Hogwarts staff
The following is a list of Hogwarts staff in the Harry Potter books written by J. K. Rowling.
The staff and their positions
Teachers and staff members
The following teachers and staff members do not have their own articles or are not listed in other articles.Argus Filch
Argus Filch is the caretaker of Hogwarts. He is ill-tempered, which makes him unpopular with the student body, and occasionally causes tension or exasperation with teachers and other staff. His knowledge of the secrets and short-cuts of the castle is almost unparalleled, except perhaps by the users of the Marauder's Map, and Voldemort himself. He tends to favour almost sadistically harsh punishments, and gleefully allies himself with Umbridge when she prescribes such punishments on students. He has an obsessive dislike of mud, animate toys, and all other things that might interfere with his desire for an immaculately clean and orderly Hogwarts. He is also portrayed as having a constant antagonism towards Peeves the poltergeist and often tells Dumbledore that Peeves should be thrown out of Hogwarts. He also likes to wander Hogwarts' corridors at night, presumably in the hope of catching a student breaking a curfew.Filch is revealed to be a Squib in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Harry accidentally discovers that he is trying to teach himself basic magic from a Kwikspell correspondence course. Nonetheless, Filch is at least able to use wizarding devices that have their own innate magic, such as the Secrecy Sensor used in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It is hinted that his dislike of students may stem from his disappointment and jealousy at not being able to do magic. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book, when the school starts preparing itself for the Battle of Hogwarts, Filch is seen yelling that students are out of bed. He is later seen overseeing the evacuation of younger students.
Filch has a cat named Mrs Norris to whom he has a particular and possessive attachment. She acts as a hallway monitor or spy for Filch. If she observes students engaging in suspicious activity or not in a common room after curfew, she finds Filch and he arrives in seconds. She has been known to follow Hagrid everywhere he goes in the school, apparently under Filch's orders. According to J.K. Rowling, there is nothing particularly magical about Mrs Norris, other than her being "just an intelligent cat." It's the ambition of many Hogwarts students to "give her a good kick". In the Chamber of Secrets incident, Mrs Norris is temporarily petrified by the Basilisk, which causes Filch extreme distress.
David Bradley portrays Filch in the film series. Mrs Norris was played by three Maine Coon cats named Maximus, Alanis, and Cornilusa.
Filius Flitwick
Filius Flitwick is the Charms Master at Hogwarts and the head of Ravenclaw house. He is a very short, dwarf-like man. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone he uses his magical skills to help decorate the Great Hall for Christmas. He is also one of the teachers who cast spells to guard the Philosopher's Stone by putting charms on a hundred keys so they can fly, making it difficult to find the key to the door leading to the next chamber.During Harry's second year, Flitwick helps Professor Sinistra carry a petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley to the hospital wing. He teaches the front doors to recognise a picture of Sirius after his second break-in in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and to instantly lock down if he tries to break in. He helps patrol the perimeter of the maze for the third task of the Triwizard Tournament held in Harry's fourth year. He eventually removes most of the swamp that is created within the school by Fred and George in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, though he previously leaves the swamp untouched to annoy Umbridge. He does however choose to leave a small patch of it behind, because he thinks it is "a good bit of magic" and a tribute to the Weasley twins. Near the end of Half-Blood Prince, Flitwick is sent by Professor McGonagall to ask Professor Severus Snape to come to the aid of the Order of the Phoenix against the intruding Death Eaters. He collapses after requesting Snape's help at the battle.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Flitwick insists that Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem is lost, and he is described by Harry as having been a "model student" who supposedly never entered the Room of Hidden Things, and so it never occurred to him that the diadem could be hidden there. Before the Battle of Hogwarts, Flitwick helps to chase Severus Snape out of the Hogwarts castle alongside professors McGonagall and Sprout, and to put protective charms around the castle to hinder Voldemort and his oncoming Death Eaters, and later fights the intruders in the battle, battling Corban Yaxley and later defeating Antonin Dolohov.
In the film adaptations, Flitwick is portrayed by Warwick Davis. Rowling said: "I must admit, I was taken aback when I saw the film. Flitwick, who looks very much like a goblin/elf, because the Flitwick in my imagination simply looks like a very small old man." Rowling mentions on her official website that Flitwick is human, with "a dash of goblin ancestry." His on-screen appearance changes noticeably in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in which he takes on a more human and less elf-like look, with slicked-down dark hair and moustache. According to Davis, the moustachioed character was originally not supposed to be Flitwick; Flitwick was absent from the script for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but "the producer" added the new character so that Davis could still appear in the film. Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell preferred the new look, "and from that moment, the character became known as 'Flitwick'." Flitwick was born on 17 October.
Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart is a popular author and wizarding celebrity who has written many books about his adventures encountering dark creatures and serves as the Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor for Chamber of Secrets. He is unpopular with most of the staff, particularly Snape, for his endless self-promotion and penchant for publicity stunts. He is greatly admired by many others, particularly women due to his intense charisma. Harry dislikes Lockhart for a number of reasons: his arrogance, his belief that Harry flew to Hogwarts in Mr. Weasley's car to seek further attention, his constantly forcing Harry to partake in his antics, and the trouble he has with simple magic such as healing Harry's broken arm. Lockhart is exposed as a charlatan and a coward when he attempts to avoid entering the Chamber of Secrets by revealing to Harry and Ron that he never performed the amazing feats documented in his books; he simply passed off the feats of other wizards and witches as his own and erased their memories to hide the truth. He attempts to do the same to Harry and Ron, but Harry disarms him. Lockhart then steals Ron's damaged wand, but the Memory Charm he casts backfires and leaves him with permanent amnesia; arrangements are made for him to be institutionalized until his memory can be fixed.In Order of the Phoenix, Harry comes across Lockhart in St Mungo's while visiting Arthur Weasley at Christmas. Lockhart has not recovered any of his memories but is childishly proud of being able to write in "joined-up letters". He still enjoys signing autographs and continues to receive fan mail, although he has no idea why. For his part, Harry feels a slight twinge of guilt for Lockhart's amnesia but he consoles himself with the fact that it was Lockhart's own fault that he is now reduced to a child-like mentality.
Rowling has said Lockhart is the only character she has ever based on a real-life person. Lockhart was inspired by an unrevealed acquaintance who was "even more objectionable than his fictional counterpart" and "used to tell whopping great fibs about his past life, all of them designed to demonstrate what a wonderful, brave and brilliant person he was."
Kenneth Branagh portrayed Lockhart in the film version of Chamber of Secrets. In an end-credits scene, his latest book is on sale in Diagon Alley; titled Who Am I?, it displays a picture of him humming distractedly to himself and wearing a straitjacket.
Poppy Pomfrey
Madam Poppy Pomfrey is the sole magical Healer of the Hogwarts hospital wing. She is loyal, highly skilled, non-inquisitive and tight-lipped about her patients, and very strict regarding the rules of her infirmary.Harry ends up under her care rather often. In Philosopher's Stone, he spends three days unconscious in the hospital wing after the confrontation with Professor Quirrell. In Chamber of Secrets, he spends one painful night regrowing bones in his arm, after Gilderoy Lockhart vanishes them, much to Pomfrey's vexation. In Prisoner of Azkaban, she tends to Harry twice; once after the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff and once after the Shrieking Shack incident. She speaks approvingly of Lupin's prescription of chocolate to alleviate the effects of a dementor's presence on students, commenting that Hogwarts has "finally got a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies". In Goblet of Fire, she treats Harry twice; once for a dragon strike and once after the confrontation with Voldemort. In Half-Blood Prince, she tends to Harry after his skull is cracked by a Bludger in a Quidditch match.
Others who end up under her care expose more of her personality. In Chamber of Secrets, Hermione ends up in the hospital wing for a month after a mishap with the Polyjuice Potion leaves her half-feline. Pomfrey is careful to keep this a secret. In Order of the Phoenix, after Umbridge's henchmen stun McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey says she would resign in protest were she not afraid of what would become of the students without her presence. In Half-Blood Prince, she attempts to heal Bill of his scars from Greyback's attack without much success, and bursts into tears when she hears of Dumbledore's death. In Deathly Hallows, she and Filch oversee the evacuation of Hogwarts before the battle. She is later seen tending to the injured fighters.
Gemma Jones appeared as Madam Pomfrey in the film adaptations of Chamber of Secrets, Half Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows – Part 2.