Unicorn

"Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

- Firenze to Harry Potter

The Unicorn is a white, horse-like creature with a single horn on its forehead. Unicorn foals are pure gold. They turn silver when they're about two years old. They grow their horn at around four. At about seven years old, they're fully grown and turn pure white.They are so brightly white it makes snow look grey in comparison. Their hooves are golden and their blood is silver-blue in colour and shines under moonlight.

Unicorns prefer a woman's touch, but the young are more trusting and don't mind men as much. Various parts of the Unicorn - the horn and tail hair in particular - are used in potions and for the cores of wands. They inhabit the forests of Europe.

The blood of a Unicorn can be used to keep a person who is near death alive, but "you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips." A Unicorn's tail hair is made of an incredibly strong and valuable material that can be used as a core for wands.

Unicorns are also so fleet of foot that they can be rarely caught by humans.

Also, the Unicorn's single straight horn is used, in runic, to symbolize the number one.

1992
At least two unicorns were slain by Quirinus Quirrell so Lord Voldemort could drink their blood and return to power. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy found the corpse of one of them in the Forbidden Forest.

1995
In 1995, fourth year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry studied unicorns in their Care of Magical Creatures class.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 * J. K. Rowling's Official Site

Notes and references
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