Manticores

• Ministry of Magic Classification: XXXXX (Known Wizard Killer / Impossible to train or domesticate)
• Native To: Greece
• Distinguishing Features: Human-like head, a lion's body, and the tail of a scorpion

A Manticore is an extremely dangerous and rare magical beast, considered to be as lethal as a Chimera. It possesses the head of a human, the body of a lion, and a scorpion's tail which delivers a sting that causes instantaneous death. According to the in-universe textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Manticore is reputed to croon softly to its victims as it devours them. Its skin is known to repel almost all known charms, making it exceptionally difficult to subdue through magical means. Due to its high intelligence (despite being classified as a Beast) and vicious nature, it is classified as XXXXX by the Ministry of Magic, the highest and most dangerous rating. The fearsome reputation of the Manticore is well-established in the wizarding world. When Harry Potter first saw Walden Macnair, the executioner sent for Buckbeak, he imagined Macnair's head transplanted onto a Manticore's body, a testament to the creature's terrifying image.

Manticores are referenced several times throughout the series, primarily emphasizing their danger. The most significant event involving Manticores was Rubeus Hagrid's illegal breeding experiment. In 1994, Hagrid successfully cross-bred Manticores with Fire Crabs to create the Blast-Ended Skrewts. These hybrids were highly aggressive, armored, and capable of “blasting” from their tails. Hagrid used them as a topic for his fourth-year Care of Magical Creatures class and later supplied one for the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament. This act implies that Hagrid managed to acquire at least one Manticore, a remarkable and highly dangerous feat. The unethical nature of this experiment was later used against Hagrid in an article by Rita Skeeter for the Daily Prophet.

The name “Manticore” is derived from the Middle Persian martikhora and later Greek mantikhoras, which translates to “man-eater” (from martiya-, “man,” and khvar-, “to eat”). This directly reflects the creature's carnivorous and deadly nature.

• The Manticore of the Harry Potter universe is drawn directly from real-world Persian and Greek mythology, where it is similarly described as a man-eating creature with a lion's body, a human's head, and a venomous tail.
• In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a Manticore appears as one of the final obstacles Harry must face in the Triwizard Maze. This is a deviation from the novel, where the maze contained one of its hybrid offspring, the Blast-Ended Skrewt, but not a pure-bred Manticore. (video game)