Centaur

"Never try an' get a get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon"

- Rubeus Hagrid

A Centaur is a magical creature that is a fusion of a human and a horse. Despite being intelligent, Centaurs are classified as Beasts by the Ministry of Magic at their own request since they were unhappy at having to share Being status with Hags and Vampires.

Physical description
Like Humans, Centaurs can come in a variety of colours, ranging from deep black to snowy white. They have the body of a horse, and the torso, arms and head of a Human. Centaurs are not in fact, half-breeds, but a whole different species on their own.

Habitat
Centaurs are forest-dwelling, and in each country where colonies exist, the Wizarding authority has set aside land exclusively for their use. One place Centaurs live is in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. However, Centaurs have their own methods of concealment, and avoid contact with both wizards and witches and Muggles. They generally live in herds of ten to fifty individuals.

Magical abilities
Centaurs do not use wands for magic, but are known to be well-versed in magical healing, Divination, archery, and Astronomy. Centaurs burn herbs such as Mallowsweet to refine their stargazing findings. In fact, the centaur Firenze taught Divination at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, starting in the of 1995–1996 school year.



Mannerisms
Centaurs are known to be, according to Rubeus Hagrid, enthralled in divining. Indeed, the centaur Firenze several times throughout the series makes allusions to his seeing the future, as when he tells Harry that they were fated to meet again, and when he (Firenze) tells of the "intermission" of sorts, between the First and Second Wizarding War. He also mentions during his class in The Order of the Phoenix, that Centaurs spend years trying to master their particular art of divining the fates.

Centaurs on the whole seem also to be rather prideful of their species, evident by their testiness whenever anyone even accidentally alludes to them being "used" by humankind, and are likely to beat or kill anyone of their kind to "enter into human servitude". Their pride is seen again in their decision to be placed in the Beast Category instead of the Being Category in the British Ministry of Magic archives, because they wished to not be associated with Hags and Vampires, who are placed as Beings.

Centaurs also seem to favour nature over technology, the zenith of their seen tools being their bows and arrows. Instead, they cast their attention upon reading signs in nature, and living in forests appropriated by the Ministry of Magic.

They are territorial creatures by nature, evident in both the films and the books. In the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Hagrid mentions upon seeing a herd of Centaurs that their land is being restricted, and that they may revolt against the Ministry as a result. In the book of the same name, they deem the Forbidden Forest near enough as their own, proclaiming Hagrid "no longer welcome" as he had "forfeited the friendship of the centaurs", and that their "tolerance is waning" when alluding to Hagrid's half-brother, Grawp, who Hagrid had been keeping in the forest at the time.

Relationship with Wizardkind
Starting in 1811, Centaurs were offered "Being" status, when Grogan Stump decided that a "being" was "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." However, they declined because of the associations with other creatures, such as vampires and hags, that "being" status would give them. The merpeople made the same decision a year later.–

A Centaur Liaison Office still exists in the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, though no Centaur has ever used it. In fact, the phrase "Being sent to the Centaur Liaison Office" has become a joke at the Ministry. It means the person in question is about to be sacked. A Centaur was also represented in the Fountain of Magical Brethren at the Ministry of Magic, at least before the Fountain's destruction during the battle between Albus Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort.

Centaurs has also been known to save Wizards from harm. One being Harry Potter saved by Firenze, when Lord Voldemort was in the forest.

Known Centaurs

 * Bane
 * Firenze
 * Magorian
 * Ronan

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them