- "This is Gregory the Smarmy, you know. A fine wizard, but I hear tell he was a bit, well, smarmy."
- —Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington[1]
Gregory the Smarmy (fl. 1189) was a medieval wizard who invented Gregory's Unctuous Unction, a potion that makes the drinker believe whomever gave the potion is his or her best friend. Gregory allegedly wormed his way into King Richard's confidence and thus made his fortune.[2] He appears on a Chocolate Frog Card.
A secret passage out of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, found by Fred and George Weasley on their first week of school, is located behind a statue of Gregory the Smarmy. Early in the 1991-1992 school year, Lee Jordan discovered a secret passage that Fred and George suspected was probably this one.[3]
A statue of Gregory the Smarmy is located on the first floor corridor.[4]
A corridor on the fifth floor of the east wing was referred as "Gregory the Smarmy’s corridor". Whether this is because it held a statue of him, or some other reason, was unclear.[5] In early 1996, Fred and George set off a Portable Swamp there to serve as a distraction so Harry Potter could use Dolores Umbridge's fireplace to communicate with his godfather, Sirius Black.[6][7]
Etymology
- The name Gregory is derived from the Latin Gregorius, meaning "watchful, alert".
- Smarmy means "excessively or unctuously flattering, ingratiating, servile"[8].
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card) (Appears as statue)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card) (Appears as statue)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Appears as statue)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Appears as statue)
Notes and references
- ↑ Unused Dialouge - The Cutting Room Floor
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) - PS2 version
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 9 (The Midnight Duel) "“Anyway, we’ve got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he’s found a new secret passageway out of the school.” “Bet it’s that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you.”"
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 29 (Careers Advice) - “You’ll see, little bro,” said Fred, as he and George got up again. “At least, you will if you trot along to Gregory the Smarmy’s corridor round about five o’clock tomorrow.” [...] "But he had made up his mind — hitching his bag more securely onto his shoulder he set off at a run, weaving in and out of students now hurrying in the opposite direction, off to see what all the fuss was about in the east wing..."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 29 (Careers Advice) - "“So!” said Umbridge triumphantly, whom Harry realised was standing just a few stairs in front of him, once more looking down upon her prey. “So . . . you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?” “Pretty amusing, yeah,” said Fred, looking back up at her without the slightest sign of fear."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp) - "Fred and George had made sure that nobody was likely to forget them very soon. For one thing, they had not left instructions on how to remove the swamp that now filled the corridor on the fifth floor of the east wing."
- ↑ Dictionary.com definition: Smarmy
