- "Good. Not bad at all, Nigel. Well done."
- — Harry, at Nigel's success with the Stunning Spell[src]
Nigel Wolpert[8] (c.1983)[9] was a wizard and a student who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during the 1990s. He was sorted into Gryffindor House in 1994.[4] Nigel was an avid fan and friend of the famous Harry Potter and was a member of Dumbledore's Army, an organisation taught and led by Harry.[6]
Nigel fought in the 1998 Battle of Hogwarts, despite being underage at the time.[7] He fought alongside his friends and presumably survived to see Harry defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all.[10]
Biography[]
Early life[]
Nigel was born between circa 1982 and 1983 in Great Britain or Ireland.
Hogwarts years (1994-1998)[]
First year[]
- Nigel: "Parcel for you, Mr Weasley."
- Ron Weasley: "Oh, thank you Nigel... not now, Nigel, later, go on."
- — Nigel delivers Ron's parcel in return for Harry's autograph[src]
Nigel Wolpert began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1994. He started when famous student Harry Potter was in his fourth year of schooling and Nigel was sorted into Gryffindor house. Nigel also appeared to have a great deal of respect for the school headmaster. During Dumbledore's welcoming speech, Nigel seemed completely captivated. This was in contrast with the other students who were getting distracted by friends, floating candles, and the Great Hall's enchanted ceiling.[4]
Nigel had also shown an interest in Harry Potter (who was dubbed the 'Boy Who Lived') and had asked Ron Weasley if he could get him Harry's autograph. Ron agreed to get him Harry's autograph in exchange for Nigel bringing Ron his mail that day, which Nigel did. It is unknown if he ever got Harry's autograph. Ron dismissed him after getting his mail and said they would talk about it later. Nigel then left looking very disappointed.[4]
Nigel was seen supporting champion Harry Potter throughout the Triwizard Tournament. For instance, when Nigel was cheering for Harry after he emerged from the lake, Draco Malfoy hit Nigel over the head and pulled his hat down over his face in irritation.[4]
Also, despite being only a first year Nigel attended the Yule Ball. This means he must have been asked by someone much older than him, as third year Ginny Weasley accepted Neville Longbottom's offer. Ginny doubted she had to be asked by anyone else and being so young she would not have been allowed to attend otherwise. Only fourth years or older could attend the ball.[4]
At the end of the year Nigel was supposed to have his first ever End-of-Term Feast, but due to the circumstances surrounding the Triwizard Tournament and them resulting in the murder of Cedric Diggory, this feast was cancelled and instead a memorial feast was held by Albus Dumbledore for students and staff to pay their respects to the late Diggory and grieve the loss. At the end of this year Dumbledore had declared, based on Harry Potter's word, that Lord Voldemort had returned to power.[4] Nigel was amongst the students to believe this claim and not be persuaded otherwise by the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet which in later months would slate Harry and Dumbledore as liars.[6]
Second year[]
- Harry Potter: "Stunning is sort of the wizard's bread and butter, really. So, come on then Nigel, give it your best shot."
- Nigel: "Er, STUPEFY!"
- — Harry teaching the Stunning Spell to the D.A.[src]
The following year, Hogwarts would be put under the watchful eyes of Dolores Umbridge, the newly Ministry-appointed Hogwarts High Inquisitor and Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Umbridge was making the students' lives a misery and was refusing to teach them any practical forms of Defence Against the Dark Arts. When Harry Potter and Hermione Granger set up an organisation against this Nigel joined and became a part of Dumbledore's Army.[6]
When attending the D.A.'s meetings Nigel would often stay close to Harry, whom he looked up to. With Nigel's enthusiasm in lessons Harry would often use him as a 'test dummy', such as to demonstrate the Stunning Spell. He also assisted Harry by acting as a look-out as the students left the Room of Requirement at the end of the meetings. When Dolores Umbridge and her Inquisitorial Squad discovered the D.A. meetings, Nigel was at the front of the class along with Harry. He was among the students to serve one of Umbridge's 'medieval' detentions as punishment for being a member of Dumbledore's Army. Towards the end of the year Fred and George Weasley put their plans of escape into action and Nigel was amongst the crowd of students and staff to witness their departure and cheered them off after they turned a school corridor into a swamp.[6]
Third year[]
During Nigel's third year, his idol Harry Potter became the new Captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Nigel was present at the Quidditch tryouts that year but did not make the team, however he did not take the news badly and was quite happy with the selected students. Nigel was later shown to be very supportive of the team. He was seen cheering loudly for Ron Weasley when he won his first Quidditch match. He also witnessed Ron and Lavender Brown passionately kissing for the first time in the Gryffindor common room, something which he showed disgust in by poking his tongue out and covering his face with his woolly hat to block his view.[5]
Nigel was also still present at Hogwarts when Professor Severus Snape killed the school's current headmaster Albus Dumbledore. After hearing the news and seeing the Dark Mark floating above the school he and a large group of students and staff gathered around Dumbledore's body, which had fallen from the Astronomy Tower, Nigel arrived at the place with Luna Lovegood and stood with her and Madam Pomfrey whilst the crowd looked on at Harry who had crouched down to Dumbledore.[5]
When the time came, Nigel followed Professor McGonagall's sign of respect and lit his wand and raised his arm in the air with the crowd of students to show their respects to the late headmaster. In doing so the combined faculty and students of Hogwarts managed to rid the sky of the over-looking Dark Mark. It is more than likely that Nigel attended the funeral service that followed afterwards unless his parents pulled him out of school before the year had finished, like some others had done.[5]
Fourth year[]
In Nigel's fourth year, he was still at Hogwarts and was a member of Dumbledore's Army. He was seen on the train ride on 1 September with Seamus Finnigan.[7]
Battle of Hogwarts[]
On 2 May, he greeted Harry when the latter arrived in the Room of Requirement prior to the Battle of Hogwarts, and also served as a communicator to members of the Order of the Phoenix. Nigel participated in the battle alongside his friends against the Death Eaters and Voldemort's army of Dark creatures.[7] Nigel was not listed among the 50 casualties, and presumably survived to witness Harry's final defeat of Lord Voldemort and the end of the Second Wizarding War.[10]
Magical abilities and skills[]
- Defence Against the Dark Arts: Since Nigel trained with Dumbledore's Army under the instruction of Harry Potter, he would have been skilled with defensive and offensive spells. When he was only twelve (in his second year), Nigel successfully used the Stunning Spell on Harry.[6] He was also skilled and confident enough in this field to successfully duel against many Death Eaters alongside with his friends during the Battle of Hogwarts.[7]
- Duelling: Despite his young age, Nigel was a surprisingly confident duellist who fought bravely in the Battle of Hogwarts against Voldemort's dangerous army of Death Eaters.[7] He likely survived the battle, as his name was not mentioned among the Fallen Fifty.
Possessions[]
- Wand: Nigel owned a wand of an unknown length, wand wood and core.[6]
- Owl: Nigel owned a pet owl, which he owned during his time as a Hogwarts student.[6]
Etymology[]
- "Nigel" is derived from the Latin "Nigellus".
- The name Nigel also has Scottish origin in which it means "Champion".
- The name Wolpert means "descendent of Waldobert".[11]
- "Waldobert" is a Germanic name composed of the elements "wald", meaning "rule", and "beraht", meaning "bright". It was the name of a 7th-century French saint.[12]
Behind the scenes[]
- Nigel Wolpert is portrayed by William Melling in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and in Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2. He has only ever appeared in the films, never in any of the novels. Nigel seems to fill a role as composite replacement for both Colin and Dennis Creevey.
- While the script called for Nigel to die during the Battle of Hogwarts and be carried into the Great Hall (like Colin was in the book),[13] William Melling noted at LeakyCon 2012 that he had grown so much that he was no longer able to fit the description and his death was not portrayed.[10]
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Nigel attends the first meeting of what would become Dumbledore's Army in the Hog's Head, despite the fact that he would have only been a second year at the time, meaning he would not have been allowed to go to Hogsmeade. However, it is possible that Fred and George may have shown him one of the secret passageways into the village.
- William Melling has a non-speaking role in the sixth film and he is shown several times in the background. He originally was present in the bathroom during Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter's duel, but he was later cut from this scene.[14]
- Nigel appears in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: in Part 1 he appears on the Hogwarts Express as a non-speaking character, in Part 2, he appears in the Room of Requirement with the rest of the Dumbledore's Army. His only line is: "Lightning has struck, I repeat, lightning has struck!", which he says when he warns the other students and the Order of the Phoenix of Harry Potter's arrival.
- It should be noted that Nigel's role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 seems to fill the role Lee Jordan had in the novel.
- Storyboards for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix drawn by Nick Pelham consistently refer to Nigel as "Philip". Whether a different character was originally intended for this scene, Nigel was going to be renamed, or this was simply an error on the artist's part is unclear.[15]
- Nigel's surname may stem from Jamie Wolpert, an assistant and book consultant to David Yates. Similarly, an in-universe newspaper reporter, Jamie Wolpert, was also named after the real-world Jamie.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) (Appears in Game Manual) (Name appears on parchment)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
- Harry Potter: The Wand Collection
Notes and references[]
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ As Nigel was not forced to leave Hogwarts in 1997 or flee from the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, this meant he was not a Muggle-born wizard.
- ↑ "World Exclusive Interview with J K Rowling," South West News Service, 8 July 2000 - "Hogwarts just serves Britain and Ireland."
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- ↑ Dumbledore's Army parchment in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (see this image)
- ↑ His first year was 1994 so he must be 11 by this time
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Leaky Con 2012: Interview with HP Actors
- ↑ Wolpert Meaning & Surname Resources
- ↑ behindthename.com: Gaubert
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 script
- ↑ Detailed Report From "Half-Blood Prince" Test Screening
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix storyboards on Nick Pelham's official site