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Biographical Details | Temperament and Personality | Physical Traits | Magical Traits | Wand Traits | Nicknames/Aliases/Titles/Appearances | Organizations/Teams/Clubs | What Happened to Hagrid After the Fall of Voldemort? | What Robbie Coltrane Has To Say About Hagrid | How Hagrid Changed Throughout The Series | How Hagrid Differs in the Books and Movies | Video of Hagrid | Hagrid Costume
Note: Some of the content in here may contain spoilers from the books, movies, and/or Pottermore.com
Biographical Details
Date of Birth = December 6, 1928
Mother = Fridwulfa
Father = Mr. Hagrid (first name unknown)
Siblings = Grawp (half-brother)
Spouse = None
Children = None
Wizard Blood Status = Half-Blood
Hogwarts House = Gryffindor
Occupation = Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, Professor of Care of Magical Creatures
Life Status = Living as of [year]
Hagrid lives in a hut by the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid’s hut seems like it would be much too small for someone of Hagrid’s size, but it was perfect for this gentle half-giant.
J.K. Rowling was very careful in choosing Hagrid’s first name of Rubeus. The name comes from the Latin word for red (“rubbings“). Dumbledore’s first name, Albus, is the Latin word for white. This was important because Rowling wanted their two names to represent the red and white mystical elements of alchemy. The red in alchemy represents passion, and Hagrid definitely has a passionate personality.
Another definition of Hagrid is “hung over”. This is also appropriate because Hagrid was often seen indulging in alcohol, sometimes to the extreme.
Temperament and Personality
As stated above, Hagrid is a very passionate person. He stands behind his beliefs and is often quite vocal about them. He was passionately devoted to Albus Dumbledore, who was the only person to believe in Hagrid after Hagrid was expelled during as a student at Hogwarts. Dumbledore once said that he would trust Hagrid with his life, and Hagrid seems to have known that.
Hagrid is also deeply loyal, and will defend those who have his loyal to the bitter end. Interestingly, those he defends may not always be the ones he is loyal to. Professor Severus Snape is a great example of this. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger often came to Hagrid with reasons why no one should trust Snape. Hagrid staunchly defended Snape’s intentions, but he did so because of his loyalty to Dumbledore who trusted Snape, not out of any loyalty to Snape himself. If Dumbledore trusted Snape, then that was good enough for Hagrid.
Hagrid is half giant and giants are known for their brutal viciousness. Giants may be brutal, but Hagrid is the total opposite of his giant heritage. Instead of vicious, Hagrid is very kind and loving, even driven to tears when his emotions get the better of him. There are times when Hagrid seems to forget just exactly how large and strong he is, which is evident when he kindly pats people on the back. His pats may seem gentle to Hagrid, but they sometimes come close to physical blows to those he pats.
Hagrid wears his heart on his sleeve, as the saying goes. Most of the time Hagrid is very jovial, seeing the best in the people around him. However, he occasionally succumbs to depression, such as when Rita Skeeter published an article that revealed Hagrid’s status as a half-giant. The article prompted people to write him horrible, nasty letters that Hagrid took to heart. He didn’t snap out of his misery until Hermione took him to task over how he responded to the situation.
Speaking of passion, Hagrid has a love for all creatures that borders on a passionate obsession. He favors creatures that are dangerous, though he genuinely loves and cares for all magical creatures, even the harmless ones.
Dangerous creatures that Hagrid has owned or cared for include:
- 1st Year: Fluffy, a three-headed dog
- 1st Year: Norbert (later Norberta), a baby dragon that he hatched and raised until Harry, Hermione, and Ron found a new home for Norbert
- 2nd Year: Aragog, a giant Acromantula spider – It was this spider that led to Hagrid’s expulsion when Tom Riddle framed Hagrid and the spider for the death of Moaning Myrtle
- 3rd Year: Buckbeak, a Hippogriff
- 4th Year: Blast-Ended Skrewts, a hybrid creature that Hagrid bred that are described as being able to “burn, bite, and sting all at once” by Draco Malfoy – they are a crossbreed of the incredibly dangerous Manticore and Fire Crab
- 5th Year: Thestrals, a flying creature that is only visible to people who have witnessed death – these aren’t actually dangerous but people view them negatively because of their connection to death
Fang is Hagrid’s loyal and faithful pet dog. Fang is large and fierce looking. He is, however, the exact opposite of his appearance, often cowering in frightening situations. His bark is truly worse than his bite.
Physical Traits
Race = Half-human, half-giant
Gender = Male
Skin Color = Fair
Hair Color = Black
Eye Color = Black
Other Notable Traits = Hagrid’s giant heritage means that he ages slower than most humans. He will live longer than the people around him as a result of this. His skin is also able to deflect spells because of his half-giant status. This thick skin protected Hagrid from the spells sent his way by Death Eaters during the invasion of Hogwarts and the Final Battle.
Magical Traits
Boggart = Lord Voldemort
Shortly after Hagrid gave Harry his acceptance letter to Hogwarts he escorted Harry to King’s Cross train station and told Harry to to to Platform 9-3/4. Harry didn’t know where this was and turned to ask Hagrid for additional directions but Hagrid was no where to be seen. Hagrid’s disappearance was never explained and I’ve always wondered if he Disapparated, something that he wouldn’t have been taught before he was expelled. If so, it’s another example of Hagrid’s innate magical abilities.
Wand Traits
Length = 16″ (this is second only in length to Lucius Malfoy’s 18″ wand)
Wood = Oak
Core = Unknown
Pliancy = “Rather bendy”
Maker = Unknown, possibly Garrick Ollivander
Master = Hagrid
Owner = Hagrid
Temporarily Owned By = None
Additional Details = Hagrid’s wand was broken during his third year at Hogwarts. He was expelled after Tom Riddle set Hagrid up to take the blame for the death of Moaning Myrtle. Hagrid kept his wand hidden inside the handle of a pink umbrella and was known to do magic at times, something he was forbidden to do because of his expulsion.
Hagrid’s name was cleared of all wrong doing during Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, and Hagrid was allowed to do magic again. It is unknown if Hagrid’s wand as an adult is the same wand that was snapped and possibly repaired, or if he got a new wand. Hagrid was not always very good at magic simply because he wasn’t fully trained as a wizard, but he had moments of greatness that surprised everyone, including himself.
Nicknames/Aliases/Titles/Appearances
Nicknames = ‘Agrid (by Madame Maxime) and Hagger (by Grawp)
Aliases = None
Titles = Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts and Professor
Different Physical Appearances = None
Organizations/Teams/Clubs
Organizations = Order of the Phoenix
Teams = None
Clubs = President of the Dangerously Scary Yet Lovable Monsters Club while a student at Hogwarts (just kidding!)
What Happened to Hagrid After the Fall of Voldemort?
Not much is known about Hagrid’s life after the Final Battle, but we do know that he continued to teach Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts. We can also assume that he was friends with the children of Harry and Ginny Potter, and Ron and Hermione Weasley. Both of these things are either known because Harry reminded his son Albus that he was to have tea with Hagrid after Albus returned to Hogwarts.
What Robbie Coltrane Has To Say About Hagrid
It seems that Robbie Coltrane was born to play the role of Rubeus Hagrid. He was Hagrid in every way! Robbie has spoken lovingly about his time playing Hagrid. Here is what he had to say about Hagrid:
The great thing about Hagrid was that he was a thoroughly good man…
Robbie went on to say that Hagrid was the only thoroughly good character that he had ever played, and that he really enjoyed being Hagrid.
In another interview Robbie said that he probably wouldn’t have taken the role of Hagrid if it wasn’t for his young children. Before having children Robbie didn’t like kids. He didn’t think he could have properly played Hagrid if he wasn’t a father since Hagrid absolutely loves the kids who attend Hogwarts. All I can say is thank goodness that he had his two kids because he exuded warmth, friendship, and love towards the students of Hogwarts in the movies!
How Hagrid Changed Throughout The Series
Hagrid is one of the few characters who didn’t really change throughout the stories. He was loving, kind, and trusting when we first met him, and he was just as loving, kind, and trusting at the end.
There is one aspect of Hagrid that I can think of that changed, and that would be his confidence. Hagrid was pretty confident in who he was most of the time, but he lacked confidence when it came to teaching. He knew that he wasn’t ever going to be as educated as the students he was teaching, and I think this intimidated him a bit. What he did have was experience and a natural ability with animals that more than made up for his lack of education.
Dumbledore believed in Hagrid and what he could bring to the Care of Magical Creatures classes. Although Hagrid started out his teaching career with a fantastic class where he introduced his class to Hippogriffs, he quickly lost his confidence when Draco Malfoy disregarded Hagrid’s warnings and was attacked by Buckbeak.
It took a while, but eventually Hagrid got his confidence back, with help from Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and mostly from Hermione. After he got back his confidence Hagrid never looked back. He remained confident in his ability to teach and became a really good teacher who impressed even Hermione with his lessons.
How Hagrid Differs in the Books and Movies
Hagrid is a half-giant, which makes him much larger than a normal human. The book describes Hagrid as 11 feet, 6 inches tall, and three times as wide as a man. The movies made him a bit smaller, measuring 8 feet, 6 inches tall. I suspect this was done to make it easier to film Hagrid with the other characters without having to revert to the methods used to film Gandalf with the Hobbits in the Lord of the Rings movies.
The other area where Hagrid differs has to do with a running gag in the movies. In any given movie you can hear Hagrid say something, then follow it up with some variation of, “I shouldn’t have said that.” This never happened in the books, where Hagrid was quite capable of keeping secrets. I think this was done for comedic affect, and I rather enjoyed it. It didn’t bother me at all that the film makers made this change to Hagrid’s personality.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Hagrid and Madame Maxime went on a mission for the Order to make contact with the giants and try to keep them from aligning with Voldemort. Hagrid was gone for a good amount of the book on this mission. In the movie, he was gone at the beginning but returned much quicker.
This was also the story where Harry saw thestrals for the first time and didn’t understand what they were. In the book, Hagrid explained about thestrals to his Care of Magical Creatures class and that’s where Harry learned the truth about these gentle creatures. In the movie, it was Luna Lovegood, not Hagrid, who explained about thestrals to Harry.
Video of Hagrid
This is a sweet tribute video showing Hagrid’s friendship with Harry throughout all eight movies.
Hagrid Costume
If you would like to dress as Hogwarts Keeper of the Keys but don’t know what you will need then take a look at the Hagrid costume post that I created. You will find all the needed items to dress as Hagrid.
Biographical Details | Temperament and Personality | Physical Traits | Magical Traits | Wand Traits | Nicknames/Aliases/Titles/Appearances | Organizations/Teams/Clubs | What Happened to Hagrid After the Fall of Voldemort? | What Robbie Coltrane Has To Say About Hagrid | How Hagrid Changed Throughout The Series | How Hagrid Differs in the Books and Movies | Video of Hagrid | Hagrid Costume
