned by Severus Snape when he once substituted for Lupin, although werewolves were not due
to be covered until the last chapter of the third-year DADA textbook.[11]
Victims of lycanthropy
Werewolves
"Nearly all of them are on Voldemort's side."
—Remus Lupin regarding Greyback's pack[src]
Fenrir Greyback promo
Fenrir Greyback
1Remus
Remus Lupin
Werewolf Notes
Fenrir Greyback Leader in the werewolf community and an ally of the Death Eaters, noted to be the
most savage werewolf in history, incarcerated after the Second Wizarding War.
Remus Lupin Bitten by Fenrir Greyback as a child, member of the Order of the Phoenix, killed by
Antonin Dolohov during the Battle of Hogwarts.
Silas Crump A petty criminal and an unregistered werewolf.
Chiara Lobosca Bitten by a werewolf as a child.[12]
Wagga Wagga Werewolf Discussed by Gilderoy Lockhart during his time as Defence Against
the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts and in his book Wandering with Werewolves. Lockhart may
have invented this individual entirely, but since he often simply took credit for others' deeds, the
werewolf itself may have existed, but been defeated by someone else.
Unidentified werewolf During Arthur Weasley's ward during his stay at St Mungo's Hospital for
Magical Maladies and Injuries, this new werewolf was presumably befriended by Lupin.
Anonymous author Author of Hairy Snout, Human Heart who penned a heartrending account on
his struggle against Lycanthropy in the 1970s.
Unidentified werewolf Killed Scarlett in the summer of 1985, became Penny Haywood's
Boggart.[13]
Group of werewolves A group of werewolves living underground, most of whom joined forces with
Voldemort for a promise of a better life.[8]
Other victims
"Greyback attacked him. Madam Pomfrey says he won't — won't look the same anymore.... We
don't really know what the aftereffects will be — I mean, Greyback being a werewolf, but not
transformed at the time"
—Ginny regarding Greyback's attack on Bill Weasley[src]
Billweasley
Bill Weasley's scarred face
Wizard Notes
Bill Weasley Attacked by Fenrir Greyback while he was in human form; Bill did not actually
become a werewolf, although he did obtain some lupine tendencies (particularly a liking for rare
steaks).
Defenders of Hogwarts It can be assumed that there were more victims at the battle that suffered
from lycanthrophy to some degree in later days. It would be similar to the effects suffered by Bill
Weasley at the hands of Fenrir Greyback. Although Greyback is described as 'a grey streak,'
suggesting he is in his animalistic form, during the battle and biting people that were down, it can be
assumed that he was, in fact, in human form, as Remus Lupin was also in the Battle in human form.
Lavender Brown Savaged by Fenrir Greyback during the Battle of Hogwarts, later died from it.
Published works
There are many books containing information on werewolves, whether it is the main subject or just
mentioned:
See also
Blood purity
Remus Lupin
Fenrir Greyback
William Weasley
Wolfsbane Potion
Werewolf army
Homorphus Charm
Etymology
The word werewolf is from Old English wer ("man") and wulf ("wolf").
The term opy notes about comes from Ancient Greek λυκάνθρωπος (fessor essay durin ("human").
WerewolfWU
A Werewolf as shown on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
The werewolf is a creature found in the folklore of many European countries. Traditionally, a
werewolf is a human who transforms into a wolf (as depicted in the Harry Potter books) but in some
modern depictions the werewolf instead transforms into a man/wolf hybrid (as depicted in the Harry
Potter films).
Professor Quirinus Quirrell had the first year Defence Against the Dark Arts class copy notes about
how to treat werewolf bites. Also, Professor Severus Snape assigned an essay during the 1993-1994
school year when he substituted for Lupin, although werewolves were not due to be covered until
the last chapter of the third-year DADA textbook. In Snape's case, this was an attempt to expose
Lupin by having one of the students work out his secret (which Hermione Granger did, although she
kept the secret rather than exposing it, as Snape had intended).
Draco Malfoy once claimed that there were werewolves in the Forbidden Forest. A wolf pack
actually lives in the forest, the cubs of two werewolves that mated during full moon, however they
were just beautiful and highly intelligent wolves. Despite this, rumours of savage werewolves living
in the forest spread amongst the student body of Hogwarts, rumours that the staff let spread in
hopes to help keep students out of the forest.[3] During the detention in the Forbidden Forest, Harry
Potter asked Rubeus Hagrid if it was possible that a werewolf could be killing the unicorns in the
forest, but Hagrid stated that werewolves aren't fast enough.[14]
Tom Riddle once accused Rubeus Hagrid of raising "werewolf cubs" under his bed as a youngster.
Since Riddle was trying to frame Hagrid, the veracity of his statement is questionable. Regarding this,
Harry Potter series author J. K. Rowling stated in response to a fan question "Riddle was telling lies
about Hagrid, just slandering him.".[15]
Lord Voldemort referred to werewolf offspring as cubs another time. When at the Malfoy Manor, he
ridicules the Malfoys and Bellatrix about the marriage of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks,
asking Draco if he will "babysit the cubs." Given his purist attitude and disdain for 'half-breeds' this is
far more likely to be a derogatory insult rather than an implication that lycanthropy is inheritable.
In the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, after Lupin is irritable with Harry, Mr Weasley says
that "his condition takes its toll;" later on Tonks explains that "the first night of the cycle is always
the worst." This could imply- though nothing like this was mentioned in the books- that werewolves
suffer symptoms other than the transformation itself, which either directly or indirectly make them
less patient and more harsh than they would normally be. What night the cycle begins with is
unknown, though the full moon itself, the night after, or the new moon is most likely.
This could also be a side effect of the "illness" described during the week leading up to the full
moon.
A prop made for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban makes several
claims about werewolves that contradict with higher canon sources.
It identifies several other ways to become a werewolf other than being bitten. These included being
given the power of shape shifting via sorcery, the Lycacomia Curse, and being born to a werewolf.
Pottermore, however, clarifies that the only way to become a werewolf is via the bite of a werewolf
at the full moon, and explicitly denies that inheriting the disease via birth is possible.
It states that werewolves can transform into their wolfish forms by a variety of means, including by
will or when forced by various phases of the moon or hearing the howl of another werewolf.
According to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the full moon is the only thing that can
transform a werewolf.
It claims that the soul of a werewolf is eternally damned and cannot move on from the mortal plane
upon death. However, Remus Lupin was successfully recalled from beyond the Veil using the
Resurrection Stone, and thus must have "passed on".
There is in the real world a very rare mental illness called lycanthropy, in which a patient believes he
or she is an animal and behaves accordingly. This is sometimes referred to as clinical lycanthropy, to
distinguish it from its meaning in folktales.
In the books it is mentioned that the werewolf resembles a normal wolf in appearance, save for a
few distinguishing traits. This is not the case in the film, as Lupin in his werewolf form is shown as
having a gaunt, humanoid, hairless appearance, with a coyote-like face and no tail.
Despite how the werewolf cannot be cured in Harry Potter books but in the real world, according to
other myths it can be cured by medicine men and antidotes.
An Abarimon is a magical creature. It is described as a hairy humanoid with backwards feet. An
Abarimon was an attraction of the Circus Arcanus.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
It is known for being particularly hostile when woken during the daytime, and its keen sense of
smell. It tends to be found in darker areas of the wizarding world, such as Hogwarts Castle or the
corners of Knockturn Alley. Mortis bats are particularly vulnerable to the Knockback Jinx, Red Sparks,
and the Verdimillious Charm.[1]
Etymology
Mortis is the genitive case of the Latin mors, meaning death. Thus, Mortis Bat could be taken as "Bat
of Death".
Bicorn
Species information
Related to
Cattle (possibly)
Alternative names
Bihorn
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Two horns
Aggressive disposition
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Bicorn was a dangerous cow-like magical beast possessing two horns that shed annually. Their
horns were used as an ingredient in potion, including the Polyjuice Potion.[1] Their horns were thus
gathered after it had shed when the Bicorn wasn't looking.[2]
Behind the scenes
In mythology, the Bicorn (also known as the Bicrone or Bulchin) was a creature with two horns. It has
the reputation of devouring kind-hearted and devoted husbands. It is described as very fat and
good-natured. There was another beast called the chichevache which fed on obedient wives, but it
was said that the "famished beast" was thinner than the bicorn, for "its food always fell short."[3]
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, "Bicorn" is misspelled "Bihorn" in
Moste Potente Potions.
Bicorns were not covered in the fifty-second edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Blast-Ended Skrewt
Species information
Eye colour
None
Skin colour
Pale
Related to
Fire crab
Manticore
Native range
Hogwarts Castle
Alternative names
Bang-Ended Scoots (by Rita Skeeter)
Length of average adult
10 ft
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resemble pale, slimy, deformed shell-less lobsters or scorpions
Covered in grey, shiny armour
Males have stingers, females have suckers to suck blood
Aggressive temperament and repulsive appearance
Shoot fire from their rear end
Affiliation
Rubeus Hagrid
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Unknown, possibly Extinct
[Source]
"I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive. Who wouldn't want pets that can burn,
sting, and bite all at once?"
—Draco Malfoy's sarcastic comment on the creatures[src]
The Blast-Ended Skrewt was a magical hybrid beast bred by Rubeus Hagrid in the autumn of 1994, by
cross-breeding Manticores and Fire crabs.[1][2] Whether Hagrid used magic or somehow got the
two different species to mate was unknown.
Contents[show]
Description
A young Blast-Ended Skrewt on a leash
Newly hatched Skrewts looked like pale, slimy deformed shell-less lobsters or scorpions. They had
legs sticking out at odd angles. They were about six inches long and smelled strongly of rotten fish.
Sparks flew out of their rear ends every so often, which propelled them forward a few inches. The
males had stingers and the females had suckers on their body to suck blood.[3] The skrewts do not
hibernate during winter.[4]
After about two months, Skrewts grew to about three feet long and became extremely ill tempered,
making it hard to get close to one. They grew grey, shiny armour over their pale bodies and began to
resemble a cross between giant scorpions and elongated crabs. The males held their stingers over
their backs, and were highly dangerous and repulsive.[5]
After several months, Skrewts grew to about ten feet long, and were incredibly dangerous (and
probably quite lethal). They resembled giant scorpions with stingers curled over their backs. Their
shiny armour deflected most spells, and they used their blasts to propel themselves at a foe. Its
single undefended spot was its armour-less underside.[6]
History
Several of these Skrewts were placed inside the Triwizard Tournament maze, and Harry defeated
one of them by using the Impediment Jinx on its underside.[6]
Hagrid began breeding the Skrewts at the beginning of September, and had several hundred.[3] By
the following June, he only had one, which was the one that was placed in the maze. Hagrid never
discovered what they ate. They often killed each other off, so it is not surprising they died so quickly.
It is unknown what became of the last Skrewt.
Rita Skeeter claimed that the Daily Prophet had a zoological column every Wednesday and said that
the Bang-Ended Scoots could be the event that day if Hagrid gave an interview.[4] However, the
Skrewts never did feature in the Daily Prophet's zoological column.[7]
In June 1996, following the Stunner attack on Minerva McGonagall by Dolores Umbridge and other
corrupt British Ministry of Magic officials, Ronald Weasley suggested feeding Umbridge to a box of
starving Blast-Ended Skrewts as an appropriate punishment. Harry Potter thought the idea "had its
merits."[8]
The Skrewts appeared to be massive violations of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, but Hagrid was
never charged for it. This may be because Hagrid eventually had some placed in the Triwizard
Tournament, possibly indicating his intent to breed them for that purpose.
In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Skrewts are encountered as
enemies in several locations, rather than just being found in the maze during the Third Task. The
Skrewts have sexual dimorphism: males and females are red- and orange-tinged, respectively. Also,
they bear little resemblance to their description in the book.
In the DS version of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, there are some Skrewts trying to kill Buckbeak, so
the player has to cast spells on them to make them go away.
Harry Potter felt that the idea of a teenage Dumbledore "was simply odd, like trying to imagine a
stupid Hermione or a friendly Blast-Ended Skrewt."[9]
Blast-Ended Skrewts are similar to the opposite of an Amphisbaena. An Amphisbaena is a legless,
winged, soft-skinned animal with a head at each end, while a Skrewt is a legged, wingless, hard-
skinned animal with a tail at each end
A Blast-Ended Skrewt will appear in Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, being
promoted as a creature not seen in any of the films.
Chupacabra
Species information
Skin colour
Blue and Red
Native range
North America
South America
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Blood consuming
Affiliation
Dark Arts
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Chupacabra is a part lizard, part homunculus, blood-sucking magical beast native to the
Americas.
Contents[show]
History
Gellert Grindelwald had a pet Chupacabra named Antonio until he hurled it out of the window of an
Incarceration Carriage.[1]
Description
It has six legs, multiple spines, and several sharp teeth.[2] It has blue markings with red rings.
Contents[show]
History
During the 1792 Triwizard Tournament, one of the tasks involved capturing a cockatrice.
Unfortunately, the cockatrice broke free, and went on a rampage that injured the Heads of Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and the Durmstrang
Institute.[1]
Etymology
The cockatrice takes its name from both cock (rooster) and crocodile (old French, cocatris).
History
This creature was covered in The Monster Book of Monsters.[1] It was thus part of the third-year
Care of Magical Creatures curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]
Curupira
Species information
Hair colour
Red
Related to
Dwarf
Native range
Brazilian forests
Distinction
Feet point backwards
Affiliation
Brazilian National Quidditch team
[Source]
Curupiras are red-haired, forest-dwelling dwarves native to Brazil. Curupiras are fiercely protective
of any other magical creature, and will defend them when they feel they are being harmed by
humans. The feet of the Curupiras face backwards relative to their bodies.[1]
Contents[show]
History
A group of Curupiras are used as the mascot for the Brazilian National Quidditch team. During the
opening ceremony of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, the Curupiras believed that the handlers
attempting to stop a fight between the Fijian Dukuwaqa and Norwegian Selma were hurting the
creatures and thus attacked, adding to the (already extreme) chaos and bloodshed.[1]
History
This creature was covered in the The Monster Book of Monsters.[1] It was thus part of the third-year
Care of Magical Creatures curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]
Double-ended newt
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
Skin colour
Green[1]
Related to
Newt[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Two heads[1]
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Can be purchased from the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley. Swims around a lot and likes algae."
—Chocolate Frog Card[src]
The Double-ended newt is a magical beast consisting of two newts sharing the same body. They tend
to swim around a lot and prefer to eat algae.[1] Double-ended newts are often kept as pets by
wizards and witches, and can be purchased from the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley.[1][2]
History
"Hmm... double-ended newts need cleaning out."
—Magical Menagerie salesman[src]
On 19 August, 1992, the male shopkeeper of the Magical Menagerie noted that the stock of Double-
ended newts needed to be cleaned.[3]
On 31 August, 1993, the clerk of the Magical Menagerie advised a customer how to take care of a
Double-ended newt.[2]
Fire-breathing chicken
Species information
Feather colour
Red, White and gold
Related to
Chicken
Native range
Wizard-bred
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Breathes fire
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast (most likely)
Status
Extant
[Source]
Arthur: "What've you got there, Bob?"
Bob: "We're not sure. We thought it was a bog-standard chicken until it started breathing fire. Looks
like a serious breach of the Ban on Experimental Breeding to me."
— Arthur Weasley and Bob discuss the enchanted chicken.[src]
A fire-breathing chicken was a magical breed of chicken that possessed the ability to breathe fire,
very similar to the dragon.
History
One of these creatures was confiscated by Bob of the British Ministry of Magic in 1995, as the
creature was considered a major violation on the Ban on Experimental Breeding. The chicken was
kept inside a large cardboard box, whose air holes would frequently light up due to the bird's fiery
respirations. The box was most likely enchanted to prevent it from catching fire. Bob took the
creature to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.[1]
Several Fire-breathing chickens appeared throughout the Wizarding world during the Calamity in the
2010s, in which they acted as Confoundable guards to certain Foundables, such as Kneazles.
Volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to cast the Ebublio Jinx to trap these
chickens in large bubbles, allowing the Foundables to return to their rightful places.[2]
Firedrake
Species information
Skin colour
Yellow/Black
Related to
Lizard
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Capable of flight
Shoots sparks of fire from tail
Affiliation
Fire
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Extant
[Source]
A Firedrake is a small magical flying lizard, of which several were kept by the Circus Arcanus in
1927.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Small flying lizards with long antennae, Firedrakes are sometimes mistaken for dragons, though they
do not breathe fire. Instead they emit sparks from the ends of their tails, which can be used to set
anything flammable alight.[2]
History
FBCoG-Firedrakes
Caged Firedrakes at the Circus Arcanus
Several of these creatures were kept in a cage at the Circus Arcanus, which were released by
Credence Barebone during his and Nagini's escape from the circus early in 1927.[1]
During the Calamity which affected the Wizarding world, Firedrakes were among the various magical
creatures that threatened the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.[3]
See also
Fire Crab
Fire Dwelling Salamander
Behind the scenes
Firedrakes were first seen in passing in the Teaser Trailer, but only given details in late 2018, shortly
prior to the film's release.
It is implied that Firedrakes can be kept as pets, though this is uncertain and unverified.
Flabberghasted leech
Species information
Related to
Leech
[Source]
Flabberghasted leeches are a kind of leech. They are used in Potion-making.
Flitterby moths
Some Flitterby moths
Rubeus Hagrid owns at least half a score of these creatures. In 1991, they escaped from him and
Madam Hooch charged Harry Potter with catching them as an extra broomstick practise.[1]
In 1992, and as part of his Quidditch training, Oliver Wood told Harry Potter to catch a Flitterby as
quickly as he could.[3]
Flying Seahorses
Species information
Eye colour
Black
Skin colour
Tan
Related to
Seahorse
Native range
Scotland
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Wings
Capable of flight
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Flying seahorses can be caught with Carpe Retractum and used as an ingredient in certain potions."
—Folio Bruti[src]
Flying Seahorses are a magical variant of seahorses, known for their ability to fly when provoked.
Contents[show]
Description
They are used as an ingredient in certain potions, such as the Girding Potion and Dragon dung
Fertiliser. They are native to aquatic environments, such as the Black Lake in Scotland.[1]
History
A popular sport at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the 1990s was a game called
"Flying Seahorse Fishing", in which one would use the Seize and Pull Charm on the flying seahorses
to pull them out of the water.[1][2]
This was more than just recreational, however; as they are a necessary ingredient in the Girding
Potion, and Professor Severus Snape requested that each member of his classes bring in three flying
seahorses for the brewing of the potion. Consequently, flying seahorse fishing was essential for
students to obtain the ingredient.[1]
Veela
Species information
Eye colour
Various colours (mostly blue)
Skin colour
Lustrous white
Hair colour
White-gold
Related to
Human
Native range
Bulgaria
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Very beautiful; can charm humans
While angry, they transform into harpy-like creatures
Ministry of Magic Classification
Being[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Veela are semi-human magical beings; beautiful women with white-gold hair and skin that appears
to shine moon-bright. When angry, Veela take on a less pleasant appearance; their faces elongate
into sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long scaly wings burst from their shoulders."
—Description[src]
Veela are semi-human magical beings who appear as young, beautiful women with white-gold hair
and moon-bright skin, native to Bulgaria. Their looks and especially their dance is hypnotically
seductive to almost all male beings, which causes them to perform foolhardy and impulsive actions
to get closer to, and to receive admiration from the Veela.[1]
Veela were the mascots for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team during the 1994 Quidditch World
Cup,[2] which indicates an Eastern European origin, although the Delacours, who were from
France,[3] are proof that they can be found all over Europe.
Contents[show]
Nature
Veela are described as looking like incredibly beautiful women, with moon-bright skin and white-
gold hair that fans out behind them despite the absence of wind. They have the ability to hypnotise
and mesmerise most men with their seductive dance, who will then try to impress them.[1]
Veela have their own type of magic which does not require a wand. When Veela are angry, however,
they transform into something more like Harpies — their faces turn into cruel-beaked bird-like heads
while long scaly wings burst from their shoulders, and they can launch balls of fire from their hands.
Veela seem to be quite an irascible race.[1][2]
For example, in the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, they were easily wound up by the Leprechauns,
resulting in a fight between both teams' mascots on the pitch. The Veela were then sent off the
pitch.[2]
Veela hair
Veela hair is a magical substance, suitable as a core for wand crafting. Renowned wandmaker
Garrick Ollivander noted that he personally never used it, as he found the result to be
temperamental. Fleur Delacour's wand contained a single hair from her Veela grandmother.[4]
Cross-breeding
112927s
Fleur Delacour was quarter-Veela
Veela have been known to marry wizards, although it is unknown whether any have married
Muggles. Children of these unions are half-Veela, and they will inherit magical ability from their
wizarding parent and beauty and charm from their Veela parent. Veela traits seem to persist for at
least a few generations (examples being Apolline Delacour, and her daughters Fleur and Gabrielle).
Apolline Delacour was a Half-Veela, thus her children Fleur and Gabrielle were quarter-Veela, and
Fleur's children Victoire, Dominique, and Louis were each an one-eighth Veela; it is unknown if they
inherited any specific Veela characteristics from their great-grandmother.[5]
It is unknown whether half-blooded Veela can throw fire or transform into harpy-like creatures as
their full-blooded relatives can.
Known Veela
Fleur Delacour's maternal grandmother
At least two cousins of Fleur Delacour.[5]
The Bulgarian National Quidditch team mascots at the Quidditch World Cup in 1994. The mascots
danced to hypnotise the players as well as the fans on the other team; even the referee was
affected.[2]
See also
Blood status
Behind the scenes
Veela (or les Wilis in French) are featured in the ballet, Giselle.
The term "Veela" is never used in the films.
The word "Veela" is an Anglicisation of the Slavic term Vila.
Veela are described as fairy or nymph-like creatures in Slavic mythology, who live in bodies of water
and have power and ability over storms. They may be the ghosts of women who drowned, especially
those who were betrayed by their lovers. They often appear as beautiful women, but are known to
morph into swans, snakes, horses, or wolves. Their magically seductive speaking and singing voices
hypnotise those who hear them, and they are fierce warriors. Interestingly, given that Fleur
Delacour's wand has a hair from her Veela grandmother, it is said in some legends that if even one of
their hairs is plucked, a Veela will either die or be forced to change into a non-human shape. Veela
are main features of Bulgarian and Serbian folklore such as the story of Marko Kraljevic and the
Veela (archive link). Also see The Ballads of Marko Kraljevic (English translation).
If the stories regarding the plucking of Wili/Vila hair hold true with regards to Veela it seems more
likely the hair used in Fleur's wand would have naturally shed rather than been plucked.
One of the questions on the 2nd Level W.O.M.B.A.T. asks the examinee to identify which of five
given statements is false; one of these claims that full-blooded male Veela do not exist.
Veela are similar to the Sirens of Greek mythology. Sirens are featured in Homer's The Odyssey, as
half-bird, sea-dwelling hybrids whose hypnotic singing causes sailors to run aground. However, in
the Harry Potter universe, Sirens are one of the three known species of Merpeople, and, as far as we
know, are unrelated to Veela.
The Veela of Slavic folklore are akin to fairies in Germanic folklore and their beauty is somewhat
reminiscent of the Elves of J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium - sometimes referred to as "fairies" in his
earlier works - which were based on the fairies of Germanic lore.
Dung beetle
Species information
Related to
Scarab beetle
Native range
Egypt
Affiliation
Ancient Egyptians
Status
Extant
[Source]
The dung beetle is a specific variety of scarab beetle, known for subsisting at least partially on faecal
matter. The dung beetle (specifically Scarabaeus sacer) was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, as
Ronald Weasley noted when Hermione Granger stated the Egyptians worshipped cats.[1] Giant dung
beetles are a known magical related species to their smaller cousins.[2]
Giant storm petrel
Species information
Feather colour
Mostly dark, with white underparts
Related to
Storm petrel
Native range
Minami Iwo Jima, Japan
Affiliation
Mahoutokoro School of Magic
Status
Extant
[Source]
Mahoutokoro School of Magic had a flock of giant storm petrels that were used to transport day
students (students between the ages of seven and eleven, who did not board at the Palace of
Mahoutokoro) back and forth to their homes every day.[1]
Behind the scenes
It's unknown if this was a magical subspecies, or just regular storm petrels with an Engorgement
Charm cast on them.
Giant Squid
Species information
Skin colour
Blood red
Related to
Cuttlefish
Octopus
Native range
Great Lake, Scotland
Distinction
Enormous with lots of tentacles
Affiliation
Black Lake
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The bane of ancient mariners and students at Hogwarts - should the latter decide to go for a dip in
the lake."
—Chocolate Frog Card[src]
The Giant Squid is a gigantic cephalopod, with eight arms and two long tentacles.
Contents[show]
Description
Giant Squids can reach tremendous sizes and are one of the largest living organisms on earth.[2] It is
strongly suspected Giant Squids have magical powers.[3]
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At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts
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"Point me!"
This article is about the creature in general. You may be looking for the Giant Squid that lives in the
Black lake.
Giant Squid
Species information
Skin colour
Blood red
Related to
Cuttlefish
Octopus
Native range
Great Lake, Scotland
Distinction
Enormous with lots of tentacles
Affiliation
Black Lake
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The bane of ancient mariners and students at Hogwarts - should the latter decide to go for a dip in
the lake."
—Chocolate Frog Card[src]
The Giant Squid is a gigantic cephalopod, with eight arms and two long tentacles.
Contents[show]
Description
Giant Squids can reach tremendous sizes and are one of the largest living organisms on earth.[2] It is
strongly suspected Giant Squids have magical powers.[3]
A semi-domesticated Giant Squid[3] inhabits the Great Lake, on the grounds of Hogwarts Castle.
Though the Chocolate Frog Card for Giant Squids describes the Hogwarts Giant Squid as "the bane"
of students at Hogwarts who want to go for a "dip in the lake", it appears to be harmless, at least to
humans, as it failed to attack Viktor Krum when he swam in the lake,[4] allowed students to feed it
bread, and rescued Dennis Creevey after he fell into the lake.[5]
2013-08-01 200059
Giant Squid as shown on Pottermore new map
True giant squids (genus Architeuthis) are deep-sea-dwelling creatures and can not live in fresh
water such as inland lochs in Scotland. It would not be able to stand the sunlight, pressure, salinity
(or lack thereof) of the water, the space or the lack of food. At one point during the books it is fed
bread, which it would not be able to digest. Giant squid also have very tender skin that would break
if they were tickled by a stick, as the Weasley twins did. However, it is possible that the Hogwarts
Giant Squid is of a different magical subspecies, which to non-magical giant squids would be what,
for instance, kneazles are to mundane cats.
Ronald Weasley once stated that dating Lavender Brown was like going out with a giant squid
because the more that he hinted that he wanted to finish it, the tighter she held on.[6]
Glow Bug
Species information
Eye colour
White
Glowing[1]
Skin colour
Translucent/Luminescent[1]
Related to
Worm[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Luminescent[1]
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
Glow Bugs were small luminescent magical worms kept in lightbulbs by Newt Scamander. Some
were kept in his suitcase and used for lighting.[1]
Behind the scenes
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Art of The Film refers to these as Glow Worms.
Glumbumble
Species information
Skin colour
Grey
Native range
Northern Europe
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Produces a treacle
Infests beehives
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
XXX
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Glumbumble was a magical grey, furry, flying insect which was native to Northern Europe.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Glumbumbles on a beehive
The Glumbumble produced a treacle that induced melancholy in those who consume it. The treacle
was used as an antidote to the hysteria caused by eating Alihotsy leaves. Glumbumbles nested in
dark and secluded places and fed on nettles. They had been known to infest beehives, which had a
disastrous effect on the honey produced.[1]
History
Glumbumbles were covered in sixth year Care of Magical Creatures class by Professor Silvanus
Kettleburn, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the 1989–1990 school year.[2]
Gringwart Goff
Species information
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Long horns on its head
Small, bat-like wings
Two- or three-fingered hands
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Gringwart Goff was a magical creature with long horns on its head, small, bat-like wings on its
back, and two- or three-fingered hands.[1]
Hō-ō (Japanese: 鳳凰ほうおう), sometimes known in English as the hoho bird, is the Japanese
pronunciation of the more common Chinese name, Fenghuang, a bird from East Asian mythology
with similarities to the phoenix. This same creature also served as the inspiration for the phoenix-like
Pokémon, Ho-Oh.
In the 2018 audio edition of Quidditch Through the Ages, Imogen Church as Ginevra Potter
pronounced "hoo-hoo" as "who-who", which is very different from the Japanese 鳳凰 Hou Ou
pronunciation.[2]
Imperial Dragonfly
Species information
Eye colour
Greenish-yellow
Skin colour
Blue with pink wings
Related to
Dragonfly
Native range
Worldwide (originally Far East)
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Originally from the Far East, this dragonfly is found in streams all over the world."
—The Folio Bruti[src]
The Imperial Dragonfly is a species of dragonfly, having approximately twice the stamina as a normal
dragonfly.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Originally from the Far East, the species had spread worldwide by 1993, making its native habitat in
streams. Compared to other similar Creatures, Imperial Dragonflies were particularly susceptible to
the Knockback Jinx, the Fire-Making Spell, the Full Body-Bind Curse, the Softening Charm, and
Glacius. Being winged creatures, however, they were immune to the effects of the Levitation
Charm.[1]
History
Hogwarts Castle had an infestation of Imperial Dragonflies during the 1993-1994 school year.[1]
Jackalope
Species information
Native range
United States of America
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles a Jack Rabbit, with the antlers of an antelope.
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Jackalope is a North American magical animal that resembles a Jack Rabbit with antlers similar
to that of a small antelope. Its antlers were used as wand cores by wandmakers Isolt Sayre and
James Steward in the 17th century.[1]
Behind the scenes
Real world sightings of jackalopes are commonly reported.[2]
Leucrotta
Species information
Hair colour
Brown
Height of average adult
Large
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Strongly resembles the Moose in appearance
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Leucrotta was a magical beast that resembled a moose in appearance.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
The Leucrotta resembled a large moose with very long, jagged antlers and an impossibly huge mouth
in respect to its head and face.[2]
Young marmites are apparently unable to feed themselves and have to be bottle-fed when kept in
captivity.[1]
History
Newt Scamander had a young marmite in his suitcase during his visit to New York in 1926.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
In France, they are used by the French Ministry of Magic for handiwork, such as handling the
correspondence and security of some departments. Normally, they are harmless, but when
provoked, they turn into very ferocious creatures.[1]
Matagots appear to be resistant to most forms of magic and spells, and can multiply themselves
upon being hit with offensive spells, such as the Stunning Spell.[2]
A Matagot is a spirit in French folklore that tends to take the form of a black cat. While many
Matagots are evil in nature, some can be helpful to humans. If a "wealth-bringing" Matagot is
allowed to eat and drink first at every meal, it will give its owner a solid gold coin each morning.
The Matagot closely resembles the specially-bred Sphynx breed of domestic cat, known for its lack of
coat (fur).
Upon exiting the wizarding world, they become ordinary cats.[citation needed]
Newt Scamander mentions that they are spirit familiars, which is a subject of much debate and
controversy in the fandom.[citation needed] This is because J. K. Rowling has previously stated that
"familiars, in the strictest sense, do not exist in the world of Harry Potter",[3] after years of fans
debating whether or not Hedwig was Harry Potter's spirit familiar.
It is worth noting that the exact phrasing suggests that, something one could call a familiar may
exist, but nothing that rigidly adheres to the archetype of such a thing.
Oni
Species information
Native range
Japan
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Horned
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Extant (as of 1927)
[Source]
Contents[show]
History
Oni
Oni in the Circus Arcanus
A live Oni was one of the attractions at the Circus Arcanus when it was in Paris, France, in 1927.[1]
Contents[show]
History
Great Sasquatch Rebellion
The Sasquatch rebellion
In 1892, Sasquatches staged a large-scale rebellion against the Magical Congress of the United States
of America, forcing the government to relocate from Washington to New York. This event was
covered in detail in Ortiz O'Flaherty's book Big Foot's Last Stand.[1] Irene Kneedander, Head of the
Body for Protection of Magical Species was deemed responsible for the rebellion by historians as her
interpretation of her job title had involved attacking any Sasquatch that "stepped out of line."[2]
t should be noted that the mere presence of Sasquatch in No-Maj areas would have been deemed
"intolerable" by the Magical Congress of the United States of America due to the "risk" such a
presence would pose in exposing the wizarding world.[1]
See also
Yeti
Troll
Behind the scenes
In North American folklore, the Sasquatch (also known as Bigfoot) is a real-life cryptid. It said to be a
large, bipedal, ape-like creature covered in shaggy brown hair, and inhabits forested regions of
North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. The creature has its origins in the mythology of
the indigenous peoples of the region.[3]
A Sasquatch was planned[citation needed] to appear in the first film of the Fantastic Beasts film
series, played through motion-capture by Jason Newell, but he was let go from the film.
It is unknown if they are classified as either Beasts or Beings.
Selma
Species information
Related to
Sea serpent
Native range
Norway
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Aggressive temperament
Carnivorous, feeds on fish and human flesh
Affiliation
Norwegian National Quidditch team
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Selma is a gigantic serpent native to the icy freshwater lakes of Norway. Unlike the peaceful sea
serpent, the Selma is a ferocious and carnivorous beast, consisting on a diet of fish and human
flesh.[1]
Contents[show]
History
Rather than their usual group of preforming trolls, the Norwegian National Quidditch team elected
to bring a Selma as their mascot for the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, a decision defended by team
manager Arnulf Moe as reflecting the "steely determination and ferocity" of his team. The Selma
was placed in a magical lake in the Patagonian Desert where it engaged in a fight with the Fijian
Dukuwaqa, which eventually escalated into a conflict between many of the team mascots.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Roughly the size of a quill, or only a head taller than three stacked inkpots, it had round, deep-set
eyes and a rounded belly, as well as large, flat feet.[1] It was capable of holding a quill, and is
presumably able to write with it.[1]
History
This creature was covered in the book The Monster Book of Monsters, and was thus part of the
third-year Care of Magical Creatures curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]
Swooping Evil
Species information
Skin colour
Blue and green
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Resembles large butterfly
Wolf-like skull
Spiked wings
Shrinks into green spiny cocoon when not in flight
Feeds on human brains
Tough skin can deflect spells
Venomous
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"A large, butterfly-like creature that emerges from a small object, possibly a cocoon."
—Description of a Swooping Evil[src]
The Swooping Evil is a blue-and-green winged magical beast.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
It appears similar to an extremely large butterfly but with a wolf-like skull in place of an ordinary
head. When it is not flying with its spiked wings, the Swooping Evil shrinks into a green spiny
cocoon.[3]
It can be quite dangerous, as it is an encephalophage — it feeds on people's brains — and its tough
green skin has the ability to deflect at least some spells. It secretes venom that, when properly
diluted, can be used to erase bad memories.[3]
History
Swooping Evil
Swooping Evil attempting to feed on a MACUSA auror's brain
Newt Scamander brought one to New York in his suitcase in 1926, using it to escape from MACUSA
with Tina Goldstein and shield them from Aurors that attacked them.
Newt also used the Swooping Evil to distract Gellert Grindelwald (in disguise as Percival Graves) for a
crucial second, allowing Newt to restrain him with a vine creeper pulled from his pocket.
A vial of its venom was diffused over New York City through a rainstorm created by Frank, Newt's
captive Thunderbird, over the city's entire No-Maj population, with the rain water effectively
oblivating of all their bad memories of magic and therefore preserving the security and secrecy of
the magical community.[2]
Three-headed dog
Species information
Eye colour
Black
Hair colour
Brown
Related to
Dog
Native range
Greece[1]
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Three heads
Larger and stronger than non-magical dogs
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast[2]
Status
Extant
[Source]
Three-headed dogs are very rare magical beasts. It is unknown if, like the Runespoor, each head
serves a different purpose.[3] Their great weakness is the inability to resist falling asleep to the
sound of music.[2]
Contents[show]
History
Rubeus Hagrid once owned a three-headed Staffordshire Bull Terrier hellhound demon dog named
Fluffy, which he obtained from a Greek man he met at a pub. Fluffy served as one of the obstacles to
the Philosopher's Stone in 1992.[1]
Contents[show]
History
The rabbit in question was on sale in the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley, London in 1993 when
Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger entered the magical pet shop, looking for
various items to purchase.[1]
History
This creature was covered in The Monster Book of Monsters.[1] It was thus part of the third-year
Care of Magical Creatures curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]
Vampyr Mosp
Species information
Skin colour
Purple or Red
Native range
Scotland (possibly)
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Wasp-moth hybrid
Giant and aggressive
Painful sting
Attracted to the scent of flowers
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Extant
[Source]
A Vampyr Mosp is a fanged wasp-moth magical hybrid.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
They are giant, aggressive insects who will try to sting any individual they come into close contact
with; the effect of these stings can be quite painful to the victim. They are very attracted by the
smell of certain flowers.[1]
There are two known kinds of Vampyr Mosps, the Purple Vampyr Mosp and the Red Vampyre Mosp.
The Purple variants are usually less aggressive than Red variants.[1]
Vampyr MospThey may be native to Scotland, in wet places; Hogwarts has a reasonable amount of
them in the sewers and pipes, and in the Herbology Greenhouses.[1] Many also inhabit large hives in
the Forbidden Forest.[2]
Hag
Species information
Eye colour
Green, among others
Skin colour
Pale[2]
Related to
Human[2]
Native range
Russia[2]
Europe[2]
Distinction
Looks like an ugly, old witch covered in warts
Has four toes on each foot
Has a taste for the flesh of human children
Possesses Rudimentary magic
Affiliation
Magical community[1]
Dark Arts[3][4]
Ministry of Magic Classification
Being[5]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"The hag is a child-eating creature of human appearance, though likely to have more warts than the
average witch."
—Quentin Tremble, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection[src]
A hag is a savage being that looks like an ugly, old witch but has more warts.[3] They have four toes
on each foot, have a taste for the flesh of human children, and possess rudimentary magic, similar to
that of a troll.[6] Many Muggles tend to think that hags are what witches look like, and are therefore
popular in Muggle literature.[7]
Contents[show]
History
In the 14th century, hags were "gliding about in search of children to eat" at Burdock Muldoon's
failed meeting of the Wizards' Council welcoming any two-legged Creatures as beings.[8]
In 1993, Harry Potter thought he saw a hag ordering a plate of raw liver from behind a thick
balaclava.[12]
A hag sent in "A Word in Support of Hags" to the Daily Prophet, offering babysitting services.[13]
Hags were amongst the various magical creatures who proposed threats to the International Statute
of Wizarding Secrecy across the Wizarding world, during the Calamity in the 2010s. Hags were
trapped in huge blocks of ice, in which volunteer wizards and witches had to liberate using the Fire-
Making Spell to melt the ice and free the Foundable hags.[4]
Ministry classification
The British Ministry of Magic classifies hags as beings, a fact that causes centaurs and merpeople to
desire the classification of beast.[5]
Known hags
Babayaga1
Babayaga
Cordelia Misericordia
Cordelia Misericordia
Leticia Somnolens
Leticia Somnolens
Grymm
Malodora Grymm
Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
Hags can occasionally be encountered in Diagon and Knockturn Alleys, as well as Hogsmeade;[12]
however, some hags like Annis Black live in caves.[2]
Diet
Hags are said to eat children[2] and raw livers,[12] although it is possible that those are false
descriptions to defame them.
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At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards
Unite. As such, spoilers will be present within the article.
For gameplay-specific information, please see the relevant article on the Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
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Banshee
Species information
Eye colour
Varies
Skin colour
Green-tinged
Hair colour
Black
Native range
Ireland
Height of average adult
Average height of a human
Distinction
Zombie-like appearance
Fatal scream
Affiliation
Dark Arts
Ministry of Magic Classification
Spirit[1]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Where the mummy had been was a woman with floor length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged
face — a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long,
wailing shriek that made the hair on Harry's head stand on end —"
—Banshee impersonation by a Boggart[src]
The Banshee (Old Irish spelling ben síde) is a Dark creature native to Ireland. Banshees are
malevolent spirits that have the appearance of women and their cries are fatal to anyone that hears
them. The Laughing Potion is effective defence against them.[2]
Contents[show]
Biology and description
Banshees have the appearance of a woman with floor length black hair, a skeletal face, and green
skin. A banshee's scream is fatal to the ears, in a manner similar to fully grown Mandrakes.[3]
History
The Bandon Banshee was supposedly defeated by Gilderoy Lockhart, which he described in his book
Break with a Banshee;[4] though he later admitted to stealing credit for his books. The only thing
known about the actual witch who defeated the Bandon Banshee was that she had a hairy chin.[5]
eamus Finnigan was afraid of Banshees, as his Boggart demonstrated.[3] Seamus also mentioned it
when Harry Potter opened the golden egg and heard a screeching sound.[6]
The singer Celestina Warbeck is known to perform with a backing group of banshees, demonstrating
not all Banshees are malevolent.[7] Another possible banshee was the Bogle-banshee, mentioned by
a student on the "Second Year Essential Knowledge Test" that Gilderoy Lockhart gave his second
year Defence Against the Dark Arts class in 1992.[8]
During the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship, a Banshee drove the Uagadou potions
champion mad.[2]
Banshees appeared throughout the Wizarding world during the Calamity in the 2010s, in which they
acted as Confoundable guards to certain Foundables, such as a portrait of Salazar Slytherin, which
belonged at Hogwarts Castle. Volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to cast
the Exploding Charm in order to repel them, allowing the Foundable to return to their rightful
place.[9]
Boggarts would, at least before the Battle of Hogwarts, very commonly appear as Lord Voldemort
since he represented the worst fear of many wizardkind.[2]
Contents[show]
Description
Physical appearance
Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like if nobody is there to see it, although it continues to exist,
usually giving evidence of its presence by rattling, shaking or scratching the object in which it is
hiding. Boggarts particularly like confined spaces, but may also be found lurking in woods and
around shadowy corners.[3]
Nature
"A Boggart is a shape-shifting creature that will assume the form of whatever most frightens the
person who encounters it. "
—A boggart's basic nature[src]
Much like Poltergeists, Boggart are non-beings, who, although they resemble living creatures, are
not considered magically "alive" and are as a result amortal (a Boggart can be made to disappear,
but it will inevitably reappear, with several more by its side at times). Much like Poltergeists with
mischief and Dementors with gloom and depression, Boggarts seem to embody the human emotion
of fear, and consequently feed on other beings' fears.
Boggarts' ability to shapeshift shows remarkable speed and fluidity, but has several limitations.
Firstly, being confined, if nothing else, by the size of the room it inhabits, the Boggart will scale down
an otherwise-gigantic form (as seen when a Boggart turned into the Moon). Secondly, though a
Boggart who transforms into a magical being or object can replicate its abilities to an extent, this will
be a weaker facsimile of the real thing; thus, a Boggart transformed into a Dementor has weaker
magic than a real Dementor (according to Professor Lupin, who exploited this effect to simulate a
Dementor attack in Harry's presence to help him perfect the use of the Patronus Charm at no serious
risk to Harry Potter's soul.)
Additionally, when a witch or wizard has multiple fears that tie for their "worst," the Boggart will
typically cycle through those fears, presumably randomly. For example, in 1995, when Molly
Weasley was attempting to destroy a boggart that had taken up residence in 12 Grimmauld Place,
the Boggart took the form of the freshly dead bodies of her family, as well as Harry Potter, whom
she loved like a son.[4] Since she feared the deaths of all her loved ones equally, the Boggart cycled
through all the corpses randomly.
The extent of Boggarts' intelligence is unclear; though they sometimes take the forms of sentient
beings as part of their fear-inducing transformations, those false "people" appear to be little more
than caricatures, acting out the motions of the victim's fear involving said people, heedless of their
surroundings. It is worth noting however that one Boggart once settled into the form of a human
killer, foregoing individual transformations, and successfully posed as this man for a long period of
time; and Boggarts' closest-known "relatives", Poltergeists and Dementors, both possess sapience.
Though they cannot see other non-beings like Dementors, Muggles can sometimes see Boggarts;
however, as most Muggles refuse to acknowledge anything that might even be considered
somewhat magical, the glimpses they catch of Boggarts are usually dismissed as mere hallucinations
or figments of the viewer's imagination. This denial is helped by the fact that Muggles rarely see
Boggarts plainly, due to their favoured haunts being dark places away from the public eye.[3]
The Boggart-Banishing Spell is Riddikulus. The charm requires a strong mind and good concentration.
The incantation and wand movement alone will not affect a Boggart. The spell can be tricky, because
it involves making the creature into a figure of fun, so that fear can be dispelled in amusement. If the
caster is able to laugh aloud at the Boggart, it will disappear at once. The intention is to force the
Boggart to assume a less-threatening and hopefully comical form.[3]
In 1993, this charm was taught by Remus Lupin during a third year Defence Against the Dark Arts
lesson at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]
Having multiple people facing one Boggart may reduce its effectiveness of frightening its victims,
since it would not be able to determine which form to take.[1]
Hiding places
Boggarts are particularly fond of inhabiting dark, confined spaces, such as in wardrobes, the gap
beneath beds, and the cupboards under sinks and desks. On at least one occasion, a boggart was
found hiding in a grandfather clock.[1] They also like shadowy corners.
Known encounters
Famous Boggarts
Famous Boggarts include the Old Boggle of Canterbury (believed by local Muggles to be a mad,
cannibalistic hermit that lived in a cave; in reality a particularly small Boggart that had learnt how to
make the most of echoes); the Bludgeoning Boggart of Old London Town (a Boggart that had taken
on the form of a murderous thug that prowled the back streets of 19th century London, but which
could be reduced to a hamster with one simple incantation); and the Screaming Bogey of Strathtully
(a Scottish Boggart that had fed on the fears of local Muggles to the point that it had become an
elephantine black shadow with glowing white eyes, but which Lyall Lupin of the Ministry of Magic
eventually trapped in a matchbox).[3]
Hogwarts
1910s
In the 1910s, professor Albus Dumbledore taught students how to confront a Boggart and learn the
spell to banish it. When Newt Scamander's Boggart turned into a desk, Dumbledore commented on
its unexpected nature and kindly inquired why it took this form: Newt confessed that his greatest
fear was being stuck working in an office. After Newt successfully dispatched the Boggart,
Dumbledore encouraged Leta Lestrange to take her turn, reassuring her that being afraid of
something wasn't shameful; everyone was afraid of something. The form of Leta's Boggart surprised
both Dumbledore and the entire class: a white sheet containing an undistinguishable, slight form
floating through a dark blue glow. The event badly shook Leta.[5]
Later, Professor Lupin explained that the reason he didn't let Harry face the Boggart was that he
thought Harry's boggart would turn into Lord Voldemort, and he didn't want to panic the
students.[7] Harry's boggart actually took on the form of a Dementor, as he had an encounter with
them on the way to Hogwarts that year and heard his mother's dying moments whenever they came
near.[8]
To help Harry, Professor Lupin taught him how to perform the Patronus, using a boggart found in
Argus Filch's filing cabinet as a substitute for a real Dementor. In between the private lessons,
Professor Lupin kept the Boggart in a cabinet under the desk, in his office.[9]
At the end of the school year, Lupin used another boggart as part of his third year exams, as the final
obstacle in a series.[10]
After escaping from the party being held in celebration of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger
becoming Prefects, Harry heard sobbing coming from the drawing room. When he looked inside,
Harry saw Mrs Weasley cowering against a dark wall, and the body of her son, Ron, sprawled on the
floor. After Molly tried the Riddikulus charm without success, Ron's body turned into the body of Bill
Weasley, with his eyes wide open and empty. Molly's next attempt turned Bill's body into Arthur
Weasley, with blood running down his face. The next attempts turned the boggart into Fred and
George Weasley, Percy Weasley, and then Harry.[4]
Harry shouted to Mrs Weasley that she should leave, causing Remus Lupin and Sirius Black to run
into the room, followed by Alastor Moody. Lupin quickly figured out what had happened, and made
the Boggart turn from Harry's dead body to the full moon, then with a wave of his wand, made the
orb vanish in a puff of smoke.[4]
Unspecified
Although the precise details of this encounter are unknown, Lupin mentioned during his first lesson
that he had once had an encounter with a Boggart in the company of at least two other people
where the Boggart, attempting to frighten two people at once, turned itself into half a slug (One
person was afraid of a flesh-eating slug and the other was afraid of headless corpses).[1]
Unknown
Molly Weasley Dead family and friends[4] Unknown
Neville Longbottom Severus Snape[1]
Neville's boggart
Snape wearing Neville's grandmother's clothes[1]
NevilleRiddikulus
Newton Scamander Office/desk job[18]
Newt boggart
A mechanical dragon flying around[19]NewtRiddikulus
Padma Patil A giant cobra[2]
Parvati Boggart
A Jack-in-the-box[2]
Parvati Riddikulus
Parvati Patil A bloodstained, bandaged mummy[1] The mummy tripped over its bandages[1]
Penny Haywood A Werewolf[6] A stuffed toy wolf (performed by Pomona Sprout)[6]
Remus Lupin Full moon (the fear of turning into his werewolf form)[1]
Lupin's boggart
Alastor Moody
Alicia Spinnet
Amos Diggory
Angelina Johnson
Arthur Weasley
Aurora Sinistra
Bartemius Crouch Senior
Cedric Diggory
Cho Chang
Colin Creevey
Cornelius Fudge
Dobby
Donaghan Tremlett
Doris Crockford
Draco Malfoy
Dragon keeper
Ernest Macmillan
Ernest Prang
Filius Flitwick
Fleur Delacour
Fred Weasley
Gabrielle Delacour
George Weasley
Gilderoy Lockhart
Ginevra Weasley
Gregory Goyle
Griphook
Hannah Abbott
Igor Karkaroff
Irma Pince
Justin Finch-Fletchley
Katie Bell
Kirley Duke
Lee Jordan
Lucius Malfoy
Madam Malkin
Madam Rosmerta
Marcus Flint
Millicent Bulstrode
Minerva McGonagall
Myron Wagtail
Garrick Ollivander
Oliver Wood
Orsino Thruston
Penelope Clearwater
Percy Weasley
Peter Pettigrew
Pomona Sprout
Poppy Pomfrey
Quirinus Quirrell
Rita Skeeter
Rolanda Hooch
Rubeus Hagrid
Septima Vector
Severus Snape
Sirius Black
Shifty wizard
Stanley Shunpike
Susan Bones
Sybill Trelawney
Tom
Trolley witch
Unidentified registered Animagus
Viktor Krum
Vincent Crabbe
Walden Macnair
Etymology
In Celtic mythology, a Boggart (or bogart, bogan, bogle or boggle) is a household spirit, sometimes
mischievous, sometimes helpful.
There are certain defences one can use against Dementors, specifically the Patronus Charm.
Dementors hold no true loyalty, except to whoever can provide them with the most people to feed
on. They seemingly cannot be destroyed, though their numbers can be limited if the conditions in
which they multiply are prevented from forming, implying that they do die off eventually.[4]
Contents[show]
History
Early history
"Those who entered to investigate refused afterwards to talk of what they had found inside, but the
least frightening part of it was that the place was infested with dementors."
—J. K. Rowling on the early history of Azkaban[src]
The history of Dementors in relation to Wizarding society in Britain is inextricably tied up with one
location: Azkaban. The island in the North Sea on which the wizard prison is built has never appeared
on any map, wizard or Muggle. Perhaps its first resident, or even creator, Ekrizdis, practised the
worst kinds of Dark magic and constructed a fortress on the island, luring Muggle sailors there to
torture and murder them. After his death, the various concealment charms placed on the island
faded, and the Ministry became aware of the mysterious site's existence.
Azkaban
A modern Azkaban Prison
Those who entered the deserted fortress to investigate discovered, among other horrors, an
infestation of Dementors. Fearing the reprisal of these dark entities should anyone try to evict them,
the Ministry decided to let the sizeable colony remain, unmolested and unchecked.
When Damocles Rowle was elected Minister for Magic in 1718, he insisted on utilising Azkaban's
dark pedigree, seeing the Dementors as a potential asset: putting them to work as guards would
save expense, time, and lives. This plan was eventually put into motion and, despite protests,
Azkaban remained the prison of the wizarding world right up until the Second Wizarding War, mostly
because of its near-zero breakout rate. From that point on, the Dementors served the Ministry of
Magic as the guards of Azkaban, as the arrangement allowed them to feed on the emotions of the
prisoners within its walls. Somewhere between 1733 and 1747, Minister Eldritch Diggory visited
Azkaban and was horrified at the sheer despair and insanity that the Dementors induced within the
prisoners. He formed a committee to find alternative solutions, the least of which was to remove the
Dementors, which met opposition from those who feared a mainland invasion by the dark creatures
if they were deprived of their food source. Alas, Diggory died of Dragon Pox while in office, and thus
the campaign to find an alternative to Azkaban's Dementors stalled. Though their primary function
was to guard Azkaban, Dementors also performs other services for the Ministry, such as being sent
to guard other locations, escort prisoners to trial or even hunt down certain criminals.
Although many in the wizarding world felt they could sleep easy at night in the knowledge that
Dementors guarded Azkaban, making it virtually impossible for dangerous criminals to escape, some
believed the Dementors to be inherently fickle and untrustworthy, fearing a potential change in
allegiances should a dark wizard arise who might offer them more promising compensation than the
Ministry. Albus Dumbledore, in particular, thought it was a mistake for the Ministry to ever ally with
such creatures, though Alastor Moody thought violent criminals such as Death Eaters deserved such
treatment.[5]
1993-1994
"When they get near me — I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum."
—Harry Potter on the Dementors' effect on him[src]
Harry vs Dementor
Dementors board the Hogwarts Express in search of Sirius Black
During the 1993-1994 school year, Dementors were sent to guard Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry against "mass murderer" Sirius Black, who had recently escaped from Azkaban in 1993.
On the Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter had his first encounter with a Dementor. Whenever brought
into close proximity with one, Harry was forced to relive his worst memory: hearing the last
moments of his parents' lives before they were murdered by Lord Voldemort.
Harry vs Dementor 2
Dementors attack on the Quidditch match
Harry endured a second encounter with a group of Dementors during a Quidditch match, causing
him to lose consciousness and suffer a fall from his broom. He was that time rescued by
Dumbledore, who slowed Harry's fall and then drove the Dementors away with a Patronus. They had
a particularly bad effect on Harry due to his miserable childhood and plentiful bad memories.[2]
Professor Lupin later claimed that the atmosphere of excitement during a Quidditch Match would be
like a feast to the Dementors, which they were unable to resist.
Harry-potter4-movie-screencaps.com-8411
Harry conjures an incorporeal shield Patronus against a Boggart Dementor
To overcome the Dementors, Harry asked Lupin for assistance. Lupin began teaching Harry the
Patronus Charm, using a Boggart, which transformed into a Dementor in front of Harry. During the
next Quidditch match Harry competed in, four Slytherins, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory
Goyle, and Marcus Flint, disguised themselves as Dementors to distract Harry. Although not yet
capable of producing a fully formed patronus, Harry was able to perform the spell well enough to
thwart their attempts and won the match, after which Professor Minerva McGonagall sentenced the
offending students to detention and deducted fifty House Points from Slytherin.
Harry's next encounter with the Dementors came when he, Hermione, and Sirius were attacked by a
group of them in the Forbidden Forest; the three were saved by the intervention of a powerful and
fully formed Patronus before the Dementors were able to take their souls via the Dementor's Kiss
(defined below). Though initially believed (by Harry) to be the Patronus of his deceased father, this
Patronus had in fact been conjured by Harry himself, who had travelled back in time with Hermione
Granger using her Time-Turner[2] (this technically counts as both Harry's third and fourth encounter
with the Dementors, since, due to his time travelling, he experienced this same encounter twice).
Harry's Patronus took the form of a stag, which was both the form his father's Patronus took and the
form his father took as an Animagus. Because the Dementors tried to Kiss Harry during this
encounter in the Forest, it was enough to convince the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge to have
the Dementors removed from Hogwarts at the end of the school year. Dumbledore seemed very
happy about this.
1994-1995
"The Dementors will join us, they are our natural allies...."
—Lord Voldemort talking to his Death Eaters[src]
Harry met an apparent Dementor in the Triwizard Tournament; thinking that it was a real Dementor
he conjured the Patronus Charm, and soon the Dementor stumbled and then Harry knew it was a
boggart and soon cried 'Riddikulus'. That same evening, Fudge brought along a Dementor when he
was notified that the Death Eater, Bartemius Crouch Junior, responsible for the activities that
occurred was captured, for his own security, disregarding Minerva McGonagall's protest; said
Dementor attacked the prisoner, who was also an escapee of Azkaban, on sight, sucking his soul out,
which Fudge claimed it was no loss as he saw Crouch as a raving lunatic unworthy of bearing
testimony. Dumbledore, who disapproved of this move, suggested Fudge to remove the Dementors
from Azkaban to deprive Voldemort of their services, which Fudge thought to be absurd, as he did
not believe Voldemort's return and by even suggesting the Azkaban guards to be removed will result
in him being impeached.
1995-1996
Tumblr lv13kyrMIO1qgt0vro1 250
The Dementor attack at Little Whinging
Harry's fifth encounter was in an alley near his home on Privet Drive, when he and his cousin, Dudley
Dursley, were ambushed by two Dementors sent secretly and illegally by Dolores Umbridge. He
successfully used the Patronus Charm and was subsequently guided home by a Squib named
Arabella Figg. Harry was put on trial for his use of underage magic, but ultimately was not punished,
as it was recognised as having been self-defence. Nearly a year later Umbridge admitted the plan to
attack and undermine Harry using the Dementors.[6]
By June 1996, all of the Dementors of Azkaban collectively rebelled against their employers to join
Lord Voldemort, who offered them more victims and free rein across the country. This aided the
1996 and 1997 escapes of Death Eaters from Azkaban.[6] By mid-1996, the Dementors who had
joined Voldemort were multiplying in such quantities as to generate an 'unseasonal' July mist,
noticeable to both the Muggle and wizarding worlds alike. Cornelius Fudge also admitted they were
factors in the British Prime Minister's recent decline in terms of public approval, as they were
making people less happy in general.[3]
1997-1998
"The air around them had frozen: Harry's breath caught and solidified in his chest. Shapes moved out
in the darkness, swirling figures of concentrated blackness, moving in a great wave towards the
castles, their faces hooded and their breath rattling...."
—Dementors join the Battle of Hogwarts[src]
DH1 Dementors over the Muggle-Borns Trial Court
Dementors guarding the Muggle-Born Registration Commission trial courtroom
During the 1997 infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, while Harry Potter was disguised as Albert
Runcorn, he encountered the Dementors in the Muggle-Born Registration Commission courtroom,
where they were used to take away convicted Muggle-borns after interrogation and to terrorise
them during interrogation. Dolores Umbridge protected herself and the other questioners with a cat
Patronus, which dissipated when Harry stunned her. Harry and Hermione then performed the charm
to save the Muggle-borns who had yet to be interrogated from the Dementors.
Hogwarts dementor
Dementors stationed at Hogwarts during the height of the Second Wizarding War
After Apparating to Hogsmeade, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off a Caterwauling Charm and hid
under Harry's Invisibility Cloak. Unable to find them the Death Eaters dispatched Dementors to
attack the trio, as Dementors sensed the presence of others and did not rely on sight. Harry was
forced to cast his Patronus to protect the trio from being kissed. They could not Disapparate due to
an Anti-Disapparition Jinx placed on the village and were stuck (caterwauling charm). Harry drove
away the Dementors, but almost gave the three away, as his patrounus was very distinctive,
Aberforth Dumbledore saved them and passed off Harry's stag as his own goat Patronus and
ushered the trio into his pub.
Later, during the Battle of Hogwarts, the Dementors fought on the side of Lord Voldemort and the
Death Eaters. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley were attacked by large numbers of
Dementors, and due to the horrific events they had experienced and witnessed, including the recent
death of Fred Weasley, they all had difficulty summoning their Patronuses. In fact, Harry welcomed
the fate that came with a Dementor's kiss, but Seamus Finnigan, Luna Lovegood, and Ernie
Macmillan attacked the Dementors with their own Patronuses holding them at bay and encouraged
Harry to do the same, allowing him to finally summon his Patronus, which caused the Dementors to
scatter. Later, Harry encountered more Dementors in the Forbidden Forest, but the presence of
James, Lily, Sirius and Remus, summoned through the Resurrection Stone, shielded him from
them.[7]
Post 1998
After the Second Wizarding War, the Ministry of Magic became headed by former-Auror and Order
of the Phoenix member Kingsley Shacklebolt. Due to their actions during the war (allowing Death
Eaters to escape back to Voldemort and joining forces with him themselves), Shacklebolt disbanded
the Dementors as guards of the wizard prison. It is unknown where they went or what they did
without their only known application. After the Dementors were removed from the prison, Aurors
were placed in the prison as guards.
2020
In one of the alternate realities, to which Scorpius Malfoy found himself, the Dementors were near
the Great Lake at Hogwarts. The student saw these creatures on 22 October when he was caught by
Dolores Umbridge, who was the headmaster of the school.[8]
A week later, when Scorpius, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Severus Snape returned after
making a change in the past, they were found by Dementors. Since Hermione and Ron were wanted
by arrest warrant, they decided to stay to give the remaining time to save themselves. Ron tried to
conjure a patronus, but Hermione stopped him to sacrifice herself and keep these creatures there.
The Dementors quickly found them and drained their souls.
Snape left with Scorpius and encouraged him so that the boy would not give in to the despair spread
by these creatures. Soon they met Umbridge, who recognised that Snape was working against her
and Voldemort, but was rejected by his spell. Then the Dementors attacked, but Severus conjured
up a patronus and promised to keep them as long as possible to ensure that Scorpius could escape.
Malfoy ran in the trail of a silver doe, and Snape was deprived of his soul by these creatures.[9]
Description
Appearances
Dementors have a humanoid shape, approximately three metres, or 10 feet high, and are covered in
dark hooded cloaks of long ripped black cloth, making them closely resemble wraiths. Its body is
greyed and decayed looking, like a decomposing corpse, and its breath sounds rattling like it is trying
to "suck more than air" out of a room. Its hands are "glistening, greyish, slimy-looking, and scabbed".
They seem to exude cold.
Dementor's mouth
A Dementor's mouth
A Dementor's face has empty eye sockets, covered with scabbed skin. There is a gaping large hole
where the mouth should be, which is used for sucking the soul out of the victim in a process called
the Dementor's Kiss, leaving victims in a state generally considered worse than death. The Dementor
pulls back its hood and sucks out its victim's soul, leaving the person an empty shell, alive but
completely, irretrievably 'gone'. They are described as being able to glide over the ground only, and
in any case, they cannot pass through solid obstacles.[2]
Dementors are also known to be blind, as they do not have eyes. However, they can sense whether a
presence is near them or not, by sensing the victim's emotions.
Dementors seem to suck all the light and happiness from the air as they draw long rattling breaths,
and cause darkness to close in everywhere and the victim to feel incredibly cold. They can glide
towards a victim without sound.
Their sapience is heavily debated: they are sentient enough to taste and sense fear, being drawn to
it and the promise of positive memories that it can feed off of. They are also intelligent enough to be
greedy: they obeyed the Ministry of Magic for years because, in guarding Azkaban, they were
provided with the sustenance of any remaining hope or happiness in the prisoners. They can
understand and follow at least simple instructions, which allowed a Dementor to act as a bodyguard
to Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge in 1995,[5] and for them to escort prisoners in and out of the
Muggle-Born Registration Commission courtroom in 1997.[7] They could also communicate what
they had heard Sirius Black saying in his sleep to the Ministry in 1993, implying that they can speak
or otherwise communicate with wizards.
On the other hand, Albus Dumbledore described Dementors as vicious creatures and that they won't
ever differentiate between those they chase after and those that stand in their way. He also
informed the students to give Dementors no reason to harm them, saying that forgiveness is not in a
Dementor's nature. Moreover, they reportedly have no soul of their own (though it could be argued
that "soulless" is merely figurative in this instance).
Outside of Azkaban, Dementors appear to hunt for prey in groups of variable size, from as small as
two to as large as greater than twenty. They appear to attack by first surrounding their targets,
cutting off any escape, then descending upon them all at once to feed.
Abilities
"They don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're trapped inside their
own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most go mad within weeks."
—Remus Lupin on Azkaban prisoners' long-term exposure to Dementors[src]
Being blind, Dementors sense and feed on the positive emotions of human beings in order to
survive, forcing their victims to relive their worst memories over and over again. The very presence
of a Dementor can make the victim's surrounding atmosphere grow cold and dark, and as the
number of Dementors increase, so do the effects. Those that are kept in the company of a Dementor
for too long tend to become depressed, and are often driven insane, which was the main source of
Azkaban's well-deserved horrible reputation when they still guarded its prisoners. After spending
only a few months there, Rubeus Hagrid claims he wished he would die in his sleep.[2] For this
reason, they are considered some of the foulest creatures on Earth.
Tumblr lv13kyrMIO1qgt0vro1 250
A dementor sucking all the positive emotion from Harry Potter
Dementors rely fully on their ability to sense emotion and physical and/or mental health to track the
movements of the prisoners in their care, and are generally unable to distinguish one person from
another if both are in similar physical or mental condition. They were unable to identify Mrs Crouch
being sneaked into Azkaban disguised as Bartemius Crouch Jr using Polyjuice Potion, or Barty Crouch
Jr being sneaked out disguised as his mother, since both were ill nearly to the point of death, as
divulged by Bartemius Crouch Jr under the influence of Veritaserum in 1995 (though it may be that
they simply did not care who they were sucking happiness from so long as they were "fed"). They
are genderless and don't mate, they grow like fungus where there is decay.
Dementors seemingly don't feel and recognise animal emotions in the same way as human
emotions. When Sirius Black, an Animagus, was imprisoned in Azkaban in his dog form before his
eventual successful escape also as a dog, his emotions were less human. The Dementors could feel
there was a difference in his emotions when he changed his form, but they didn't understand why
there was such a difference; they simply thought he was losing his mind.
Although Muggles cannot see Dementors, they are affected in a way similar to wizards and witches,
becoming depressed when near them.[6] It is under debate, if Squibs are able to see Dementors.
While Arabella Figg has claimed in the Wizengamot court room to have seen the Dementors that
attacked Harry and Dudley in Little Whinging[6], it was later confirmed that she lied. It is unclear if
she was unable to see the Dementors or if she was merely arriving late at the scene.[10]
After Bartemius Crouch Jr's mother died in Azkaban, Dementors buried her body, which shows that
Dementors are capable of physical labour, such as grave-digging. Also, Sirius escaped when the
Dementors came to give food, another sort of labour.
It is stated by Remus Lupin that, if a wizard remains in close contact with Dementors for an extended
period of time, a Dementor can drain a wizard of his powers. This fact is not expounded upon, so the
truth to this statement is unknown. If this is the case, however, it would make Dementors the only
known being to permanently render a wizard without magic. Lupin might also mean this
metaphorically, as severe depression, which is caused by prolonged contact with Dementors, can be
really detrimental to a wizard's ability to cast spells.
Dementor's Kiss
Main article: Dementor's Kiss
"There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just... exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone
forever... lost."
—Remus Lupin regarding the kiss[src]
Sirius Soul
The soul after it's been removed by the Dementor's Kiss
In addition to feeding on positive emotions, Dementors can perform their last and most dangerous
ability: the Dementor's Kiss, in which a Dementor latches its mouth onto a victim's and sucks out the
person's soul.[2] The victim is left as an empty shell, incapable of thought and with no possibility of
recovery. It is believed that existing after a Dementor's Kiss is worse than death: as a person's soul is
their true self, to be 'kissed' by a Dementor is to cease to exist, and yet also remain. The Ministry of
Magic occasionally allowed this as a punishment, before Kingsley Shacklebolt became Minister for
Magic. It is unknown what effect a Dementor's Kiss would have on a person who had split his or her
soul through the use of a Horcrux. It is also possible that the soul is trapped inside the Dementor,
thus the victim is unable to pass on. This is probably what "worse than death" is.
The only known named victim of the Kiss is Barty Crouch Jr. From 1994 to 1995 Crouch had been
using polyjuice potion to pose as Alastor Moody, and had been teaching at Hogwarts in his stead; he
was detained at the castle, awaiting trial, after his ploy was discovered, and it emerged that he had
been working in secret for Voldemort. He was subjected to the punishment by a Dementor
accompanying Cornelius Fudge as a bodyguard.[5] The unfortunate consequence of this act was that
it rendered Crouch unable to testify about his master's return, allowing Voldemort almost a full year
to gather strength while the Ministry continued in its denial.
No one has ever demonstrated the ability to kill a Dementor, by Avada Kedavra or otherwise,
implying that they can not be killed through physical means, but can only be driven away or
temporarily kept at bay. One of the few ways to shield oneself from Dementors is by the very
difficult Patronus Charm.[2] The charm summons a Patronus, a magical manifestation of good will
and happiness, providing varied levels of protection against the Dementors' influence, based on the
caster's strength as a wizard. With sufficient ability, a single wizard can hold off dozens, if not
hundreds, of Dementors with a single corporeal Patronus, as Harry Potter demonstrated during his
third year at Hogwarts when he drove off a horde of Dementors seeking to consume Hermione
Granger, Sirius Black, and Harry's past selves.[2]
As the Patronus is not alive, the Dementor cannot feed on it. Only when summoned by an
experienced caster will the Patronus take the form of an animal significant in some way to the
individual. While the lower level Patronus is more amorphous and ephemeral, corporeal Patronuses
chase down Dementors and force them to flee the vicinity.[6] An incorporeal Patronus only slows a
Dementor down,[2] as if the creature is walking through quicksand, and tends not to last long, but
could eventually give the caster time to escape.
Other
Since Dementors cannot properly sense the less complex thoughts and emotions of a person when
he or she takes on an Animagus form, doing so allowed some, such as Sirius Black, to temporarily
avoid feeling the effects of the Dementors' presence.[2] When they sensed the less-than-human
thoughts of his Animagus form, the Dementors simply thought Sirius was losing his mind.
The effects of a Dementor's happiness-draining powers can also be resisted if one focuses not on
happy thoughts, but on obsessions, or other things that give one strength without exactly making
one feel better. For example, Sirius managed to avoid going mad in the Dementors' custody and
eventually plan an escape by focusing on the fact that he was innocent and didn't belong in Azkaban,
and later that Peter Pettigrew was at Hogwarts and that Harry was in danger. However, this feat was
mostly attributed to the fact of him being an Animagus who is able to temporarily avoid feeling the
effects of the Dementors' presence in his animal form.
Though clearly not a common method of repelling Dementors, the enigmatic form people take after
being brought back by the Resurrection Stone appears to function much like a Patronus, as the
'resurrected' forms of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James and Lily Potter were able to shield Harry
Potter from the Dementors that Voldemort had stationed in the Forbidden Forest in 1998. And also,
after Harry returned from the brink of life and death, he was so overcome with joy at being alive that
the Dementors had no effect on him, showing that if a person is truly happy as he can be, the
Dementors main weapon is rendered useless.
There may be another, more common way of repelling a Dementor, aside from the Patronus Charm,
as Harry Potter disagreed with Professor Snape on the best method for confronting one when it was
the subject of a report in his sixth year.[3] This implies that there are, indeed, other methods.
Probably one of them is reducing the effects and conditions of the habitat that Dementors prefer,
which would cause them to be driven away. Other methods may include the use of Felix Felicis to
increase a wizard's luck, or with the use of Occlumency to neutralise thoughts and emotions to keep
calm and confident, both methods would eventually lead to the point that a wizard could easily cast
the Patronus Charm to fend off Dementors.
The mood-enhancing properties of chocolate are well known in both the Muggle and wizard worlds.
Chocolate is the perfect antidote for anyone who has been overcome in the presence of Dementors,
which suck hope and happiness out of their surroundings. Chocolate can only be a short-term
remedy, however. Finding ways to fight off Dementors — or depression — are essential if one is to
become permanently happier. Excessive chocolate consumption cannot benefit either Muggle or
wizard.[11]
Dark Wizards cannot commonly produce Patronuses. However, they do not need to do so in the first
place, as they are like-minded in evil. Voldemort even states that they are natural allies. This does
not, however, prevent Dementors from imprisoning dark wizards in Azkaban.
Etymology
The English word dementor is used generically to refer to any evil or fearsome creature. The word
ultimately derives from the Latin dēmens, meaning "insane".
DementorPOP
A Dementor as a POP! Vinyl
DementorWU
A Dementor as depicted on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
J. K. Rowling has revealed that the inspiration for Dementors came from her bout with severe
depression before her phenomenal success.[12][13] She described the feeling as an "absence of
being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. That very
deadened feeling, which is so very different from feeling sad."[12]
In an attempt to sabotage Harry during a Quidditch match in 1994, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe,
Gregory Goyle, and Marcus Flint dressed up as Dementors to scare him. Malfoy was standing on
Goyle's shoulders. Considering how tall Dementors are (they are described in Prisoner of Azkaban as
reaching from the floor to the ceiling on the Hogwarts Express), the foursome appear to account for
two Dementors, when just a few pages earlier, Harry saw three Dementors. (Although Marcus Flint,
as an older student — in his seventh year — may have been tall enough to pass as a Dementor
without someone on his shoulders.) However, their attempt failed when Harry cast a Patronus
Charm at them.
Animatronic Dementors appear in Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at The Wizarding World
of Harry Potter, chasing the riders' flying bench through the Chamber of Secrets and around the
skeleton of the Basilisk. The Dark Mark appears along with them, suggesting that a Death Eater
summoned them to Hogwarts.
Dementors are often compared to the Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings, as well as the Spectres
from His Dark Materials. They can also be compared to the Ra'zac of The Inheritance Cycle in that
the foul breath of the Ra'zac engenders terror and lethargy in humans, though the Ra'zac cannot be
repelled by a simple charm, nor are they are immortal spirits that cannot be truly destroyed.
However, The Ra'zac are described as being the natural predators of the human race and feed upon
their flesh, much like how Dementors naturally rely on humans as a food source, though the
Dementors feed upon the souls and emotions of humans rather than their anatomy.
According to W.O.M.B.A.T., Dementors may be unknown in tropical regions.
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, a large Dementor serves as the final boss of Year 3.
There are doubts about whether Dementors are born or made. In a non-definitive version of Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a phrase appeared that could explain it: "If they can, they feed
on someone so much that they reduce it to something like themselves ... soulless and evil". The
phrase was withdrawn for the final edition, but it could mean that the Dementors were humans
transformed by other Dementors. Even so, this information can't be considered reliable since J.K.
Rowling did not include it in the final version. The phrase became known because the owner of one
of these test editions commented on some of the changes. Respect to that, J.K. Rowling has said that
Dementors don't breed, but grow like fungi where there is decay, and are functionally immortal in
terms of age.[14] However, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Cornelius Fudge tells the
Prime Minister that the breeding of dementors in the city has been causing a mist.
The Dementors' appearances (tall corpse-like beings wearing tattered black cloaks) is very similar to
popular depictions of the Grim Reaper. Because of this, some readers assumed Dementors were
incarnations of death rather than depression; the concept was very notably used in Harry Potter and
the Methods of Rationality.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Aberforth repels the attacking Dementors in the
Battle of Hogwarts with a wave-like Patronus, similar to the one cast by Harry in the film version of
Prisoner of Azkaban.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a Dementor that was pining Harry Potter against a wall
by the neck while feeding on his emotions and soul was briefly repelled when Harry touched his
wand to the Dementor causing red sparks to fly off and to make the Dementor release him, similar
to the Revulsion Jinx, implying that the spell could work on Dementors.
Dementors and the Dementor's Kiss exhibit interesting parallels to Lord Voldemort and the spell that
creates a Horcrux:
The Dementor's Kiss sucks out a victim's soul, while the Horcrux spell allows part of the caster's soul
to be broken off. Total soul removal results in something similar to a Persistent Vegetative State and
is irreversible, while creating a Horcrux reduces the humanity of the caster, both in terms of
morality/behaviour and appearance (evidenced by the once handsome Tom Marvolo Riddle
becoming monstrous and snake-like in appearance over time). The damage of creating a Horcrux
may be undone through remorse, but the process is so painful it can be fatal.
The victim of a Dementor's Kiss cannot become a ghost since the soul has been lost. Presumably, the
victim also cannot enter the afterlife, or possibly even Limbo. Similarly, the maker of a Horcrux
cannot die, while the Horcrux(es) is/are intact, and if an unrepentant Horcrux maker is killed, he or
she is trapped in Limbo and cannot enter the afterlife.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Lupin states "the only people that know what's under a
Dementor's hood are in no state to tell us (being soulless)" but from the 5th movie and onward, they
are shown without any hood at all. This is likely due to change of directors.
A species of wasp, Ampulex dementor, is named after the Dementor. This name was chosen to
reflect the fact that the wasp uses a toxin to neutralise the neural behaviour of cockroaches and
make them docile, as if their souls had been sucked out.[15]
For the films they initially created puppets for the Dementors which were operated underwater to
give them their floating on air effect. Ultimately these did not appear in the final edit and CGI
Dementors were used instead.
Interestingly despite being considered natural allies to dark wizards, the Dementors did not side with
the Death Eaters in the First Wizarding War nor did Voldemort appear to try and recruit them.
Some weeks before the release of the first film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them, Pottermore Featured "Beasts of the Week" The Dementor was the "Beast of the Week" on
21st September 2016, though Dementors are Non-Human Spiritous Apparitions.[16]
The Dementors might be based on the Sluagh of Irish Folklore. The Sluagh are said to be the spirits of
people so evil, that Hell rejected them. The Sluagh come in from the west like a flock of birds and try
to find a house where a person is dying. They will try to snatch the soul of the dying person. The Irish
often kept their windows shut to ward off the Sluagh. Like the Sluagh, the Dementors are ghostly,
shadowy, evil creatures that try to steal the souls of their victims.
Portrayal in the film series
In the film series, Dementors are portrayed differently compared to how they were described in the
books. In the books, they were described as tall hooded humanoid figures, whereas in the films, they
appear as skeletal creatures wearing black robes.
Another notable difference is that the Dementors in the films can fly freely. This aspect was
completely absent from the books, where they were merely gliding over the ground. This is most
noticeable when the Dementors were intruding the first Quidditch match in the Prisoner of Azkaban.
In the book, the Dementors were described as standing in the stadium, while in the film, they were
purposefully pursuing a broomstick-riding Harry Potter. Because of this, the corporeal Patronus
Charm in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban seems to work differently by sending a pulse at
the Dementors flying in the air rather than charging at them on the ground.
Furthermore, the Dementors from the films appear to have a much more drastic effect on the
environment compared to their book counterparts. In the films, the nearby surroundings of a
Dementor are immediately covered by a layer of ice and any plant in the vicinity almost instantly
withers away. The only explicit effect the book described Dementors were having in the
environment is that they are accompanied by a cold mist. The first Dementor Harry encountered in
the third film was able to open the Hogwarts Express without touching it, causing it to slide open
with a wave of its hand, with some wizards and witches in the films also being able to perform
similar feats. Also, the first Dementor seen in the fifth film was able to effortlessly lift Harry off the
ground by the neck and pin him to a wall, showing great strength.
Contents[show]
History
Hinkypunks were part of Professor Remus Lupin's third year Defence Against the Dark Arts schedule
in the 1993–1994 school year.[3] The class was scheduled to begin study of the Creatures on 5
November, 1993; however, Professor Lupin was absent due to his illness and Professor Snape took
the class instead.[3] Professor Snape took the opportunity to lecture the class about werewolves
rather than continuing with the appointed curriculum.[3]
Study on them therefore began the following Monday when Professor Lupin returned.[2] The class
found the creature rather frail and harmless-looking, although Professor Lupin warned them of how
the Hinkypunk would lure travellers ahead with its lantern, although exactly what would happen
thereafter was left ambiguous, as the creature then made a loud squelching noise against the
glass.[2]
Hinkypunks were later included in the third year exams for Defence Against the Dark Arts in June of
1994, the second-to-last exam.[4] Professor Lupin had created an obstacle course in the sun, and
included an artificial bog, into which a Hinkypunk was placed.[4] Students then had to ignore the
misleading instructions given by the creatures, which Ronald Weasley failed at[4] despite having
battled six in September of that year.[1]
Physical description
The Hinkypunk is short and stout in appearance, with no apparent eyes, ears, mouth or nose.[1]
Their translucent and cloudy form gives the impression that they are comprised entirely of wispy
white smoke.[2] They have maggoty body shapes, with two protruding arms and one thick,
supporting leg, the latter feature of which causing their characteristic hobble.
Defence
One can avoid confrontation with the Hinkypunk by simply moving out of their throwing range.[2]
However, if one is close enough to a Hinkypunk, the creature will throw flame from its lantern, and
therefore destruction is advised. The following method is recommended[1]:
Contents[show]
History
Early history
In 1899, it was mentioned that the dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, sought to create an army of
Inferi, and believed that the Resurrection Stone could grant him such powers. It is unknown as to
whether he succeeded, though his conception of the stone's abilities was in fact incorrect, as it
brings back souls from the realm of the dead as more-than-ghost but less-than-alive state, not as a
living body.[3]
During the First Wizarding War, Voldemort was known to have created an army of Inferi from the
large number of people he murdered. He placed such an army within the lake of Salazar Slytherin's
Locket's hiding place.
TThe Inferi in question were mostly vagrant, homeless Muggles murdered by Voldemort, but some
of them were the earthly remains of wizards and witches who 'disappeared' during the war without
explanation.[2] This could possibly include wizards from the Ministry, members of the Order that
were never found, or just random unlucky witches and wizards.
In 1979, when Regulus Black attempted to destroy the said Horcrux, he succumbed to the Drink of
Despair's effects and tried to take a drink of water from the lake, only to trigger the Inferi and was
killed by them. Kreacher, his house elf, managed to make it out of the cave with the locket.[3]
Regulus' body most likely remains in the crystal cave as part of Voldemort's army.
In 1997, Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore encountered the very same army of Inferi as Regulus in
their attempt to destroy Voldemort's locket Horcrux. At a point in time Dumbledore deduced the
location of one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and discovered its hiding place as a crystal cave by the sea.
At first, the Inferi remained inert as the two sailed in the boat towards the central island. Harry saw
something move below the water and at that time that was the most physical movement they
showed.
When Dumbledore suffered from the Drink of Despair's thirst-inducing effects, Harry had to take
some water from the lake (as this was the only option available to quench the thirst). Contact with
the water triggered the Inferi, whom nearly dragged Harry to the depths of the lake to drown.
Dumbledore successfully repelled them by conjuring a ring of fire, big enough to surround both
Harry and himself. Once all the Inferi returned into the lake they did not resurface when
Dumbledore's ring of fire faltered.[4]
For some reason Voldemort did not have his Inferi Army join the rest of his forces to participate in
the Battle of Hogwarts. It's possible that he had no way to transfer them from his cave, though there
is a distinct chance that they did participate and simply weren't noticed by Harry. It's unknown what
happened to the Inferi after the end of the Second Wizarding War, though it is possible that since
the magic animating them originated with Voldemort and said magic often dies when the wizard
who cast it dies, the Inferi merely returned to being actual dead corpses.
An Inferius is a grisly puppet. The Inferi are gaunt, skeletal beings that closely resemble zombies.
Being human corpses, they have individual appearances based on the humans they were created
from. For example, one Inferius may have dull teeth, while another may have sharp teeth. Some may
have hair, others may not have any at all - depending on the age of the human at time of death and
the corpse’s state of decay. The most obvious sign that one is facing an Inferius rather than a living
human are the white and cloudy eyes, indicating their owner is devoid of any form of life.[2]
Nature
"The Inferius is a corpse that has been reanimated by a Dark wizard's spells. It is not alive, it is
merely used like a puppet to do the wizard's bidding. "
—Severus Snape regarding what an Inferius is[src]
The spells used to reanimate a human body are much more complex than those used, for instance,
to make inanimate objects fly.[2] The Inferius may be cursed to respond lethally if disturbed, to kill
indiscriminately, and to undertake perilous jobs for its master. Its limitations are, however, obvious;
it has no will and no brain of its own, and will not be able to think its way out of unforeseen trouble.
As a warrior or guardian with no regard for its own safety, however, it has many uses.[2]
Due to their status as being unfeeling dead, the Inferi are immune to bodily damages such as
slashing, and have great physical strength, enough to kill a human or drag them away. Due to their
superior strength and surprising speed, they are especially dangerous en masse.[2]
As no spell can bring back the dead, the Inferi are not alive, just corpse puppets. Despite this, it may
be possible that they can speak.[6] Preserved indefinitely by Dark magic, an Inferius can only be
destroyed by fire, for no spell has been found to render dead flesh impervious to burning. Inferi are
therefore enchanted to avoid flames by their master.[2]
Because Inferi are creatures of the dark, they dislike light and heat (no spell has been found to
render dead flesh impervious to burning). The most effective spell against them is therefore a fire-
summoning spell, such as Firestorm. Because of this, the Inferi are enchanted by their master to
avoid flames.[2] Other spells might work against a few Inferi, but might not be useful against a whole
army of them. It must be noted that Inferi are resistant to most spells: they cannot feel pain, and
thus are unaffected by many attacks whose main effect is pain such as the Cruciatus Curse. This was
evident when Harry Potter attempted to use the dark spell Sectumsempra on the Inferi in the Crystal
Cave, as they had no blood to spill.[4]
Etymology
Inferius is a tampered form of the Latin word for "underneath; below", Inferus, but with an obvious
connotation of being 'lesser' than a living human. Meanwhile, Inferi means "the dead; underworld".
J. K. Rowling has changed this real Latin words to form these Creatures.[2]
"Inferi have much in common with zombies, which are mentioned as separate creatures within
Harry's world. I had several good reasons for not wishing to call the guardians of the locket Horcrux
'zombies'. Firstly, zombies are not part of British folklore, but associated with the myths of Haiti and
parts of Africa. While the students of Hogwarts would learn about them, they would not expect to
meet them walking down the streets of Hogsmeade. Secondly, while zombies of the Vodou tradition
can be nothing more than reanimated corpses, a separate but related tradition has it that the
sorcerer uses their souls, or part of their souls, to sustain himself. This conflicted with my Horcrux
story, and I did not wish to suggest that Voldemort had any more use for his Inferi than as guards of
his Horcrux. Lastly, zombies have been represented and reinterpreted on film so often in the last
fifty years that they have a whole raft of associations that were of no use to me. I'm part of the
'Thriller' generation; to me, a zombie will always mean Michael Jackson in a bright red bomber
jacket.[2]
The name Inferius was a play on 'Inferus', which is Latin for 'below', but with an obvious connotation
of being 'lesser' than a living human. 'Inferi' means the underworld."[2]
White River Monster
Species information
Related to
Fish
Native range
White River, Arkansas, United States
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Spines on back
Status
Extant
[Source]
The White River Monster is a species of magical fish native to the White River in Arkansas that is
characterised by its spiny back.[1]
Contents[show]
History
Thiago Quintana, an American wandmaker who worked in the early 20th century, used a single spine
taken from the back of a White River Monster as the core in all the wands he made.[1] This initially
raised concerns of over-fishing, but because Quintana was the only one who knew how to lure the
creatures, it ultimately did not have very much of an ecological impact.[1] Quintana fiercely guarded
the secret to luring White River Monsters until his death, after which wands containing White River
Monster spine cores were no longer made.[1]
Contents[show]
Description
Supposedly, Wrackspurts can be seen with aid of Spectrespecs. Those suffering from Wrackspurt
infections can possibly dispel them by thinking positive thoughts.[2]
History
In the 1989–1990 school year, Badeea Ali claimed the Hog's Head Inn was infested with
Wrackspurts. This, however, was actually a distraction so Jacob's sibling could put on their invisibility
cloak without Aberforth Dumbledore noticing.[3]
In 1998, The Quibbler reported that some Wrackspurts broke out of the Ministry Elfin' Safety
Enquiry.
In the 21st century, wrackspurts had to be collected by the Statute of Secrecy Task Force in order to
address the Calamity.[5]
Contents[show]
Biography
Sir Cadogan, one of the Knights of the Round Table, bravely engaged the creature in combat. The
Wyvern, however, was too strong for Cadogan, and it managed to eat Cadogan's horse, break his
wand, and melt his sword and visor with fire before Cadogan could escape.[1]
Etymology
"Wyvern" is a heraldic term for a winged two-legged dragon with a barbed tail.[2]
Zouwu
Species information
Eye colour
Yellow
Hair colour
Orange
Related to
Cat
Native range
China[1]
Height of average adult
Size of an elephant
Distinction
Striped body
Four fangs
Long tail
Very strong
Capable of superhuman speed
Ministry of Magic Classification
Beast
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Zouwu (sometimes written as ZouWu) is a powerful magical beast native to China.[2][3]
Contents[show]
Description
The Zouwu is said to resemble a "gigantic elephant-sized cat", and is "five-coloured".[4] It is a
monstrously large feline beast, as big as an elephant, with a striped body, scraggly mane, four fangs
that curl out of its mouth, long sharp claws, and a disproportionately long, ruffled multicoloured tail.
Zouwus are incredibly powerful and fast, capable of travelling 1,000 miles in a day.[1]
The Zouwu appears to have the ability to warp space around itself for quick travel, as demonstrated
during Newt Scamander's escape from the French Ministry of Magic. This ability is powerful enough
to bypass the Ministry's unplottability.
History
Skender, the cruel owner and ringmaster of the Circus Arcanus, captured a female Zouwu and bore
the scars of its abuse.[1] In early September 1927, Newt Scamander encountered the escaped
Zouwu, and demonstrated having knowledge about this creature, though curiously, he had not
mentioned it in his Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book. To Newt, the creature is just "like
a big kitten", despite it being terrifying to most human beings.[5] Newt used a toy to tame the
Zouwu and lured it into his suitcase. Newt also had created a habitat of the Zouwu, and he treated
the creature's scars with Dittany before releasing its shackles.[5]
When Newt, Tina Goldstein and Leta Lestrange were cornered by a pack of Matagots in the French
Ministry of Magic, Newt unleashed the Zouwu from his suitcase to fight off the smaller felines before
they travelled away to the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. The Zouwu nuzzled Newt affectionately
before it returned into the suitcase.[5]
J. K. Rowling confirmed that the Zouwu is based on the creature of the same name in Chinese
mythology.[2][6]
When Eddie Redmayne and J. K. Rowling first revealed the Zouwu in interviews, some fans
misconstrued the pronunciation of its name and incorrectly credited the creature's name to be
"Taowu," a different[7] Chinese mythological beast. This was later corrected by Chinese-speaking
fans via social media.
Curupira
Species information
Hair colour
Red
Related to
Dwarf
Native range
Brazilian forests
Distinction
Feet point backwards
Affiliation
Brazilian National Quidditch team
[Source]
Curupiras are red-haired, forest-dwelling dwarves native to Brazil. Curupiras are fiercely protective
of any other magical creature, and will defend them when they feel they are being harmed by
humans. The feet of the Curupiras face backwards relative to their bodies.[1]
Contents[show]
History
A group of Curupiras are used as the mascot for the Brazilian National Quidditch team. During the
opening ceremony of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, the Curupiras believed that the handlers
attempting to stop a fight between the Fijian Dukuwaqa and Norwegian Selma were hurting the
creatures and thus attacked, adding to the (already extreme) chaos and bloodshed.[1]
SHARE
"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person."
—A Dwarf attempts to give a Valentine's letter to Harry Potter[src]
Dwarf
Species information
Skin colour
Pale
Hair colour
Dark
Related to
Human (most likely)
Curupira
Red Cap (possibly)
Distinction
Short and stocky
Affiliation
Gilderoy Lockhart
Ministry of Magic Classification
Being (most likely)
Status
Extant
[Source]
A Dwarf is a short, stocky humanoid magical creature; little is known about them, though they are
known to be extremely strong for their size, as one had held Harry Potter by his ankles to give him a
letter.[1]
Contents[show]
History
On Valentine's Day in 1993, Hogwarts professor Gilderoy Lockhart, had a whole squad of Dwarfs
dressed up as cupids deliver singing valentines around the school, one of which was delivered to
Harry Potter from Ginevra Weasley.[1] Later that year, Harry also spotted a few raucous Dwarves in
the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley.[2]
In the folklore of Germany and Scandinavia, Dwarfs are a race of small supernatural beings who are
known to be good with the axe and usually use axes to guard magnificent treasures buried deep
inside the Earth for who ever is ruling over them, usually a queen. They usually look like small men
with large heads, wizened faces, wearing animal (usually a sort of goat) masks, long grey beards,
weapons as big as themselves, and misshapen legs and feet.[3]
The Danish word "Dværg" can be translated into "midget" and "dwarf." In the Danish version of the
fifth game, "Dværg" is used when Ronald Weasley refers to first years as "midgets" in the original
version; hence, "Dwarf" can be seen as being used as an insult.
Giant
English
EDIT
SHARE
Giant
Species information
Eye colour
Varies
Skin colour
Varies
Hair colour
Varies
Related to
Human
Native range
Europe
North America (1920s)
Height of average adult
20-25 feet
Length of average adult
Large
Distinction
Very large humanoid
Often violent and bloodthirsty
Affiliation
Lord Voldemort
Golgomath
Ministry of Magic Classification
Being
Status
Endangered
[Source]
"They're not meant ter live together, giants ... they can't help themselves, they half kill each other
every few weeks."
—Rubeus Hagrid[src]
A giant is a very large humanoid magical creature which can potentially grow to approximately
twenty five feet tall and appear to be a large human.
Contents[show]
Description
Some may appear as large and hairy humanoids, while others resemble humongous-sized people,
and some may even have bestial features (i.e. protruding sharp molars). Giants generally live in
tribes, although as their numbers dwindle, the tribes have merged into larger groups. A Giant tribe is
led by the strongest giant, known as the Gurg.
Giants are not as intelligent as wizards and witches but definitely more so than trolls, given that they
seem to be able to comprehend magic and are actually fond of its use (provided it isn't being used
against them, of course). They have their own language, culture, and societal structure. They are
capable of learning English, and presumably other languages as well, and read.[1] When breeding,
they pride themselves on having large babies, and disappointment would arise if the child was
smaller than expected.
Unfortunately, most giants don't have the patience for long discussions and seem to prefer
simplifying matters by killing their audience if the topic they brought proved too complicated.
Because of this, it is imperative that one must have gifts at the ready when trying to appease giants
and take one's time, giving the giants the privilege of deciding what to do with what was offered.
Even without significant magical abilities, Giants are immensely powerful creatures. Gifted with
overwhelming raw strength proportionate to their prodigious size, they are difficult to detain by
wizards since most spells tend to have little to no effect upon them and may very well be even
stronger than dragons, as seen when six ministry wizards came to subdue the half-giant, Hagrid. All
of the stunning spells they sent at him only seemed to just bounce off. This is particularly
noteworthy, since Sirius claimed that nothing less of at least half a dozen wizards casting said
enchantments at the same time can stun a full-grown dragon into submission. However, similar to
dragons, they may have certain weaker spots on their bodies, such as their eyes, as Olympe Maxime
managed to subdue some of Golgomath's subordinates with the Conjunctivitis Curse (which attacks
the eyes). It also seems apparent that, while giants may be resistant to many spells, their skin
appears to be no more resistant to non-magical trauma than regular wizards, as evidenced by the
fact that Grawp - a full-blooded giant - was subdued and injured by the centaurs' arrows in the
spring of 1996, despite there being no indication that their bows and arrows have any magical
properties. The arrows may have been the equivalent of thumb tacs, considering Grawp's size, but
they still provoked blood and forced Grawp to step back.
History
Giants were once plentiful across the world, with at least a hundred different tribes.
Giants were active in the United States of America during the 1920s, even frequenting wizarding
speakeasies such as The Blind Pig.[2]
Giant Colony
Hagrid and Madam Maxime on their mission
Wizard kind, however, seemed to be satisfied with the giants out of their community as a whole and
did not bother to monitor or exterminate them as long as they remained so.[3] In 1995, following
the return of Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore dispatched two half-giants, the Hogwarts gamekeeper,
Rubeus Hagrid, accompanied by the headmistress of Beauxbatons, Olympe Maxime,[4] to make an
alliance with giants and deny their forces to Voldemort when Cornelius Fudge refused to make an
official approach on behalf of the Ministry of Magic. The pair travelled to a tribe north-east of Minsk
to try and gain the friendship of the tribe, however, they were not alone in their efforts. Two Death
Eaters, including Walden Macnair, had also arrived to try and convince the giants to rejoin
Voldemort's forces.[3]
Hagrid and Maxime were doing well and were on good terms with the Gurg called Karkus. The Death
Eaters, though, courted the favour of Golgomath and engineered an uprising. Golgomath killed
Karkus, took his place as Gurg, and allied the Death Eaters. Hagrid and Maxime were forced to
retreat after being attacked by the giants.[3]
During the Battle of Hogwarts, many giants fought on the side of Lord Voldemort against the
defenders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They mainly battled Grawp, a small giant
who had fled the colony two years earlier, and the hippogriffs and Thestrals.[6] It is not known what
happened to them after the battle. The most likely theories are that the survivors returned to the
northern colony, came to be accepted by wizard kind from Albus Dumbledore's attempt to offer
them the hand of friendship, or were subsequently executed by Aurors and The Committee for
Disposal of Dangerous Creatures for the part they played in the war. If it is the latter, then the race
of giants would be near extinct, with Grawp and two half-giants remaining, but given Kingsley
Shacklebolt's loyalty to Dumbledore, as well as the insistence of Harry, Ron and Hermione (and likely
eventually others after the Battle of Hogwarts) it is far more likely that wizardkind eventually wanted
and managed to make peace and friendship with the surviving giants and let them live in remote
habitats. However, considering their long life cycle and extremely small population size, it is not
likely under any circumstances that the giant species would have remained extant for long after the
end of the war, unless they were given more space on their own.
Due to giants being dangerously violent, they are feared and hated amongst the Wizarding World.
This was further compounded when they joined forces with Voldemort and caused some of the most
devastating catastrophes. As such, wizards and witches tend to reject any connections with such
fearsome creatures in general. Voldemort and his Death Eaters, however, see the giants as valuable
assets and recruited them for both wars. Albus Dumbledore attempted to bring them over as an
attempt to strengthen inter-species bonding (as well as preventing Voldemort from utilising their
immense strength for his army), despite Minister Fudge's absolute refusal of the idea.
It is partly because of giants that fear of "part-humans" in the Wizarding World exist. Half-giants are
looked down upon as outcasts of society and are singled out as a subject of ridicule. When Rubeus
Hagrid was outed by Rita Skeeter as a half-giant, many became frightened of him despite having
known him for years, and some demanded his resignation. Olympe Maxime refused to publicly
admit her heritage, even to a fellow half-giant.[4]
Not all giants are "bad." Grawp was taken from the mountain tribe by his half-brother Rubeus Hagrid
and lived in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid managed to civilise his half-brother to a degree and taught
him some English.[3] Grawp attended Dumbledore's funeral in 1997[5] and assisted the defenders of
Hogwarts Castle during the Battle of Hogwarts.[6] There were also some other giants who grew
interested when Hagrid and Madame Maxime went to negotiate with them to live in harmony with
wizards.[3] Unfortunately, when the Gurg that they did not agree with raided the area looking for
them, they refused to have anymore to do with Hagrid and Madame Maxime.
Known Giants
Bran the Bloodthirsty
Giants and Death Eaters
Giants and Death Eaters
Cyclops
Fridwulfa
Golgomath
Goliath
Grawp's father
Grawp
Hagrid-et-madame-olympe-maxime 70728 w460
Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime
Goblins have their type of magic and can do magic without a wand. They are represented by the
Goblin Liaison Office of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the
Ministry of Magic. Goblins are considered to be inferior by many wizards, who foolishly believe that
the goblins are comfortable with that arrangement.
Contents[show]
Description
Physical appearance
Goblins are short and fair-skinned, as they spend very little time outside. They have very long fingers
and feet, dome-shaped heads and are slightly larger than house-elves. Griphook, one of the
hundreds of goblins working at Gringotts, has a bald head, pointed nose, and pointed ears. Some
have dark, slanted eyes, and some goblins even wear pointed hats.[4]
Intelligence
Harry Potter: "Hagrid, what exactly are these things?"
Rubeus Hagrid: "They're goblins, Harry. Clever as they come, goblins, but not the most friendly of
beasts."
— Harry Potter's first experience of goblins[src]
Blordak
Goblins are extremely clever and over the years have dealt with wizard-kind effectively. They are still
subservient in the minds of most wizards, but they have established themselves as a vital part of
wizarding society. The goblins run Gringotts, the wizarding bank.[4] Therefore, they control the
wizarding economy to a large extent. It is unknown if Gringotts is the only bank in the wizarding
world. Goblins are extremely clever and more than able to stand up to wizards. The fact that the
wizarding population treats them poorly is evidence of the severe injustice built into wizard culture.
Ironically, the Fountain of Magical Brethren in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic shows a goblin,
along with a house-elf and a centaur, gazing admiringly at a witch and wizard.[6]
Apart from their cleverness with money and finances, goblins are also very capable metalsmiths.
Their silverwork is well known and prized (Sirius Black's wealthy family had dishes which were 'finest
fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest').[7] When Rubeus
Hagrid visited the Giants, one of the presents he brought was a goblin-wrought helmet which was
described as "indestructible".[8] Goblins mint the Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts used in the Wizarding
world; each coin is stamped with a serial number identifying the goblin who cast it. They are also
able to tell the difference between genuine and counterfeit, as Griphook easily discerned the Sword
of Gryffindor,[9] while Leprechaun gold cannot fool them.[10]
History
Ragnuk the First was the king of the goblins during the lifetime of Godric Gryffindor. As the king of
the goblins was also their finest silversmith, he was commissioned by Gryffindor to forge a sword of
pure goblin's silver, with rubies set into the hilt. By the time Ragnuk had finished the sword, he liked
it so much that he sought to steal it back from Gryffindor. He sent a group of his subjects to retrieve
the sword, but they were all fought off by Gryffindor. A legend persisted in the goblin community
that Gryffindor had stolen the sword.[11]
Partway down Diagon Alley, near its intersection with Knockturn Alley, stands an imposing snow-
white marble building: Gringotts Wizarding Bank. "Towering over the other shops", it is the place
where British witches and wizards store their money and other valuables, in vaults miles below
ground. The vaults are heavily guarded.[4][5]
The centuries-old bank is run by goblins, and they alone know the secrets of the twisting
underground passages and the enchantments (and creatures) in place to defend against intruders.
The goblins have a code that forbids them to speak of the bank's secrets and would consider it "base
treachery" to break any part of that code. Dragons guard the bank's high-security vaults — a rumour
that was later confirmed as true.[5]
Rebellions
Main article: Goblin Rebellions
Urg the Unclean
Urg the Unclean, a goblin activist who led some Goblin Rebellions
Throughout the history of the wizarding world, there have been rebellions where the goblins have
fought against discrimination and prejudice. They are still considered subservient in the minds of
most wizards, and they are forbidden by the Ministry from carrying wands, which has lead to deep-
seated resentment. During the 16th Century, Yardley Platt was a serial killer of goblins.[13]
These rebellions were most prevalent in the 17th and 18th centuries. One rebellion, in 1612, took
place in the vicinity of Hogsmeade; an unidentified inn was used as headquarters for the rebellion.
The rebellions have been described as "bloody and vicious". The names of the rebels tend to run
along the lines of "Bodrod the Bearded" and "Urg the Unclean", according to Ron Weasley.
According to the Daily Prophet, even today there are subversive goblin groups who work in secret
against the Ministry, although the validity of these claims is uncertain.[14]
The reasons for starting some of the varied Goblin Rebellions include all but one of the following
(according to the 3rd W.O.M.B.A.T. test, all but one of the following are true): an allegation by
Ragnuk the First that Godric Gryffindor stole his sword; the pursuit and imprisonment of Ug the
Unreliable, who was peddling leprechaun gold; the accidental death of Nagnok, Gringotts Wizarding
Bank goblin, at the hands of an untrained Security troll sent by the Ministry of Magic; imprisonment
of the notoriously violent Hodrod the Horny-Handed, who attempted to kill three wizards; the public
ducking in the village pond by a gang of young wizards of goblin activist Urg the Unclean; and the
Ministry of Magic decree of 1631 preventing magical beings other than wizards and witches from
carrying a wand.[15]
Wizarding Wars
The goblins suffered their share of losses during the first rise of Lord Voldemort in the 1970s. A
family living near Nottingham had been murdered by Voldemort. Bill Weasley has been approaching
the goblins, appealing to their sense of belonging to the Wizarding community. This proved
problematic, however, because a Ministry official, Ludo Bagman, swindled a group of goblins out of a
large amount of gold at the Quidditch World Cup in the summer of 1994,[10] leading the goblins to
distrust both sides and became neutral during the war. When the trio broke into the Lestrange Vault
in 1998, Voldemort personally murdered many goblins present in the bank in fury and to eliminate
witnesses of those who knew of his cup Horcrux.[16]
Human relations
"Gold, filthy gold! We cannot live without it, yet I confess I deplore the necessity of consorting with
our long-fingered friends."
—Travers's distaste of goblins[src]
Goblin potions market
A goblin stockbroker, who lost a lot of Galleons
Despite this troubled history, they have established themselves as a vital part of wizarding society.
Being in charge of Gringotts, they control the wizarding economy to a large extent. Apart from their
cleverness with money and finances, goblins are also very capable metalsmiths. Their silverwork is
well known and prized. Sirius Black's wealthy family had dishes which were 'finest fifteenth-century
goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest'.[7] When Hagrid visited the giants, one
of the presents he brought was a goblin-wrought helmet which was described as "indestructible".[8]
At her wedding to Bill, Fleur Delacour wore a goblin-made tiara owned by the Weasley's Auntie
Muriel.[17]
Goblins mint the Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts used in the wizarding world; each coin is stamped with
a serial number identifying the goblin who cast it. Perhaps the most famous goblin-made artefact
was the Sword of Gryffindor.[11]
There were rumours, almost certainly unfounded, that Cornelius Fudge was plotting ways to wrestle
control of the money supply and the economy from the goblins while in office. Ludo Bagman, got on
the wrong side of a group of goblins when he swindled them out of a large amount of gold at the
Quidditch World Cup in the summer of 1995.[10] This exacerbated the anti-Ministry feeling, which
made it difficult for Bill Weasley who was tasked with the job of trying to persuade the goblins to
side with wizards against Voldemort.[18]
Goblins can use magic without the aid of a wand, although they are insulted by the refusal of wizards
to allow them to use wands. In turn, goblins conceal the secrets of their magic from wizards. Their
weaponry and armour are nearly indestructible when created and have their kinds of magical
properties.
When he wanted to do work for the Order of the Phoenix, Bill transferred to a desk job in England to
be near home. That same year, Fleur Delacour took a job at Gringotts as well, to improve her English,
though she only works part-time. There also seems to be a full-time security force that is comprised
of wizards, and that rushed to the scene when the Lestranges vault is broken into. They also employ
Dragon Feeders, a job with a high mortality rate, at 7 Galleons per week.[5]
Goblin values
"To a goblin, the rightful and true master of any object is the maker, not the purchaser. All goblin-
made objects are, in goblin eyes, rightfully theirs."
—Explanation of goblin notions of payment and ownership[src]
Griphook
Griphook holding the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, a goblin-made object which he believes rightfully
belongs to the makers, not the buyers
Overall, goblins' idea of payment and repayment are not the same as humans. Goblins dislike theft
but use a different definition of the word. By goblin standards, the maker of an item, not the
purchaser is the rightful owner; the item is required to be returned to its maker after the death of
the purchaser. Goblins believe that the wizard paying for a goblin-made artefact is merely renting it,
not owning it. Goblins consider the passing of an item from one wizard or witch to another without
further payment to its maker "little more than theft", as Bill Weasley put it.[11]
Goblins also hold the debt to extremes, as they hunted down Ludo Bagman after he lost a bet with
them, and even though they took everything of value from him after he cheated them with
Leprechaun gold, they still hounded him due to it being not enough to cover his debt.[10] When
Bagman ran out on his final loss against the goblins, they refused to side with the humans due to this
cheat.
Known Goblins
Goblin(s) Notes
Alguff the Awful a commercialist.
Bogrod an employee at Gringotts.
Brodrig the Boss-Eyed spokesgoblin at the Brotherhood of Goblins.
Clever goblin an employee at Gringotts.
Eargit the Ugly a spokes-goblin.
Filius Flitwick's goblin ancestor a distant ancestor of Filius Flitwick.
Gnarlak American goblin, owner of the speakeasy, The Blind Pig.
Gornuk an employee at Gringotts.
Gringott Founder of Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
Gringotts Head Goblin employee and head at Gringotts.
Griphook an employee at Gringotts.
Ludovic Bagman's goblin creditors some goblins that put Bagman under pressure because he
could not pay the money.
Magic goblin an employee at Gringotts.
Nagnok an employee at Gringotts.
A goblin who had himself pictured in portraits a famous goblin.
Ragnok an associate of Bill Weasley.
Ragnok the Pigeon-Toed an author and activist.
Ragnuk the First the maker of Godric Gryffindor's Sword.
Red MACUSA bellboy.
Tall goblin an employee at Gringotts.
Unidentified goblin associate of Oswald Beamish a goblin that was an associate of Beamish.
Unidentified goblin killed by Voldemort a former employee at Gringotts.
Unidentified goblin philosopher a philosopher goblin.
Unidentified Gringotts Bank goblin guard a goblin that guarded the silver doors at Gringotts.
Unidentified Gringotts Bank teller a goblin that was counting the cash-money.
Unidentified Gringotts spokesgoblin a goblin that tells about serious events.
Unidentified goblin stockbroker a goblin that works at the Ministry of Magic.
Ug the Unreliable a con-artist.
Urg the Unclean an activist.
Goblin jazz singer
Known Part-Goblins
Filius Flitwick: Charms Master in Charms class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Behind the scenes
The goblin is an evil, mischievous creature from European mythology. Though they are described
inconsistently in the myths of different countries, common traits include short stature, the magical
ability of some form, and a love of money.
The Goblins being good metalsmiths seems to be based on the dwarves of Nordic mythology.
According to W.O.M.B.A.T., it is possible that goblins fear sunlight, which may explain why Humans
guarded the outside doors of Gringotts.
At Gringotts, goblins appear to have a lounge, where they can relax and dance. It is located in Vault
712.
Goblins are known to have not agreed with the Statute of Secrecy summit decisions of 1692.
Former Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge was nicknamed "Goblin-Crusher" by the tabloid magazine
The Quibbler due to debatable claims that Fudge kills goblins in ways that may seem ridiculous, such
as cooking them in pies.
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 the goblin that asked Hagrid for Harry's keys appeared to have been
taking notes. However, when the goblin went to fetch Griphook, Hagrid caught a glimpse of the
paper, revealing it to have simply been a child's drawing of a house.
Oddly only one female goblin, a goblin jazz singer has ever appeared in any Harry Potter media; they
seem to be the inverse of Veela, with one gender being more visible to the magical world.
Goblin's ideas of ownership are similar to the theory of Georgism.
Rowling perhaps used the fact that the goblins were a vital part of Wizarding life, controlling their
only bank, no matter how wizards see goblins as an inferior race, inspired by the prejudice of Nazis
against Jews (hitherto anti-Semitism) and Adolf Hitler's theory of Jews coveting world domination by
controlling banks all over the world. This is supported by the fact that some wizards, like Hermione
Granger, negatively see this prejudice.
Goblins have the power to do magic. However, in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, they only come with
a key.
In the second part of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, many of the
Gringotts goblins were portrayed by members of Willow Management, an agency founded in part by
Warwick Davis, specialising in representing actors under 5 feet tall.
Goblin culture seems to not include surnames.
In the first film, Rubeus Hagrid referred to goblins as beasts, although they are classified as beings.
However, he may simply have been speaking metaphorically.
Half-breed
English
EDIT
SHARE
Grawp (Conceptual Artwork for the HP5 movie 02)
Size ratio (from left-to-right): human, half-giant, and giant
"Well, I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career. Half-giant...and there was me
thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young..."
—Hagrid's half-breed status is exposed[src]
Half-breed is a term given to humans with at least one non-human parent, although those with more
distant non-human ancestry are also referred to as half-breed. "Half-breed" may be an offensive,
rather than proper, term, as it seems to appear as an insult. However, no non-offensive alternative is
known to exist. There is a great deal of prejudice against half-breeds in the wizarding world, which
also tends to discriminate against non-human beings in general.
Contents[show]
Traits
Half-breeds share the attributes of both their parents, still being able to use magic, as the magic
gene is dominant, while having traits of their non-human parent as well. It is also unknown for how
many generations non-human traits will persist, although it seems that wizards and witches with
even one non-human great-grandparent will retain some of those characteristics. For example, Filius
Flitwick is only one-eighth goblin, but retains a small stature as a result of this heritage.[1]
The Official Digital Toolset for Dungeons & Dragons
Treatment
"Filthy half breeds! Beasts! Uncontrolled animals!"
—Dolores Umbridge insulting centaurs in the Forbidden Forest[src]
Many wizards and witches are prejudiced against non-human beings, from house-elves to goblins to
centaurs, as well as extend this prejudice to those with mixed heritage.[2][3] An example of this
prejudice would be Dolores Umbridge, as well as her decrees to continue to suppress beings whom
she deems are too low for her esteem.
When Rubeus Hagrid's status as a half-giant was exposed by Rita Skeeter in 1994, many parents of
his students at Hogwarts were alarmed, assuming that Hagrid must have been savage and dim-
witted because of his ancestry.
It is also possible that there is less prejudice toward different types of half-breeds, as part-Veela
Fleur Delacour never seemed to suffer any discrimination based on her heritage. This may be
because there is no clear physical difference between humans and Veelas and because even part-
Veelas possess stunning good looks and the supernatural ability to entrance the opposite sex.[2] In
contrast, someone like Hagrid, with his giant-like appearance, would be far less attractive than the
beautiful, Veela-like Fleur.
Types of half-breeds
Half-giant
Full-robbie-coltrane-25274414
Rubeus Hagrid
A half-giant is the offspring of a giant and a human. Half-giants will be much taller and larger than
ordinary humans, will have considerable spell resistant skin, as well as possessing great physical
strength, though not to the same extent as giants.
Rubeus Hagrid is a half-giant, with a wizard father and giantess mother.[2] The exact parentage of
Olympe Maxime is unclear: whether she had a giant father or mother is also unknown. Maxime was
very cautious about revealing her heritage, presumably due to fear of being persecuted for it. Half-
giants are rare in the Wizarding world.
Half-goblin
A half-goblin is the child of a goblin and a human. Half-goblins are much shorter than ordinary
humans, as well as are likely more clever than most humans as well, a trait they could inherit from
their goblin ancestry.
There are no known half-goblins, but Filius Flitwick has "a dash of goblin ancestry", meaning that one
of his ancestors was a goblin.[1]
Half-Veela
FLEUR1
Fleur Delacour
A half-Veela is the child of a wizard and a Veela. Half-Veela are considerably more beautiful than
average humans, as well as seem to possess the Veela power of entrancing men. It is unknown if
part-Veelas are able to transform into bird-like creatures, as full Veelas can.[2]
It was, at one time, unknown if a being with Veela blood could produce a male, as all examples of
part-Veelas were female. However, quarter-Veela Fleur Delacour and wizard Bill Weasley had a son
named Louis. It is unknown if he is able to entrance human females the way female part-Veelas
entrance male humans.
Apolline Delacour is a half-Veela, making her daughters Fleur and Gabrielle quarter-veelas and her
grandchildren, Victoire, Dominique and Louis Weasley one-eighth Veela.[4]
Half-Vampire
A half-vampire is the child of a wizard and a Vampire. They supposedly resemble a human but with
subtle vampire traits such as mildly exaggerated fangs and pale skin. It is unknown whether they will
inherit any vampire tendencies, (e.g. an aversion to sunlight).
Part elf
Part elves were individuals with both human and elf heritage.
Part troll
An individual with troll heritage, noted for their strength.
Theoretical Half-humans
Harry Potter once thought to himself that Marcus Flint looked like he might have had troll blood in
him, though he may have simply been insulting him, as Marcus was large and rather ugly, as well as
why such an instance of cross-breeding may occur, is unknown.[5] Ron Weasley also once stated
that a Snatcher was “definitely part troll” based on his body odour, though he was intentionally
being humorous and thus might not have meant this literally.[6]
As crossbreeding between humans and goblins exists, it is likely that humans may also crossbreed
with Pukwudgies and Dark Goblins, as they are subtypes or close relatives of goblins. Following the
same logic, if Part-elves do indeed exist, it is very plausible there could also be Half-yumboes, Half-
erklings and Half-redcaps. It may also be theoretically possible that hags can cross-breed with
humans, however, for obvious reasons (see hag), this is unlikely to occur.
It is also likely that the other species that can cross breed with humans can supposedly cross breed
with each other, as logic would dictate.
Other human-like "creatures" include merpeople, manticores, sphinxes and centaurs. They are all
distinguished from the above species by obvious non-human morphology in spite of having
humanoid facial features and intelligence. It is unknown if cross-breeding with these people could be
possible.
Non-human
Magical creatures can interbreed with other creatures, both magical and not, aside from humans.
Generally, it seems that similar creatures can produce successful offspring. For instance, half-breeds
between Crups and normal dogs and Kneazles and normal cats exist, breeding of the latter even
being a hobby pursued by some people, such as Arabella Figg. Offspring is also possible between
wildly different creatures on occasion, a good example being Blast-Ended-Skrewts, which are crosses
between fire crabs and manticores: whether magical intervention is required to successfully breed in
such a case is unknown, though it is very probable. It is also likely that the other species that can
cross breed with humans can cross breed with each other.
In modern times, the creation of new half-breed beasts is illegal in Great Britain due to the passing
of the Ban on Experimental Breeding.
Werewolves are not half-breeds: they are human victims of the magical affliction lycanthropy. It is
unknown if "half-werewolves" exist: the only close example is Teddy Lupin, the son of a werewolf
and a witch. He is a Metamorphmagus like his mother and is not a werewolf. Teddy was the first
known example of a werewolf's child. Because of the lack of a precedent, his father was extremely
worried about passing lycanthropy to him. It is still unknown if the condition is hereditary.[4] Once
again, Umbridge incorrectly believes them to be half-breeds, simply due to their human-animal dual
attributes.[3]
Known half-breeds
One magical human parent, one non-human parent
Apolline Delacour – Wizard father, Veela mother
Olympe Maxime – Magical Human parent, Giant parent
Rubeus Hagrid – Wizard father, Giant mother
Two magical parents, known non-human ancestry
Filius Flitwick – one goblin ancestor
Fleur Delacour – one Veela grandmother, wizard father, Half-Veela mother
Gabrielle Delacour – one Veela grandmother, wizard father, half-Veela mother
Lorcan d'Eath – one vampire ancestor (assumed)
Victoire Weasley – one Veela great-grandmother, pure-blood father, quarter-Veela mother
Dominique Weasley – one Veela great-grandmother, pure-blood father, quarter-Veela mother
Louis Weasley – one Veela great-grandmother, pure-blood father, quarter-Veela mother
Trivia
Half-Breeds could be seen as similar to multiracal individuals in the real world. With the term “half-
breed” being used in the past to describe someone of mixed-race. With their treatment being
parallel to racism for those with notice non-human traits (such as those with notable traits from
other races, such as being 3/4 European and 1/4 African). While those with known non-human
ancestry but no non-human trains can “pass” as humans (such as some individuals passing as pure
European descent during segregation in the Southern United States).
House-elf
Species information
Eye colour
Varies
Skin colour
Varies
Hair colour
Bald[1]
Related to
Yumboes
Erklings (possibly)
Imps (possibly)
Alternative names
Elf (for short)
Height of average adult
3'
Mortality
Mortal
Distinction
Short and skinny
Bat-like ears
Possess powerful magic
Serve wizards and witches.
Affiliation
Wizardkind
Ministry of Magic Classification
Being[2]
Status
Extant
[Source]
"Loyal magical creatures bound to their owners as servants for life."
—Description[src]
A House-elf (sometimes also referred to as just Elves) is a magical being which is immensely devoted
and loyal to the one designated as their master.[3]
House-elves serve wizards and witches and are usually found under the employment of old
wizarding families taking residence in elaborate establishments, like mansions, and must do
everything that their masters command unless they are freed. A house-elf can only be freed when
their master presents them with clothes.[3]
House-elves have their own brand of wandless magic which, despite their small physical size, is very
powerful.[3]
Contents[show]
Magic
Main article: House-elf magic
"Fight, fight for my master, the defender of the house-elves! Fight for master Regulus! Fight!"
—Kreacher leading the house-elves into battle[src]
DobbyDisapperates
Dobby using his magic to Apparate
All house-elves have their own brand of powerful magic, which allows them to perform tasks, such
as Apparating, where wizards and witches cannot.[4] More than just a mere housekeeper, a house-
elf is a ruthless protector of those to whom they give their allegiance. In 1993, Dobby did not
hesitate to protect Harry Potter, by using his magic on his former master Lucius Malfoy to blast him
away after he attempted to physically assault Harry on the Grand Staircase.[3]
Their magic is limited by the lack of a wand. However, unlike some other magical beings, the house-
elf is actually quite happy not to own a wand, as they do not require one for their daily activities.
Apart from routine domestic tasks, house-elves usually have to obtain permission from their master
before they would use their own brand of magic for other things. Although a house-elf may rarely
act without permission, they would have to punish themselves for these acts.[3]
It is implied that with a wand and the proper knowledge, a house-elf may be able to do other magic,
as Winky was falsely accused of using the Morsmordre spell to conjure the Dark Mark.[5]
Obedience
"GET OUT!"
—Sirius Black's fateful order to Kreacher[src]
DH1 HQ still Catching the crook
Kreacher obeying Harry Potter's request
A house-elf must obey any commands given to them by their masters. At times, they seem to desire
to disobey these orders, but as their master's orders are "the house-elf's highest law," they cannot,
and are forced to punish themselves if they do. However, a house-elf may find loopholes within their
master's or mistress's orders. For example, despite his loathing for Sirius Black, Kreacher could not
disobey his direct orders. However, when Sirius yelled at him to "get out," which he meant to get out
of the kitchen, Kreacher was able to interpret the command in a way that enabled him to leave
number 12 Grimmauld Place and go to Sirius' cousins, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.
During the 1996–1997 school year, Harry Potter ordered Kreacher to follow Draco Malfoy in order to
find out what he was doing and where he was going, and carefully phrased his command to prevent
Kreacher from contacting or alerting Draco. Kreacher, still reluctant to be owned by Harry, was
unable to find a loophole in the orders about contacting Draco, but instead merely told Harry only
about Draco's mundane daily activities.
Mistreatment
"Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Harry. Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been
as miserable as your friend Dobby's. He was forced to do Sirius's bidding, because Sirius was the last
of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacher's
faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacher's lot easier."
—Kreacher the House-Elf's thought process[src]
12GrimmauldPlaceElfHeads
The heads of house-elves mounted on a wall in 12 Grimmauld Place
In the past in part due to their absolute obedience, house-elves have been treated very brutally by
their owners. House-elves have no rights of their own and are viewed as servants without feeling or
emotions.
For instance, Kreacher had to sleep in a cupboard under a boiler, where he made himself a den and
was given no attention while Sirius Black was his master. Before this, Voldemort forced Kreacher to
drink the potion in which his Horcrux was hidden to test its effectiveness, and was then left to die. In
addition, Voldemort framed the house-elf Hokey for the murder of Hepzibah Smith.[4]
The house-elf Dobby was so mistreated and under-appreciated by the Malfoy family that he
independently sought out to aid and protect Harry Potter in 1992.[3] In 1998, Dobby was slain by
Bellatrix Lestrange in the act of protecting Harry's life.[7] Also, Horace Slughorn made a house-elf
test of his bottles of mead for poison (although he likely had antidotes on hand).
When a house-elf is mistreated, they will typically work just enough to obey their master's
commands. However, if even the slightest loophole can be found in a master's orders, house-elves
that are unhappy with their master will exploit that loophole to their advantage. The best way for a
master to ensure full loyalty and compliance with their orders is to simply treat them properly. This
was evidenced in 1997, when Hermione Granger convinced Harry Potter to be nicer to Kreacher.
Soon, Kreacher began to accept his new master, and started serving him much more enthusiastically.
Loyalty
Albus Dumbledore: "Give him an order. If he has passed into your ownership, he will have to obey. If
not, then we shall have to think of some other means of keeping him from his rightful mistress."
Kreacher: "Won't, won't, won't, WON'T!"
Harry Potter: "Kreacher, SHUT UP!"
— Kreacher must obey a direct order from his master[src]
07 Dobby rescuing Harry Potter, Griphook, Hermione and Ron
Dobby rescues Harry Potter from Malfoy Manor and later dies for him out of loyalty
House-elves are so intensely loyal to their masters that they will not allow themselves to be set free
unless their master presents them with clothes. To symbolise this, they usually wear makeshift
clothes made with found objects such as pillowcases and rags.[3] These clothes can become quite
filthy, and yet the house-elf will not clean their clothes to further express that they have no needs
which are not specifically commanded to them by the master. House-elves will torture and maim
themselves if they think it will please the master (or to punish themselves.)
House-elves not only serve one specific master, but the whole family of the master and whoever the
house-elf is ordered by the master to serve. When Sirius Black was killed in 1996, Harry Potter
inherited the House of Black's servant Kreacher.[4] Although Kreacher was first unwilling to enter
Harry's service, and only did so as a result of the house-elf's enslavement, after he was treated
kindly, he eventually formed a fierce loyalty to Harry.[7]
Despite the seemingly horrid lifestyle that house-elves endure, house-elves seem to actually enjoy
being enslaved. With few exceptions (Dobby being one of them), house-elves will feel insulted if
their master attempts to pay them, give them pensions, or reward their service with anything except
kindness. In 1995, when Hermione Granger began hiding clothes in Gryffindor Tower in an attempt
to free the house-elves of Hogwarts, the house-elves felt rather insulted, and everyone except
Dobby refused to clean the Gryffindor common room in protest.
Despite Hogwarts having had a large number of house-elves for centuries, it was only in their fourth
year that Harry, Ron, and Hermione (rather shockingly) discovered their existence at Hogwarts,
which happened inadvertently when the ghost of Sir Nicholas casually mentioned them being scared
by Peeves the Poltergeist's tantrums. Sir Nicholas explained to them that the house-elves work in
hiding, and it is considered the mark of a good house-elf that he or she does all the work but his/her
existence is not even noticed.
Dobbythehouse-elf
Dobby warning Harry about the Chamber of Secrets
It should be noted, however, that there are elements of coercion in some house-elves' loyalty.
Kreacher disliked Sirius Black even when he was his master, and helped to sabotage Sirius by
assisting Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy, though this may have been easier for him since
both witches had been born Blacks. Albus Dumbledore described Kreacher as "forced to do Sirius's
bidding, because Sirius was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true
loyalty to him."[8] Kreacher also initially despised serving Harry, only coming to be willingly loyal to
him after Harry showed him kindness and respect and pointed out that by cooperating with him and
his friends, Kreacher would be honouring the dying actions of Regulus Black, the late master he was
very fond of. Hermione Granger pointed out that Kreacher was accustomed to "bad, even brutal
treatment" and that he was "loyal to people who are kind to him."[7]
The house-elves of the House of Black were, in old age, beheaded and their heads were sickeningly
stuffed and mounted on the house walls. This was, no doubt, considered by the house-elves as the
very highest honour.
Winky was absolutely loyal to the Crouch family, and when she was dismissed for failure to keep
Crouch Jr under control, she suffered a mental breakdown, thinking that her release was the
ultimate disgrace to her family.
While some house-elves were treated abysmally by their masters, some were genuinely loved and
cared for. Some wizards treated their house-elves like adored pets or dolls, lavishing praise on them
for doing their duties. An example of this is Hepzibah Smith, who was very talkative with her house-
elf Hokey about her mundane affairs while Hokey was attending to her own tasks.
Wand cleaning Fantastic Beasts CC Trailer WM
A male House-elf employed by MACUSA
Some house-elfs also work at wizarding institutions, such as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry, St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries[9], the Magical Congress of the
United States of America, and as bar staff in some wizarding pubs.[10]
Hogwarts elves
Main article: Hogwarts house-elves
B4C21M2 House-elves in Hogwarts kitchens
The trio visiting house-elves in the Hogwarts kitchens
A veritable legion of house-elves are enlisted by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They
work the kitchens, preparing feasts for the entire school. They also move trunks and baggage to and
from rooms, clean dormitories, and presumably other areas of the castle as well. They were likely
treated extremely well by Professor Dumbledore. In 1994, they became angry with Hermione
Granger as she made attempts to free them. Dobby and Winky, who came under Hogwarts' employ
at the time, were considered disgraces to the rest of their colleagues due to Dobby being paid and
receiving a vacation while Winky getting drunk out of self-pity. During the Battle of Hogwarts, the
house-elves fought against the Death Eaters with Kreacher leading them. They defended their
masters by using kitchen knives to stab at the attackers' ankles.[7]
S.P.E.W.
Main article: S.P.E.W.
"You know, house-elves get a very raw deal! It’s slavery, that’s what it is! That Mr Crouch made her
go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even
run when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone do something about it?"
—Hermione after the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.[src]
Spew-badge-lrg
A S.P.E.W. badge, an organisation founded by Hermione Granger
In 1994, Hermione Granger, in outrage for the inhumane treatment of house-elves, created the
student organisation S.P.E.W.—Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare—in an attempt to win
rights for house-elves. She managed to get several students to join, paying a fee of two Sickles,
though they only did so to stop her from badgering them. These students included Neville
Longbottom, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter.
Some people refused to join S.P.E.W., like Fred and George Weasley, because they believed that the
elves liked being treated the way they did. Hermione even tried to trick house-elves into picking up
little hats and socks she had knitted and left around the Gryffindor dormitory so as to grant them
freedom. The house-elves did not appreciate this gesture; on the contrary, they took it as an insult
and refused to clean the common room, with the exception of Dobby.[11]
Later in life, Hermione would advance the rights of house-elves in the Department for the Regulation
and Control of Magical Creatures, before transferring to the Department of Magical Law
Enforcement.
Physical appearance
"The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis
balls."
—Physical description of Dobby[src]
House-elves are between two to three feet tall, with spindly arms and legs and oversized heads and
eyes. They have pointed, bat-like ears and high, squeaky voices. Rather than conventional clothing,
house-elves wear discarded items like pillowcases and tea-towels.
Language
House-elves' handiness with the English language may show that they speak, or formerly spoke,
another language among themselves.
Known house-elves
House-elves Notes
Dobby Dobby was a house-elf who served the Malfoy family. During Harry Potter's second year at
Hogwarts, he tried to warn the boy of the plot to have the Chamber of Secrets reopened. The same
year, Harry freed Dobby from the Malfoys, by giving him one of his socks. Dobby then went on to
work in the Hogwarts kitchens. He provided Harry with gillyweed for the Second Task of the
Triwizard Tournament. He went on to save the lives of Harry and his friends Ron Weasley, Hermione
Granger, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Garrick Ollivander, and Griphook from Death Eaters at
Malfoy Manor, though he was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in the process. Dobby was a brave, loyal
house-elf, willing to put himself in dangerous situations when he knew it to be the right thing to do.
He was also very loyal to the few friends he had. He considered himself to be a good house-elf,
though other house elves seemed to find his desires and proclamations of being a free house-elf to
be shameful.
Winky Winky was a female house-elf, currently in the employment of Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry and formerly the servant of the Crouch family until she was fired when she
let Barty Crouch Jr out of her grasp. Dobby helped her find work in the Hogwarts kitchens, but she
spent most of her time drinking heavily.
Kreacher Kreacher was an aged house-elf who served the House of Black with fanatical loyalty
for most of his life, until he was left to Harry Potter upon the death of Sirius Black in 1996. He was
particularly fond of "his mistress" Walburga Black, who died in 1985, but whose portrait still shrieked
orders from the wall in the front hall of the Black house. After Mrs Black's death, Kreacher let the
home fall into disarray, doing little, if any, cleaning. He was also fiercely loyal to Regulus Black, for
whom he fought in the Battle of Hogwarts along with many other house-elves.
Hokey Servant of Hepzibah Smith. Hokey was accused of poisoning her mistress's cocoa. She later
remembered putting something into the cocoa that turned out not to be sugar, but a lethal poison.
The Ministry of Magic put it off to an accident given the fact that Hokey was old and probably
confused. However, it is very likely that Tom Marvolo Riddle poisoned Mrs Smith (in order to steal
Helga Hufflepuff's Cup and Salazar Slytherin's Locket) and then magically changed Hokey's memory,
with a False memory charm, to make her look like the guilty party.
Hogwarts
elves
At least a hundred house-elves, they live at Hogwarts and work in the kitchens. They wear uniforms
made of tea towels.
Former House of Black elves These elves worked on the House of Black before Kreacher, and
were beheaded once they were too old to carry a tea tray. The mother of Kreacher served as the
house-elf of the Black family sometime before her son. When she became too old to carry a tea tray,
she was beheaded, and her head was mounted on a plaque and hung on the wall above the front
hall stairs at 12 Grimmauld Place. It was once Kreacher's sincere wish to suffer the same fate as his
mother.
House-elves at the Quidditch World CupThese elves attended the 1994 Quidditch World Cup and
were seen riding on some llamas.
Hooky An apparently famous house-elf, though what he achieved or was well-known for is
unknown.
Pitts Worked in the kitchens at least in 1988. He was a strict house-elf who made sure other
house-elves and students in detention kept working.[12]
Khanna family house-elfThis house-elf was owned by the Khanna family. This house-elf used a
feather duster at least once.[13]
Brad Worked at MACUSA Headquarter in 1926 working the elevator.[12]
Inspiration
Elves or similar creatures doing menial tasks around a home, and leaving when rewarded for their
tasks with money or clothes, is a common motif in European folklore.
The most well-known example of this in the English-speaking world is the Brownie, a small fairy-like
creature who helps around a home in exchange for daily food and drink (in the form of hot milk,
honey and gruel) but will depart forever if it is paid in human money. In some of the legends, rather
than departing, the Brownie would instead turn malicious and antagonise their owners, much like a
Harry Potter Poltergeist; such a "wicked Brownie" would be called a Boggart, though the name, of
course, refers to an entirely different creature in Harry Potter.
Finally, one last possible source of inspiration for J. K. Rowling's House-Elves is French folklore's
"farfadet". Originating in the southern areas, one specific legends about farfadets is that they were
"wrinkled, brown-skinned midgets who went around either naked or wearing dirty rags", a
description that is almost identical to Rowling's elves. The Farfadets would help around a farming
home, completing tasks not done in the day by the human servants. They would leave forever if the
master of the house gave them new clothes to replace their shabby old ones; once again, the
parallels are obvious, though in this case, the reasoning is that Farfadets are proud creatures who
are offended by the implication that their clothes needed replacing.
To have the creatures specifically called 'elves' may be an allusion to the fairy tale of The Elves and
the Shoemaker, where a group of elves worked for a shoemaker until his wife, in a fit of generosity,
sewed them little clothes and gave them to the elves.
Description
While Ogres are never explicitly described, one possible hint about their appearance is given in the
fifty-second edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as Ghouls are described as looking
like slimy, buck toothed Ogres. From this it can be assumed that Ogres bear a passing resemblance
to Ghouls, but without the slimy skin or buck teeth. Presumably they are more intelligent than
Ghouls as well.
Yumbo
Species information
Related to
House-elf
Native range
Africa
Affiliation
Senegalese National Quidditch team (team mascots)
[Source]
Yumboes are a kind of African house-elf native to Senegal. They are spiteful creatures, and tend to
steal food from humans as revenge for crossing them. They also have intrinsic magical power, and
can vanish at will.[1]
Contents[show]
History
During the 1998 Quidditch World Cup, more stringent security measures were put in place (as a
response to the riots that broke out on the night of the final of the previous World Cup). One
notable incident was the arrest of the Senegalese team mascots, Yumboes, outside the stadium. The
Yumboes responded to the arrest by stealing every bit of food within a ten-mile radius in revenge
and vanishing into the night.[1]
SHARE
Caipora
Species information
Eye colour
Red
Skin colour
Green
Hair colour
Red
Native range
Amazon rainforest, Brazil
Ministry of Magic Classification
Spirit-being
Status
Extant
[Source]
The Caipora are small and furry spirit-beings who are extraordinarily mischievous. Native to the
Amazon rainforest, they protect the grounds of Castelobruxo wizarding school, emerging under
cover of night to watch over the students and the creatures that live in the forest.[1]
Their propensity for mischief is, however, potentially disruptive of the school life — former
Castelobruxo Headmistress Benedita Dourado offered to send some Caipora to Hogwarts Castle "to
show you what trouble really is", when Headmaster Dippet complained of Peeves, the resident
poltergeist at Hogwarts.[1]