Summary
- Thestrals are winged horses with a macabre appearance, only visible to those who have witnessed death, symbolizing mortality in the Harry Potter series.
- Despite their unsettling appearance, thestrals are social creatures, loyal to their owners, and can be ridden for transportation.
- Harry encounters thestrals in the series after witnessing death, uses them to travel, and later they participate in battles, representing acceptance and the loss of war.
The Harry Potter series is home to a bevvy of magical creatures, so much so that there was a spinoff book and subsequent movie series written all about them. But even the main Harry Potter series itself is no stranger to the fantastical, including the strange magical animals and creatures that make appearances throughout the story. Sometimes these magical being are of great importance to the story and have a lot of impact, while others are simply table dressing, helping make the Wizarding World feel a little more fleshed out with the details of their existence.
Some of these magical creatures really add to the atmosphere of the story and illustrate some of the themes seen throughout. One such creature is the thestral, which first appears (at least, to Harry) in the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. These horse-like animals are strange, and add a sort of unsettling element to the atmosphere of the story. Because they don't play as big a role in the story as some other creatures, there are a lot of people who might not know much about them at all. What exactly are thestrals, and what do they do in the Harry Potter series?
What Is A Thestral?
Thestrals are a type of winged horse with a very strange and macabre appearance, more akin to a dragon than a pegasus. They are all black and have skeletal bodies, reptilian facial features, and wings that resemble a bat's. What makes them especially mysterious is that not everyone can see them. They only become visible to those who have witnessed death. In this way, paired with their appearance, they are linked with mortality and seem like a sort of reaper, as they only appear when death has visited. They are rare, and labeled as very dangerous creatures by the Ministry of Magic, as many saw them as omens of bad luck and aggression (perhaps a bit unfairly), and the fact that they can be lured by blood certainly didn't help that reputation.
Thestrals are actually quite social creatures, and tend to stick together in herds, and they tend to make their homes in dark forests. They are smart and can understand instructions from human handlers, and can distinguish friend from foe. They are also loyal, which means they would attack anyone they see as a threat, including anyone who is a threat to their owner. Only wizards that are very experienced should handle them, and breeding them without the Ministry's knowledge is illegal. They get a bit of a bad rap simply because of their frightening appearance, but they aren't exactly a danger to humans unless negatively provoked.
What Do Thestrals Do In The Wizarding World?
It is possible to tame and ride thestrals, so they are often used as a mode of transportation instead of brooms or Apparition. They are fast fliers and have an excellent sense of direction, which makes them perfect for travel. However, using a thestral to travel is technically illegal because it violates the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, and there weren't many who chose to use them as transport because of their off-putting appearance.
There is a specific herd of thestrals that is kept at Hogwarts and is used to pull the carriages that take students from Hogsmeade Station to the school itself. For many of the students (those who had not yet encountered death), it just looked as though the carriages were moving on their own. Hagrid theorized that this Hogwarts herd was the only large group of tamed thestrals in all of the UK.
Does Harry Encounter Any Thestrals?
Harry technically encounters the thestrals for a few years before he actually knows they're there. Because they only appear once someone has seen death, it takes until The Order of the Phoenix for Harry to be able to see the thestrals for the first time (since he was present when Voldemort killed Cedric Diggory). He is initially shocked, partially by the revelation of what the creatures are and partially because of their appearance, but he learns to appreciate them. Luna Lovegood can also see the thestrals, and she and Harry bond over this ability.
Later on, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna use thestrals to fly to London to find Sirius Black at the Ministry of Magic, as they believe him to be in great danger. This, of course, was rather difficult for Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, as they could not see the thestrals as they tried to mount them. Thestrals were also used during the Battle of the Seven Potters, as members of the Order of the Phoenix who had disguised themselves as Harry all flew to the safehouse on thestrals.
The thestrals also participated in the Battle of Hogwarts, fighting off Voldemort's Giant soldiers. After the war, there were a lot more people who were able to see the thestrals for the first time, which was a painful reminder of all that had been lost, but a group of activists fought to change the view of thestrals in the public eye and they were eventually met with much more acceptance than before.