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At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article. |
- Ron Weasley: "Gwenog Jones? The Gwenog Jones? Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?"
- Hermione Granger: "That's right. Personally, I thought she was a bit full of herself...."
- — Hermione Granger regarding Gwenog's high opinion of herself[src]
Gwenog Jones (b. 1968)[1] was a Welsh witch who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When Gwenog graduated from Hogwarts, she became a professional Quidditch player and later achieved fame as the captain and Beater of the Welsh all-female Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies.
Biography[]
Early life (1968–1979)[]
Gwenog Jones was born into the presumably wizarding Jones family in 1968. Her family possibly came from Wales, as Jones was a Welsh surname, and she later became the manager of the Welsh National Quidditch team.
Hogwarts years (1979–1986)[]
She began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1979.[2] It's unknown what house she was sorted into. During her time at the school, she became a favourite student of Horace Slughorn, and was consequently inducted into his Slug Club throughout her time at the school, one of the last before his retirement.[7] She also won a Quidditch trophy.[9]
While at Hogwarts, Jones was a member of the school's Dragon Club. At some time during her school years, she attempted to charm one of the school Bludgers to only attack the other teams and accidentally cursed it. Being weak in Charms, she was unable to uncurse it and, ashamed of her poor sportsmanship, she hid it in a statue that she subsequently donated to the Dragon Club.[5]
Career as a Beater[]
Sometime after graduating in 1986,[2] Jones became a Beater for the all-female Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team, and eventually became the Captain of said team. Remembering her former Potions teacher, she gave Slughorn free tickets to her Quidditch matches whenever he so desired.[7]
Amongst Jones's biggest fans was Ginevra Weasley, who had a poster of the prestigious Quidditch player on the wall of her small bedroom at The Burrow.[10] In later years Ginny would go on to play for the Harpies, though it is unknown whether Jones was still on the team at that point.
Bludger mishap[]
She paid for the statue hiding her Bludger to be bewitched with various protective enchantments in hopes that the Bludger would never be seen again. However, it was subsequently released during the 1986–1987 school year when Diego Caplan accidentally destroyed the statue during a friendly duel with Jacob's sibling. It wreaked havoc on the clubhouse, destroying it before being caught and secured.
This enraged Professor McGonagall who threatened to revoke everyone's club privileges. Trying to defuse the situation, Diego and Jacob's sibling cleaned and repaired the mess but were unable to fix the statue due to its enchantments making it resistant to being repaired by normal means.
While seeking a replacement, Jacob's sibling discovered Jones's connection and managed to contact her through their mutual acquaintance, Erika Rath. Jones returned to the school and she and Jacob's sibling brought the Bludger to Professor Flitwick. With Flitwick's guidance, Jacob's sibling uncursed the Bludger, after which Jones privately confessed the truth of its creation to the student.
Later she gave an inspiring speech to encourage the club members who were despondent after learning that a replacement state would cost 300 galleons. In a brainstorming session with Diego and Jacob's sibling, they decided to raise the money with a fundraiser event with activities showcasing the classes the Dragon Club focused on. Gwenog herself supervised the event's broom race.
As a gift to the club for their hard work in creating the event, she donated a replacement statue to allow the students to put the money towards the club. This gift turned out to be especially important when the fundraiser's donations came up 48 galleons short. She also donated a Beater's bat signed by the current members of the Holyhead Harpies, herself included.[5]
Hogwarts exhibition[]
During the 1987–1988 school year Gwenog Jones and the rest of the Holyhead Harpies performed an exhibition at Hogwarts. Andre Egwu and Jacob's sibling attended in the VIP section, where they noticed that Gwenog had reserved a seat for Horace Slughorn who hadn't showed up. Upon confronting Gwenog about this in the changing room, she mentioned how she had been sending him invitations to all her matches, but he hadn't shown up and she was worried about him. Jacob's sibling then asked if they could try to find him for her, to which she happily agreed and pointed them in the direction of Lucius Malfoy, another Slug Club member who she thought would have a better idea of where Slughorn was. She later attended the Slug Club dinner at the Three Broomsticks Inn, which Slughorn hosted in honour of Jacob's sibling.[11]
Retirement[]
By 2014, Gwenog Jones had retired from the Holyhead Harpies, and had become the manager of the Welsh National Quidditch team. Shortly before the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, Gwenog Jones threatened to "curse the face off" rival Brazilian manager José Barboza, when he called her Chasers "talentless hags" (a comment that he later insisted had been taken out of context).
During the Brazil-Wales quarter-final match, she showed up to the game in an 'It Should Have Been Haiti' T-shirt and was prevented from entering the stadium, therefore missing the first ten minutes of the game. She later ended up in custody when, after Brazilian Seeker Tony Silva caught the Snitch and won the game, she attempted to curse off Barboza's face in the packed stadium and was dragged away by her own Beaters.[6]
Physical description[]
Gwenog was described as being a tall, dark-skinned witch. Due to the fact she was a Beater, it can be presumed that she was fairly burly or at least had a 'beater's build'. She had dark brown hair and brown eyes.[4]
Personality and traits[]
Jones had said on a number of occasions that witches made better Quidditch players than wizards, and no one was likely to disagree with her. This was because "people who disagreed with [Jones] had a nasty habit of turning into woodlice". After a game, she enjoyed relaxing with friends, drinking butterbeer, and listening to the Weird Sisters.
Hermione Granger considered Gwenog to be "a bit full of herself" after meeting her at one of Slughorn's Slug Club meetings in 1996.[12] It is thought that the ICWQC's ban on 'managerial trash talk' was made with her in mind.
Magical abilities and skills[]
- Flying: Jones was evidently a highly accomplished and talented broomstick flyer and Quidditch player, given how she became both the Captain and Beater for the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team, a very impressive achievement in the magical sport which gained much fame and recognition in the world of Quidditch. She was so experienced in playing the sport that she eventually became the Manager of the Welsh National Quidditch team.
- Transfiguration: It was said that "people who disagreed with [Jones] had a nasty habit of turning into woodlice". This meant that Jones was capable of casting a transfiguration spell which turned humans into woodlice.
- Dark Arts: Jones appeared to a level of skill with the casting of dark charms, given how she threatened to curse José Barboza during a Quidditch match and had to be pulled away by her own players to prevent her from cursing him.[6] Jones also accidentally cursed a Bludger in her youth, which she also found herself unable to reverse.[5]
Etymology[]
Gwenog is the name of an obscure Welsh saint, most notable for her namesake church in Llanwenog. The name is presumably derived from the Welsh Gwen, which means "fair, blessed".
Jones is a very common Welsh surname derived from the name John, which means "God is gracious".
Behind the scenes[]
- Gwenog may be related to Hestia Jones, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Peter Jones, a Gryffindor student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and/or Megan Jones, a Hufflepuff student at Hogwarts in Harry Potter's year.
- The illustration on Gwenog's Wizard of the Month profile shows her to have dark skin and purple Quidditch robes. However, in the signed photo of Gwenog owned by Horace Slughorn in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she has light skin and is wearing yellow Quidditch robes.
- Although she definitely attended a party earlier in the year, it is unknown, being a former member of the Slug Club, whether or not she attended the Slug Club Christmas party in 1996.
- In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Quidditch Season 2 (set in the 1986–1987 school year), the unidentified Beater mentions Gwenog Jones being her hero. As this mention happens when Ethan Parkin is talking about a match against the Holyhead Harpies, this likely indicates Gwenog Jones had already graduated in 1986 and joined the Holyhead Harpies immediately after graduation.[13] This is confirmed in the A Dragon's Quest adventure, which is set in the same school year and sees Gwenog having graduated.[2]
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (First appearance) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Appears in photographs)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter Limited Edition (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: The Artifact Vault (Mentioned only)
- Pottermore (Mentioned only)
- Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
- J. K. Rowling's official site
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chocolate Frog Card (see this image)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "A DRAGON'S QUEST" Achievement - She had already graduated in the 1986–1987 school year, the year in which this adventure takes place.
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Side Quest "WELCOME TO THE SLUG CLUB"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 J. K. Rowling's official site
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "A DRAGON'S QUEST" Achievement
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Pottermore - Quidditch World Cup 1990 - 2014 (Archived)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "HOGWARTS TRIVIA" Achievement
- ↑ Harry Potter: The Artifact Vault (see this image)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 7 (The Will of Albus Dumbledore)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Side Quest "Joining the Slug Club"
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 14 (Felix Felicis)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, Quidditch Season 2, Chapter 12 (THE SECOND QUIDDITCH CUP)