Hawke shakes his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "To most of you, I'm sure it looks that way. But the same creatures that are sharing the clearing with us and the hippogriffs are the same creatures that pull the carriages every year." He gestures as he talks, leading the class -- those comfortable enough to -- towards the thestrals, stopping a short distance away.

"These creatures are known as thestrals. There's a very good reason most of you can't see them, can anyone tell me what it is?"