- Ron Weasley: "I'd rather go alone than with — with Eloise Midgen, say."
- Hermione Granger: "Her acne's loads better lately — and she's really nice!"
- Ron Weasley: "Her nose is off-centre."
- — Discussion of Eloise's looks and personality[src]
Eloise Midgen (also spelled "Midgeon") was a witch and Gryffindor[5] student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the 1990s. She was known for having a really terrible case of acne.[3]
Biography[]
Hogwarts years[]
In 1994, because she had bad acne, Eloise tried using a curse to get rid of her pimples, but ended up needing to have her nose reattached by Madam Poppy Pomfrey.[3] The incident left her nose permanently off-centre, but her acne did start to clear, at least for a while.[6]
Hermione Granger assured Ron Weasley that Eloise was a very nice person when he baulked at the idea of taking her to the Yule Ball. Ron only wanted a good-looking girl, regardless of whether she was nice and refused to consider going with her.[6] He ended up going with Padma Patil, identical twin sister to Parvati Patil, another Gryffindor girl in Harry's year.[7]
The following year, Hermione warned that anyone who snitched after signing up for Dumbledore's Army would be struck with a jinx that would make Eloise's acne seem like "a couple of cute freckles".[8]
Eloise was withdrawn from Hogwarts by her father, in early September 1996, as the public's fear about the threat posed by Lord Voldemort's return mounted.[4]
Physical description[]
Eloise Midgen was known for having a really terrible case of acne. In 1994, as a result of trying to use a curse to get rid of her pimples, she ended up needing to have her nose reattached, leaving her nose permanently off-centre, but her acne did start to clear, at least for a while.[3]
Personality and traits[]
Eloise was very uncomfortable and self-conscious about her acne problems, which was only made worse because students kept joking about it.[3] She was very kind and pleasant, according to Hermione Granger,[6] which can be considered a fair judgement of her personality.
Etymology[]
The name "Eloise" comes from the Old French name Héloïse, which is probably from the Germanic name Helewidis, composed of the elements heil "hale, healthy" and wid "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word ‘ηλιος (helios) "sun" or the name Louise, though there is not likely an etymological connection. This name was borne in the 12th century by Saint Eloise, the wife of the French theologian Peter Abelard. She became a nun after her husband was castrated by her uncle.
Behind the scenes[]
- Eloise Midgen appeared briefly in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, played by Samantha Clinch. In the scene, Professor McGonagall teaches the Gryffindors to dance for the Yule Ball. She tells them, "Inside every girl, a secret swan slumbers, longing to burst forth and take flight." At this, Ron Weasley looks across the room, sees Eloise shifting about uncomfortably, and quips to Seamus Finnigan, "Something's about to burst out of Eloise Midgen, but I don't think it's a swan."
- Eloise's House is never revealed in the books. Although presented as a Gryffindor in the Goblet of Fire film, she is widely believed by fans to have been in Hufflepuff, due to the familiarity with which Hannah Abbott referred to her in the Goblet of Fire novel.[3] Pomona Sprout, the Head of Hufflepuff, called Eloise a "silly girl" for trying to curse away her acne, recalling a comment made by Sprout about the inability of one confirmed Hufflepuff, Nymphadora Tonks, to behave herself.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
- Pottermore (Mentioned only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Eloise is already at Hogwarts in the 1993–1994 school year, and to be there she would've had to be born at least eleven years prior.
- ↑ "World Exclusive Interview with J K Rowling," South West News Service, 8 July 2000 - "Hogwarts just serves Britain and Ireland."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 13 (Mad-Eye Moody)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 11 (Hermione's Helping Hand)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 22 (The Unexpected Task)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23 (The Yule Ball)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 17 (Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four)