Professor Poppy Pomfrey

> Madam Pomfrey, the matron, was a nice woman, but very strict.
>
> Pomfrey's stern and kind disposition, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Madam Poppy Pomfrey** was a ***British*** or ***Irish*** witch and the ***matron*** at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a very competent Healer, having been in the position for, at least, the last quarter of the ***20th century***.

## Physical description

### Gender

Female

Madam Pomfrey was very possessive of the patients in her care while in the Hospital Wing, and their visitors upset her somewhat, as she frequently insisted they must rest and demanded the visitors leave. She was proficient in her area of expertise (healing magic) and able to take care of some ailments "*in a heartbeat*". She fought in the ***Battle of Hogwarts***, the final battle of the Second Wizarding War, during which she personally dispatched at least one Death Eater in a duel, and was seen after the battle treating the wounded and attending to the dead.

Not much is known about Madam Pomfrey's life after the final battle. By ***2014***, she had retired or was thinking of retiring, since ***Hannah Abbott*** reportedly applied for the position of matron at Hogwarts. Regardless, either because she did not retire or because she was pulled out of retirement, Madam Pomfrey was working at Hogwarts in ***2020***.

## Biography

#### 1991–1992 school year

Template:Dialogue a-b-aIn 1991, Madam Pomfrey was able to mend Neville Longbottom's broken arm in "about a minute" after he had injured himself during Flying class.

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Later on in the year, after Harry Potter fought Professor Quirrell in the Hogwarts dungeons for possession of the Philosopher's Stone, he spent three days unconscious in the hospital wing under Madam Pomfrey's care. She was reluctant for Harry to have any visitors, even Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, as she thought that Harry needed bed rest, but she allowed headmaster Albus Dumbledore to visit Harry time to time, saying that the reason he was allowed to visit was because he was the Headmaster.

#### 1992–1993 school year

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In 1992, Madam Pomfrey administered Skele-Gro on Harry to regrow the bones in his arm after Gilderoy Lockhart's attempt to fix a Quidditch-caused broken bone failed disastrously. Pomfrey was annoyed that Harry had not been brought straight to her in the first place, as re-growing bones is a much more difficult task than mending bones, which she claimed she could do "in a heartbeat".

In the same year, Hermione Granger ended up in the hospital wing for a month after an accident in an unauthorised high-level ***Potion-making*** (Polyjuice Potion) left her half-feline; apparently the group felt comfortable letting Madam Pomfrey to treat her since she would not ask too many questions and just get on with the job in hand. Hermione was allowed visitors, but it bothered Madam Pomfrey somewhat.

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Hogwarts was also facing potential closure as a monster had been attacking Muggle-born students around the school and Petrifying them as a result. It was Madam Pomfrey's job to make sure that these students were found and treated to the best of her ability, though she could not cure students without Pomona Sprout's Mandrake Restorative Draught, which took weeks to brew. She refused to allow any students to visit the victims, in fear of the attacker returning to finish them, but allowed Harry and Ron to visit Hermione with Professor McGonagall's permission.

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Eventually, they managed to get the potion made and cured the victims — Hermione Granger, Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Nearly Headless Nick, and Mrs Norris. At the end of the year, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout sat at the staff table and Albus Dumbledore asked the whole school to thank them both for their efforts in helping all petrified students, as well as applauding in Lockhart's departure and Hagrid's return.

## Personality and traits

Madam Pomfrey was described by her students as being exceptionally kind, but even more so strict. She was very obsessive, lining up her patients' sweet boxes in neat rows, and was intensely worried about all of the students under her care, believing even feasts to be risky. Working in a school where magical accidents were almost an undeniable certainty, she appeared to have resigned herself to treating whoever came her way. Indeed, she never asked questions about how her patients received their ailments or questioning the sometimes ludicrous stories they told her, but instead immediately set to fixing them up.

She had a tendency to burst into tears at moments where great sorrow was appropriate, but she was capable of controlling herself if need be. She also has her standards and loyalty, as she would have resigned in protest when Minerva McGonagall was shot down by four Stunning Spells from a cowardly Ministry attack, were she not worried for the students.

## Magical abilities and skills

* **Healing magic**: Being the Hogwarts Matron, Madam Pomfrey was a talented Healer who was very well-versed in medical magic. She had a very high understanding of medical charms and could mend broken bones in seconds. Harry Potter, for example, held her skill in Healing spells in very high regard.
* **Transfiguration**: She was proficient in transfiguration, being able to quickly and wordlessly ***conjure a chair*** for Professor McGonagall to sit on after hearing of the death of Albus Dumbledore. Conjuration was noted to be particularly advanced form of Transfiguration, showing her skill.
* **Defence Against the Dark Arts**: Pomfrey was able to produce a non-corporeal Patronus. This was an impressive feat, as the Patronus Charm was noted to be extremely difficult. She was also a skilled enough duellist to survive the ***Battle of Hogwarts***. She defeated at least ***one witch*** and surviving the onslaught of many more. She also clearly recognised a ***Dementor*** attack and knew immediately to prescribe ***chocolate*** as the relevant antidote. She even expressed grim approval of ***Professor Lupin*** when she learned that he had already treated the student. While her overall knowledge about Dark Magic appeared to be reasonable (particularly in regards to injuries caused by Dark Magic), her knowledge of Dark Arts was not as strong as others (such as Severus Snape). She was unable to treat injuries caused by severe dark magic.
* **Potions**: Pomfrey was very knowledgeable of healing potions and was skilled in their application. She could also successfully brew healing potions such as ***Pepperup Potion***, Skele-Gro, and her own tonic ***Pomfrey's Pick-Me-Up***, showing her to have been proficient in the art of potion-making.

## Possessions

 File:Poppy Pomfrey's Wand.jpg
* **Wand**: Pomfrey owned a wand, which was of an unknown length, wand wood and core.
* **Office**: Pomfrey occupied an office at Hogwarts in the Hospital Wing, in which she used for her professional duties as well as her place of residence in the castle.

## Etymology

* Poppy juice, better known as opium, is one of the oldest known medicines; it has been used as a painkiller and soporific for, at the very least, thousands of years. King Tutankhamun's tomb contained jars of poppy juice, presumably to relieve the pain he suffered from a head injury. Although it is mostly known today as an addictive drug, opium's derivatives, such as morphine and codeine, are vital to modern medicine for their anaesthetic properties.
* Pomfrey sounds like comfrey, a plant in the borage family which can be made into a soothing salve. Meanings of her names are, therefore, both in some way medically related. Pomfrey or Pomfret cakes (named after mediaeval names for the Yorkshire town of Pontefract, once a centre of liquorice cultivation) are small, sweet lozenges made from the roots of the licorice plant. Liquorice also has been a medicinal ingredient for hundreds of years.

## Behind the scenes

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* "Matron" is a specific title used for a senior nurse at various institutions in Britain. In this context, a matron is the school nurse at a British boarding school, in charge of the general health and welfare of its students.
* Pomfrey is portrayed by ***British*** actress ***Gemma Jones*** in the film adaptations of *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, ***Half-Blood Prince**,* and *The Deathly Hallows, An Part 002*.
* In the film adaptations, Madam Pomfrey wears a cloth in her hair similar to caps worn by British Nurses at various points in history. Her uniform costume as seen in the second film is very similar and could be based on Victorian and Edwardian nurse's uniforms. Her uniform that we see in the 6th and 8th films is very similar and could be based on very early NHS nurse's uniforms from the 1940's and 50's.
* In the German audio books, Madam Pomfrey speaks with a French accent.
* In the books, the trio seems to place a lot of faith in Madam Pomfrey, to the point of overly doing so. When Dumbledore's hand was ***cursed*** and the damage remained visible, when Katie was ***cursed***, and when Dumbledore was greatly weakened by the ***Emerald Potion***, Harry always expected that Pomfrey would be able to cure them, and even suggesting in those situations that she be summoned for assistance, instead of the more Dark Arts-experienced Snape, who was more proficient in handling dangerous curses.

## Appearances

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## Notes and references

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1. ↑ As Madam Pomfrey was already working at Hogwarts in 1971, having led Remus Lupin to the Whomping Willow to transform, she must have been *at least* seventeen years old to be working there.
2. ↑ She was working at Hogwarts during the 1997–1998 school year under the rule of the Death Eaters, meaning she was not a Muggle-born witch.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Template:PS
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `GOFF`
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `DHF`
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Template:COS

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