Lesson 3: XXXXX Creatures

Acromantula  

The acromantula is a species of spiders, that is originally native to jungles of Borneo. Acromantulas are believed to be wizard made designed to guard dwellings or treasures and had to be first created before the ban on experimental breading back in 1965. According to history, these giant spiders were first seen in 1794.

Acromantulas are capable of human speech but be aware even though they understand you will they not pass on an opportunity to eat humans, something they particularly like. Acromantulas have most of the apperence treats spiders posses such as the 8 eyes, the black hair over the body, the pincers,... the only difference is that an acromantula can reach a leg span up to 15 feet.

When we look closer to the beast's diet, we find that besides human flesh, they eat any life prey that ends up in their web just as well as they eat their own dead. Acromantulas posses pincers, which make a distinguished clicking sound when they are excited. It is in the pincers that we find their venom. The venom is lethal even if the acromantula has dead, be it for a short period of time after that death has occured and it is valued at 100 galleons a pint. Their eggs, however, are a class A non tradeable material, of which a female can lay up to one hunderd eggs a time and those eggs hatch in six to eight weeks.

Basilisk 

The King of Serpents as the basilisk is often referred to, is a creature first bred by the dark wizard Herpo the foul. He had accomplished this when Herpo hatched a chicken egg under a frog. Basilisk breeding was banned in the Middle Ages.

When we look up the definition of the basilisk we find, in the oldest book around, the following: “...of the many fearsome beast and monsters that roam our lands none is more curious or more deadly than the basilisk!” quote from HP COS.

The basilisk is classified as a XXXXX creature, meaning it is know to be a wizard killer, but it is possible a parseltongue may place the basilisk under his or her control, but this depends on the relationship between basilisk and wizard or a witch.

If we look a bit deeper in the traits the basilisk has, we find that it can grow up to 50 feet in length. Its color is dark green and it has large yellow eyes. The gaze of a basilisk is deadly to all who stare in its eye directly and it petrifies anybody who stares in an indirect matter, i. e. a reflection or through and object, to the basilisk.

Spiders flee before the basilisk and this snake posesses sharp fangs with such a deadly venom it can kill a human in a matter of minutes. Phoenix tears are the only known cure for such a bite and those are very rare. The venom of a basilisk is also capable to destroy inanimate objects so thoroughly it is impossible to repair them, and an example is the destruction of a horcrux.

Other abilities of the basilisk are that its skin is like a dragon's and thus will deflect spells that are casted upon it. The skin gets shed of when the basilisk grows. The basilisk is know to live at least 900 years but their mortal weakness is the crowing of a rooster.  

Lethifold

The lethifold or the Living Shroud is a carnivorous magical creature that resembles a black cloak. The cloak is about half an inch thick, but is known to get thicker when the lethifold recently digests a victim. The lethifold attacks its prey, humans, at night during the time the target is asleep by suffocating them and digesting the prey in its bed.

Besides being deadly, the lethifold is also persistent when it comes to it chosen prey, if they prey manages to scare them of by using the only protection there is against a lethifold, being a patronus charm, the lethifold will release a bone chilling cry. This cry is similar to the dementor “sucking of all happiness out of the environment” and makes the person who hear it to live their worst nightmare. The cry is so bone chilling that it makes hair and eye color change to snow white.

Seeing the only know protection against a lethifold is by magical means, most of its victims are muggles who have no magic to protect them. Thankfully, this is a rare creature that habits the tropical climates only. 

Manticore

The manticore is one the most dangerous beast that roams our lands. It is a beast capable of intellignet speech but not classified as being due to its dangerious tendencies. A manticore has the body of a lion, a scorpions tail with a stinger and a human like head. Originating in Greece, the manticore is almost just are rare as the chimaera.

The manticore's skin is so thick it will repel any charm casted directly on to it, so it is very hard to subdue a manticore with magic alone. Weak spots are the face and the mouth. When encountering a manticore you have to watch out for its stinger, because the venom in it will cause instant death even if you receive only a scratch.

Though manticores have dangerous tendencies, you can domesticate them after a lot of time and effort but it is not advisable to do so, because it will most likely have you killed in the process. IF, for Merlin's knows what reason you want to work with manticores, make sure you start working with them as cubs. NB: Manticores have the XXXXX classification for a reason, even the cubs posses the lethal venom in their tails, a trait they acquire at the age of 6 months.

Manticores are flesh-eating beasts, that kill their prey with their stinger and devour them completely, leaving almost no trace, excepts bones, behind. Though manticores will rarely attack people, they will do so if they even feel the slightest threat, which is something they sense rather quickly. Manticores have a tempered and unpredictable mood to them and they can switch from calm to deadly in matter of seconds.

My suggestion is to simply avoid the beast and if you should encounter it, walk away slowly, facing towards them and back of gently.

Quintaped

As last creature in this lesson, I would like to discuss the quintaped. The quintaped is also known as the Hairy MacBoon and it is a very dangerous creature, possible even more dangerous then the manticore, because the quintaped does in fact, carve human flesh. The quintaped is only found on the Isle of Drear and is made unplottable because of the danger these creatures create.

The quintaped has five legs each ending in a clubfoot and it is covered with red brownish hair. It is unclear to how the quintaped came to existance, but according to a passed down legend the Isle of Drear was once populated by two wizard families one being the MacBoon and the other the McClivert. Both families where rivals and one nigh,t the heads of both families (Dugald McClivert and Quintius MacBoon) got drunk and ended up in a fight which resulted in the Dugald's death.

In their retaliation, the McCliverts attacked the MacBoons by turning them all into monstrous five legged beasts, but seeing the MacBoons where infamously inept wizards and the McCliverts realised that they had made the MacBoons even more deadly, this fight ended in the destruction of the McClivert family.

Due to many failed attempts of the McCliverts to untransfigurate the MacBoons and many failed attempts by the Ministry of Magic later on, we can only assume that if the quintapeds are indeed the transfigurated MacBoons, they are happy to live their lives as this creature. Although, I find it very unlikely that any human would willingly want to live as such a creature. In my humble opinion, this story is just a vivid piece of imagination to explain why all of the sudden, two wizard families disappeared from the face of the earth.

Credit:

https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Acromantula

https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Basilisk

https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Lethifold

https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Manticore

https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Quintaped