2.4. Magical Creatures and Objects Pervading the Harry Potter Universe

The Harry Potter universe is a secondary imaginary world invented by J.K. Rowling. A world which is self-contained and has this integrity within it. There's logic to every thing whether it's magical object serving the needs of Wizarding community or some creature inhabiting the Forbidden Forest. Rowling provides many details describing magical things which make her writing so appealing. Her attention to such matters is remarkable and charming, especially when the details are small, which pays tribute to Rowling's vivid imagination.

In this chapter we'll provide a listing of magical objects and creatures described in the Harry Potter series, trying to single out some groups where possible and appropriate.

Magical objects

Concealers

Deluminator (Put-Outer) is a device invented by Albus Dumbledore that looks like a standard cigarette lighter. It is used to remove the light to provide cover to the user.

Invisibility Cloak is used to make the wearer invisible. Over time, however, most of the cloaks lose their invisibility ability. Harry's cloak, being one of the three Deathly Hallows, will retain its invisibility forever. It is also resistant to most simple spells and charms. Although Alastor Moody's magically charmed eye is able to penetrate them. In addition, the cloak is less effective against some animals (cats and snakes).

Detectors

The Marauder's Map is a magical map of Hogwarts created by Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter (respectively nicknamed "Moony", "Wormtail", "Padfoot", and "Prongs") while they were Hogwarts students. The map displays the location of everyone within the castle and its grounds, and includes the location of secret passageways and instructions on how to access them. Furthermore, Animagus disguises, Polyjuice Potion, and Invisibility Cloaks cannot fool the map.

Probity Probe detects spells of concealment and hidden magical objects.

Remembrall is a small, clear orb, the size of a tennis ball, containing smoke that turns red when it detects that the person holding it has forgotten something.

Revealer is a bright red eraser, used to make invisible ink appear.

Secrecy Sensor is a detector 'that looked something like an extra-squiggly, golden television aerial.' It vibrates upon detecting concealment or lies.

Sneakoscope is a Dark Arts detector. The device is described as a miniature glass-spinning top that emits shrill noises in the presence of deception, for instance, when an untrustworthy person is near or when a deceitful event takes place nearby.

Weasley family clock is a special clock in their home, the Burrow, with nine hands, one for every member of the family. Instead of telling the time, the clock reveals the location or status of each family member. The known locations are: Home, School, Work, Travelling, Lost, Hospital, Prison, and Mortal Peril.

Dark objects

Hand of Glory is a large shrivelled hand in Borgin and Burkes. When a candle is placed in the hand, it gives light only to the person holding it.

Some other items known to be found at Borgin & Burkes: Bloodstained playing cards, A staring glass eye, Evil-looking masks, Human bones, Rusty, spiked instruments, Long coil of hangman's rope, cursed Opal necklace etc.

Horcrux is an object used to store part of a person's soul. If the body of the Horcrux's creator is destroyed, the person is still able to survive. This method was chosen by Voldemort to attain immortality. The creation of a Horcrux requires one to commit a murder, which, being 'violation against nature, rips the soul apart'. Both inanimate objects and living organisms have been used as Horcruxes. They are extremely difficult to destroy. A Horcrux can be deliberately magically undone only if the creator goes through a process of deep remorse for the murder committed to create the Horcrux. All of Voldemort's deliberately created Horcruxes were made using objects that had been important to him or that held some sentimental value, they are:

Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Tom Riddle's Diary, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, Salazar Slytherin's Locket, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, Harry Potter, and Nagini.

Deathly Hallows

In the course of their quest to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn of the Hallows and The Tale of the Three Brothers, notably through conversations with Xenophilius Lovegood and the wandmaker Ollivander. According to the tale, the Peverell brothers evaded Death, who then gave them a choice of anything they wanted: the first brother chose a wand that could not be defeated in battle; the second asked for a way to bring back someone from the dead; and the third selected a cloak that made the wearer invisible, even to Death himself. Harry eventually comes to possess all three Hallows. He uses the Elder Wand to repair his own, then returns it to Dumbledore's tomb; he also drops the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest. Harry keeps his Cloak, intending to pass it on to his children.

Legendary magical artifacts

Goblet of Fire is a goblet made of wood and is used at the beginning of every Triwizard Tournament. It is used to choose the participating school champions, serving as an "impartial judge."

Godric Gryffindor's Sword is a goblin-made sword adorned with large rubies on the pommel. It was once owned by one of the medieval founders of Hogwarts. In Chamber of Secrets, Harry uses the Sword to kill a Basilisk. It also plays a key role in Deathly Hallows which is used to destroy three of Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Philosopher's Stone is a stone, owned by Nicolas Flamel. It changes all metals to gold, and can be used to brew a potion called the Elixir of Life. The Philosopher's Stone is seen only in the first and last book.

Sorting Hat is a sapient artefact used at Hogwarts, which uses Legilimency (the ability to read minds) to determine which of the four school houses – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin – each new student is to be assigned. The Hat speaks to the student while they're being sorted and is willing to take the student's preferences into account when it makes its decision.

Mirrors are also known for possessing mythical powers in the novels.

The Mirror of Erised is a mystical object discovered by Harry in an abandoned classroom in the first book. It shows the deepest desire of our hearts. Harry sees in it his parents. Dumbledore cautions him that the Mirror gives neither knowledge nor truth and that men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they see.

Two-way mirrors are activated by holding one of them and saying the name of the other possessor, causing his or her face to appear on the caller's mirror and vice versa.

Foe-glass is a mirror that detects and shows its owner's enemies. Foe-glass is hanging in the Room of Requirement.

Photographs and portraits in the world of wizards are not stationary, they move around within the frame and from one portrait to another, and are also able to talk.

Prank objects

Prank objects from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes are made and designed by the owners of the shop, Fred and George, who test their new creations on themselves and other Hogwarts students. Weasley's Wild-fire Whiz-Bangs are enchanted fireworks that have overly spectacular and remarkable effects. Skiving Snackboxes are sweets that are designed to make the eater ill in order to skip or "skive off" class. Patented Daydream Charms are kits that put the user into a realistic 30-minute daydream.

There also other items, such as a Headless Hat, Ton-Tongue, Canary Creams, U-No-Poo, Extendable Ears, Portable Swamps, Trick Wands, Decoy Detonators etc.

Storage receptacles

Hermione's handbag. Hermione used an Undetectable Extension Charm on her handbag, significantly enlarging its internal dimensions without affecting its physical size. As well, the mass of the objects placed in her handbag is negated.

Other magical objects of this type are Mokeskin pouch and Moody's Magical Trunk.

Pensieve is a stone basin used to store and review memories.

Transportation

Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia is enchanted car that can fly and become invisible. Ron and Harry fly the car in order to return to Hogwarts after the gate to Platform 9¾ is sealed by Dobby. Another object of this kind is S.Black's Enchanted Motorbike.

Broomsticks are used for transportation by witches and wizards, and for participating in the game of Quidditch. There are numerous manufacturers and models of brooms, including Cleansweeps and Comets, all of which vary in their capabilities. Harry's broomsticks Nimbus 2000 and later a Firebolt - are prominent in the series.

Floo Powder is a glittering powder used by wizards to travel and communicate using fireplaces. In Chamber of Secrets, the Weasleys use it to travel to Diagon Alley.

Hogwarts Express is the train which transports Hogwarts students to and from the school at the beginning and end of each term and for the Christmas holidays. It can be accessed only by using the magical wall between the platforms 9 and 10.

Knight Bus is a heavily enchanted purple triple-decker Regent Three class bus that transports witches and wizards.

Portkeys are an alternative to Apparation but can also be used to transport a group of people at once. Created by using the Portus spell, a Portkey can be set to transport anybody who touches it to a designated location.

Time-Turner may be used for short-term time travel. It enabled Hermione to attend several classes simultaneously. It also helped to save Sirius Black and Buckbeak.

Vanishing Cabinet is a cabinet located in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts that is a part of a set of two. The other cabinet resides in Borgin and Burkes.

Communications

Communications infrastructure of the Wizarding community employs many magical objects, such as enchanted coins, fireplaces, two-way mirrors, and of course, owl post. One of the types of magical letters are howlers, blood-red letters sent to signify extreme anger or to convey a message very loudly and publicly.

Writing equipment

There are different types of quills used, such as: Anti-Cheating Quill, Auto-Answer Quill, Blood Quill, Magical Quill, Quick Quotes Quill, and Spell-Checking Quill.

Cauldrons are magical receptacles in which potions are brewed.

Wand is a wooden stick-like object used to channel magical energy which is used as both tool and weapon in the wizarding world. A wand is made by a wandmaker who is learned in wandlore, the study of wands. A core of wands can include phoenix tail feathers, unicorn tail hairs, and dragon heartstrings. A wand is generally considered a very personal object. Furthermore, wands are able to be won from a witch or wizard and can therefore change their allegiance as it is the case with the Elder Wand.

Magical creatures

The wizarding world is home to many magical creatures, some of which are familiar from folklore and myth. Giants, dragons, unicorns, boggarts, and goblins all have roles in the series. These creatures are real, but have been hidden for centuries from the muggles by the efforts of wizards, to the point where they have faded to folklore.

Magical creatures comprise a colourful and integral aspect of the fictional wizarding world in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Throughout the seven books of the series, Harry and his friends come across many of these creatures. Some of them are derived from folklore, primarily Greek mythology, but also British and Scandinavian folklore. "When I do use a creature that I know is a mythological entity, I like to find out as much as I can about it. I might not use it, but to make it as consistent as I feel is good for my plot." Many pets in the series are ordinary animals with magical properties. Owls, for example, deliver mail.

J.K. Rowling wrote a spin-off book about magical creatures to complement the main Harry Potter novels, titled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a guide to the magical beasts found in the series.

She also included the Care of Magical Creatures to the Hogwarts school curricula.

Rowling coined the term 'Magizoology' which is the study of magical creatures. There are magizoologists who work in the Ministry of Magic, particularly in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

Artemis Fido Scamander, a famous magizoologist, is the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the universe of the series [15]. Accoding to Ministry of Magic classification all creatures fall into 3 divisions: the Beast Division, the Being Division, and the Spirit Division.

Beasts

A Beast is one of the three classifications used by the Ministry of Magic to catalogue the magical creatures that inhabit the wizarding world. Loosely defined, a Beast is a magical creature that does not have sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community nor bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws.

Acromantula – A monstrous eight-eyed spider. Thick black hair covers its body; its legspan may reach up to fifteen feet; carnivorous and prefers large prey.

Basilisk – A monstrous serpentine creature. Reaches length up to fifty feet and lives up to hundreds of years. Basilisks are uncontrollable except by Parselmouths. A basilisk kills both with its powerful venom and its eyes. A phoenix tear is the only known cure for the devastating effect of the basilisk's venom. Spiders flee from the basilisk, as they are mortal enemies. Crowing of a rooster is fatal to basilisk.

Blast-Ended Skrewt – The Blast-Ended Skrewt is the result of a union between a Manticore and a Fire Crab.

Bowtruckle – An insect-eating, tree-dwelling wooden creature that is hard to spot.

Centaurs – Are wild creatures whose heads and torsos resemble those of humans but they possess the four legs, lower bodies and tail of a horse. Although sentient, they removed themselves entirely from human affairs. They live in forests, and their society consists of groups called herds.

Named Centaur characters: Firenze, Bane, Magorian, Ronan.

Chimaera – A creature with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and dragon tail.

Doxy – A small fairy-like creature that is also known as the Biting Fairy.

Dragon – Dragons are winged fire-breathing reptiles. Rowling mentions several species including Antipodean Opaleye, Chinese Fireball, Common Welsh Green, Hebridean Black, Hungarian Horntail (the most dangerous of the dragons), Norwegian Ridgeback, Romanian Longhorn, Ukrainian Ironbelly.

Fairy – A small human-like creature with insect wings.

Flesh-Eating Slug – A garden slug-like creature with corrosive spittle.

Flobberworm – A 10-inch toothless brown worm.

Ghoul – A creature that resembles a slimy buck-toothed ogre. Interesting to mention, that Chameleon Ghoul can disguise itself as an everyday object to evade detection.

Giant Squid – A huge creature that lives in the Black Lake near Hogwarts.

Gnome – Gnomes are known to infest the gardens of wizarding households and are found in Europe and North America.

Golden Snidget – A small golden bird that was used in the earlier versions of Quidditch as the Snitch.

Griffin – A creature that is part-eagle, part-lion.

Grindylow – A small horned water demon with octopus tentacles for legs.

Hippogriff – A creature that is part-eagle, part-horse.

Imp are found in Britain and Ireland where they are the same height as pixies.

Kneazle – A magical feline related to, and similar in appearance to, a cat. Hermione's pet Crookshanks is a half kneazle. He's intelligent, sensitive to dishonesty, explaining his identification of the rat 'Scabbers' as P. Pettigrew, and an adjacent dog as Sirius Black.

Merpeople are sentient beasts that live underwater, and are found all over the world. Sub-species: Siren, Selkie, and Merrow.

Moke – A lizard with silver-green skin that is native to the British Isles. The Mokes can shrink at will which is why Muggles can't see them.

Niffler – A treasure-hunting creature with a long snout.

Owls – Are magical creatures most often used for delivering post in the wizarding world. On his 11th birthday Harry was presented with Hedwig, a Snowy Owl who made a very faithful pet throughout the series.

Phoenix – A large swan-sized scarlet bird with red and gold plumage, along with a golden beak and talons, black eyes, and a tail as long as a peacock's. A very faithful pet whose tears are known to have healing powers.

Pixie – A small, bright blue mischief-maker, and loves tricks and practical jokes. It is able to fly, and enjoys lifting people up by their ears

Puffskein – A sphere-shaped custard coloured creature covered in soft fur.

Pygmy Puff – A round fluffy pink or purple creature sold at Weasley's Wizard Whezzes.

Sphinx – An Egyptian creature that has the head of a human and the body of a lion. The Sphinxes can talk and are good at giving riddles, puzzles, and enigmas.

Troll – A 12 ft. creature with prodigious strength and immense stupidity. Breeds: Mountain Troll, Forest Trolland, and a River Troll

Unicorn – A white, equine creature with a single horn on its forehead. The blood of a unicorn can be drunk in order to keep a person alive.

Spirits

Ghost is the disembodied spirit of a once-living wizard or witch. Only magical beings can become ghosts. Many ghosts take up residence within Hogwarts Castle. These fleshless spirits were either afraid of death or have some extraordinarily strong connection to the locations they haunt. Ghosts play an important secondary role, mainly as advisors to the leading characters.

Ghost characters: Nearly Headless Nick, The Bloody Baron, The Grey Lady,The Fat Friar, Professor Binns, Moaning Myrtle, Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore

Beings

A "being" is generally defined as "any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws."

Giant is a very large humanoid which can potentially grow to approximately twenty five feet tall and appear to be a large human. They are capable of interbreeding with humans – Rubeus Hagrid is half-giant, as is his love interest Olympe Maxime – but wizards as a population have engaged in an active campaign to hunt giants out of civilization. Their society is loosely governed by a chief called a Gurg, who spends most of his time demanding food from his underlings. Presumably, giants took part in the Battle of Hogwarts in the end of the series, mostly fighting for Voldemort.

Goblins are magical creatures chiefly involved with metal work and the running of Gringotts bank. They have long, thin fingers and feet, black eyes, and domed large heads. Relations between goblins and wizards have been strained for centuries by misunderstandings on both sides. Along with house-elves, goblins seem to occupy positions as second-class citizens.

Named goblin characters: Griphook, Gornuk, Bogrod, Ragnok, Ragnuk the First.

A hag is a savage being that looks like an ugly, old witch but has more warts. They possess rudimentary magic, similar to that of a troll.

House-elves are small elves used by wizards as slaves. They are 2–3 feet tall, with spindly limbs and oversized heads and eyes. Their names are usually pet-like diminutives. House-elves are generally obedient, pliant, and obsequious. 'A House-elf's highest law is his master's bidding'.

Because of their obedient natures, some families abuse their house-elves. They can be freed by giving them an item of clothing. Nonetheless, most house-elves are horrified by freedom. They are able to Apparate anywhere. Named house-elves: Dobby, Winky, Hokey, and Kreacher.

Humans – Are omnivorous mammals that consist of wizards and witches, Squibs and Muggles. In the wizarding world, some humans have had children with non-human beings. These half-breeds may be looked down upon by humans.

A vampire is a magical hominid that is famed for biting people on the neck and sucking their blood. They are part of the family of beings known as the Living Dead.

The Veela are a race of semi-human reminiscent of the Sirens of Greek mythology. They appear to be young, beautiful humans. Their looks and especially their dance is magically seductive. Veela can do magic without wands.

Werewolves – A creature that exists only for a brief period around the full moon. At any other time, a werewolf is a normal human. One becomes a werewolf when bitten by a werewolf in wolf-form.

The Wolfsbane Potion controls some of the effects of this condition, but nothing in the wizarding world can completely cure a werewolf.

Non-beings

Dementors are "soulless creatures... among the foulest beings on Earth": a phantom species who gradually deprive human minds of happiness and intelligence. They are the guards of the wizard prison, Azkaban. They are human-like, approximately 10 feet in height, covered in dark, hooded cloaks that reveal their decayed-looking hands. They have perpetually indrawn breath, by which they consume the emotions and good memories of humans. The presence of a dementor makes atmosphere cold and dark. The culmination of their power is the 'Dementor's Kiss', wherein the dementor latches its mouth onto a victim's lips and consumes its soul. The principal method against them is the Patronus Charm. Dementors is a metaphor for depression.

Boggart is a shape-shifter that takes on the form of its intended victim's worst fear. The Riddikulus charm is used to combat Boggarts, by changing their appearance into a less fearsome or even comical apparition, which weakens the creatures. Boggarts reveal worst fears of several characters: Harry - A Dementor indicating that the thing Harry fears most is fear itself. Ron - An acromantula. Neville - Professor Snape. Lupin - the full moon. Hermione — Professor McGonagall telling she had "failed everything". Molly Weasley and Albus Dumbledore - their loved ones being dead.

Poltergeist – An 'indestructible spirit of chaos'. They haunt one specific location at time, generally those inhabited by a large number of adolescents, and either "[came] with the building," or chose to enter it at some point.

Wizarding world comprises a wide range of magical creatures and objects that constitute an integral part of imaginary secondary world created by J.K. Rowling.