History Characters / HarryPotterHogwartsTeachers

* MindReading: A master of the limited craft.

* MindReading: A master of the craft, as far as it goes.

* Telepathy: A master of the craft, as far as it goes.

!'''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, is 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. [[spoiler:Dies at the hands of Snape, but revealed to have planned it beforehand as part of an elaborate BatmanGambit]].

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Extremely powerful wizard... and more than a little bit [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} quirky]]. Example: announcing that he'd like to "say a few words" at the opening ceremony, and then saying, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

* TheChessmaster: 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 [[spoiler:part of his plan to destroy Voldemort involving Harry's sacrifice. If Voldemort hadn't stupidly used Harry's blood to regenerate, Harry would have died in book seven. Though as soon as he found out about this, Dumbledore did change his plans to make sure Harry would be able to survive his "death".]])

* [[HesJustHiding He's Just Hiding]]

* KnightTemplar: [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation 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
* MoralDissonance: 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 Hogwart's student body in general is a heated debate amongst the fandom.
* [[MrExposition Mr. Exposition]]: [[spoiler:Even post-mortem, in ''Deathly Hallows''.]]
* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning [[spoiler:Unlike most of the examples, he does not use a UnwittingPawn, since he'd prefer a quick and painless death, and Death Eaters tend to be sadistic.]]

* NotSoOmniscientAfterAll: 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."

** MichaelGambon seemed to be working under the impression that all 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.

* OverlyLongName: "Albus Percival Wulfric [[OddNameOut Brian]] Dumbledore".
** Note that the only thing that makes Brian an OddNameOut is the fact that it is still in common(er) use today. It ''is'' an old name.

* [[spoiler: PosthumousCharacter: 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.]]

* [[WhatTheHellHero What The Hell, Hero?]]: His brother Aberforth and others question the way he uses Harry throughout the series. [[spoiler:Snape]] does a particularly good job of calling him out in one of the memory scenes in ''Deathly Hallows:''
-->[[spoiler:"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-"]]

* XanatosFuneral: And ''how!''

!'''Severus Snape (AlanRickman)'''

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 (whom Harry greatly resembles) and godfather, 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.

In the sixth book, it's revealed that [[spoiler: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 [[spoiler: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 [[TheAtoner 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.]]

* AndTheFandomRejoiced: AlanRickman is one of the ''least'' contested casting choices, with the biggest complaint being that [[PlayingHamlet he's so much older than Snape]]. Partially {{justified|Trope}}, as Snape's role as [[spoiler:double agent, and Headmaster of Hogwarts in DeathlyHallows]] could conceivably cause him so much stress that he'd age rapidly and look like he's well into his 50s, despite only being 37 at the beginning of DeathlyHallows.

* BrokenAce: In terms of fighting ability, [[spoiler:Snape would fall somewhere between Voldemort/Dumbledore and ''everyone else.'' But well above [[TedBaxter Gilderoy Lockhart]].]] Outside of duels, [[spoiler: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, [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner 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 [[spoiler: sell out his first and only love's husband and child in exchange to have her spared from death, and is bit him '''bad''' in the ass later as she dies anyway, and his HeelFaceTurn comes from having to assume the huge screw-up that such an action was.]]

* CommonEyeColors: Black; "they were cold and made you think of dark tunnels".

* DarkAndTroubledPast: 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.
* [[spoiler: DarkIsNotEvil]]

* DracoInLeatherPants: [[spoiler: While Snape isn't evil, the facts stand: [[{{Jerkass}} He's not a nice guy.]] [[HeroicSelfDeprecation He knows it.]] [[TheAtoner He never forgives himself for his mistakes.]] ]] In-canon, he's described as greasy-haired, with a huge hooked nose, crooked and yellowed teeth, and a little too skinny to be healthy (in the movies, he gets an upgrade to HollywoodHomely because, well, Alan Rickman ain't half-bad for a guy in his mid-sixties). But the fangirls love him. They ''really'' love him. Enough to write reams of erotic fanfiction about him.
** Enough also to ignore the anti-racism and anti-classism message in the books to bash Lily Evans for [[spoiler: cutting off their friendship when he calls her "mudblood" ''in public and to her very face''.]] Rabid fans Snape are ''terrifying'' in the extremes they'll reach to excuse Snape's worst traits and actions, which comes as even worse when you see that ''Snape himself'' disapproves of what he did in his past.
* TheDragon [[spoiler:Or so Voldemort thought...]]
* EnemyMine: [[PlayingWithATrope 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. [[spoiler: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.]]

** Also, the biggest one: the chapter where Harry looks at Snape's memories is called "Snape's Worst Memory". One would think that it is because he got humiliated by James Potter and Sirius Black, but one could also expect this was somewhat normal for them. [[spoiler: Then comes ''Deathly Hallows'' and we discover that it is his worst memory because he called Lily Evans "mudblood", ending their friendship and destroying any chance he might have had of ending up with her.]]

* HeroWithBadPublicity: [[GenreSavvy On purpose.]]

* HyperCompetentSidekick: Not quite. Snape is very powerful and, for lack of a better word, ''competent,'' but he's sidekick to Voldemort and Dumbledore, the two strongest characters.

* InsufferableGenius: Improved his textbook while still a student; invented his own spells at the same time; one of only two wizards capable of [[spoiler:independent flight]].

* {{Jerkass}}

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When he realizes that [[spoiler: his own actions hurt Lily, the person he cared the most for, and eventually led to her murder.]]
* NotSoDifferent: 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 [[spoiler: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, [[spoiler:the accusations against them were publicly cleared only after they were killed]] and bot refused to let go of schoolboy grudges. And, let's face it, they're both [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold noble assholes]].

!'''Minerva [=McGonagall=] (MaggieSmith)'''

!'''Pomona Sprout'''

!'''Filius Flitwick'''

!'''Rubeus Hagrid (RobbieColtrane)'''

!'''Remus Lupin (DavidThewlis)'''

!'''Horace Slughorn (JimBroadbent)'''

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure

!'''Dolores Jane Umbridge (ImeldaStaunton)'''
[[quoteright:278:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/278px-Dolores_Umbridge_982.jpg]]
A high-ranking Ministry functionary and perhaps the most universally despised character in the series, Umbridge affects the mannerisms of a kindly old aunt or grandmother, but they're only a thin veneer that covers governmental corruption at its worst incarnate in one woman. Sent to Hogwarts by Cornelius Fudge to keep an eye on Dumbledore, Umbridge wasted no time in turning it into her own personal fiefdom, running the school as a sugar-coated dictator. She lost her post at the end of ''Order of the Phoenix'' but retained her Ministry job under Fudge's successors [[KnightTemplar Scrimgeour]] and [[UnwittingPawn Thicknesse]]. Umbridge is loyal only to the Ministry itself, no matter who runs it, and will gleefully uphold the status quo it lays down, no matter how horrible. The books make no mention of her final fate, but WordOfGod comfirms that she was ultimately tried, convicted, and sent to Azkaban.

* AffablyEvil: She certainly tries, but overdoes it- her fake persona is [[TastesLikeDiabetes every bit as foul as her real one]]
* AnimalMotifs: Umbridge uses the CatsAreMean motif, but it's partially subverted - while she has paintings of cats and a cat Patronus, she's never actually shown with a '''living''' pet cat, and is thus juxtaposed against Hermione and Ms. Figg.
* CompleteMonster: Seriously, Bellatrix and [[FanNickname Wizard!Hitler]] have more fans than she does!
* EvilCounterpart: Several scenes position her as this to [=McGonagall=].
* FaceFramedInShadow: When she's introduced.
* FamilyValuesVillain
* FantasticRacism
* GlurgeAddict
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: See MoralEventHorizon below.
* JustAKid: Umbridge ''loves'' this to use this trope. Nearly everything she says to the student characters can be translated into, "How DARE you children form opinions! I'm the adult, so I'm always right! Now shut up and agree with me or you'll be punished!"
** [[{{Expy}} She's not the first]] [[{{Matilda}} teacher to say that...]]
* LawfulEvil - to the point where she becomes the dictator of Hogwarts by inventing rules.
* MeaningfulName: Dolores means "sorrows," Umbridge = umbrage (outrage)
* MisplacedKindergartenTeacher: Trope picture.
* MoralEventHorizon: The [[FanNickname Blood Quill]]. Good God, the Blood Quill...
** By page 418 of ''Order Of the Phoenix,'' you'll be muttering "Kill Umbridge" over and over...
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Umbridge doesn't care who runs the Ministry so long as she gets to keep her job, though one rather gets the impression that she enjoys enforcing the most ruthless laws more than anything.
* LoveToHate: StephenKing has said that the strength of a story depends on the strength of its villain. Umbridge, he said, is the best villain since [[SilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]].
* ObstructiveBureaucrat
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Her prejudice against non-humans and halfbreeds seems a little shoehorned in just to make her more hateable, but it might have been {{Foreshadowing}} to explain why she so gleefully goes along with the New Order's persecution of Muggleborns.
* [[PsychopathicManchild Psychopathic Womanchild:]] In some respects.
* TheQuisling: In ''Deathly Hallows''.
* SmugSnake: Umbridge is highly competent at exploiting the system to get what she wants. Otherwise, she's largely inept, and the best way to deal with her is to put her in a situation where her connections can't get her out (like the middle of a herd of angry centaurs, for example...)
* {{Squick}}: Several scenes imply she has a crush on Fudge, though it's distinctly possible she'd show similar signs of affection for ''any'' reigning Minister.
* TooDumbToLive: Surrounded by centaurs aiming arrows at you... and you ''still'' insult them for being ''"[[FantasticRacism filthy half-breeds]]"''??
* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Her horrible misrule follows this arc, with her replacing ReasonableAuthorityFigure [=McGonagall=]. Ex Trope-Namer.
* VillainousBreakdown: Tends to go in to one of these every time her plans get derailed.
* XMeetsY: StephenKing describes her as a cross between MargaretThatcher and [[KeepingUpAppearances Hyacinth Bucket]]. Shudder.

* {{Fanon}}: There are two versions of student!Minerva - Hermione-ish, uptight bookworm and Quidditch-playing prankster. It's also fairly popular to have her as an Auror who fought during the First Wizarding War before she became a teacher (which doesn't actually make sense, as she notes she has been a teacher at the school for some 37 years, before the First War, which was waged for an unspecified amount of time in the 1970's to 1980).

!'''Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (RichardHarris, later MichaelGambon)'''

* [[spoiler:TheBooRadley]]: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with.]]

[[spoiler:[[TearJerker Tragically]], they are both killed during the Battle of Hogwarts. (Their son is presumably raised by his grandmother.)]]

* BecauseISaidSo: Really not too keen on explaining why does things.

* BerserkButton: "[[ThisIsSparta DON'T CALL ME COWARD!]]" [[spoiler:With good reason, since he is possibly the bravest character in the books besides Harry. Which Harry himself ends up aknowledging, calling Snape "the bravest man I ever knew" in the epilogue.]]

** Also, the biggest one: the chapter where Harry looks at Snape's memories is called "Snape's Worst Memory". One would think that it is because he got hummilliated by James Potter and Sirius Black, but one could also expect this was somewhat normal for them. [[spoiler: Then comes ''Deathly Hallows'' and we discover that it is his worst memory because he called Lily Evans "mudblood", ending their friendship and destroying any chance he might have had of ending up with her.]]

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent / MeaningfulName: He's also known as "Piton" (in the italian translation) and "Rogue" (in the french one).

* RonTheDeathEater: While he's ''not'' without his flaws, there are those who will completely overlook or ignore his desire to protect people (or the fact that the only ones who died on his watch were "those he could not save") and his loyalty to Dumbledore. There are also those who will say that "''pre-emptive karma''" justifies James and Sirius bullying him at school. Considering [[http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=78 JKR's stance on bullying]], it's quite safe to ask how far one must lower their IQ to believe this.

* [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight Screw The Rules, I'm Doing What's Right]]: Her resistance to Umbridge in Book Five includes encouraging mutinous, rule-flaunting anarchy among the students. In which she participates. "It unscrews the other way," anyone?

* DarkIsNotEvil

* DracoInLeatherPants: While Snape isn't evil, the facts stand: [[{{Jerkass}} He's not a nice guy.]] [[HeroicSelfDeprecation He knows it.]] [[TheAtoner He never forgives himself for his mistakes.]] In-canon, he's described as greasy-haired, with a huge hooked nose, crooked and yellowed teeth, and a little too skinny to be healthy (in the movies, he gets an upgrade to HollywoodHomely because, well, Alan Rickman ain't half-bad for a guy in his mid-sixties). But the fangirls love him. They ''really'' love him. Enough to write reams of erotic fanfiction about him.

* MeaningfulName

* MeaningfulName: Dolores-dolorous (bringing sorrow), Umbridge-umbrage (outrage)

* {{Fanon}}: There are two versions of student!Minerva - Hermione-ish, uptight bookworm and Quidditch-playing prankster. It's also fairly popular to have her as an Auror who fought during the First Wizarding War before she became a teacher.

* RonTheDeathEater: While he's ''not'' without his flaws, there are those who will completely overlook or ignore his desire to protect people (or the fact that the only ones who died on his watch were "those he could not save") and his loyalty to Dumbledore. There are also those who will say that "''[[WallBanger pre-emptive karma]]''" justifies James and Sirius bullying him at school. Considering [[http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=78 JKR's stance on bullying]], it's quite safe to ask how far one must lower their IQ to believe this.

* [[spoiler:[=~Unbalanced By Rival's Kid~=]]]

* [=~Screw The Rules, I'm Doing What's Right~=]: Her resistance to Umbridge in Book Five includes encouraging mutinous, rule-flaunting anarchy among the students. In which she participates. "It unscrews the other way," anyone?

* [=~Did I Just Say That Out Loud?~=]: Occurs many times, especially when he's drinking.

* [=~What The Hell, Hero?~=]: Remus, it is perfectly reasonable to be upset that your wife is pregnant, especially if you have a disease you don't want to pass on to an innocent child. It is ''not at all'' reasonable to use this as an excuse to ditch your pregnant wife and go off Horcrux-hunting.

* [=~Awesome McCoolname~=]

* [=~He's Just Hiding~=]

* [=~Mr. Exposition~=]: [[spoiler:Even post-mortem, in ''Deathly Hallows''.]]

* [=~What The Hell, Hero?~=]: His brother Aberforth and others question the way he uses Harry throughout the series. [[spoiler:Snape]] does a particularly good job of calling him out in one of the memory scenes in ''Deathly Hallows:''

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent/MeaningfulName: He's also known as "Piton" (in the italian translation) and "Rogue" (in the french one).

!'''Horace Slughorn'''

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.

** Also, the biggest one: the chapter where Harry looks at Snape's memories is called "Snape's Worst Memory". One would think that it is because he got hummilliated by James Potter and Sirius Black, but one could also expect this was somewhat normal for them. [[spoiler: Then comes ''Deathly Hallows'' and we discover that it is his worst memory because he called Lily Evans "mudblood", destroying any chance he might have had of ending with her.]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: [[WordOfGod He was specifically created]] to show that not all Slyntherins are evil.