Temeritus Shanks

Temeritus Shanks
Biographical information
Died	Before 1991 (possibly)
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair colour	Red
Eye colour	Dark
Skin colour	Pale
Affiliation
Loyalty	Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Temeritus: "Ere, blimey, if it isn't Harry Potter! Read all about you I has. Everything. Always in the paper you are."

Harry Potter: "Er, yeah. Only, most of it's not true."

Temeritus: "Not true?! Not true?! Aw, it's in black and white innit? Got to be true."

— Termeritus believed everything he read

Temeritus Shanks was a wizard. He seemed to like reading newspapers, and was interested in knowing the headlines of the day. He believed every word he read in the Daily Prophet, including the stories about Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore published during the 1995–1996 school year. There are portraits of him hung on the walls of Hogwarts Castle.

Biography

1992–1993 school year

In early 1993, Shanks had a portrait at the Grand Staircase, hung immediately below the ground-floor landing.

1993–1994 school year

In September of 1993, Shanks had a portrait on the seventh floor.

1995–1996 school year

By 1995, Shanks had a portrait hung at the Hogwarts Library, guarding a shortcut to the fourth-floor corridor, under the password "No news is good news". Said shortcut was reserved to the staff only. When Harry Potter, who was being highly discredited by the Daily Prophet at the time, asked if he could use this secret passageway, Shanks made an exception for the student was constantly featured on the paper. The portrait agreed to give the student the password in exchange for the headline of the day ("TRAGIC DEMISE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER", concerning Broderick Bode's assassination).

Shanks had another portrait at the Grand Staircase, concealing a secret passage to the Clock Tower Courtyard. Its password was "Audaces fortuna iuvat".

1996–1997 school year

Shanks's portrait was kept at the same place at the Library, but hiding a different shortcut, leading to the Grand Staircase. The new password was "Happy Headlines". The same shortcut could also lead to the second-floor corridor. When Shanks heard Harry Potter talking to Hermione Granger about Draco Malfoy's mysterious endeavours at the seventh floor, he gladly told him the new password in order to help him on what he deemed a "big scoop".

Personality and traits

Temeritus Shanks was quite a naive and gullible wizard, believing everything he read on the papers. Despite this he was brave, speaking Lord Voldemort's name out loud when he was at large. He would gladly help students in matters he deemed to be sensational, to the point of giving his password to them despite the passageway being reserved only to the staff.

Behind the scenes

• Shanks may have passed away sometime prior to 1991 as many portraits hung at Hogwarts Castle depict deceased individuals.
• Temeritus was voiced by Jonathan Kydd in both the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
• Shanks's portrait was based on a real-world portrait of a young King James I of England.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (First appearance) (Appears in portrait(s))
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) (Appears in portrait(s))
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (PS1 version only) (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 (film) (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 Temeritus Shanks)