Growing up reading and watching Harry Potter, it’s only natural we think about the what-ifs: What if we woke up one day and found a Hogwarts acceptance letter in our post mail? What if we wander into the woods and accidentally bump into a unicorn? We’ve all been there, whether we like to admit it or not.
It’s especially true with all the creatures that we got introduced to by the Harry Potter franchise, both through the Harry Potter films and the prequel spinoff series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the latter of which is expected to release its third film The Secrets of Dumbledore later this spring. What’s more, WarnerMedia recently teased other future Harry Potter movies and tv shows. This undoubtedly spells the introduction of even more magnificent magical creatures. Although most of them are straight up pulled out of myths and legends, they exist in their own unique way in the wizard world. Here are 8 of them that we actually wish were real.
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8 Centaurs
A creature whose head and torso are human, but joined to a horse’s body — this is what a Centaur is like. The first time that we meet a Centaur is right in the first movie when one named Firenze (Ray Fearon) saves Harry’s (Daniel Radcliffe) life from Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) himself. These creatures were unfortunately regarded as “beasts” by the Ministry of Magic despite their supreme human intelligence. Banned to live outside of civilization, their willingness to help humans is still deeply engraved within.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Thestrals
Thestrals are creatures which only appear to people who have seen death. The description always raises many questions: To what extent does this apply? Does it have to be a human death? Do you have to be conscious of the effect that the death has on you? How did not Harry see them in the 4th movie but suddenly saw them in the 5th? Definitely some plot holes to think about. Nonetheless, Thestrals a darkly beautiful creatures.
6 House Elves
Including them in the list is certainly not to say that we would love to have our own enslaved house elves cleaning our mess. But you have to admit that despite their extremely dry skin, they’re adorable. No, but do you sometimes wonder how Dobby (Toby Jones) and Kreacher (Timothy Bateson) were actually working against horcruxes themselves? If they were given more information, Kreacher’s decade-long efforts to destroy the locket would actually work out.
5 Unicorns
Although we don’t know much about unicorns in the Harry Potter world, we know that their blood is extremely powerful and can keep dying beings alive a little longer. There’s also the well-known bizarre detail which says that unicorns in Harry Potter prefer girls to boys. Do you also sometimes wonder how wizards obtain unicorn hair for the core of the wands when they’re apparently very rare?
4 Thunderbird
Thunderbirds are magical creatures related to phoenixes to some extent. They have the amazing ability to create thunderstorms as they fly. They were first properly introduced to us in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them during which Newt (Eddie Redmayne) takes care of one, and it eventually helps erase the memories of muggles who witnessed magic. What’s interesting to note is that American Schools of Wizardry are different to the British ones. Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterstone) attended the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into the Thunderbird house.
3 Hippogriff
It’s hard to believe that Hippogriffs can be extremely dangerous and life-threatening animals when they look so harmless and fluffy. But, to earn their trust, you have to be respectful towards them and show courtesy, exactly like Harry does in the Prisoner of Azkaban. Although bringing one of them to Care for Magical Creatures classes wasn’t Hagrid’s (Robbie Coltrane) brightest idea since a lot could happen around hormonal impulsive teenagers, but we’re grateful we got introduced to the gracefulness of the creature.
2 Dragons
We get to learn about dragons in Harry Potter through Ron’s (Rupert Grint) brother Charlie who works with them in Romania. We keep hearing Ron mention it, but the first time we actually get to see a real dragon is when Harry fights one in the Triwizard Tournament. The breeds used in the Tournament were the Hungarian Horntail, the Chinese Fireball, the Swedish Short-Snout and a Welsh Green. While most of them are only briefly mentioned, the ones we get to see on the screen in the Goblet of Fire is the Hungarian Horntail and Bellatrix’s Ukrainian Ironbelly in Deathly Hallows Part 1.
1 Phoenix
The tears of the Phoenix can heal even a deadly wound — that’s one of the creature’s powers that we saw in The Chamber of Secrets. It’s unfortunate that the second movie is the only time we get to properly see the beautiful creature. The one that we meet was Fawkes in Dumbledore’s office as he set himself aflame to be reborn again. The strength of the creature is certainly immense as it stood a chance against the Basilisk and clawed out his eyes to save Harry and Ginny. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a pet that essentially never dies and always rises from its ashes?
