Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Filius Flitwick
| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character | |
| Filius Flitwick | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | Unknown |
| Eye color | Unknown |
| Related Family | Unknown |
| Loyalty | Hogwarts |
Overview
[edit | edit source]Filius Flitwick is the Charms professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is also Head of Ravenclaw House. He is described as a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. Despite appearances, the author has stated that Flitwick is a very short human, possibly with some goblin ancestry. The author has also said that Filius Flitwick's birthday is on October 17.
Role in the Books
[edit | edit source]Professor Flitwick has to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. When he is calling the roll on the first day of classes, he is so excited when he finds Harry Potter's name on the list that he falls off his pile of books.
It is on Hallowe'en that Flitwick's class is first allowed to actually perform magic. After some initial coaching, Flitwick gives all the class members feathers that they are to lift with Wingardium Leviosa. Hermione is partnered with Ron Weasley, and gives him some pointers when he can't make it work; when Ron resists, Hermione performs the spell, and Flitwick announces her success to the class. It is this initial victory of hers that leads Ron to later say that she is insufferable and that's probably why she has no friends. Hermione overhears this comment and spends the rest of the day in the girls washroom, crying. She is still there when the mountain troll is prowling the halls.
At Christmas, we see Flitwick levitating ornaments onto the twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall.
We learn that Professor Flitwick has provided one of the guardian barriers to the chamber in which the Philosopher's Stone is protected. That barrier is a door, with a large number of keys charmed to have wings and fly. To open the door, one must use the provided brooms to hunt for, and catch, the one flying key that will open the door.
Although Professor Flitwick is still teaching Charms, we see little of him in this book. He is one of the teachers who responds when Harry discovers Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick Petrified, and is one of the two (the other being Professor Sinistra) who carry Justin to the Hospital Wing.
Near the end of the year, Professor Flitwick, along with the rest of the staff, are called to the staff room by Professor McGonagall, who tells them that Slytherin's Monster had kidnapped a student and taken them to the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart, arriving late, was met with this news, and with numerous teachers repeating his earlier boasts about the Chamber and its associated monster. Flitwick is noted as being the teacher who said that Lockhart was quite sure he knew what was inside the Chamber.
Harry, by means of the Marauder's Map, goes to Hogsmeade just before Christmas, meeting up there with Ron and Hermione. In The Three Broomsticks, they eavesdrop on a conversation involving Cornelius Fudge, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Madam Rosmerta. When Rosmerta complains the Dementors are affecting her business, Fudge explains they are necessary because Sirius Black is so dangerous. Rosmerta mentions that Sirius and James Potter were great friends once, always in the Three Broomsticks together. This surprises Harry. Fudge says that not only was Sirius James' best friend, but also best man at his wedding and Harry's godfather. As the conversation continues, it is learned that James and Lily knew Lord Voldemort was hunting them and went into hiding. They used the Fidelius charm to conceal themselves and appointed Sirius their Secret-Keeper. Flitwick describes the operation of the Fidelius Charm. Dumbledore, aware someone close to them was leaking secrets, offered to be their Secret-Keeper, but they declined. Barely a week later, Voldemort killed James and Lily, although he met his own demise in baby Harry. Obviously Black, tired of playing double agent, had thrown his lot in with Voldemort but, after his defeat, had to flee for his life. Peter Pettigrew, another Potter friend, caught up to Black the next day and accused him of betraying James and Lily. Black killed him and twelve Muggle bystanders with a single curse. Only Pettigrew's bloodstained robes and a severed finger were left. Black was sentenced to Azkaban, where he remained until his escape. It is believed he is now trying to reunite with Voldemort, perhaps after killing Harry to prove his loyalty.
When Harry receives a Firebolt broom as a Christmas gift, Professor McGonagall confiscates it. As they don't know who sent it, she says that Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch will examine it to see if there are any malicious spells buried in it.
Just before Easter break, Hermione gets confused in her class attendance and sleeps through one of Professor Flitwick's classes, the one covering Cheering Charms. Though she does go to him to apologize, apparently she doesn't fully learn Cheering Charms, because she is bemoaning the fact later that they appeared on the final exam.
When Sirius Black is captured, we find that he is being held in Professor Flitwick's office. Professor Dumbledore tells Harry and Hermione where the window to his office is so that they can rescue Sirius by air.
It is mentioned that Professor Flitwick has assigned three books worth of reading before starting Summoning Charms, shortly before Hallowe'en.
We later see Professor Flitwick teaching the class Banishing Charms. We start to understand that Harry, Ron, and Hermione feel that Charms class is a good place for discussions that they don't want overheard, because of all the frenetic activity among their classmates practicing charms.
Along with many other teachers, Professor Flitwick eases off in the week before Christmas break and the Yule Ball. Instead, he spends the time discussing the Summoning Charm that Harry had used in the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Professor Flitwick is one of the four marshals patrolling the outside of the maze for the Third task of the Tournament.
Fred and George mention that Flitwick was unperturbed by Dolores Umbridge's inspection of the class, treating her as he would any student.
Later, Umbridge becomes Headmaster in name, though the Headmaster's office will not open to her. On her first day in office, Fred and George set off a collection of fireworks, and Umbridge spends the entire day chasing them down and extinguishing them. At the end of the day, we see Flitwick telling Umbridge that he could have eliminated the sparklers himself, but that he wasn't sure he had the authority.
Just after Easter break, Fred and George turn one corridor of the school into a swamp. After they depart from the school, Umbridge is unable to change it back. After Umbridge is removed from the school, Flitwick does remove the swamp, but he leaves one small corner of it, as he says it was a really good bit of magic.
In addition to the spells that Harry has learned from the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book, there is mention again that Charms class, because of the noise level, is a good place for private conversations. We see one class in which the object of the class is to change vinegar into wine. Professor Flitwick approaches to see how they are doing; Hermione is successful immediately, but Harry's vinegar turns to ice, and Ron's explodes. Professor Flitwick assigns the charm as homework. Another class appeared later on in the story, which was to conjure water out of their wands. When Seamus Finnigan waves his wand too wildly and hits Flitwick in the face with a hose-like water jet, Flitwick punished Seamus by making him write lines (I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick).
When the battle at the Astronomy Tower starts, Professor McGonagall sends Professor Flitwick to summon Professor Snape. Snape knocks Flitwick out, then, seeing Hermione and Luna outside his office, tells them to tend to Professor Flitwick, who had fallen.
When Harry is in the Ravenclaw common room with Luna Lovegood, after Alecto Carrow summons Lord Voldemort, Luna Stuns her. Shortly after this, Amycus Carrow tries to gain entrance into the common room, but without being able to answer the question posed by the guardian, is unable to enter. When Professor McGonagall appears, drawn by the noise, Amycus demands that she summon Flitwick, then that she open the door to the common room.
After the Carrows are both out of action, Professor McGonagall heads towards the Gryffindor common room to get the students out of bed and into the Great Hall. On the way, she sends Patronuses to summon Flitwick, Horace Slughorn, and Pomona Sprout, the other heads of house. Flitwick is just arriving as McGonagall duels with Snape, and then is involved in casting protective charms around the school. He takes some part in the battle for the school that then follows.
Strengths
[edit | edit source]As he is the Charms teacher, we can expect that he has significantly more skill at Charms than the average wizard. He apparently was a dueling champion in the past and still demonstrates his skills when fighting Death Eaters.
Weaknesses
[edit | edit source]Relationships with Other Characters
[edit | edit source]Flitwick is said to be Hermione's favorite teacher, due to the fact that he teaches one of her best subjects.
Analysis
[edit | edit source]Questions
[edit | edit source]
- Why isn't Professor Flitwick a member of the Order of the Phoenix?