Creatures in the wizarding world come in a wide range. Some are magical beasts, some common animals, and some are something in between. Many of these creatures are described in the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, magical creatures can also be studied in the book The Monster Book of Monsters. There are also books dedicated to the topic of a certain magical creature, such as Dragons. Many of these creatures are studied in the elective class Care of Magical Creatures. Magizoologists, possibly also known as wizarding naturalists study magical creatures in a study known as Magizoology.
Ministry rating
The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures classifies magical creatures on a scale from one (X) to five (XXXXX) as follows (according to page xxii of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them):
- ?: Mythical; Not Yet Discovered
- X: Boring
- XX: Harmless / may be domesticated
- XXX: Competent wizards should cope
- XXXX: Dangerous / requires specialist knowledge / skilled wizard may handle
- XXXXX: Known wizard killer / impossible to train or domesticate (or as Ron puts it, "Anything Hagrid likes")
All creatures fall into these categories.
Mythological creatures
There are several creatures that the Lovegood family believes in the existence of, which may be mythological such as the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Stories of these creatures have been known to appear in the Lovegoods' magazine, The Quibbler.
