Argus Filch

Argus Filch is a character in the Harry Potter series. He is the caretaker at Hogwarts and a known squib.
==Canon==
Argus Filch is the old Hogwarts caretaker, who spends his days cleaning the castle, disciplining the students, and battling the poltergeist Peeves. He's assisted by his pet cat Mrs. Norris, who seems to be somewhat sentient. Filch adores Mrs. Norris and usually refers to her as, "my sweet."
Filch hates the students and enjoys punishing them very much, often expressing his displeasure that corporal punishment is no longer allowed at Hogwarts. In the second book, it's revealed that Filch is a squib, meaning that he has no magic powers. Ron speculates that Filch's hatred for the students stems from his bitterness that they can perform magic.
Throughout the series, Filch and Mrs. Norris mostly play the role of minor antagonists, whom Harry and his friends have to avoid whenever sneaking out at night or otherwise breaking the rules. In the fifth book, Filch gets a somewhat more prominent role when he supports Dolores Umbridge's takeover of the school and serves as her right-hand man.
==Fannish Opinion==
==Fandom==
Filch is one of the less-popular characters in fanworks. Although he's a fairly common background character in works set in Hogwarts, he only rarely gets a starring role. Stories and art have been created depicting him at the HP Beholders Fest in the past. Probably the most common pairing is with Severus Snape, sometimes called "Snilch". Albus Dumbledore is a rare slash partner. In het, the romantic pairing with his cat, Mrs Norris – often portrayed as a stuck animagus in this context – has been written. Filch/Irma Pince fanworks also began to appear after Harry made a joke about the two in Half-Blood Prince.J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, "Chapter 15: The Unbreakable Vow" (2005): "It's not my fault [Pince's] barking mad, Hermione. Or d'you think she overheard you being rude about Filch? I've always thought there might be something going on between them. . . . "
==Fanworks==
===Example Fics===
* Leporiphobia by curia_regis, a crackfic where Filch has to deal with his rabbit phobia.
* How Argus Filch Got Wild, Got Laid, and Got His Magic by dracontia, rated PG-13, Lavender Brown gets in a tight spot. Can she get out of it by making a deal with the devil? No? Okay, how about a deal with Filch? In the process, Argus Filch gets his magic. (Filch/human!Mrs. Norris)
* Father to the Man by Delphi, one of the few Filch aficionados. Snape/Filch. Beth H writes Childrearing, domesticity, hurt/comfort, and slash - with a gen sensibility. And so well written.
* Give Him the Good News by Camillo1978. Albus Dumbledore/Filch; art & fanfiction. Beth H writes A smart and original backstory for both of these men.
* Every Day This Week by Predatrix. A young borderline autistic Snape is befriended by Filch whilst serving detentions with him.
* The Case of the Boomslang Skin by Sinick. Filch plays Watson to Snape's Holmes in this case fic
* Classy by tattooedsappho, Filch/Pince, When Argus begins working with Umbridge he gains some self confidence and goes after what he wants. (Written for HP Beholder fest)
* Squib series by Ozma. Long gen series centering on Filch, written in 2002–3
===Example Meta===
* An Acquired Taste by Delphi. Snape/Filch pairing at The Shipper's Manifesto
==Archives and Communities==
* Argus Filch works at AO3
* Argus Filch works at FFN
==Resources==
* Argus Filch at Harry Potter Wiki
* Filch, Argus at HP Lexicon
==References==
Category:Harry Potter Characters