Magical Beasts

Magical Beasts are a diverse and widespread group of sentient and non-sentient creatures that possess magical abilities or properties, distinguishing them from ordinary, non-magical animals (often referred to by Wizards as “Muggles' animals”). The Wizarding World is home to an enormous variety of these creatures, ranging from the mundane, such as the Flobberworm, to the exceptionally powerful and dangerous, like the Lethifold or the Basilisk. The classification and management of these beasts fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic, specifically the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The distinction between a “Beast” and a “Being” is a historically contentious issue, with the official definition of a “Being” 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.” Creatures like Centaurs and Merpeople rejected this status and requested to remain classified as “Beasts.”

The Department for the Regulation and control of Magical Creatures is responsible for overseeing and managing all magical fauna. This includes creating and enforcing laws, concealing creatures from Muggles, and handling incidents involving them. The department contains three main divisions: the Beast Division, the Being Division, and the Spirit Division. A key tool used for classification is the Ministry of Magic (M.O.M.) danger rating system, as detailed in the Hogwarts textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. This system categorizes creatures on a scale of one to five:

• X: Boring
• XX: Harmless / May be domesticated
• XXX: Competent wizard should cope
• XXXX: Dangerous / Requires specialist knowledge / Skilled wizard may handle
• XXXXX: Known wizard killer / Impossible to train or domesticate

Several laws govern the treatment and ownership of Magical Beasts, most notably the Ban on Experimental Breeding of 1965. This law was enacted to prohibit the creation of new, often dangerous species, such as the Blast-Ended Skrewt bred by Rubeus Hagrid.

The Wizarding World is populated by a vast number of magical creatures. Below is a partial list of some of the beasts encountered in the original novels:

• Acromantula (e.g., Aragog)
• Basilisk
• Boggart
• Bowtruckle
• Centaur
• Chimaera
• Dragon (Includes Hungarian Horntail, Common Welsh Green, Swedish Short-Snout, and Chinese Fireball)
• Doxy
• Erkling
• Fairy
• Flobberworm
• Ghoul
• Giant Squid
• Gnome
• Grindylow
• Hippogriff (e.g., Buckbeak)
• Kappa
• Kelpie
• Merpeople
• Niffler
• Phoenix (e.g., Fawkes)
• Pixie
• Salamander
• Sphinx
• Thestral
• Troll
• Unicorn

The study of Magical Beasts is a core subject at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry known as Care of Magical Creatures. This class educates young Witches and Wizards on how to identify, care for, and safely handle various creatures. The primary textbook for the course is Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by renowned Magizoologist Newt Scamander. Notable professors of the subject at Hogwarts include Silvanus Kettleburn, who was succeeded by Rubeus Hagrid. Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank served as a substitute teacher on several occasions. The subject has a reputation for being somewhat dangerous, particularly under Hagrid's tenure, due to his fondness for creatures with a XXXX rating or higher.

Magical Beasts play a fundamental and often pivotal role throughout the Harry Potter series.

• Fawkes: Albus Dumbledore's Phoenix was instrumental in Harry Potter's survival in the Chamber of Secrets, healing him with its tears and blinding the Basilisk. The tail feathers from Fawkes also provided the core for the wands of both Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.
• Basilisk: The serpent of Salazar Slytherin served as the primary antagonist in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and its fangs later became crucial for destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes.
• Buckbeak: The Hippogriff's case in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban highlighted the bureaucracy and prejudices within the Ministry of Magic. His subsequent escape with Sirius Black was essential to the plot.
• Dragons: Four breeding female Dragons were used as the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, posing a life-threatening challenge to the champions. A Ukrainian Ironbelly was later used to escape from Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
• Thestrals: These skeletal, winged horses, visible only to those who have seen death, provided transport to the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and participated in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Many of the Magical Beasts in the Wizarding World are drawn from or inspired by real-world mythology and folklore from various cultures, including Greek (Centaur, Chimaera, Sphinx), British (Red Cap, Grindylow), and Scandinavian (Troll) legends. J.K. Rowling penned a real-world version of the textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for the charity Comic Relief. This book's lore and its fictional author, Newt Scamander, were later expanded upon in a major film series of the same name, which serves as a prequel to the Harry Potter story (film). The films introduce numerous magical creatures not mentioned in the original seven novels.