Magical Brethren

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Magical Brethren is the term given to wizards, witches, centaurs, goblins, and house-elves collectively in the Harry Potter series of books. They are depicted as statues in the Fountain of Magical Brethren located in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic; water gushes out of the wtips of the wizard's and the witch's wands, the point of the centaur's bow and arrow, the goblin's pointed hat, and the house-elf's ears, respectively. The term 'brethren' implies equality between the four species represented by the statues; however, the centaur, goblin, and house-elf are described in the series as gazing admiringly at the witch and wizard. Whereas this may appear sensible when applied to house-elves, when goblins and centaurs are encountered elsewhere in the series, there is sufficient evidence to say that neither species admires the wizarding race to the extent depicted in the statuary.

In The Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore enchants the statues to save Harry from Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange, giving each a task to perform. The witch pins Lestrange to the floor, stopping her from coming the aid of Voldemort; the wizard and the centaur both absorb a Killing Curse from Voldemort.

On the back cover of the British Bloomsbury edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the statues are shown emitting water.