Thestral

"Are you aware that the Ministry of Magic has classified thestrals as 'dangerous'?."

- Dolores Umbridge in inspection in Care of Magical Creatures

A Thestral is an unusual type of winged horse, invisible to those who have not witnessed death. Thestrals are considered highly unlucky by most wizards and, to those who have seen death, appear as carnivorous, skeletal horses with reptilian features.

History of Use
The carriages that transport Hogwarts students (other than first years) from the Hogwarts Express to the castle are drawn by Thestrals, but the invisibility of the creatures causes most students to assume that the carriages are guided magically, without the aid of draft animals.

Harry Potter first saw the Thestrals at Hogwarts in September of 1995, after having witnessed the murder of Cedric Diggory the same June. J. K. Rowling explained that he hadn't seen them that June because he had not yet dealt with what he had witnessed.

They were first identified by name by Hagrid in a Care of Magical Creatures class, where the students were told that they could be used as mounts, where the riders used them as alternatives to broomsticks for travel. Hagrid pointed out that they could take riders to destinations just by being told the destination. In this, their ability to find their destinations is like the owls used for owl post.

In 1996, Harry, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom flew to London atop the Thestrals in order to find Sirius Black, whom Harry believed to be in danger in the Ministry of Magic. (Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had trouble mounting their Thestrals for the ride, since to the three of them, the Thestrals were invisible.)



The Order of the Phoenix made use of Thestrals in the summer of 1997 during the flight from Little Whinging. They had six members take Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as Harry, and then the "seven Potters" and their protectors fled 4 Privet Drive to Order safe houses. Hermione Granger and Kingsley Shacklebolt flew on a Thestral, as did Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Thestrals were seen attacking Lord Voldemort's giant soldiers from the air along with Buckbeak the hippogriff.

It can also be noted that the core of the Elder Wand was from the tail of a Thestral.

Known People who could see Thestrals by 1998
{| border=1 class="wikitable" ! Viewer ! Death Witnessed ! Notes
 * Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort)
 * Tom Riddle Sr., Mary Riddle, Thomas Riddle, Lily Potter, James Potter, Severus Snape, Bathilda Bagshot, Bellatrix Lestrange
 * Rubeus Hagrid
 * His father
 * Hagrid witnessed several deaths over the course of his life, including his father, and could see Thestrals.
 * Neville Longbottom
 * His grandfather
 * Neville mentioned being able to see Thestrals in a fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures class.
 * Luna Lovegood
 * Her mother
 * Luna witnessed her mother die during a magical experiment gone wrong when she was nine years old, circa 1990-1991, and thus could see Thestrals when she first came to Hogwarts.
 * Theodore Nott
 * Unknown; possibly his mother
 * Theodore was one of the only three students who could see Thestrals in the aforementioned fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures lesson, and found them distasteful-looking.
 * Harry Potter
 * Cedric Diggory
 * Harry never saw his mother die as he was inside the cot, unable to see anything outside it, nor Quirrell, because he passed out before Quirrell's death. Harry did not see Thestrals immediately after Cedric's death in June of 1995; it took a few months before he accepted this, and then was able to see Thestrals.
 * Severus Snape
 * Charity Burbage
 * Snape could see Thestrals, presumably as a result of seeing people killed in the First and Second Wizarding Wars, as Dumbledore once asked him "how many men and women" he had "watched die."
 * Albus Dumbledore
 * Ariana Dumbledore
 * Aberforth Dumbledore
 * Ariana Dumbledore
 * Gellert Grindelwald
 * Ariana Dumbledore
 * Charity Burbage
 * Snape could see Thestrals, presumably as a result of seeing people killed in the First and Second Wizarding Wars, as Dumbledore once asked him "how many men and women" he had "watched die."
 * Albus Dumbledore
 * Ariana Dumbledore
 * Aberforth Dumbledore
 * Ariana Dumbledore
 * Gellert Grindelwald
 * Ariana Dumbledore
 * Gellert Grindelwald
 * Ariana Dumbledore
 * Ariana Dumbledore

Presumably most of the survivors of the first Order of the Phoenix such as Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black could see Thestrals by the end of the First Wizarding War. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Bill Weasley were also likely to have been able to see them, as they rode Thestrals for the Battle over Little Whinging, and would most likely have picked them only if they saw them. After the Second Wizarding War, it is likely that many students of Hogwarts as well as other participants in the Battle of Hogwarts could see Thestrals after witnessing a great many casualties in battle, including the death of Lord Voldemort himself.

Behind the scenes

 * Harry had the chance to witness at least two people die before the death of Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire. His mother was murdered by Lord Voldemort when he was one, and Professor Quirrell in his first year. Despite this, Harry is not able to see the Thestrals till the beginning of his fifth year. J. K. Rowling has explained this stating that he was in his crib when his mother was murdered, and passed out before Quirrell died. It's also plausible that when his parents died, Harry was too young to truly understand the concept of accepting someone's death. This creates a paradox in the films, since the first film shows Harry seeing Quirrell die.

Appearances

 * 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

Notes and references
Thestral