Vampire

A Vampire is a magical being that is known for biting people on the neck and sucking their blood. They are usually pale and gaunt, with sharp teeth for puncturing the neck. They have an aversion to garlic, and can be kept at bay by its presence.

Vampires within the Wizarding World
Vampires are classed as Beings by the Ministry of Magic, a fact that led both the Centaurs and Merpeople to decline the same status since they did not wish to be associated with them. They are not considered to be Wizards, and the treatment of Vampires is laid down in the Ministry's Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans.

Although Vampires are studied in Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they obviously have rights and are not considered a true threat to the Wizarding community. However, this view does not appear to be universally held. Some people, such as Rita Skeeter, advocate that the Ministry of Magic should be "stamping out Vampires" rather than "quibbling about cauldron thickness", while others act as Vampire hunters. Others hold the opposite view. The author, Eldred Worple spent time living among Vampires, and wrote a book, Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires. He also considered the Vampire Sanguini a friend.

Encounters with Vampires
Professor Quirinus Quirrell claimed to have had an encounter with Vampires in the Black Forest during his break from teaching to get some "hands-on" experience with dealing with the Dark Arts. Whether this is true, or a cover to hide his encounter with Lord Voldemort in Albania, is unclear.

Gilderoy Lockhart wrote a book, Voyages with Vampires, about his supposed encounters with Vampires. The book included information on a Vampire that, after an encounter with Lockhart, could eat nothing but lettuce.

In 1995, Rubeus Hagrid had a disagreement with a Vampire in a pub in Minsk on his way to parlay with the Giants.

Known Vampires

 * Amarillo Lestoat
 * Blodwyn Bludd
 * Count Vlad Drakul
 * Lady Carmilla Sanguina
 * Lorcan d'Eath (part-Vampire)
 * Sanguini
 * Sir Herbert Varney

Behind the scenes

 * Some fans had speculated that Severus Snape was a Vampire. However, J.K. Rowling has said that this is not the case.
 * After Professor Remus Lupin was forced to quit his post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher when Professor Snape let it slip that he was a werewolf, Dean Thomas joked that maybe they would get a vampire as a teacher next.
 * When Harry Potter met Sirius Black for the first time, his impression of him was that he looked exactly like a vampire with his waxy white skin. Coincidentally, Gary Oldman, who portrays Sirius in the film adaptations, is widely known for his portrayal as the most famous vampire, Dracula, in Bram's Stoker's Dracula.
 * Blood-flavoured lollipops are sweets sold at Honeydukes. From the description, they appear to be aimed at Vampire customers.
 * Luna Lovegood claimed that the former Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, was a vampire.
 * Lorcan d'Eath is a singer who is described as part-Vampire. This may indicate that vampires can breed with humans.
 * In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, A young man trying to impress a Veela says he is a Vampire Hunter, and that he has killed about ninety so far. Even though killing vampires is illegal according to "paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans".
 * During the 1473 Quidditch World Cup, 700 fouls where created, one of which includes the release of a hundred vampire bats from underneath the robes of the Transylvanian Captain. It is unknown what vampire bats are, or if they have anything to do with vampires.