Griselda Marchbanks

Griselda Marchbanks
Biographical information
Born	Late 19th century
Title(s)	Madam
Physical information
Gender	Female
Hair colour	Grey
Affiliation
Occupation	Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority
Loyalty	Wizengamot Wizarding Examinations Authority Ministry of Magic

"Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office. This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore."

— Griselda Marchbanks in 1995

Professor Griselda Marchbanks is a famous witch, who is a member of the Wizengamot and head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority that runs the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. She is apparently a close friend of Augusta Longbottom, the grandmother of Neville Longbottom.

Biography

Early life

Griselda Marchbanks presumably attended Hogwarts school before going on to join the Wizarding Examinations Authority.

Working for the Ministry of Magic

By around 1899, Professor Marchbanks was already working for the Wizarding Examinations Authority. She personally tested Albus Dumbledore (circa 1899), whom she said did things in his Charms and Transfiguration tests that she'd never seen the likes of before. She held Dumbledore in great esteem from then on. She was also made a member of the Wizengamot.

The 1995–1996 school year

During the 1995–1996 school year, she, along with Tiberius Ogden, resigned from the Wizengamot in protest of Dolores Umbridge's appointment as Hogwarts High Inquisitor and was subsequently accused of having ties to subversive goblin groups. During that year, she showed no signs of respect for Dolores Umbridge, expressing scorn at the belief that the Ministry could catch him. She tested a variety of students in Harry Potter's year, including Draco Malfoy's Charms practical, Harry Potter's Divination practical and fifth-year Potions and Astronomy O.W.L.s.

It is not known if she was reinstated in the Wizengamot after Dumbledore was.

She apparently continues in office to this day, as her name was on the most recent W.O.M.B.A.T.s, her title at the Wizarding Examinations Authority being given as "Governor".

Behind the scenes

• Professor Marchbanks is ancient in age, as she examined Albus Dumbledore during his N.E.W.T.s in 1899. Due to J. K. Rowling's W.O.M.B.A.T. that claimed she was still working, it would place her approximate age today at least in her 130s, and possibly even older.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows