Questions about Thestrals

[innocentSirius]

i have participated in a discussion like this before on another site. how i remember our conclusion to be was that death had to sink in. with harry, his parents deaths never sunk in because all he really remembers is the light. plus, his mother shielded him...so maybe he couldn't really see it.

basically, cedric's death is what triggered him being able to see the thestrals. he was there, remembered it, brought him back to his family, and had to relive it a few times to tell people exactly what happened.

[Fortescue]

yeah, it probably didn't have time to 'sink in' in the fourth book...either that or he just didn't notice, being preoccupied with other things...

[pegoheart144]

Originally Posted by Fortescue

yeah, it probably didn't have time to 'sink in' in the fourth book...either that or he just didn't notice, being preoccupied with other things...

He was just working on autopilot. He hadn't had time to process the information.

[sindatur]

I think Fortescue (and a few others) got it.

Baby Harry didn't actually witness the death of his parents, he never saw them fall and was also probably too young to process the information. Check the the Dementor flashbacks, you hear voices and see the green flash, no dead bodies.

GoF Harry saw Cedric get killed and had an awful lot of other stuff to take in in such a short period of time, he was in complete shock, none of his sensors were firing properly. So either he was still in shock on the carriage ride back to the train, or he was preoccupied and simply didn't notice that on the trip back there was now critters pulling the "horseless" carriages. Maybe if he had been paying attention and looked out the window, he would have seen the Thestrals.

[shanobyl]

ok here's just a thought.

when harry, luna, hermione, ron, neville and ginny travelled by the testrals when they were going to the Ministry of Magic, didnt anybody spot them (or isnt there a huge chance) that somebody might spot them as they reached they decended to their destionation? see, only the thestrals were invisible (at least to those who havent witnessed death) but the six of them were not under any invisibility cloak or anything like that...

isnt that dangerous considering the circumstances?

[rons-lover]

Yes, you're right... Someone definetely could have(And very well may have) spotted them. But that wasn't and isn't the cheif concern. I mean now everyone knows Voldy's back so that's way more important then muggles seeing children flying on nothing...

LOL That's a VERY funny though though.! I wonder... hehe

[ivory]

Haha, good thought!

Now that I think about it, it was definently dangerous for them to just go off like that. they should have thought about it, but i guess Harry was in such a hurry, he couldn't have cared less if anyone saw them anyway.

[Pinkerton]

That was something that came up in my mind as well..

..Though it was dark out, wasn't it? That could make it harder to spot them. Unless you were looking hard, I would think they might be a bit hard to spot. Plus it was mentioned that Dumbledore has traveled on a Thestral before, so maybe to wizards at least it wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see people traveling like that.

Granted they knew what a Thestral was.. it might be an odd scene of they didn't. XD

[sydleparr]

The death we know most about in harry's 4th year was Cedrics. Then the next year he started seeing thestrals. BUT, was he not in the presence or in sight of his parents own death? The closest to this answer i saw was in the movie. #1. She was hit while holding harry. then while he was sitting somewhere in the house he put the avada attemped on him. does this count as a death?

[Darjeeling Teacup]

I didn't read all the posts so sorry if someone's already mentioned this : Didn't Harry see Professor Quirrel die is PS/SS?

Doesn't that death count? So, he really should have been aware of them at the end of year 1.

And seriously why hasn't anyone mentioned that the "horseless carriages" are actually driven be the thestrals? At any point in their school time at Hogwarts?

[Lupinsgirl12]

ok I think all of your questions have been covered, but I just have something interesting to add in about thestrals. I was reading my Greek Mythology book (yet again ) and I noticed that when Hades (the god of the dead and the underworld) kidnapped Persephone (the daughter of Demeter, goddes of the harvest) he took her to the underworld on a chariot harnessed to black horses. I just thought that was interesting. hehe

[Hammi]

Does that mean you think the threstals are going to carry all the students off to the under world? Actually sounded crazy to me at first but now that I'm thinking about it, its not that far fetched. Maybe Voldy will have some power over them and carry someone off to the viel or him or ok i'm rambeling now I'll stop.

[Hpmons]

When reading the part where Hagrid introduces thestrals to Harry's class, there were three things I noticed:
- Apart from Harry and Neville "a stringy Slytherin boy" could see the thestrals. Later, Theodore Nott is described as "a weedy-looking boy". Was it him that could see the thestrals?
- Hagrid was explaining the uses of Thestrals, and said they dont do much at Hogwarts "unless Dumbledore's taking a long journey an' don' want to Apparate". I cant think if it has relavance in future books, but its a interesting point to make.
- Hagrid could see the Thestrals, as he pointed them out when they were coming. Who has he seen who has died?

[Puffskein]

It probably was Nott - there aren't that many Slytherin boys.

Did Hagrid see his father die? We don't know, do we?

[Pucko]

1. Why aren't they mentioned in Magical Beasts? Maybe they are and I've just forgotten, but I don't think they were. The book mentioned "winged horses," but the thestrals are quite a bit more than that, aren't they? They're sort of part-dragon, and very skeletal.
they are mentioned under winged horses...it says they are rare, have the power of invisibility and are considered unlucky...not much but still there
2. Why couldn't Harry see the thestrals before? He's seen death--he watched his parents die. Do you have to REMEMBER the death you witnessed in order to see thestrals?
JK said that the death has to sink in
3. What about ghosts? If they never witnessed a death in their life until their own, can they see the thestrals?
a person who becomes a ghost hasn't really died...remember what Nick said he doesn't know what it's like to die
5. Do you have to actually be present when they die? If you were a wizard fond of Muggle TV and saw a public execution, would you suddenly start seeing thestrals?
again, the death has to sink in so it probably has to be someone you know

also i assume hagrid saw his father die...can't think of anyone else he might have seen

[Alorra Spinnet]

I think the reason that Hagrid can see the Thestrals is due to being a member of the Order the first time around. He most likely saw plenty of people die.

[Black Dog]

what about at the end of Goblet of fire??!! harry had already witnessed cedric's death, bu they rode the carriages back to the hogsmeade station...why couldnt harry see them then?? he had JUST WITNESSED cedrics death days before...

american version (pgs 725-726):

"'You'd better hurry up!' Ron called loudly after her. 'The carriages'll be here in a minute!'......Hermione turned away, smiling at the horseless carriages that were now trundling toward them up the drive, as Krum, looking surprised but gratified, signed a fragment of parchment for Ron."

why couldn't harry see the thestrals then??

[Hufflepuffy]

I just finished book four, and I noticed this as well! I think it was a mistake by JKR. Some people think that death takes time to sink in. Sink in, schmink in, I say She didn't have to add the part about the carriages in. It doesn't bother me too much, I just think it's funny.

[pegoheart144]

JK Rowling herself said that it takes time for the death to sink in. Odviously she didn't want to cover the Thestral topic that late in book four. It made sense for her to wait until five so she could cover it fully.

[HP_Luis]

Originally Posted by pegoheart144

JK Rowling herself said that it takes time for the death to sink in. Odviously she didn't want to cover the Thestral topic that late in book four. It made sense for her to wait until five so she could cover it fully.

But Maybe Harry did'nt see the thestrals before because he (maybe) didn't see the moment his mum was killed, i mean he was doing something else like playing or something... I think thats why.



ACCIO Book 6