George von Rheticus

George von Rheticus
Biographical information
Died	Pre 1991
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair colour	Brown
Eye colour	Brown
Skin colour	Light
Affiliation
Occupation	Astronomer
Loyalty	Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

George von Rheticus was a wizard astronomer. He had portraits of himself hung at Hogwarts Castle.

Biography

1991–1992 school year

By 1 September 1991, Rheticus's portrait still hung in the Grand Staircase.

1995–1996 school year

By the start of the 1995–1996 school year, his portrait hid a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the seventh-floor corridor. His password was "Scurrilous Scoundrel." When Hannah Abbott asked for a shortcut to somewhere near the Room of Requirement so she was not caught by Dolores Umbridge, Harry Potter told her about this portrait. There was another portrait of him hung at the Viaduct Entrance, hiding a shortcut to the Grand Staircase. The latter's password was "Iunctis viribus." He had yet one more portrait next to the Second-floor girls' lavatory, near the Tapestry Corridor. Not hiding any shortcut, this portrait knew about the current events at Hogwarts School and liked to help students keeping out of trouble, if they proved to him they weren't "scoundrels," that is.

1996–1997 school year

The following school year, 1996-1997, von Rheticus's portrait had been moved to the Entrance Hall, this time hiding a way to the Portrait Room.

Personality and traits

As a portrait, he was very helpful and did not mind helping Hogwarts students when they needed it. He once helped Harry Potter finding a broken suit of armour in order to avoid punishment from Severus Snape. He also gave his password to Harry Potter in order to help fellow Dumbledore's Army member, Hannah Abbott. However, he refused helping people whom he suspected were, as he put it, scoundrels. In his view, no scoundrel was good at astronomy, so when he thought someone was one, he asked them to fill in a star chart in order to know if they were trustworthy.

Etymology

The name "George" comes from the Greek name Γεωργιος (Georgios) which was derived from the Greek word γεωργος (georgos) meaning "farmer, earthworker", itself derived from the elements γη (ge) "earth" and εργον (ergon) "work". Saint George was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Palestine who was martyred during the persecutions of emperor Diocletian. Later legends describe his defeat of a dragon, with which he was often depicted in medieval art.

Behind the scenes

• Georg Joachim von Rheticus (1514-1574) was an Austrian mathematician and astronomer and the sole pupil of Copernicus, known for his assistance in getting Copernicus' On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres published. His original surname was von Lauchen, but because his father was executed and his family exiled, they were stripped of their name. He chose Rheticus, from the Roman province of Rhaetia that included Austria, as his new surname.
• Von Rheticus may have passed away sometime prior to 1993, as many portraits hung at Hogwarts Castle depict deceased individuals.
• George von Rheticus's portrait bears a resemblance to a real-world portrait of King James I of England, by John de Critz the Elder.
• In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the portrait has a very strong German accent. In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, his name suggests he is a German wizard ("von" being used as a part of a German family name).
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, there is an unidentified Ravenclaw prefect that leads a group of first years to Ravenclaw Tower. But, he is shown descending into the dungeons. It is possible that he is going towards von Rheticus's portrait, to go to the seventh floor.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (First appearance) (Appears in portrait(s))
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Appears in portrait(s))
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) (Appears in portrait(s))
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Appears in portrait(s)) (First identified as George von Rheticus)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned in History of Magic classes)