Extra Homework

No one likes textbooks. They're usually dry and boring and never have as much information as you need. But be careful what you wish for. Harry's Care of Magical Creatures textbook is the opposite of your average everyday tome. It's hairy, has sharp teeth, and as far as the information it contains…well, we were too afraid to get close enough to find out.

Although the book is mostly used to show off the special effects of the time, and to include some much-needed bits of comic relief when the dark plot needs a break, the book itself stands in for a larger theme. School gets harder for everyone as they get older. For a wizard, "harder" means the added danger of dismemberment.