George von Rheticus

George von Rheticus was a wizard astronomer. He had portraits of himself hung at Hogwarts Castle.

1995–1996 school year
By the start of the 1995–1996 school year, his portrait hid a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the seventh-floor corridor. His password was "Scurrilous Scoundrel." When Hannah Abbott asked for a shortcut to somewhere near the Room of Requirement so she was not caught by Dolores Umbridge, Harry Potter told her about this portrait. There was another portrait of him hung at the Viaduct Entrance, hiding a shortcut to the Grand Staircase. The latter's password was "Iunctis viribus." He had yet one more portrait next to the Second-floor girls' lavatory, near the Tapestry Corridor. Not hiding any shortcut, this portrait knew about the current events at Hogwarts School and liked to help students keeping out of trouble, if they proved to him they weren't "scoundrels," that is.

1996–1997 school year
The following school year, 1996-1997, von Rheticus's portrait had been moved to the Entrance Hall, this time hiding a way to the Portrait Room.

Personality and traits
This portrait was very helpful and did not mind helping Hogwarts students when they needed it. He once helped Harry Potter finding a broken suit of armour in order to avoid punishment from Severus Snape. He also gave his password to Harry Potter in order to help fellow Dumbledore's Army member, Hannah Abbott. However her refuses helping people whom he suspects are, as he put it, scoundrels. In his view, no scoundrel is good at Astronomy, so when he thinks someone is one, he asks him to fill in a star chart in order to know if they are trustworthy.

Behind the scenes

 * Georg Joachim von Rheticus (1514-1574) was an Austrian mathematician and astronomer and the sole pupil of Copernicus, known for his assistance in getting Copernicus' On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres published. His original surname was von Lauchen, but because his father was executed and his family exiled, they were stripped of their name. He chose Rheticus, from the Roman province of Rhaetia that included Austria, as his new surname.
 * Von Rheticus may have passed away sometime prior to 1993, as many portraits hung at Hogwarts Castle depict deceased individuals.
 * George von Rheticus's portrait bears a resemblance to a real-world portrait of King James I of England, by John de Critz the Elder.
 * In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the portrait has a very strong German accent. In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, his name suggests he is a German wizard ("von" being used as a part of a German family name).
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone there is an Unidentified Ravenclaw prefect that leads a group of first years to Ravenclaw Tower. But, he is shown descending into the Dungeons. It is possible that he is going towards von Rheticus's portrait, to go to the Seventh Floor.

Etymology
The name "George" comes from the Greek name Γεωργιος (Georgios) which was derived from the Greek word γεωργος (georgos) meaning "farmer, earthworker", itself derived from the elements γη (ge) "earth" and εργον (ergon) "work". Saint George was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Palestine who was martyred during the persecutions of emperor Diocletian. Later legends describe his defeat of a dragon, with which he was often depicted in medieval art.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)