Hogwarts Heir Headmaster

This page is being considered for renaming to **Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**.

**Reason**: Because the word "Headteacher" stems from a single, passing remark about the function of "a headteacher's portrait" in CC, and has never been formally used in association with the post itself. It was pointed out that "a conversational (almost certainly colloquial) usage is hardly sufficient" to determine a page name. The above, meanwhile, is used to formally announce that Umbridge had, as far as the Ministry was concerned, succeeded Dumbledore in running the school, and found on an official, legal document regarding her appointment by the Ministry. Page names should not be conjectural if it can be avoided.
If you disagree with this proposal, please explain why at Talk:Hogwarts Heir Headmaster.
Category:Candidates for renaming

The **Head** of Hogwarts (**Headmaster** or **Headmistress** depending on gender) was a title and an occupation at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry held by a witch or wizard who was in charge of the safety and the day-to-day functioning of the school, and acted as the school's primary authority on the grounds. The occupant of this post also had one or more Deputy Heads that assisted them in their duties and who, in the event of their absence, served as acting head of the school until their return or a new one was appointed.

## Hogwarts Heir Headteacher

### Institution

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

### Style

* Professor (by students)
* Headmaster/Headmistress (by staff)

### Seat

Headmaster's office, Hogwarts Castle, Scotland

### Appointer

* Board of Governors
* ***Minister for Magic*** (through ***special legislation***)

## Resources

Following their appointment by the Hogwarts Board of Governors, the incumbent headteacher of the school was provided a tried and tested support mechanism for the decisions they had to make while running the prestigious institution in the form of a large gallery of ***portraits*** mounted on the walls of their new study, all of which depicted a predecessors in office that had been specifically trained by their once living counterparts to assist them in an advisory capacity. In addition, a long line of heads of the school had also had access to and contributed to a vast library of reference for their successors in office.

## Power and rights

### Over the castle

The ***Headteacher's Tower***, which housed the private study and personal residence of the current headmaster or headmistress of the school, like so many things in Hogwarts, seemed to have a will of its own, as the portrait of ***Phineas Nigellus Black***, a previous Headmaster of Hogwarts, once remarked that under certain circumstances, the tower would be "*barred to all but the rightful headmaster*", and at least partially subject to their will as well, as Dumbledore on at least one occasion was able to decide if his office door could be opened or not by force of will alone. It was unknown if they could exercise similar abilities throughout the castle

### Over the staff

The Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts was tasked with interviewing, evaluating and had the final decision on the appointment of new teachers and other faculty members, all of whom was answerable to them upon assuming their position. Accordingly, the head of the school had the power to not only award them for good service to the school by bestowing on them additional positions on the staff, such as promote them to the post of "Head" of their respective academic department and thus grant them seniority of any other professors that taught the same subject, such as those held by the ***Head of Herbology*** and Head of Transfiguration. Presumably, they were also in charge of selecting the four Heads of House, which were similarly seen as a promotion, and had disciplinary powers over the staff, such as the right to determine the outcome of their ***probationary period***, and to terminate their employment if necessary.

### Over the students

The Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts could not only invoke the same disciplinary actions as their fellow Professors, they could also change and overturn any punishments, sanctions and removal of privileges handed out by other staff members (with the likely exception of those handed out by the ***High Inquisitor*** during the period that ***Educational Decree Number 25*** was in effect). Misbehaving students, such as ***Bertha Jorkins***, would also sometimes be sent to the Headteacher's office. Apparently, any expulsion needed to be confirmed by the head of the school, who had also the power to revoke the expulsion after the fact if he or she had reason to believe there were mitigating circumstances previously unknown to them, or otherwise found that they had made a mistake.

### Over the grounds

In addition to being the only one with the power to banish people from the grounds, which were noted to function partly as a ***nature reserve for magical creatures*** that had difficulty existing in the Muggle world, they also had the final say on what creatures resided there.

## School security

#### Safety protocols

Chiefly responsible for the security of the school and the safety of the student body, when the inhabitants of Hogwarts Castle were at risk, it ultimately fell to the headteacher of the day to take the appropriate actions to secure the school against any threats to its denizens. When the threats were external to the school itself, this was typically done by increasing the magical fortifications around the school, and implementing safety protocols against intrusion onto the grounds by stealth and the smuggling inside dangerous objects. For example, during the ***1926***–***1927*** school year, the Head of the day sent the students home early so that he and the rest of the staff could focus on taking the necessary steps to make it more difficult for outsiders to breach the security at the school as a precaution against ***Gellert Grindelwald***, and when, during the ***1996–1997 school year***, Lord Voldemort presented a similar albeit more immediate threat to the school during the Second Wizarding War, the school's magical fortifications had been greatly enhanced, and all of the students were searched with ***Dark Detectors*** whenever they entered or exited the grounds. When the school was subjected to the re-opening of the Chamber of Secrets during the 1992–1993 school year, though, and the threat in question came from within the school itself, then-Headmaster Albus Dumbledore organised and supervised patrols around the school by the staff, and implemented such security measures as having students escorted back and forth to the bathrooms and between lessons by the teachers, and to have cancelled all Quidditch practices and evening activities so as to have all the students confined to the safety of their common rooms for most of the day. After then-thought-to-be mass murderer Sirius Black successfully got inside the castle and broke into the Gryffindor Tower, the Headmaster also hired trained ***security trolls*** to guard the entrance. Though in a position to delegate such tasks, Professors ***Dippet***, Dumbledore and McGonagall all got personally involved in student safety during their respective stewardship of the school.

#### Magical fortifications

Although other people, such as the professors at the school, could help to increase the security by contributing to the existing defences, it was heavily implied that the many ancient spells and charms that had guarded the walls and grounds of Hogwarts dating back centuries, as described in the pages of *Hogwarts: A History*, were in some ways tethered to and subject to the exclusive control of the rightful headteacher of Hogwarts: This was seen by how even though it had always been impossible to Apparate and Disapparate within the school grounds, Albus Dumbledore, as headmaster of the school, could open a ***window*** in the Anti-Disapparition Jinx for ***teaching purposes***, yet other members of the faculty could not do the same when they needed to evacuate the school in an ***emergency situation***. Similarly, though Hogwarts boasted tried and tested anti-Muggle security and was typically Unplottable, both of which served an important role in the institution's adherence to the ***International Statute of Secrecy***, former headmaster ***Armando Dippet*** invited the parents of Myrtle Warren to the school to collect their daughter's body after she fell victim to the monster in the Chamber of Secrets in the 1940s, which would have necessitated that he temporarily lifted said magical protections to enable them to locate and enter Hogwarts Castle. This highlights the key role that the Head of the school played in controlling the magical defences both on and surrounding Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

## Headteachers

Identified Headteachers of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:

### Unidentified Headmasters

Unknown name and portrait:

* ***Gimlet-eyed Hogwarts Headmistress***
* ***Headteacher of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during 1792***

## Behind the scenes

* Hogwarts is the only school confirmed to have ***Deputy Headmasters*** and Headmistresses. It's unknown if this position exists in other wizarding schools.
* ***Dolores Umbridge*** was not considered an official Hogwarts Headmistress by most. The headmaster's office did not open to her. Also, Phineas Nigellus Black told Severus Snape that he was the first Headmaster from Slytherin since himself, although Professor Umbridge was also a Slytherin.
* Phineas Nigellus Black was considered to be the least popular Headmaster of Hogwarts if one discounts the unofficial Headmistress Umbridge.
* It's unknown if there can be more than one Hogwarts Headmaster at a time, however, a portrait seen in the Headmaster's office depicting a couple wizards playing Wizard's Chess together, suggesting that it may be possible. The Carrow siblings were also both Deputy Headmaster and Headmistress.
* When Dumbledore was suspended in 1993 for the second opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Draco Malfoy suggested that Snape applies for Headmaster due to his liking for the teacher at the time. Eventually, Snape indeed became Headmaster, five years after the suggestion, though at that time Draco lost his liking for Severus.
* In Jack Thorne's original, the Headmaster of Hogwarts was a professor named Marazion, but after reading it Rowling sent him an e-mail saying she doesn't think ***Marazion*** fits and that they need McGonagall.

## Appearances

* *Harry-Potter and-the Sorcerer's S Stone* (film) (First Entire Appearance)
* *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film)

## See also

* Headmaster's Office
* Headmaster portraits
* Headmaster's Tower
* Headmaster

## Notes and references

1. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film), Chapter 13 - (The Writing-On-The Wall)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film), Chapter 25 - (Cornelius Oswald Fudge)
3. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film), Chapter 26 - (Aragog)
4. ↑ Dumbledore was a young teacher at the time Newt was expelled. He wasn't able to revoke expulsions. by J.K. Rowling on Twitter
5. ↑ The Daily Prophet, 29 November 1926 states that "Hogwarts School increases security", "Headmaster calls for emergency meeting with worried parents", and that he sent "students home early".
6. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film), Chapter 25 - (Cornelius Oswald Fudge)
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film), Chapter 22 - (Diary The Very-Secret Diary)
8. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film) DVD (Disc 2 - *Dumbledore's Office*)
9. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey*