Beasts and Their Classifications

Magical creatures have native origins all ice the world. In the same way that humans do, creatures look for new environments that allow them to expand and thrive, which is why we see these migrations happen.

The Ministry of Magic regulates and controls the location of all magical creatures, making note of where they are located and keeping detailed records. They also have set the definitions of what a beast is. At its base, a beast is one of the three categories of life forms as recognized by the Ministry of Magic. The three defined categories are:

• Beast


• Being


• Spirit

Ministry defines a being 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” and a spirit is a special classification that was created for ghosts when they felt it was an insult to classify them as beings.

We then turn our attention to beasts. According to the Ministry of Magic, a beast is simply the opposite of a being - the magical creatures of our world that do not have sufficient intelligence to understand nor assist in shaping the laws of the magical community. However, there are certain exceptions to these categories. Merpeople and centaurs are sentient creatures that have demonstrated intelligence that could be extremely beneficial to the development of the laws of the magical community; however, they are classified as beasts by personal choice. There are also creatures, such as the sphinx and the Acromantula, that could qualify as beings, but due to their bloodthirsty nature, are considered to be too violent to be categorized as beings and therefore are seen as beasts.

Each creature that is categorized as a beast is also given a classification. The classifications are as follows:

• X: Boring


• XX: Harmless


• XXX: Competent Wizards Should Cope


• XXXX: Dangerous/Specialist Training Required


• XXXXX: Known Wizard Killer

Imps

Imps are beasts classified as XX by the Ministry of Magic. Their location of origin is in Britain and Ireland, though they have spread around the globe. They stand at about six to eight inches tall and are often compared to pixies.

In most cases, the imp will only do minimal harm to a person: tripping them, dropping branches on them, etc. Imps also have minor magical abilities.

Assuming you can recognize and discover the location of the imp you are battling, they are relatively easy to handle. All someone has to do is cast the Knockback Jinx. You can also use the Verdimillious Charm, since the sparks will startle the imp and distract it long enough for you to escape.

Bowtruckles

Just as the imps are our representative of an offensive creature, bowtruckles are our representative of a defensive based creature. Bowtruckles are short, measuring no taller than eight inches, and are classified as XX. They are incredibly difficult to spot, since they essentially are tree creatures and their natural protection and defense system is to blend in with the tree in which they live. They will only live in trees that are capable of producing wand wood.

Bowtruckles are not dangerous creatures as long as you keep your distance from their tree. They are completely unaffected by magic, so the only method of defense is placating them with their favorite foods. Bowtruckles love woodlice and, as a delicacy, fairy eggs. Despite their small size, they are vicious creatures and their fingers, which they only have two of on each hand, can dig deep into a person’s skin.

The Knockback Jinx

When cast properly, this spell will make your target push backwards. You will only need enough willpower to push the target as far as you want it to go, so less willpower means less strength in the force pushing the target backwards. If cast correctly, a blue light will shoot out of your wand towards the target. The target will feel as if they have been punched in the chest.

Spell: The Knockback Jinx

Incantation: Flipendo (fli-PEN-doh)

Wand Movement: A downward diagonal to the right, followed by an upward diagonal movement to the right and ending with a swish

Concentration: Low

Willpower: Low to moderate