Salamander (XXX) - The Salamander is a fire-dwelling lizard. It is white in colour, but can appear blue or scarlet, depending on the heat of its home flames. It is able to survive up to six hours outside of flame if fed peppers frequently. One case-study showed that a Salamander lasted seven on Thai Dragon Peppers, but this has not been replicated as of yet. If the fire from which the Salamander was borne is extinguished, the Salamander too perishes. The blood of the salamander contains curative properties. These are not to be confused with mundane newts or salamanders, as did the famous Galen. In his skepticism, he threw one of the mundane salamanders into the fire and watched it burn, thus basing his belief that these creatures existed only in fantasy. The first flame-retardant cloth manufactured by muggles in the Rennaisance was called Salamander Wool. It had nothing to dowith real salamanders, owing its properties to the mineral asbestos.

Sea-Serpent (XXX) - Found in every great ocean, the sea-serpent is the subject of many false tales in which muggles are killed by the creatures. In actuallity, these creatures are considered rather peaceful, despite their alarming appearances: It possesses a horselike head and a snakelike body which is covered in blue-green scales. Overall, the serpent reaches over a hundred feet in length.

Shrake (XXX) - This fish is found exclusively in the Atlantic ocean and it is said that it was created as a result of a dispute between muggle fisherfolk and ocean-going wizards. The sharp tines covering the shrake's body decimate any nets unlucky enough to catch a school of these creatures.

Snidget (XXXX) - The Snidget is a small, spherical bird which can fly with amazing agility, changing speed and direction almost instantaneously. Its golden feathers and red, jewel-like eyes are so prized that at one time the Snidget was hunted almost to extinction. The fact that Snidgets became such an integral part of the game of Quidditch (and usually died when they were caught) didn't help matters either. The Snidget became protected and there are now severe penalties for harming or even capturing one, hence its XXXX classification. Snidget reserves have been set up worldwide, and a magical device, the Golden Snitch, has replaced the live bird in Quidditch.

Sphinx (XXXX) - Another remnant of ancient Egyptian magic, the Sphinx is a creature who possesses the head of a human on the body of a lion. In the ancient culture, the Sphinx was associated with royalty, fertility, and life after death. Its image was also long associated with the flooding of the Nile - bringing life to the parched desert lands surrounding. The primary occupation of the Sphinx is guardianship, paired with riddling. Highly intelligent, the Sphinx comes up with riddles that range from easy to extremely difficult depending on what it is guarding. Muggles percieved this creature as a source of senseless violence and destruction, but that was often the result of an unfortunate encounter wherein the Muggle attempted to force his or her way into the confines of the Sphinx's sacred confidence. Sphinxes are indeed dangerous to those who wish to test their wits and fail. These creatures have migrated from Egypt to Greece, and are found wherever they are persuaded a challenging object in need of guardianship lies. Greek Sphinxes have been known to possess wings, a characteristic that their Egyptian cousins lack.

Streeler (XXX) - Giant African snail that changes color every hour. Its venom will kill and shrivel vegetation and can kill Horklumps. Its ability to change color and utility in Horklump-cidic potion making has earnt this otherwise unattractive snail a place as a pet in some wizarding communities, although the risk of ruining the gardens relegates them to stone-bound paddocks.

Tebo (XXXX) - This warthog is found in Africa. It possesses the ability to become invisible, making it difficult to catch or evade depending on its intentions. Tebo hide is used in wizard garments and has protective properties.

Thestrals (XXX) - Thestrals- (winged horses) Far from the mythological Pegasus, thestrals strike fear, rather than awe, in the hearts of man. This fear of thestrals is, however, much unfounded, for, unlike the Grim that they are compared to, thestrals are not an omen of danger. Perhaps the most likely reason people fear these meatless, black, skeletal horses, beyond their appearance, is that many cannot see them. These creatures can only by seen by those who have seen death, a dreadful enough concept, and one that may have led to them being connected to bad omens. Tamed thestrals are, however, extremly safe, they eat raw meat, but would not attack a human. Possesing an amazing sense of direction, thestrals can always find their way. The largest domesticated herd in Britain resides at Hogwarts, and these beasts pull the chariots from the Hogwarts Express to the school and back, transporting the students.

Troll (XXXX) - In general, Trolls are fearsome - towering up to twelve feet in height with extreme strength and lack of wits. This combination makes them highly dangerous. They communicate mostly in grunts, but the rare troll has been able to grasp single word phrases. There are three types of trolls: Mountain, Forest, and River. Mountain trolls are bald with pale grey skin, and are by far the most malicious. Forest trolls are pale grey-green and some even have some unkempt hair. River trolls are purple and hairy with horns on their heads, and prefer to live under bridges where they harrass muggles and livestock attempting to cross. They are strictly carnivorous and will eat anything so long as it is meat.

Unicorn (XXXX) - Resembling a white horse with a single horn upon its forehead when fully grown, this beautiful creature symbolizes purity and goodness. The foals are golden for the first three months of life, then turn silver until their second year upon which they become completely white. They are hornless until four years of age. Their hooves remain golden throughout life. The horn, blood, and hair of a unicorn are all highly magical. These creatures avoid the non-magical, and are much more likely to allow the approach of a witch than a wizard. According to the famous Greek Physician Ctesias, this creature was originally native to India - the one that he described had a red head, a white body, and blue eyes with an eighteen inch long horn which was white at its base, black in the middle, and red at the tip. When the horn was fashioned into a cup, any drink taken from it would be purified despite poisonous properties. This drink also was known to cure serious disease. Later, the Roman naturalist, Pliny's differed in that the unicorn had the head of a deer, elephant's feet, and the tail of a boar. This specimen was highly violent and possessed a black horn. Later thinkers believe that Pliny might have encountered a Rhinoceros. In the medieval ages, Unicorns featured heavily in stories and muggles started actively hunting them, using innocent girls as bait. At that time, the magical community came together to provide refuges for these creatures, and no muggle has sighted one since the 18th century. Their numbers, having always been modest, have returned to levels of ancient times.

Vampires (being/XXXXX) - Vampires are most often associated with Romania and Transylvania, and treatment of these creatures is handled by the Ministry of Magic. Though they are hated and feared by many, possessing a pale and gaunt appearance, products such as blood lollipops are sold for their consumption. In general, Vampires cannot resist the urge to seek out blood, but there are rare individuals who are decent and are constantly tortured in the search to find ways to improve their dark nature by carefully choosing victims and attempting to go for long periods without blood.
The vampires have been known by many names: nosferatu, algul and lamia, to name a few. They are found all over the world, and their appearances vary depending on their native origins. Chinese Wizards recognise them as red-eyed beasts with pink hair, whilst to the Greek they are snake-like creatures with the heads of women. In general, the vampire is a human who has risen from the dead to drink the blood of the living. No one knows who the first vampire was, or how these creatures came into existence, but the creation of a newborn or a fledgling is done through an exchange of blood. The human is first drained of his blood to the point of death, and then he must drink the offered blood of a vampire in order to turn.
The vampire, when fully mature in approximately five hundred years, is a powerful creature. Few ever make it to that age, for those who prove themselves to be dangerous to humanity are ruthlessly exterminated by Aurors or freelance bounty hunters. The Ministry of Magic, through its Code of Wand Use, denies the vampire the right to use a wand. (For those vampires who were originally Muggles, a wand would be useless anyway.) Most vampires would not need one, for they have their own powers which serve them well. These powers include: immortality, heightened senses, heightened strength and dexterity, flight, hypnosis, possession and the ability to communicate with and shapeshift into bats, rats, wolves and mice.
Though they may be powerful, they are not invincible. A great many ways exist to protect oneself against the vampire, including garlic and crosses. They are highly suspectible to sunlight and fire; both will burn the undead into ash with contact. Vampire hunters often undertake their exterminations during the daylight hours, for a vampire is forced into a deep, comatose slumber while the sun is in the sky. Though they cannot die again, they can be destroyed by a wooden stake (preferably made of ash or hawthorn) through the heart, exposure to sunlight or fire or decapitation. These creatures are not vulnerable to silver like werewolves, but they are vulnerable to old fashioned steel. They can be thwarted from rising from their graves by being made to lie face-down. Vampires also have a powerful fascination with counting: spread a large number of seeds in its path and it will very likely sit and count until the rays of dawn turn him into ash.
Vampires do not have a society of their own - there are no known covens, no vast and tangled webs of vampire politics where the ancients vie for control over the fledglings and all of humanity. The various Wizard governments throughout the world keep a very tight reign over these creatures, and even those who are tolerated face a great deal of prejudice and suspicion from those they encounter.
(Any person wishing to submit an application for a vampire character may do so, but please realise that such characters will be strictly reviewed and, even if the app is well-written, likely to be denied. The only vampires accepted will be adults - the staff of Hogwarts Express will not accept student vampires. When writing the background, be certain to give details as to what the vampire has done with his unlife up to the present day, how he has managed to avoid extermination and how he has managed to slake his bloodthirst.)

Veela (being) - Female demons found primarily in eastern Europe, these creatures have the ability to shapeshift into animal forms: swans, horses, snakes, or wolves. Their usual forms are that of beautiful young girls who dance under the light of the moon in misty robes. In their human forms they exert a power of feminine magnetism over anything male. Anyone unlucky enough to happen upon a group of Veela dancing is compelled to join the dance - often dancing past endurance and perishing of exhaustion. Fairy rings are created by these groups of Veela dancing - anyone stepping inside such a ring will experience bad luck or illness. Veela possess the powers of prophecy and healing, but also have a temperamental nature and will not tolerate lying or deceit, able to fling magical fire at their opponents and morphing into forms more suited to violence. Veela are capable of interbreeding with humans.