Every good story has supporting characters, and Harry Potter is certainly no exception. And like any good story, some of these characters are good, and others are not-so-good. Keep in mind, though, that the line between good and bad can often be blurred. A character does not have to be likable in order to be 'good', and 'bad' characters are just as apt to have a pretty face as an ugly one. The characters we will be covering in this lesson are a mixture of both; sometimes having a bit of both qualities in them. Good? Bad? Otherwise? I will let you be the judge of that.
Kreacher
Kreacher-Kreacher was a house-elf in the employ of the Black family for many years before being bequeathed (much to mutual dismay) to Harry Potter upon the death of Sirius Black. Kreacher was a rather unpleasant sort, having a surly, hostile, and generally bitter attitude. Even to those he liked, he was less than genial, and his obedience could be described as grudging at best. But before we judge him too harshly, let us examine the rest of his story.
It is unknown exactly when Kreacher was born, but estimates put it at anywhere between 1351-1979. One unusual thing about Kreacher was his longevity, which was rather impressive even by house-elf standards. He was 666 years old when he died, though the exact date is unknown. Records indicate that it was some time after Albus Severus Potter went to Hogwarts, to put it in perspective.
Kreacher's life was not an easy one. Fanatically loyal to House Black, he had a good relationship with all of them save Sirius. Like the rest of 'his' family, Kreacher was very adamant in his hatred of all things not Pureblood and was a fervent disciple of all the Black's prejudiced and elitist views. The fact that Sirius thumbed his nose at these teachings and blackened (pardon the pun) his family name by his behavior did not sit well with Kreacher at all. And though he loved the siblings, his true devotion was for his mistress, Walburga. Her death and his subsequent abandonment when the other members of the family either died, moved, or sent to Azkaban did little to improve his mental state. It quite literally, pushed him over the edge. And just when it couldn't get worse....one can only imagine his horror when the beloved family home was turned into a headquarters for the enemy (Order of the Phoenix) and he became the property of his old nemesis, Sirius Black.
Sirius' treatment of Kreacher was cruel bordering on inhumane. Kicks, buffets, and verbal abuse were the norm. And yet, Kreacher was bound to serve him, like it or not. Upon Sirius' death, he was bequeathed to the ultimate enemy, Harry Potter. It took years, but ultimately Harry finally won Kreacher over by giving him the fake locket from Regulus to keep as his own. After this, he was much nicer to Harry and his friends, even the 'mud-blood' Hermione.
Like most of his kind, Kreacher was good at wandless magic and was a master of stealth. He was also crafty enough to turn situations to his advantage, such as when Sirius ordered him OUT! Sirius may have meant just out of the kitchen, but Kreacher took it as blanket permission to flee to the Malfoy house and tell them what he had learned from the Order. He wasn't disobeying rules, technically, so one could hardly blame him. And given the way Sirius tended to treat him, I can't help but cheer a little for poor Kreacher. On a good note, at least he didn't end up with his head displayed on a pike upon death, much to his chagrin. Apparently, among house-elves it is considered an honor. I'm not sure I want to know why!
Winky
Winky-Winky was a freed house-elf formerly employed by the Crouch family. Born sometimes prior to 1981, her duty to the Crouch family was an inherited position, previously held by her mother and her grandmother prior to that. By all accounts, Winky was rather proud of her position, and one of the worst days of her life was the day she lost it. The downfall of the once-proud house-elf, in fact, could be traced directly back to that fateful day.
One of Winky's duties had been to look after Barty Crouch, Jr, after his aided escape from Azkaban. She was devoted to the father but also moved to pity for the son who was kept under the Imperius Curse in order to hide his whereabouts. The kind-hearted Winky persuaded Crouch, Sr., to allow his son to attend the Quidditch Cup match; a big mistake indeed. Young Barty was angered at the disloyalty shown to his Lord by his fellow Death Eaters, and despite Winky's best efforts to hide them, he managed to fight the Imperius Curse long enough to cast the Dark Mark into the sky to lure them out. Alas, the Ministry found them, and Winky took the fall, with Barty, Jr safely hidden under an Invisibility Cloak. Wishing to distance himself from the whole mess, Barty, Sr, dismissed Winky from his employ.
Her newfound freedom did not sit well with Winky. Saddened, terrified, and terribly ashamed of the disgrace she had brought to her grandmother and mother, Winky turned to drink to console herself. Butterbeer became her new best friend, and even after a fellow house-elf. Dobby secured her a position in the Hogwart's kitchen, she continued to wallow in despair. Little work was done by the distraught Winky who chose to spend most of her time sitting atop a barrel crying, surrounded by empty bottles of butterbeer. It was a sad sight indeed. Eventually, she was able to overcome her addiction, but it never left her totally.
Winky, for all of her short-comings, had a brave heart. Despite her acrophobia (a fear of heights). she braved the climb with Barty, Jr, in the Quidditch stands. (Although covering her eyes probably helped him escape long enough to do his mischief). Point is, she tried. Also, despite her traditional beliefs and stringent adherence to ancient expectations placed upon her kind, she was able to take her place at the Battle of Hogwarts to fight off the Death-Eaters. Of course, whether or not this was due to a newfound appreciation of freedom or retaliation against those she believed caused the destruction of 'her' family (the Crouch's) is up for speculation.
Her most distinguishing features are bat-like ears and a nose that resembles a ripe tomato (poor girl!). It should also be noted that Hermione Granger set up S.P.E.W. (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare) as a direct result of seeing Winky's mistreatment at the hands of Barty Crouch, Sr. Despite her best intentions, Hermione's efforts were wasted, especially on Winky. It did give Harry and Ron a new perspective on things and they became conscientiously nicer to house-elves as a result. So there is that. Whether Winky ever appreciated that fact is unknown, though it is said that she began to take more pride in her appearance and her work at Hogwarts, so there is hope. As far as I know, she is there still.
Griphook
Griphook-By all accounts, Griphook was your typical goblin with all of a goblin's prejudices. He was surly and extremely mistrustful of wizards and what he considered wizard arrogance. I suppose this is completely understandable, seeing how shamefully goblins had been treated by wizards in the past. They are forbidden by decree of the Ministry from carrying wands and have long been treated as subservient and lesser beings. In fact, in the 16th century, a dark wizard by the name of Yardley Platt made it his personal mission to eradicate the entire goblin race. That's quite the legacy, isn't it? Goblin serial killer. And it may have been a long-time ago, but a goblin has an extremely long memory and old slights are not easily forgotten. It is believed that to this day, there is a group of goblins secretly working against the Ministry. Whether Griphook was a part of that is uncertain, though I would not be surprised at all.
Griphook, even among his kind, was seen as extremely bloodthirsty, cruel, and took an unnatural delight in the pain of others. One of his greatest delights was the duty of checking Vault 713 to make certain that no one had gotten locked inside of it by mistake. As this was only done every 10 years, anyone trapped inside would have undoubtedly died a horrible death. The possibility made him almost giddy with delight. Savage? Yes. but again, in his defense and given the almost casual prejudice he had lived with all of his life, one could almost understand. Granted, the blanket hatred for all wizards was rather narrow-minded, but no more so than the general view of goblins as a species. Griphook was merely a product of this rather unbalanced belief system and it seems rather wrong to judge him too harshly because of it.
However, Griphook was well aware that goblins had more control over the wizarding populace than vice versa. Economically, goblins were responsible for minting and stamping each knut, galleon, and sickle that was used in commerce. He was incredibly clever with money and finance and knew well the value of his worth to Gringott's Bank. He took pride in this position and rightly so. Given the goblin's natural excellence at metalworking, it is no doubt that these coins were of the highest quality. After all, it was Griphook's ancestors that had crafted the sword of Godric Gryffindor, and it was with that same care to detail that Griphook and his fellow goblins fashioned the coins the were in charge of making.
Despite Griphook's fierce loyalty to Gringott's, he (nor any other goblin for that matter) was going to be the one guarding its doors. Whether it is because goblins feared the sunlight or because dragons were just naturally more ferocious-looking is uncertain. Far better to stay inside and terrorize bank patrons by his attitude. Griphook may not have been loved or even liked, but he was respected (at least in Gringott's). There are even rumors of him joining the goblin parties in Vault 712. I find that hard to believe, but stranger things have happened.
Despite his grudging respect for Harry Potter after witnessing Harry's careful burial of Dobby, Griphook betrayed him and his friends in the end. It was out of no love for the Death Eaters or Lord Voldemort, though, because, truthfully, he held little love for them either. No, Griphook was merely playing the odds and going with the side that seemed most likely to win. Also, he lived by the goblin rule that the maker of an object is the true owner, and his distrust of wizards ultimately was his undoing. Harry had promised the return of Godric's sword to the goblin, but after all the broken promises endured by his kind, Griphook found this impossible to believe. Maybe he saw Voldemort as a better option; who knows? Unfortunately, his plan backfired, and he, along with many other goblins was killed by Lord Voldemort during a fit of rage. Coincidentally, Voldemort was Griphook's personal boggart. This is one time where " Riddikulus!" would have come in extremely handy, perhaps. Only Voldemort was real and not just a nightmarish entity, and on May 1, 1998, the surly little goblin lost his life.
Argus Filch
Argus Filch-Argus Filch was born presumably somewhere in either Ireland or England; no one is really quite sure, circa 1951. He had the misfortune of being a squib (basically a wizard-born Muggle). The inability of performing magic must have chafed young Argus terribly, and one can only imagine the teasing he took as a result. I am sure this contributed heavily to the surly and vindictive disposition we have all come to know. To further compound his troubles, Argus was a sickly child, and his maladies did not improve with age. Anyone who knows anything about rheumatism knows how badly it hurts, and it is evident by his hunched back and stiff gait that Argus suffered from it daily. His characteristic wheeze indicates a respiratory ailment, so mere breathing was a chore for him. Having to deal with that on a daily basis would leave anyone in a bad mood!
Although Argus made it a point never to talk about his childhood, it has been rumored that his early years were ones of poverty and neglect. By his demeanor, as well as his grooming habits, one can certainly understand the reasoning here. In fact, if sources are to be believed, his childhood nickname was "Filthy Filch", and sadly, he didn't improve with age. Gaunt, pock-faced and wearing tatty and dirty clothing all bespeaks of a street urchin childhood. Again, this probably attributed to his later disposition. Not to excuse his later actions, of course, but it does rather put things into perspective.
In 1968, Filch took over the position of Hogwart's Caretaker from Apollyon Pringle. He was very diligent about his job, tackling cleaning with a single-minded ferocity which bordered on neurotic obsession. The fact that the students constantly ruined his hard work by well..living and moving..did not endear them to Argus at all. Of course, he had other reasons to hate them as well. Every time they trooped in with hearts full of hope and dreams for the future, it only made him all the more bitter about his own lot in life. His lack of magical ability left him very few job prospects; in fact, caretaker was really the only thing he was suited for at all. Even the Kwikspell course he took on the sly did nothing to help him. He was probably also painfully aware that Dumbledore hired him out of pity more than any real need. He was stuck at a job he didn't really want with people he didn't really like and knowing full-well he really didn't have any other choice. And to make matters worse, Peeves the Poltergeist seemed to take a wicked delight in making messes just to rile him up. The indignity of it all!
Argus pretty much hated everyone with equal passion, the only exceptions being his beloved cat, Mrs. Norris, and the librarian, Irma Pince. Mrs. Norris knew the physical layout of the castle (even the hidden parts) as well as Filch himself, and her disposition and appearance were just as odious as that of her master. She had an uncanny knack of appearing when there was mischief afoot, which she would promptly report to Filch so that the guilty party could receive just punishment. They were truly a match made in heaven. As for Irma Pince, though it is rather hard to imagine, she brought out whatever humanity and romance that Argus had in him. Though it was never made official, everyone knew they were an 'item'. Of course, Miss Pince has been described as "a thin, irritable woman who looks like an underfed vulture" and her disposition was as nasty as his own, so it is not hard to see the attraction.
Argus Filch's legacy is one of cruelty and domineering pettiness. One of his greatest regrets was the fact that Hogwarts had chosen to abandon corporal and cruel punishment. In fact, Dolores Umbridge earned his grudging admiration when she briefly took over the school and allowed him to patrol the hallways with a bullwhip. To sum up his feelings on the whole matter, here is a quote from the man himself:
"A pity they let the old punishments die. Was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I miss the screaming."
Despite this, he did take charge of the students during the Battle of Hogwarts and even helped lead them to safety. And while it doesn't exactly make him a likable hero, it does give him some shred of decency. And with a character like his, any shred he gets is worth noting. He doesn't have many good points, but this is definitely one. Gold Star to Argus for proving to be human after all. Just don't expect him to start singing Christmas Carols or hold sleepovers for the students anytime soon.