Jarvey

Jarvey
Name	Jarvey
Locations found	British Isles North America
Ministry of Magic Classification	Beast (XXX)
Book information
First appearance	Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (only appearance)

A Jarvey is a wizarding beast in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. They look like an overgrown ferret but it is capable of human speech and is a very adept but brutal hunter.

About

Jarveys looks like overgrown ferrets. The species is native to the British Isles and North America. They live underground and hunt gnomes, their favourite thing to eat, but their diet also involves moles, voles and rats. Jarveys are used to de-gnome gardens but they have very brutal hunting methods so not everyone agrees with their use.

Jarveys are capable of human speech and are the only beast that is self-taught with others being trained by wizards. However, their language is very limited, with only the ability to repeat very rude, short phrases.

History

In the Middle Ages, a Muggle and Franciscan Monk, Brother Benedict found what he thought to be an overgrown ferret in a basil bush. It leapt at him, pulled him to the ground and shouted at him to "Get out of it baldy!" before biting him on the nose. Benedict wrote about what happened and the surviving manuscript was discovered by wizards, who realised that he had in fact saw a Jarvey hunting for gnomes.

In the twelfth century, the Chief of the Wizards' Council, Elfrida Clagg defined beings as those who could understand and speak human languages. She asked such beings to show up at the next meeting but a few creatures had very limited speech and caused havoc. Jarveys spent the day racing around the Council's chair legs and tearing at their ankles.

In 1811, the Wizards' Council classified Jarveys as a "beast" instead of a "being" because they aren't intelligent enough to understand or the shape the law.