Harry Potter: The 10 Most Mischievous Magical Creatures From The Wizarding World

The wizarding world of Harry Potter features a number of unique and exciting magical creatures. Throughout the series, Harry and his friends encounter a variety of beasts such as Thestrals, Dementors, and dragons.

With the current focus of the wizarding world firmly on the Fantastic Beasts spin-off series, some of these creatures have grown to be just as beloved as the franchise’s protagonists. While many of these magical beings are highly dangerous, some have a mischievous side too.

Dougal The Demiguise

Demiguise bear a resemblance to monkeys but have a long coat of silver fur which allows them to turn invisible. The creatures also have prophetic abilities and are able to see the near future to detect incoming dangers. In the first Fantastuc Beasts movie, Newt owns a Demiguise named Dougal who escapes from his suitcase and sets up camp in a department store.

Despite showing a nurturing side by looking after the Occamy, Dougal is certainly mischievous as he causes havoc in the store, knocking things over as he tries to evade Newt and the others. Rather than being inherently troublesome, Dougal causes mischief inadvertently, which is what makes him such a lovable addition to the franchise.

Grindylow

Prior to the second task of the Triwizard tournament, Harry manages to figure out he will be facing merpeople in the Black Lake. He mainly worries about how he can hold his breath underwater for an hour but little does he know, that’s not the only challenge he faces.

When Harry tries to save Ron and the others in the lake, he is ambushed by an angry horde of Grindylow who try to drag him down. These are small horned water demons with tentacles and they have a surprisingly strong grip. Grindylows’ “mischief” manifests itself more as aggression, but a young Newt did keep some in a jar while at Hogwarts which suggests particularly skilled wizards can get the better of them.

Buckbeak The Hippogriff

In the third Harry Potter movie, Hagrid introduces his class to Buckbeak the Hippogriff. Despite being a majestic and somewhat intimidating creature, Buckbeak does have an inherently kind nature. He is integral in Harry and Hermione’s rescue of Sirius and it’s a shame he doesn’t reappear in any of the later movies.

Harry gains Buckbeak’s respect almost instantly and is able to ride on the magical creature’s back which is a favorite Harry Potter scene, according to Reddit. When Draco insults Buckbeak, though, the Hippogriff shows an angrier side and lashes out, which shows he’s not afraid to break the rules when he has to. Buckbeak is also quite taken with the dead ferrets Hermione is carrying when rescuing him, despite the tension of the escape.

Grawp The Giant

Hagrid introduces the Golden Trio to his half-brother, Grawp, during their fifth year at Hogwarts. While Hagrid is a half-giant, Grawp is a full-grown giant who towers over him and has to be kept restrained in the Forbidden Forest.

Grawp is particularly taken with Hermione, which leads to some fun comedy moments with Ron defending her honor. The giant’s sweet and child-like nature is seen when he passes a dismantled bike handlebar to Hermione and waits for her to ring the bell. There are several moments when he is seen chasing birds and trying to squash them with his hands and although he clearly doesn’t understand his own strength, he is mostly benevolent and fun-loving.

Gnomes

Gnomes are a common garden pest in the wizarding world but have only appeared in the original books so far. In the second book, the Burrow’s garden is infested with these pesky creatures, and Harry is taught about de-gnoming. The Weasley twins also displayed a garden gnome on top of the Christmas tree one year.

Gnomes like to dig up gardens and gleefully trip up wizards or even bite their ankles. Garden gnomes burrow holes in the ground, which makes them a real nuisance to the magical homeowner.

Pickett The Bowtruckle

Bowtruckles are small, green stick-insect creatures who are particularly skilled at picking locks. Despite not being a creature capable of speech, Pickett from Fantastic Beasts is certainly a lovable character with a lot of personality and is one of the best creatures from Newt’s case.

Pickett accompanies Newt almost everywhere in his top pocket and is fiercely loyal to his owner. In a particularly endearing scene, Pickett is visibly annoyed when Newt almost gives him away to Gnarlak and isn’t shy in making sure he knows it. The Bowtruckle’s mischievous personality is clear to see when he sticks his tongue out at Newt.

Dobby The House-Elf

While many Dobby scenes were cut from the movies, he is one of the most beloved characters in Harry Potter. As soon as he turns up at Privet Drive, it’s clear he’s going to cause a whole host of trouble for Harry. In his determination to keep Harry away from Hogwarts, Dobby does many mischievous (and sometimes dangerous) things, regardless of the consequences.

Dobby sets Harry up when he drops a cake on Mrs. Mason and he later seals the gateway to Platform 9¾; he even goes as far as to try and injure the boy wizard with a rogue bludger in order to try and send him back to the Muggle world. But although Dobby’s actions are reckless and ill-advised at times, he always has Harry’s best interests at heart. Dobby’s mischievous streak is seen again later in the series when he dismantles a chandelier at Malfoy Manor in order to “maim or seriously injure” the trio’s captors.

Cornish Pixies

Even this creature’s name suggests it’s going to be mischievous, and they certainly don’t disappoint. The hapless Professor Lockhart releases a cage of Cornish Pixies into his class in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. When the Pixies start destroying the classroom and terrorizing the students, Lockhart runs for cover and leaves Hermione to deal with the situation.

The Pixies may look harmless and innocent but they delight in causing mayhem. Destroying the Defence Against the Dark ArtscClassroom is just the start for the Pixies as they also lift Neville up by the ears and leave him dangling from a chandelier.

Nifflers

Following the first Fantastic Beasts movie, the Nifflers have become a fan-favorite magical creature. These beasts have a particular attraction to shiny objects and treasure, which is exactly what leads them into trouble.

When Newt is trying to track down his creatures across New York, one of the Nifflers is particularly troublesome. First, the creature causes mayhem in a bank, and then it tries to rob a jewellery store. Despite their love of all things shiny, though, Nifflers are fairly harmless and have an endearingly playful nature.

Peeves The Poltergeist

One Harry Potter book character the films leave out is Peeves the poltergeist. Peeves is probably the most mischievous of any being introduced in the wizarding world and is a physical embodiment of chaos and disorder.

The poltergeist loves nothing more than pranking the students at Hogwarts, as well as making caretaker Filch’s life hell. The only people Peeves seems to respect are Dumbledore and the Bloody Baron. Peeves also loves getting involved in gossip and rumors at the school as seen when he taunts Harry after he is suspected to be the heir of Slytherin. Peeves isn’t a particularly important character but it’s disappointing his mischief didn’t make it into the movies.

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