Elphias Doge

"That old berk. Thought the sun shone out of my brother's every orifice, he did."

- Aberforth Dumbledore

Elphias Doge (born c. 1881) was a wizard, a Ministry of Magic jurist, a member of the Order of the Phoenix in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars, and also a close friend of Albus Dumbledore. He wrote an obituary for Albus Dumbledore for the Daily Prophet and attended the wedding of Bill and Fleur Weasley. He probably fought in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998 and survived the Second War.

Early life
Elphias Doge first met Albus Dumbledore at age eleven, during their first day at Hogwarts. He believed that their mutual attraction was due to the fact that they both felt that they were outsiders: Doge had contracted dragon pox shortly before starting at Hogwarts and Dumbledore was primarily known to others as the son of the Muggle-hater, Percival Dumbledore. Their peers at Hogwarts would often think of Doge as Dumbledore's "dimwitted sidekick".

When Doge and Dumbledore left Hogwarts, they planned to take a Grand Tour of the world together. However, when they were staying at the Leaky Cauldron and preparing to leave for Greece, they got news that Dumbledore's mother Kendra had died. Doge attended Kendra's funeral and departed for the Grand Tour without Dumbledore. He wrote letters to Dumbledore about his "narrow escapes from Chimaeras in Greece to the experiments of the Egyptian alchemists". He came back home shortly after the death of Dumbledore's sister Ariana, whose funeral he also attended.

First Wizarding War
Elphias Doge was a member of the original Order of the Phoenix. During that time, he was known to wear what Alastor Moody called "that stupid hat." He possibly fought in several battles of the First Wizarding War and survived the war.

Between Wars
Elphias Doge fought for the Ministry of Magic as Special Advisor to the Wizengamot. Interestingly enough, he is the only member of the Wizengamot which was present at Harry's trial to avoid death or resignation after the war.

As member of the Advance Guard
During the Second Wizarding War, Doge was a member of the Advance Guard that escorted Harry Potter to 12 Grimmauld Place. When he saw Harry, he commented on how much he looked like his father, but had his mother's eyes.

Albus Dumbledore's death
After Dumbledore's death, Doge wrote a heartfelt obituary for the Daily Prophet. He refused to assist Rita Skeeter in her project, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Skeeter criticised Doge in her book, referring to him as "Dodgy Doge" and "Dogbreath", but these nicknames might also have been affectionate terms used by friends in his early life.

Wedding of Bill and Fleur
Doge attended to the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, where he had a discussion with Harry Potter about Dumbledore's childhood. He also had an argument with Muriel, who believed that Ariana had murdered Kendra and supported many of Rita Skeeter's ideas in her book. During the wedding, the members of the Order were chased by Death Eaters.

Battle of Hogwarts
Elphias participated in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998.

Physical appearance
Doge was described as having a wheezy voice and white hair which made him resemble an aged dandelion clock. In his first year at Hogwarts, he suffered from Dragon pox; he had many green pimples on his skin. While examining a photo of the original Order of the Phoenix, ex-Auror Mad-Eye Moody commented on having forgotten 'that stupid little hat he used to wear'.

Personality and traits
In his youth, Doge suffered from Dragon-Pox, and everybody at Hogwarts avoided him, except Albus Dumbledore. That made Elphias be friendly with Dumbledore. Doge has appeared as being a very loyal friend. He also didn't like unfairness, as he got angry when Muriel lied that Ariana Dumbledore was a Squib and that her family had imprisoned her. Doge also appeared as being a friend of the most members of the Order of the Phoenix, such as James and Lily Potter. Doge was also considered as an idiot by Rita Skeeter, though it is possible that she stated this because she liked to insult everybody.

Albus Dumbledore
Elphias was close friends with Albus Dumbledore, meeting him the first time at Hogwarts. They were both outcasts, as he contracted dragon pox shortly before he began schooling. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was an outcast because of his Muggle-hating father. After graduating from school, they had planned to tour the world. However, when they were packing to go to Greece at the Leaky Cauldron, Dumbledore got an owl informing him that his mother had died and that he had to go home instead.

While Elphias was travelling to Greece, Dumbledore had to take care of his siblings. At the time Elphias was ending his travel, Ariana was killed. Elphias learned that she was accidentally killed in a duel between Albus, Aberforth and Gellert Grindelwald. No one ever learned who killed her.

In their later life, Dumbledore and Elphias remained close friends. Elphias had a high opinion of Albus; he thought that he could see the good inside all the people, however apparently insignificant or wretched. After Dumbledore's death, Elphias wrote a heartfelt obituary for the Daily Prophet, about Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore family
Elphias was also close to the Dumbledore family. Elphias wasn't able to meet Percival, Albus's father, as he was imprisoned in Azkaban for punishing three Muggles who had scared Ariana. After that, Ariana lost her sanity and couldn't control her magical abilities. Doge also liked Kendra, Albus's mother. He later stated that she was a great woman.

Kendra was accidentally killed by Ariana. A few years later, Ariana was also accidentally killed in a duel between Albus, Aberforth and Gellert Grindelwald, when she attempted to help Albus and Aberforth. It never became clear who did kill Ariana. Elphias participated at her funeral, where Albus and Aberforth had an argument.

Elphias thought that Albus was much more popular than Aberforth, and that people never do seem to count Aberforth; meaning that the latter was jealous of his brother's popularity. Aberforth also thought that Elphias admired Albus very much, and that Elphias "thought the sun shone out of Albus's every orifice". Aberforth and Elphias's relationship after the Second Wizarding War is unknown.

Harry Potter
Elphias seemed to like Harry Potter. He appears to be friendly with his parents, James and Lily, too. When he first met Harry, he said that he looked like his father, but he had his mother's eyes; something everyone told Harry. Elphias was also a member of the Advance Guard, a group of members of the Order of the Phoenix who escorted Harry to 12 Grimmauld Place.

Elphias met Harry again in 1997, at the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. They discussed about Albus Dumbledore, and Elphias told him that Albus was a very good person, something that helped Harry feel better. It is possible that Harry and Elphias met again after the Second War.

Order of the Phoenix members
Elphias was a member of both the first and the second Order of the Phoenix. He had a good relationship with the most members, including Kingsley Shacklebolt, Alastor Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Sturgis Podmore, Emmeline Vance, Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, who were also members of the Advance Guard. Moody didn't like Elphias's "stupid hat" during the First Wizarding War.

Moody, Emmeline Vance, Lupin and Tonks were killed by Death Eaters during the Second Wizarding War. It is unknown how Elphias reacted when he learned it.

Etymology
Doge was the title given to any ruler in Venice, Italy in the Middle Ages.

Behind the scenes

 * Doge is portrayed by Peter Cartwright in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and David Ryall in Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Notes and references
Elphias Doge Элфиас Дож