Chimaera

"He kept saying nobody in their right mind would rather study Knarls than Chimaeras."

- Hermione Granger about Rubeus Hagrid

A Chimaera is a type of hybrid animal native to Greece. The Chimaera is a vicious, bloodthirsty creature with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a dragon's tail. Because of their ferocity, Chimaeras are classified by the Ministry of Magic as XXXXX (very dangerous), and their eggs are classified as Class A Non-Tradeable Materials. There is only one recorded instance of a wizard killing a Chimaera, although the victory was soured when the wizard fell from his winged horse.

&quot;Dangerous&quot; Dai Llewellyn, the famous Caerphilly Catapults player, was killed by a Chimaera while on holiday in Greece.

In 1995, Rubeus Hagrid stated to Hermione Granger that it was difficult to get a Chimaera egg, causing Hermione to speculate that he had tried to get one, and wanted to use it as part of a lesson.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, when Vincent Crabbe cast Fiendfyre, flaming Chimaeras appeared out of it.

Behind the scenes

 * In classical Greek mythology the Chimaera was the daughter of Typhon and Echidna, her siblings included the Neamean Lion and the Lernean Hydra. The Chimaera was hunted and slain by the hero Bellerophon with the aid of his winged steed Pegasus.
 * A chimaera is literally a "hodge-podge" of several creatures. They are usually described as having three heads (a lion, a goat, and a dragon or bird) on the front of a bull-like body which has the wings of a large bird, and the tail is a snake, which makes a fourth "head".

Appearances

 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 * Quidditch Through the Ages
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows