Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Yes, you read the title right- in
this video, we’re going to be exploring the Harry Potter Theory that ARGUS FILCH,
Hogwarts caretaker and resident Squib, is in fact related to DOLORES Umbridge - possibly
the worst thing to happen to Harry Potter since Vernon Dursley.
Argus Filch was born sometime before the year 1951- and while we don’t have an exact date,
I think that this feels somewhat accurate. Filch is an intriguing character, and there
isn’t much information available on Filches history. All that we know about him was that
he was born in the British isles, and that he had one magical parent. Despite having
magical parentage on one side, Filch was born a SQUIB. In the year 1968, Filch went on to
assume the role of Hogwarts caretaker, succeeding the previous caretaker Apollyon Pringle. Filch
has been roaming the halls of Hogwarts ever since.
However, Filch doesn’t roam the hallways alone- he does it with his trusty feline companion
Mrs.Norris. Together, they are always on the lookout for students breaking the rules.
Filch is quite a misunderstood character, and he’s mostly glossed over in the films.
He’s painted in a very negative light- almost as if he is evil, but in reality Filch is
just Bitter. He was born a non-magical man in to a magical world, which I expect would
be exceptionally difficult, and though he doesn’t hate the students, he does love
to give them a hard time, which I suppose we can just let him have. Filch doesn’t
really seem to get along with anyone, except for Mrs.Norris-
the two are never apart, except for when they’ve temporarily decided to scout out different
areas of the school. They seem to have an quasi-telepathic connection.
However, in the Order of the Phoenix, Filch suddenly appears to have a positive relationship
with another person - Dolores Umbridge. It couldn’t be a more unlikely pairing- Dolores
is an extremely prejudiced advocate of blood-purity, and Filch is a half-blood SQUIB. But, oddly
enough, the pairing of Filch and Umbridge during the period that she worked at Hogwarts
actually seemed appropriate.
Dolores Umbridge was a british half-blood witch born sometime BEFORE the year 1965.
BEFORE 1965 is a bit vague, but that’s all we’re given, so she could have been 31 when
starting working at Hogwarts, or 61- it’s quite unclear. She was born in the British
Isles to one magical and one muggle parent. Her father was a wizard by the name of Orford
Umbridge, her mother was a muggle named Ellen Cracknell, and her younger brothers name is
never actually revealed.
Dolores’ family life was complicated, and her family became a huge source of shame for
her. Her father, Orford, was a floor mopper at the Ministry of Magic, where Dolores would
later work. When she was questioned, on occasion, about her relationship to the floor mopper
at the ministry, she would vehemently deny any connection with him. In fact, it’s later
revealed that those who did question her identity, or her fathers, almost always had ‘nasty
things’ happen to them:
“Nasty things tended to happen to people who asked about Orford, or anything that Dolores
did not like talking about, and people who wanted to remain on her good side pretended
to believe her version of her ancestry.”
I’m sure you can imagine what a terrible person like Umbridge would think of a floor
mopper. However, Dolores wasn’t the root cause of all of the issues in her family,
as her father openly blamed her mother for birthing a squib. The fact that their family
had a squib was shameful for him as well, and eventually caused the family to go separate
ways. Ellen, Dolores’ mother, moved back to the muggle world with her son, and Orford
remained in the magical world with Dolores. However, it’s worth noting that this divide
didn’t happen until Dolores was 15 years old, so she would have known both her mother
and brother quite well before the family split up.
Okay so, Dolores Umbridge’s brother was a squib and he’s never named. Filch is a
squib, and his parents are never named.
Do you see what I’m getting at?
Yes, there are some holes in this theory, but I think that it has some merit. Bear with
me.
In the 1995-1996 school year, Dolores Umbridge was placed back at Hogwarts by the ministry
of magic. First, she worked as the Defence against the dark arts professor, as well as
the Hogwarts high inquisitor. Then, after some time, she replaced Albus Dumbledore-
as the ministry was convinced that Dumbledore was acting mad. During her time at Hogwarts,
she had enormous power over the students, teachers, curriculum, and grounds. For the
duration that she was there, she made the lives of the students increasingly miserable.
She did everything wrong. She would conduct unreasonable and abusive punishments, and
she would speak to all of the students and staff members condescendingly. That is, except
for one man - Filch.
Filch, like Umbridge, took pleasure in punishing students for their misdeeds. He wasn’t quite
as evil or sinister as Umbridge-but he was certainly a little bit deranged, and this
quote highlights his similar nature:
"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh? Oh, yes…
hard work and pain are the best teachers, if you ask me… It's just a pity they let
the old punishments die out… hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days,
I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed…
Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now. It'll be worse for you if you do."
Filch was clearly not opposed to corporal punishment, and we see this same sort of punishment
administered by Umbridge in the ‘I will not tell Lies’ scene in the Order of the
Phoenix.
“Deep down, you know that you deserve to be punished. Don’t you, Mr Potter?”
Gives you shivers, doesn’t it?
They both LOVED Rules, and I’m sure you’ll remember Umbridge’s ‘educational decrees’
- which basically forbid students from doing..anything. Educational decrees at the school were essentially
laws created by the ministry of magic that enforced standards at the school. The introduction
of educational decrees was instigated by umbridge, and it allowed her and the ministry to begin
to expel and punish students for actions that would have previously been fine. And while
it’s glossed over, Filch actually implemented similar sorts of rules- at least when he could
and when it was within his power. The following quote from Dumbledore supports this:
"So! Now that we are all fed and watered I must once more ask for your attention, while
I give out a few notices. Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of
objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos,
Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred
and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office, if anybody
would like to check it."
It was truly their shared enjoyment in punishing students that helped Fudge and Umbridge to
bond- however, I did notice that they seemed to get along almost instantaneously. There
was definitely a bit of an unusual dynamic, and Filch clearly respected that Umbridge
was his superior, but they got along very well anyway, and it almost seemed as if they
already knew each other. So- did they? My theory is that Umbridges ‘unnamed’ brother
is none other than Argus Filch. First of all, I think that this may be one of the only reasons
that Umbridge was able to tolerate Filch- she was extremely prejudiced, but somehow,
Filch-a squib-slipped under her radar in that respect. It’s as if they knew each other
already, and had some kind of rapport. Umbridge and her brother- who has never been named-
lived together for 15 years, so it would only make sense that they had some kind of relationship.
We know that Dolores’ had a ‘younger’ brother, and the film portrayal of Filch seems
to suggest that he’s older, but in reality- we don’t actually know the birth year of
either of these characters. Both have undefined birth dates in Harry Potter canon-which means
that Umbridge could very well be older than Filch. Additionally, Filch is a squib, and
has lived a bit of a hard life- which could have potentially taken a bit of a toll on
his physical appearance. Umbridge, though awful, is very prim and proper- and probably
takes care of herself quite well.
I just can’t ignore the fact that these characters are
Similar Got along
And
Have grey areas in their family history
It may be a bit of a stretch, but I really think that there is a reasonable amount of
evidence to support the theory that they are in fact related.
What do you guys think? Are Filch and Umbridge related? Am I missing something here?
Let me know down in the comment section below
UNTIL NEXT TIME
YER A WIZARD ARRY