Week 2 – Task 4 – Research

[Rose Dove]

You made it to the Great Hall safely and in time to enjoy the welcome feast. You join your housemates at your table and wait for the sorting ceremony to begin. While the new students get sorted, you share your adventure with your friends. They ask you how you knew which portraits would be likely to help you find your way back. You tell them about how some of them just offered and some of them were watching you and seemed interested in engaging with a non-portrait person. This leads the discussion to a debate over how to have your portrait hanging in the castle. You vaguely remember learning about this last year, something to do with being a part of the Hogwarts staff at some point during your life.

You do remember a few of the more peculiar portraits that helped you along and wonder about their time alive. You do love to do research in the library, especially when it comes to the weird and peculiar. One of your friends suggests looking in the library for some of those more peculiar wizards and witches to learn about their lives and how they came to be a part of the Hogwarts staff.

Task: Choose a member of the Hogwarts staff, either more recent or an older staff member, and research their lives. In 150 words or more, please share what you have found out about them in a post below.

Alternatively, you can draw a scene of how the welcome feast looks in the Great Hall or a portrait of one of the staff members that helped you get back to the hall. Please keep your graphics no bigger than 600 x 600 pixels.

This task is worth 10 beans, with 15 additional beans available if all Week Two activities are completed. Everything is due by 11:59 pm HOL time on September 30th.

[Galena May]

Late Prof. Basil Fronsac (most likely mid 19th century - in or before 1992) is a former headmaster of Hogwarts and a Hogwarts alumnus who had been sorted into Ravenclaw in his times. He was then appointed Headmaster (around the late nineteenth or early twentieth century) in his elderly years. His portrait hangs in the Headmaster's office to give advice to the current headmasters. He also has several portraits of his younger self to his name in the different main halls of the castle.
One such important location used to be the Grand Staircase, where his portrait guarded a shortcut to the second- floor corridor, near the library, with the help of the password "Studious success". His portrait had a pocket watch and he was known to be particularly interested in the story of Rowena Ravenclaw's whereabouts and was known to help eager students find out about it. This particular portrait was later shifted to the Dungeons, and has been there ever since, guarding a secret passage leading to the Grand Staircase. No wonder the Slytherins have a pet named after him - Basil.
Prof. Basil Fronsac's surname indicates that he was likely a French wizard from the old French town of Fronsac. Not much is known about his life, even the exact times of his birth and death being highly unsure, but him being middle-aged looking, in the portrait that was drawn in 1913, suggests that he was middle-aged at that time.

[River Fenwick]

Professor Brutus Scrimgeour was a Hogwarts staff member who eventually held the title of Headmaster. He had a particular interest in Quidditch and was known to be quite a fan of the sport. He may have even been a Beater at some point in his life, with this being theorized from a book he wrote. He wrote the book The Beaters' Bible, which is written like a guide for Beaters, which one would assume he'd have to have gained enough knowledge from being a Beater to write a guide on it. It was also known that he had positively reviewed the book Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, saying he highly recommended the book and that it was "the definitive work on the origins and history of Quidditch." He has multiple portraits hanging in the Hogwarts castle, one of which is in the Trophy Room that hides a secret passage to the fourth floor.

[Luna Ravenlong]

Minerva McGonagall is a half blood witch, born to a witch mother Isobel Ross, and a muggle minister Robert McGonagall. Isobel gave up her magic in order to marry Robert, but was forced to tell him when Minerva began showing signs of powerful accidental magic. Her parents stayed together, but it caused a strain on the family. It was because of this that Minerva turned down an offer of marriage from a muggle in later life.

Minerva was sorted into Gryffindor at Hogwarts, but was a hat stall and almost went to Ravenclaw. She was an incredibly gifted student, getting top grades in her O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S and becoming Head Girl. Minerva was also a talented Quidditch player, but had to give up the sport in her final year, after a nasty fall caused by a Slytherin foul-she never lost her passion for the sport though.

After Hogwarts, she spent two years at the Ministry of Magic but missed Scotland and decided to switch careers and become a Transfiguration professor. Minerva married her old boss from the ministry Elphinstone Urquart, but he died after only 3 years of marriage. She never had another serious relationship, instead she focused on her students, becoming one of Hogwarts most beloved professors and protected her charges through both Wizarding Wars. Minerva was a particularly powerful fighter during the battle of Hogwarts, including duelling Voldemort himself. She became headmistress of Hogwarts after the battle, to continue shaping the lives of young British wizards and witches.

[Lex Green]

Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank was a professor who temporarily covered Care of Magical Creatures classes over two periods - first, in January of 1995 (when Harry Potter was a fourth year), when Hagrid was unable to teach after Rita Skeeter published her article about him, and then again the following school year, from September to November, when Hagrid was off trying to reach out to the giants and get them on side for the upcoming war. Grubbly-Plank's Hogwarts House and exact age are unknown, but she was described as 'elderly' looking, and was born at least before 1930. She was a generally kind, if a little short-spoken, character, and was willing to help her students out when needed, such as when she helped heal Hedwig. She was a good teacher, and many students felt that she was probably better than Hagrid, although she also showed a great deal of respect for him, and never criticsed his teaching, however different it may have been from her own.

[Ellie Vernez]

Severus Snape was Slytherins Head of house and Professor at Hogwarts who taught Potions between 1981- 1996 and Defence Against the Dark Arts between 1996- 1997. He was also Headmaster of Hogwarts between 1997- 1998.

Severus Snape was born in Cokeworth England on January 6, 1960 to Witch Eileen Prince and Muggle Tobias Snape. He was raised in a muggle neighbourhood called Spinner Street which was located close to the Evans family and he became close to Muggle Born Lily Evans when they were 9 years old.

He attended Hogwarts in 1971 and was sorted into Slytherin and developed a passion for the Dark Arts at an early age.

Graduating Hogwarts, Snape become a death eater and during his time as a death eater he overheard a prophecy concerning Lily Evans son Harry Potter and begged Voldemort not to kill her.

Still in love with Lily, Snape went to Albus Dumbledore and asked him to protect them all and in return he would be a spy for the light, leaking information against Voldemort.

When Lily was killed, he fully turned against Voldermort and became loyal to Dumbledore. He protected Harry and gave his life to protect Harry and all the good during the battle of Hogwarts.

[Adeline Morior]

Professor Pomona Sprout was known as the Head of Hufflepuff House and Head of the Herbology department at Hogwarts. She was born in May somewhere before 1967, and she attended Hogwarts herself in her youth, where she was Sorted into the house Hufflepuff. She excelled in her Herbology class during that time. She returned to Hogwarts to teach not long after her graduation. She was known to be very positive, cheerful, and loyal. She was kind and nurturing to the students, but could also be very professional and just.

She supported Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix, even though she was not an official member. Had a very good relationship with Professors Filius Flitwick, Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore. The meaning of her name, Pomona and surname, Sprout is known in Roman mythology, as the goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards, that is Pomona, and Sprout is very well known as a verb meaning "to begin to grow, shoot forth, as a plant from a seed".

[Janne Halla]

One of the less popular Hogwarts professors, Alecto Carrow was a very short-lived professor of Muggle Studies. She was a Dark witch and a follower of Lord Voldemort, who was appointed to the Hogwarts staff in 1997.

In her earlier life, of which we don't know much, she attended Hogwarts and was a member of the Slytherin house. Carrow, together with her brother Amycus, was a Death Eater and fought in the First Wizarding War and then also in the Second.

As mentioned, Carrow taught Muggle studies, but instead of familiarizing students with the truth, she taught vicious and horrible propaganda, hate-mongering, and pureblood philosophy. During her tenure, Carrow was also appointed as Deputy Headmistress under Headmaster Severus Snape.

Luckily, towards the end of her only year of teaching, she was stunned and confined during the Battle of Hogwarts after which she was most likely sent off to Azakaban for her crimes.