| “ | Perhaps you thought us pretty talking horses? NO! We are a race apart and PROUD to be so! | „ |
| ~ Bane to Hermione. |
Centaurs are supporting characters in the Wizarding World franchise. Spiteful of wizards who have allowed them to live alongside them, and incredibly spiteful towards Muggles who cannot see them, the centaurs are a species from ancient Greece.
Nature[]
In pre-Biblical times, centaurs in Muggle literature were depicted justly: violent, aggressive, ill-mannered and arrogant, the centaurs have left this impression on human imagination for ages. However, as time went by, and Muggle life got easier through technology, Muggle imaginations changed (for instance, fairies changed from the noble human-sized Fair Folk to the inch-sized winged tricksters) and so the violent, monstrous centaurs were changed to the sleek, smooth "pretty talking horses," this portrayal the real centaurs greatly despise. It is unknown how Muggles came to be aware of centaurs given they cannot see them, but we know that throughout history various individual Muggles and wizards interacted; and this could no doubt be the origin of Muggle knowledge of magic creatures such as centaurs.
The centaurs as a species are aggressive and they make no discrimination between who visits them. They would even attack children. However, nobler centaurs do exist, such as Firenze, who protects the humans entering the Forbidden Forest. They are very territorial and aggressive even to other inhabitants of the forest, as they did not approve of Grawp's presence. The centaurs were acquainted with Hogwarts' gamekeeper Hagrid and had a friendship with him, never objecting with his visits in the woods, usually to head to the acromantula colony to see his old friend Aragog.
The centaurs have distinctive equine bodies, each having a different color. This seems to differ which is most aggressive. In an almost racial discrimination, the centaurs with darker equine bodies are more aggressive, whereas the ones with lighter bodies are gentler. But this is not always so.
Biography[]
In 1991, the colony of centaurs living the Forbidden Forest in Scotland was disturbed by the sudden arrival of Lord Voldemort, through a hooded figure lurking around in the nights and killing unicorns. The centaurs remained unwilling to intervene and avoided Voldemort. Bane and Ronan greeted Hagrid, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger upon meeting them during their search for the second attacked unicorn, as at that point they were not so territorial until the later slights from the Ministry of Magic. However, Bane and Ronan were furious at Firenze for saving Harry from Quirrell and especially for letting him ride on his back like a horse, displaying hostility towards humans.
In 1996, the centaurs were bothered by Professor Hagrid's return to Hogwarts from his journey to a colony of Giants, as he brought into the Forbidden Forest his Giant half-brother Grawp, who was not welcome by the centaurs. After Professor Trelawney was sacked by Hogwarts' High Inquisitor, Professor Dolores Umbridge, Firenze accepted to get hired by Headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore as the new Divination professor at Hogwarts. This caused great outrage in Firenze's colony, especially in Bane, resulting in Firenze being assaulted by the other centaurs, who tried to trample him to death, until Hagrid intervened with his crossbow and rescued him. Firenze was exiled from his herd by the other centaurs who saw this as a treachery in the making. Hagrid's intervention and his keeping of Grawp in the forest costed him his friendship with the centaurs, who told him to not come back, or else they would kill him. Hagrid, however, ignored their threats and kept entering the forest multiple times to see Grawp and Aragog.
Following Dumbledore's escape from Hogwarts, the centaurs had been about to attack Hagrid, Harry and Hermione upon discovering their presence in the Forbidden Forest. Their leader Magorian was not pleased with Hagrid's constant return in those woods, and considered killing him for ignoring the warnings. As always, Hagrid was not intimidated and defended Harry and Hermione as innocents, due to Bane and the majority wanting to kill them. But Magorian stated they were just "foals" and persuaded Bane and the others not to attack. Bane always seemed to be the most violent centaur and the most proud of his species. The centaurs gave Hagrid final warnings that he was no longer welcome in the Forbidden Forest, regardless of his friends living in there (Grawp, Aragog, and Fluffy). This caused anger in Hagrid, who protested at the centaurs for behaving like they owned the whole forest and criticizing Firenze's banishment, only making Bane angrier for Hagrid's meddling in the herd's affairs.
Later on the same year, after Hagrid was sacked, a violent skirmish took place in the Forbidden Forest, when the centaurs found Harry and Hermione "invading" it once again, this time accompanied by their Headmaster and High Inquisitor Professor Umbridge. The centaurs hated especially members of the Ministry of Magic, and upon hearing Umbridge citing the laws of the British wizarding community, Magorian scornfully identified her as a Ministry official and became more hostile for her arrogant and unwise behavior, whilst Harry and Hermione were terrified that she was going to get all three of them killed.
Magorian and his herd had a hostile confrontation with Umbridge, in which she behaved arrogantly and hatefully, insulting them by calling them "filthy half-breeds", "mules" and "uncontrolled animals", and claiming that human intelligence was above that of centaurs. This greatly angered the centaurs, who then attacked Umbridge, Harry, and Hermione with arrows, which were repelled by Umbridge's spell, and then assaulted Magorian with the Incarcerous Spell, further provoking the centaurs instead of intimidating them. Umbridge was immediately attacked by the others, who intially tried to kill her, but whilst Umbridge panicked she dropped her wand, and a centaur stepped on it, snapping it in half. The centaurs dragged Umbridge off to their den as their prisoner.
Before departing, some centaurs stayed behind and started arguing about taking Harry and Hermione with them, although Magorian and Ronan were more inclined in letting them off again, especially when Harry and Hermione defended themselves by saying that Umbridge forced them to return into the forest. Ronan, who was the least violent centaur after Firenze, believed the two to be innocent, but Bane was less forgiving and started arguing with Hermione about the pride of their race, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Grawp, who had become more and more upset about Hagrid's absence. The centaurs attacked Grawp with arrows, only for the latter becoming scared, flying into a rage and attacking them, causing them to choose to leave Harry and Hermione and retreat back to their camp.
It is unknown what happened to Umbridge during her time with the herd, but it is assumed that it was nothing good. She was freed by Professor Dumbledore, who personally went to the herd to rescue her, although Umbridge would not display any apparent feelings of gratitude towards him. She was so traumatized that she did not bother Hermione nor her visitors, whilst both of them were recovering at Hogwarts' hospital wing, and had a severe fear of centaurs ever since.
The centaurs showed a nobler side when they attended Professor Dumbledore's funeral the following year, in 1997; whilst avoiding the human mourners out of begrudged respect for the late headmaster, shot arrows harmlessly into the grass as a tribute.
In 1998, they showed cowardice by not attending the Battle of Hogwarts, whilst Firenze was the only centaur to fight with the humans, also as a staff member of the school. The centaurs stood firm and watched as Voldemort and his Death Eaters were finally departing from the Forbidden Forest, along with their captive Hagrid carrying the "corpse" of Harry Potter in tears. The centaurs were insulted by Hagrid who called them "cowards" and "mules" for not fighting and showed Bane Harry's body, asking him if he was happy then. This angered the centaurs but the final straw was when the amused Death Eaters mocked the centaurs, insulting them in their own home, whilst Voldemort ignored the scene and kept walking towards Hogwarts. The centaurs ultimately became so angry that they joined in and helped win the battle, redeeming themselves, being among the first to attack the Death Eaters during the battle's second wave.
After the battle, Firenze was welcomed back into his colony in the Forbidden Forest, as the other centaurs acknowledged that Firenze's pro-human leanings were not shameful, but honourable, and they allowed him to continue teaching their knowledge at Hogwarts as well.
