The Harry Potter Compendium
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Lee Jordan: "And what would you say, Royal, to those listeners who reply that in these dangerous times, it should be 'Wizards first'?"
Kingsley Shacklebolt: "I'd say that it's one short step from 'Wizards first' to 'Purebloods first,' and then to 'Death Eaters'. We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving."
Kingsley Shacklebolt on the equality of humanity.[src]

Human is a term referring to a species of animal, for which the Latin name is Homo sapiens. Humans are omnivorous mammals that consist of wizards and witches, Squibs and Muggles. In the wizarding world, some humans have had children with non-human beings such as Veela, giants, and goblins, producing half-breeds. These half-breeds may be looked down upon by humans.

Description[]

Humans come in various shapes and sizes, and are one of the most variable species in the world in terms of physique. They are also claimed to be the most intelligent beings on Earth.

Physical description[]

Humans can be distinguished in terms of physical appearance, based on their appearance differences range in terms of:

  • Height
  • Weight
  • Skin colour
  • Hair colour
  • Hair length
  • Hair nature (curly, straight, frizzy...)
  • Different sized eyes, nose, arms, legs, hands, etc...

Categories[]

In the magical world, humans are usually placed in one of these categories:

Special authorities[]

Ministry of Magic Latin Logo

The Ministry of Magic's logo- a symbol of the authority of humans.

Permission to carry a wand[]

Humans, unlike other magical species, are allowed to carry wands.

Controversy with other species[]

Non-human species are not permitted by the Ministry of Magic to carry a wand. This led Barty Crouch Sr.'s house-elf Winky being freed, and started much aggression between goblins and humans over the rights to use wands. Why only humans reserve the right to own a wand is unknown. It seems that humans are the only beings that can create wands (seeing as all the known wandmakers were undoubtedly human). This is similar to how a goblin is the only being that can make a true impenetrable sword, such as Godric Gryffindor's. It is unknown if there are any dangers of non-humans carrying a wand, since Muggles are known not to be able to use wands, although they have no magical power to channel through it. Knowingly giving a wand to a Muggle would likely violate the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

Ministry of Magic[]

As humans are supposedly the smartest race in the world, they claim rights over all magic laws.[3] These are created and enforced by the Ministries of Magic of various magical countries around the world. Here, human wizards and witches have authority over all other beings.

File:Hagrid olympe.jpg

Half-giants Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime.

Variations[]

In the wizarding world, many variations of humans exist, (often known as half-breeds) including humans. They are permitted to carry wands and practise human-based magic, despite part of their heritage being non-human. Variations of part-humans include:

  • Half-Veelas[4]
  • Half-giants
  • Part-trolls (apparently, although if true, how or why this occurs is unknown)[5]
  • Half-goblins
  • Part-vampires
  • Werewolves, though not necessarily half-breeds, are human except on the full moon and can (if they should choose) live with humans and have many of the same basic rights as humans, such as owning a wand (eg. Remus Lupin).
  • Metamorphmagi
  • Parselmouth
  • Seers

Behind the scenes[]

  • When speculating whether Voldemort had died or not following his attack on Harry Potter, Rubeus Hagrid stated that he didn't think there was enough human left in Voldemort for him to die.[6]

Appearances[]

External links[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Witch Rolanda Hooch was mentioned to have yellow eyes resembling a falcon.
  2. Wizard Voldemort had eyes of this colour.
  3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
  4. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Fleur Delacour states that her mother is half-Veela, indicating that these "half-breeds" do indeed exist.
  5. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ron mentions his theory that one of the Snatchers he escaped from might have been part troll, indicating that such "half-breeds" may exist, although he may have been joking.
  6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 4 - (The Keeper of the Keys)

See also[]

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