22 little-known info in regards to the Hogwarts professors even diehard 'Harry Potter' followers might not bear in mind

• The Hogwarts professors are an enormous a part of “Harry Potter,” however followers do not know a lot about them. 
• Details about their childhoods and private lives have been revealed for the reason that books have been revealed.
• Among the characters, like Hagrid and Gilderoy Lockhart, have been impressed by actual individuals.

The professors at Hogwarts College of Witchcraft and Wizardry are an exceptionally eccentric solid of characters.

However readers and viewers of the “Harry Potter” collection do not study a lot about their lives.

Previous to utilizing her platform to unfold transphobic messages, the collection’ controversial creator J.Ok. Rowling was recognized to make use of Twitter, interviews, and the official Wizarding World web site to broaden the “Harry Potter” canon by sharing new details about characters and plotlines past the seven books. 

With all of that content material in thoughts, listed below are some little-known info in regards to the Hogwarts professors.

Umbridge and McGonagall are each half-bloods

Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor, and Dolores Umbridge, one of many Protection Towards the Darkish Arts professors, are each half-bloods.

McGonagall is the daughter of a Muggle minister, who knew nothing of his spouse’s talents till their daughter began displaying magical indicators of her personal.

Umbridge can be a half-blood, however she was embarrassed and enraged by that truth.

She grew to hate her Muggle mom — and all different Muggles — which led to a few of her crueler habits as an grownup. 

The Sorting Hat did not know the place to place McGonagall

First years at Hogwarts are separated into one in all 4 homes — Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin — by an enchanted Sorting Hat.

Each on occasion, nonetheless, the seemingly omniscient hat will get stumped.

When McGonagall was being sorted as a baby, the hat took greater than 5 minutes to find out her home — which is called a “Hatstall,” in line with Wizarding World. 

Finally, McGonagall was sorted into Gryffindor, the place she would later change into a prefect, head lady, and head of home. The Sorting Hat nearly positioned her in Ravenclaw. 

Outdoors of Hogwarts, McGonagall’s life was filled with heartbreak

In 2015, Rowling elaborated on McGonagall’s life outdoors of college in a function on Pottermore (now Wizarding World).

Her old flame was a Muggle boy named Dougal McGregor. He proposed to her at 18, however the marriage by no means got here to be, regardless that she by no means really stopped loving him. 

Later, she married her a lot older, former boss from the Ministry of Magic, Elphinstone Urquart.

This relationship was additionally doomed to fail, as Elphinstone died tragically solely three years into the wedding.

McGonagall by no means remarried or discovered love once more that we all know of. 

A number of Hogwarts professors acquired the Order of Merlin honorary

The Order of Merlin (O.M.) is awarded to witches or wizards who’ve carried out extraordinary acts of bravery.

A minimum of three completely different Hogwarts professors acquired the award: McGonagall, Remus Lupin, and Gilderoy Lockhart.

Rowling revealed in “Brief Tales from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Harmful Hobbies” that Professor McGonagall acquired an O.M. First Class, the best honor, for her allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix and bravado throughout the Battle of Hogwarts. 

Remus Lupin was posthumously given the identical award after his demise throughout the Battle of Hogwarts. He was notably the primary werewolf to be given the consideration. 

Followers additionally realized in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and techniques” that Gilderoy Lockhart acquired an O.M. Third Class for his supposed work battling darkish creatures.

It was later uncovered that he lied about all of his achievements. 

Professor Flitwick was a dueling champion in his youth

Followers know Filius Flitwick because the endearing Charms professor at Hogwarts. However in “Chamber of Secrets and techniques,” Hermione identified that he was a champion dueler in his youth.

The Battle of Hogwarts was the primary time within the collection that these abilities have been actually put to the check, and Flitwick efficiently defeated a number of Loss of life Eaters, together with Yaxley and Dolohov.

The Charms professor was additionally a distant descendant of goblins

All through the books, there are a number of references to Professor Flitwick’s quick stature, however the purpose for his lack of peak was by no means revealed.

On her official web site, Rowling later wrote that Flitwick had a “sprint of goblin ancestry — one thing like a terrific, nice, nice grandfather.”

Flitwick was performed by famend actor Warwick Davis within the movies, who coincidentally additionally performed Griphook the Goblin for a part of the collection. 

The one creature Hagrid cannot look after is a cat

From big spiders to fire-breathing dragons, it could appear as if there is not a creature alive Hagrid cannot love. Nevertheless it turns on the market’s one pretty widespread animal he merely cannot be round: cats. 

In “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Hagrid defined in Diagon Alley that he selected an owl for Harry’s pet as a result of cats “make him sneeze.”

Wizarding World confirmed on Twitter in 2018 that the half-giant is allergic to the feline animal, which can additionally clarify his explicit disdain for Argus Filch’s cat, Mrs. Norris.

Hagrid cannot solid a Patronus

Hagrid has many magical abilities — most notably, caring for magical creatures — however Rowling shared on Twitter in 2015 that Hagrid might by no means solid a Patronus.

This can be on account of the truth that he was expelled from Hogwarts throughout his third yr, after being wrongly blamed for the demise of Myrtle Warren.

Trelawney and McGonagall have been purposefully polar opposites

In line with Wizarding World, Divination professor Sybill Trelawney is “manipulative and grandiose,” whereas McGonagall is “fiercely clever, stern and upright.”

In that method, Rowling created the characters as polar opposites of one another, which the books targeted on greater than the movies.

The one factor capable of carry them each collectively was a united combat towards Dolores Umbridge, who tried to wreck the college they cared a lot about.

Professor Trelawney’s title got here from an previous tune

In line with Rowling, the title Trelawney comes from the previous Cornish tune “The Music of the Western Males.”

Moreover, Sybill is a tackle the title “Sibyl,” an historical clairvoyant.

Professor Binns died at Hogwarts

Although by no means seen within the movies, Cuthbert Binns was the Historical past of Magic professor at Hogwarts.

After dying within the workers room on the college, Binns’ ghost continued proper on instructing (supposedly boring) classes to his college students. 

The Hogwarts group by no means acquired the prospect to morn for Charity Burbage 

Charity Burbage was a Muggle Research professor who was murdered by Lord Voldemort for her sympathetic views of non-wizards. 

In “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” she was kidnapped and dropped at Malfoy Manor the place Voldemort tortured and killed her.

However for the reason that Loss of life Eaters had management over Hogwarts and the Ministry on the time, the general public was informed that she abruptly resigned and was in hiding.

The group by no means acquired the prospect to mourn the lack of the professor within the lead as much as the nice Battle of Hogwarts. 

Professors Sprout and McGonagall have been shut associates as college students

It may be arduous to think about the Hogwarts professors of their youth, however because of a few of the creator’s further writing on Pottermore, we all know that McGonagall and Sprout have been at Hogwarts on the identical time. 

They overlapped for 2 years of college and fashioned a terrific friendship — which continued after they each returned to the college to show.  

Professor Sprout acquired artful to deal with her vegetation

Followers know that Pomona Sprout was affected person and inspiring with struggling college students like Neville Longbottom, however she was additionally attentive to the various vegetation she stored within the greenhouse at Hogwarts. 

The Herbology professor went as far as to style little scarves and socks for the mandrakes — magical vegetation that begin out wanting like human infants — so they would not freeze within the lengthy winter months. 

Earlier than instructing Protection Towards the Darkish Arts, Quirinus Quirrell was the Muggle Research professor

When readers first encounter Quirinus Quirrell in “Sorcerer’s Stone,” he is launched as Harry’s Protection Towards the Darkish Arts professor. However earlier than that yr, he truly taught Muggle Research. 

Having all the time been fascinated with the Darkish Arts, Quirrell took a sabbatical from Hogwarts to look Albania for the stays of Voldemort.

When he discovered him, the Darkish Lord used his physique as a number with a view to get into Hogwarts and efficiently lobbied for the Protection Towards the Darkish Arts place.

Dumbledore employed Lockhart as a result of he needed to reveal him as a fraud

Though definitely one of many worse Protection Towards the Darkish Arts professors, Gilderoy Lockhart was not less than entertaining, with numerous (stolen) tales of his heroic acts. 

Followers might marvel why Dumbledore employed him within the first place. And in line with a function written for Pottermore in 2015, the headmaster hoped that he would be capable of expose Lockhart because the charlatan he was.

The assault that turned Remus Lupin right into a werewolf was a revenge plot

Remus Lupin, probably the most competent and beloved Protection Towards the Darkish Arts professors at Hogwarts, was revealed to be a werewolf throughout the climax of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

In a 2015 function on Pottermore, Rowling wrote that the assault that turned him was truly a part of a revenge plot towards his father, Lyall. 

When Remus was a baby, Lyall tried to show to the Ministry of Magic that Fenrir Greyback was a werewolf.

The wizard wasn’t capable of persuade the governing physique, however Greyback nonetheless sought revenge by breaking into the Lupin residence and attacking Lyall’s 5-year-old son.

Lupin was cautious to disclose his corporeal Patronus

Due to the stigma round werewolves, Lupin went to nice lengths to cover what he known as his “situation.”

Remus even hid his Patronus, which naturally took the type of a wolf, at any time when he might. 

Followers might recall that every time he solid a Patronus in “Prisoner of Azkaban,” it was described solely as a non-corporeal beam of sunshine. 

Alastor Moody misplaced an eye fixed and a leg for the trigger

Though the true Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody was by no means a professor — Barty Crouch Jr. merely impersonated him all through Harry’s fourth yr — his bodily type nonetheless intimidated many Hogwarts college students.

All through his time as a member of the Order of the Phoenix throughout the First Wizarding Struggle and as an Auror for the Ministry of Magic, the fearless wizard misplaced each an eye fixed and a leg.

By the point Harry met him, he changed the previous with a magical eye and the latter with a picket peg. 

The Dementor assault on Harry and Dudley was orchestrated by Umbridge

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” opens with a Dementor assault on Harry and Dudley close to the Dursley residence in Surrey, forcing Harry to solid a Patronus spell outdoors of college.

It is extremely unlawful to make use of underage magic outdoors of Hogwarts, so Harry was subjected to a disciplinary listening to on the Ministry of Magic. 

Umbridge, who would quickly be named Protection Towards the Darkish Arts professor at Hogwarts, accused Harry of mendacity in regards to the incident. However followers later came upon that it was Umbridge herself who despatched the Dementors to assault the younger wizard.

Madam Hooch and Professor Quirrell weren’t given first names within the books

The Protection Towards the Darkish Arts trainer and the flying teacher/quidditch referee have been referred to a number of instances, primarily within the first half of the collection.

However readers will not discover their first names within the books. 

The forenames Quirinus and Rolanda, respectively, first appeared in 2001 as a part of the Harry Potter Buying and selling Card Recreation, which wasn’t formally canon. 

Rowling later confirmed Quirrell’s first title on Pottermore, however Madam Hooch’s title stays unconfirmed, with another sources referring to her as Xiomara.

Umbridge, Hagrid, and Lockhart have been all loosely based mostly on actual individuals 

Rowling drew inspiration from quite a lot of sources when naming and creating the characters for “Harry Potter” — together with her personal life.

In 2015, she wrote on Pottermore that Dolores Umbridge was impressed by a trainer she had “intensely disliked on sight.” She notably considered this trainer when writing Umbridge’s curiosity in girly, pink equipment. 

In a 2004 interview with the Edinburgh Ebook Competition, the creator shared that Gilderoy Lockhart was additionally based mostly on an actual individual, although she was cautious to not give specifics.

Hagrid, too, was supposedly impressed by a Hell’s Angel biker Rowling knew, in line with “Harry Potter Web page to Display: The Full Filmmaking Journey.”

This story was initially revealed on February 13, 2021, and most just lately up to date on August 1, 2023. 

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