Filius Flitwick

"No! You’ll do no more murder at Hogwarts!"

- Filius Flitwick to Severus Snape before the Battle of Hogwarts

Filius Flitwick (born October 17, year unknown) is a part-Goblin wizard who is the Charms professor and head of Ravenclaw house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In his younger years, he was a dueling champion. Flitwick participated in the final battle of the Second Wizarding War, helping to drive Severus Snape from the school and defend it against Death Eaters.

Early life
Little is known about Flitwick´s early life. He is the descendent of a goblin. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was Sorted into Ravenclaw House. At some point he became a master duellist, before becoming Charms teacher at Hogwarts.

Career at Hogwarts
Flitwick taught at Hogwarts when James Potter and friends were there, and may have taught Defence Against the Dark Arts for one year as he collected the papers from the Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.. He was also rumoured to have been a duelling champion when he was younger.

Flitwick's style of teaching seems more "laid-back" than that of the other Hogwarts professors. He has allowed his class to play games during the last class before the Christmas holidays. Moreover, he seems resigned to a fair amount of chaos as students practice new Charms. His Charms classroom is located on the second floor of Hogwarts; his office, however, is located on the seventh floor, at the base of the West Tower. Fred Weasley said that he "couldn't see old Flitwick getting marked down. He usually gets everyone through exams alright. "

Flitwick was still teaching at Hogwarts during Harry Potter's time there. He taught Charms and was the head of Ravenclaw house. During the 1995-1996 school year Flitwick took part in the insurrection against Dolores Umbridge. He could have easily extinguished the Weasley Wildfire Whiz-Bangs himself but told Professor Umbridge he wasn't sure whether he had the authority. He also left a small patch of the swamp created by Fred and George Weasley in honour of them after they fled from the school. He however treated Umbridge "as a guest" as Fred Weasley puts it, during her inspection of his teaching abilities. In 1997 when Hogwarts came under attack he was sent to alert Severus Snape that Death Eaters were in the castle but was knocked out by Snape.

Battle of Hogwarts
During the Battle of Hogwarts, Flitwick helped run Severus Snape out of the school and then tried to give the students evacuating more time before Lord Voldemorts arrival by sending out an incantation that sounded like a "weird rushing noise, as though Flitwick had unleashed the power of the wind into the grounds." This, apparently, has certain same effects as the Protego Horribilis charm. He also helped Harry Potter in his search for Voldemort's last Horcrux, commenting that no one in living memory had seen Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. This led Harry to seek out the Grey Lady, the ghost of Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, who helped Harry find the diadem. Along with the other professors, Flitwick took groups of fighters up to Hogwarts' towers to defend the castle, and was briefly seen fighting Yaxley once the Death Eaters got into the school. Later in the battle, Flitwick defeated, perhaps killed, Antonin Dolohov. Flitwick survived the battle and was one of the many to rush to congratulate Harry Potter immediately after his final defeat of Voldemort.

Magical Abilities and Skills
Charms Master: Flitwick is masterful in the use of charms, from simple decorations to the most advanced charms.

Master Duellist: When Flitwick was younger he was a dueling champion. Though he hasn't duelled in some time he was still good enough to help run Severus Snape out the school, as well as combat the Death Eaters as they invaded the school. These included Yaxley and Antonin Dolohov.

Conductor: Flitwick also coordinated and conducted the Hogwarts Choir.

Physical description
Flitwick is described as having a "dash" of goblin blood. He is known to empathize with other "half-breeds", such as half-giant Rubeus Hagrid. In addition, he is very short and requires a stack of books in order to see over the top of his desk, and sits on a pile of cushions at the staff table in the Great Hall. He has a "shock" of white hair, and his voice is squeaky which is explained by his small stature.

Personality and traits
Flitwick is an emotional fellow, who seems to have a gentle spirit. During the 1992 school year when Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber of Secrets, he burst into tears, and in 1993's Valentine's Day, when Gilderoy Lockhart called him a "sly old dog", he buried his face in his hands. During one Charms lesson, Neville Longbottom, while fumbling with attempts at casting a Banishing Charm, ended up sending Flitwick sailing across the room; Flitwick accepted this resignedly instead of losing his temper.

Nevertheless, he commands respect in spite of his sensitive nature and small stature. When he encountered Harry and Draco Malfoy on the stairs discussing Harry's new Nimbus 2000, Malfoy treated him just like any other teacher with no hint of the sarcasm he used with Remus Lupin. Furthermore, Flitwick is a talented duellist. During the Battle of Hogwarts, he helped to drive off extremely talented wizard Severus Snape and defeated Antonin Dolohov, a highly dangerous Death Eater who had previously defeated the likes of Alastor Moody and Remus Lupin and severely injured Hermione Granger.

Portrayal in the Films
Although Flitwick is fairly predominant Hogwarts character within the books, his appearance in the film adaptations is sporadic. In Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, he has a major scene during the Charms lesson where he teaches the spell Wingardium Leviosa. For Chamber of Secrets, the part is reduced to a background character. Flitwick was written out of the film adaptation of Prisoner of Azkaban; however, Warwick Davis was offered a small part as the conductor of the Hogwarts chorus appearing as a small man with brown hair and moustache, identified in the credits only as "wizard". This same character reappeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire although now identified as Professor Flitwick. According to interviews, Director Mike Newell liked the look of a younger Flitwick. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he is seen in a Chorus Class in the Great Hall. He is seen again cheering when Fred and George Weasley depart Hogwarts. Filius, with his post-Chamber look, is finally confirmed onscreen in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He also displays a far more prickly demeanor than in The Philosopher's Stone. Without a doubt, Filius is likely to return in the final two films, meaning that in some way or another, he has appeared in every Potter film.

However, it should be noted that Flitwick's physical appearance in the first two films is credited as the teacher and his canon represented physical appearance in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince merchandise (The Annual 2009 Poster Sticker Book) also uses the elder Flitwick.

Etymology

 * Filius is Latin for "son", and the filius philosophorum, meaning "the philosopher's son" is a symbol in alchemy, sometimes associated with the philosopher's stone.
 * The surname Flitwick may come from the Charms professor's own advice for wand movement: "swish and flick". Flitwick is also the name of an English town.

Behind the scenes

 * Flitwick is played in the films by Warwick Davis. Davis also provided the voice of Griphook the Goblin in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and will probably do so again in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
 * Flitwick decorates with live fairies quite a bit, especially during Christmas in the Great Hall.
 * Flitwick's favourite drink is cherry syrup and soda with ice and an umbrella.
 * When Flitwick first saw Harry Potter in his Charms class in 1991, he became so excited that he fell off his stack of books.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)

Notes and references
Filius Flitwick Filius Flitwick Филиус Флитвик