"Matilda, the wisdom of the centaurs is admirable. The Ministry of Magic still follows Clause Two of Article Fifteen of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and regards centaurs as magical beings of 'near-human intelligence.' That is a mistake, and I also consider it a grave insult..." Allen's tone faltered a little. He carefully studied Matilda's expression and chose his words with caution. "I can't make decisions for the entire Ministry of Magic, and you can't make decisions for all centaurs, but if we don't take a more proactive attitude... we can at least have the British Ministry of Magic set the right example, and reclassify your group of centaurs as 'beings.' That would be far more symbolic, and it would let both us wizards and you centaurs live better lives. Don't make yourselves suffer more hardship just because you don't want to share the status of beings with dark creatures like hags, Hags, and Vampires."
Being, Beast, and Spirit were the three classifications the Ministry of Magic used after cataloguing all creatures in the magical world. This system was established in 1811 by Grogan Stump, the Minister of Magic at the time—the definition of a "being" was any creature with sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of magical society and to bear part of the responsibility in the process of making those laws; a "beast" referred to a creature without sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of magical society, and unable to bear responsibility in the process of making those laws; as for the last category, "spirit," it was not very well accepted by ghosts either. They constantly protested and complained that it made them seem already "past their prime," until Elfrida Clagg, then Chief of the Wizards' Council, redefined it, and only then did