Niamh Fitzgerald
Origin: Harry Potter
Hair:
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Species: Human
Birthday:
Residence: Weiss Street 29 (4-41)
Occupation:
Affiliation:
Talent: Magic
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Import Date: 5(+)
Pets:
Professor Niamh Fitzgerald (fl. 1470s)[1] was a witch who once served as the Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and lived during the Tudor period. She was one of the Keepers, a secret society dedicated to the protection of ancient magic.[5]
Biography
Early life
In her youth, she began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where she was sorted into Ravenclaw house.[5]
She eventually became the Headmistress of Hogwarts in her adulthood. She also became a member of the Keepers, a secret society dedicated to protecting ancient magic.[5] In these roles, she was first seen by a young Isidora Morganach restoring her hamlet of Feldcroft from a drought alongside the other Keepers.[6] Isidora, like Niamh's colleague Percival Rackham, was able to see traces of ancient magic, and when she was enrolled into Hogwarts as a late-coming fifth-year student, Niamh saw to her education and mentorship under the Keepers.[7]
When Isidora Morganach graduated, Niamh granted her a position as the Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at the school. Niamh and the other Keepers were invited to Isidora's house in Feldcroft to witness Isidora's new, groundbreaking spell: one that could extract pain from humans, which she experimented with on her father. Niamh was quite taken aback by this use of magic.[8] On a stroll in the Hogwarts grounds, she asked Isidora to stop, but Isidora then extracted some of Niamh's pain without her permission.[2]
Niamh eventually confronted Isidora, alongside the other Keepers, in a duel in the Keepers' Caverns, where she defended Percival Rackham as he urged Isidora to stop using her pain extraction spell on students. Isidora refused, casting an explosive spell at the Keepers which rendered Niamh unconscious, but still alive.[9]
Niamh eventually died and had a funeral, which was attended by many people, some of whom expressed that she had died too young. Niamh had a portrait of herself located in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts Castle to advise future headteachers of the school. She also had a portrait in the secret Map Chamber beneath the castle.[2]
In the 1890–1891 school year, Niamh gave a trial to an unidentified student who had the power to see and use ancient magic to test if they would go down the same path as Isidora, or if they were trustworthy. To this end, she tasked the student to access her book in the Headmaster's office, which the student managed to do after using Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as the incumbent Headmaster, Phineas Nigellus Black, in order to ask Scrope for the office's password.[10]
The book gave the student a storytelling of Niamh's funeral and a fight with Death from The Tale of the Three Brothers. When the student finished the sequence of puzzles laid out within the story, they used a Pensieve to witness Niamh's memories of her days as a Headmistress. The trial was then considered complete.[2] Eventually, Niamh (and the other Keepers) allowed the student to access the Keepers' Caverns and defend Hogwarts from the invasion of Ranrok.[11]
After the Battle of Hogwarts, she was most likely among those who congratulated Harry Potter on his defeat of Lord Voldemort, along with the other headteachers of Hogwarts.[12]
Physical description
Niamh was a woman with fair skin, light brown/strawberry blonde hair tied up in a braided bun and blue eyes.[6]
Personality and traits
Niamh was a natural leader and protector that feared more for the individual students for whom were in her care. She inspired courage and compassion among her colleagues, and drove the group to continue the search for answers, even when hope seemed dim. Niamh was level-headed, she thought before she spoke and noticed everything. Niamh was known for her grace, wisdom, kindness, and confidence.[5]
Magical abilities and skills
Ancient magic: She could use ancient magic, as shown by her restoration of Feldcroft from a drought alongside the other Keepers.[6]