Rowena Ravenclaw

The following fictional characters are staff members and denizens of Hogwarts 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. While he is not an evil character, 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 (the Weasley twins, Harry, Ron and Hermione), 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 out of bed.

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 out of bed 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 (and unpleasant) 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 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 (along with Dumbledore) 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 (I’ve never actually asked the film-makers precisely what he is), 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" (presumably David Heyman) added the new character (as the conductor of the school choir and orchestra, credited as "Choir Master") 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 is the Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor for ''Chamber of Secrets''. He is unpopular with most of the staff, particularly Snape. He is greatly admired by many others, particularly women (including Hermione and the Weasley mother Molly Weasley) who find him attractive. 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 penchant for handing out signed photos of himself, and the trouble he has with simple magic such as healing Harry's broken arm (he accidentally vanishes Harry's arm bones instead). 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, instead passing off the experiences of other witches and wizards as his own and erasing their memories to prevent them from revealing the truth. He attempts to cast a Memory Charm on Harry and Ron using Ron's damaged wand, but the spell backfires and leaves him with near-total amnesia.

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. Lockhart never fully recovers, despite all efforts to cure him, and remains in a long-term care ward of St. Mungo's.

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 counterp