Harry Potter/Characters/Hogwarts Teachers

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (Richard Harris, later Michael Gambon)
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and considered to be the modern Merlin in terms of his magical ability. Like any good old, wise guy, he's extremely vague about everything important he says; he is also humorously eccentric. Founded the Order of the Phoenix, the organization that spearheads the fight against Voldemort; most of the characters in the series are personally loyal to him. .

Enjoys tenpin bowling, lemon sherbets and chamber music.

""I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being -- forgive me -- rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger.""
 * Animal Motifs: Old, powerful, respected, and wise—it's no surprise that his Patronus is a phoenix.
 * Anti-Hero: Early on, he has shades of being a minor, Type I-ish Anti-Hero, reflecting a mysterious past and questionable decisions. He's eventually revealed to be a.
 * Aerith and Bob: Ancient Roman, Old-French, and Anglo-Saxon names. Followed by Brian.
 * Awesome McCoolname
 * Badass Beard
 * Badass Grandpa: "The Only One He Ever Feared," indeed.
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Batman Gambit: Almost everything he does is part of one of these.
 * Because I Said So: Really not too keen on explaining why he does things.
 * Belated Backstory: In Book 7.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: He's extremely powerful.
 * Berserk Button: Attempt to harm ANY of his students, and you'll instantly discover why Voldemort fears Dumbledore.
 * Big Good
 * Broken Ace
 * Broken Pedestal: Both subverted and played straight. While he wasn't perfect and did do some bad things, he wasn't as bad as Rita Skeeter implied, and he did genuinely see the error of his ways.
 * Celibate Hero: After everything that happened the last time he fell in love...
 * The Chessmaster: Just about everything in the overarching plot of the series happens thanks to his plotting and machinations. Luckily, his ultimate goal is good, but he crosses more than a few moral lines in his plans (including )
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Difficult to tell how much is Obfuscating Stupidity.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Crazy Prepared:
 * Cruel and Unusual Death: Defied. He knows that if Marvolo Gaunt's cursed ring doesn't do it, then Fenrir Greyback or Bellatrix Lestrange will, so
 * Dead Little Sister: Inverted—he was before  snapped him out of it.
 * : Although he isn't a villain.
 * Does Not Like Spam: He avoids Berty Bott's Every-Flavor-Beans after eating a vomit-flavored one in his youth. The one time he tries giving them a chance after that, he gets earwax.
 * Eccentric Mentor: Former Trope Namer.
 * Et Tu, Brute?: Averted when we find out the real reason
 * Fair For His Day: In-Universe..
 * Foe Yay:
 * Gambit Roulette:
 * Genius' Sweet Tooth
 * Guile Hero
 * Informed Ability: Hogwarts’ status as a safe haven is mainly attributed to Dumbledore’s hawk-like watch over the place. For all the cunning he displays elsewhere, it's worth noting that, in only six years, two Death Eaters slipped into the payroll as teachers, one of them lugging around Lord Voldemort himself, Slytherin’s Monster was unleashed on the grounds and carried out five attempted murders, a hunted (presumed) murderer slipped into the grounds repeatedly, once reaching as far in as the bedside of his presumed target, the horde of Dementors hunting said murderer slipped out of control repeatedly and tried to kill a student, a fascist-racist child torturer was legally instated as teacher and later Headmistress while the staff failed to pose effective resistance, underestimation of Draco allowed a squad of Death Eaters to enter the heart of the castle with only a handful of defenders posted and, of course, the yearly near-death situations and almost bi-monthly grievous injuries Harry faces while within the grounds. It’s no surprise that Hogwarts’ blatant unsafeness is a running joke among the fans.
 * Insufferable Genius: Throughout his youth.
 * And occasionally in his older age, too. Dumbledore tries to be humble, but can't help but pat himself on the back occasionally.
 * Knight Templar: How some fans see him. He manipulates those under his guidance and
 * Moral Dissonance: Arguably. Whole essays could be written about the alleged wisdom of his actions—or lack of such—throughout the series, and his neglection of Harry's personal well-being and safety, not to mention that of Hogwarts's student body in general is a heated debate amongst the fandom.
 * Mr. Exposition: Rowling has admitted that whenever something needs explaining, she gives it to either Dumbledore or Hermione to do.
 * My Death Is Just the Beginning:
 * Nobody Over 50 Is Gay: Averted, by a margin of nearly sixty-six years.
 * Not So Omniscient After All: In Dumbledore's own words:
 * Mr. Exposition: Rowling has admitted that whenever something needs explaining, she gives it to either Dumbledore or Hermione to do.
 * My Death Is Just the Beginning:
 * Nobody Over 50 Is Gay: Averted, by a margin of nearly sixty-six years.
 * Not So Omniscient After All: In Dumbledore's own words:


 * Obfuscating Stupidity: Never stupidity per se, but he nearly always knows a lot more about what's going on than he lets on.
 * Michael Gambon seemed to be working under the impression that all of Dumbledore's Cloudcuckoolander qualities are cases of this. Notice in his portrayal that he only pulls out an oddity like enjoying knitting patterns when he's intentionally trying to fool somebody or throw them off their guard.
 * The Obi-Wan
 * Omniscient Morality License: Some of the things he says and does could make him seem like an outright Jerkass, but it's all okay because he knows everything about what needs to happen already. Some critics of the books have labeled him as a Jerk Stu as a result.
 * The Other Darrin
 * Overly Long Name: "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
 * Note that the only thing that makes "Brian" an Odd Name Out is the fact that it is still in common(er) use today. It is an old name.
 * Papa Wolf: Again, he "cannot allow you to manhandle [his] students." Which is a polite way of saying that if you try to hurt his students, he will END you.
 * Parental Substitute
 * Pride: Not that he lacks a good reason. Still, it gets him into trouble at times, especially in his youth.
 * Secretly Dying: Of Horcrux Backlash.
 * Silence, You Fool: Part of what makes him a Badass Grandpa is that he has this down cold.
 * Invisible to Gaydar: So much so, which is a tie-in with...
 * Although it is worth noting that a few characteristics which would ordinary be seen as Camp Gay were just put down to his rampaging Cloudcuckoolander persona; purple was seen as a "gay color" up until about the 50's, and he did wear that violet suit in the late 30's.
 * Static Character: During the events of the Harry Potter novels, Dumbledore is an old-ass man and doesn't go through any character development. The audience's perception of him changes during the last novel though, as more details about him are revealed.
 * Suddenly Sexuality: J.K. Rowling revealed his sexuality after the final book was released.
 * The Smart Guy: While there are a lot of brilliant characters in the series, Dumbledore is strongly implied to be the brightest of them all. While a student at Hogwarts, he won just about every honor imaginable.
 * Teen Genius: When he was a teenager.
 * Thanatos Gambit: And how!
 * Tranquil Fury
 * TV Genius: Sometimes he seems to border on omniscient. See also The Chessmaster, My Death Is Just the Beginning, and The Smart Guy.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: His brother Aberforth and others question the way he uses Harry throughout the series. does a particularly good job of calling him out in one of the memory scenes in Deathly Hallows:
 * TV Genius: Sometimes he seems to border on omniscient. See also The Chessmaster, My Death Is Just the Beginning, and The Smart Guy.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: His brother Aberforth and others question the way he uses Harry throughout the series. does a particularly good job of calling him out in one of the memory scenes in Deathly Hallows:


 * What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: A child with a disposition to sociopathy and manipulation, who is already using his powers for the bad? Alienate him from yourself and leave him totally alone. There's no way he will became an evil wizard.
 * Wizard Beard: Just look at the picture on the main page.
 * Wizard Classic
 * The Wonka: Extremely powerful wizard... and more than a little bit quirky. Example: announcing that he'd like to "say a few words" at the opening ceremony, and then saying, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" He's the headmaster for a reason.
 * Word of Gay: Possibly the most famous example.

Severus Snape (Alan Rickman)
A former classmate of Harry's dead parents, Snape is now a teacher at Hogwarts who seems to hate Harry on sight. It's later revealed that Snape was frequently bullied and tormented by Harry's father James (whom Harry greatly resembles) and godfather Sirius Black, and that he was once a Death Eater but has returned to the light side for some unspecified reason. Whether he is genuinely with the Order of the Phoenix or the Death Eaters becomes a major point of contention for many characters and fans. He is Hogwarts' resident Sadist Teacher (at least until Book 5).

In the sixth book, it's revealed that. In the seventh book, it's revealed that

"Severus Snape: THIS -- HAS -- SOMETHING -- TO -- DO -- WITH -- POTTER!"
 * Alliterative Name
 * Abusive Parents: He's implied to have had an abusive father. Cruelly ironic, given his treatment of the students under his care.
 * The Ace: Not quite. See Broken Ace below.
 * All of the Other Reindeer
 * Ambiguously Evil: Rowling did a good job of keeping his true loyalties in the dark.
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV.
 * Anti-Villain: In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
 * Apathetic Teacher: Mixed with Brilliant but Lazy. Merely following Snape’s one-decade-outdated school notes allows Harry to come off as a genius potion-brewer. One can only imagine what results he could get from his students if he actually cared enough to teach them properly.
 * The Atoner
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Badass Teacher
 * Belated Backstory
 * Black Cloak
 * Black Eyes
 * Berserk Button: Anything that has to do with the Marauders and  generally manages to unbalance him pretty badly for several reasons.
 * In Prisoner of Azkaban, learning that Sirius escaped and dodged the Dementor’s Kiss completely cracks his normally cold exterior, and he starts shouting in rage at the top of his lungs in front of the Minister for Magic himself while blaming the obvious culprit.

"Severus Snape: DON'T CALL ME COWARD!"
 * While he doesn’t visibly burst after Harry sees his “worst memory”, he disobeys Dumbledore’s explicit orders to teach Harry Occlumency even when aware of what was at stake and reaches such levels of spite for him that he decides to completely ignore Harry’s presence. Harry actually appreciates that last bit.
 * Most famously, Harry calling him a coward at the end of Half-Blood Prince along with everything that was happening to him at the time briefly sends him over the edge, and he shifts from effortlessly defending Harry’s attacks to actually striking him in the face with the unincantated Sectumsempra before Buckbeack intervenes and Snape resumes his escape.

"McGonagall: was cursed. Harry Potter: It was Malfoy. McGonagall: That is a very serious accusation, Potter. Severus Snape: Indeed. Your evidence? Harry Potter: I just know! Severus Snape: You just... "know." Once again you astonish with your gift, Potter, a gift mere mortals can only dream of possessing."
 * Broken Ace: In terms of fighting ability, . Outside of duels, . Even more telling, . Problem is, he also was so incredibly bitter over his (admittedly bad) experiences in school that he was willing to.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer
 * Byronic Hero
 * Character Development: Up to Eleven. Even people who don't care for the series, if they've read it all the way through, agree that Snape is the most well-written character.
 * Consummate Liar:
 * Creepy Child: Heavily implied to be this, thanks to a combination of poor social skills and his knowledge of the Dark Arts, which, according to Sirius Black, was disturbingly comprehensive when Snape was eleven years old. In the series, he occasionally seems to be the grown-up version of this trope; the rest of the time, he comes off as a semi-normal (if moody, depressed, and extremely emotionally-detached) adult.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Had an abusive father and neglectful mother, and was bullied by James Potter and Sirius Black. How much of this was in retaliation and how much of it was instigated by Snape is up for debate, but please, DO NOT DEBATE IT HERE.
 * Deadpan Snarker: To the nth degree. Makes for at least one Crowning Moment of Awesome and Crowning Moment of Funny each. Sometimes borders on The Snark Knight.
 * Deadpan Snarker: To the nth degree. Makes for at least one Crowning Moment of Awesome and Crowning Moment of Funny each. Sometimes borders on The Snark Knight.
 * Deadpan Snarker: To the nth degree. Makes for at least one Crowning Moment of Awesome and Crowning Moment of Funny each. Sometimes borders on The Snark Knight.

"Severus Snape: –mediocre, arrogant as his father, a determined rule-breaker, delighted to find himself famous, attention-seeking and impertinent– Albus Dumbledore: You see what you expect to see, Severus. Other teachers report that the boy is modest, likable and reasonably talented. Personally, I find him an engaging child."
 * Deadly Dodging:
 * Debt Detester: James Potter saved Snape's life and it's implied that Snape protects Harry because he regrets not being able to save James' life in return. Or at least that's the story in the first few books, until it's revealed that
 * Double Agent
 * Basically becomes a Double Reverse Quadruple Agent by the time of Deathly Hallows.
 * The Dragon:
 * Enemy Mine: Played with. Snape never really viewed Dumbledore or Voldemort as his "enemies", but he never really wanted to work with either of them... At first.
 * Face Heel Revolving Door: His actions look like this to Harry. And to the reader.
 * Fake Defector
 * Finding Judas
 * Freudian Excuse: For his abuse towards Harry and Gryffindor, because of his years of bullying by James Potter and other Gryffindors and
 * Gag Nose: His hooked nose is often mentioned and is one of the things the Marauders made fun of about him.
 * Genre Savvy
 * Get Out!:
 * Good Is Not Nice: There are few characters in literature who exemplify this trope as well as Snape does.
 * Goth
 * Guile Hero
 * Hate Sink: For the early part of the series, he was largely viewed as a cruel, bitter, and absurdly unfair Jerkass by readers. This changed somewhat in Book 5 when Umbridge replaced him as Hogwarts' resident Sadist Teacher, and of course there's Book 7, when we find out
 * Heel Face Turn: Near the end of the first war.
 * Hero with Bad Publicity: On purpose.
 * Hey, You: "Snivellus", courtesy of the Marauders.
 * Hidden Depths
 * Hidden Heart of Gold: Okay, we get it: He's not the kind of guy you'd go out for drinks with. Nevertheless, he does have people's best interests at heart, and given his brains and loyalty, he's exactly the kind of guy you'd need on your side to win the fight.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Not quite. Snape is very powerful and, for lack of a better word, competent, but he's ultimately a sidekick to Voldemort and Dumbledore, the two strongest characters.
 * Inspector Javert / Cassandra Truth: Snape takes it as an article of faith that Harry Potter is doing something stupid or illegal at any given time. He's usually right.
 * Insufferable Genius: Improved his textbook while still a student; invented his own spells at the same time; one of only two wizards capable of.
 * Intelligence Equals Isolation
 * Jerkass
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Possibly the king of this trope.
 * Knight in Sour Armor
 * Like Father, Like Son: His father was hinted at being emotionally abusive and prone to angry outbursts. Snape himself has no problems verbally tearing down his students to the point of reducing Neville to a nervous wreck at times, although he prefers to do it via cold sinister threats rather than shouting.
 * The Lost Lenore:.
 * Love Redeems
 * Mind Reading: Legilimancy, a very limited and forbidden craft. Snape is a master nonetheless, alongside Dumbledore and Voldemort.
 * Meaningful Name: He's also known as "Piton" (in the Italian translation) and "Rogue" (in the french one).
 * Moment of Weakness: What ruined his relationship with.
 * Though again,
 * Morality Pet:
 * More Than Meets the Eye
 * My God, What Have I Done?: When he realizes that
 * My Name Is Not Snivellus
 * Not So Different: While he never realizes it, there are more than a few parallels between himself and Sirius Black. Both were branded as criminals, both hated their families (or, at the very least, Snape hated his father and Sirius hated his entire family), both were hated to a murderous degree by Harry for something they did, and both are extremely protective of their friends' sons (Sirius to Harry, Snape to Draco). Furthermore, , and both refused to let go of schoolboy grudges. And, let's face it, they're both noble assholes.
 * Not So Stoic: "DON'T CALL ME A COWARD!"
 * Obstructive Code of Conduct: In Goblet of Fire, Snape accuses Harry Potter of theft, and wants to prosecute, but the use of Veritaserum on students is "regrettably forbidden".
 * Papa Wolf: Towards Draco Malfoy, and via Narcissa's request; if you mess with that kid, you will have a come-to-Severus meeting in your immediate future. (Not that Draco actually needs Snape's protection, but this is the reason Fanon has it that Snape is his godfather.)
 * Please Spare Her, My Liege!:
 * Puss in Boots: Most of Dumbledore's plans boil down to "Disappear for a few chapters and let Snape handle it." Usually it works. Except when Dumbledore decides to ignore the fact Harry and Snape do not get along.
 * Red Baron: The Half-Blood Prince.
 * Red Herring Mole: He is this, over and over and over again. In the first book, all evidence points to him as the person trying to steal the titular Stone. In the fourth, we learn both that he is an ex-Death Eater and that Voldemort has a mole at Hogwarts. Guess who it is? . In the fifth, we learn that his rivalry with Harry is deeply personal, and he seems to be conspiring with Sadist Teacher Dolores Umbridge against Harry. He isn't.
 * Reverse Mole
 * Sadist Teacher: To all the Gryffindors, and Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter in particular. However, he pales in comparison to some real Sadist Teacher Sadist Teachers that appear later in the series and generally just walks the line between stern and sadist.
 * To Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff too, since it's noted several times that he only respects and likes Slytherin students.
 * School Bullying Is Harmless: Subverted hard. In his own schooldays, he was bullied mercilessly by James and Sirius (something that horrifies and disillusions Harry when he finds out). Decades later, he still absolutely hates them for it, despite the fact that they grew up to be decent people, and has turned into quite the bully himself.
 * Sinister Schnoz: Played with. His hooked nose is probably intended to make him seem more like a villain, especially at the beginning.
 * Sins of Our Fathers: Never able to take out his resentment on James Potter, he picks on Harry instead, to the point that he automatically assigned him all of James’ character flaws without ever bothering to actually see if the shoe fit. Considering that he believed Harry of all people enjoyed the spotlight, one has to wonder if he ever looked at Harry as an individual instead of as a remnant of his parents.
 * Red Herring Mole: He is this, over and over and over again. In the first book, all evidence points to him as the person trying to steal the titular Stone. In the fourth, we learn both that he is an ex-Death Eater and that Voldemort has a mole at Hogwarts. Guess who it is? . In the fifth, we learn that his rivalry with Harry is deeply personal, and he seems to be conspiring with Sadist Teacher Dolores Umbridge against Harry. He isn't.
 * Reverse Mole
 * Sadist Teacher: To all the Gryffindors, and Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter in particular. However, he pales in comparison to some real Sadist Teacher Sadist Teachers that appear later in the series and generally just walks the line between stern and sadist.
 * To Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff too, since it's noted several times that he only respects and likes Slytherin students.
 * School Bullying Is Harmless: Subverted hard. In his own schooldays, he was bullied mercilessly by James and Sirius (something that horrifies and disillusions Harry when he finds out). Decades later, he still absolutely hates them for it, despite the fact that they grew up to be decent people, and has turned into quite the bully himself.
 * Sinister Schnoz: Played with. His hooked nose is probably intended to make him seem more like a villain, especially at the beginning.
 * Sins of Our Fathers: Never able to take out his resentment on James Potter, he picks on Harry instead, to the point that he automatically assigned him all of James’ character flaws without ever bothering to actually see if the shoe fit. Considering that he believed Harry of all people enjoyed the spotlight, one has to wonder if he ever looked at Harry as an individual instead of as a remnant of his parents.


 * Stealth Mentor: At the end of book 6, and other subtle instances besides, you know, his job as a Potions Master.
 * The Stoic: For most of the series, he only really shows two emotions: stoicism and Jerkass-ness. This is completely flipped upside-down in "The Prince's Tale".
 * Super Window Jump.
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: His What the Hell, Hero? speech in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows carries one about.
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Sirius Black throughout Order of the Phoenix.
 * The Smart Guy
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
 * Tyrant Takes the Helm: in Book 7 when he becomes headmaster of Hogwarts.
 * Undying Loyalty: Everything he does is because of.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: Towards.
 * What Could Have Been: Two major in-universe examples:
 * According to Rowling, if Snape had chosen over the Death Eaters, his life would have turned out completely differently. He is painfully aware of this.
 * Dumbledore quotes that "I think sometimes we sort too soon" in regards to the courage shown by Snape and his sorting into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor. By the end of the books,
 * You Are What You Hate: See Like Father, Like Son, Not So Different, and Insufferable Genius.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
 * Zero-Approval Gambit: Arranged between Snape and Dumbledore: arguably all of Dumbledore's plans for Snape (and Harry, for that matter) would have failed if Harry and Snape had liked each other at all.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
 * Zero-Approval Gambit: Arranged between Snape and Dumbledore: arguably all of Dumbledore's plans for Snape (and Harry, for that matter) would have failed if Harry and Snape had liked each other at all.

Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith)
Professor of Transfiguration, Deputy Headmistress, and Head of Gryffindor House. She is the first professor Harry encounters (besides Hagrid), and he promptly decides that she is someone "not to be crossed." He's right. Stern but fair, McGonagall is protective of her students and really dislikes it when Snape wins the Quidditch Cup from under her nose. Though she takes no crap from anyone, she does have a sense of humor—she assists Peeves during Umbridge's reign of terror and turns a blind eye to the Weasley twins' antics during that year. In fact, she has several Crowning Moments of Awesome during Order of the Phoenix, up to and including shutting down Umbridge at every opportunity. She is Dumbledore's right hand, deputy leader of the Order, and a powerful witch in her own right, and she is probably the teacher Harry trusts the most. Her Animagus form is that of a tabby cat with spectacle markings around her eyes, reminiscent of her glasses. She has a fondness for tartan and Ginger Newts. If she walks into a scene and is startled, expect her to drop the stack of books she is always carrying.


 * Adults Are Useless: Subverted during the final book, where she's shown to be thoroughly competent when it comes down to it. She and the other teachers ready various defenses in preparation for Voldemort's siege.
 * Alliterative Name
 * Animorphism
 * Apron Matron
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: And there is a lot of asskicking.
 * Badass: Unquestionably one of the biggest in the series
 * Badass Boast: "We teachers are rather good at magic, you know." This was her nonchalant response when asked if it was possible to secure the school against Voldemort.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Badass Grandma
 * Badass Teacher: Two words: Piertotum Locomotor.
 * Berserk Button: Don't mess with her students, current or former. No, seriously. Don't.
 * Unless they happen to be Slytherin.
 * Big Good: Shares this position with Neville and ultimately Harry himself in the last book.
 * Big No: Upon seeing in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. See also Tear Jerker.
 * Career Versus Man: Pottermore reveals she turned down a proposal from her Muggle love in favor of a job at the ministy that she ended up unhappy with.
 * Commander Contrarian: To Dumbledore. She'll follow through on helping Dumbledore with whatever course of action he decides, but not before voicing her objections, improvements, and alternatives to the plan du jour.
 * Cool Old Lady
 * Cool Teacher: Especially in the final book.
 * Daddies Girl: According to Pottermore, she was very close to her muggle father.
 * Deadpan Snarker: She has her moments.
 * "I should have made my meaning plainer," said Professor McGonagall, turning at last to look at Umbridge directly in the eyes. "He has achieved high marks in all Defense Against the Dark Arts tests set by a competent teacher."
 * Extra points when you consider that the only teacher McGonagall could be talking about was werewolf Remus Lupin, who had taught Harry in his third year.
 * Hidden Depths: Who would have expected stern Professor McGonagall to be so into Quidditch?
 * I Always Wanted to Say That: A variation in the final movie. After summoning an army of stone statues and ordering them to protect the school she looks pleased with herself - indeed, almost reminiscent of Hermione after getting to use a particularly cool bit of magic - and notes that she's "always wanted to use that spell."
 * Iron Lady: Most definitely. Though she does have rare emotional moments.
 * Mama Bear: She will fight to the death to defend any one of her students, especially Harry, Ron, or Hermione.
 * Meaningful Name: In Roman mythology, Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, strength, and skill. Now why does this sound familiar, again? Her surname is taken from Giftedly Bad poet William McGonagall, apparently only because Rowling found the idea of someone as brilliant as Minerva being a distant relative of someone as talentless as William to be amusing.
 * Minored in Asskicking: Though it may not be expected, McGonagall holds her own in pretty much every battle at Hogwarts. Most notably, attacking with a fire-lasso and a swarm of knives in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. She also has an army of galloping desks.
 * Never Mess with Granny: She is not a woman you want to cross.
 * Not So Stoic
 * Number Two: To Dumbledore, as Deputy Headmistress.
 * Parental Substitute: One of many to Harry. It says a great deal about their relationship that when, in Deathly Hallows, Harry uses an Unforgivable Curse against Amycus Carrow, all he has to say about it is, "He spat at you." Nobody requires further explanation.
 * Prim and Proper Bun: She always has her hair up in a tight bun. It's even slightly lampshaded in Goblet of Fire when several students giggle at her describing the Yule Ball as a "chance to let our hair down."
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: While she's quite strict and doesn't favor Gryffindor with the same devotion that Snape favors Slytherin, she is the one teacher to go to when you need help. She might scold you later, but she'll help whenever you need it.
 * Running Gag: Dropping a stack of books whenever something shocking happens.
 * Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Her resistance to Umbridge in Book Five includes encouraging mutinous, rule-flouting anarchy among the students. In which she participates. "It unscrews the other way," anyone?
 * Stern Teacher: To a T. Defeat a troll all by yourselves? 5 points added, after subtracting points for punishment and rewarding points for the impressive act. Caught out of bed in the middle of the night, and then questioning the teacher's punishment? 50-point penalty! Each!
 * Straight Man and Wise Guy: Try as she might to avoid it, every time Lee Jordan did Quidditch commentary she'd hopelessly try to correct his rambling, only to eventually fall into his pace and begin playing the Straight Man to him in something resembling an unintentional comedy routine.
 * Sugar and Ice Personality
 * Supporting Leader
 * The Stoic
 * Tranquil Fury: Minerva vs. Snape in Deathly Hallows.
 * Teen Genius: Had one of her papers published in Transfiguration Monthly while she was still in school.
 * Undying Loyalty: To Dumbledore.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: As an Animagus, she can transform into a cat whenever necessary.
 * The Stoic
 * Tranquil Fury: Minerva vs. Snape in Deathly Hallows.
 * Teen Genius: Had one of her papers published in Transfiguration Monthly while she was still in school.
 * Undying Loyalty: To Dumbledore.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: As an Animagus, she can transform into a cat whenever necessary.

Pomona Sprout (Miriam Margoyles)
The short and plump professor of Herbology and Head of Hufflepuff House, Sprout doesn't mind getting dirty when dealing with dangerous plants. Like Flitwick, she is cheerful and fair to her students. Not a member of the Order, but loyal to Dumbledore even through Umbridge's reign and she played a significant role in the Battle of Hogwarts.


 * Beware the Nice Ones: Don't mistake her sweetness nor Head of Hufflepuff status for weakness. She can handle tough and dangerous plants without much fuss, and she rebelled against the tyranny of Umbridge and Voldemort before using her knowledge of magical plants in the Battle of Hogwarts.
 * Covered in Mud: She is described as having lots of earth on her clothes and fingernails that would make prim and proper Aunt Petunia faint.
 * Fluffy Tamer: Apparently, the only person the Whomping Willow won't attack.
 * Green Thumb: She weaponizes her plants in the Battle of Hogwarts.
 * Never Mess with Granny

Filius Flitwick (Warwick Davis)
The short professor of Charms and Head of Ravenclaw House. A cheerful man who usually stands on a pile of books while addressing his class. Like Sprout, cheerful and fair to his students. Not a member of the Order, but loyal to Dumbledore and a former Duelist. He displayed the former under the rules of both Umbridge and Voldemort and the latter in the Battle of Hogwarts.


 * Alliterative Name
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Prof. Filtwick is one of Hogwarts's nicest teachers; however, he is one of the main teachers at Hogwarts, and he used to be a dueling champion, as several Death Eaters would find out.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Foil: To McGonagall. Made more explicit with Pottermore's revelation that the Sorting Hat had had difficulty sorting the both of them; both were toss-ups between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
 * Nice Guy
 * Our Goblins Are Wickeder: J. K. Rowling envisioned him as just a tiny old man, but his appearance in the first two movies made her rationalize he has a dash of goblin ancestry.
 * Retired Badass: A dueling champion in his youth.

Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane)
The Hogwarts gamekeeper, and a half-giant as well. Hagrid was the one who explained the wizarding world to Harry, and remains his friend throughout Harry's years at Hogwarts. He also has an unusual affection towards vicious beasts, including Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback (dragon), Fluffy (three-headed dog), Aragog (acromantula), and Blast-ended Skrewts. Also has a thing for alcohol.

By the fifth and sixth books,.


 * All Genes Are Codominant: He splits the difference between giant and human in size.
 * Badass: See below to Beware the Nice Ones.
 * Badass Grandpa: Hagrid was in school with Tom, so he's only three, maybe four years younger than the guy.
 * Badass Beard
 * Bear Hug: He does this to Harry, Ron, and Hermione frequently.
 * Berserk Button: "NEVER - INSULT - ALBUS - DUMBLEDORE - IN - FRONT - OF - ME!"
 * Beware the Nice Ones: While Hagrid is a generally lovable chap, it's recommended you don't anger him, by either insulting Dumbledore in front of him, or attacking his friends or his pet boarhound, Fang. If you do that, he will force you to repent. Hell, he may not even aim for you. In PS, when Vernon Dursley insults Dumbledore, Hagrid loses it and aims a curse at Dudley, intending to turn him into a pig. Of course, since there was so much pig in Dudley back then, there wasn't much else to do left, so Dudley got a pigtail instead.
 * Umbrige and four Ministry-trained Aurors found this out the hard way when they tried to ambush him one night. Umbrige, sadly, was the only one who escaped conscious.
 * Boisterous Bruiser
 * Cannot Keep a Secret: Trust Hagrid with your business, trust him with your treasures, trust him with your life, heck, trust him with taking care of Harry Freaking Potter, but for the love of all that is holy, don’t trust him with your secrets. A habit of slipping into Did I Just Say That Out Loud? mixed with being a chatty drunk ensures nothing in his knowledge stays with him alone for long.
 * Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Occurs many times, especially when he's drinking.
 * Disney Death:
 * Emotional Bruiser: He's seven or eight feet tall, can bend metal with his bare hands, and most spells will simply bounce off him. Are you going to tell him it's not manly to cry in public? Didn't think so.
 * Fluffy Tamer: One of the best known examples, and even named one of his pets (a three-headed dog, to be precise) "Fluffy."
 * Friend to All Living Things
 * Funetik Aksent: If yeh want ter sound like Hagrid, talk like this, o' course. I shouldnta told ya that.
 * Gentle Giant: He may be half-giant, but he also has a heart of gold, and wouldn't hurt a fly... as long as you don't insult Albus Dumbledore, as Vernon Dursley learned to his cost. Also, it's a good idea not to mess with his friends.
 * Half-Human Hybrid: Dad was a human wizard, mom was a giantess. Look, don't ask us how they breed, okay, it just happened.
 * Dad was a human wizard.
 * Intergenerational Friendship
 * Last-Name Basis: For some reason, nobody ever calls him "Rubeus" regardless of how close they are to him. Even Dumbledore, who's in First-Name Basis with pretty much everyone.
 * Lethal Chef: His food is not so much inedible as it is simply unchewable, often described as having the consistency of solid rocks.
 * Man Child
 * Missing Mom: His mother, a giantess, left him when he was three. Hagrid mentions her death casually, as he hardly even remembers her.
 * Nightmare Fetishist: Considers dragons, Acromanulas and huge, three-headed dogs to be "cute."
 * Older Than They Look: He's really in his sixties, yet acts a third that age.
 * Overwhelming Obsession: Hagrid is a well-rounded character and important ally to Harry in his own right, but he's a little too obsessed with highly dangerous and aggressive magical creatures for his own good. Whether it's the ridiculously aggressive Blast-Ended Skrewts that he's bred into existence, the man-eating acromantula Aragog that he raised from infancy, or the various threatening creatures he keeps around for his Care of Magical Creatures classes, Hagrid conducts himself like an overly sappy, loving father to them all, which has gotten him in hot water more than once when his beloved creatures have hurt people or been framed for doing so.
 * Papa Wolf: Towards the children of Hogwarts.
 * Paper Tiger
 * Parasol of Pain: His wand, which was snapped when he was expelled, is actually in one piece and hidden in his umbrella.
 * Shoo Out the Clowns: As the series grew Darker and Edgier, Hagrid's role in the books had grown more diminished.
 * Skewed Priorities: Sometimes places the safety and well-being of some of the bloodthirsty monsters he is so fond of above that of other people. Notably in Books 2 and 7.
 * Stout Strength: His entire life as an employee of the school is spent doing physically taxing and highly dangerous tasks that other wizards would rather not (his predecessor left "to spend more time with his remaining limbs", according to Dumbledore). This is, of course, BEFORE one begins adding in the very dangerous situations he finds himself in as a result of his friendship with Harry.
 * Unskilled but Strong: He never finished his schooling as a wizard and is not exactly the clever sort, but makes up for it by being massively strong and resistant to magic due to his Giant heritage. His standard fighting strategy amounts to walking up to whichever poor bastards he's fighting while shrugging off their spells and crushing them with his hands. It's pretty effective.

Sybill Trelawney (Emma Thompson)
The professor of Divination. Trelawney fancies herself a great seer "possessed of the Inner Eye", but is widely regarded by other characters as a fraud who makes up nonsensical prohecies on the spot, particularly because of her habit of predicting death to one student of every new class she teaches. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil seem to be the only two students who take her seriously.

"Sybill Trelawney: Everything went pitch black and the next thing I knew, I was being hurled headfirst out of the room! Harry Potter: And you didn't see that coming? Sybill Trelawney: No, I did not, as I say, it was pitch-[Throws him a dirty look]."
 * The Alcoholic/Drowning My Sorrows: She starts drinking a lot of cooking sherry after Umbridge puts her on probation.
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Chew Toy: She rarely gets through a scene without somebody making a joke at her expense. Even Harry, or rather especially Harry, can't quite help himself.


 * Fainting Seer
 * Fortune Teller
 * Genius Ditz
 * Improbable Weapon User: Crystal balls.
 * Lady Drunk: After Umbridge repeatedly humiliates her, she can often be seen with a bottle of sherry.
 * Mama Bear: In Deathly Hallows
 * Not-So-Phony Psychic: The only real prophecies Trelawney has ever made (all two of them) happen when she goes into a trance, and thus she can't remember them afterwards. Every prophecy she actually makes on purpose is made up. Though, she did warn Guess how he died.
 * Prophecies Are Always Right: Subverted, then hilariously doubly subverted when all of her predictions eventually come true—almost never in quite the way she expects.
 * Quirky Curls
 * Small Name, Big Ego
 * Tarot Troubles

Quirinus Quirrell (Ian Hart)
The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher during Harry's first year at Hogwarts (and a Muggle Studies professor prior to that, according to Word of God). He initially comes across as inconfident and incompetent, stuttering constantly, but this is appearantly a facade: He eventually reveals himself to be a servant of Voldemort, and the host to his spirit. He tries to steal the Philosopher's Stone for his master, but is thwarted by Harry and dies when Voldemort's spirit leaves him.

""Lord Voldemort showed me the truth. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.""
 * Above Good and Evil:


 * Alliterative Name
 * Be Careful What You Wish For:
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
 * Butt Monkey: Or so it seems until the end.
 * The Dragon: To the Big Bad—in fact, he's the very first Dragon introduced the series.
 * The Dog Was the Mastermind
 * Evil Teacher: He doesn't actually act evil while teaching as part of his cover, though.
 * Fan Nickname: Quirrelmort.
 * Master Actor
 * Nice Turban: Voldemort hides under it.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity
 * Starter Villain
 * Stuttering Into Eloquence
 * Stuttering Into Eloquence

Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh)
The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher during Harry's second year at Hogwarts, Lockhart is a wizarding celebrity famous for his claimed defeats of various monsters like Yetis, banshees, werevolves, and trolls and his books detailing these exploits. When he arrives at Hogwarts, he completely fails to live up to his hype, proving himself to be quite untalented and incompetent, as well as vain and egotistical.

At the end of the book, he's unsurprisingly exposed as a fraud. It turns out he used his one real talent, Memory Charms, to take credit for the accomplishments of others. When he tries to silence Harry and Ron, the Memory Charm backfires due to him using Ron's broken wand and Lockhart accidentally erases his own memory. Three books later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny visit St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where it's revealed Lockhart is now a permanent resident.


 * Butt Monkey
 * Chick Magnet
 * The Dandy
 * Dirty Coward
 * Fake Ultimate Hero
 * Feet of Clay
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: He ends up.
 * Hot Teacher: According to Hermione.
 * Inept Mage
 * Miles Gloriosus
 * Narcissist
 * The Obi-Wannabe
 * Small Name, Big Ego
 * Smug Snake
 * Unlimited Wardrobe
 * Villain with Good Publicity: A milder form of a "villain", considering his true nature.
 * What Could Have Been: Rowling's first choice to play him? Hugh Grant.
 * Write Who You Know: Rowling has stated she based Lockhart on a real person, and that she barely exaggerated his real personality.

Remus Lupin (David Thewlis)
Introduced as a (temporary) teacher at Hogwarts, Lupin turns out to have been one of James Potter's best friends when they were all in school together. Also, as his Meaningful Name might suggest, he's a werewolf. A member of the Order of the Phoenix. Only one to exit the Battle at the Ministry unharmed, except Dumbledore.

"Harry Potter: If the new regime thinks Muggle-borns are bad, what will they do to a half-werewolf whose father’s in the Order? My father died trying to protect my mother and me, and you reckon he’d tell you to abandon your kid to go on an adventure with us? [...] I’d never have believed this. The man who taught me to fight dementors – a coward."
 * Ambiguously Gay: This.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Cool Teacher: Not only that, he's one of the only DADA teachers in the series who's not an outright Complete Monster.
 * I Just Want to Have Friends: His Fatal Flaw. In Rowling's own words, "Lupin's failing is he likes to be liked. That's where he slips up – he's been disliked so often he's always pleased to have friends so cuts them an awful lot of slack."
 * The Lancer: In Deathly Hallows, especially the second half of the film, he becomes one to Kingsley.
 * Meaningful Name: Remus is a legendary co-founder of Rome who was raised by wolves; "Lupin" is Latin for "wolf-like." His codename on Potterwatch was Romulus, referencing the same legend. It gets to the point that those who are well-rehearsed in Latin and mythology can predict what he actually is early on in Prisoner of Azkaban.
 * "No Respect" Guy: Among the Marauders.
 * One Mario Limit: Since many characters are on a Last-Name Basis with him, it can be hard not to think of another Lupin.
 * Only Sane Man: As a youth, among the Marauders, but also as an adult, since he's arguably the sanest Hogwarts professor to appear in the series.
 * Our Werewolves Are Different: With Involuntary Shapeshifting every full moon, and The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body if he hasn't taken a Wolfsbane potion.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: The first really accessible teacher in the story. One of the first accessible adults to appear in the story.
 * The Professor
 * Prophetic Name: Not to excuse Fenrir Greyback, but with a name like Remus Lupin, his parents were kind of asking for it.
 * Save Our Students: After two useless Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers (and before two downright evil ones), he comes along and actually teaches them what they need to know.
 * The Smart Guy: Of the Marauders; by smart, we mean "with common sense."
 * Theme Naming: Remus coming from the story of Remus and Romulus, twins raised by a she-wolf.
 * The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: He goes Ax Crazy at the climax of Prisoner of Azkaban due to this trope being a trait of lycanthropy.
 * Truth in Television: After the first Dementor encounter, he offers students chocolate, which has been shown to aid in the release of endorphins, or pleasure hormones. It really is quite useful if you've just had joy sucked out of you.
 * Werewolf Theme Naming
 * What the Hell, Hero?: The prospect of having a child, who could potentially inherit his lycanthropy and would face discrimination either way for being a werewolf’s son, sends him into fit of panic that he tries to follow Harry in the Horcrux hunt, arguing that Tonks and his child would be better off without him. Although his fears are justified, his response is certainly not, and unsurprisingly, Harry is very much not on board with the “Kids are better off without their parents” argument and calls him on it immediately.
 * Werewolf Theme Naming
 * What the Hell, Hero?: The prospect of having a child, who could potentially inherit his lycanthropy and would face discrimination either way for being a werewolf’s son, sends him into fit of panic that he tries to follow Harry in the Horcrux hunt, arguing that Tonks and his child would be better off without him. Although his fears are justified, his response is certainly not, and unsurprisingly, Harry is very much not on board with the “Kids are better off without their parents” argument and calls him on it immediately.


 * Wolf Man: In the film adaptation. In the original book, he transforms into an actual wolf.

Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent)
An old friend of Dumbledore's and, until 1981, the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. In 1996, he returned to his post as Potions Master, and in 1997, resumed his post as Head of Slytherin. He runs an informal organization nicknamed the Slug Club, which an invitation-only club of students whom Slughorn believes will be successful. He has recruited Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger into this club.


 * Affably Evil: He's not "Evil" as such, but Horace sure is selfish.
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV.
 * Ambition Is Evil: Averted; indeed, he's the first Slytherin in the story shown to not be obsessed with blood purity.
 * Berserk Button: He flips out when Harry asks him about Horcruxes. In part this is because of
 * Catch Phrase: "Merlin's beard!"
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He takes on Voldemort in the last book along with McGonagall and Shacklebolt, and all three hold their own. Horace Slughorn fights Voldemort head-on.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: He was specifically created to show that not all Slytherins are evil and/or assholes.
 * Defector From Decadence:
 * Combat Pragmatist:
 * Expy: It can be argued that he is an expy of Dr.Quartz, a character created by CS Lewis who collected students and made a lasting impression on them and would "drop them" if they proved to be unsavoury in later life.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he's not as big a Jerkass as Snape, Slughorn's definitely got his moments, including his shock that a Muggle-born would be better at magic than a pureblood and his favoring of certain students over others. Nevertheless, he is overall a decent guy, and he genuinely adores his favored students.
 * Knowledge Broker
 * Lovable Coward
 * My Greatest Failure: Telling Tom Riddle about Horcruxes; both because it casts him in a bad light and because it led to the death of Lily Evans, "one of my all-time favorite students."
 * Noble Bigot: A minor example; though he's one of the most sympathetic Slytherins in the series, there are hints that he holds to some aspects of 'blood purity' ideology, such as his assumption that Voldemort must be a pureblood and his surprise at Muggle-born wizards with above-average talent. He doesn't hold it against them, though, and tends to adore them even more in the face of their "minor problem".
 * Reasonable Authority Figure
 * Some of My Best Friends Are X: Makes it a point to bring up his famous Muggleborn students as proof that he is not prejudiced, even while, as Harry put it, still “seeming much too surprised that a Muggle-born should make a good witch.” To his credit, he IS genuinely kind towards Muggleborns who display talent, he simply seems to have a subconscious expectation for purebloods to usually be better.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Crystallized pineapple.

Rolanda Hooch (Zoë Wanamaker)
The Hogwarts flying teacher and referee for the school Quidditch matches. She doesn't appear much, but she seems to be very strict and serious, though she humorously went gaga over Harry's Firebolt in the third book.

While she is seen off and on throughout the books, she only appears in the first movie due to salary disputes with her actress. However, the character didn't do much in the other books anyway.


 * Animal Motifs: Her eye's are constantly being compared to those of a hawk
 * Eyes of Gold: Madam Hooch is the only human character other than Voldemort to have Technicolor Eyes. It's never explained why.
 * Fake Brit: Kind of. Zoë Wanamaker was born in the U.S. to American parents, but lived in the U.K. from a very young age. As it happened, her father was shooting a movie in England (Mr. Denning Drives North) when he was put on the infamous Hollywood blacklist, so he just decided to stay. In any case, she's been in the U.K. long enough to have a legit British accent and that's the part that matters as far as Harry Potter is concerned.
 * Stern Teacher: The penalty for flying a broom without her permission? Expulsion.
 * Unnecessary Roughness: She deplores the use of this trope in Quidditch, but is sometimes lackadaisical when it comes to enforcing against it.
 * Written-In Absence: Madam Hooch originally had a small part in the second film, but she got written out when a deal couldn't be reached with Zoë Wanamaker. Later on, Wanamaker was willing to come back for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, but was never asked.

Firenze (Ray Fearon)
The Centaur that rescued Harry from Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest when he was serving detention in Philosopher's Stone. When Dolores Umbridge fired Sybill Trelawney in 1996, Dumbledore hired him to replace her so as to prevent the Ministry from installing another puppet teacher. After Umbridge's removal at the end of the year, Trelawney was reinstated and the Divination curriculum was split between them, much to her irritation.

Unlike other Centaurs, Firenze is polite and friendly to humans, even allowing the 11-year old Harry to ride on his back when taking him to safety. This made him unpopular among his kind and his herd attempted to kill him after his hiring as Professor for daring spread the Centaurs' art of Divination to humans. Hagrid rescued him, but he was banished from the herd and the forest for his transgression.

After the final battle, the Centaur herd became more accepting of humans and finally welcomed him back.

"Parvati Patil: Professor Trelawney did astrology with us! Mars causes accidents and burns and things like that, and when it makes an angle to Saturn, like now, that means people need to be extra careful when handling hot things- Firenze: [calmly] That, is human nonsense."
 * Adaptational Attractiveness: Inverted. The book describes his human half as that of a handsome blonde man with striking blue eyes, whereas the movie made him look far more bestial and covered with grey hair.
 * Big Damn Heroes: His debut in the series
 * Brutal Honesty: While he concedes that Trelawney may or may not have seer gifts he does not know and doesn't outright call her a fraud, he is brutally frank about what he thinks of her methods. Mostly anyone who spends any time with the woman usually agrees.


 * Expy: His kindly, humble and wise attitude are extremely similar to the wise centaur Chiron, the trainer of heroes in Classical Mythology
 * Hot Teacher: As mentioned above, his human features are very handsome, prompting Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown to put their grief over Trelawney's sacking aside to swoon over him.
 * Magical Native American: Centaurs as a whole are very analogous to Native Americans, especially with the mentions of being allowed restricted territories by the government. Their main methods of Divination consist of stargazing and burning leaves to find patterns in the smoke.
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Decidedly humbler and more accepting and appreciative of humans than any others of his herd.
 * Only Sane Man: Among the centaurs, or at least in the eyes of Harry and his friends. In the eyes of his own species he’s a traitor to his kind
 * The Stoic: Comes off as it, especially when factoring in his tolerance. Even after Dean Thomas unintentionally wonders if Hagrid breeds the Centaurs like cattle, he merely corrects him and continues the lesson, whereas far lesser insults send the other centaurs into violent indignant rage.

Cuthbert Binns
The History of Magic teacher and the only ghost teacher. Student legend has it that he died in his sleep while seated by the staff room fire and got up to teach the next day, leaving his body behind. Binns's lessons consist of him delivering lectures which are so boring that they put everyone to sleep, except for Hermione, of course. But he doesn't care and just keeps droning on and on.


 * Agent Scully/Genre Blindness: He insists the Chamber of Secrets could not possibly be real. Someone more Genre Savvy would know that All Myths Are True.
 * Composite Character: He doesn't appear in the movies. His only real scene in the books was explaining the Chamber of Secrets, and McGonagall does that instead in the film. Flitwick does it in the video game.
 * Lecture as Exposition: The one time he's useful in the series is when he explains the Chamber of Secrets. He thinks the legend is stupid, but he tells it anyway because the students are paying attention to him for once.
 * Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: When he actually speaks to the students in the second book, he gets all their names wrong. It's assumed he's calling them by the names of students from long ago.
 * Ultimate Job Security: Not that there'd by any real way to fire a ghost teacher. I mean, who you gonna call?

Charity Burbage (Carolyn Pickles)
The Muggle Studies teacher and an opponent of pure-blood prejudice. Muggle Studies is mentioned throughout the series, but Harry never takes the class and the teacher was unidentified. The first and only time we meet Burbage is in the Villain Opening Scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in which Voldemort murders her and then feeds her to Nagini. After the Death Eaters gain control of Hogwarts, her class is taken over by Alecto Carrow, who uses it to churn out anti-Muggle propaganda.


 * Fantastic Racism: Burbage is outspoken against this. Shortly before the Death Eaters got her, she published an editorial against pure-blood prejudice in the Daily Prophet.
 * Names to Trust Immediately: Her first name is "Charity" for crying out loud. This fits with the editorial mentioned above.
 * Red Shirt: Pretty much. She exists to die and her death doesn't really have an emotional impact on anyone. It's already well-established by this point that Anyone Can Die, after all.
 * Remember the New Guy?: "Oh no, Voldie's going to kill a Hogwarts teacher! Oh wait, it's someone we've never met." Justified since Muggle Studies was mentioned as an elective class in previous books. Harry never took the class, but someone must have been teaching it.

Argus Filch (David Bradley)
The Hogwarts caretaker, he has an extremely antagonistic relationship with the students and mostly acts as an obstacle to Harry throughout the series. His bitterness torwards the students probably stems from the fact that he is a Squib, that is, someone who while born into a magical family has no magical abilities on his own. He has a cat named Mrs. Norris, probably the closest thing he has to a friend.


 * Anti-Hero: Type V (books 1-4 and 6) --> Type IV (book 7)
 * Arch Enemy: Peeves the poltergeist and the Weasley twins.
 * Berserk Button: Hurting Mrs. Norris, as shown in the second book.
 * Track in mud or make a mess and feel his wrath. Or be Peeves.
 * Black Shirt: He's the only Hogwarts employee who supports Umbridge when she takes the helm because she allows him to use harsher methods to discipline the students. Alas, he never gets to use them, because the school is too full of rebels by that point.
 * Butt Monkey
 * Child-Hater
 * Crusty Caretaker
 * The Dragon: To Umbridge.
 * Formally-Named Pet: Mrs. Norris.
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain
 * Jerkass
 * Loves the Sound of Screaming
 * Muggle Born of Mages: Former Trope Namer.
 * Right-Hand-Cat: Mrs. Norris.

Poppy Pomfrey (Gemma Jones)
The Hogwarts matron and nurse, expert in medical magic. While she is kind-hearted and always well-meaning, she's overprotective of the students in her care, which is Played for Laughs. She regards Harry, and his tendency to fall into dangerous exploits, with a kind of friendly exasperation. A frequent sight in the hospital wing is Harry, landed there after his latest crazy adventure, begging to be allowed to do something while Madam Pomfrey insists he needs to rest more.

Madam Pomfrey shows up in all the books, but appears very infrequently in the movies.

"Pomfrey: Nothing to worry about, I mended it at once, but I'm keeping you in overnight. You shouldn't over exert yourself for a few hours. Harry: I don't want to stay here overnight, I want to find McLaggen and kill him. Pomfrey: I'm afraid that would come under the heading of 'overexertion'."
 * Alliterative Name
 * Berserk Button: For all that is holy, do NOT walk into the hospital wing if you're covered in mud.
 * Er, that doesn't bother her. Be Gilderoy Lockhart, though, that'll do it.
 * Deadpan Snarker: She has moments:


 * I Can Still Fight: She's the one who replies, "No, you can't. Go to sleep, Harry."
 * The McCoy: Working in the same field as the real McCoy, no less.
 * The Medic
 * Oh, No, Not Again: Upon seeing Harry in the third book, "Oh, it's you, is it? I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?"
 * School Nurse

Irma Pince (Sally Mortemore)
The Scary Librarian who runs the Hogwarts library. Madam Pince doesn't trust students any further than she could throw Hagrid, and is known for putting odd jinxes on her books to protect them. Word of God says she exists because a nice, helpful librarian would resolve plots too quickly.

""Chocolate in the library!" she screamed. "Out — out — OUT!" And whipping out her wand, she caused Harry's books, bag and ink bottle to chase him and Ginny from the library, whacking them repeatedly over the head as they ran."
 * Animal Motifs: Apparently she looks like an "underfed vulture". Lovely.
 * Berserk Button: No food in the library!


 * That was nothing compared to her reaction at seeing Harry's written-on Potions textbook in the sixth book.
 * Continuity Cameo: Sally Mortemore plays her in the second film, though you'd only know her nonspeaking character is meant to be Madam Pince from the credits. She doesn't appear in any of the other films.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: She's placed dozens of curses on each of the books should they be mistreated, stolen, or vandalized. Dumbledore himself notes that he made to the mistake of doodling in one of her library books, then found the book trying to beat him on the head. And he can not guarantee he's gotten off all the curses on the very copy of Quidditch Through the Ages that the reader is holding...
 * Lean and Mean
 * Nice Hat: One of the few wizard hats you'll see in the films, but it's pretty cool.
 * Pair the Spares: In a possible parody of Shipping, students speculate about her and Filch in the sixth book.
 * Playing Gertrude: In the second film, she appears to be in early middle-age, but the books' description implies that she is an old woman.
 * Scary Librarian: To a tee.