Centaur

The **centaur** is a creature in the *Harry Potter book series* and *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*. They are half-human, half-horse. They are their own species and not a half-breed. They are exceptionally proud creatures and skilled at healing, astronomy, divination and archery. They live in herds with one colony living in the Forbidden Forest.

Even though they have human intelligence, they choose to have the Beast status instead of Being so they are separate to Dark creatures like Hags and Vampires who are Beings. Centaurs prefer to focus on their own business separately to wizardkind.

## About

The centaur has the head, torso and arms of a human, and the body of a horse. They are intelligent and capable of speech, and they live in herds of ten to fifty centaurs. They are forest-dwelling. Their ways are mainly unknown because they do not trust wizards, but they are known to be very skilled at archery, healing, astronomy and divination. They live in the wild and don't want to wear clothing.

Centaurs originated in Greece. They are exceptionally proud creatures who valued
their independence and consider it shameful to work in servitude. There are centuars who say it is wrong to help wizards and hate carrying anyone on their back like a horse. They banish centaurs from their herd if they feel the centaur has betrayed them, even physically harming them and potentially killing them.

## History

In the fourteenth century, the Chief of the Warlocks' Council, Burdock Muldoon gave centaurs a Beast status because he thought Beings had two legs. Burdock's successor, Elfrida Clagg decided they should have a Being status because they could understand and speak human languages. Centaurs would not attend her gathering in protest because Merpeople had to be a Beast.

In 1692, centaurs sent a delegation to attend a summit to debate an International Statute of Secrecy being enacted. The summit debated if and how they should conceal creatures in the wizarding world. The Muggle world had noticed centaurs prior to the International Statute and such creatures were included in their work, including literature.

The International Statute worked in favour of the centaurs who prefer a life in hiding, and Muggle-repelling charms were put in sections of the forests that centaurs lived in. Wizarding governments in each country found living spaces for centaurs, but they didn't need help securing protection because they had their own ways of hiding.

In 1811, Grogan Stump gave a final, proper definition to what a Being was. He decided a Being had to understand wizarding laws and take part in shaping such laws. Centaurs could have been a Being, but objected to Dark Beings like Hags getting included. They wanted to focus on and control their own business separate to wizards instead of co-operating to shape laws and asked to be a Beast.

Even though the Ministry of Magic accepted their choice to be a Beast, they established a Centaur Liason Office in the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but no centaur has ever used it.

At least one known herd lives in the Forbidden Forest. Firenze was pro-human and was unashamed of helping wizards.

## Known centaurs

 Firenze
* Bane
* Ronan

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: An A-Z of Fantastic Beasts
2. ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Introduction (About this Book)
3. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 9
4. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Chapter 26
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Introduction (What is a Beast?)
6. ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Introduction (A Brief History of Muggle Awareness of Fantastic Beasts)
7. ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Introduction (Magical Beasts in Hiding)
8. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 15