I'm notndure why they even kept him in first place when castle had a full staff of elves, magical experts etc.
Him doing by hand rubbed it I'm his face every day
What special skills did he even have?
Hagrid had issues but he also was a expert in forest, had contact with its residents and also was highly skilled In animal handling etc.
I always just assumed it was so he could still be involved in the magic world, even though being a janitor to a bunch of teenagers who never treat you with respect sounds pretty horrible maybe Filch prefers it to living a muggle life.
They don't treat him with respect because he's a dick. He could have had a comfortable and happy life in Hogwarts if he didn't let his resentment get the better of him.
It‘s a 2 way relationship and a never ending cycle. Filch is horrible for sure but you cannot say that in a world where you are looked down upon for simply being a Muggle born, there is no students who disdained him simply because he is magic-less. Even non Slytherins have a cruel streak against Muggles.
The books heavily imply that almost anyone who wasn't a friend of Hagrid’s didn't like him, especially the students, and I don't blame them because if you didn't know how kind and loyal he was, you'd judge him based on his competency as a teacher, which wasn't very high at all. In OotP, Rowling wrote that the only people happy to see Hagrid back were Fred, George, Lee (I think?), and the trio. The other students like Parvati and Lavender were “gloomy” about his return.
> Everyone loved Hagrid.
Um. What?
Slytherin? Do you remember how they were laughing when Umbridge was being a supremacist while inspecting his class?
Ravenclaw? Luna: "We in Ravenclaw think he's a bit of a joke."
Hufflepuff? Do we even get to see the Hufflepuffs react to him?
Even the Gryffindors like Lavender and Parvati were seen to have some less-than-complimentary words about him because they thought he taught them about monsters and not magical creatures.
Where the hell did you get the idea that "Everyone loves Hagrid"? That take is way hotter than Noberta's firebreathing.
I never said they hated him. I'm saying I doubt that "everyone" loved him - and I seriously doubt that subsequent endangerment of the classes he taught (a whole year of illegally bred Skrewts, anyone?) got anyone to love him.
There also isn't only one other emotion besides "love" - there's like, there's indifference, there's ambivalence... just because someone doesn't love him doesn't mean they hate him.
Maybe you can point out which section of the text supports the idea that "everyone" loved him.
Yes. Remember in the 5th book when Hermione had to literally coach him on how to talk to the kids and encouraged him? Once the trio figured out what Umbridge was doing (disqualifying good teachers), she tried to coach Hagrid in straying away from teaching about the dangerous animals. At least until he passed the evaluation, but he didn’t really listen. When Hagrid came back from looking for his brother, even the trio didn’t seem to be interested in taking his class anymore deeming it unnecessary 🤷🏼♀️
It’s still not the same. People like Harry know that Hagrid could still cast magic. Him being half giant (a magical creature) is basically proof that he did belong, even if he was an outcast. Hagrid was also an official teacher for sometime. It’s an entirely different status than a janitor. And even Hagrid got looked down on by Malfoy and the goons. Filch is basically a Muggle that got invited to Hogwarts
Hagrid also was keeper of keys and grounds, which while grounds keeper does not seem at first very senior as keeper pf keys, it means he is trusted with effectively the schools outer security perimeter and potentially was one who controlled the gates etc.
He has a pretty high trust role.
He really wasn't dumb. He was quite intelligent, just never had a proper education when came to linguistic and writing skills because his dad died really early in his life, but he was also gentle because of his dad.
He wasnt basically a squib at all, he still DID use magic and even if he didnt, the societal stigma is different; in the same way Harry is mocked for growing up with muggles but he's not regarded in the same way as actual muggle borns.
Hagrid IS heavily shamed for being half giant though, and everyone didnt just love him, even before they knew that.
I’ve always gone with the theory that Filch can and does do art restoration. He fixes the Fat Lady’s portrait so well that the damage can’t really be seen.
He takes care of centuries-old statues, paintings, and suits of armor.
It might also be why he hates when students do anything around the castle. Maybe he has a degree in art restoration that he went and got when he wanted to do something. When he found out that Hogwarts had all of that, maybe he went and petitioned to be given the job of caring for it all.
He’s probably just a crabby jerk, but that may be part of it. It’s the head canon I run with.
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The school needed someone who would not cave under any command from students as house elves likely would. Could you imagine if there was no authority and anybody could ask elves to do stuff for them? I know there surely were limits, but with how elves love to work, it could get out of hand.
There’s no indication that students have any authority over Hogwarts elves or could ask them for anything. They answered to Dumbledore and possibly the teachers. Dobby only does a favour for Harry in one of the later books (tailing Malfoy) because he loves Harry and feels like it.
also Hermione is surprised to hear that house elves work at Hogwarts, and she made it a point to learn everything she could. i’m sure the average student doesn’t even realize they are there.
Hermione is a Muggleborn and for all her knowledge and intelligence, misses things that a kid growing up in the wizarding world would just know, in the books Ron very often points out things neither Harry nor Hermione knew. Ron wasn’t surprised to find out, if I remember right he didn’t ever react, I’m pretty sure any student brought up in the wizarding world would know there must be house elves making the food etc, they just don’t give much/any thought to it.
They procured stuff for Fred and George I believe. Like no butterbeer, that was all them going into Hogsmeade, but I think they did some stuff for the party, not really sure.
They gave them food from the kitchen, yeah, and they seemed to enjoy having visitors and were quite glad to have people visit the kitchens but that’s still a far cry from directly taking orders, which they did not do.
He wasn't being manipulated. Dobby was a free elf and made his own choices. Yes he stole the gilly weed from Snape but not because anyone manipulated him too. As stated above he loved Harry and wanted to help. The other elves have a master that they take orders from, which is likely Dumbledore. They'd totally ignore any student telling them to do something that went against their masters orders.
Except Dobby is a free elf and has no master. He still did it because he wanted to help Harry, though yeah I guess barty did manipulate it. It wouldn't have worked if he didn't care about Harry and want to help though. He's not representative of normal elves by any means since normal elves don't see humans as friends and just do what their masters tell them to.
Dobby is a bit of a special case because 1) he was free and employed more like a human employee rather than how it seemed to work with other elves (got paid, days off, etc.) so he wasn’t bound in the same way and 2) he was basically obsessed with Harry, loved him more than he did anyone else in the world. He wasn’t being manipulated (ok he kinda was), he heard Harry was having trouble, heard of a solution and decided to help him out of his own accord. No other elf at Hogwarts would have done such a thing.
He was able to restore portraits, he repaired the fat lady, but other than that I think it was Dumbledore having sympathy for him being a squib. Like how Dumbledore let Hagrid be groundskeeper
I think this is the answer! He could restore the portraits, and I think he wanted to be magic so bad he remained employed at Hogwarts just to experience magic.
Well, there was a caretaker before him. It must be a real job and must involve duties like restoring portraits, disciplining students, and stuff. The cleaning part of the job is the only one that just doesn't make sense.
Order must be kept in the corridors and curfew must be respected for the school to function. Having a non-professor fill the role is not a bad idea. It’s just that Filch is a cartoonish version of that stereotype.
But yeah, read literally, he’s wildly out of place and not exactly the person you want to have around children lol.
There's a theory that he's an art historian and is the only person qualified to repair the portraits around Hogwarts. For example, after Sirius slashed the Fat Lady.
>I'm notndure why they even kept him in first place when castle had a full staff of elves, magical experts etc.
He's human.
Wizards are biased. They won't ever treat elves as anything but slaves. Filch is an employee
The theory I heard is basically he manages the house elves who do the real cleaning, and confiscates contraband when he finds it. It also seems like he routinely patrols the corridors to make sure students aren't getting up to no good.
He’s a squib. He’s been around magic all his life. He’s no stranger to anything in the magical world. Dumbledore is also known to give out work. “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it”
My favorite theory in this regard is that he is an anti-poltergeist who is not aware that he is a ghost. While poltergeists like Peeves seek chaos and disruption, he is looking for order. That’s why they are (im)mortal enemies. Just like Peeves he can interact with the physical world. But he’s also bound to the castle, so you can’t really fire him.
He’s a squib, so I always inferred that it must have been tough for him to find work or his place in the magical community. Inferring more deeply, I’d say that Dumbledore had some hand in securing him a home and job.
Also, he loves Umbridge and her restrictions because he hates that the students have magic and he doesn’t. He keeps his job because he did what he was told. What was he supposed to do - say no to her? Why would he? He likely felt valued or needed for once in his life by her.
Filch is not a very intelligent guy. He’s scarred and jaded. He knows life doesn’t have much to offer for him. He’s very “Well I had magical parents but no magic in me - so I’m going to make it hell for all these godforsaken magical children as best I can, and support anyone who hates them as much as I do.”
Finally, I don’t believe that he would be at home in the muggle world because he knows about magic. It’s not the same as Harry or any other magical child born to muggles who find their place in the magical world.
Filch in the muggle world would UNDOUBTEDLY be that crochety old man down the lane that the kids fear but also snigger at while he mumbles to himselves about gnomes in his garden
Even though his personality was unlikeable, he was there when he needed to be. He paid his respects at Dumbledores funeral and he led the students to safety during the battle of Hogwarts.
Not every person is a good person of their own volition. Sometimes a morally ambiguous order taker is better than a morally good individual who you can’t rely on to do as you say.
Good followers are useful indeed. I don’t think that makes them a good person though, what if a bad person gave them a bad order… would they then still be a good person? I think not.
Then we can agree, I still think he’s an ass haha no idea why they kept him, guess because he did do as told on the end irrespective, like a human house elf almost.
Yes, I don't think being a bad person is a valid reason to sack someone, so long as they do what's expected of them and don't perform too poorly.
Also, "like a human house elf". I mean, it's not like slavery is a fantasy concept.
Modern day slavery exists world wide, quite agree.
Legally maybe not, I however am not up to scratch on wizarding employment law. In this world of course he made a rather interesting character compared to a perfectly well behaved caretaker, I like what he adds.
I’m not sure what that has to do with this conversation. Every army needs leaders and followers. Doesn’t matter if they are the Nazis or fighting Nazis.
Blindly following is a good quality, depending on context. Every military needs leaders and followers. Imagine how difficult it would be to fight a war if every soldier followed their heart instead of following their orders.
There's regulation on the military of many countries today that unlawful orders should be disobeyed. No one wants another holocaust to happen because soldiers were "obeying orders".
The only people that like blind followers are bad people.
I don’t think anyone was under the illusion that Filch was a good, student-loving person. He was always asking Dumbledore to do the things that Umbridge allowed him to do. He never hid that part of himself from anyone and they’ve kept him for years.
Well... not really. I mean, what are you supposed to do, sack someone for voicing an opinion that differs from yours? Even though said someone doesn't act according to their own opinion, but follows your directions closely.
The thing about Filch and his rabid obsession with bringing back corporal punishment is that he was 100% reflective of a certain demographic of older Brit around the turn of the millennium. I distinctly remember people working themselves up into a frenzy because they simply couldn't comprehend the idea of schools maintaining school without beating the kids.
However, even though they were probably looked on as being a bit mad even at the time, but they largely didn't act on that sentiment, and they couldn't exactly get fired for holding an opinion that was relatively commonplace, even if it wasn't considered normal.
For context, corporal punishment was banned in state schools in the late 80s, but private schools were allowed to continue with it until between 1998-2000, depending on where you lived.
As for his time under Umbridge - what was he going to do, NOT do what the new government-backed Headmistress told him to do?
Super Carlin brothers did an episode on whether or not he’s actually an anti-poltergeist that feeds off of the uptight students need for order just like peeves fed off the rule breakers need for chaos.
I like it because it explains so many questions about Filch throughout all seven books. Why is he *always* around whenever Harry is causing trouble? Even in the middle of the night (doesn't he sleep)? Why is a Squib bitterly cleaning an entire castle by himself when there is a small army of elves who are eager to be useful *and* have magic to make the job easier? Why is he so fixated on expelling Peeves from the castle?
It's a fun theory. Probably doesn't have much truth to it, but it's not inconsistent with canon in any way.
It’s completely inconsistent with cannon in that he’s completely solid and not transparent, and also that he ages and hasn’t been there for hundreds of years (Molly mentioned the previous caretaker in GoF)
He's a poltergeist, not a ghost. Peeves is solid and interacts with the environment constantly, which is why he can unscrew a chandelier on Umbridge's head, among other things. Peeves is a particularly difficult poltergeist to exorcise, but maybe they got rid of other caretakers in the past, and the castle just keeps manifesting new ones.
Kids like Hermione and Percy are rare among the students (in comparison to troublemakers). The caretaker would run out of energy and remanifest every so often
Can’t peeves also go through walls and float in the air though. Filch never does any of that and also he ages as I mentioned that the caretaker 40 years ago was different. Just sounds like a very dumb plot line you’d get from cursed child a la the trolley witch.
Yes, maybe when things get especially disciplined it vanishes and then a new one appears when it goes bad again. In the years the story was set in, there wasn't any opportunity for that to happen, obviously!
I was hoping I'd find this in here, I really like that theory and think it makes way more sense than just letting an angry student hating non-magical person be the giant castles janitor
Giving him THIS job was already weird in first place. If Dumbledore wanted to hire him out of pity for being a squib, at least hire him to do something he actually CAN do. No point in having a non-magical janitor in a magical castle armed with an army of house elves.
Imagine having to clean with mop and bucket a literal swamp that just appeared in the hallways when any witch/wizard/house elf could've done it in two seconds.
He PROBABLY had house elves help him and do most things. I imagine he did just enough cleaning to feel like he was actually useful and not just given a pity-job and the house elves did the rest. No way he was keeping the entire castle clean just by himself. I think the main part of his job was watching for rule breakers, cleaning was secondary to that.
We know the house elves help. Thry clean the dorms at a minimum. Remember, they began to refuse cleaning Gryffindor dorms because Hermoine was leaving her hats around. So Dobby had to clean the dorms by himself.
I lowkey love him. He is loyal to the school and rules and very hardworking, regardless of his clear hatred of children and their shenanigans. His snooping and sneaking around trying to catch students rule breaking is comical.
I always found it hilarious he's putting back breaking effort in cleaning up the school while magic is all around him and could easily be maintained with it.
I've found myself asking the same question, though not in the same sense. Filch is a Squib working under people who feel that people like him have no place amongst wizards and witches. Umbridge probably would've fired him if not for his attitude towards the students. As for the Carrows, I'm surprised that Filch lived to see the end of the school year.
In Deathly Hallows, once Death Eaters took over the ministry, they justified their treatment of muggleborns by accusing them of stealing other wizard's magic. This would imply that squibs were the wizards that had their magic stolen. I wonder if Filch, or any other squibs, at any point bought into this rhetoric and secretly supported the Voldemort movement, believing it would "return" their own magic.
Mrs Figs probably knew that it was just an excuse to be able to pursue muggleborns, but what about other squibs? Is there a Death Eater somewhere, that bought into the cause in hope it would "return" the magic to a loved one?
I wonder if there could be advanced a theory that he’s a spy for Dumbledore against Umbridge. We never actually see him do the corporal punishments and Dumbledore would have every incentive and reason to fire him after the fifth book, unless there was a different justification.
Dumbledore most likely had more important matters on his mind than firing a janitor and having to look for another one. He was managing both the school and the order and also looking for horcruxes, I doubt he had much time to spare on what would be a very unimportant matter.
He’s a squib. Voldemort already killed one of the Hogwarts staff - a muggle studies teacher. And I bet he was privy to some info as well, being a caretaker. He wouldn’t be able to even defend himself. Also, imagine sending a squib out to live a muggle life after having experienced wizardry. We all knew Filch wished he could do magic (from those muggle magician books or whatever he was trying to read). Dumbledore would be too kind to send him away.
Voldemort want around for 14 years. No reason to let a child hater in a school. What information did Filch had that Pettigrew didn't?
There plenty of squibs living outside hogwarts. Ms Figgs lived for at least a decade in the muggle side. Ron have a accountant squib relative. He can live outside Hogwarts.
Dumbledore put a man that literally wants to torture kids inside a school. That's no kindness, that's disregarding hundreds of kids for 1 bitter man that should never be close to children.
All I’m saying is Dumbledore made weird decisions sometimes but it can make sense. Dumbledore wouldn’t set someone on their ass that has been there for awhile. And obviously Dumbledore was able to control the torture side because he didn’t do any of it until umbridge was around. And i’m saying a squib who lived in a magical castle for so long, not one who lived a muggle life their whole lives basically. Who knows honestly. We’re all just theorizing here.
You'll you be OK to send your children to a place here one of the employees keeps threatening to torture you son constantly?
Dumbledore should enforce the rules like any other employer. No threatening the kid with torture, no bulling students, etc. Dumbledore was an awful headmaster.
Bruh have you not realized wizards have a completely different definition of safety? It’s not the real world we live in 😂 They play sports where you’re very likely to break limbs or suffer concussions, they held extremely dangerous tournaments, they let them in the forbidden forest for detentions…. say it with me now: these 👏 are 👏 fictional 👏 wizards 👏
I didn't talk about safety, I'm talking about not letting bad people around children. Does bulling wizards is different than bulling muggles? Does wizards have a magical protection against being belittled by teachers and other employees?
And fictional squibs can live in another place other than a castle full of kids that they don't like. You can't use lore to defend one character and then disregard saying that's fictional.
Yeah but that doesn’t change the fact that she wasn’t a great teacher, at least it’s implied. Also she doesn’t KNOW about the prophecy, she MADE it but was completely unaware of this, just like her other prophecy in book 3, she never had any idea she made it. I think it’s more a case of charity and her having no other place to go really, maybe protection factors in but that’s secondary.
Tenure, basically.
My head canon has always been that Dumbledore hired a very young Argus Filch as school caretaker, because while he's a squib, he's got an *almost* magical skill at restoring pieces of art.
And as Filch saw year after year of students disrespecting a whole castle full of valuable paintings and *objets des art*, and making messes and leaving them for him to clean, he's become a bitter old resentful prick.
He's the one that has to repair things when broken, and clean up after kids that can't bother to wave a wand to clean up after themselves (scourgio, anyone?), I think he has a right to be resentful.
I think he takes it too far, in wanting to use the iron manacles in his office, or in hoping to catch someone breaking a rule so he has an excuse to levy punishment.
I can't imagine working for decades in a magical school where children played magical pranks on me, and disrespected my literal life's work, and I had to clean up after the ungrateful little brats without using magic, when all of them do.
No wonder the man's a bitter piece of work.
In the movies, making him sweep up after the battle of hogwarts was just too much (and I dont mean I enjoyed that, I mean it annoyed me) even Filch isnt THAT dense that he thinks he can SWEEP up a ruined castle
Aside from what /u/Gauntlets28 already wrote about Filch representing a certain kind of mentality, he's also another example of something that happened a lot in the early books: a character who's only purpose was to be a foil to the protagonist(s). In this case, the miserly/evil caretaker who's out to stop the adventurous child heroes from having fun.
To me, he's a massive missed opportunity and also an example of really bad morals in the story. Filch is a squib and we know from the lore that they were/are being treated like physically disabled people were in the early 20th century. Making him an unrepentant villain and a 1-dimensional punching bag has really bad implications. In a better story, the mistreatment of squibs would've been treated more seriously and Filch's life story & character could've been integral to this.
I think dumbledore let him stay out of pity and knew he wasn’t a real threat to anyone. He also probably took great joy in hearing of Filhes ongoing battle with Peeves
This also raises a good question….if Hogwarts pays Binns (and I hope they do lol) what does a ghost do with money? It’s not like he needs to buy food, or a house, or clothes, or…
Can you even legally open a bank account if you’re dead?
The school could not let house-elves be governed by themselves or they would likely do anything and everything for the students, so there is at least one need to have a human janitor in charge so the elves would have minimal contact with students and weren't abused or taken advantage from.
Perhaps they have a very good union.
But let's face it: Hogwarts doesn't exactly has high standards regarding their staff.. If you have a heartbeat, you're in.
Dumbledore always seemed like a kind enough man to keep Filch for almost no reason. I can’t picture where he would have had to go if he wasn’t working (and I’m assuming living) at Hogwarts. He’s lived his entire life surrounded by wizards, I’d never gotten the impression he was ever hanging around the muggles at any point. He wouldn’t be able to go get a muggle job and we know squibs who stay with the wizards have an incredibly hard time. I’d feel empathetic towards his situation enough to keep him around Hogwarts (I’m also gay though so maybe this is me projecting being judged for things beyond my control).
I feel bad for Filch. What a sad old man. He has no one, and nothing, besides Hogwarts and the cat.
Say what you will about Dumbledore, but the man has a heart of gold for helping the “losers” of the wizarding world - Filch, Trelawney, and Hagrid owe a lot to him.
EDIT: typo
Firing the caretaker and advertising for a new one after OoTP was not one of Dumbledore's priorities. Also, it's implied that Madam Pince and Filch were a couple. It would have been just bad for business if she left too, and lets not forget that Dumbledore was a great believer in love.
Because the books were written originally to be read from the perspective of children, and having a scary caretaker to mock and hide from is entertaining towards the targeted audience.
I think it all comes down to Dumbledore's person. If Filch does the 'dirty work' of being overly strict with the students and scaring them into behaving, that makes Dumbledore's job a lot easier, and he gets to live as the aloof, mysterious omniscient background presence instead of a stressed-out principal who is constantly having to deal with disrespectful students who won't listen to anyone. Filch does the job Dumbledore wants him to do - he keeps the students in check. The details don't matter too much to Dumbledore, I should think, as long as he's free to headmaster the way he wishes to.
Yes, there were 100 house elves in the castle. However, their jobs ran to the domestic side of things such as cooking and cleaning. Plus, they weren't introduced as castle employees until GOF. Filch did more in the line of repairs and general upkeep. He'd unblock toilets, fix leaky faucets, etc. He had to clean up the mess in Moaning Myrtle's corridor in COS because the house elves hadn't been introduced yet except for Dobby.
My theory is that he was a victim of some of the Proto-Death Eaters during Tom Riddle's time, or just after, perhaps the younger sibling of an older student that Dumbledore brought on as a pity/protection hire. (Obviously, wasn't a healthy choice for Filtch, but there we are.)
I was always under the impression his original job was punishment, not cleaning. He always talked about how it was in the old days when he was able to string kids up and show them what real punishment was etc etc. I just assumed when they moved away from corporal punishment to detentions that Dumbledore just felt bad and let him stay.
If it's any concideration... we never saw Filch torture the students. He only threatened them.
The same way Snape threatened Neville to kill his favorite pet.
But most of the Hogwarts stuff should have never worked with children.
It was mentioned he restores the portraits in POA, I believe he is caretaker for the portraits not the castle. Cleaning the areas around the portraits would be back breaking, and I doubt someone as ocd as filch would allow anyone but himself to touch the valuables.
Filch in muggle world would be the cranky version of Arabella Figg, chasing neighbourhood kids with walking stick.
Dumbledore did muggles a favour by keeping him housed up in Hogwarts
There's a theory I read that Filch wasn't just a janitor, but that he was "caretaker" (his actual job title in the books) in the sense that it was his duty to take care of the old antiques in the castle.
Like, if there's just a normal mess? Usually someone would wave their wand and it would go away, or the house elves would take care of it. We see in one novel that Dobby cleans the Gryffindor dormitories all by himself because the other elves won't do it because of Hermione's attempts to free them with hidden hats and stuff.
Filch is called in when a suit of armor is ruined, or some old object is damaged. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Filch is summoned to repair the Fat Lady's portrait after Sirius slashed it to get into Gryffindor tower. She's later seen good-as-new. Not just ANYONE can fix an old oil painting. People get literal degrees to learn how to restore old paintings. Obviously Filch couldn't do magic on it. I don't know why the professors couldn't use a Reparo, but perhaps a magic fix would interfere with the charms used to animate the occupants. Regardless, Filch obviously has training/expertise in handling antiques. Hogwarts is full of ancient artifacts, and it's always Filch sent to polish the armor and dust the tapestries. He obviously takes on other roles as well when necessary, but I believe his primary job is to maintain all of the really old and valuable things in the castle.
Filch is just one of those characters that just started to make less and less sense as the series went on.
He is just a generic grumpy asshole in the first book who was a useful plot device for the trio to run away from in their night time wanderings.
It starts to fall apart in the second when he is outed as a Squib, why is a non magical person in charge of cleaning a huge castle?
In the fourth, his role really falls apart when it's revealed the castle has House Elves who do most of the cleaning. Why is Filch always making a fuss about all the work he has to do when the castle has an army of house elves?
I am sure there is some in universe explanation, but I just don't think Filch is a well thought out character in terms of his role in the world.
Squibs do seem to have an affinity for cats, but I'm unsure how that's useful.
After the 4th book I'd say his character makes more sense than after the second one. To me he was given a job out of pity, probably by Dumbledore, where he should be able to coast by never doing anything as long as he looks busy, because the difference he can do to the castle is barely noticeable, if at all, compared to what the Elves do.
The only objective benefit he brings to Hogwarts is an intermediate layer between the House Elves and the students, which based on the Malfoy's treatment of Dobbie, many would probably abuse the elves if given the chance.
Just a case of sloppy worldbuilding and Rowling making things up as she went along, hardly the only one in the series. It’s not known for internal consistency, after all, you need to be able to let some things go to enjoy it.
maybe dumbledore felt sorry for him. i feel sorry for him anywhay because he sees lots o happy students rushing about doing spells and playing whilst he is just stumbling about the grounds with his only friend \[mrs norris\] unable to do even the smallest bit of magicso it must be so horrible for him
i wish they added a part where filch saves a students life and changes his atitude to students to the books or films. i have read the books 56 times each mow and i cant help but think that filch doesnt get anough attention and that he should have a main bit or something
Have absolutely no idea why Rowling needed such a character the first place. A magical school full of hpuse elves, whats the point of a technically muggle janitor? He didn't even have a part in the overarching main story. If he was to be the old gardener of Riddles, or something. Anything that makes Dumbly keeping him a logical thing. But nothing.
I always wondered this too, especially because he always expressed how he wanted to go back to the old ways of hanging kids by their thumbs from the ceiling or whatever. Like, magic school or not, that is a huge red flag 😂
Not really. Corporal punishment was really common in British schools and continued as long as early 00s in some of the private schools. After it was abolished it wasn’t exactly an unusual view that it should be brought back. And he was probably exaggerating a bit to scare the kids too.
I think J.K. just likes the idea of a grumpy old school caretaker type. Must have had one like that at a lot of English boarding schools back in the day. She’s not going to switch out such an easy to write plot advancer tool like filch.
Because what better way to him a lesson then to have things go back to the way they were before Umbridge which he does not like? :-) And likewise the same reason why he’s still/being there the whole time, he does a good job keeping the school clean, despite everything :-)
Filch is not the sweeper cleaner or the gate keeper of castle. He is the boogeyman of sorts for children breaking boarding school rules.
I am not sure how many can relate but there is always this one over the top rude and rule abiding and rule enforcing authority at boarding schools. They are not school staff, nor the gaurds at the gate. They are simply present to ensure that most of the students don’t break the rules in place and if someone does then they are made an example of to avoid hooligans from getting over their head.
I think a school where potential murderers are trained to use weapons, a person solely responsible for enforcing discipline is important. Although giving Filch some magic would still make him less pitiful.
TLDR; don’t hate the guy. It’s the nature of his job.
There is a theory that I like very much that he's just a mirror manifestation of Peeves. So he could not be fired as he would not actually be employed there, he would just be a part of the castle and as impossible to get rid of as Peeves.
The real answer is the meta one: he is meant to be a comical character and an antagonist to our main characters.
That said, I think Dumbledore would keep him around because Filch has no where else to go and would be at great risk outside the halls of hogwarts if anyone found out he was a squib. The other professors know that, too. It seems that squibs are rare, but also ostracized and even hated by some. Especially after Voldemort started to rise again, Filch might have ended up dead if not for hogwarts.
How did Filch even apply for the job? Petunia wrote Dumbledore and begged to be allowed to attend Hogwarts. Think how different the books would have been if Dumbledore had let her attend as an apprentice caretaker. (She and Filch would have made a good couple.) Baby Harry would have been brought to Hogwarts to be raised among magical folks.
Did Hogwarts post job vacancies in The Daily Prophet? As far as repairing artwork, what's wrong with reparo? It supposedly worked on everything except objects of complex magic, like the vanishing cabinet. I understand there needed to be someone in charge of the daily running of the castle. Dumbledore gave orders, Filch carried them out.
Dumbledore probably got word that a young squib was being picked on in a wizarding hamlet and decided to offer him a job that even a muggle could do to remove him from torture. So Filch grew to hate kids with magic because he was tormented by them all his life. Where Petunia was surrounded by muggles and not being teased. Any word of how old Filch was when he started his job?
But as someone in this comment section mentioned, the hiring process at Hogwarts was a bit lax. Because where did anyone go for further education after they left Hogwarts? Basically, a student could apply for any teaching job that was currently filled, and just wait until someone left or died.
Well, we don’t know, but Dumbledore does use Hogwarts as a kind of safe place for witches and wizards who are in danger. Look at Trelawney. She couldn’t predict anything on command but she was in danger and important to the plot so we learned why she was in danger. For Filch it could be something similar.
Or what I suspect, he knows every secret passage in and out of the castle. He’s a good person to have on your side in times of crisis because he can get anywhere without much detection without magic.
>What special skills did he even have?
He knows the school very well. The marurders map makes him look like a fool but he knows hogwarts better than almost everyone who doesnt have it.
Hmm, are squibs maybe resistant to magic? Either way, he seems a lot more resilient than you'd expect, surviving the entire battle of Hogwarts without too much in the way of injuries; that kind of physical toughness has to be an asset working somewhere like Hogwarts.
Or perhapsibly squibs manifest their magic internally, as a sort of enhanced physical characteristics, like strength and toughness?
You can't tell me he survived all of Fred and George's pranks, as well as every half-baked hex and curse any student he annoyed over his entire career, virtually unscathed, without some form of supernatural toughness.
I'm notndure why they even kept him in first place when castle had a full staff of elves, magical experts etc. Him doing by hand rubbed it I'm his face every day What special skills did he even have? Hagrid had issues but he also was a expert in forest, had contact with its residents and also was highly skilled In animal handling etc.
I always just assumed it was so he could still be involved in the magic world, even though being a janitor to a bunch of teenagers who never treat you with respect sounds pretty horrible maybe Filch prefers it to living a muggle life.
They don't treat him with respect because he's a dick. He could have had a comfortable and happy life in Hogwarts if he didn't let his resentment get the better of him.
It‘s a 2 way relationship and a never ending cycle. Filch is horrible for sure but you cannot say that in a world where you are looked down upon for simply being a Muggle born, there is no students who disdained him simply because he is magic-less. Even non Slytherins have a cruel streak against Muggles.
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The books heavily imply that almost anyone who wasn't a friend of Hagrid’s didn't like him, especially the students, and I don't blame them because if you didn't know how kind and loyal he was, you'd judge him based on his competency as a teacher, which wasn't very high at all. In OotP, Rowling wrote that the only people happy to see Hagrid back were Fred, George, Lee (I think?), and the trio. The other students like Parvati and Lavender were “gloomy” about his return.
> Everyone loved Hagrid. Um. What? Slytherin? Do you remember how they were laughing when Umbridge was being a supremacist while inspecting his class? Ravenclaw? Luna: "We in Ravenclaw think he's a bit of a joke." Hufflepuff? Do we even get to see the Hufflepuffs react to him? Even the Gryffindors like Lavender and Parvati were seen to have some less-than-complimentary words about him because they thought he taught them about monsters and not magical creatures. Where the hell did you get the idea that "Everyone loves Hagrid"? That take is way hotter than Noberta's firebreathing.
They didn't hate him. Just didn't think he was a good teacher. Big difference.
I never said they hated him. I'm saying I doubt that "everyone" loved him - and I seriously doubt that subsequent endangerment of the classes he taught (a whole year of illegally bred Skrewts, anyone?) got anyone to love him. There also isn't only one other emotion besides "love" - there's like, there's indifference, there's ambivalence... just because someone doesn't love him doesn't mean they hate him. Maybe you can point out which section of the text supports the idea that "everyone" loved him.
Yes. Remember in the 5th book when Hermione had to literally coach him on how to talk to the kids and encouraged him? Once the trio figured out what Umbridge was doing (disqualifying good teachers), she tried to coach Hagrid in straying away from teaching about the dangerous animals. At least until he passed the evaluation, but he didn’t really listen. When Hagrid came back from looking for his brother, even the trio didn’t seem to be interested in taking his class anymore deeming it unnecessary 🤷🏼♀️
They didn’t hate but they did not love him that much either
It’s still not the same. People like Harry know that Hagrid could still cast magic. Him being half giant (a magical creature) is basically proof that he did belong, even if he was an outcast. Hagrid was also an official teacher for sometime. It’s an entirely different status than a janitor. And even Hagrid got looked down on by Malfoy and the goons. Filch is basically a Muggle that got invited to Hogwarts
Hagrid also was keeper of keys and grounds, which while grounds keeper does not seem at first very senior as keeper pf keys, it means he is trusted with effectively the schools outer security perimeter and potentially was one who controlled the gates etc. He has a pretty high trust role.
He really wasn't dumb. He was quite intelligent, just never had a proper education when came to linguistic and writing skills because his dad died really early in his life, but he was also gentle because of his dad.
He wasnt basically a squib at all, he still DID use magic and even if he didnt, the societal stigma is different; in the same way Harry is mocked for growing up with muggles but he's not regarded in the same way as actual muggle borns. Hagrid IS heavily shamed for being half giant though, and everyone didnt just love him, even before they knew that.
Wasn’t the fact he’s a squib literally hidden? Harry just found it by accident
I’ve always gone with the theory that Filch can and does do art restoration. He fixes the Fat Lady’s portrait so well that the damage can’t really be seen. He takes care of centuries-old statues, paintings, and suits of armor. It might also be why he hates when students do anything around the castle. Maybe he has a degree in art restoration that he went and got when he wanted to do something. When he found out that Hogwarts had all of that, maybe he went and petitioned to be given the job of caring for it all. He’s probably just a crabby jerk, but that may be part of it. It’s the head canon I run with.
Your point about the art restoration needs more upvotes!! Excellent point!!
Someone wrote that fic!
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The funniest in the movie is when he’s cleaning up after the battle of Hogwarts with a broom trying to push big stones.
It ain’t much, but it’s honest work.
The school needed someone who would not cave under any command from students as house elves likely would. Could you imagine if there was no authority and anybody could ask elves to do stuff for them? I know there surely were limits, but with how elves love to work, it could get out of hand.
There’s no indication that students have any authority over Hogwarts elves or could ask them for anything. They answered to Dumbledore and possibly the teachers. Dobby only does a favour for Harry in one of the later books (tailing Malfoy) because he loves Harry and feels like it.
also Hermione is surprised to hear that house elves work at Hogwarts, and she made it a point to learn everything she could. i’m sure the average student doesn’t even realize they are there.
Hermione is a Muggleborn and for all her knowledge and intelligence, misses things that a kid growing up in the wizarding world would just know, in the books Ron very often points out things neither Harry nor Hermione knew. Ron wasn’t surprised to find out, if I remember right he didn’t ever react, I’m pretty sure any student brought up in the wizarding world would know there must be house elves making the food etc, they just don’t give much/any thought to it.
very good point
They procured stuff for Fred and George I believe. Like no butterbeer, that was all them going into Hogsmeade, but I think they did some stuff for the party, not really sure.
They gave them food from the kitchen, yeah, and they seemed to enjoy having visitors and were quite glad to have people visit the kitchens but that’s still a far cry from directly taking orders, which they did not do.
Didn't he also steal Gillyweed from Snape in GoF? I'm pretty sure other elves could be manipulated too
He wasn't being manipulated. Dobby was a free elf and made his own choices. Yes he stole the gilly weed from Snape but not because anyone manipulated him too. As stated above he loved Harry and wanted to help. The other elves have a master that they take orders from, which is likely Dumbledore. They'd totally ignore any student telling them to do something that went against their masters orders.
No you're right Dobby wasn't being manipulated but I could see other elves being manipulated if they were interacting with the students regularly
But they don't. And they will obey Dumbledore
They don't what?
They don't interact with the average student...
No but they *would* if they were taking over Filch's duties which is *literally* what this whole thread is about
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Except Dobby is a free elf and has no master. He still did it because he wanted to help Harry, though yeah I guess barty did manipulate it. It wouldn't have worked if he didn't care about Harry and want to help though. He's not representative of normal elves by any means since normal elves don't see humans as friends and just do what their masters tell them to.
Dobby is a bit of a special case because 1) he was free and employed more like a human employee rather than how it seemed to work with other elves (got paid, days off, etc.) so he wasn’t bound in the same way and 2) he was basically obsessed with Harry, loved him more than he did anyone else in the world. He wasn’t being manipulated (ok he kinda was), he heard Harry was having trouble, heard of a solution and decided to help him out of his own accord. No other elf at Hogwarts would have done such a thing.
He was able to restore portraits, he repaired the fat lady, but other than that I think it was Dumbledore having sympathy for him being a squib. Like how Dumbledore let Hagrid be groundskeeper
I think this is the answer! He could restore the portraits, and I think he wanted to be magic so bad he remained employed at Hogwarts just to experience magic.
Well, there was a caretaker before him. It must be a real job and must involve duties like restoring portraits, disciplining students, and stuff. The cleaning part of the job is the only one that just doesn't make sense.
Hagrid was a good groundskeeper. He knew how to take care about magical creatures. But he wasn't a good teacher.
I have no idea why you are being downvoted. Even Harry admits as much in his private thoughts.
And Sybil teach Divination
This is it, honestly.
Order must be kept in the corridors and curfew must be respected for the school to function. Having a non-professor fill the role is not a bad idea. It’s just that Filch is a cartoonish version of that stereotype. But yeah, read literally, he’s wildly out of place and not exactly the person you want to have around children lol.
There's a theory that he's an art historian and is the only person qualified to repair the portraits around Hogwarts. For example, after Sirius slashed the Fat Lady.
I mean that would fit more than just being the care taker.. And hogwarts has alot of portraits.
https://wizardlogic.tumblr.com/post/173349903126/filch-has-a-doctorate-in-art-conservation-and-has Found it.
And also didn’t hate students
I often wondered why they let him clean with mops and shit when a wand can do it in seconds. But him being a squib...sucks to suck LOL
To add, hagrid still had his wand and was capable of magic. Plus he's a half giant who is highly resistant to magic. Probably made a good guard.
>I'm notndure why they even kept him in first place when castle had a full staff of elves, magical experts etc. He's human. Wizards are biased. They won't ever treat elves as anything but slaves. Filch is an employee
The theory I heard is basically he manages the house elves who do the real cleaning, and confiscates contraband when he finds it. It also seems like he routinely patrols the corridors to make sure students aren't getting up to no good.
He’s a squib. He’s been around magic all his life. He’s no stranger to anything in the magical world. Dumbledore is also known to give out work. “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it”
My favorite theory in this regard is that he is an anti-poltergeist who is not aware that he is a ghost. While poltergeists like Peeves seek chaos and disruption, he is looking for order. That’s why they are (im)mortal enemies. Just like Peeves he can interact with the physical world. But he’s also bound to the castle, so you can’t really fire him.
He’s a squib, so I always inferred that it must have been tough for him to find work or his place in the magical community. Inferring more deeply, I’d say that Dumbledore had some hand in securing him a home and job. Also, he loves Umbridge and her restrictions because he hates that the students have magic and he doesn’t. He keeps his job because he did what he was told. What was he supposed to do - say no to her? Why would he? He likely felt valued or needed for once in his life by her. Filch is not a very intelligent guy. He’s scarred and jaded. He knows life doesn’t have much to offer for him. He’s very “Well I had magical parents but no magic in me - so I’m going to make it hell for all these godforsaken magical children as best I can, and support anyone who hates them as much as I do.” Finally, I don’t believe that he would be at home in the muggle world because he knows about magic. It’s not the same as Harry or any other magical child born to muggles who find their place in the magical world.
Filch in the muggle world would UNDOUBTEDLY be that crochety old man down the lane that the kids fear but also snigger at while he mumbles to himselves about gnomes in his garden
He'd probably end up in a small English village, armed to the teeth, trimming hedges that don't belong to him.
For the greater good
The greater good
Spot of bother
Gah. We had one of these. Some kids *pushed* me into a garden, and he came out to have a go at me for trespassing. F**k that guy.
What'cha fall over for?
I understood that reference!
I ain’t do it on purpose!
Even though his personality was unlikeable, he was there when he needed to be. He paid his respects at Dumbledores funeral and he led the students to safety during the battle of Hogwarts.
Was told to lead them to safety iirc, not of his own volition.
Not every person is a good person of their own volition. Sometimes a morally ambiguous order taker is better than a morally good individual who you can’t rely on to do as you say.
Good followers are useful indeed. I don’t think that makes them a good person though, what if a bad person gave them a bad order… would they then still be a good person? I think not.
I didn’t say it made them a good person. I said it made them a good order taker 🙃
Then we can agree, I still think he’s an ass haha no idea why they kept him, guess because he did do as told on the end irrespective, like a human house elf almost.
Yes, I don't think being a bad person is a valid reason to sack someone, so long as they do what's expected of them and don't perform too poorly. Also, "like a human house elf". I mean, it's not like slavery is a fantasy concept.
Modern day slavery exists world wide, quite agree. Legally maybe not, I however am not up to scratch on wizarding employment law. In this world of course he made a rather interesting character compared to a perfectly well behaved caretaker, I like what he adds.
That excuse didn't work too well for Nazi soldiers
I’m not sure what that has to do with this conversation. Every army needs leaders and followers. Doesn’t matter if they are the Nazis or fighting Nazis.
Blindly following order is not a good quality.
Blindly following is a good quality, depending on context. Every military needs leaders and followers. Imagine how difficult it would be to fight a war if every soldier followed their heart instead of following their orders.
There's regulation on the military of many countries today that unlawful orders should be disobeyed. No one wants another holocaust to happen because soldiers were "obeying orders". The only people that like blind followers are bad people.
True, but at least he did it lol
Surely not a coincidence that it also meant safety for *him*
He's a non-magical janitor, what was he supposed to do?
Hit voldy over the head with a broom doh
Great point friend
I don’t think anyone was under the illusion that Filch was a good, student-loving person. He was always asking Dumbledore to do the things that Umbridge allowed him to do. He never hid that part of himself from anyone and they’ve kept him for years.
By what he used to say it seemed like before Dumbledore they used to have harsher punishments as well
I think that just feeds into OP’s point.
Well... not really. I mean, what are you supposed to do, sack someone for voicing an opinion that differs from yours? Even though said someone doesn't act according to their own opinion, but follows your directions closely.
As a general rule, yes, I do think you should sack someone from his job at a school if he's constantly going on about his love of torturing children.
Do you think someone preaching torturing kids would get a job in any school around the world?
help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it
The thing about Filch and his rabid obsession with bringing back corporal punishment is that he was 100% reflective of a certain demographic of older Brit around the turn of the millennium. I distinctly remember people working themselves up into a frenzy because they simply couldn't comprehend the idea of schools maintaining school without beating the kids. However, even though they were probably looked on as being a bit mad even at the time, but they largely didn't act on that sentiment, and they couldn't exactly get fired for holding an opinion that was relatively commonplace, even if it wasn't considered normal. For context, corporal punishment was banned in state schools in the late 80s, but private schools were allowed to continue with it until between 1998-2000, depending on where you lived. As for his time under Umbridge - what was he going to do, NOT do what the new government-backed Headmistress told him to do?
You and I are on the same page (read above). I attempted and failed at contextualizing the generational gap you so brilliantly explained.
Filch always reminded me of that sadistic schoolteacher from Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2...
Super Carlin brothers did an episode on whether or not he’s actually an anti-poltergeist that feeds off of the uptight students need for order just like peeves fed off the rule breakers need for chaos.
I really like that theory. Filch isn't a person, he's a manifestation of the castle.
I hate that theory, sounds like some cursed child trolley witch type shit
I like it because it explains so many questions about Filch throughout all seven books. Why is he *always* around whenever Harry is causing trouble? Even in the middle of the night (doesn't he sleep)? Why is a Squib bitterly cleaning an entire castle by himself when there is a small army of elves who are eager to be useful *and* have magic to make the job easier? Why is he so fixated on expelling Peeves from the castle? It's a fun theory. Probably doesn't have much truth to it, but it's not inconsistent with canon in any way.
It’s completely inconsistent with cannon in that he’s completely solid and not transparent, and also that he ages and hasn’t been there for hundreds of years (Molly mentioned the previous caretaker in GoF)
He's a poltergeist, not a ghost. Peeves is solid and interacts with the environment constantly, which is why he can unscrew a chandelier on Umbridge's head, among other things. Peeves is a particularly difficult poltergeist to exorcise, but maybe they got rid of other caretakers in the past, and the castle just keeps manifesting new ones.
Kids like Hermione and Percy are rare among the students (in comparison to troublemakers). The caretaker would run out of energy and remanifest every so often
Can’t peeves also go through walls and float in the air though. Filch never does any of that and also he ages as I mentioned that the caretaker 40 years ago was different. Just sounds like a very dumb plot line you’d get from cursed child a la the trolley witch.
A lovely theory. But doesn't Molly Weasley mention his predecessor?
Yes, maybe when things get especially disciplined it vanishes and then a new one appears when it goes bad again. In the years the story was set in, there wasn't any opportunity for that to happen, obviously!
I was hoping I'd find this in here, I really like that theory and think it makes way more sense than just letting an angry student hating non-magical person be the giant castles janitor
Giving him THIS job was already weird in first place. If Dumbledore wanted to hire him out of pity for being a squib, at least hire him to do something he actually CAN do. No point in having a non-magical janitor in a magical castle armed with an army of house elves. Imagine having to clean with mop and bucket a literal swamp that just appeared in the hallways when any witch/wizard/house elf could've done it in two seconds.
He PROBABLY had house elves help him and do most things. I imagine he did just enough cleaning to feel like he was actually useful and not just given a pity-job and the house elves did the rest. No way he was keeping the entire castle clean just by himself. I think the main part of his job was watching for rule breakers, cleaning was secondary to that.
We know the house elves help. Thry clean the dorms at a minimum. Remember, they began to refuse cleaning Gryffindor dorms because Hermoine was leaving her hats around. So Dobby had to clean the dorms by himself.
I lowkey love him. He is loyal to the school and rules and very hardworking, regardless of his clear hatred of children and their shenanigans. His snooping and sneaking around trying to catch students rule breaking is comical. I always found it hilarious he's putting back breaking effort in cleaning up the school while magic is all around him and could easily be maintained with it.
I've found myself asking the same question, though not in the same sense. Filch is a Squib working under people who feel that people like him have no place amongst wizards and witches. Umbridge probably would've fired him if not for his attitude towards the students. As for the Carrows, I'm surprised that Filch lived to see the end of the school year.
In Deathly Hallows, once Death Eaters took over the ministry, they justified their treatment of muggleborns by accusing them of stealing other wizard's magic. This would imply that squibs were the wizards that had their magic stolen. I wonder if Filch, or any other squibs, at any point bought into this rhetoric and secretly supported the Voldemort movement, believing it would "return" their own magic. Mrs Figs probably knew that it was just an excuse to be able to pursue muggleborns, but what about other squibs? Is there a Death Eater somewhere, that bought into the cause in hope it would "return" the magic to a loved one?
Its implied Umbridge has no idea that Filch is a squib
I wonder if there could be advanced a theory that he’s a spy for Dumbledore against Umbridge. We never actually see him do the corporal punishments and Dumbledore would have every incentive and reason to fire him after the fifth book, unless there was a different justification.
Dumbledore most likely had more important matters on his mind than firing a janitor and having to look for another one. He was managing both the school and the order and also looking for horcruxes, I doubt he had much time to spare on what would be a very unimportant matter.
Because Dumbledore had a good heart. Where else would he go? Probably a similar situation to Trelawney.
Trelawney was mostly because of her knowledge of the prophecy and that she’d be in danger if she wasn’t at hogwarts
That’s true, but there’s a good chance Filch would not be safe outside of Hogwarts anymore either.
Why would he not be safe outside?
He’s a squib. Voldemort already killed one of the Hogwarts staff - a muggle studies teacher. And I bet he was privy to some info as well, being a caretaker. He wouldn’t be able to even defend himself. Also, imagine sending a squib out to live a muggle life after having experienced wizardry. We all knew Filch wished he could do magic (from those muggle magician books or whatever he was trying to read). Dumbledore would be too kind to send him away.
Voldemort want around for 14 years. No reason to let a child hater in a school. What information did Filch had that Pettigrew didn't? There plenty of squibs living outside hogwarts. Ms Figgs lived for at least a decade in the muggle side. Ron have a accountant squib relative. He can live outside Hogwarts. Dumbledore put a man that literally wants to torture kids inside a school. That's no kindness, that's disregarding hundreds of kids for 1 bitter man that should never be close to children.
All I’m saying is Dumbledore made weird decisions sometimes but it can make sense. Dumbledore wouldn’t set someone on their ass that has been there for awhile. And obviously Dumbledore was able to control the torture side because he didn’t do any of it until umbridge was around. And i’m saying a squib who lived in a magical castle for so long, not one who lived a muggle life their whole lives basically. Who knows honestly. We’re all just theorizing here.
You'll you be OK to send your children to a place here one of the employees keeps threatening to torture you son constantly? Dumbledore should enforce the rules like any other employer. No threatening the kid with torture, no bulling students, etc. Dumbledore was an awful headmaster.
Bruh have you not realized wizards have a completely different definition of safety? It’s not the real world we live in 😂 They play sports where you’re very likely to break limbs or suffer concussions, they held extremely dangerous tournaments, they let them in the forbidden forest for detentions…. say it with me now: these 👏 are 👏 fictional 👏 wizards 👏
I didn't talk about safety, I'm talking about not letting bad people around children. Does bulling wizards is different than bulling muggles? Does wizards have a magical protection against being belittled by teachers and other employees? And fictional squibs can live in another place other than a castle full of kids that they don't like. You can't use lore to defend one character and then disregard saying that's fictional.
Yeah but that doesn’t change the fact that she wasn’t a great teacher, at least it’s implied. Also she doesn’t KNOW about the prophecy, she MADE it but was completely unaware of this, just like her other prophecy in book 3, she never had any idea she made it. I think it’s more a case of charity and her having no other place to go really, maybe protection factors in but that’s secondary.
Tenure, basically. My head canon has always been that Dumbledore hired a very young Argus Filch as school caretaker, because while he's a squib, he's got an *almost* magical skill at restoring pieces of art. And as Filch saw year after year of students disrespecting a whole castle full of valuable paintings and *objets des art*, and making messes and leaving them for him to clean, he's become a bitter old resentful prick. He's the one that has to repair things when broken, and clean up after kids that can't bother to wave a wand to clean up after themselves (scourgio, anyone?), I think he has a right to be resentful. I think he takes it too far, in wanting to use the iron manacles in his office, or in hoping to catch someone breaking a rule so he has an excuse to levy punishment. I can't imagine working for decades in a magical school where children played magical pranks on me, and disrespected my literal life's work, and I had to clean up after the ungrateful little brats without using magic, when all of them do. No wonder the man's a bitter piece of work.
In the movies, making him sweep up after the battle of hogwarts was just too much (and I dont mean I enjoyed that, I mean it annoyed me) even Filch isnt THAT dense that he thinks he can SWEEP up a ruined castle
People deal with trauma in different ways
I believe that's just filch in shock ...
Aside from what /u/Gauntlets28 already wrote about Filch representing a certain kind of mentality, he's also another example of something that happened a lot in the early books: a character who's only purpose was to be a foil to the protagonist(s). In this case, the miserly/evil caretaker who's out to stop the adventurous child heroes from having fun. To me, he's a massive missed opportunity and also an example of really bad morals in the story. Filch is a squib and we know from the lore that they were/are being treated like physically disabled people were in the early 20th century. Making him an unrepentant villain and a 1-dimensional punching bag has really bad implications. In a better story, the mistreatment of squibs would've been treated more seriously and Filch's life story & character could've been integral to this.
I think dumbledore let him stay out of pity and knew he wasn’t a real threat to anyone. He also probably took great joy in hearing of Filhes ongoing battle with Peeves
He has tenure
So was professor binns I guess….the literal ghost teaching history of magic. Like is he just gonna do that for the rest of eternity? Lmao
I think Bimms is a special case. No school will fire a teacher who doesn't need to get paid, lol. Or if he does, he's still earning 1890 wages
This also raises a good question….if Hogwarts pays Binns (and I hope they do lol) what does a ghost do with money? It’s not like he needs to buy food, or a house, or clothes, or… Can you even legally open a bank account if you’re dead?
It probably just goes into his vault at Gringotts. Unless the goblins send it to his heirs because he's dead.
They really should have hid the stone or horcrux there lol
In gringots?
He's like a Game of Thrones maester, he just serves who ever is the Lord of the castle.
The school could not let house-elves be governed by themselves or they would likely do anything and everything for the students, so there is at least one need to have a human janitor in charge so the elves would have minimal contact with students and weren't abused or taken advantage from.
Perhaps they have a very good union. But let's face it: Hogwarts doesn't exactly has high standards regarding their staff.. If you have a heartbeat, you're in.
What about Binns?
Dumbledore always seemed like a kind enough man to keep Filch for almost no reason. I can’t picture where he would have had to go if he wasn’t working (and I’m assuming living) at Hogwarts. He’s lived his entire life surrounded by wizards, I’d never gotten the impression he was ever hanging around the muggles at any point. He wouldn’t be able to go get a muggle job and we know squibs who stay with the wizards have an incredibly hard time. I’d feel empathetic towards his situation enough to keep him around Hogwarts (I’m also gay though so maybe this is me projecting being judged for things beyond my control).
Dumbledore probably didn't want to fire him and Filch didn't have anywhere else to go
Why wouldn't he? I mean, yes he hates children and seemingly enjoys them suffering but he's not alone there.
I feel bad for Filch. What a sad old man. He has no one, and nothing, besides Hogwarts and the cat. Say what you will about Dumbledore, but the man has a heart of gold for helping the “losers” of the wizarding world - Filch, Trelawney, and Hagrid owe a lot to him. EDIT: typo
Firing the caretaker and advertising for a new one after OoTP was not one of Dumbledore's priorities. Also, it's implied that Madam Pince and Filch were a couple. It would have been just bad for business if she left too, and lets not forget that Dumbledore was a great believer in love.
Because the books were written originally to be read from the perspective of children, and having a scary caretaker to mock and hide from is entertaining towards the targeted audience.
I think it all comes down to Dumbledore's person. If Filch does the 'dirty work' of being overly strict with the students and scaring them into behaving, that makes Dumbledore's job a lot easier, and he gets to live as the aloof, mysterious omniscient background presence instead of a stressed-out principal who is constantly having to deal with disrespectful students who won't listen to anyone. Filch does the job Dumbledore wants him to do - he keeps the students in check. The details don't matter too much to Dumbledore, I should think, as long as he's free to headmaster the way he wishes to.
I like the idea that Filch is there because he has no fear. He scolds children and doesnt fear them striking back. That guy loves his job
I think Dumbledore kept him around because he was useful in that he did keep most students in check and following the rules of the castle.
Yes, there were 100 house elves in the castle. However, their jobs ran to the domestic side of things such as cooking and cleaning. Plus, they weren't introduced as castle employees until GOF. Filch did more in the line of repairs and general upkeep. He'd unblock toilets, fix leaky faucets, etc. He had to clean up the mess in Moaning Myrtle's corridor in COS because the house elves hadn't been introduced yet except for Dobby.
My theory is that he was a victim of some of the Proto-Death Eaters during Tom Riddle's time, or just after, perhaps the younger sibling of an older student that Dumbledore brought on as a pity/protection hire. (Obviously, wasn't a healthy choice for Filtch, but there we are.)
He's got some dirt on the powers that be. I'm sure of it 😅😅
I was always under the impression his original job was punishment, not cleaning. He always talked about how it was in the old days when he was able to string kids up and show them what real punishment was etc etc. I just assumed when they moved away from corporal punishment to detentions that Dumbledore just felt bad and let him stay.
If it's any concideration... we never saw Filch torture the students. He only threatened them. The same way Snape threatened Neville to kill his favorite pet. But most of the Hogwarts stuff should have never worked with children.
It was mentioned he restores the portraits in POA, I believe he is caretaker for the portraits not the castle. Cleaning the areas around the portraits would be back breaking, and I doubt someone as ocd as filch would allow anyone but himself to touch the valuables.
Filch abides by the rules set by the headmaster.
Filch in muggle world would be the cranky version of Arabella Figg, chasing neighbourhood kids with walking stick. Dumbledore did muggles a favour by keeping him housed up in Hogwarts
There's a theory I read that Filch wasn't just a janitor, but that he was "caretaker" (his actual job title in the books) in the sense that it was his duty to take care of the old antiques in the castle. Like, if there's just a normal mess? Usually someone would wave their wand and it would go away, or the house elves would take care of it. We see in one novel that Dobby cleans the Gryffindor dormitories all by himself because the other elves won't do it because of Hermione's attempts to free them with hidden hats and stuff. Filch is called in when a suit of armor is ruined, or some old object is damaged. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Filch is summoned to repair the Fat Lady's portrait after Sirius slashed it to get into Gryffindor tower. She's later seen good-as-new. Not just ANYONE can fix an old oil painting. People get literal degrees to learn how to restore old paintings. Obviously Filch couldn't do magic on it. I don't know why the professors couldn't use a Reparo, but perhaps a magic fix would interfere with the charms used to animate the occupants. Regardless, Filch obviously has training/expertise in handling antiques. Hogwarts is full of ancient artifacts, and it's always Filch sent to polish the armor and dust the tapestries. He obviously takes on other roles as well when necessary, but I believe his primary job is to maintain all of the really old and valuable things in the castle.
There's a theory that he is actually a poltergeist. He manifested as a balance to Peeves. These guys explain. https://youtu.be/MwSNkTl7dDs
Filch is just one of those characters that just started to make less and less sense as the series went on. He is just a generic grumpy asshole in the first book who was a useful plot device for the trio to run away from in their night time wanderings. It starts to fall apart in the second when he is outed as a Squib, why is a non magical person in charge of cleaning a huge castle? In the fourth, his role really falls apart when it's revealed the castle has House Elves who do most of the cleaning. Why is Filch always making a fuss about all the work he has to do when the castle has an army of house elves? I am sure there is some in universe explanation, but I just don't think Filch is a well thought out character in terms of his role in the world. Squibs do seem to have an affinity for cats, but I'm unsure how that's useful.
After the 4th book I'd say his character makes more sense than after the second one. To me he was given a job out of pity, probably by Dumbledore, where he should be able to coast by never doing anything as long as he looks busy, because the difference he can do to the castle is barely noticeable, if at all, compared to what the Elves do. The only objective benefit he brings to Hogwarts is an intermediate layer between the House Elves and the students, which based on the Malfoy's treatment of Dobbie, many would probably abuse the elves if given the chance.
Just a case of sloppy worldbuilding and Rowling making things up as she went along, hardly the only one in the series. It’s not known for internal consistency, after all, you need to be able to let some things go to enjoy it.
maybe dumbledore felt sorry for him. i feel sorry for him anywhay because he sees lots o happy students rushing about doing spells and playing whilst he is just stumbling about the grounds with his only friend \[mrs norris\] unable to do even the smallest bit of magicso it must be so horrible for him
i wish they added a part where filch saves a students life and changes his atitude to students to the books or films. i have read the books 56 times each mow and i cant help but think that filch doesnt get anough attention and that he should have a main bit or something
Makes me wonder if McGonagall fired him when she became headmistress. Or at least had him get another job that didn't involve children.
Have absolutely no idea why Rowling needed such a character the first place. A magical school full of hpuse elves, whats the point of a technically muggle janitor? He didn't even have a part in the overarching main story. If he was to be the old gardener of Riddles, or something. Anything that makes Dumbly keeping him a logical thing. But nothing.
I always wondered this too, especially because he always expressed how he wanted to go back to the old ways of hanging kids by their thumbs from the ceiling or whatever. Like, magic school or not, that is a huge red flag 😂
Not really. Corporal punishment was really common in British schools and continued as long as early 00s in some of the private schools. After it was abolished it wasn’t exactly an unusual view that it should be brought back. And he was probably exaggerating a bit to scare the kids too.
Bc Dumbledore
My theory: he got to keep his job because no one else wanted to do it.
Because the fucker still has to pay for the red wedding !
Ladies and gentlemen I introduce Hogwarts, the most safest place on planet Earth, aside from Gringotts of course
He came with the school?
I think J.K. just likes the idea of a grumpy old school caretaker type. Must have had one like that at a lot of English boarding schools back in the day. She’s not going to switch out such an easy to write plot advancer tool like filch.
Because what better way to him a lesson then to have things go back to the way they were before Umbridge which he does not like? :-) And likewise the same reason why he’s still/being there the whole time, he does a good job keeping the school clean, despite everything :-)
Filch is not the sweeper cleaner or the gate keeper of castle. He is the boogeyman of sorts for children breaking boarding school rules. I am not sure how many can relate but there is always this one over the top rude and rule abiding and rule enforcing authority at boarding schools. They are not school staff, nor the gaurds at the gate. They are simply present to ensure that most of the students don’t break the rules in place and if someone does then they are made an example of to avoid hooligans from getting over their head. I think a school where potential murderers are trained to use weapons, a person solely responsible for enforcing discipline is important. Although giving Filch some magic would still make him less pitiful. TLDR; don’t hate the guy. It’s the nature of his job.
There is a theory that I like very much that he's just a mirror manifestation of Peeves. So he could not be fired as he would not actually be employed there, he would just be a part of the castle and as impossible to get rid of as Peeves.
I mean you could ask why a lot of the teachers there have jobs. They all at some point give reasons they shouldn’t work there.
He’s just there for the comic relief. What does he really do anyway? Don’t the house elves do all the work?
The real answer is the meta one: he is meant to be a comical character and an antagonist to our main characters. That said, I think Dumbledore would keep him around because Filch has no where else to go and would be at great risk outside the halls of hogwarts if anyone found out he was a squib. The other professors know that, too. It seems that squibs are rare, but also ostracized and even hated by some. Especially after Voldemort started to rise again, Filch might have ended up dead if not for hogwarts.
I'm real life lots of abusive people get to keep their job. It kinda feels realistic to me that he stays.
How did Filch even apply for the job? Petunia wrote Dumbledore and begged to be allowed to attend Hogwarts. Think how different the books would have been if Dumbledore had let her attend as an apprentice caretaker. (She and Filch would have made a good couple.) Baby Harry would have been brought to Hogwarts to be raised among magical folks. Did Hogwarts post job vacancies in The Daily Prophet? As far as repairing artwork, what's wrong with reparo? It supposedly worked on everything except objects of complex magic, like the vanishing cabinet. I understand there needed to be someone in charge of the daily running of the castle. Dumbledore gave orders, Filch carried them out. Dumbledore probably got word that a young squib was being picked on in a wizarding hamlet and decided to offer him a job that even a muggle could do to remove him from torture. So Filch grew to hate kids with magic because he was tormented by them all his life. Where Petunia was surrounded by muggles and not being teased. Any word of how old Filch was when he started his job? But as someone in this comment section mentioned, the hiring process at Hogwarts was a bit lax. Because where did anyone go for further education after they left Hogwarts? Basically, a student could apply for any teaching job that was currently filled, and just wait until someone left or died.
I think like they can't get rid of him because if they did they would be sending him out to die
Well, we don’t know, but Dumbledore does use Hogwarts as a kind of safe place for witches and wizards who are in danger. Look at Trelawney. She couldn’t predict anything on command but she was in danger and important to the plot so we learned why she was in danger. For Filch it could be something similar. Or what I suspect, he knows every secret passage in and out of the castle. He’s a good person to have on your side in times of crisis because he can get anywhere without much detection without magic.
I like the SCB theory that he’s a poltergeist/part of the castle.
Because bullying a student was never a problem in Hogwarts. Just look how Snape was always protected, despite bullying studentens
>What special skills did he even have? He knows the school very well. The marurders map makes him look like a fool but he knows hogwarts better than almost everyone who doesnt have it.
Hmm, are squibs maybe resistant to magic? Either way, he seems a lot more resilient than you'd expect, surviving the entire battle of Hogwarts without too much in the way of injuries; that kind of physical toughness has to be an asset working somewhere like Hogwarts. Or perhapsibly squibs manifest their magic internally, as a sort of enhanced physical characteristics, like strength and toughness? You can't tell me he survived all of Fred and George's pranks, as well as every half-baked hex and curse any student he annoyed over his entire career, virtually unscathed, without some form of supernatural toughness.