Mundungus Fletcher

"The so-called Inferius was nothing but a smelly sneak thief by the name of Mundungus Fletcher."

- Severus Snape

Mundungus Fletcher was a wizard who dwelled in the Wizarding underworld, a dealer of stolen merchandise and controlled substances. He was also one of the original members of the Order of the Phoenix, a group dedicated to fighting Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He was something of a con artist, if not an outright criminal. Mundungus fought in some battles of the Second Wizarding War, including the Battle of the Seven Potters and possibly the Battle of Hogwarts. After the war, he probably continued his life as a con artist.

First Wizarding War
Mundungus became a member of the Order of the Phoenix during the First Wizarding War. He was not well-liked by the other members of the Order and struck many as seeming untrustworthy. However, he was fiercely loyal to Dumbledore after he helped Mundungus out of a "tight spot". His links to the Wizarding underworld are extremely useful in gaining information for the Order. Sometime between 1975 to 1976, Mundungus offended Aberforth Dumbledore, and Aberforth banned him from the Hog's Head forever. To this day, Aberforth keeps a good memory of this ban.

Between the wars
His loyalty to the Order did not prevent him from pursuing his criminal ways during the period before Voldemort's return, however.

1992-1993
When Arthur Weasley returned home from work, and is telling about his day, he mentions that he had a run-in with Mundungus Fletcher during a law enforcement raid, and that Mundungus had tried to hex him when his back was turned.

1994-1995
It is mentioned that, after the Death Eater riot at the Quidditch World Cup, Mundungus Fletcher put in an absurdly inflated compensation claim for damages to a 12-bedroomed tent with a built-in jacuzzi, when actually, according to Percy Weasley, he was sleeping under a cloak propped up on sticks.

When Dumbledore learned that Voldemort had returned, he sent off Sirius Black to alert "the old crowd", specifically naming Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, and Mundungus Fletcher.

1995-1996
With the return of Lord Voldemort in 1995, Fletcher rejoined the Order (much against Molly Weasley's wishes), but found it impossible to place the demands of the Order completely ahead of his own interests. Mundungus was initially set as a guard over Harry Potter, a post he deserted in order to cut a deal on some cauldrons which had "fallen off the back of a broom". During his absence, Harry and Dudley were attacked by two dementors, which were repelled by Harry with a Patronus Charm. Mundungus reappeared after the Dementor attack, and was chastised (both verbally and with a shopping bag full of cans of cat food) by Mrs. Figg, who ordered him to report to Dumbledore.

Mundungus made his next appearance at the kitchen table 12 Grimmauld Place, the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He was asleep at the table; roused, he mumbled that he agreed with Sirius Black. This is apparently the limits of his usual involvement, making him singularly ineffective as part of the council. At dinner, he told a story that involved selling a load of toads to another underworld character, the joke of which is that they were his own toads that Mundungus had stolen from him; chastised by Molly Weasley, he said that it was all right because the other man had stolen them himself.

He got into trouble with Molly Weasley when he tried to bring his load of stolen cauldrons to Headquarters for storage. He also provided a number of controlled magical ingredients to Fred and George Weasley, which helped them set up their magic joke shop. However, he slightly redeemed himself in Mrs. Weasley's eyes while cleaning out Grimmauld Place, when he saved her son from a set of purple cloaks that attempted to strangle him.

When the initial meeting of Dumbledore's Army was held in the Hog's Head Inn, Mundungus was present, unbeknown to Harry, and reported back to the Order. Sirius Black, revealing this to Harry, said that Mundungus was heavily veiled and disguised as a witch because he had previously been barred from the Hog's Head, and admitted that Mundungus had been tailing Harry.

Apparently, since the death of Sirius in 1996, Mundungus had been clearing valuables out of the headquarters of the Order and selling them. Harry caught Fletcher red-handed in Hogsmeade selling Black family silver to the bartender of the Hog's Head, which had been stolen from Sirius's house; these items and the entire residence at 12 Grimmauld Place were left to Harry in Sirius's will. Harry confronted him using physical force before Mundungus Disapparated and went into hiding. His exact whereabouts were a mystery, but it was later noted in the Daily Prophet that he had been arrested and sent to Azkaban for impersonating an Inferius. He likely escaped during the mass breakout described by Kingsley Shacklebolt in 1997.

1997-1998
Mundungus, now freed from Azkaban, was set the task of being one of the six Order members who would be disguised as Harry Potter by means of Polyjuice Potion on the night Harry escaped from the Dursleys' house, so that if any Death Eaters were waiting for them they wouldn't know which Harry Potter was the real one. Mundungus was very reluctant to do this, fearing that he would be a target. Riding a broomstick behind Alastor Moody during the Battle of the Seven Potters, he Disapparated immediately in terror when Voldemort pursued them, leaving Moody to be hit by the Killing Curse that had been aimed at Mundungus (disguised as Harry Potter) by Voldemort. The remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix, discussing how Voldemort had known when Harry was going to be moved, had suggested that it might be Mundungus who had leaked the secret. However, it is recalled that Mundungus had suggested the six mock Potters, and that was the one part of the plan that Voldemort had not been prepared for. After their arrival at Grimmauld Place, and the discovery of the identity of R.A.B., Hermione recalled the "heavy locket that none of them could open." Remembering that Kreacher had been stealing things back that they had been trying to discard, the Trio searched Kreacher's sleeping area with no result, and then Harry summoned Kreacher. Kreacher said that the locket was unfinished business for him, he had been told to destroy it and had not been able to. He also says that Mundungus had stolen it from him.

Winning Kreacher over to his side by saying that they were planning to destroy the locket, and by giving Kreacher another locket which had been his old master's, Harry sent Kreacher out to find Mundungus. When Mundungus arrived a few days later, under threat of "persuasion" by Kreacher, he admitted to having taken the locket, but then had it extorted from him by Dolores Umbridge.

Later, shortly before the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry found himself in the Hog's Head and happens to see a magic mirror, twin to the one given to him by Sirius Black. The bartender, Aberforth Dumbledore, said that it had been sold to him by Mundungus, and he had been using it from time to time to keep an eye on what Harry was doing.

When Harry relived Severus Snape's memories, he saw the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, in conference with Snape, developing the plan of having multiple mock Potters to allow the escape from Privet Drive. Dumbledore said that this is Harry's only chance of escape, as Snape must give Voldemort Harry's true departure date to stay in Voldemort's inner council, and suggests that Mundungus should be the one to mention it to the Order. A memory is seen of Snape, in a pub, placing a Confundus Charm on Mundungus in order to have him propose a plan of six Order members disguising themselves as Harry with Polyjuice Potion accompanied by protectors.

Fletcher presumably went into hiding after his encounter with the trio at Grimmauld Place. He is not known to have taken part in the Battle of Hogwarts, but it is possible that he did, without being noticed by Harry Potter.

Later life
Mundungus most likely survived the Second Wizarding War and possibly resumed his life as a criminal afterwards.

Physical appearance
"The squat, bandy-legged man with long, straggly, ginger hair jumped and dropped an ancient suitcase, which burst open, releasing what looked like the entire contents of a junk shop window"

- Harry Potter sees Mundungus in Hogsmeade selling Sirius Black's possessions

Squat, with bandy legs and long, straggly ginger hair, Fletcher often sported an unshaven face and bloodshot, baggy eyes. He had a habit of smoking a smelly pipe and carried a strong bodily odour of tobacco and stale alcohol. He was once even mistaken for a pile of rags by Harry Potter.

Personality and traits
Mundungus was a petty criminal, specialising in crimes to make as much profit as he could. He always took valuable things from wherever he went, such as 12 Grimmauld Place. After Sirius Black's death, Mundungus stole his possessions, including Salazar Slytherin's Locket. He was also somewhat cowardly, as he abandoned Alastor Moody during the Battle of the Seven Potters; Moody was killed by Lord Voldemort. It is possible that Mundungus did not fight in the Battle of Hogwarts, but, if he did, he most likely survived the war and continued his job as an irreputable artefact dealer.

However, Mundungus appeared to be braver than people such as Peter Pettigrew. Though he had a tendency to flee when the situation seemed grim, he never actually turned against the Order of the Phoenix. Also, his crimes mainly included stealing and robbing, never killing.

Magical abilities and skills

 * Apparition: Mundungus Fletcher was capable of apparating.
 * Patronus (possible): Mundungus may have been able to conjure a Patronus.
 * Revulsion Jinx (possible): Mundungus may have used a non-verbal Revulsion Jinx to escape from Harry when Harry caught him after stealing some of Sirius' belongings.

Order of the Phoenix members
Mundungus did not have a very good relationship with the most of the Order of the Phoenix members. They did not like him, as he was a criminal, but put up with him as his criminal contacts could give him intelligence about Lord Voldemort. Mrs. Weasley seemed to dislike him, as she thought he would be a bad influence on Fred and George by telling them about his "jobs" (probably because she was afraid of her children following his example). She also told him not to smoke in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place. However, she stopped disliking him so much when Mundungus saved Ron from a magic cloak that attempted to strangle him. Arabella Figg disliked him too, when he abandoned his mission to watch Harry Potter, who was attacked by Dementors. Mundungus was regarded by many as a coward.

In 1997, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger kidnapped Mundungus in order to learn about Salazar Slytherin's Locket. Mundungus told them that he had given the locket to Dolores Umbridge. This led to Harry, Ron, and Hermione infiltrating the Ministry in order to find the locket and destroy it.

The members of the Order learned about Mundungus's cowardice when he abandoned Alastor Moody during the Battle of the Seven Potters; Moody was killed by Lord Voldemort. It is unknown if Mundungus fought along with other members during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Mundungus also has a mixed relationship with the bartender of the Hog's Head, Aberforth Dumbledore. While Aberforth banned Mundungus for life from the bar for offending him twenty years ago, the two remained in touch, with Mundungus selling stolen goods to Aberforth. It was also mentioned that Mundungus was loyal to Albus Dumbledore, who had helped him at some point in the past. Albus scared Mundungus a bit but nevertheless, Mundungus never betrayed him.

Fred and George Weasley
Mundungus seemed to have a good relationship with Fred and George. He smuggled them items for their joke shop behind their mother's back, including Venomous Tentacula seed, for which he charged them ten Galleons. Fred and George nicknamed him "Dung".

Etymology

 * Mundungus is an obsolete term for a very stinky tobacco.
 * A fletcher is an arrow-maker.

Behind the scenes

 * Mundungus Fletcher was played by Andy Linden in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Daniel Radcliffe, of course, played Mundungus during the "Seven Potters" scene. On the DVD, Andy pointed out that he was amazed by how well Dan pretended to be him.
 * Mundungus' appearence in the seventh film is greatly altered from his description in the books. He is described as having shaggy hair, bandy legs and bloodshot eyes. In the film he is bald, has normal legs and his eyes are not bloodshot.
 * Mundungus doesn't ever appear in the fifth film. It is unknown why J.K. Rowling never told the filmmakers to do so when she told them to include Kreacher, as Mundungus, like Kreacher, has big a part to play in the adventure with the locket by giving it to Umbridge. One possible explanation is that Mundungus's character is much easier to introduce.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * 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
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

Notes and references
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