Merpeople

Merpeople
Name	Merpeople Siren Selkie Merrow
Originated	Greece
Locations found	Throughout the world including Scotland and Ireland
Ministry of Magic Classification	Beast (XXXX)
Book information
First appearance	Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (only appearance)

The merpeople are a wizarding beast that dwells underwater.

About

Merpeople are a mysterious group of creatures whose habits and customs are quite secretive. They are thought to have originated in Greece according to the oldest records. Those that can communicate with merpeople, who can only speak Mermish above the water, say that they have habitats that vary in size according to where they live with some being elaborate constructions. The more beautiful merpeople live in warmer waters; these mermaids are featured frequently in Muggle literature. The less beautiful reside in cold waters including the selkies in Scotland and merrows in Ireland.

Their classification of XXXX isn't due to an aggressive nature but because they should be treated with respect. Designated lakes and rivers have been given to the merpeople to reside in which are protected with Muggle-repelling charms. They happily stay within their boundary.

History

In the twelfth century, the Wizards' Council first tried to classify non-wizard creatures into a beast or being to integrate them into the process of creating and upholding wizarding laws. Burdock Muldoon considered a being to be a creature that walks on two legs which merpeople did not have despite possessing the necessary intelligence. When beings were redefined under Elfrida Clagg, they still failed to reach the criteria because they even though they can speak and understand human languages, they can only speak Mermish above the water. Centaurs refused tk attend Clagg's Council in protest because they felt Merpeople should have been considered beings.

In the later seventeenth century, merpeople were invited to attend a discussion with the International Confederation of Wizards to decided precisely how many magical creatures had to be concealed to uphold the International Statute of Secrecy. After seven weeks of discussion with other creatures, the merpeople agreed with everyone other than goblins that twenty-seven species had to be hidden.

In the nineteenth century, Grogan Stump reached a definition that granted the being status to merpeople. Under the criteria that a being is a creature that can understand and shape wizarding laws, they were invited to attend a meeting and they communicated with the help of translators. However, a year later they requested the beast classification because they did not want to share the being classification with Dark creatures.

In 1949, merpeople caught a Hippocampus near the shores of Scotland and domesticated it. They have also been known to turn the Lobalug into weapons. Merpeople consider the Plimpy to be a pest and will tie their legs together so they can't steer.