Thestrals

• Ministry of Magic Classification: XXXX (Dangerous / Requires specialist knowledge) (Pottermore)
• Native To: British Isles and Ireland (Pottermore)
• Key Traits: Invisibility to those who have not witnessed and understood death; exceptional sense of direction; carnivorous diet.
• Known Handlers: Rubeus Hagrid (at Hogwarts)

A Thestral is a breed of winged horse, but its appearance is strikingly different from what one might expect. They possess a skeletal, black-hided body, making them appear gaunt and spectral. Their heads are reptilian, featuring large, leathery, bat-like wings that sprout from their withers. Perhaps their most unnerving feature is their white, pupil-less eyes, which give them a blank, ghostly stare. Due to their macabre appearance and association with death, Thestrals have an undeserved reputation in the wizarding world as omens of misfortune or evil. In reality, they are intelligent and loyal creatures.

The most defining characteristic of a Thestral is its visibility. They are visible only to individuals who have witnessed another person's death firsthand and have come to emotionally comprehend the finality of what they saw. For example, Harry Potter was unable to see them for years, even after witnessing his mother's murder as an infant, because he had no true understanding of the event. He only gained the ability to see them after witnessing the death of Cedric Diggory and spending the summer processing his grief. Others who could see them include Luna Lovegood, who saw her mother die, and Neville Longbottom, who witnessed his grandfather's death.

• Flight: Thestrals are powerful and swift fliers, capable of travelling long distances at high speeds. They served as the transportation for Harry and his friends from Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic.
• Sense of Direction: They have a magical and unerring sense of direction. A rider simply needs to tell the Thestral their destination, and it will fly there without fail.
• Diet and Temperament: Thestrals are carnivorous and are attracted to the smell of fresh blood and raw meat. Despite this and their frightening appearance, they are described by Luna Lovegood as being very gentle and kind. They can be domesticated, as proven by the herd that lives in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
• Wandlore: A Thestral tail hair is a potent and powerful, if tricky, wand core. The only known wand to contain such a core is the legendary Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows.

For centuries, Thestrals have been widely misunderstood by the wizarding community and considered bad omens. According to Rubeus Hagrid, Britain's only domesticated herd resides at Hogwarts, tamed by him for use in his Care of Magical Creatures classes and for pulling the school carriages. The primary and most consistent use of Thestrals in the series is to pull the “horseless” carriages that transport students from Hogsmeade Station to Hogwarts Castle at the beginning and end of each school year. This created a strange experience for the majority of students, who felt the carriages moving on their own, unaware of the creatures pulling them.

Thestrals first appear in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Their reveal to Harry Potter is a significant moment, symbolizing his maturation and the inescapable trauma he carries after the events in the graveyard at Little Hangleton. They serve as a physical manifestation of the boundary between innocence and the experience of loss. In that same book, six Thestrals provide the crucial transport for Harry, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood to fly to the Department of Mysteries to rescue Sirius Black. During the Second Wizarding War, Thestrals were used by the Order of the Phoenix as mounts during the Battle of the Seven Potters. Later, they fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, attacking Voldemort's Giants alongside the Hippogriff Buckbeak. The revelation in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that the Elder Wand contains a Thestral hair core elevates the creature's status from a misunderstood beast to a source of immense magical power.

• J.K. Rowling has explained that Harry did not see the Thestrals on his return journey from Hogwarts at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because the shock of Cedric Diggory's death had not yet fully sunk in. She stated that one needs time to fully understand and accept the death they have witnessed before the creatures become visible. (J.K. Rowling interview)
• In the film adaptations, the Thestrals' design is very faithful to the book's description. Their cries are depicted as an eerie, clicking, bird-like sound. (film)
• In the film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Thestrals are shown pulling the prison carriage used to transport Gellert Grindelwald, confirming their use by magical governments for secure transportation. (film)