Gilderoy Lockhart

[Lyratearsx]

I didn't spot a thread for him, so I thought I'd start one

I have a few questions on the man.

Do you think his vanity is just over-insecurity?

Do you think he knew in COS that the teachers hated him?

What house do you think he was in when he was at Hogwarts?

We know he's good at Memory Charms (oh, the irony!) but does he have any other talents?

At school, do you think he would be popular or a bit of a joke?

If the answer to the question above is the latter, do you think that might be why his success went to his head?

Thanks!

~Lyra

[ms. leading]

Do you think his vanity is just over-insecurity?
Some people do put on a show to hide their insecurities, and it seems fitting to Lockhart's character to do this. He clearly wasn't a fantastic wizard, yet he made the world believe that he was. Instead of going out and doing these wonderful things, he took credit for other people's success. This could mean he didn't feel capable of doing these things himself, yet he still wanted everyone to believe that he could. So, he was clearly insecure in himself and his abilities but didn't want the world to know. However, overtime I think his charade eventually became a reality. In the process of fooling the world, he had perhaps fooled himself.

Do you think he knew in COS that the teachers hated him?
If he did realise it, he would probably have ignored it. But it's likely that he was totally oblivious to it.

What house do you think he was in when he was at Hogwarts?
Hufflepuff... for some reason. He's far too cowardly to be in Gryffindor. Maybe he could have been in Ravenclaw, despite not being the amazing wizard he claimed to be, he was intelligent enough to fool the entire wizarding world for a long length of time. I personally don't see him in Slytherin, he was a cruel character... but the Slytherin's would just laugh him right out of Hogwarts.

We know he's good at Memory Charms (oh, the irony!) but does he have any other talents?
Well, lying, if anything. He spent most of his life convincing people he was something he wasn't, and they all fell for it. So he's a pretty good at deception and acting.

At school, do you think he would be popular or a bit of a joke?
Well, he's supposed to be good looking so it's likely he was popular. But I can see the male students getting pretty tired of him, if he was that vain at school.

If the answer to the question above is the latter, do you think that might be why his success went to his head?
If he did feel that people didnt take him seriously at school then this could definitely be the case. Or perhaps he had high expectations placed on him, and couldn't manage to fulfil them, therefore he decided pretending was the only way to keep his perfect image up.

I hope that made some sense... it's likely it didnt though.
~ Cassie

[red haired mom]

Do you think his vanity is just over-insecurity?
No. I think he knew from an early age that he was 'good-looking' and when things didn't come as easily to him, he relied on the 'handsome' to pull him through. He doesn't strike me as an insecure person.

Do you think he knew in COS that the teachers hated him?
No, I think he was too self absorbed to notice much of anything in regards to attitudes toward him. He might have known they didn't like him at times, but I can't see that bothering him for more than two seconds.

What house do you think he was in when he was at Hogwarts?
I asked this in the Reference Desk last year when I was writing a story about him and the majority vote put him in Slytherin. The reasoning behind that was: his number one priority is- him. Nothing matters more than his own wants. He wasn't smart enough for Ravenclaw, he wasn't brave enough for Gryffindor, and he wasn't caring enough to be a Hufflepuff.

We know he's good at Memory Charms (oh, the irony!) but does he have any other talents?
Only if you count narcissism. No, seriously, he's actually very talented at making himself look good, not just in looks, but also in the way the public sees him. Now- I don't know if he actually wrote the books or if he had a ghost writer, but he did do like he said in CoS, he tracked all those people down and found out the details before he 'stole' the stories.

At school, do you think he would be popular or a bit of a joke?
Both, he would be popular withtin a niche group, but for the rest of the school, he'd be seen as a bit of a joke.
I'm sure he would've been liked by some of the girls, just on the basis of his looks but once they got to know anything about him, they wouldn't think he was too great.

If the answer to the question above is the latter, do you think that might be why his success went to his head?
His 'success went to his head' was just the narcissistic ego-maniac coming to the forefront. He loved to point out his achievements and as if it made him sound humble, he'd say 'But, I don't like to talk about that." All that did was to draw more attention to the things he felt were most important.

I love Gilderoy as a character. I've written a story and a couple of drabbles with him as the focus, he's my go to funny guy. I can't write him as anything other than humorous because there's just so much to work with there.

~Wendy

[leahsm2]

What house do you think he was in when he was at Hogwarts?I asked this in the Reference Desk last year when I was writing a story about him and the majority vote put him in Slytherin. The reasoning behind that was: his number one priority is- him. Nothing matters more than his own wants. He wasn't smart enough for Ravenclaw, he wasn't brave enough for Gryffindor, and he wasn't caring enough to be a Hufflepuff.

When I first read this, I thought, Great, more Slytherin bashing! But, upon quiet reflection, this could make sense, except that Molly Weasley stood in line and was enthralled so I personally vote Gryffindor because no self-respecting Gryffindor could ever idolise a Slytherin! Especially since she would have had at least had passing knowledge of him at school. Bravery or Foolhardiness? Coin Toss!

[eleven49]

What house do you think he was in when he was at Hogwarts?

I think that Lockhart was in Slytherin when he was at Hogwarts. Firstly because he doesn't posses the traits favored by any of the other three founders. For example, let's start with Hufflepuff.

You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil; (SS, p 118)

We don't know about Gilderoy's loyalty - though it's likely that he doesn't have much to speak of - but just? It certainly isn't just or fair to wipe people's memories and then take credit for their achievements. Lockhart isn't 'unafraid of toil', either. Despite his fame, the only real work he's done is performing his Memory Charms. No, Lockhart prefers to let others do the work.

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart; (SS, p 118)

Lockhart is definitely not brave. He only takes credit for the heroic actions of others rather than performing any himself. And when the opportunity presents itself:

"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!" said Harry. "You can't go now! Not with all the Dark stuff going on here!"

"Well - I must say - when I took the job -" Lockhart muttered, now piling socks on top of his robes. "nothing in the job description - didn't expect -"

"You mean you're running away?" said Harry disbelievingly.

Harry, a true Gryffindor, can't fathom running away when someone is in need of help, particularly not if the required help is in one's area of expertise. Lockhart, on the other hand, thinks nothing of abandoning Ginny. So since Gryffindor is definitely out, let's look at Ravenclaw:

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind; (SS, p 118)

He doesn't belong here either.

If there's one thing I pride myself on, it's my Memory Charms.
~Gilderoy Lockhart (Cos, p 298)

Coming from such a vain man, that's saying quite a lot. And we know that Lockhart's gifted with Memory Charms. After all, how else would he be able to convince many people that their accomplishments were actually his? But skill with Memory Charms alone isn't enough to warrant being put in Ravenclaw, and if Gilderoy has any other real talents, he certainly hides them well. Furthermore, Ravenclaw is for those who love learning above all else; Lockhart doesn't. (He's too occupied with himself. ) Many Ravenclaws would make excellent teachers because the truly wonderful teachers are those who wish to impart their knowledge and their love of learning onto others; Ravenclaws fit this bill. When Lockhart teaches, though, he only wishes to tell his students how wonderful he is. So by default, Lockhart lands in Slytherin, but it's more than that. I think he belongs there.

Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends. (SS, p 118)

Lockhart is somewhat cunning. Though he's doesn't exhibit subtlety - a part of cunning - he is definitely skilled in the art of deception, which is both a Slytherin quality in itself and the other half of cunning. And using any means to achieve their ends? Lockhart desires fame, and to achieve that fame, he suppresses the truth and reinvents his own story, stealing the feats of other people. He manipulates people - maybe not in the traditional sense of blackmail and threats - but he uses his charm and his looks to his advantage and spins lies to make people love him. Slytherin? For sure.

leahsm2 - Excellent point! I'll discuss it a little later.

At school, do you think he would be popular or a bit of a joke?

I think he would be a joke at school.

... but the Slytherin's would just laugh him right out of Hogwarts.

I agree. (But not right out of Hogwarts. ) For all that he has many Slytherin qualities, he does not share the pure-blood mania that most Slytherins have. Because of this, the other Slytherins wouldn't respect him; when they paid attention to him at all, it would only be to tease him. Also, I think none of the students from the other houses got over their biases against Slytherins enough to befriend him. We don't even know if he was good-looking at Hogwarts, and his looks are one of his greatest assets in forming his fanclub. So I think Lockhart was friendless when he was at Hogwarts.

But when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now. In fact, I'd say I was even more of a nobody!
~Gilderoy Lockhart to Harry (CoS, p 91)

Lockhart is far from being a trustworthy person, so we can't assume that he's telling the truth. But why would he lie about something like this? Certainly not to counsel Harry. In fact, he's so vain that if this were not true, he would never want to insinuate that he was ever less than . . . well, 'perfect'.

What house do you think he was in when he was at Hogwarts?I asked this in the Reference Desk last year when I was writing a story about him and the majority vote put him in Slytherin. The reasoning behind that was: his number one priority is- him. Nothing matters more than his own wants. He wasn't smart enough for Ravenclaw, he wasn't brave enough for Gryffindor, and he wasn't caring enough to be a Hufflepuff.

When I first read this, I thought, Great, more Slytherin bashing! But, upon quiet reflection, this could make sense, except that Molly Weasley stood in line and was enthralled so I personally vote Gryffindor because no self-respecting Gryffindor could ever idolise a Slytherin! Especially since she would have had at least had passing knowledge of him at school. Bravery or Foolhardiness? Coin Toss!

As I said before, that's a really good point about Molly. But since Lockhart was a nobody at Hogwarts, would she really have even heard of him? I doubt they were in the same year, and even if they were, I picture Hogwarts-age Lockhart as someone virtually invisible, maybe just a nameless face. Shunned by his housemates and not exactly liked by the rest of the school, I see him sitting in the back of the classroom, supplying an answer when the professor calls on him; Lockhart wasn't even smart enough to be known as a know-it-all.

Especially since he was probably younger than her, why would Molly have noticed a random Slytherin? We see Hogwarts from Harry's point of view, and when he's a 3rd - 6th year, we hear basically nothing about the younger students, save for the occassional name during the sorting. The older students simply don't notice the younger ones, especially those that aren't in their houses.

I think Lockhart reinvented himself after Hogwarts. He started caring more about his appearance and decided to make a name for himself so that he could forever leave behind the friendless kid he was as a student at Hogwarts. When Molly saw or heard his name later she didn't tie the famous Gilderoy Lockhart to the lonely boy she saw a few times at Hogwarts because the person attached to it neither looked nor sounded familiar.

Do you think his vanity is just over-insecurity?

Definitely. I think that when he reinvented himself after Hogwarts, he went a little overboard. He was determined to prove that he could be a somebody, but he had to prove it to himself first, so he began to tell himself that he was a much better wizard than he actually was. Sooner or later, he had completely fooled himself into thinking that he was above everyone else. And seeing his immense 'confidence' - or vanity - and hearing of his 'accomplishments' everyone else began to idolize him as well, over-inflating his ego.

Sorry for the really long post. I you can at least follow my ramblings somewhat!

~eleven49

Note: All HP book page numbers are from American ed. (paperback).

[MabelJT]

Personally, I think it was more likely that Lockhart was in Hufflepuff.


Not all Hufflepuffs fit the description 'kind' or 'caring' or 'loyal'. Two words: Zacharias(sp?) Smith.

He doesn't come off as a nice person to me. I'm not sure he seems like a loyal person either. And I remember in one of the books, the sorting hat said that Helga Hufflepuff would teach the students who were not brave enough for Gryffindor, not sly or ambitious enough for Slytherin and not smart enough for Ravenclaw.

Hufflepuff would take the rest

Or something like that.


The idea of Lockhart being in Slytherin is very amusing to me.

He couldn't possibly be in Ravenclaw but you can do anything you like.

[Azhure]

He couldn't possibly be in Ravenclaw but you can do anything you like.

Although I personally don't see him in Ravenclaw, you have to remember that he is quite intelligent. He did fool the whole Wizarding world for many years, after all. That would take a lot of thought and planning. And the Memory Modifying Charm (Obliviate) is quite difficult to cast. The Ministry have certain wizards whose job is to cast memory charms (Obliviators). From that we can assume that not every wizard can cast them.

I wouldn't completely underestimate Lockhart's mind.

~~Azhure~~

[kathryn_malfoy]

Do you think his vanity is just over-insecurity?

Yes, in CoS when we learn about all of the lies that he told and how he tricked people, we start to see his insecurities. He wouldn't have needed to steal other peoples successes if he was confident enough that he could actually do it. In RL we tend to see and know people that are very vain and very egotistical that once you get to know them, are actually using their "confidence" to cover their lack of it.

Do you think he knew in COS that the teachers hated him?

You know, I actually don't think he knew the extent of their dislike. Lockhart, throughout the book, was too center in his own life and what was going on with him. He rarely seemed to acknowledge the teachers themselves, let only their views. In his mind, it seemed that he was the famous one so he was the one that mattered not them.

What house do you think he was in when he was at Hogwarts?

He was probably in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. I can see him not getting the attention he wanted in those houses and trying to find it by getting his fifteen minutes of fame.

We know he's good at Memory Charms (oh, the irony!) but does he have any other talents?

Not that we see, he used the Memory Charms to make people think that he did these amazing things, but we learn, in his classes and at the end, that he really had no clue what he was doing.

At school, do you think he would be popular or a bit of a joke?

He was a joke. If he were popular he wouldn't have needed the attention when he was older. I also believe this because he is a joke when he comes back to Hogwarts as a teasher.

If the answer to the question above is the latter, do you think that might be why his success went to his head?

Most definitely. Look at anyone in the fandom or in RL that finally got their fame. They tend to take advantage of it and it really makes them self-centered. It is kind of like Lockhart got Celebrity Fever.

[mrsmcclnt]

Do you think his vanity is just over-insecurity?

I don't know. To me vanity and insecurity doesn't go hand in hand to me.

Lockhart had the world right in his hands. He had everything going for him with his books, his fame, money, and good looks. His secret was basically secure up till the point where Harry and Ron exposed him in the Chamber. But before then, no one knew or had a clue.

So what did he really have to be insecure about?

Do you think he knew in COS that the teachers hated him?

I don't think he even cared enough to notice, really. He was so centered in his own little world of him that if it wasn't about Lockhart, then he wouldn't be bothered with it.


What house do you think he was in when he was at Hogwarts?

The idea of Lockhart being in Slytherin is very amusing to me.

Amusing, yes....but still plausible. He wasn't brave enough to do the things in his books or confront the monster on his own in the chamber. So Gryffindor is out. And although he is very capable of performing a memory charm, he's a bit buffoonish in everything else that he does. So not Ravenclaw. He's too narcissistic to think of anyone else. So not Hufflepuff.

Slytherin is the best fit for him. And although he would probably be the laughing stock there, I still could see him there. It like what Azhure said:

He did fool the whole Wizarding world for many years, after all. That would take a lot of thought and planning.

He demonstrated a lot of cunning to get himself rich and famous.

....no self-respecting Gryffindor could ever idolize a Slytherin!

Wait, for the love of Snily....Lily loved her some Snape in school. And all be it, that relationship didn't last, she did love and respected the man.

We know he's good at Memory Charms (oh, the irony!) but does he have any other talents?
I would think writing is one. In the HP Lexicon, it stated that he just interviewed those people who did all the work and then oblivated their memories.

So from those interviews, he had to spin a story to fit around him...possibly over dramatizing some areas to make sure he got a best seller book out of it. So I see writing would be one of his talents.

Also acting would be another. To me, Lockhart comes off as this "master thespian" with all his flare and dramatics. Since he had to keep up the charade of his "work", I'm sure his great acting skills came in handy to keep everyone believing in his lie.


At school, do you think he would be popular or a bit of a joke?

Both I think. Maybe within his own little clique he was legendary, but to the rest of school he was laughable. But I would think, that if he were truly that popular, then he would have been well remembered amongst some of the more popular people around school


If the answer to the question above is the latter, do you think that might be why his success went to his head?

Absolutely. His success is like getting back of those folks who'd mocked him. It's like, "Ha! So how you like me now!" As he smiles brightly to rub it in their faces. Yup, very big headed of him.

[leahsm2]

Originally Posted by leahsm2
....no self-respecting Gryffindor could ever idolize a Slytherin!



Wait, for the love of Snily....Lily loved her some Snape in school. And all be it, that relationship didn't last, she did love and respected the man.

I don't think she loved him. They were best friends, who grew apart, at least that's the way I think she viewed it. But, you do have good reasons for Lockhart to be Slytherin, so . . .