Lesson Four

Imps and Bowtruckles 

The Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is in charge of everything to do with magical creatures and categorizing and classifying the creatures in the wizarding world. They have identified three different categories of magical creatures: 

• Beast

• Being

• Spirit

Beast: The current definition of beast, given in 1811, Minister of Magic Grogan Stump. A beast is defined as a creature lacks sufficient intelligence and is unable to understand and follow laws set by The Ministry of Magic. Ex: Imp. 

Being: A being is defined as any creature that has a sufficient amount of intelligence and can understand, follow, and help shape the laws within the wizarding community.

Spirit:  Has-beings 

There are currently 5 different classification within the categories:

X - Boring

XX – harmless

XXX – competent wizards should cope

XXXX - Dangerous/ requires specialist knowledge

XXXXX – known wizard killer

Imps – can only be found in Britain and Ireland. They fall under the category of Beast and are classified as XX. They are around 6-8 inches in height and so are pixies. They cannot fly and resemble that of a humanoid, they are bald and their skin is a dark brown to black in color. They mainly eat insects but they have been known to eat other things if they must. They make their homes in marshlands and their breeding habits are similar to pixies. An imp will be fully formed and about one inch in height when it hatches. They have very limited knowledge, but they have clever uses for what they do know. Known as tricksters and most the tricks end harmlessly. Imps are thought to have magical capabilities. They appear to have the ability to apparate. They also are able to cause people to see things often it’s just different surroundings to confuse them. Imps can also be associated with being a familiar. They won’t choose just anyone and you would have to be someone who enjoys tricking people and being mischievous to succeed in this feat. Imps are less likely to attack if you are in a group. Imps can be distracted with the use of the spell verdimillious. And if that fails you can use the knockback jinx to send them away.

Bowtruckle – is also a beast and categorized as being XX. Can be found in western England, southern Germany, and certain forests in Scandinavia. They are extremely hard to find. They vary in sizes, but they grow to no larger than 8 inches in height. They have brown eyes and their skin resembles tree bark. They also have long sharp fingers which they use as a defense. Their main defense is their appearance. It serves as a camouflage as their natural habitat is a tree. Known as tree guardians. Protect the trees where they live. More often than not the trees are made of wood that is used to make wands. Usually peaceful but don’t take or try to harm the tree they will attack. If attacked be sure to cover your face. They like to aim for the eyes. Offer woodlice or fairy eggs as a distraction. These are their main food source and if you are gathering you have to be quick because if they notice and attack, your magic would be useless, although it is still unknown as to why. They have no magic of their own.