- "Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the pure-bloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance... She would have us all mate with Muggles..."
- —Lord Voldemort ridiculing Charity Burbage to his followers before killing her.[src]
Professor Charity Burbage (d. July, 1997) was the Professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after the departure of the wizard who formerly held the post. Her career lasted from 1993 to 1997, and in these years she taught how Muggles weren't so different from wizards and witches, but this belief became her end when Lord Voldemort killed her for her views during the Meeting at Malfoy Manor.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Charity was born to Mr. and Mrs. Burbage[3] somewhere in Great Britain. Her parentage is unknown.[2]
Burbage probably studied magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and it is likely that she achieved a high graded O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. in Muggle Studies as later in her life she went on to teach this subject for four years. She may have also done examinations in both Muggle Art and Muggle Music, as both appear to be separate branches of the same subject.
Career as a professor[]
1993–1994 school year[]
Burbage went on to return to Hogwarts from which she studied and took up the post of Muggle Studies Professor, replacing a male teacher. Her office was located on the first floor (indicated as where Hermione took her Muggle Studies exam) and it was full of Muggle toys and instruments, suggesting it was possibly used for Muggle Music classes too.
Burbage's class was described as 'a soft option', as opposed to Minerva McGonagall's Transfiguration classes. However, Percy Weasley proposed that her classes were very useful, especially if her students were planning a career in Muggle relations; his father being a case in point. She apparently gave quite a bit of homework, such as essays on why Muggles need electricity.
For unknown reasons, Professor Burbage kept a Lumos Duo spell book in her classroom.
Professor Burbage also came to consider the Potions master, Professor Severus Snape, a friend.
- "It'll be fascinating to learn about Muggles from a wizard's point of view."
- —Hermione Granger awaiting Professor Burbage's class.[src]
Third-years Hermione Granger and Ernie Macmillan both took Burbage's class and found her teaching fascinating. During this year, Burbage gave homework requiring her students to write an essay entitled Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity. At the end of the year, Hermione Granger dropped Muggle Studies, leaving Burbage without a star pupil.
Death[]
- "'Avada Kedavra. Nagini, dinner."
- —Lord Voldemort casting the curse that killed Burbage and feeding her body to his snake.[src]
During the summer holidays, Burbage was abducted by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. An official statement claimed that she had "resigned", although many who knew her were suspicious about her disappearance. She was suspended upside down over a table at Malfoy Manor while the Death Eaters were having a meeting there, where her abductors mocked her and her subject.
Burbage (far left) during the Death Eater meeting at Malfoy Manor.
Burbage, noticing Snape was one of them, begged him to save her. He couldn't do anything except sit and watch as his master, Voldemort, killed her and fed her body to his snake, Nagini.
Post-mortem[]
Charity Burbage hung up in the air guarded by Wormtail during the Death Eater's meeting
- "Alecto, Amycus's sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is compulsory for everyone. We've all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drive wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being re-established. I got this one for asking her how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got."
- —Neville Longbottom on Burbage's sucessor, Alecto Carrow.[src]
No one knew of Burbage's whereabouts after her death. Sometime before July 27, Charity Burbage's alleged resignation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was briefly mentioned of the front page of the Daily Prophet. However, members of the Order of the Phoenix did not believe it, as they were unable to locate her anywhere after the summer.
Charity's body seconds after her death
Sometime after the Fall of the Ministry of Magic, an editorial was published on the Daily Prophet disregarding Burbage's previous editorial and informing the public she was reported in hiding. [4]
Nagini slithering on the table in Malfoy Manor about to strike Charity Burbage
On September 1, 1997, under the tenure of Headmaster Severus Snape, attendance of Muggle Studies class was made mandatory by the Death Eater-controlled Ministry of Magic, under professor Alecto Carrow. It is unknown whether Burbage's true fate was ever uncovered and revealed to the wizarding world after the Second Wizarding War.
Relationships[]
Severus Snape[]
- "Severus, please. We're friends."
- —Burbage pleads Severus Snape to save her, moments before her murder.[src]
During their stay at Hogwarts, Charity was friends with fellow Professor Severus Snape.[5] She had enough trust in him to beg him to save her during the Death Eater meeting at Malfoy Manor in the summer of 1997, even after his murder of Albus Dumbledore, saying that they were friends. Unfortunately, Snape couldn't help her because he needed Voldemort to trust him and the outcome would have still been the same and with Snape being killed as well.
Behind the scenes[]
- Burbage is portrayed by British actress Carolyn Pickles in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1[6].
- Charity says the same last words that Albus Dumbledore did, except she adds another "please".
- Charity Burbage was preceded and succeeded by professors who served Lord Voldemort, though Professor Quirrell only fell to Voldemort during his year off after leaving the job; she herself was murdered by Lord Voldemort.
- There are numerous unidentified female teachers who appeared in the films. One of them may be Charity.
- Carolyn Pickles shares the same birthdate as Roger Lloyd-Pack, who portrays Bartemius Crouch Sr, and John Williams, the composer of the first three films.
- In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, she has grey hair and she appears to be older.
Etymology[]
"Charity" is from the English word charity, ultimately derived from Late Latin caritas meaning "generous love", from Latin carus "dear, beloved". Caritas was in use as a Roman Christian name. The English name Charity came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Voldemort made no reference to Burbage herself being a "thief of knowledge and magic", which he would likely have done had she been a Muggle-born. However, this is not a concrete confirmation on her blood status.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Voldemort referred to her as "Miss Charity Burbage", meaning that she was born Burbage and never married.
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- ↑ Deathly Hallows Movie Updates: Charity Burbage Cast, Possible Historic Home for Exterior Shots and More
| Professors: Quirinus Quirrell · Male Teacher · Charity Burbage · Alecto Carrow | |||||
| Classrooms: Muggle Studies Classroom · Muggle Studies showroom · Fifth Floor classroom | |||||
| Textbooks: Cooking the Muggle Way · Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles · Moronic Muggles · Muggles Who Notice · My Life as a Muggle · The Philosophy of the Mundane: Why the Muggles Prefer Not to Know · When Muggles Attack | |||||