Demiguise

The Demiguise is a peaceful, herbivorous creature that can make itself invisible and tell the future which makes it very hard to catch.^[2] It is found in the Far East, but only wizards and witches trained in their capture can even see them. It resembles a cross between a sloth and an ape with large, black eyes and long, silky hair.

Description

Demiguise pelts are highly sought after as the hair can be woven into Invisibility cloaks.^[3] Cloaks made from their hair eventually turn opaque, losing their invisibility effects as time passes.

Demiguises have precognitive sight so that the only way to catch them is to do something completely unpredictable.^[4]

The Demiguise's ability to make itself invisible is used to symbolise the number zero, in the runic alphabet.^[5]

History

At some point before late-1620^[6], Phineas Fletcher smuggled a Demiguise to North America which escaped and bred with a Ghoul; their offspring were the first Hidebehinds.^[7]

Magizoologist Newton Scamander owned a Demiguise called Dougal who escaped from his suitcase during his visit to New York in 1926 and caused a disturbance in the Ginzberg Delaunay department store while caring for an occamy that had also escaped. He later found them both with a help of Queenie and Tina Goldstein, as well as No-Maj Jacob Kowalski.^[8]

Behind the scenes

• A Demiguise appears in the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, played by Edd Osmond.
• Given the Demiguise was described as peaceful, it is most likely that they were classified as XXXX because of the fact that special knowledge is required to catch them, not because of any danger. Though Newt Scamander said that Demiguises do bite if provoked.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play) (Mentioned only)
• J. K. Rowling's Official Site
• Pottermore
• LEGO Dimensions

Notes and references

Study of Ancient Runes
Professor: Bathsheda Babbling
Textbooks: Advanced Rune Translation · Ancient Runes Made Easy · Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms · Rune Dictionary · Spellman's Syllabary
Known Runes: Acromantula · Demiguise · Ehwaz · Eihwaz · Fwooper · Graphorn · Hydra · Quintaped · Runespoor · Salamander · Unicorn · Unknown · Mark of Merlin