I found this quote on hp-lexicon and it got me thinking...

Surely some of the teachers must be married - maybe to each other - or have kids. After all, most of the staff have been there many years and stay there over Christmas holidays. BUT, you never hear of any spare spouses lying around or kids playing in the corridors. Maybe they have a special room - Staff spouses and sprogs'?

Anyway I got searching...

I found some good clues on JK's own site. She'd made available some of her original notes which gave some enticing clues about the female members of staff. I decided to concentrate on them because they're more easily identifable as married or single. (For anyone who doesn't know 'Madam' or 'Madame' is a French word used only for married ladies, unmarried ones are 'Madamoiselle'.)

So we have:
Madam Hooch (flying and Quidditch)
Madam Pomfrey (nurse)
Madam Pince (librarian)
Professor McGonagall (interestingly, 'Madam' in JK's notes) (transfiguration)
Professor Trelawney (divination)
Professor Grubbly-Plank (care of magical teachers temp)
Prof Sprout (herbology)
Prof Sinistra (astronomy)
Prof Vector (arithmancy)

(I'm not couting Umbridge - as if anyone would marry her!)

I wondered if we could match them up with any of the male teachers, who are:
Prof Binns (History of Magic) (I'm not ruling him out even though he's a ghost!)
Prof Dumbledore (Headmaster)
Prof Flitwick (Charms)
Hagrid (Care of Magical Creatures)
Severus Snape (Potions)
Quirrell/Lockhart/Lupin/Moody (DADA)
Firenze (Divination)
There also Argus Filch (caretaker)
and an unknown Muggle Studies Professor who I assume is a male as that would make it a 50/50 male to female ratio.


So.....any suggestions??

I have this sense, were i can spot couples. I say McGoganal and Dumbledore. The've got a sertian arau around them. And mabye Pince and Filch. But we have clues to that already in the books.

I think Filch and Pince are maybe a given as well. There's a couple of clues like you say, and I think that's enough in Jo's world to say it's definitely on!

I'm not sure about McGonagall and Dumbledore though. That's been troubling me for a while...

I have theories to explore about McGonagall which I won't do here (but they mainly revolve around her not being in the OotP) so I went back and read the first chapter of Philosopher's Stone.

There's a couple of things in there that make me think 'definitely not' and they are the fact that McGonagall was surprised that Dumbledore recognised her cat self, the fact that she calls him 'Dumbledore' and when he tells her that Lily and James are dead, the only comfort he gives her is a pat on the shoulder! Surely this is not the behaviour of a married couple?!

I'm personally leaning towards McGonagall being a widow but I've got nothing to supprot that whatsoever, it's just a feeling...

I think McGonagall was in love with Dumbledore :lol: honestly i think it's just because she was the deputy lol but hey they make a cute couple... Prince and Filch are def an item or if you count Umbridge... Filch and Umbridge, he LOVED that lady lol

Ha ha, yeah I think Umbridge was Filch's idol!

Did you see ootP yet?

:spoiler:


I loved where he got the 'I love you' box of chocolates when he was waiting outside the room or requirement. I wonder if he thought they were from Umbridge. I bet he was devastated when she got booted out...


I really would love to see McGonagall and Dumbledore together but I just think there's too many things keeping them apart. Surely if they were together, she would be in the Order as well...oh well boo hoo, I don't think it's going to happen...

I think with Dumbledore and McGoganall it was something romantic, like he couldn't be with her because the order and his students came first or there was something in his past keeping him apart, since there must have been something in his past that he sorly regrets, cause in HBP he was saying it was all his fault when he drank that potion. They say paople don't touch people they like, so that explains the pat on the back.

Um but McGonagall is in the OotP :mellow:

Well anyway I agree that they aren't a couple. Heck I doubt that DD has ever been married. I don't know why but I just don't think . . . unless they were killed or something a long time ago.

Anyway Umbridge totally had a thing for Fudge. ;)

And Pince and Filch were made rather obvious in HBP so yeah . . . those two are kinda a given now

Where does it say that McG was in the Order Shonk? I've seriously looked everywhere and I can't find where it says! She wasn't included in the old photo that Moody gave Harry and she never appeared at Grimmauld Place did she? That's what got me all confused - I was kind of expecting her to be there at some point... :unsure:

She never was a Grimmauld Place? Huh. That's weird. I thought for sure I remember Ron or Hermione saying that she was there. But maybe not. I'll go back and read it again.

Well I couldn't find where it said, but I'd be glad to be put right. it's been bothering me because I'm sure she MUST have been in the Order. Maybe she kept out of it thinking that if anything happened to the Order and Dumbledore, then she'd still be able to go back to Hogwarts and look after the kids.... just an idea...but now we're never going to know ::boohoo::

i thought McG was in the order. I swear she was. Well now I'll have to go back and look.

Well I think it would be funny to see Umbridge and Filch get together. Filch seemed to like Umbridge an awful lot in the fifth book. Or Umbridge getting together with a 'filthy half-breed' like Hagrid or Firenze. Now that would be funny! :hysterical:

That would be funny!

I always had the impression that McGonagall was a widow, I'm not sure why, but I think that she did have very strong romantic feelings for Dumbledore. We know now that Snape wasn't married to anyone for sure and that the muggle studies professor was a girl. I think the rest are pretty much up in the air.

I don't thing the Madame or Professor thing is an indication of marital status. I think Professor is the title of a highly educated teacher. Just like you call a college Professor "Professor" or "Doctor" unless they tell you otherwise.
I know McG was in the order. After Dumbledore dies and she questioning Harry about where they'd been he said he couldn't even share it with the order. And one point Ron and Hermione say that McG dropped by Grimauld place but didn't stay.
Dang Ankaa you burst my bubble about Dumbledore and Professor McG. I thought they were together, but I have to agree that all that stuff you pointed out about the first book makes it seem not likely. I do think she loved Dumbledore though. After he dies and she screams... who would believe anyone could move McG to that kind of outburst.
But I don't think Dumbledore was ever married. I think after what happened to his sister he didn't trust himself to love anymore, just like he didn't trust himself with power. He said love is the greatest power and he was unworthy of power. And then came Harry who, I will agree with Hermione, Dumbledore loved like the son he never let himself have. But did he trust Harry? I don't know, if you don't trust yourself, can you truly trust anyone else? That is why I think Dumbledore kept so many secrets? He didn't trust himself so he didn't trust other. And everyone will say that he trusted Snape when no one else did, but Snape was in the dark about a lot of things too. Dumbledore never trusted anyone completely. So did he ever love? Did he ever know the true depths of the greatest power. Whoa, I wondered way off topic. Sorry didn't mean to ramble. Just a little food for thought.
And as an after thought, at the end of the last book when Harry is telling James to give his love to Neville, I pictured Neville married to Luna who would be teaching Care of Magical Creatures. So in my mind the staff was married to each other.

Well now I guess we know from this past weekend revelations that McGonagall and Dumbledore weren't together. I think its cool but I don't think she should have said anything really, not with the way that some people are in the world, we're open minded but many people aren't.

I wonder what ever happened with Hagrid and Madame what's-her-face. Did that really go anywhere? Was J.K. Rowling actually planning for something to happen with them or was that just kind of some weird little thing?

I wonder what ever happened with Hagrid and Madame what's-her-face. Did that really go anywhere? Was J.K. Rowling actually planning for something to happen with them or was that just kind of some weird little thing?