Gilderoy Lockhart

Gilderoy Grant Lockhart ( b. 26 January 1959 ) is the third child born to Muggle father Gregory Lockhart and witching mother Clara Lockhart in Belfast, Ireland. In 1970, he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Ravenclaw for his intellectual potential. After graduating from Hogwarts, he focused on advancing his position in society by joining the rebel group Aversio and publishing novels of stolen adventures.

Early Life ( 1959 - 1969 )
In Belfast, Ireland, Gilderoy was raised by his mother and father. His father’s job as a financial adviser allowed the family to live comfortably. Despite the magic in their veins, his two elder sisters, Marcelle and Mirabelle, were squibs, which convinced Gregory and Clara that living a primarily Muggle life was in the best interest of their family. Gradually coming to resent her husband for inducing her to abandon the Wizarding culture for the sake of their children, it was for this reason that Clara blatantly favored Gilderoy after discovering that he was a wizard. She used their son’s magical abilities to convince Gregory to relocate to England in 1965 to be closer to her family.

The Lockhart family enjoyed traveling and often spent their summers and holidays visiting new countries. Because of this, Gilderoy considered himself an explorer at a young age. He dreamt of traveling the world and helping others, the latter emerging from his father’s participation in nonprofit organizations.

It was according to his father’s wishes that Gilderoy attended Muggle primary school before Hogwarts. Here, he gloated about his magical abilities in an attempt to make friends, but was mocked relentlessly after being unable to prove these claims. He and his sisters had a strained relationship due to the girls’ twin connection and the favoritism displayed by their mother, and as he was too embarrassed about the bullying to inform his parents of it, it was harbored as a secret of his that, even as an adult, he rarely spoke about.

Hogwarts Years ( 1970 - 1977 )
Gilderoy attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1970 to 1977 as a member of the Ravenclaw house. His conceited personality and selfish nature caused a great debate for the Sorting Hat, who nearly sorted the boy into Slytherin. Though he displayed a great pride in the Ravenclaw house, he spent a decent amount of time jealous of those in other houses and often found his friends in Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins. He took particular interest in Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration and strongly disliked Care of Magical Creatures, yet received at least average marks in all of his classes.

In 1972, Gilderoy joined the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as a Keeper. Towards the end of the first game of the season, he faked an injury to his wrist and refused to return to the field again, claiming that doing so was against the Healers’ recommendations. After this, he tried to redeem respect from his housemates by capturing a photograph of the alleged creature that lived in the Whomping Willow. Accompanied on the mission by a dorm mate and older Ravenclaw, Gilderoy eventually ran away from the scene to save himself when the beast attacked. Due to the impaired memory of the true hero of that night, however, he was later given credit for saving his friends.

Throughout the years at school, Gilderoy never ceased trying to leave behind a legacy. Especially in his later years, he often disregarded school rules in these attempts, which included engraving his name in a Quidditch goal post. Additionally, he worked to make connections he believed may benefit him after graduating by attending many student parties and being an active member of Slug’s Club in both his sixth and seventh years.

Adulthood ( 1978 - )
Upon graduation, Gilderoy spent the summer of 1978 traveling Europe by himself as was a tradition for Lockhart men. During this time, he witnessed an amazing act of heroism from a witch in Denmark whose memory he wiped in an impulsive decision to pass off her experience as his own. This impulse was likely a result of the pressure felt to launch a career for himself, as his father was adamantly urging him to consider leaving the Wizarding World to attend a Muggle University and attain a mainstream career instead. The events in Denmark inspired his first novel, “Gadding with Ghouls”, which was published in April of 1979.

Gilderoy returned to England and continued his attempts to advance his place in society by joining the rebel group, Aversio, to fight in the rising war. As neither parent was aware of the turmoil occurring within the Wizarding World, they agreed to pay half of his expenses to allow him to move to his own loft in London after he announced to them his plans to write a book. After a brief period of this arrangement, Clara eagerly took her first job selling make up to pay for the half of her son’s expenses that Gregory refused to, which successfully maintained Gilderoy’s dependency on his parents.

Etymology
The name Gilderoy was inspired by the Gaelic name Gilroy, which translates in English to “son of the red-headed”. The meaning of the name in reference to the personality of Gilderoy Lockhart is best understood as the meaning of the word gild, or “to give a false brilliance to”. This can also refer to the period in American history known as “The Gilded Age”, during which time economic success overshadowed heavy political corruption.

All translations of the name Grant surround the words “great” or “large”. This was undoubtedly intentional of Gregory and Clare Lockhart, as they were confident that their first son had a great destiny to fulfill, which was only confirmed for Clare when Gilderoy began showing early signs of magic.

Lockhart is a Scottish surname often associated with the words “brave, lock, and hardy”. The motto of the family is “I lay open locked hearts”, and references to a story of Sir Symon Locard in the 14th century in which he participated in a crusade by carrying the key to a casket that held the heart of Robert the Bruce. While the crusade was unsuccessful, it remained a great accomplishment for the knight and his family. Perhaps coincidentally, the family has a long tradition of locksmiths. Gilderoy’s father, Gregory, was the first male in decades to choose a different career path for himself.