Marcus Belby

Marcus Belby (1979-2012) was a wizard, and a Ravenclaw student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1990 to 1997. He was the nephew of Damocles, the noted potioneer who developed the Wolfsbane Potion in the late 20th century. For this reason, Horace Slughorn considered inviting Belby to his Slug Club supper parties in the 1996-1997 school year, but given that he did not see much of his uncle, Slughorn never gave him much attention.

Early life
Marcus Belby was born in around 1979, somewhere in the British Isles, to the wizarding Belby family.

He was the son of Mr. Belby, and the nephew of Damocles: a celebrated, Order of Merlin-awarded potioneer who, in the last quarter of the 20th century, developed the Wolfsbane Potion, a potion that was able to relieve (but not cure) the effects of lycanthropy. Marcus did not, however, have much contact with his famous uncle, because his father was not on good terms with him.

Belby received his Hogwarts acceptance letter at the age of eleven, and enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on 1 September, 1990, the day in which he was Sorted into Ravenclaw.

Seventh year
Marcus Belby came aboard the Hogwarts Express on the morning of 1 September, 1996 to travel to Hogwarts Castle, where he would attend his seventh and N.E.W.T.-level year. Once at the train, he received an invitation for "a bite of lunch" in Compartment C from the new Potions master, Horace E. F. Slughorn. He got there, and gave a nervous, strained smile to Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom upon their arrival.

Slughorn, who had packed his own lunch (as the Honeydukes Express the food trolley was heavy on liquorice wands, and "a poor old man's digestive system isn't quite up to such things") offered Belby half a cold pheasant first, and they started talking about his uncle, Damocles, and his outstanding achievement. When the professor asked him if he saw his uncle often, Belby tried to answer in haste, and choke on a mouthful of pheasant. Slughorn cleared his airways with a spell, only to hear that Belby's father did not get on very well with his uncle and, as such, he did not know much about him. Slughorn became uninterested in him and turned to Cormac McLaggen instead, missing out on Belby when he was offering around a small tray of pies.



Belby would still be invited to one of the Slug Club's supper parties. Over ice cream, on which Belby seemed to be more interested than in the conversation, the subject turned to his uncle once again, and when Belby said his father says "the only potion worth having is a stiff one at the end of the day", Slughorn changed the subject abruptly and questioned Hermione Granger about her parents' professions (dentistry) in the Muggle world. When Ginny Weasley arrived later during dessert, Slughorn cracked a joke about Belby leaving no ice cream for her.

Later in the year, on 20 December, 1996, Slughorn had Belby handing out towels in the loo while he hosted a Christmas party for the Slug Club in his office.

Behind the scenes

 * Marcus Belby was played by Robert Knox in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
 * On 24 May 2008, the actor playing Belby, Robert Knox, was stabbed to death by Karl Bishop outside the Metro bar next to the suburban rail station in Sidcup, London, while defending his younger brother. At the world première of the film he played in, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, all of his former fellow cast members wore white ribbons in his memory.  On 4 March, 2009, BBC reported that Karl Bishop had been convicted or found guilty of Knox's murder. The next day, Bishop was given a life sentence for that conviction. Video of Rob's parents speaking after the conviction can be seen via this link.
 * Despite being described in the book as thin and nervous-looking, he is portrayed in the film as fat, gluttonous and impolite, speaking with his mouth full of ice-cream as he shovels it into his mouth at the meeting of the Slug Club.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

Notes and references
Marcus Belby Marcus Belby Маркус Белби