Centaurs (Harry Potter)

> Forest-dwellers who have the torso of a human but the body of a horse, and who are gifted in Divination.
>
> Description of centaurs, Pottermore

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***.
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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

> And into the clearing came — was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail.
>
> Description of a centaur, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 File:Centaur WB F5 CentaurPortrait Illust 100615 Port.jpg  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.

 File:Centaurs (whole body - conceptual artwork).jpg  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

> Never try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon.
>
> Rubeus Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

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

> I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial. We watch the skies for the great tides of evil or change that are sometimes marked there. It may take ten years to be sure of what we are seeing.
>
> Firenze explaining centaur Divination during a fifth year lesson, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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

 File:Centaurs (Concept Artwork for the HP5 film 02).jpg  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

> You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?
>
> Bane and other centaurs consider helping humans beneath them, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

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."

## Behind the scenes

 File:Centaurs (face close up - conceptual artwork).jpg
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* 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 Template:PM riddle consisting of an earlyTemplate:PM concept art of a Centaur was added to theTemplate:PM insider on ***16 October*** ***2014***. It is still unknown who this centaur is.
* In Template:FB, ***Newt Scamander*** describes that Centaurs refuse to wear any clothing. In the films, ***Magorian*** wears pieces of jewellery, shown in detail in the book Template:HPV.
* ***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.

## Appearances

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