- Thestrals -

Hogwarts has a herd of thestrals in the Forbidden Forest and uses them to pull the carriages that transport students to and from the Hogsmeade train station. They are introduced to Care of Magical Creatures students in the fifth year under Hagrid. They are visible only to those who have witnessed and accepted a death. They are first introduced in the same year as Harry becomes able to see them. They are described as having blank, white, shining eyes, a dragonish face, great leathery wings and a skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse. They also have fangs and possess a well-developed sense of smell, which will lead them to carrion and fresh blood and they won't attack any human being unless they are bothered. Harry is able to see them in the fifth book because it took some time to accept Cedric's death and he hadn't seen Quirrel die because he was unconscious.

They are very interesting creatures!