Centaurs (Harry Potter)

A centaur was a magical creature whose head, torso, and arms appeared to be human and were joined to a horse's lower body. They were, however, their own individual species, and thus were not half-breeds. They also had a rich history and were known for being naturally talented in archery, healing magic, divination and astronomy.
Despite possessing "human intelligence", centaurs were classified as Beasts by the British Ministry of Magic, at their own request, as they were unhappy at having to share Being status with hags and vampires, known dark creatures.
==Description==
===Physical appearance===
Like horses, centaurs could come in a variety of colours, ranging from deep black to white. A centaur by the name of Firenze had white-blonde hair, a body light in colour, and possessed astonishingly blue eyes; Magorian on the other hand possessed black hair and was chestnut in colour. Centaurs had the body of a horse, and the torso, arms, and head of a human. Their upper bodies were so humanlike Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil found the centaur Firenze's human side physically attractive.Centaurs were also natural born Seers, in particular the centaur Firenze who taught alongside Sybill Trelawney in Divination class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
===Mannerisms===
Centaurs were known to be gifted in Divination. Indeed, the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest regularly made vague allusions to seeing the future, as when the centaur Firenze told Harry Potter that they were fated to meet again, and when he and Bane spoke of the "intermission" of sorts, between the First and Second Wizarding Wars. He also mentioned to his class at Hogwarts that centaurs spent years trying to master their particular art of divining the fates.Centaurs on the whole seemed also to be rather proud of their species, which was evident in their testiness whenever anyone even accidentally alluded to them being "used" or in any way employed by humankind, as when Firenze was chastised for allowing Harry Potter to ride to safety on his back, after the young wizard encountered Lord Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest — his fellow centaurs considered allowing such a thing tantamount to becoming a "common mule".
==Abilities==
Centaurs did not use wands for magic, but were known to be well-versed in magical healing, Divination, archery, and Astronomy. Centaurs burned herbs such as mallowsweet and sage to refine their stargazing findings. In fact, the centaur Firenze taught Divination at Hogwarts, starting in the 1995–1996 school year.
==Habitat==
Centaurs were forest-dwelling, and, in each country where colonies existed, the wizarding authority had set aside land exclusively for their use. One such colony existed in the Forbidden Forest, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, centaurs had their own methods of concealment and avoided contact with both wizards and witches and Muggles, as they were not fond of humans. They generally lived in herds of ten to fifty individuals.
==Relationship with wizardkind==
Centaurs had also been known to save wizards from harm, one instance being Firenze saving Harry Potter, when Lord Voldemort was in the forest, though this was highly looked down upon as centaurs were not supposed to interfere with "what is to come."
==Known centaurs==
 
Firenzeinharrypotter.jpg|Firenze
==See also==
*Forbidden Forest centaur colony
==Behind the scenes==
*In the books, Centaurs are described as they are in traditional Greek myths, with the back-end of a horse, but an ordinary human face and torso in their upper parts. In the films, however, their human faces are more equine-like, like an exact cross between horse and human. They are covered in hair, the same as their horse halves, with long protruded faces, and long pointy ears.
*Despite the fact that the Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test establishes them to exist, female centaurs have yet to be physically seen in any Harry Potter media.
*In Greek mythology, female centaurs are called centaurides, and though they are not mentioned in early Greek literature and art, they do appear occasionally in later antiquity.
*The word Centaur (Κένταυρος, Kentauros in Ancient Greek), is generally regarded as being of obscure origin. But the Greek myths believe it to be derived from the name of Centaurus who was said to be the father of the Centaur race.
*A riddle consisting of an early concept art of a Centaur was added to the insider on 16 October 2014. It is still unknown who this centaur is.
*In , Newt Scamander describes that Centaurs refuse to wear any clothing. In the films, Magorian wears pieces of jewellery, shown in detail in the book .
*Rowan Khanna, a history buff, wanted to ask a centaur about the 1811 controversy of not accepting the Being status as they were fascinated by it, but neither Jacob's sibling, Barnaby nor Tonks, understood their obsession with learning this fact.
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Category:Centaurs
Category:Creatures from Entire Great Britain
Category:Forbidden F Forest
Category:Foundables
Category:An Muggle-Known Creatures