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"The most eccentric-looking wizard... Slightly cross-eyed, with shoulder-length white hair the texture of candyfloss, he wore a white cap whose tassel dangled in front of his nose and robes of an eye-watering shade of egg-yolk yellow. An odd symbol, rather like a triangular eye, glistened from a golden chain around his neck"
— Xenophilius Lovegood's bizarre appearance[src]

Xenophilius "Xeno" Lovegood was a wizard who worked as the editor of The Quibbler magazine, the husband of Pandora, and the father of Luna Lovegood. His wife died when their only child was nine years old, and he raised his daughter by himself. He was likely the source of his daughter's eccentric beliefs, although he was often correct in his assumptions. He believed in the existence of the Deathly Hallows and supported Harry in The Quibbler when few others would.

Xenophilius and Luna lived in a house shaped like a rook chess piece near the village of Ottery St Catchpole and were friends with the Weasley family. In the summer of 1997, Xenophilius and Luna attended Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding at The Burrow. Later in the year, Luna was kidnapped by Death Eaters. To save her, Xenophilius betrayed Harry Potter to Death Eaters. Harry, accompanied by Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley managed to escape. Lovegood was temporarily imprisoned in Azkaban by the Death Eaters.

After the Second Wizarding War, he left the prison and continued editing The Quibbler. When Luna married Rolf Scamander, Xenophilius had two grandsons, Lorcan and Lysander.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Xenophilius Lovegood standing on stairs in house

Xenophilius Lovegood standing inside his unusual home

Xenophilius was born into the Lovegood family and attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he was sorted into Ravenclaw house. Whilst at Hogwarts, he fell in love in the Clock Tower Courtyard.[11] At an unknown time, he married Pandora Lovegood with whom he had a daughter, Luna Lovegood. He raised Luna himself after an accident during magical experimentation took Pandora's life.[3]

The Quibbler[]

Xenophilius created a magazine called The Quibbler, in which he wrote about his obscure beliefs, including the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.[12][13]

At some point during his life, Xenophilius attended one of Eldred Worple's book signings. He presumably shared his bizarre beliefs with Worple, not to mention his choice of clothing and accessories, as the latter remembered him as a "seriously unbalanced man".[14]

HM Xenophilius Lovegood

Xenophilius Lovegood in the Three Broomsticks

During the 1988–1989 school year, Xenophilius heard a rumour that a Crumple-Horned Snorkack had been spotted near Hogwarts Castle. He visited the Three Broomsticks Inn and offered 87 Galleons in exchange for a picture of the creature, which he planned to include on the front page of an upcoming issue of The Quibbler. As time was running out, he eventually agreed to accept a picture of another magical creature as well. He gave the reward money to Chiara Lobosca, Barnaby Lee and Jacob's sibling in exchange for a picture of a Quintaped.[15]

In 1994, Xenophilius and Luna watched the final of the Quidditch World Cup; Ireland vs Bulgaria.[16]

In 1996, Xenophilius published Harry Potter's story about the night he saw Lord Voldemort return and sent Harry a free copy.[17] This was the fastest-selling edition of The Quibbler, even being reprinted at least once before Mr Lovegood sold the story to the Daily Prophet. The Lovegoods used the money received from selling the story to the Prophet to travel to Sweden over the summer to search for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.[3]

When Rufus Scrimgeour became Minister for Magic, Xenophilius planned to print a story in The Quibbler stating that Scrimgeour was in fact a vampire. However the Ministry stepped in and prevented him from printing the story; Xenophilius believed that this was because the Ministry did not want the truth to get out.[18]

Second Wizarding War[]

Bill and Fleur's wedding[]

"What is Xenophilius Lovegood wearing? He looks like an omelette!"
Muriel criticising Lovegood at the wedding[src]
Deathly Hallows - Harry, Luna and X Lovegood

Xeno and Luna talking with Harry Potter

In the summer of 1997, Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood attended Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding at The Burrow. There, Xenophilius got into an argument with Viktor Krum over the necklace he was wearing; Viktor identified it as the Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald's mark.[19]

With the fall of the British Ministry of Magic under the control of Lord Voldemort, the Daily Prophet's enterprises were seized by the Death Eaters. The Quibbler, however, continued as usual and Xenophilius made his support of Harry Potter clear.[20]

Daughter's ransom[]

"They took my Luna because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if I — If I... I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna. You must not leave."
— Luna's kidnapping by Death Eaters as a bargaining chip[src]

Xenophilius's public support of Harry Potter eventually got him in trouble with Death Eaters. Many speculated why the Death Eaters had let him get away with it for so long. They kidnapped his daughter and held her hostage at Malfoy Manor. Xenophilius intended to do whatever it took to get her back. He agreed to publish anti-Potter articles in the Quibbler, following the line of the Voldemort-dominated Ministry, with Harry being depicted as Undesirable No. 1 on the front page of his magazine.[21]

Harry-potter-deathly-hallows1-xeno trio

Xenophilius Lovegood discussing the Deathly Hallows with the trio

When he was visited by Harry, Ron, and Hermione later in the year,[20] Xenophilius alerted Death Eaters, hoping they would return Luna in exchange. While waiting for the Death Eaters' arrival, Xenophilius told the trio about the Deathly Hallows. He explained that the symbol was worn by believers and seekers of the Hallows to identify themselves to one another. When Harry grew suspicious of him after realising that Luna had not been home in some time, Xenophilius attempted to stun Harry and his friends. Harry pushed Hermione and Ron out of the way, causing him to miss. Instead the spell hit an Erumpent horn, which caused the fluid inside it to explode, causing his house to collapse inward.[21]

Harry-potter-deathly-hallows1-xeno death eaters

Xeno attempting to hand Harry Potter over to the Death Eaters

The Death Eaters Travers and Selwyn arrived and briefly tortured Xenophilius, believing that he was trying to trick them about Harry being at his home. After the Human-presence-revealing Spell revealed that there were others in the house, the Death Eaters sent Xenophilius up the stairs. Hermione rapidly wiped his memory of what they had discussed with him, and then blasted a hole through the floor to facilitate the trio's escape, engineering it so that the Death Eaters saw that Harry was indeed there, thus ensuring that neither Xenophilius nor Luna were punished for lying, and so that neither saw Ron, who was supposed to be at home sick with spattergroit.[21]

Imprisonment and release[]

After the trio's escape, Xenophilius was arrested and sent to Azkaban. His attempted betrayal was unknown, with the anti-Potter issue of The Quibbler buried under the debris of his home and never distributed. He was released after Voldemort's death defeat on 2 May 1998. Luna, in the meantime, was rescued by the house-elf Dobby from Malfoy Manor, meaning they both survived the war. Harry, Ron and Hermione preserved Xenophilius's reputation and never revealed the truth, as his attempted betrayal had been motivated solely by concern for his daughter.

Later life[]

As an adult, Luna would soon come to realise the truth about her father, and accepted that some of his creatures did not exist. She married Rolf Scamander, grandson of the famous Newt Scamander, and the couple had twins, Lorcan and Lysander, thus making Xenophilius a grandfather.

When Luna travelled to the Patagonian Desert in Argentina to attend the final of the 427th Quidditch World Cup in July 2014, Lorcan and Lysander were left at home "with grandpa", which may have meant Xenophilius or the twins' paternal grandfather (Newton Scamander's son or son-in-law).

During the Calamity in the late 2010s and early 2020s, Xenophilius met with a Calamity Investigator working for the Statute of Secrecy Task Force and was convinced by them to allow The Quibbler to be used as an alternative wrapper for fish and chips in wizarding pubs after the Daily Prophet's new focus on hard news reduced the size of its editions. He later wrote an article in The Quibbler outlining various horticultural techniques to attract certain "unconfirmed" magical creatures. This article was read by the same Calamity Investigator, who, although they found no support for the article's ideas, used the concepts presented within it to help increase the effect time for their Greenhouse Charm.[22]

Physical description[]

Xenophilius was an eccentric-looking wizard, who looked slightly cross-eyed and had shoulder length hair that was the texture of candyfloss.[19]

At Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding, he wore a cap with a tassel that dangled in front of his nose, and wore a golden chain around his neck, that bore the sign of the Deathly Hallows, sometimes mistaken as the mark of Gellert Grindelwald. He also wore robes of an eye-watering shade of egg-yolk yellow, which Muriel said made him look like an omelette.[19]

Personality and traits[]

Hermione Granger: "I mean, you could claim that anything's real if the only basis for believing in it is that nobody's proved it doesn't exist!"
Xenophilius Lovegood: "Yes, you could. I am glad to see that you are opening your mind a little."
— Xenophilius speaking to a frustrated Hermione Granger about the Deathly Hallows[src]
Tumblr msnkb49UxM1r82muqo7 250

Xenophilius dancing with Luna at the wedding

Xenophilius cared a great deal about his daughter Luna, and shared her bizarre beliefs; he was likely the cause of them. He thought the Daily Prophet was an awful paper, and only published stories that he thought were important and needed to be known by the public. He was extremely firm in his beliefs and felt those who disbelieve in them were "painfully limited", "narrow" and "close-minded". Every time a sceptic demanded the evidence for his beliefs, he in turn asked them to prove them untrue themselves.[19]

Due to his bizarre views, many in the wizarding world thought he was senile. Eldred Worple even remembered him as a "seriously unbalanced man" after meeting him at one of his book signings.[14] According to Luna, her father did not care about making money and did not pay people to write for The Quibbler; she claimed they did so because it was an honour to see their name in print. Luna also said that her father was supportive of any anti-Ministry action. Mr Lovegood fully supported Harry Potter and encouraged others to do so as well, until his daughter was kidnapped by Death Eaters. Xenophilius cared about Luna so much that he was willing to hand Harry, Ron and Hermione over to the Death Eaters in exchange for his daughter. Because of his predicament, Xenophilius was rather nervous and reclusive when the Trio visited him, leading Ron and Hermione to accuse him of cowardice and hypocrisy, and later the former even calling Xenophilius treacherous, only reluctantly retracting that claim when Harry reminded of Luna's abduction.[21]

Xenophilius believed in the Deathly Hallows, (which actually proved to be real), as well as numerous magical cryptids such as Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. He also believed that gnomes had powerful magic,[19] and that the dirigible plum would enhance one's ability to accept the extraordinary. Although he sought the Deathly Hallows, given his personality, he was likely interested in them more as a matter of curiosity about such unusual objects, rather than a desire to actually possess or use them.

Given his tendency to believe in anything dubious and ridiculous, Xenophilius sometimes became the subject of pranks, such as when a young wizard gave him an Erumpent horn and claimed that it belonged to a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Unbeknownst to Lovegood, the Erumpent horn would explode if given even the slightest touch. This also shows that he was ignorant about some magical creatures, as he was unable to identify the horn at first glance.[21]

In addition, Xenophilius could be seen as a poor businessman, for not paying anyone for their articles under the naive belief that witches and wizards seeing their names in The Quibbler would be satisfaction enough. Along with the poor reputation of his magazine, this served as further disincentive for anyone to submit their writing for Xenophilus's review.

Magical abilities and skills[]

  • Love: Xenophilius loved his daughter Luna and cared about her safety and welfare immensely, as he was distraught when the Death Eaters kidnapped her for ransom in 1998. He was even willing to betray Harry Potter to them, in the hopes of them releasing Luna and being reunited with her. This shows what drastic and desperate lengths Xenophilius was willing to go to keep his daughter safe from harm, by going as far as betraying his own beliefs and cause.[21] He would have been heart-broken following the tragic death of his wife Pandora,[3] showing him to have been an incredibly loving and caring father and husband indeed.
  • Herbology: Xenophilius grew various magical plants in his garden, such as Dirigible plums and Snargaluffs, showing he had knowledge of magical plants and how to grow and handle them.[20]
  • Charms: Xenophilius could cast a non-corporeal Patronus Charm,[8] which was a mark of superior magical ability, given the immense difficulty of casting the charm. He could also cast simpler charms such as the Hover Charm successfully, and was also capable of casting a particularly powerful Stunning Spell.[21]
  • Study of Ancient Runes: In the July or August edition in 1995, The Quibbler published a segment written in ancient runes,[12] meaning he had some understanding of ancient runic languages, and that he may have even studied the subject at Hogwarts.
  • Journalism: Xenophilius was the editor of The Quibbler, and in the tabloid he published various bizarre and often unproven conspiracy theories.[12] Despite the often ridiculous nature of The Quibbler's content, he was still implied to be a skilled journalist and writer nonetheless, as they were those who truly believed his wild tales and theories.
  • Gobstones: Xenophilius considered himself a great Gobstones player, although Bilton Bilmes thought that he only achieved success because his Gobstones strategies were so strange that it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.[23]

Possessions[]

Xenophilius Lovegood wand

Xenophilius's wand

Etymology[]

Xenophilius's name comes from two Greek words: Xenos "strange" and -Phile "love". As opposed to xenophobe, one who fears the strange and foreign, his name means "one who loves the strange".

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 49 images related to Xenophilius Lovegood.
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Xenophilius Lovegood in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

WB ConceptArt Xenophilius Lovegood illustration3

Concept art of Xenophilius Lovegood from Pottermore

Notes and references[]

  1. Assuming he had already graduated from Hogwarts when his daughter was born.
  2. Xenophilius was not forced to go on the run when Snatchers began scouring across Great Britain, thus he could not have been Muggle-born.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 38 (The Second War Begins)
  4. "World Exclusive Interview with J K Rowling," South West News Service, 8 July 2000 - "Hogwarts just serves Britain and Ireland."
  5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 15 (The Goblin's Revenge)
  6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 8 (The Wedding) - "Slightly cross-eyed, with shoulder-length white hair the texture of candyfloss"
  7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 21 (The Tale of the Three Brothers) - "Xenophilius's paper-white face appeared over the top of the sideboard."
  8. 8.0 8.1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
  9. In Harry Potter: The Artifact Vault, an officially licenced book, Xenophillius, in the chapter about Ravenclaw's diadem, is described as being a Ravenclaw like his daughter. Details in the book are considered canon unless contradicted by higher sources.
  10. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "HOGWARTS TRIVIA" Achievement
  11. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "HOGWARTS TRIVIA" Achievement
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 10 (Luna Lovegood)
  13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 13 (Detention with Dolores)
  14. 14.0 14.1 Mentioned on the Half-Blood Prince script released on the Warner Bros. Awards website
  15. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, "THE QUIBBLER: FIGHT FOR THE FRONT PAGE" Achievement
  16. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 6 (The Portkey)
  17. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 25 (The Beetle at Bay)
  18. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 15 (The Unbreakable Vow)
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 8 (The Wedding)
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 20 (Xenophilius Lovegood)
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 21 (The Tale of the Three Brothers)
  22. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
  23. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "HOGWARTS TRIVIA" Achievement
Order of the Phoenix
Fawkes WB F2 FawkesIllustration V2 Illust
Founder:
Albus Dumbledore
Leaders:
Albus Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Kingsley Shacklebolt
Original Order of of the Phoenix:
Aberforth Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Alice Longbottom | Arabella Figg | Benjy Fenwick | Caradoc Dearborn | Dedalus Diggle | Dorcas Meadowes | Edgar Bones | Elphias Doge | Emmeline Vance | Fabian Prewett | Frank Longbottom | Gideon Prewett | James Potter | Lily Potter | Marlene McKinnon | Mundungus Fletcher | Peter Pettigrew (defected) | Remus Lupin | Rubeus Hagrid | Severus Snape | Sirius Black | Sturgis Podmore
Reconstituted Order of the Phoenix:
Aberforth Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Arabella Figg | Arthur Weasley | Bill Weasley | Charlie Weasley | Dedalus Diggle | Elphias Doge | Emmeline Vance | Fleur Delacour | Fred Weasley | George Weasley | Harry Potter | Hermione Granger | Hestia Jones | Kingsley Shacklebolt | Minerva McGonagall | Molly Weasley | Mundungus Fletcher | Nymphadora Tonks | Remus Lupin | Ron Weasley | Rubeus Hagrid | Severus Snape | Sirius Black | Sturgis Podmore
Order of the Phoenix allies:
Andromeda Tonks | Augusta Longbottom | Buckbeak | Dobby | Fawkes | Filius Flitwick | Firenze | Garrick Ollivander | Ginny Weasley | Grawp | Helena Ravenclaw | Horace Slughorn | Karkus | Karkus's wife | Kreacher | Lee Jordan | Luna Lovegood | McKinnon family | Mr Westenberg | Mrs Westenberg | Muriel | Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington | Neville Longbottom | Oliver Wood | Olympe Maxime | Rita Skeeter | Patrick Delaney-Podmore | Peeves | Percy Weasley | Pomona Sprout | Poppy Pomfrey | Sybill Trelawney | Ted Tonks | The Fallen Fifty | Westenberg family | Winky | Xenophilius Lovegood
Other affiliations:
Dumbledore's Army | Forbidden Forest Centaur colony | Headless Hunt | Hogwarts Hippogriff herd | Hogwarts house-elves | Hogwarts Ghosts | Hogwarts Staff |
Hogwarts students | Hogwarts Thestral herd | British Ministry of Magic | Giant colony (Karkus's control)
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