Argus Filch

Harry Potter character
David Bradley as Filch in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Argus Filch
Gender	Male
Hair colour	Grey
Eye colour	Grey and lamp-like
House	None
Parentage	Squib
Loyalty	Unknown, formerly Dolores Umbridge
Film portrayer	David Bradley
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

Argus Filch is the caretaker and (effectively) hall
monitor in J. K. Rowling's Harry
Potter series of books. While he arguably does not act
maliciously, and is not an evil character, he is certainly both
short- and ill-tempered, which has made him very unpopular with the
student body. Filch's attempts to enforce the letter of rules
against activities such as being outside the dorms late make life
very inconvenient for Harry Potter and many of his
friends. His knowledge of the secrets and shortcuts of the castle
is nearly unparalleled. It appears that the only people who may
have known more, were the Marauders.

Filch has a cat named Mrs Norris; he frequently calls her "my sweet".
As for the students, it's the dearest ambition of many to give her
a good kick. If Mrs Norris catches a student putting one toe out of
line, Filch will arrive in seconds. The cat has been known to
follow Hagrid everywhere when he goes up to the school,
apparently under Filch's orders – which suggests an extraordinary
connection between cat and owner, and makes Hagrid want to
introduce her to Fang.

The name "Argus" comes from Greek mythology, where it was the name of
a giant with one
hundred eyes who served the goddess Hera as a watchman
(much like Mr Filch's role in patrolling the hallways of Hogwarts).
His surname, "Filch", is an English word meaning "to steal",
usually in a sneaky manner. The name of his cat, "Mrs Norris", is
probably borrowed from Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park. Mrs
Norris is a nosy, interfering character in Mansfield Park who makes
life difficult for the heroine, Fanny Price. Interestingly, in some
versions of the myth, Argus is described as having four eyes, not a
hundred, which recalls the almost psychic connection Mrs Norris
appears to have with her master, as if they share two pairs of
eyes.

Filch is played by David Bradley in the films. By the
fourth film, he had merely become a comedy character, seen running
in an amusing fashion, dancing with Mrs Norris and letting the
cannon that announces when tasks start go off early all three
times.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or
ending details follow.

For years Filch has been trying to bring the "old punishments"
back, where students are hung by their hands in the dungeons for
days, are whipped, and so forth. In the fifth book
when Dolores Umbridge took control of Hogwarts, he
briefly got his wish as a result of Educational Decree Number
Twenty-Nine. Filch called Umbridge the best thing that ever
happened to Hogwarts, making him the only staff member to take her
side. (Which likely intensified whatever ill-will the students may
have already had for him.)

Filch and his cat are mutual mortal enemies of Peeves the
poltergeist, against whom they constantly wage
war. Harry and his friends sometimes get involved in this conflict,
though they don't take sides, finding no likable choice.

Filch was revealed to be a Squib in Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets when Harry caught him trying to
teach himself basic magic from a correspondence course. His
inability to use magic in a setting where it would greatly help his
duties, the fact that students are learning magic all around him,
and the fact that he is at least a half-blood are likely
causes of his bitterness. Many fans believe that Mrs Norris will
play a larger role in the forthcoming books.

Spoilers
end here.

Preceded by: Apollyon Pringle

Hogwarts Caretaker ? - ?

Succeeded by: Incumbent