Harry Potter Update: Characters who have probably seen the Thestrals!
Anyone who is a fan of the Harry Potter franchise must be familiar with the term Thestrals. According to the terminology of the Rowling Realm, Thestrals are magical creatures that are visible to exclusive people. Everyone is not capable of seeing a Thestral. Thestral is a breed of winged horses that are black and have dragon-like features. Their origin is fascinating as the species is scarce in the wizarding world. However, there was a trained herd of the winged horses which resided in the Forbidden Forest. Wizards primarily used these creatures as a mode of transportation. But during the Battle of Hogwarts, these creatures attacked Lord Voldemort’s army of giants with the leadership of Buckbeak.
Moreover, a strand of hair from a Thestral is considered to be very powerful and is used as a core ingredient while making the Elder Wand. Whatever the case might be, not everyone is fortunate or unfortunate enough to have seen these magical creatures. According to the rules of the wizarding world, the individual who as witnessed and embraced death is the one who can see a Thestral. Here is a complete list of the characters from the HP Franchise, who have or might have seen the Thestrals!
The first and most obvious guess is Harry Potter himself. Being the protagonist of the franchise, he has embraced death multiple times. Moreover, he had faced and superceeded the wrath of Lord Voldemort when he was a mere baby. He was also a witness to the death of Cedric Diggory during the Triwizard tournament. After months, Harry could finally see a Thestral and later used it to travel to the Ministry of Magic with the hopes of saving Sirius Black.
Rubeus Hagrid is one of the few wizards who is entrusted with jobs that others might turn down instantly. Taking care of a Thestral, which was viewed as extremely dangerous by the Ministry of Magic, was one of these jobs. Hagrid was the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, and he trained and bred the herd of Thestrals. He also taught students to navigate a Thestral. Hagrid was a witness to numerous deaths, his father being one of them.
A villain who turned out to be a hero, Severus Snape’s character, moved everyone who watched or read the Harry Potter franchise. Though Snape has not mentioned the deaths, he has witnessed, but he can see Thestrals. This is probably because of him being the witness to The First Wizarding War.
Neville has been the butt of jokes in many instances because of his timid personality. However, his character turned out to be one of the most honest and brave characters in the entire franchise when he killed Nagini with Gryffindor’s sword. Believe it or not, Neville can see Thestrals. After he witnessed the death of his grandfather, Neville revealed that he could see the magical creatures.
Harry did not seem comfortable after he viewed the Thestrals, but Luna was the one who reassured him that it was natural for him to see one. Luna’s mother succumbed to a faulty experiment in Hogwarts, and after her demise, Luna was able to see Thestral. She even rode one with Harry and his gang!
These were the characters who have seen the Thestrals. Other characters like Albus Dumbledore and Bill Weasely are rumored to have seen the magical creatures. It is also assumed that several characters were able to see the Thestrals after the Battle of Hogwarts as they witnessed numerous deaths.
Source: Screenrant, WizardingWorld