Harry Potter/Characters/Hogwarts Teachers

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Headmaster and Heads of House

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. He dies at the hands of Snape, but is ultimately revealed to have planned it beforehand as part of an elaborate Batman Gambit.

Enjoys tenpin bowling, lemon sherbets and chamber music.

  • 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 Type III, at least in his youth, with ideas of a "greater good" that were mostly discarded in his adult life; he also does a fair bit of manipulation throughout the series proper that is revealed in later school years.
  • 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 part of his plan to destroy Voldemort involving Harry's sacrifice. If Voldemort hadn't used Harry's blood to regenerate and the Elder Wand plot had not worked out as it did, Harry would have died in book seven. Though, as soon as he found out about these, Dumbledore did change his plans to make sure that Harry would be able to survive his "death." However, it still may have been unsuccessful, because Dumbledore only made a guess that the horcrux inside Harry would be killed instead of Harry himself. He was right of course, but it could have turned out for the worst, as he states.)
  • 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 he orders Snape to give him a quick and clean death via the Killing Curse.
  • Dead Little Sister: Inverted—he was going through a Well-Intentioned Extremist phase before Ariana's death snapped him out of it.
  • Disney Villain Death: 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 Snape killed him.
  • Fair For His Day: In-Universe. While the quotes from his adolescence bother many readers and Harry immensely, it's worth pointing out that his teenage years took place a hundred years ago, in a time of immense, institutionalized racism. With that in mind, his comments may seem extreme, but not malicious.
  • Foe Yay: With his old 'friend' Grindelwald.
  • Gambit Roulette: Way too many of his schemes require exceptionally precise combinations of events and circumstances that can't realistically be predicted. For example, his master plan for removing the Horcrux from Harry would have failed if Voldemort had been a little more thorough with one particular murder.
  • 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.
  • Killed Off for Real
  • Knight Templar: How some fans see him. He manipulates those under his guidance and raises Harry to be a Sacrificial Lamb in his quest to defeat Voldemort, and he once thought that plotting World Domination would be best for everyone. Granted, he suspected that Harry would probably live, but it was still a big risk. However, he only does this when he realizes Harry may be a horcrux, and this isn't until much later after he puts Harry with the Dursleys. He was not raising Harry for slaughter, but realized that it was the only way to defeat Voldemort. It can be argued that it was Harry's choice to sacrifice himself and that Dumbledore did not manipulate him.
    • It's implied that Dumbledore knew Harry would survive especially when he tells Snape it must be Voldemort to kill him in order to destroy the faux horcrux that Harry had become. It's likely Harry could have been killed by anybody and the faux horcrux would have been gone. Dumbledore specified this because he believed Harry could survive if it was Voldemort to be the one to do it because of his connection with Harrys blood.
  • Mentor Occupational Hazard: Classic example.
  • Manipulative Bastard: See The Chessmaster.
  • 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: Even post-mortem, in Deathly Hallows. Rowling has admitted that whenever something needs explaining, she gives it to either Dumbledore or Hermione to do.
  • My Death Is Just the Beginning: Unlike most of the examples, he does not use a Unwitting Pawn, since he'd prefer a quick and painless death, and Death Eaters tend to be sadistic.
  • Nobody Over 50 Is Gay: Averted, by a margin of nearly sixty-six years.
  • Not So Omniscient After All: In Dumbledore's own words:

"I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being -- forgive me -- rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger."

  • 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
  • Posthumous Character Development: He's alive for most of the book series, but we don't find out his past, his motivations, or really much of anything about him until after he's dead.
  • 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!
  • Tragic Hero
  • 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. Snape does a particularly good job of calling him out in one of the memory scenes in Deathly Hallows:

"I have spied for you, lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter--"

  • 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 Snape was the spy who gave Voldemort the (incomplete) prophecy, leading to the murder of Harry's parents. In the seventh book, it's revealed that he and Harry's mother, Lily Evans, were best friends since childhood, and he subsequently fell in love with her, though she cut off said friendship when he referred to her as "mudblood" during a fight. When his actions as Voldemort's spy led Voldemort to begin hunting her, he was instantly remorseful. This is how Dumbledore knew his repentance was genuine, and ever since, he has helped the Order protect Harry because Lily died to save Harry's life. His patronus is a doe, the same as Lily's, and it was he who sent his Patronus to Harry in Deathly Hallows when he was lost in the woods, guiding him to the Sword of Gryffindor in a frozen pond.

Harry names his younger son after him and Dumbledore.

Severus Snape: THIS -- HAS -- SOMETHING -- TO -- DO -- WITH -- POTTER!

    • 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.

Severus Snape: DON'T CALL ME COWARD!

  • Broken Ace: In terms of fighting ability, Snape would fall somewhere between Voldemort/Dumbledore and everyone else. But well above Gilderoy Lockhart. Outside of duels, he created a slew of potions techniques that made Harry the top of Slughorn's class, several jinxes and hexes, and an extremely powerful curse. Even more telling, he also creates a cure years later. Problem is, he also was so incredibly bitter over his (admittedly bad) experiences in school that he was willing to sell out his first and only love's husband and child in exchange to have her spared from death, and it bit him bad in the ass later as she dies anyway, and his Heel Face Turn comes from having to assume the huge screw-up that such an action was.
  • 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.
  • Comforting the Widow: Tries to do this until Dumbledore calls him out on it. It also goes horrifyingly wrong, as she dies anyway.
  • Consummate Liar: By necessity. He has a Deep Cover to maintain.
  • 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.
  • Dark Is Not Evil
  • 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.

McGonagall: Katie 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.

  • Deadly Dodging: Used to great effect in the final movie when he duels Mcgonagall, still under the ruse of being a Death Eater. This doesn't stop him from parrying Mcgonagall's attacks specifically to take out both the Carrows without anyone noticing before fleeing.
  • 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 he also loved Lily.
  • Did Not Get the Girl
  • Died In Harry's Arms Tonight: He is conciliatory toward Harry in his final moments, sharing his memories which explain his actions. He also gets to look into the eyes of his beloved Lily, one last time.
  • The Dog Bites Back: It's ironic at that. Snape would've remained loyal to Voldemort if he didn't kill Lily.
  • Double Agent
  • The Dragon: Or so Voldemort thought...
  • Dragon with an Agenda
  • 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. He was quite happy to be a Death Eater until Voldemort threatened Lily, and when Voldemort reneged on his promise to spare her, he appeared to be siding with Voldemort to bring him down.
  • 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 his unrequited love for Harry's mother.
  • 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!: After Harry sees Snape's worst memory.
  • 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 just how much of a Big Damn Hero he was all along.
  • 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. Dumbledore knew this. Voldemort, being Stupid Evil, did not.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: In the film, it's implied Voldemort whacks him with Sectumsempra, a spell Snape invented, before unleashing Right Hand Attack Snake Nagini on him.
  • 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 independent Flight.
  • Intelligence Equals Isolation
  • Jerkass
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Possibly the king of this trope.
  • Killed Off for Real
  • 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 really sad part is, if he hadn't pushed Lily away and she would have fallen for him instead of James, he would have succeeded in not turning out like Tobias.
  • The Lost Lenore: He never gets over Lily's death.
  • 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).
  • Mercy Kill: What his killing Dumbledore is ultimately revealed as.
  • Moment of Weakness: What ruined his relationship with Lily Evans.
    • Though again, according to Lily herself, choosing to surround himself with wizards obsessed with the Dark Arts like Lucius Malfoy was what strained their friendship. Snape calling Lily a mudblood was just the final straw.
  • Morality Pet: Lily Evans. Harry by extension for being "Lily's Son."
  • More Than Meets the Eye
  • My God, What Have I Done?: When he realizes that his own actions hurt Lily, the person he cared the most for, and eventually led to her murder.
  • 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 or more accurately, were accused of doing: Sirius's supposed betrayal of James and Lily, and Snape's murder of Dumbledore, and both are extremely protective of their friends' sons (Sirius to Harry, Snape to Draco). Furthermore, the accusations against them were publicly cleared only after they were killed, 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!: He begged Voldemort to spare Lily's life after she (along with James and Harry) became #1 on Voldy's hit-list. It didn't work.
  • 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.
  • Redemption Equals Death: His ultimate redemption in Harry's eyes takes place posthumously.
  • 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? Not him. 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. And let us not forget his killing of Dumbledore, meant as part of one of Dumbledore's own plans, but taken as "proof" of his treachery by Harry (and any readers who hadn't yet picked up on the pattern.)
  • 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. Ultimately subverted, however, since he isn't really evil and is actually on Dumbledore's side.
  • 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.

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.

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
  • 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 Harry's 'dead' body 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.
  • Foil: To Flitwick. 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.
  • 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.
  • The Lost Lenore: That tends to happen when you marry someone much older than yourself. She keeps her chin up though.
  • The Maiden Name Debate: She kept her maiden name out of respect for her Muggle father. Considering that he was Muggle and her husband was a pure-blooded wizard, this was met with some derision in the magical community.
  • Mama Bear: She will fight to the death to defend any one of her students, especially Harry, Ron, or Hermione.
  • Mayfly-December Romance: Her late husband, Elphinstone Urquart, was much older than her.
  • 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 Snape 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?
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: Her first love was a Muggle named Dougal McGregor. She accepted his eventual proposal, but had to go back on it after considering how her mother's revelation as a witch hurt her father and home life.
  • 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.

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 and Snape 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.

Other Teachers

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, he has become Dumbledore's recruiting agent, and tries to recruit several giants to fight Voldemort. It doesn't go over so well. Hey, at least he didn't die.

  • 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: He is apparently overwhelmed by acromantulas during the Battle of Hogwarts, but is merely taken prisoner by the Death Eaters.
  • 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.
  • 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. She is able to make the occasional genuine prophecy, though: She was the one who made the prediction that marked Harry as a possible Chosen One to defeat Voldemort, thereby indirectly setting the events of Harry's life in motion. 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].

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."

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.

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.

He and Nymphadora Tonks fall in love sometime between years 5 & 6, marry sometime between years 6 & 7, and have a child (Teddy) towards the end of year 7.

Tragically, they are both killed during the Battle of Hogwarts. (Their son is raised by his grandmother with the help of his godfather, Harry.)

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.

  • 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.

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.

  • 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.

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.

  • 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.

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.


Non-Teaching Faculty Members

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.

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'.

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.

    • 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.
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