Mundungus Fletcher

From Harry Potter Wiki

Mundungus Fletcher was a wizard and one of the original members of the Order of the Phoenix, a group dedicated to fighting Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He was something of a con artist, if not an outright criminal.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 1992-1994 1.2 1995-1996 1.3 1997 1.4 After the war 2 Physical appearance 3 Behind the scenes 4 Appearances 5 Notes and references

[edit] Biography

Mundungus was not well-liked by the other members of the Order and struck many as seeming untrustworthy. However, he was fiercely loyal to Dumbledore after Dumbledore helped him out of a "tight spot." His links to the wizarding underworld are extremely useful in gaining information for the Order.

[edit] 1992-1994

His loyalty to the Order did not prevent him from pursuing his criminal ways during the period before Voldemort's return, however. In 1992 he tried to place a hex on Arthur Weasley during a law enforcement raid, and in 1994, following the Death Eater attack on the Quidditch World Cup, he put in a compensation claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with an built-in Jacuzzi (in actual fact, according to Percy Weasley, he was sleeping under a cloak propped up on sticks).

[edit] 1995-1996

With the return of Lord Voldemort in 1995, Dumbledore called upon Sirius Black to alert the 'old crowd', which included Mundungus Fletcher. However, Fletcher found it impossible to place the demands of the Order completely ahead of his own interests.

His main tasks for the Order during the school year of 1995-96 were those which involved keeping a close eye on Harry Potter. The consequences of failing in this mission were made known at the beginning of that year, when Fletcher abandoned his post to smuggle stolen cauldrons. In his absence, Harry and his cousin Dudley Dursley were attacked in Little Whinging by Dementors under the command of Dolores Umbridge. He got a reprimand from Arabella Figg for this. He later redeemed himself by keeping a close watch on Harry, during his times in Hogsmeade Village, and reporting back to the Order. Specifically, he disguised himself as a witch under a black balaclava in the Hog's Head as he was barred.

These good intent behind this gesture was disregarded by Harry when, following the death of Sirius Black in 1996, Harry caught Fletcher red-handed in Hogsmeade, selling items which had been stolen from Sirius' house. These items and the entire residence at Number 12, Grimmauld Place were left to Harry following Sirius' death. Harry confronted him using physical force before Fletcher Disapparated. His exact whereabouts were a mystery.

[edit] 1997

In July of 1997, Severus Snape placed the Confundus Charm on Mundungus in order to have him propose a plan to the Order to remove Harry Potter from his relatives' home — to have six Order members disguise themselves as Harry with Polyjuice Potion accompanied by protectors. Mundungus was reluctant to participate himself, however, but was pushed into becoming one of the "seven Potters", partnering with Alastor Moody. As the Order began to fly away from Little Whinging, however, they were ambushed and a battle ensued. Voldemort targeted Mundungus and Moody first, causing Mundungus to Disapparate immediately in terror. Voldemort's Killing Curse struck Moody in the face.

Later that summer, Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were hiding out in 12 Grimmauld Place and learned from Kreacher that Mundungus had stolen a locket from the house, which they realized was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Harry sent Kreacher to fetch Mundungus for questioning. Although Fletcher managed to avoid capture for three days, he was eventually captured by Kreacher and bought to Grimmauld Place. While there, Mundungus confessed to giving the locket up to Dolores Umbridge.

[edit] After the war

Following this, Fletcher presumably went into hiding. He did not take part in the Battle of Hogwarts, and possibly resumed his life of a criminal afterwards.

[edit] Physical appearance

Squat, with bandy legs and long, straggly ginger hair, Fletcher often sported an unshaven face and bloodshot, baggy eyes. He had a habit of smoking a smelly pipe and carried a strong bodily odor of tobacco and stale alcohol. He was once even mistaken for a pile of rags.

[edit] Behind the scenes

• In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry saw someone hidden behind a "thick woollen balaclava" order a plate of raw liver from the Leaky Cauldron; three years later Fletcher would use such a disguise himself, but it is not clear if he used this disguise in previous years.

• Mundungus never appears in the films. It is unknown why J.K. Rowling never told the makers of the Order of the Phoenix film to do so when she told them to include Kreacher, as Mundungus has as big a part to play in the adventure with the locket as Kreacher does, giving it to Umbridge. Nonetheless, his character will be in the seventh film.

• It has been confirmed that he will be played by Andy Linden in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.^[2]

• Mundungus shares many descriptive traits with Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. Specifically, they both have ginger hair and are bandy legged. It is unknown if this has any significance or is merely a coincidence on the author's part.

[edit] Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)

[edit] Notes and references