Harry Potter Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Harry Potter Wiki

"This Calamity is, well, quite calamitous. Everything that anyone has ever feared, revered, or held dear in the wizarding world — people, things, even memories — have been stolen and displaced, tossed about across the world. We've got to return what is lost, and quickly. The Statute of Secrecy is in danger of being broken."
— Constance Pickering regarding the Calamity[src]

Constance Pickering was a half-blood[2] witch who worked for the British Ministry of Magic, and was the leader of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Constance was born somewhere in the British Isles to parents (one of whom was at least magical) around the dawn of the 21st century.[2]

Her grandfather, Matthias Pickering, was a cruel and greedy wizard who would turn violent whenever Constance angered him, which was often. Despite his abusive behaviour, Constance's parents always sided with him, as he was wealthy and knew a lot of powerful witches and wizards; most of the Pickering family always did whatever they could to keep him happy. He opened Constance's eyes to all the injustice in the wizarding world.[12]

As a child, she lived next door to a Muggle girl, Silvia. Constance convinced her that "hedgehogs" loved it when you left them snacks overnight. Silvia left out a plate and and the next day her garden was destroyed, leaving Constance feeling guilty.[9]

She once had a Crup named Ross, but her family had to give him away when Constance's brother turned out to be a squib, and Ross just wouldn't stop nipping his bum, which scarred him for life.[9] Constance also owned a pet cat, with her once crying for an hour after accidentally stepping on its tail.[14]

When Constance was a girl, her family took her to a dragon sanctuary in Norway. They got to see the baby dragons up close and one of them bit Constance's finger, which hurt for a month.[9]

Constance loved Christmas as a child. She always thought Christmas crackers looked like loads of fun when her mother and sister pulled them together. The pop always made her squeal with delight. But they were never able to have a tree at they house or celebrate in other ways, as Constance's mum said she was “allergic” to decorating. Therefore Constance loved looking in their neighbours' windows and seeing their trees, all bright and shiny.[7]

When Constance was ten years old, her grandmother came over for Christmas. She wore a badger brooch that Constance pilfered to play with. As punishment, Constance spent the rest of Christmas locked in the attic.[7]

As a little girl, Constance used to adore vintage circus posters. However, during a wave of the Calamity focusing on the Circus Arcanus, she finally saw the old-time circus up close and lost the desire to go to one. She also hated clowns.[15]

Hogwarts years[]

Constance displayed signs of magical ability at some point in her early childhood and was subsequently admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which issued her a letter of acceptance on her eleventh birthday. Her mother wouldn't buy her a new cauldron, though, and instead gave Constance her brother's old, used one and bought him a new one.[8] She later boarded the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9¾ at King's Cross Station in order to embark on her first year of magical education.

At the time of her attendance, which began no earlier than September 1998, the school was under the firm stewardship of Professor Minerva McGonagall. She was Sorted into Hufflepuff house.[5] She never met Professor Slughorn, but always thought she would have been a perfect candidate for the "Slug Club".[8] Throughout her childhood, she heard stories about the Death Eaters that the school's inspirational Headmistress and her allies had fought against at the legendary Battle of Hogwarts, and found the group to be terrifying.[16]

As a student, one of her favourite things about school life was the Christmas celebration at the Hogwarts Castle, and would later go on to leave the school with many fond memories about spending the holidays at the school; marvelling at the pudding, the baubles, the trees and the fairy lights. At some point, she also learned that there had been a Yule Ball that took place during the Triwizard Tournament in 1994 and later admitted to having harboured high hopes that the competition would be held once more just so her generation got one of their own.[7]

Constance loathed The Monster Book of Monsters because her copy bit her once.[8]

She was never quite as adept at Charms as she would have liked. She failed in Charms and never really got over it. She had a parent's meeting which included Headmistress McGonagall. It was awful, and Constance spent the time between classes practising various charms on her pet newt, Nevin.[8]

She was friends with a girl named Bethany Swordbane, who was strangely obsessed with goblins. Bethany used to bring Constance to Gringotts Wizarding Bank for the sole purpose of standing in the lobby for hours, ogling at the goblin bankers hard at work. This made Constance very uncomfortable.[8]

In her fifth year, Constance became the Hufflepuff female Prefect. She was thrilled that she would be able to use the Prefects' Bathroom. Constance spent the whole summer leading up to her fifth year dreaming of the long, luxurious soaks she would take come September. Unfortunately, she found it impossible to relax with a portrait of a mermaid staring at her the whole time. After that day, she made sure to only bathe while the mermaid was asleep.[5]

The Unforgivable[]

Constance's grandfather, was a selfish wizard who founded The Unforgivable to make himself rich and powerful. He recruited only wealthy and influential wizards with the promise of more money and power. They did terrible things to get ahead with no concern for anyone but themselves. The moment Constance discovered The Unforgivable existed, she decided she could put the organisation and their resources to better use. She decided that she could make a difference and help those truly in need. She made Matthias disappear by hiding him, alive and mostly unharmed, inside the big trunk in her room and with the help of a Polyjuice Potion, took the place of the leader of the organisation.[12]

Career[]

Constance almost became a Magizoologist when she graduated Hogwarts. But she didn't have the stomach for it. One cold night hiding in a bramble bush by a Muggle field, waiting for a Mooncalf to do its dance was all it took. Constance was out looking for a new post by morning.[17]

Working for the Ministry[]

Seeing her as an icon, there was nothing Constance wanted more upon graduating from Hogwarts than the chance to work with Hermione Granger, a high-ranking official in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and famously progressive voice that had played no small part in the eradication of oppressive, pro-pureblood laws following her death-defying participation in the legendary Battle of Hogwarts. As such, when she applied for the position as a Junior Undersecretary in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where her hero worked, Constance discreetly slipped her application into the pile that she knew Mrs Granger would draw her future assistant from, and to her delight found herself picked for the job.[13]

The Calamity[]

In the 2010s, during the series of large-scale breaches of the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy that became known as The Calamity, the British Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards worked together to set up an International Task Force whose job it would be to track down and contain the chaotic outbreaks of magic from being noticed by Muggles. To this end, Ms Pickering was asked by Hermione Granger upon its sanction to set up what would become known as the Statute of Secrecy Task Force.[18] At some point, presumably in her capacity as the leader of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, she verified the casting of a Muggle-Repelling Charm over an undisclosed object or location.[19] She was also the one who suggested using banners to identify areas of high concentration of Foundables that seemed to be somehow related to one another, at which point her boyfriend, Lucas Sparrowvale, proceeded to spend no less than six months travelling the world and placing them.[11]

In 2019, the Pickering family had Christmas at the new house of Constance's sister, but for some reason, they did not send Constance any details or address. As a result, Constance was invited to have Christmas dinner with the Potter family.[7]

One day, Constance was set on becoming an Animagus. She kept a mandrake leaf in her mouth for a month, brewed the potion, and was just waiting for a lightning storm when Sloan Travers told her about a friend of a friend who botched the spell and became half wizard, half naked mole-rat. Unsure that her silver teaspoon of dew hadn't seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven or six days and terrified of becoming a half-human half-animal abomination, Constance never drank the potion.[20]

Constance later requested that a Calamity Investigator working for the Statute of Secrecy Task Force reach out to all task force members and compile their personal modifications to the Tonic for Trace Detection. Most of these adapations were either useless or dangerous, but the investigator found that Theo Strongarm's vigorous stirring method was surprisingly effective, increasing the effectiveness of their Tonic for Trace Detection. Upon noticing that many members of the task force would mysteriously linger in pubs for hours after eating, Constance also asked the same Calamity Investigator to help come up with a way to force them to return to work. The investigator ended up creating a Pint Timer, which was soon put into effect and ensured that the errant task force members would return to their jobs immediately after finishing their meals.[17]

Constance also hosted a seminar for task force members detailing a complicated new bureaucratic process for indexing the return of items from Foundables and Fortresses and subsequent collection within a bi-lateral schema which was attended by the same Calamity Investigator, who embraced the new system. She later assigned the same Calamity Investigator to monitor Calamity activity near the village of Ottery St Catchpole. While on this assignment, the investigator observed a pattern of Trace behaviour that led to them rethinking their Trace Charm, enabling them to cast it more frequently in succession. Constance also asked the same Calamity Investigator to help streamline the task force's requisition process. The investigator modified a series of FORM Bs and MEMO 131s before eventually creating a process that resulted in eight new documents being added for every requisition request. However, the increased paperwork did help the investigator better return Foundables associated with the Ministry of Magic.[17]

Greatly admiring the same Calamity Investigator's ingenuity, Constance later forwarded letters of advisement to wizarding innkeepers everywhere informing them how they could modify their kitchens so that the investigator's Inn Charm would be more effective. Constance Pickering also talked Ronald Weasley into hosting an informal lesson on evading enemy attacks for task force members who pursued an Auror profession, highlighting the advantages of supplementing defensive spells with evasive manoeuvres, such as side-steps and rolls.[17]


Personality and traits[]

Although she initially claimed to be a diligent and honest supporter of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, she in fact was deluded with the misguided belief that the wizarding world should have been exposed to Muggles, as she believed that the law was outdated, oppressive and that Muggles could benefit greatly from magic. She was willing to go to extreme lengths to further her cause, by manipulating the Calamity whilst controlling The Unforgivable, although Hermione Granger and Harry Potter managed to convince her of her the chaos that would be inflicted with her beliefs.[21]

Constance hated witnessing the suffering of others,[12] and believed that magic would help Muggles with their lives.[21] She was also very cunning and a skilled liar, as she convinced Harry and Hermione that was committed to upholding wizarding law with her job, but in reality, she was fundamentally violating the International Statute of Secrecy for her own gain and beliefs. She believed her unlawful actions with manipulating the Calamity were morally justifiable, as she believed good things would come out of wizarding secrecy ending.[12] In the end, however, Constance was not truly an evil woman, as all of her actions and crimes were in the name of creating a world where she hoped to end suffering.

Magical abilities and skills[]

Possessions[]

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 8 images related to Constance Pickering.

Notes and references[]

  1. By the time she attended Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall had already been made headmistress, and she had already left Hogwarts in 2018.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Her grandfather was a Muggle. Her brother was a Squib, meaning that they had at least one magical parent. If both of their parents were Muggles, her brother would be considered a Muggle as well. This made her a half-blood.
  3. In "Brilliant Event: One Year Later", Constance is said to have a boyfriend, but is not said to be married.
  4. "World Exclusive Interview with J K Rowling," South West News Service, 8 July 2000 - "Hogwarts just serves Britain and Ireland."
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: Triwizarding Secrets"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite physical appearance
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: Christmas Calamity"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: First Year at Hogwarts"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: Baby Beasts"
  10. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: Darkness Rising"
  11. 11.0 11.1 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: One Year Later
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: Constance's Lament"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (See this image)
  14. 14.0 14.1 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite - Brilliant Event: Creature Discomforts
  15. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: Circus Calamitous"
  16. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: Fighting Forces"
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
  18. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (see this image)
  19. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (see this image)
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, Brilliant Event: The New Marauders
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: Battle for Secrecy"
  22. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Patronus Charm" at Wizarding World
  23. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite - Brilliant Event: A Weasley Predicament
  24. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (see this)
Department of Magical Law Enforcement employees
Department of Magical Law Enforcement logo
Heads of Department
Justus Pilliwickle · Torquil Travers · Bartemius Crouch Senior · Amelia Bones · Pius Thicknesse · Corban Yaxley · Arthur Weasley · Harry Potter
Auror Office
Heads: Theseus Scamander · Rufus Scrimgeour · Gawain Robards · Harry Potter
Mordecai Berrycloth · John Dawlish · Penelope Fawley · Dorian Fungbury · Timothy Hale · Alice Longbottom · Frank Longbottom · Neville Longbottom · Patricia McManners · Alastor Moody · Alastor Moody's father · Riya Patel · Proudfoot · Savage · Kingsley Shacklebolt · Nymphadora Tonks · Ronald Weasley · Williamson · Unidentified Aurors · Helen Thistlewood · Solomon Sallow · Aesop Sharp · Aesop Sharp's partner · Unidentified male Auror at Hogwarts · Director of the Investigation Department No. 61042
Improper Use of Magic Office
Heads: Travers · Dolores Umbridge
Mafalda Hopkirk · Honoria's fiancé · Mafalda Hopkirk's Ministerial Superior · Rufus Fudge · Orabella Nuttley · Chester Davies · Linderina Crane
Other personnel
Council of Magical Law guards · Leta Lestrange · Minerva McGonagall · Elphinstone Urquart · Elton Elderberry · Alastor Gumboil · Arnold Peasegood · Arthur Weasley · Perkins · Bilius Finbok · Cerberus Langarm · Hermione Granger · Bob Ogden · Constance Pickering · Ruth Singer · Tulip Karasu's mother · Tulip Karasu's father · Dempster Wiggleswade · Amelia Bones's assistant · Arthur Weasley's ten subordinates · Unidentified Hit Wizard · Unidentified Wizengamot clerk · Director of the Investigation Department and Ministry Police
International Confederation of Wizards
ICW
International Confederation of Wizards' Conference
Supreme Mugwump
Pierre Bonaccord · Cottismore Croyne · Sidley Smirk Platter · Anton Vogel · Vicência Santos · Albus Dumbledore · Babajide Akingbade
Delegates
Momolu Wotorson · Ya Zhou · Heinrich Eberstadt (Switzerland) · Albus Dumbledore (Great Britain)
Other employees
Hector Podmore (Great Britain) · Rudolph Spielman · Arnold Guzman (USA) · Ida Webb (Great Britain) · Royston Idlewind · Mentor Metaxas · Constance Pickering (Great Britain) · Mathilda Grimblehawk (Great Britain)
Divisions and posts
Calamity World Centre · Department of Aurors · Educational Office · Head of Incarceration · High Council · Quidditch Committee · International Director · International Task Force · Security Advisor · Statute of Secrecy Task Force
Possessions
Incarceration Carriage
Events
Candidates' Dinner · Selection Ceremony · The walk of the Qilin
Colin-CreevThis article about a specific character is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
Advertisement