Summary
While there are plenty of unique professors seen throughout theHarry Potterseries, Gilderoy Lockhart might just be the most bizarre. Coming into Hogwarts during Harry’s second year inTheChamber Of Secrets, Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to be a brilliant pick for the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher. The only problem is, Gilderoy Lockhart was a bit of a fraud.
Whenever various characters in theHarry Potteruniverse are introduced, they have an air of legitimacy to them either thanks to what fans get to see them do or what they hear about the characters doing. From the moment fans meet Lockhart, he’s portrayed much more pompous than any other character in the whole series. He’s unique among the magical staff of Hogwarts, making him an underrated fan-favorite character.
Birthday:
January 26th, 1964
It can be hard to guess which Hogwarts house Gilderoy Lockhart was in purely because of the array of traits he possesses. He is bold enough to tell massive lies and embellish major facts, but at the same time, he’s slippery enough to lie to all of those around him and even go as far as potentially attacking students, making him a perfect candidate for either Gryffindor or Slytherin depending on how he was in his youth. Surprisingly, and to the dismay of Ravenclaws everywhere, Lockhart was a member of the Ravenclaw house instead ofweak old Hufflepuffduring his time at Hogwarts. Apparently, Lockhart was nearly in Slytherin instead, but the Sorting Hat ultimately chose Ravenclaw.
Even in his youth, Lockhart already had a massively inflated sense of self, which may have made him a bit of an outcast in the school. Despite that, he was theseeker for Ravenclaw’s Quidditch teamat some point. He was still a skilled wizard, but there were many others who vastly outpaced him in terms of magical skill, including the likes of James Potter, the rest of the Marauders, and Severus Snape. He often had lofty goals he wished to reach, though they were mostly out of reach for someone like Lockhart.
His pompous traits and extreme self-importance may make him perfect for Slytherin over Ravenclaw, but it is worth acknowledging that Lockhart was a bright young student when he actually applied himself. Outside of where he excelled in his studies, whenever it came to something that might garner attention, Lockhart was willing to go all out. He’d apply knowledge that many other students likely weren’t capable of, even managing torecreate the magic of a Dark Mark, though he launched an image of his face into the sky instead.
What Did Gilderoy Lockhart Do After His Time At Hogwarts?
It was actually his time after Hogwarts that really reinforced why Lockhart was placed in Ravenclaw. Upon his graduation, Lockhart would begin a prominent career as an author, something that would additionally see him traveling all across the world.His Slytherin tendencieswould crop back up in that he would become an expert with memory charms, something that allowed him to garner the level of fame he had by the time he was officially introduced inTheChamber Of Secrets. Sadly, his reliance on a single type of magic rendered Lockhart mostly useless in all other forms of spell-casting.
Now that you mention it, I’m rather gifted with memory charms. Otherwise, you see, all those wizards would have gone blabbing, and I’d never have sold another book
Thanks to the limits of the timeframe, there weren’t any witches or wizards who were capable of adequately refuting any of Lockhart’s claims that were chronicled in his books. His fantastical adventures were true to all except for those who knew the pompous wizard well, with evensome of his Hogwarts teacherssecond-guessing their original opinion of Lockhart. Anyone who may have been able to deny the claims of his adventures was the target of his memory charm mastery, making it certain that his scheme to be viewed as one of the greatest wizards of his era, thus conferring celebrity status to him, paid off.
Lockhart would be honored all over the world for his incredible adventures and was even made an honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League,something that likely prepared him for his teaching job, though it is certain he never did anything of note with the group. The longer his con went on, the more his lies came into question, with some major figures beginning to suspect that he was truly nothing special by the beginning ofThe Chamber Of Secrets. At one point, Lockhart even faked his own kidnapping in order to bring popularity back to his personal brand. Of course, he would soon be lured back to Hogwarts by Dumbledore thanks to the chance to gain fame by being in close proximity to Harry Potter.
What Happened To Gilderoy Lockhart After He Got Permanent Spell Damage?
At the close ofHarry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, Gilderoy Lockhart’sexpertise in memory charmsbackfires on him when he attempts to cast a charm on Harry and Ron. With Ron’s broken wand backfiring, Lockhart’s powerful charm rendered him a shell of his former self, something that would eventually result in something known as permanent spell damage. His condition left him stuck in St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries,instead of Hogwart’s hospital wing, for years.
Lockhart was so changed by the charm that he would never recover any semblance of memory of any of the things he’d done over the years. He’d be left to be forgotten, something that was likely Lockhart’s worst fear. He did eventually attempt to continue his writing career, but without his memory and ability to manipulate others, even that fell short. It was rare, if ever-occurring, for Lockhart to be visited by anyone at the hospital, something made even sadder by the fact that he failed to ever fully recover from his condition.
Harry Pottercan be streamed now on MAX.
Harry Potter
When Harry Potter learns that he is a wizard, he enters a world beyond belief. Aside from continuing his studies at Hogwarts with best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry must also face Voldemort and his dark wizarding forces. The Harry Potter franchise is a worldwide phenomenon, spanning seven books, eight movies, three spinoff movies, a stage play, and numerous video games.
MORE:Harry Potter: Did The Introduction Of Time-Turners Create Problems With The Entire Series?
