Xenophilius Lovegood

"The most eccentric-looking wizard...Slightly cross-eyed, with shoulder-length white hair the texture of candyfloss, he wore a white cap whose tassel dangled in front of his nose and robes of an eye-watering shade of egg-yolk yellow. An odd symbol, rather like a triangular eye, glistened from a golden chain around his neck"

- Harry's impression of Xenophilius Lovegood at Bill and Fleur's Wedding (Lovegood is wearing the sign of the Deathly Hallows)

Xenophilius "Xeno" Lovegood was the editor of The Quibbler magazine, the husband of Mrs. Lovegood, and the father of Luna Lovegood. His wife died when their only child was nine years old, and he raised his daughter by himself. He was likely the source of his daughter’s eccentric beliefs, although he was often correct in his assumptions. He believed in the existence of the Deathly Hallows and supported Harry in The Quibbler when few others would.

Xenophilius and Luna lived in a house shaped like a rook chess piece near the village of Ottery St. Catchpole and were friends with the Weasleys. In the summer of 1997, Xenophilius and Luna attended Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding at the Burrow. In 1998, Luna was kidnapped by Death Eaters. To save her, Xenophilius betrayed Harry Potter to Death Eaters; but Harry, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley managed to escape. He was temporarily imprisoned in Azkaban by the Death Eaters. After the Second Wizarding War, he most likely left the prison and continued editing The Quibbler. When Luna married Rolf Scamander, Xenophilius had two grandsons, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander.

Early life
Xenophilius was born into the Lovegood family and may have attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a Ravenclaw. At an unknown time, he married a witch with whom he had a daughter, Luna Lovegood. He raised Luna himself after Mrs. Lovegood died when her magical experiment went wrong.

Xenophilius created a magazine called The Quibbler, in which he wrote about his obscure beliefs, including the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

At some point during his life, Xenophilius attended one of Eldred Worple's book signings. Worple remembered him as a "seriously unbalanced man".

Quidditch World Cup
In 1994, Xenophilius and Luna watched the Quidditch World Cup; Ireland versus Bulgaria.

The Quibbler
In 1996, Xenophilius published Harry Potter's story about the night he saw Lord Voldemort return and sent Harry a free copy. This was the fastest-selling edition of The Quibbler, even being reprinted at least once before Mr. Lovegood sold the story to the Daily Prophet. The Lovegoods used the money received from selling the story to the Prophet to travel to Sweden over the summer to search for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

When Rufus Scrimgeour became Minister for Magic, Xenophilius planned to print a story in The Quibbler stating that Scrimgeour was a vampire. However the Ministry stepped in and prevented him from printing the story; Xenophilius believed that this was because the Ministry did not want the truth to get out.

Bill and Fleur's wedding
"What is Xenophilius Lovegood wearing? He looks like an omelette!"

- Muriel criticising Lovegood at the wedding

In the summer of 1997, Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood attended Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding at the Burrow. There, Xenophilius got into an argument with Viktor Krum over the necklace he was wearing; Viktor identified it as the mark of the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

After the Ministry of Magic fell under the control of Lord Voldemort, the Daily Prophet fell under the control of the Death Eaters as well. The Quibbler, however, continued to print the truth and Xenophilius made his support of Harry Potter very clear.

Daughter's ransom
"They took my Luna because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if I -- If I... I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna. You must not leave."

- Xenophilius to Harry Potter in 1998

Xenophilius's public support of Harry Potter eventually got him in trouble with Death Eaters, who kidnapped his daughter and held her hostage at Malfoy Manor; Xenophilius intended to do whatever it took to get her back. He agreed to publish anti-Potter articles in the Quibbler, following the line of the Voldemort-dominated Ministry. When he was visited by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger later in the year, Xenophilius alerted Death Eaters, hoping they would return Luna in exchange. While waiting for the Death Eaters' arrival, Xenophilius told the trio about the Deathly Hallows, and explained that the symbol of the Deathly Hallows was worn by believers and seekers of the Hallows to identify themselves to one another. When they grew suspicious of him after realising that Luna had not been home in some time, Xenophilius attempted to stun Harry and his friends, but missed, hitting an erumpent horn and causing his house to collapse.

The Death Eaters Travers and Selwyn arrived and briefly tortured Xenophilius, believing that he was trying to trick them about Harry being at his home. After the Human-presence-revealing spell revealed that there were others in the house, the Death Eaters sent Xenophilius up the stairs. Hermione rapidly wiped his memory of what they had discussed with him, and then blasted a hole through the floor to facilitate the trio's escape, engineering it so that the Death Eaters saw that Harry was indeed there, thus ensuring that neither Xenophilius nor Luna were punished for lying, and so that neither saw Ron, who was supposed to be at home sick with spattergroit.

Imprisonment and release
After the trio's escape, Xenophilius was arrested and sent to Azkaban. His attempted betrayal was unknown, with the anti-Potter issue of the Quibbler buried under the debris of his home and never distributed. He was released after Voldemort’s defeat in May of 1998. Luna, in the meantime, was rescued by the house-elf Dobby from Malfoy Manor, and survived the war. Harry, Ron and Hermione preserved Xenophilius' reputation and never revealed the truth, as his attempted betrayal had been motivated solely by concern for his daughter.

Later life
As an adult, Luna would soon come to realise the truth about her father, and accepted that some of his creatures did not exist. She married Rolf Scamander, grandson of the famous Newt Scamander, and the couple had twins, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, thus making Xenophilius a grandfather. It is not known what happened to Xenophilius beyond this.

Physical appearance
Xenophilius was an eccentric-looking wizard, who looked slightly cross-eyed and had shoulder length hair that was the texture of candyfloss. At Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour’s wedding, he wore a cap with a tassel that dangled in front of his nose, and wore a golden chain around his neck, that bore the sign of the Deathly Hallows, sometimes mistaken as the mark of Gellert Grindelwald. He also wore robes of an eye-watering shade of egg-yolk yellow which Muriel said made him look like an omelette.

Personality and traits
Xenophilius cared a great deal about his daughter Luna, and shared her strange beliefs; he was likely the cause of them. He thought the Daily Prophet was an awful paper, and only published stories that he thought were important and needed to be known by the public. He was extremely firm in his bizarre beliefs and views, and felt those who contradicted them were "...painfully limited. Narrow. Close-minded ". According to Luna, her father did not care about making money, and did not pay people to write for The Quibbler and that they did so because it was an honour to see their name in print. Luna also said that her father was supportive of any anti-Ministry action. Mr. Lovegood fully supported Harry Potter, and encouraged others to do so as well, until his daughter was kidnapped by Death Eaters. Xenophilius cared about Luna so much that he was willing to hand Harry, Ron and Hermione over to the Death Eaters in exchange for his daughter.

Among his beliefs was the belief in the Deathly Hallows, (which actually proved to be real), as well as the existence of numerous magical cryptids such of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. He also believed that gnomes had powerful magic, and that the dirigible plum would enhance one's ability to accept the extraordinary.

Etymology
Xenophilius' name comes from two Greek words: Xenos "strange" and -Phile "love". As opposed to xenophobe, one who fears the strange, his name means "one who loves the strange."

Xenophilius' name bears a similarity to the X-Files, and like X-Files main character Fox Mulder, he describes himself as a "believer." Both characters investigate and believe in numerous conspiracy theories which are not accepted by their mainstream culture.

Behind the scenes

 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Xenophilius is played by Welsh actor Rhys Ifans.
 * In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Xenophilius triggers the Taboo, which leads to the capture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, which differs from the book, where Harry triggers the Taboo.
 * In the book, Xenophilius has a wand and uses it in a small, short duel with Hermione. In Part 1 of the film, there is no mention of him having a wand nor is it seen in the film.
 * It is possible that Xenophilius and Luna fought in the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour after it was attacked.

Appearances

 * 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 Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * 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: Characters of the Magical World
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7