Hogwarts staff

The following fictional characters are staff members and denizens of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books written by J.K. Rowling. The characters of Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and Rubeus Hagrid have their own articles. Dolores Umbridge is listed under Ministry of Magic. Remus Lupin and Alastor Moody are listed under Order of the Phoenix, while Barty Crouch, Jr (who impersonated Moody), and siblings Alecto and Amycus Carrow are listed under Death Eater.

Teachers and staff

Phineas Nigellus Black

Template:HP character Phineas Nigellus Black is the great-great-grandfather of Sirius Black, and a former headmaster of Hogwarts. Sirius claims that Phineas Nigellus was the least popular headmaster Hogwarts ever had. Phineas' portrait hangs in the head master's office along with the portraits of the other ex-headmasters and headmistresses. Like the other portraits in the headmaster's office, the painting of Phineas helps the current headmaster. Dumbledore addresses the portrait as if it were the living Nigellus himself.

He does not get along well with his great-great-grandson, young people, or most people for that matter. He did seem somewhat upset to find out Sirius, the last male member of the Black family, was dead, for dynastic or emotional reasons. He is unusual in being a character who openly criticises Harry's often rash behaviour in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. A second portrait of Phineas hangs in the Black family home at 12 Grimmauld Place. Like other characters in portraits in the wizarding world, Phineas can travel between his portraits.

In Order of the Phoenix, Harry uses the bedroom where a portrait of Phineas is hanging, and Phineas gives him messages from Dumbledore. His voice can sometimes be heard coming from the frame when he is not in it, making sarcastic comments. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione Granger removed the portrait from 12 Grimmauld Place and took it with the trio in their quest for Horcruxes. It was kept in her beaded bag so that Phineas could not see where they were. Phineas Nigellus is upset by the lack of respect with which the trio treats him, but he does provide them with information about events at Hogwarts, and how Dumbledore destroyed a Horcrux. It is revealed through Snape's memories that Phineas Nigellus had been aiding Snape and Dumbledore so that they could find the trio. After Voldemort's fall, Phineas said that the Slytherin's contribution in the cause should not be forgotten, referring to his own contribution and the participation of Snape, Slughorn, and the Malfoys.

Argus Filch

Template:HP character Argus Filch is the caretaker of Hogwarts. While he is not a wholly evil character, he is certainly both short- and ill-tempered, which has made him very unpopular with the student body. His knowledge of the secrets and shortcuts of the castle is almost unparalleled. The only people who have known more were the Marauders and the Weasley twins. He has been known to favour almost sadistically harsh punishments, leading to his alliance of himself with Dolores Umbridge when she imposes such, and to have an obsessive dislike of mud, animate toys, and all other things that might interfere with his creation of an immaculately clean Hogwarts.

Filch is revealed to be a Squib in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Harry accidentally discovers he is trying to teach himself basic magic from a Kwikspell correspondence course. His inability to use magic in a setting where it would greatly help his duties and the fact that students are learning magic all around him are likely causes of his bitterness. Nonetheless, Filch is at least able to use wizarding devices that have their own innate magic (such as the Secrecy Sensor used in Book 6). Filch appears in the seventh book to complain that students are out of bed – evidently his principal complaint throughout the series. He is promptly informed that the students are on the move because the school is readying for war and is told to find Peeves. He is then ordered to oversee the evacuation of younger students.

Filch owns a cat named Mrs Norris to which he has a particular and possessive attachment; perhaps his only such attachment. She acts as a hallway monitor or spy for Filch: if she observes students engaging in suspicious activity or out of bed after curfew, Filch arrives in seconds. She has been known to follow Hagrid everywhere when he goes about to the school, apparently under Filch's orders. According to Rowling, there is nothing particularly magical about Mrs. Norris, other than her being "...just an intelligent (and unpleasant) cat." It is the ambition of many Hogwarts students to "give [her] a good kick". In the Chamber of Secrets case, Mrs Norris was petrified temporarily by the Basilisk. This caused Filch great distress.

Filch's first name derives from that of Argus, a figure in Greek mythology notable for having one hundred eyes. His family name comes from the informal verb "filch", which means to steal or obtain in an irregular manner.

David Bradley has portrayed Filch in all five of the Harry Potter Films as of 2007, and is slated to appear in the sixth movie. The movie of Goblet of Fire shows Filch lovingly dancing with Mrs Norris - a scene not in the book.

Filius Flitwick

Template:HP character Filius Flitwick is the Charms Master at Hogwarts and the head of Ravenclaw. Apart from his posts, Professor Flitwick has served Hogwarts in many ways outside the classroom. He used his magical skills to help decorate the Great Hall at Christmas time in the first book, as well as help guard the Philosopher's Stone by putting charms on a hundred keys so they can fly, making it difficult to find the key to the door of the next chamber. During Harry's second year, Flitwick helped Professor Sinistra carry a petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley to the hospital wing. He taught the front doors to recognise a picture of Sirius Black after his second break-in in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He helped patrol the perimeter of the maze for the third task of the Triwizard Tournament held in Harry's fourth year. He eventually removed most of the swamp that had been created within the school by Fred and George Weasley in the fifth book in a couple of seconds, though he had previously left the swamp untouched. He chose to leave a small patch of it because he said he thought it was "a good bit of magic," but it is possible that it was left as a tribute to the legendary Weasley twins.

Near the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Flitwick is summoned by Minerva McGonagall to ask Severus Snape to come to the aid of the Order of the Phoenix against the Death Eaters (Battle of The Tower). However, he is unable to do so, since Snape has stunned him. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows he helps to put protective charms around the castle to hinder Lord Voldemort and his oncoming Death Eaters, and later fights in the Battle of Hogwarts against Voldemort's intruders, battling Yaxley and later defeating Antonin Dolohov (Hermione states that Flitwick was once a duelling champion).

In the film adaptations, Flitwick is portrayed by Warwick Davis. In the third film, Davis plays a music conductor, credited simply as "Wizard". J. K. Rowling said: "I must admit, I was taken aback when I saw the film Flitwick, who looks very much like a goblin/elf (I’ve never actually asked the filmmakers precisely what he is), because the Flitwick in my imagination simply looks like a very small old man." However, Rowling mentions on her official website that Flitwick is human, with "a dash of goblin ancestry." His appearance on screen noticeably changes in the later films, taking the appearance of the Wizard conductor. He takes on a more human look, and many of the elf-like looks he had in the first two films are gone.

Gilderoy Lockhart

Template:HP character Gilderoy Lockhart is a narcissistic wizarding celebrity who has written many books on his fabulous adventures encountering dark creatures. In Chamber of Secrets, Lockhart is appointed as Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor. In his first lesson, he gives the class a quiz that centres on himself rather than the subject. He is unpopular amongst the staff, particularly Professor Snape. Hermione develops a crush on Lockhart, much to Ron's disgust. Harry dislikes him, in part after Lockhart believes that Harry flew to Hogwarts in a car to seek further attention, and that he was later handing out signed photos of himself. Lockhart is exposed as a fraud when he attempts to avoid entering the Chamber of Secrets by revealing to Ron and Harry that he never performed the amazing feats documented in his books, instead stealing other wizards' experiences and erasing their memories. His attempt to use the Obliviate Charm on Harry and Ron backfires due to his use of Ron's broken wand, and he suffers the loss of his own memory as a result.

In Order of the Phoenix, Harry comes across Lockhart in St Mungo's while visiting Mr Weasley at Christmas. Lockhart is slowly regaining his memory and childishly proud of being able to write in "joined-up letters." He still receives fan mail, although he has no idea why, and still enjoys signing autographs. Lockhart never fully recovers, despite all efforts to the contrary. He is harmless and guileless, yet still a danger to himself as he wanders aimlessly and cannot remember his identity or his location.

Rowling has said that Lockhart is the only character she has ever based on a real-life person. Lockhart was inspired by an (unrevealed) acquaintance who was "even more objectionable than his fictional counterpart" and "used to tell whopping great fibs about his past life, all of them designed to demonstrate what a wonderful, brave and brilliant person he was."

Lockhart appeared in the film version of Chamber of Secrets, and was played by Kenneth Branagh.

Minerva McGonagall

Template:HP character Minerva McGonagall is Deputy Headmistress, head of Gryffindor House, Transfiguration professor, and later Headmistress at Hogwarts, where she began teaching in December 1956. McGonagall considers Transfiguration to be amongst the most complex and dangerous magic taught at Hogwarts. McGonagall is first introduced in the opening chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, when she meets Albus Dumbledore at Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey (the home of Harry Potter's aunt and uncle).

McGonagall is described as a tall, rather severe-looking woman, with black hair typically drawn into a tight bun, only letting her hair down at the Yule Ball. She wears emerald green robes, a pointed hat that is cocked to one side, and always has a very prim expression. She is, according to Rowling, a "sprightly" 70-year-old. McGonagall wears square spectacles that match the markings around the eyes of her Animagus form of a silver tabby cat; she has the distinction of being the first Animagus introduced in the series and as one of the few registered (legal) Animagi of the century. Harry's immediate impression of her is of someone who is not to be crossed. Rowling has said McGonagall's birthday is October 4.

McGonagall is very keen on the success of the house Quidditch team. In the first book, after seeing Harry fly masterfully his very first time on a broom, she recommends him to fill the position of Seeker, even though first years are normally disallowed from playing. Furthermore, although a strict disciplinarian, she often assists Harry indirectly with activities that are not strictly within the rules of Hogwarts; for example, she allowed Harry and his friends to use the Transfiguration classroom to practice for tasks in the Triwizard Tournament. She promised Harry she would do everything in her power for him to achieve his goal of becoming an Auror, and she kept her promise. Despite her stern front, McGonagall has been known to display a range of emotions, which can often be a shock to her colleagues and students. Indeed, Harry claims that one of the worst sounds he ever heard was Professor McGonagall's scream at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on learning of Harry's apparent death.

It is revealed in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that McGonagall is a member of the Order of the Phoenix. She and Dolores Umbridge seem to have a mutual dislike for each other, as Umbridge continuously usurps more and more power from the staff and from Dumbledore and McGonagall in particular. This dislike manifests itself in both small ways, such as when McGonagall instructed Peeves in how to unscrew the bolts of a chandelier to cause it to fall and create another problem for Umbridge to solve. When McGonagall attempts to stop Umbridge and her fellow Ministry officials from unjustly taking Hagrid away by force, she pays for it when she is hit by four Stunning Spells. Taken to St Mungo's, McGonagall returns to the school towards the end of the book, though she temporarily uses a walking stick to support herself. However, McGonagall is an exceptional duellist, capable of holding her own against much younger and more agile Death Eaters, as seen in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and her many duels in the last book.

After the death of Dumbledore at the hands of Severus Snape in Half-Blood Prince, she again becomes the acting Headmistress of Hogwarts. In the series finale, she did not become headmistress at the start of term as expected; Snape was appointed by new Minister for Magic Pius Thicknesse, who was actually under the Imperius Curse and acting for Voldemort. Despite the many changes, she is kept as head of Gryffindor House. Before the Battle of Hogwarts, she goes to the Ravenclaw tower and finds Alecto Carrow stunned and her brother Amycus searching for Harry. When Amycus suggests hurting the students to compensate for his sister's state, McGonagall immediately intervenes. In response, Amycus spits in her face. Harry, who was present and hidden under his invisibility cloak reveals himself and uses the Cruciatus Curse on Amycus. Harry then informs McGonagall that Voldemort is on his way and she sends three of her Patronuses — which manifest in her Animagus form — to warn the other three Heads of House. When on her way to meet the heads of house, she meets Snape who questions her about Potter's whereabouts. Not knowing Snape was actually still following Dumbledore's orders and has important information for Harry, she attacks him, engaging in a fierce duel. With help from Professors Sprout and Flitwick she succeeds in driving Snape away.

McGonagall then takes charge of the school again and proceeds to secure it against Voldemort to ensure Harry can fulfil his mission from Dumbledore. She also organises the evacuation of the school's underage students to ensure their safety. She then leads the remaining students, the staff of Hogwarts, and members of the Order of the Phoenix in the fight against Voldemort. She is seen during the battle with a large gash on her cheek and commanding a herd of charmed desks to charge at Death Eaters. Finally, McGonagall ends up duelling Voldemort alongside Kingsley Shacklebolt and Horace Slughorn. Though this is not explicitly stated, McGonagall would presumably have become Headmistress of Hogwarts after the Battle of Hogwarts and Snape's death; however, in an interview J. K. Rowling says she would be retired by the time of the Deathly Hallows epilogue (19 years after Deathly Hallows), as she is "getting on in years."

Her given name comes from Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom. Her surname comes from that of a 19th century Dundee eccentric, William Topaz McGonagall, considered one of the worst poets in the English language.

McGonagall is played by Dame Maggie Smith in the Harry Potter film adaptations. Smith has described her role as "Miss Jean Brodie in a wizard's hat" and as becoming smaller in the films, noting Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as her favourite thus far.

Poppy Pomfrey

Template:HP character Madam Poppy Pomfrey is a magical healer who is the matron in charge of the Hogwarts hospital wing, and is known to be very strict regarding the rules of her infirmary and to have a high opinion of any teachers who are competent in healing. She considers both Dementors and dragons to be detrimental to students' health.

Ron goes to Madam Pomfrey after being bitten by Norbert in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. After Harry defeats Professor Quirrell in the dungeons, he spends three days unconscious in the hospital wing. In Chamber of Secrets, Madam Pomfrey regrows the bones in Harry's broken arm after Gilderoy Lockhart accidentally removes them following Gryffindor's Quidditch win over Slytherin. Hermione ends up in the hospital wing for a month after a mishap with the Polyjuice Potion that left her half-feline, then is again hospitalised after she is Petrified along with several other students.

After Umbridge stunned McGonagall in Order of the Phoenix, Madam Pomfrey said she would resign in protest were she not afraid of what would become of the students without her presence. In Half-Blood Prince, she takes care of Ron dutifully after he was poisoned and tended to Harry after his skull was cracked in a Quidditch match. She burst into tears when she found out about Dumbledore's death, and in Deathly Hallows, she and Argus Filch oversee student evacuations from Hogwarts before the Death Eaters attack, and later helps the injured.

Madam Pomfrey appeared in the film version of Chamber of Secrets, and was played by Gemma Jones.

Quirinus Quirrell

Template:HP character Quirinus Quirrell was the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during Harry's first year.

Prior to his employment at Hogwarts, he is said by Hagrid to have had a "brilliant mind", and was a fine teacher while studying from books; some time before Harry's arrival at Hogwarts, "he took a year off ter get some first-hand experience". There were rumours that he encountered vampires in the Black Forest and one in Romania. Upon his return, he appeared perpetually nervous and had developed a stutter and nervous tics. Hagrid was able to say even before the beginning of the autumn term that he was "scared of the students [and] scared of his own subject".

Harry first meets Quirrell at the Leaky Cauldron, a hidden pub in London, while being escorted by Hagrid to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies. Quirrell's manner is timid and unassuming. Quirrell is next seen at Hogwarts conversing with Snape at the start-of-term banquet, and then regularly while teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons. Quirrell's attire includes a new purple turban which he claims to have received as a reward from an African prince for getting rid of a zombie. During the school's Halloween banquet, Quirrell appears in the Great Hall to warn staff and students of a troll in the dungeons, and then promptly faints. Harry, Ron, and Hermione come to suspect that Snape is on a mission from Lord Voldemort to steal the Philosopher's Stone from a secret chamber in Hogwarts, where it is hidden. When Harry finally arrives in the chamber, he discovers that it is not Snape, but Quirrell who is the real villain.

During the climax of the story, as Harry and Quirrell struggle to recover the stone from the Mirror of Erised, Voldemort reveals himself on the back of Quirrell's head (formerly concealed by the turban, which was presumably obtained for this purpose) and speaks directly to Harry, threatening to kill him if he did not assist Voldemort in recovering it. After Harry refuses, Voldemort orders Quirrell to attack Harry, who holds off Quirrell long enough for aid to arrive, at which point Voldemort flees, in his non-physical form. Voldemort's departure, as well as the agony suffered by him because of his contact with the morally pure Harry, causes Quirrell to die, hence Dumbledore's comment that Voldemort is as merciless to his followers as to his enemies. In the film, Quirrell's death is much the same, although there are some minor differences. When Quirrell starts choking Harry and the latter tries to pry Quirrell's hand off, the hand crumbles into dust. Quirrell then tries to grab the Stone, but Harry grabs Quirrell's face, which begins to dissolve. His body then crumbles into a pile of dust and he dies. Voldemort's non-physical form rises from the ashes and knocks Harry insensate before retreating.

J. K. Rowling stated in a live web chat on July 30, 2007 that Quirrell had worked at Hogwarts as Muggle Studies teacher for a certain length of time, before taking the cursed Defence Against the Dark Arts position in the same year that Harry joined.

Ian Hart played Quirrell in the film version of Philosopher's Stone.

Horace Slughorn

Template:HP character Horace E. F. Slughorn was a former Potions teacher at Hogwarts, and makes his first appearance in Half-Blood Prince. He was the long-serving Potions teacher and Head of Slytherin House since at least the 1940s, until his retirement after the 1980-81 school year. Following his retirement and the resurgence of Voldemort, Slughorn went into hiding, concealing all knowledge of his whereabouts from both sides in the growing conflict in the wizarding world. However, after moving Snape to Defence Against the Dark Arts, Dumbledore locates Slughorn and convinces him to succeed Snape by returning to Potions.

Slughorn is described as preferring to be a "backseat driver," obtaining things he desires by using his contacts, particularly students whom he has invited into the "Slug Club". The Slug Club is the informal name given to a group of students favoured by Slughorn, based either on their connections to important people; or on his belief they have traits, such as ambition, intelligence, charm, and talent, which will make them important and famous when they leave school. Throughout the school year, Slughorn organises dinners and parties at which he makes introductions and forges useful contacts between members. According to Molly Weasley, the Ministry of Magic is "littered with Slughorn's old favourites," suggesting that being connected to Slughorn is an excellent way to network.

Slughorn is not above deceit and lacks some ethics, but is nonetheless often avuncular and will gladly do someone a favour on the off-chance they will return it. He helps talented wizards and witches find suitable jobs, in keeping with his views of a meritocracy, and despite his general assumption that pure-bloods have more talent, he does not resent blood status in general, and admits a pleasurable surprise when he comes upon a talented Muggle-born or half-blood, such as Hermione Granger or, years before, Lily Evans. He is one of the first Slytherin characters to defy the house's stereotype: while he is self-serving and not above bending rules, he lacks the near-amorality and underhandedness that had, until that point, hallmarked the house. He does not play favourites to the level of Snape, and notably displays, not pride, but shame at having helped a young prodigy, Tom Marvolo Riddle, perform some of his most noted and impressive feats of magic, as Riddle had questioned Slughorn about Horcruxes.

In Half-Blood Prince, Harry is invited to the first meeting of the Slug Club held on the Hogwarts Express. Slughorn also invited Neville Longbottom and Marcus Belby, but later snubbed them both and continued to invite Harry, Cormac McLaggen, Blaise Zabini, and Ginny Weasley to meetings and parties, and later invited Hermione Granger after getting to know her across the first weeks of school.

Slughorn sets less-stringent entry criteria for Advanced Potions than his predecessor, lowering the required grade from a perfect O (Outstanding) to the above-average E (Exceeds Expectations). This last-minute change enables Harry and Ron to take Potions at NEWT level. However, since Harry had not expected to be allowed to join the course, he has none of the necessary materials, and Slughorn lends him an old textbook until Harry can procure his own. During his first class, Slughorn offers a small amount of Felix Felicis to the student who brews the best cauldron of the Draught of Living Death. Harry wins with the help of handwritten notes in the borrowed textbook, which had once belonged to Snape. Harry continues to use the book in classes with great success, causing Slughorn to remark repeatedly that Harry had inherited his mother's abilities at potions. Harry later uses the Felix Felicis to retrieve a memory from Slughorn and later to protect his friends from the Death Eaters that attacked the castle.

In Deathly Hallows, Slughorn briefly appears with other teachers assembling to fight Death Eaters; after Snape fled Hogwarts, it is revealed that Slughorn had become permanent head of Slytherin. Though Slughorn is hesitant to join in the battle and is assumed to have evacuated with his house, he not only returns to the fray with reinforcements but summons up the courage to duel Voldemort alongside Minerva McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Slughorn will be played by Jim Broadbent in the film version of Half-Blood Prince.

Pomona Sprout

Template:HP character Pomona Sprout is Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the Head of Hufflepuff House. Her birthday is on May 15. She is described as a dumpy little witch with flyaway grey hair who wears a patched, frayed hat and shabby robes, often covered in earth due to the time she spends tending plants in the Hogwarts greenhouses. Sprout is introduced in Philosopher's Stone, but she plays no active role until Chamber of Secrets, in which she teaches her second year students to work with Mandrake plants. She is responsible for raising the Mandrakes to full maturity, at which point their juice is used to revive the petrified victims of the basilisk.

Sprout subsequently appears in Goblet of Fire in which, as the Hufflepuff Head of House, she comforts Amos Diggory and his wife after the death of their son, Hufflepuff student Cedric Diggory, whom she knew well. In Order of the Phoenix, Sprout is a nonvocal supporter of Harry Potter's story about Lord Voldemort's resurrection. Like many teachers at Hogwarts, she detests Dolores Umbridge's presence and does her best to disobey her. After the raid of Hogwarts in Half-Blood Prince, Sprout is a staunch advocate of keeping Hogwarts open after Dumbledore's death, stating that Dumbledore would have wanted it so. She also supports the suggestion that Dumbledore should be laid to rest at Hogwarts. Sprout attends Dumbledore's funeral, where she appears cleaner than she has ever been seen before.

In Deathly Hallows, she chases Severus Snape away from Hogwarts with Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. Informed that Voldemort and his Death Eaters are coming to besiege Hogwarts, she uses her knowledge of magical plants by improvising offensive botany, and, with the help of several students, throws Mandrakes and Venomous Tentaculas off the castle walls at the approaching Death Eaters. The epilogue of Deathly Hallows revealed that Neville Longbottom had become the new Herbology teacher at Hogwarts. The circumstances of Sprout's departure from the job were not revealed.

Sprout appeared in the film version of Chamber of Secrets, and was played by Miriam Margolyes.

Sybill Trelawney

Template:HP character Sybill Patricia Trelawney is the professor of Divination at Hogwarts. She first appears in the third book of the series, when Harry, Ron and Hermione start divination lessons. The friends generally believe Trelawney is a fraud, an opinion with which the teachers (particularly Minerva McGonagall) are inclined to agree. According to McGonagall, her credibility as a Seer is undermined by her habit of erroneously predicting, each year, the death of one of her students. Trelawney is the great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated seer Cassandra Trelawney, and, in fact, has inherited some fraction of her ancestor's talent, although it is, indeed, only a fraction and she cannot control her gift, nor does she use it with any sort of frequency. However, from time to time she does make predictions within the books, which come true.

Trelawney is portrayed as wearing many gaudy bangles, cloaks, and shawls, many of them covered with shining sequins. She is said to wear thick glasses, which causes her eyes to appear greatly magnified. Her classroom, in the North Tower of Hogwarts, is scented so heavily that students often fall asleep during class.

Prior to the events of the Harry Potter books, Trelawney falls into a prophetic trance while in an interview with Albus Dumbledore, saying:

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

This prophecy was partly overheard by Severus Snape, who relayed what he heard to Lord Voldemort. This led Voldemort to attack the Potter family, believing that Harry was the child named. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Trelawney prophesises to Harry about the events of the book's climax.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, she is seen aiding in the fight against Voldemort and the Death Eaters by magically accelerating her crystal balls at them. One knocks out the werewolf Fenrir Greyback after he attacks and wounds Lavender Brown (but does not have time to bite her, thanks to Hermione's quick use of a Stunning Spell). Lavender is one of Trelawney's favoured students.

In the British editions of the books, her name is consistently spelled as "Sybill". In the American editions, from her first appearance in Prisoner of Azkaban through Order of the Phoenix, her name is spelled as "Sibyll". However, in the American edition of Half-Blood Prince, it is re-spelled as "Sybill", matching the UK edition. The name "Sybill" alludes to the Sibyls of classical Graeco-Roman tradition, who were oracles that made cryptic predictions about the future which often could not be understood until they had already come to pass.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Trelawney is portrayed by British actress Emma Thompson.

Others

• Cuthbert Binns teaches History of Magic and has the distinction of being the only teacher at Hogwarts who is a ghost. It is said that he was so old when he took a nap in a chair in the teachers’ lounge/staff room that he died in his sleep and simply got up to go to teach his next class and 'left his body behind'. As a ghost, he walks through the blackboard to enter each lesson, but otherwise seems unaware of his change. His classes are infamous for being dreadfully boring.
• Charity Burbage: identified as the Muggle Studies teacher in the final book. Because she taught a favourable study of Muggles, evidenced by an editorial article in the Daily Prophet, she was in direct opposition to the Death Eater philosophy of the supremacy of pure-bloods. She was a prisoner of Lord Voldemort, who tortured her, killed her, and fed her to Nagini.
• Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank: a substitute Care of Magical Creatures teacher. She first appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, taking lessons when Hagrid is unable to teach, and again in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Hagrid is away on a mission for Dumbledore. The character was played by Apple Brook in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
• Rolanda Hooch: taught broomstick flying to Hogwarts first years and was the referee of intramural Quidditch matches. She was described as having short grey hair and "yellow eyes like a hawk". The character was played by Zoë Wanamaker in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
• Irma Pince: the librarian of Hogwarts, compared to an "underfed vulture". She tries to protect her books from students by placing odd jinxes on them. The character was portrayed by Sally Mortemore in the film adaptation of the second book.
• Aurora Sinistra: the Astronomy Professor. Her classes are held at midnight on the tallest tower of Hogwarts. Even though Harry does attend Astronomy, no astronomy class has ever been described in the series, and thus, very little is known about Sinistra. She attended the Yule Ball in Harry's fourth year with Mad-Eye Moody (who was at the time Barty Crouch Jr posing as the real Moody).
• Septima Vector: the Arithmancy professor, known to give her students large amounts of homework.

Hogwarts ghosts

Hogwarts is home to at least twenty ghostsTemplate:HP1, but when people in the novels speak of the ghosts at Hogwarts they are usually referring to one of the four "resident" ghosts of each of the Hogwarts houses: Nearly Headless Nick, the almost-decapitated cavalier who resides in Gryffindor tower; the Bloody Baron, who resides in the Slytherin dungeon; the jovial Fat Friar, who resides with the Hufflepuffs, and the Grey Lady, who "lives" with the Ravenclaws. These ghosts seem to act something like advisors and aides to the students; Nick is frequently seen helping Harry during moments of uncertainty or crisis.

Nearly Headless Nick

Template:HP character Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington (died October 31, 1492), often referred to as Nearly Headless Nick or Nick, is the Gryffindor House ghost who in life was sentenced to death by beheading after a teeth-straightening spell went awry on a Lady Grieve. Unfortunately the executioner's axe was blunt and after 45 hacks Nick's head was only partially severed. Harry Potter becomes friends with Nick when he attends his "deathday" party (the 500th anniversary of the event) in a Hogwarts dungeon. Nick's death date has the distinction of having served as the basis for the entire timeline of dates in the Harry Potter series, until the timeline was confirmed by the headstone of James and Lily Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Nick has a small role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, where he is merely introduced as Gryffindor's house ghost. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, he celebrates his Five-Hundredth Deathday Party and he is a victim of the Basilisk that Ginny Weasley unleashes, under the influence of Tom Riddle. The stare of the Basilisk is supposed to be lethal to anyone who looks at it directly in the eye. While the living students all had some barrier between them and the Basilisk (and are therefore petrified rather than killed), Nicholas does look at the Basilisk's eyes directly. However, since he is already dead, he too is only petrified. The character appears again in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when he explains to Harry the nature of death and what it means when a ghost is left behind. Harry had been looking for some comfort to see Sirius Black again, but Nicholas's explains that only witches and wizards who fear death can become ghosts, dashing Harry's hope of communicating with Sirius. He appears briefly in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Harry asks him to bring him to the Grey Lady.

In the movie versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Nick is portrayed by John Cleese.

The Fat Friar

Template:HP character The Fat Friar is the Hufflepuff House ghost. He is a jolly man and very forgiving. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone when the first years are waiting for Professor McGonagall to return and the ghosts pass overhead, the Fat Friar is pleading on behalf of Peeves the Poltergeist to allow him to come to the welcome feast despite his past wrongdoings. Similarly, when Peeves wanted to join the welcome feast in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Fat Friar was willing to give him a chance.

The Grey Lady

Template:HP character Helena Ravenclaw, more widely known by her nickname The Grey Lady, is the Ravenclaw House ghost. According to a letter written by Rowling to Nina Young, the actress who played the Grey Lady in the first film, she is "a highly intellectual young lady …. She never found true love as she never found a man up to her standards".

Rowling has stated that The Grey Lady appeared very briefly in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It is of common agreement that the Grey Lady is the ghost that Harry and Ron encounter on their way to visit the Mirror of Erised, as referenced in this passage: "[Harry and Ron] passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else". Fans have found no other unexplained mention of a ghost in the book, so it is assumed this is The Grey Lady. She may also be "the ghost of a long haired woman" that floats past Harry and Hagrid when they are talking about a conversation between Dumbledore and Snape in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows it is revealed that the Grey Lady is Helena Ravenclaw - daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, and was killed by the Bloody Baron. She informs Harry Potter that she stole the Diadem of Ravenclaw from her mother, in an attempt to become smarter than she, and then went into hiding in Albania. It was a dying Rowena Ravenclaw's wish to see her daughter again and so sent for the Bloody Baron to look for her, knowing that he would not rest until he brought her back. However, she refused to come with him and in a moment of blind rage, he killed her with a single stab wound to her chest. Overcome with remorse, the Bloody Baron killed himself using the same weapon in turn. The diadem remained in the hollow of the tree in the Albanian forest until Voldemort managed to charm the story out of her ghost, The Grey Lady. Riddle, who had been seeking out historically significant objects to make into Horcruxes, later retrieved the diadem from Albania and hid it in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts while visiting the castle years later.

The Bloody Baron

Template:HP character The Bloody Baron is the Slytherin House ghost. He is the only person besides Dumbledore and Fred & George Weasley who can exert any control over the Poltergeist Peeves; Peeves is terrified of him for some unknown reason, referring to him as "Your Bloodiness" and "Mr Baron."

The Baron's nickname comes from the fact that he is covered with blood, which appears silvery on his ghostly form. When Nearly-Headless Nick is asked in the first book why the Baron is so bloody, Nick delicately comments that "[he has] never asked". However, this is explained in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Helena Ravenclaw tells Harry that the Baron had been in love with her when the two were alive, and when she ran off with the diadem, Rowena Ravenclaw sent the Baron after her, knowing he would not stop until Helena was found. When she refused to return with him, however, the Baron killed her in a fit of rage, and then, in remorse, killed himself with the same weapon. He has thus haunted Hogwarts ever since, wearing his ghostly chains as a form of penitence ("as he should," Helena bitterly adds).

In contrast to a very solemn and quite frightening ghost in the books, in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (the only film adaptation in which the character has to date appeared), the Bloody Baron is represented as being quite mirthful.

Hogwarts founders

In Rowling's fictional universe, Hogwarts was founded a millennium ago by "four of the greatest wizards and witches of the age"Template:HP2: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Each of these founders had one of the four Hogwarts houses named after them.

Godric Gryffindor

Template:HP character Godric Gryffindor hailed from a moor that is now known as Godric's Hollow, a small West Country village.Template:HP7 Gryffindor is said to have praised courage, determination and strength of heart above all other qualities. Indeed, he selected students for his house based upon their daring and bravery, according to the Sorting Hat. He also was the most in favour of allowing Muggle-borns into the school. He was initially a close friend of Salazar Slytherin, but over time, their friendship deteriorated; though never stated, it is likely that the two's contrasting beliefs and intentions regarding Muggle-borns may have been part of the reason for the split.

His known relics are a goblin-made sword (the Goblins claim that Godric stole it from them), adorned with rubies, and the Sorting Hat. The two items share a particular bond; whenever a "true Gryffindor" needs it, the Sword will allow itself to be pulled out of the hat. Godric's sword was capable of acquiring powers from those it had slain and thus was imbued with venom from Harry's defeat of the Basilisk, making it suitable as a tool for destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes: Dumbledore used it to destroy Gaunt's ring, Ron Weasley used it to eliminate Slytherin's locket, and Neville Longbottom used it to kill Nagini.

Gryffindor was named the July 2007 "Wizard of the Month" on Rowling's website. "One of the four famous Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Godric Gryffindor was the most accomplished dueller of his time, an enlightened fighter against Muggle-discrimination and the first owner of the celebrated Sorting Hat."

The name Godric is Anglo-Saxon in form, and can have several meanings, including, "he who rules with God" or "he who rules well."

Helga Hufflepuff

Template:HP character Helga Hufflepuff came from a broad valley. She favoured loyalty, honesty, fair play, and hard work. Members of her house usually display at least one of these traits in varying degrees: Cedric Diggory, deceased Triwizard contestant, was one of the students who appears to embody all four.

The Sorting Hat further describes her as "good Hufflepuff" or "sweet Hufflepuff". She does not appear to have applied particularly strict standards of selection to her house. Although in Goblet of Fire, she is stated as having considered “hard workers most worthy of admission,” she is elsewhere described as taking “all the rest” of the students after selection by her colleagues, and is quoted by the Sorting Hat as having said, “I’ll teach the lot, and treat them just the same.” This sets her apart from the other Founders, by making her an egalitarian.

Hufflepuff was the May 2007 "Wizard of the Month" on Rowling's website. "One of the four celebrated Founders of Hogwarts; Hufflepuff was particularly famous for her dexterity at food-related Charms. Many recipes traditionally served at Hogwarts feasts originated with Hufflepuff." Her wizard card, penned by Rowling, describes her as having “brought people from different walks of life together to help build Hogwarts,” and being “loved for her charming ways.” According to an interview between Rowling and staff from The Leaky Cauldron, Hufflepuff introduced house-elves to Hogwarts, where she offered them refuge. Both the famous wizard card and the illustration on Rowling's website depict her as a plump woman with red hair.

One relic of Hufflepuff, a small golden cup, had been passed down to her distant descendant, Hepzibah Smith.

The name Helga is of Scandinavian origin, meaning "holy".

Rowena Ravenclaw

Template:HP character Rowena Ravenclaw was a witch noted for her cleverness and creativity, and was described by Xenophilius Lovegood as "beautiful." The Sorting Hat introduced her as “Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,” suggesting she was from Scotland. She was a good friend of Helga Hufflepuff; their friendship is used to emphasise the failed friendship between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. Ravenclaw devised the ever-changing floor plans and moving staircases in the Hogwarts castle, and coined the proverb "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

Ravenclaw is described by the Sorting Hat as having selected students according to intelligence and wisdom. Ravenclaw House thus values in its members a sharp mind, wisdom, creativity, and cleverness for its own sake, and thus, rather than asking for a password from her members to get to the dormitories, a bronze eagle knocker asks them a riddle-like question which, if answered incorrectly, would force the student to wait until another could answer the question correctly, allowing the failed student to learn.

In Deathly Hallows, Harry learns that an artifact of Ravenclaw's became a Horcrux: her lost diadem, which granted enhanced wisdom to its wearer. Her daughter, Helena Ravenclaw (The Grey Lady) had once run away with it to surpass her mother in terms of intelligence and wisdom and hid it in Albania, in which its whereabouts remained unknown ever since. She, however, revealed its location to a young Tom Riddle, who proceeded to retrieve it and turn it into a Horcrux. In the original uncursed form, it is said to be able to imbue its wearer great wisdom. Late in her life, Rowena, suffering from a terminal illness, sent for the Bloody Baron to find her daughter so she could see her one last time before she died. However, Helena refused to go with the Baron, and he killed her in a paroxysm of rage. Immediately overcome with guilt, he then took his own life.

Ravenclaw was featured as Rowling's "Wizard of the Month" for August 2007. "One of the four famous Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rowena Ravenclaw was the most brilliant witch of her time, though legend has it that a broken heart - cause unknown - contributed to her early demise." Her Wizard of the Month status was cleverly revealed, for she appeared the month after the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", thus concealing what possible Horcrux item she possessed until after the book's release.

Rowena is a Latinised form of an old Germanic name. The elements in the name mean "Fame," (cf. the Anglo-Saxon hrōd, or hrōð), and "Joy," (cf. the Anglo-Saxon wyn(n)), or "Friend," (cf. the Anglo-Saxon wine). Rowena, Queen of Britain is a figure in Britain's traditional history; she was supposedly the daughter of Hengest and the wife of Vortigern.

Salazar Slytherin

Template:HP character Salazar Slytherin is described as "power hungry" by the Sorting Hat, and was known as "shrewd Slytherin from fen". The Fens of eastern England are marshlands around Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and adjoining counties, although it is not established that Slytherin actually came from that particular region. Slytherin is the only founder whose physical appearance was ever described in any detail; his statue in the Chamber of Secrets depicts a man "ancient and monkey-like, with a long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of his sweeping robes." Slytherin was a Parselmouth, a wizard with the rare ability to speak with snakes. Like Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor, Slytherin appears to have carefully selected members of his House. According to Albus Dumbledore, the qualities which Slytherin prized in his "handpicked students" included resourcefulness and determination. He also selected his students according to cunning, ambition, and blood purity.

Slytherin's background is first discussed by Professor Binns in Chamber of Secrets: he describes the foundation of the school and of the breach between Slytherin and the other founders, that the castle was founded far from Muggles because, at that time, common people feared magic and persecuted suspected wizards and witches. Slytherin wished after a time to be more selective in admissions to Hogwarts, but not restricted to only his own house; he used blood purity as a factor of selecting students since the school's inception. He wanted magical learning restricted to all-magical families, as he believed Muggle-born students to be untrustworthy and he disliked teaching such students.

According to ancient legend, Slytherin was responsible for the construction of the Chamber of Secrets, the home of a magically created basilisk. This snake was known to be susceptible to control by his Parselmouth descendants, and thus left it there to purge the school of all Muggle-borns. This occurred shortly before infighting among the four founders broke out and resulted in Slytherin's departure. The last known heir of Slytherin, Tom Riddle, discovered the Chamber and released the basilisk, resulting in the death of a student (Moaning Myrtle) and Rubeus Hagrid's wrongful expulsion from Hogwarts. Though the Hogwarts faculty denied the chamber's existence, it was rediscovered by Harry and Ron in their attempt to rescue Ginny Weasley.

Slytherin owned a locket that became an heirloom of his last known line of descendants, the Gaunts.

Slytherin was the featured "Wizard of the Month" for June 2007 on J. K. Rowling's website. "One of the four celebrated Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Salazar Slytherin was one of the first recorded Parselmouths, an accomplished Legilimens, and a notorious champion of pureblood supremacy."

The name Salazar is originally a Portuguese family name, of Basque origins, meaning "old hall". António de Oliveira Salazar was the dictator of Portugal (where Rowling lived for several years) from 1932 to 1968. Rowling stated that the name "Salazar Slytherin" was chosen after the Portuguese dictator's name.

External links

• Professor on Harry Potter Wiki, an external wiki
• The Harry Potter Lexicon's page on the Hogwarts Staff