Granian

A Granian is a species of winged horse native to Greece. Known for being exceptionally fast and difficult to tame, this grey Magical Creature made a brief appearance during a Care of Magical Creatures lesson at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Most of what is known about them outside of this sighting comes from the textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

The Granian is a magical beast native to the mountains of Greece. Within the Wizarding World, they are classified by the Ministry of Magic with a rating of XXXX, meaning they are considered “Dangerous / Requires specialist knowledge / May be handled only by a trained wizard” (FBAWTFT). The only recorded appearance of Granians in the novels occurred during the 1995-1996 school year at Hogwarts. During a fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures lesson led by the substitute teacher Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, the students, including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, were tasked with observing and sketching the creatures. Professor Grubbly-Plank had a pair of them tethered to a tree in a paddock near the Forbidden Forest. The lesson served to demonstrate a more conventional, if still dangerous, approach to the subject compared to the lessons taught by either Rubeus Hagrid or Dolores Umbridge.

Granians are described as large, grey, winged horses. They are physically powerful and possess a temperament that makes them very difficult for wizards to domesticate or tame (FBAWTFT). Their behavior in their single appearance was relatively calm, as they were handled by a competent witch, but their high Ministry of Magic classification suggests they can be aggressive or dangerous under other circumstances.

• Flight: As winged horses, a Granian's primary ability is flight.
• Speed: Granians are noted to be “exceedingly fast” flyers. This incredible speed is their most defining characteristic mentioned in the original novels.

As a species of magical creature, Granians do not have possessions.

Granians are wild beasts and generally avoid contact with wizards. Their difficulty to tame means they are not used for transport in the same way as other winged horses like Abraxans or Thestrals. Their primary relationship with the Wizarding World is as a subject of study for magizoologists. Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank is one of the few witches known to be skilled enough to handle them for educational purposes.

The name “Granian” likely derives from Grani, a mythical grey horse from Norse mythology. Grani was the steed of the hero Sigurd and was said to be a descendant of Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. Grani was renowned for its immense strength and speed, qualities that are mirrored in the description of the Granian.

• The majority of information about the Granian, including its native country and Ministry of Magic classification, comes from the supplementary textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, not the main seven novels.
• In the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game, Granians can be seen and interacted with in the Forbidden Forest Paddock area, where the player must feed them to complete a discovery point (video game).