Magical beasts (Harry Potter)

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Magical creatures comprise a colourful and integral aspect of the magical world in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Throughout the first six books of the series, Harry and his friends encounter many of these creatures on their adventures, as well as in the Care of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts. Rowling has also written Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, an authoritative guide to magical beasts which is mentioned in the series and attributed to the fictional magizoologist Newt Scamander. Many of these legendary creatures are derived from folklore, including Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology, British folklore, and Scandinavian folklore.

Contents

[edit] Regulation and Classification

See also: Being (Harry Potter)

The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures of the Ministry of Magic is responsible for overseeing and regulating magical creatures. It is divided into three divisions: the Beast Division, the Being Division, and the Spirit Division. A "being" is generally defined, according to Fantastic Beasts, as "any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws." This includes humans and goblins; in accordance with this definition, fairies, pixies, gnomes, and most other creatures are classified as beasts. Centaurs and merpeople rejected being status in favour of beast status. Werewolves and Animagi are notable because they are typically in human form: a werewolf transforms from human state only at the full moon, and an animagus is a human who has learned to transform into an animal at will. Affairs related to ghosts come under the auspices of the Spirit Division. Dementors, terrible creatures which guard Azkaban prison, are not specifically mentioned in Fantastic Beasts but are similar to, but probably not the same creature as Lethifolds. (Dementors play a critical role in the series, beginning in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.)Banshees are not mentioned either as are mummys.

The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures classifies magical creatures on a scale from 1 to 5 as follows (according to page xxii of Fantastic Beasts):

  • 1: Boring
  • 2: Harmless / may be domesticated
  • 3: Competent wizards should cope
  • 4: Dangerous / requires specialist knowledge / skilled wizard may handle
  • 5: Known wizard killer / impossible to train or domesticate

[edit] List of Magical Beasts

Below is the complete list of entries in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them listed under "An A – Z of Fantastic Beasts". The Ministry of Magic Classification (see above) is also noted. Boggarts and Hinkypunks have been mentioned in the series but do not appear in Fantastic Beasts, and hence no Ministry of Magic Classification is supplied. Nor is the Blast-ended skrewt mentioned in Fantastic Beasts—it is a hybrid creature, a cross between a Fire Crab and a Manticore.

[edit] Animals with Magical Powers

Many pets in the series are ordinary animals with magical properties. Owls, for example, deliver mail. Only creatures that exist exclusively in the magical world are listed below.

[edit] Characters

Below is a list of magical beasts who come into contact with Harry or have some significant role in the series. The beast's name (if applicable), type, home or owner, and the relevant book(s) are noted. (Books in which the character appears only briefly are italicised.) Some of these beasts are also listed as pets.

[edit] Named

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Unnamed

[edit] House-Elves

Harry also interacts with house-elves, notably Dobby in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Winky in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Kreacher in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Office of House-Elf Relocation can be found in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

[edit] Werewolves

In the magical world of Harry Potter, a werewolf is a human who is infected with lycanthropy. The infection is created when another werewolf bites the human. Such a bite will create cursed wound that cannot be healed magically, just as the infection can never be healed. Once bitten the human will transform into the a wolf-like creature around the full moon. Although the infected human is perfectly normal and harmless during the rest of the moon's phases, the term "werewolf" is still used for both the wolf-like creature and the normal human. The most recent development in controlling some of the worst effects experienced when transformed is an extremely complex and difficult draught called the Wolfsbane Potion. Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, claims that there is an "extremely complex Homorphus Charm" which breaks the curse: in one of his 'lessons', he explains that it causes the wolf to return to human form, never again to change. However, this charm has not been mentioned again; nor is Lockhart's word particularly reliable.

According to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, there has been much argument in the Ministry of Magic whether werewolves should be considered beings, with legal rights and the opportunity to influence the magical government, or else be shunted to the Magical Beast Division instead. They are shifted back and forth between the Being and Beast divisions and still have an office for "Werewolf Support Services" in the Being Division and for the "Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture Unit" in the Beast Division. In the books, some try to limit the rights of werewolves further, thinking them unsafe to roam free. One such person, first seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is Dolores Umbridge. She not only has a great dislike and fear of what she calls "half-breeds," but has created some Ministry of Magic legislation that makes it almost impossible for werewolves to find employment.

Remus Lupin, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and a good friend of Harry's, is a werewolf.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the reader is informed of a notorious cannibalistic werewolf called Fenrir Greyback, who specializes in biting children. It was he who bit Remus Lupin as a child, and is currently working for Voldemort. Greyback attacked Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but since he wasn't transformed at the time, Bill didn't become a full werewolf: all that appeared to change was that he gained a liking for undercooked steaks.

[edit] Other creatures

Also mentioned in the series are boggarts, dwarves, goblins, hags, vampires, giants, hinkypunks, zombies, banshees, mummies, inferi and veela.

[edit] See also

[edit] External Links

  • Beasts on the Harry Potter Wiki
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