Why Harry Potter Couldn’t See The Thestrals Earlier, Explained

There are many magical creatures in Harry Potter, but one of the most mysterious is the Thestrals. They’re winged horses with skeletal bodies that provide an intense visual throughout the movies. While they don’t appear often in the Harry Potter franchise, they’re certainly memorable due to how unique they are and the stipulations that allow people to even see them in the first place.

Harry Potter is one of the characters capable of seeing them, which is how they are introduced to fans in the movies. However, many fans of the franchise believe the Thestrals provide a plot hole in the movies, but that’s not the case. There’s a specific reason why Harry can only see them when he does.

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What Are The Thestrals In Harry Potter?

Thestrals are used to transport people to Hogwarts once they arrive on school grounds, but to the eyes of most students, the carts appear to be being transported on their own. That’s because Thestrals are invisible to most wizards and witches, with these dark horses only becoming visible once someone has witnessed death. They’re powerful characters, and that is shown by the fact that the core of the Elder Wand is a tail hair from a Thestral.

Thestrals are rarely domesticated as they tend to attack anyone when they feel provoked. However, Hogwarts managed to have a group of them that Hagrid has looked after and trained to the point where they are used in specific roles and kept on the grounds. However, because most of the students cannot see them it doesn’t make much of an impact in that instance as they are hidden from many people, outside of a select few characters.

When Does Harry Potter See The Thestrals?

Harry begins to see the Thestrals at the start of Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix when he arrives at Hogwarts. They’re getting ready to be taken, and he questions why Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger cannot see them. They can’t see them at that time because they hadn’t witnessed any deaths at that point, but Harry is no longer in the same position coming off the back of the Goblet of Fire. During that tournament, he witnesses Cedric Diggory being murdered by Lord Voldemort at the end of the movie. Of course, he’s the only person who witnesses what takes place, which leads to many other wizards and witches questioning whether or not he’s telling the truth about the return of the Dark Lord. However, those who can also see Thestrals are able to instantly trust his word because him being able to see them works as proof that Diggory’s death was legitimate.

Other characters are able to see the Thestrals, though, which helps Harry understand the situation. Luna Lovegood witnessed her mother die during a magical experiment that went wrong, while Neville Longbottom had seen his grandfather die and could also view them. Rubeus Hagrid was another character capable of seeing the Thestrals, which only enhanced his love and knowledge of magical creatures.

Why Can’t Harry Potter See The Thestrals Beforehand As He Has Witnessed Death?

Harry being able to see these creatures after Cedric’s death makes perfect sense as it’s a death that he sees firsthand as Lord Voldemort returns. However, Harry is present for both his mother and Professor Quirrell’s deaths as well, which has led to many fans being confused as to how Harry wasn’t able to view them throughout his entire life. While it seems like a potential plot hole, there are reasons why those two deaths didn’t have a profound impact on him to witness a Thestral.

Harry was just a baby when he saw Lord Voldemort kill his mother, which connected the two of them together forever. His age meant that he wasn’t able to process the death at the time, as it wasn’t until he was older he understood what that moment meant, and by the time he had that understanding, he wasn’t witnessing the death. Harry could understand the complexities of death when it came to Professor Quirrell, with Harry being the one who came face to face with him in his final moments. However, due to the battle that takes place between them, Harry is knocked out and, therefore, doesn’t witness the death firsthand as he’s then taken out of the room to be treated by doctors.

That’s what makes Cedric’s death such a profound one for Harry, as it truly shapes who he is. Not only does it allow him to see the Thestrals, but it also changes him throughout the rest of the franchise as Harry is forced to mature quickly after witnessing such a horrible act. The Harry Potter story twists massively from this point, becoming much darker, and in many ways, the Thestrals are a sign of that.

Harry Potter

Created by

J.K. Rowling

First Film

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Latest Film

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane