Thestral

"I mean, a dog'll bite if yeh bait it, won' it - but Thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing - people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?"

- ProfessorRubeus Hagrid during a Care of Magical Creatures class

A Thestral is a clever, great sized and black breed of winged horses with skeletal body, face with reptilian features and leathery wide wings that resembles a bat.

They are very rare, rather horrible, and the less horsey breed, as well as the one considered more dangerous by the Ministry. Thestrals are, undeservedly, known as omens of misfortune and aggressive by many wizards probably because they are visible only to those who have witnessed death (and fully accepted the concept) or due to their somewhat grim, gaunt and ghostly appearance.

These creatures can be domesticated and mounted, so they are used as an alternative to brooms, Apparition and other methods of transportation. Once trained, they are very diligent and will quickly carry their owners wherever they wish to go.

Due to their classification as XXXX, only experienced wizards should try to handle with Thestrals, and breeding, as well as owning these beasts may be discouraged or even illegal without Ministry consent, in fact, wizards that live in areas not protected against Muggles are forced by law to preform Disillusionment Charms in their winged horses regularly.

Physical Appearance
Thestrals have a quite disturbing appearance and the wizards who are capable of seeing them often describe these animals as being sinister and spooky. And that first impression it's not only because their big, bony bodies, but also because their dragonish faces with white, frightening and glittering eyes lacking both expression and pupils.

Being winged horses most of their anatomy is identical to a horse, excepting their large wings that sprout from their back and, in this particular cases, their faces. Unlike the Abraxan, another breed of winged horses, Thestral's wings doesn't possess any feathers at all; their vast, black and leathery wings are more similar to those of the bats.

Their fleshless, lustrous bodies are covered with a translucid and glossy coat. This smooth and dark skin is a bit slippery and so thin that Thestral's bones are clearly defined through the entire extension of their sleek bodies.

These eerie horses have long and slender black manes, as well as a large tail, either with flowing black hair, like horses or ending in a tuft, like zebras, which are also equines.

Another distinction of the normal wingless horses is their sharp fangs to seize and slash their preys.



Nature
These creatures are seemingly rather dull, though Professor Rubeus Hagrid states that they are "dead clever", and, in fact, they are smart enough to understand their rider's words when they ask to travel to a specific location.

These magical animals can be founded in dark environments and the forest his is natural habitat. They communicate with each other through a shrill and strange yell that resembles some sort of monstrous bird. The Professor of Care of Magical Creatures mimicked these noises to attract a trained flock and to reveal his presence.

They appear to be loyal creatures, which can discern a friend from an enemy and will forcefully attack anyone or anything they see as a threat and, in the unusual case of domesticated Thestrals, an enemy of its owners.

In the Battle of Hogwarts, the Thestrals trained flock cooperated with Buckbeak, the Hippogriff. It's unclear if the wild herds can or will cooperate with other species too.

Diet
Thestrals are carnivorous animals, therefore eat exclusively meat. Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank mentions that they often attack birds, which indicate that, naturally, they hunt not only for food in the ground, but also pursue flying preys.

The Thestrals that live within the Hogwarts grounds, in the Forbidden Forest, are properly fed and well trained, so they don't attack neither other creatures nor students without being seriously disturbed.



Abilities
The Thestral tail hair is a powerful and tricky substance that can be mastered only by a witch or wizard capable of facing death. It should be noted that this substance can be used as a core in wand's conception and it was used to create the most powerful wand known by wizards, the Deathstick.

The most well known ability of this beasts is their invisibility to those who haven’t seen death, in other words, they are only visible to people who have seen someone dying and fully accepted, understood and internalize the concept.

Thestrals have an extraordinary sense of smell and will easily recognize the smell of blood and fresh flesh, even if the source of the scent is rather distanced.

They also have a quite useful sense of direction, surprisingly they can understand exactly where their owners need to go, If their riders which to travel to a certain place, they only need to say the destination and the creature will diligently carry them to the intended location, much like owls do with letters.

These winged monsters are very capable fast fliers and can travel through long distances hardly beating their large wings. For example, in 1996, six members of the Hogwarts herd were capable of flying from somewhere in Scotland to London in a brief amount of time.

Their powerful wings are capable of lifting, at least, the burden of two humans plus their own weight, of course.



Interaction with humans
Even with all their useful abilities, Thestrals are rarely used as methods of transportation due to their reputation as omens of evil and their somewhat dreadful and even distasteful appearance.

When riding a Thestral, the traveler usually hold the creature's mane to ensure balance during the flight (or riding) and to aid the mounting, the wizards also place their legs behind the wing's joints to provide safety.

Flying on the back of a Thestral during a long journey is frequently an unpleasant experience, particularly to those who dare riding them without seeing the creature, because the high speed flight on an invisible steed can be really terrifying and the wind will, eventually, cause a momentary deafness and will force the riders to close their eyes. Plus, on their sleek horseback it's hard to keep balance and not to eventually slip.

The Hogwarts trained herd is gentle towards humans, react satisfactorily to caress and avoid attacking even owls. However, taking in consideration the Ministry of Magic classification as "dangerous", this behavior may be exclusive to well trained Thestrals.

Hogwarts herd


The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have a very loyal flock of Thestrals used mainly to pull the carriages that led elder students between the Hogsmeade Station to the gates of the Castle. Nevertheless these creatures are also used by Albus Dumbledore when he needs to travel and doesn't care to Apparate.

Rubeus Hagrid, the trainer of these animals, strongly suspects that this is the only trained large group of these beasts in the whole Great Britain. He also assumes that they prefer his presence.

Assuming that each diligence have, at least, one harnessed Thestral, this numerous herd have, at least, a hundred or so Thestrals, but this flock started with no more than a male and five females and the first cub that was born in the school was named Tenebrus, and it's the groundskeeper favorite.

Harry Potter encounters with Thestrals
Harry Potter first saw the Thestrals at Hogwarts in September of 1995, after having witnessed the murder of Cedric Diggory the same June. Harry could not see them that June because he had not yet dealt with what he had witnessed.

They were first identified by name by Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank after Hedwig was found injured, when she mentioned that Thestrals sometimes go after birds. They were next mentioned by Hagrid in a Care of Magical Creatures class, where the students were told that they could be used as mounts, and introduced their navigation abilities.

In 1996, Harry, Hermione Granger, Ron and 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. Six of the Order's members took Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as Harry, and then the "seven Potters" and their protectors fled 4 Privet Drive to safe houses of other members. Hermione Granger and Kingsley Shacklebolt flew on a Thestral, and so did Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, as Fleur doesn't like brooms.

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

Nineteen years later, James Potter teasingly warned his younger brother Albus about the Thestrals before they left for Hogwarts.

Known People who could see Thestrals by 1998
Presumably most of the deceased members in the Second Wizarding War of the 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

 * J.K. Rowling stated that the core of the Elder Wand is a Thestral tail hair.
 * J.K. Rowling also stated that the reason Harry was not able to see Thestrals until the beginning of his fifth year was that when he left Hogwarts in June he had not yet fully come to terms with Cedric's death.
 * Harry had the chance to witness at least two people die before the death of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the 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 until 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.
 * There’s an interesting contradiction in the film. The Thestrals are depicted as having no hair at all, theoretically that would make the existence of an Elder Wand impossible in the movie adaptations.
 * Thestrals also don’t seem to have fangs in the film, at least in the young cubs. Instead they have a pointed beak which they use to grab food and then they swallow the aliment, almost without chewing, much like birds eat worms.

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
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Notes and references
Sombral Фестрал Thestral