Irma Pince

Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in:Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery &Harry Potter: Magic Awakened. As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

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Madam Irma Pince (fl.1971–2010s) was awitch andlibrarian at thelibrary ofHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was highly possessive and protective of the school's books and was deemed highly unpleasant by most of the student body.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Irma Pince was born awitch sometime in or prior to1974. She possibly attendedHogwarts in her youth.

Career at Hogwarts[]

Earlier career[]

At some point in or before1974, Pince took up the position of Librarian atHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was greatly disliked by the students for being very strict and unhelpful in finding books for them.^[4] An example of her strictness was the fact that she would not allow food in the library, for fear that the books would be damaged^[10] and also disallowed talking, laughing, whispering, sneezing, scurrying, or any other behaviour that might seem at all suspicious in any way.

She was also known to place oddjinxes andhexes on library books for their protection; for instance, one copy ofTheories of Transubstantial Transfiguration, on top of the usual library book spells, was jinxed to hit the reader around the head, should he ever doodle on it.^[11] Pince cleaned the dust on the shelves of the library manually, with a feather duster she brandished at students whenever they looked suspicious.^[4]

At some point, theHeadmaster,Albus Dumbledore, visited the library with the goal of publishingQuidditch Through the Ages forMuggles to raise money. However, Madam Pince was extremely reluctant to let the book leave the confines of the library, as well as the wizarding world, and Dumbledore had to pry each of her fingers from the spine to take it.^[11] Once he had taken the book, she wrote a warning, threatening the readers that the consequences of mistreating the book would be as horrible as it was in her power to make them.^[12]

1985–1986 school year[]

During theTeacher Appreciation Celebration, Madam Pince showed little patience while being interviewed by theSlytherin studentIsmelda Murk.^[13]

1986–1987 school year[]

During this school year,Rowan Khanna, whom she considered a less reprehensible student, distracted Pince in the library past closing hours by claiming they had left theirSelf-Inking Quill near some books, so they and their friends could find and enter theVault of Fear.^[14]

Also during this school year,Jacob's sibling andPenny Haywood asked Madam Pince to show them where books onCirce were located in the library, to which she informed them all the books on Circe had been checked out. She offered to show them other books on famous witches, which they politely declined, and told them one day, they would realise that knowledge was more important thansweets (referring to theirChocolate Frog Card hunt).^[15]

1988–1989 school year[]

During this school year, Madam Pince was entrusted byAlbus Dumbledore to organise theValentine's Day Ball. She initially intended the ball to be as simple as possible due to her loneliness, which made the students worried. She was talking toArgus Filch about arrangements for the ball whenJacob's sibling passed by.^[6]

Knowing that Pince and Filch might have romantic interests in one another, Jacob's sibling told Filch she loved gorgeous settings such as flowers, music and refreshments, and Filch in turn convinced Pince to plan the ball in this way. Pince and Filch later attended and enjoyed the ball together.^[6]

During this school year, whilstMr Leucrotta was brought into the library byBarnaby Lee, theLeucrotta parroted the studentKelly's acerbic insults about Pince aloud, which Pince overheard. She gave Jacob's siblingdetention for having insulted her, not believing their claims of acreature in the library, which was not allowed. Later, Pince came to visit thebeast withProfessor Kettleburn, Barnaby and Jacob's sibling in theCare of Magical Creatures paddock, where Jacob's sibling proved to her that they did not insult Pince, but the Leucrotta did. She apologised after seeing the beast repeat words and welcomed them back into the library, cancelling their detention.^[16]

Madam Pince also caughtRowan Khanna in the library after closing hours that year, after they claimed they left theirSelf-Inking Quill in the library, so they and Jacob's sibling could enter theRestricted Section while Pince was distracted.^[17]

1989–1990 school year[]

At the start of the school year,Fred andGeorge Weasley, bothfirst-yearGryffindor students, introduced themselves to Madam Pince by re-organising the library shelves, much to her anger.^[18]

Later, Jacob's sibling asked Madam Pince in the Library if their brotherJacob had just entered. She told them yes, and that she did not dislike Jacob, as he was a model patron in the library, always treating books and old texts with respect. She said she was shocked to see him enter, as he caused quite a ruckus rummaging through the shelves haphazardly, loudly asking her to help him find certain books. Jacob's sibling then helped Pince clean up books that Jacob had scattered on the floor, and Pince told them she expected Jacob to be with Professor Dumbledore.^[19]

During this school year,Jacob's sibling spied onProfessor Binns being spoken to by Madam Pince in theHistory of Magic classroom under theirInvisibility Cloak. Pince had to wake Binns up from his sleep at his desk to talk to him.^[20]

During this year, she attended thememorial ceremony for Rowan Khanna held in theGreat Hall, in honour of the deceased student.^[21]

During this year, she was having a conversation with both Filch and Snape in thePotions Classroom, informing them of how several library books on advancedpotions had been unaccounted for, when they were interrupted with Jacob's sibling, who introduced them toAlanza Alves, aBrazilianexchange student. When Alves mentioned how her potions tended to explode, Pince remarked that said mistakes would be avoided if she paid closer attention to her studies. Alanza pondered if all the Hogwarts faculty were as grouchy as the three of them, and Pince was perturbed with her brazenness.^[22]

During this year, she overheard Jacob's sibling talking withBen Copper andMerula Snyde in the library, and reminded them to be quiet in the library. Jacob's sibling distracted and flattered her by praising her work as the school librarian, and Pince was befuddled by a student actually appreciating her work, and she felt nobody did. After talking over Pince's love of rules and discipline, they distracted by saying they had been students breaking rules in the library, which she immediately went to investigate, so they could sneak into the Restricted Section.^[23]

Later during this school year, Jacob's sibling distracted Pince in the library withBlue Sparks, soPenny Haywood could enter theRestricted Section without her noticing.^[24]

1990–1991 school year[]

At the start of this school year, Jacob's sibling asked Madam Pince for information on books aboutwandless magic in the library. She bluntly refused, as she informed that such magic was not routinely taught at Hogwarts, and therefore books on it where in theRestricted Section. After overhearing them andCorey Hayden discussing wandless magic, she angrily confronted the pair and gave them both detention in thekitchens as punishment.^[25]

Later in the school year, Pince tasked Jacob's sibling with finding library books that were long overdue. She considered students with overdue books to be "delinquents". They managed to track down all the books for her.^[26]

1991–1992 school year[]

Madam Pince was still librarian by the time Harry Potter had arrived at the school. As Harry, along with his friendsRonald Weasley andHermione Granger, searched the library for a book onNicolas Flamel, Pince was deemed an obstacle, as she could warn Snape of their activities. Once, in December 1991, she saw Harry edging towards theRestricted Section of theLibrary and asked him what he was looking for. When he answered "nothing" for fear of her suspicion, she sent him out.^[4]

1992–1993 school year[]

On the next school year, Madam Pince was among the crowd who, on31 October1992, read theHeir of Slytherin's message on the second-floor corridor of theCastle.^[27]

A while later, Madam Pince overlooked the students atStudy Hall and was seen talking to a female student.^[28] It is unknown if this was a regular event that she chaperoned, or if it was a one-time event.

Later, Hermione Granger arrived at the library with a note written by the newDefence Against the Dark Artsteacher allowing her to attainMoste Potente Potions from theRestricted Section. She gave it to Madam Pince, albeit reluctantly, wanting to keep Lockhart's autograph, and Pince did a very long observation of the note, checking for forgery. She then went into the Restricted Section and handed over the book, despite still being very suspicious.^[29]

Pince attended theGryffindor vsSlytherin match. She was shocked to see thatDraco Malfoy was hurt.^[30]

Madam Pince attended the End-of-Term Feast at the end of the school year, in which she sat by thePotions Master,Severus Snape. She celebrated the downfall ofSalazar Slytherin's Basilisk and the departure of the less-than-likedGilderoy Lockhart.^[9]

1995–1996 school year[]

During the next school year, Madam Pince kept her usual routine of prowling around the library, breathing down the necks of those touching the books.^[31] Early in 1995,Dolores Umbridge was madeHigh Inquisitor of Hogwarts.^[32]

During the Easter holidays, she was seen stamping out a pile of books for a frantic-lookingHannah Abbott, who was presumably revising for herO.W.L.s. That day, she found Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter with chocolate in the library and bewitched their belongings to chase them out, also whacking them over the head for good measure.^[10]

1996–1997 school year[]

Madam Pince remained at the library for the next school year, prowling around the bookshelves and protecting her tomes.^[33]

At eight o'clock in the evening one day, Pince closed the library and told all of the students in there to return the books back to their shelves and to leave. When she told Harry and Hermione to leave, she noticed theHalf-Blood Prince'shighly graffitied copy ofAdvanced Potion-Making. Enraged, she screamed about how the book was "despoiled" and "befouled", and looked as if she may have a seizure.^[33]

After the death ofAlbus Dumbledore, Madam Pince was seen prior tothe funeral in theEntrance Hall, standing byArgus Filch and wearing a thick black veil that fell to her knees. It is likely she attended thefuneral, as she was one of Dumbledore's colleagues.^[34]

1997–1998 school year[]

The following year, Severus Snape was appointedHeadmaster along with fellow Death EatersAmycus andAlecto Carrow as professors ofDark Arts andMuggle Studies at Hogwarts. The Carrows imposed a reign of terror in Hogwarts as they enforced cruel punishments on students. Madam Pince, like the other members of staff, presumably protected the students from the Carrows, if she worked at the school during this time.

On2 May1998, when Hogwarts wasattacked by Voldemort's army, including hisDeath Eaters,^[35] Pince presumably aided the rest of faculty in defending the school, given that she was there. She survived theSecond Wizarding War and afterwards continued to work at Hogwarts.^[36]

Later life[]

Madam Pince was still working at Hogwarts during the2010s. Once, she sawRobyn Thistlethwaite,Kevin Farrell andtheir friend with aChocolate Frog in the library, and gave them detention.^[37]

During the2019–2020 school year, a member from the then recently establishedStatute of Secrecy Task Force pursuing a career as aProfessor eventually joined their faculty. When said staff member sought to improve their ability to fend offDark Forces, Madam Pince would repeatably grant them access to theRestricted Section of the library so they could peruse its shelves for books on the subject.^[36]

She was later handed amanuscript by the famousCatullus Spangle by the newcomer, which presumably found its allotted place in the library thereafter, and she would sometimes recommend them certain reading material, including material written by former Hogwarts professors that helped them improve their connection to Hogwarts and adusty tome that provided an alternate incantation for one of the investigator's spells, helping them do more damage with it in combat.^[38]

Physical description[]

One of Madam Pince's most striking physical attributes was looking like an underfed vulture.^[29] Her skin was parchment-like, her cheeks were sunken,^[33] her face was shrivelled^[10] and she had an unflattering hooked-nose.^[33] She was also very thin and irritable-looking.^[29]

Personality and traits[]

Madam Pince was a short-tempered woman who was overly protective of theLibrary's books^[29] and, as such, quite unpopular among students. She was mainly seen by students as an obstacle to research,^[4] but she was professional nonetheless, helping students to check out books and by finding information for them.^[10] Her protective nature of books did not just apply to the library's, as she looked deranged when she saw Harry's own textbook covered with self-written notes.^[33] Likewise, she would not permit students eating in the library, and chased out anyone who violated this rule.^[10]

While she did not appear to be overtly fond of the students, she did not, unlikeArgus Filch, appear to outright dislike them either, being strict but by no means demeaning or unpleasant, and only got genuinely angry when they failed to respect the sanctity of the school library by eating there, or by mistreating the books.

While stern bordering on the extreme, she was fully capable of appreciating students whodid respect the rules, behaved prudently and showed an interest in learning and reading.

When she overheardJacob's sibling confide in his friends while visiting the library that the attack onJames andLily Potter was one of the reasons that Boggarts turned into Lord Voldemort, Madam Pince walked over and explained that she remembered them fondly, and told how they often used to sit on a specific spot in the library and study together, before awarding 20 points for helping to keep the memory of the Potters alive by talking about them. She later informed said student that she had also quite likedJacob himself when he was a student, as he had always been well-behaved in the library and treated the books with respect.^[19]

Also, despite her forceful insistence for the library to be silent, she was a huge fan of theFrog Choir.^[39]

Magical abilities and skills[]

• Dark Arts: Madam Pince was skilled withjinxing andhexing books with nasty spells to make sure they were not mistreated, at least not without punishment for doing so.^[11]
• Defence Against the Dark Arts: Madam Pince was able tolift theCurse of the Bogies with ease, showing her to have been skilled with the casting ofcounter-curses.^[40]
• Nonverbal magic: Madam Pince was also adept in casting intricate nonverbal magic with her wand. One example was when she saw Harry and Ginny with chocolate in the library, she enchanted their possessions to chase them out without any mention of a spoken incantation.^[10]
• Charms: Madam Pince could also produce a non-corporealPatronus,^[7] a mark of superiormagical ability, given the immense difficulty of casting the charm. She also enchantedHarry's belongings to chase him andGinny out of the library.^[10]
• Study of Ancient Runes: Madam Pince was well versed with the study ofrunes, as she could use aRune Dictionary to translate ancient runic symbols.^[7][41]
• Librarian skills: As a librarian, Madam Pince was able to easily locate various pieces of information and books for students, as Harry was sure that she would be able to find information aboutNicolas Flamel in a second, but thought it might be too suspicious to ask her about it.^[4]
• Loquaciousness: Pince was very loquacious and voluble in her speech.^[42] She was also fluent inLatin.^[42]
• Legilimency (possibly): Pince was possibly a Legilimens, or at least knew aspell to grant her the skill to read one’s mind, asBarnaby Lee once toldJacob's sibling that she shushed him for thinking too loudly, while Jacob’s sibling was assistingTalbott Winger in locatinghis missing necklace.^[43]

Possessions[]

• Wand: Madam Pince'swand was of an unknown length,wood andcore material.^[8]
• Desk: Madam Pince owned a desk reserved for herself in theHogwarts Library, where she did her administrative work.
• Rune Dictionary: Madam Pince owned a highly practical and usefulrune dictionary, which she used to help her read and understand complex ancient runes.^[41]

Relationships[]

Argus Filch[]

It was commonly believed by Hogwarts students — including Ginny Weasley — that Madam Pince had a romantic attraction or even relationship with thecaretaker ofHogwarts Castle,Argus Filch, probably due to her ill-tempered and severe personality.^[33] Indeed, during the1988–1989 school year, Madam Pince and Mr Filch expressed feelings for each other and attended theValentine's Day Ball together with the help ofJacob's sibling and their friends.^[6]

BeforeProfessor Dumbledore'sfuneral by theGreat Lake, Pince was seen in a long veil standing by Filch. This did not go unnoticed byHarry Potter.^[34]

Author's notes[]

"I would like to apologise for you and any other librarians present here today and my get-out clause is always if they'd had a pleasant, helpful librarian, half my plots would be gone. 'Cause the answer invariably is in a book, but Hermione has to go and find it. If they'd had a good librarian, that would have been that problem solved. So ... sorry."

"She sprang directly from my childhood fear of scary librarians. The kind who hate kids."^[44]

Etymology[]

• Irma could be a play onfirma, which can mean both solid and frail. This makes her name mean something along the lines of "a frail woman with a pinched nose", or one who has a "firm pinch". Irma could also mean "the strong" or "she who is protected by Irm" (Irm is a Germanic god). Irma is from German irmen for "whole" or "complete". "Firma" also means "signature" in Spanish, which may or may not be a play of words about signed library cards.
• The last namePince seems to be in reference to the French word, which means "to pinch". The style of folding eyeglass,pince-nez, literally means "to pinch the nose".

Behind the scenes[]

• Pince is portrayed byBritish actressSally Mortemore in thefilm adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Mortemore would return over a decade later to provide snippets of dialogue for the character inHogwarts Mystery.
• In thefilm, she appears briefly; sitting next toSeverus Snape during theLeaving Feast and can be seen in the background of several other scenes.
• Due to the facts that Pince has a hooked nose, dark hair, and a somewhat snappy personality likeSnape, and her name is an anagram for "I am Prince", a fan theory suggests she is actuallyEileen Prince, Snape's mother. However, this is highly unlikely.
• In thevideo game adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone andHarry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Madam Pince is seen awarding house points. She never does so in thebooks.
• In thevideo game adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Madam Pince appears to have red hair, rather than black.
• Despite the fact she appears to be old in the books and videogames, Sally Mortemore was 41 at the time of filming, and no notable effort was made to make her character appear older.
• The Game Boy Color versions of the video games depict Pince as a helpful old woman with very thick glasses.
• Madam Pince can produce a non-corporealPatronus inLEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, but oddly enough she is unable to cast it in the sequelLEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, despite her character being the same in both games. This was most likely a mistake made by the developers in the latter.

Appearances[]

The Harry Potter Wiki has 70 images related toIrma Pince.

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)(GBC and GBA versions only)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)(GBC and PS2 versions only)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)(Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)(Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Quidditch Through the Ages
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Pottermore
• HarryPotter.com(Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite(Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

Notes and references[]

Hogwartsfaculty
Founders	Godric Gryffindor ·Helga Hufflepuff ·Rowena Ravenclaw ·Salazar Slytherin
Headteachers	Giffard Abbott ·Walter Aragon ·Phineas Nigellus Black ·Elizabeth Burke ·Antonia Creaseworthy ·Dilys Derwent ·Armando Dippet ·Albus Dumbledore ·Mordicus Egg ·Everard ·First Headmaster ·Niamh Fitzgerald ·Dexter Fortescue ·Basil Fronsac ·Brian Gagwilde ·Limebert ·Minerva McGonagall ·Eupraxia Mole ·Edessa Sakndenberg ·Brutus Scrimgeour ·Phyllida Spore ·Severus Snape ·Amrose Swott ·Quentin Trimble ·Dolores Umbridge ·Fytherley Undercliffe ·Vindictus Viridian ·Vulpus ·Heliotrope Wilkins ·Gimlet-eyed Headmistress ·Headmaster (1568) ·Headteacher (1792) ·Unidentified Headteachers
Deputy Heads	Alecto Carrow ·Amycus Carrow ·Minerva McGonagall ·Matilda Weasley
Heads of House	Muldoon Cragg ·Filius Flitwick ·Godric Gryffindor ·Gryffindor lady ·Gryffindor man (II) ·Gryffindor man (III) ·Gryffindor man (IV) ·Gryffindor Seeker ·Helga Hufflepuff ·Neville Longbottom ·Minerva McGonagall ·Valeria Myriadd ·Uric Oapley ·Podric Piles ·Pink-faced Headmaster ·Prendergast ·Proudfoot ·Rowena Ravenclaw ·Abraham Ronen ·Horace Slughorn ·Salazar Slytherin ·Severus Snape ·Pomona Sprout ·Tobias Stump
Teaching staff	Bartholomew ·Bathsheda Babbling ·San Bakar ·Herbert Beery ·Cuthbert Binns ·Bexelinda Bornswallow ·Kate Brindlemore ·Charity Burbage ·Herodiana Byrne ·Camelia ·Alecto Carrow ·Amycus Carrow ·Bartemius Crouch Junior (disguised asAlastor Moody) ·Clodagh Dromgoole ·Albus Dumbledore ·Archibald Eagleton ·Eleazar Fig ·Firenze ·Filius Flitwick ·Fortinbras ·Mirabel Garlick ·Mirabel Garlick's predecessor ·Jakub Gorski ·Olivia Green ·Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank ·Rubeus Hagrid ·Dinah Hecat ·Rolanda Hooch ·Bai Howin ·Arsenius Jigger ·Igor Karkaroff's Yule Ball partner ·Silvanus Kettleburn ·Chiyo Kogawa ·Leah Lee ·Gilderoy Lockhart ·Neville Longbottom ·Remus Lupin ·Elspeth MacGillony ·Mazoni ·Minerva McGonagall ·Galatea Merrythought ·Isidora Morganach ·Mudiwa Onai ·Prendergast ·Quirinus Quirrell ·Percival Rackham ·Patricia Rakepick ·Abraham Ronen ·Charles Rookwood ·Concordia Rowle ·Luna Scamander ·Satyavati Shah ·Aesop Sharp ·Arif Sikander ·Aurora Sinistra ·Horace Slughorn ·Severus Snape ·Pomona Sprout ·Swoopstikes ·Sybill Trelawney ·Trocar ·Dolores Umbridge ·Septima Vector ·Matilda Weasley ·Matilda Weasley's predecessor ·Unidentified professor ·Charms professor (medieval) ·Potions professor (16th century) ·Holidaying professor (before 1890s) ·Unidentified Potions teacher ·DADA professor (1984–1985) ·DADA professor (1985–1986) ·DADA professor (1986–1987) ·DADA professor (1987–1988) ·DADA professor (1989–1990) ·DADA professor (1990–1991) ·Muggle Studies professor (1990s) ·Music professor ·DADA professor (1998–?) ·Potions professor (21st century) ·Charms professor (?th century) ·Herbology professor (?th century)
Hogwarts house-elves	Bilm ·Boil-ridden house-elf ·Cooky ·Cosa ·Deek ·Dobby ·Feenky ·Filk ·Gimkey ·Gosby ·Krafty ·Kreacher ·Nonsuch ·Pitts ·Retch ·Ringkull ·Rooky ·Vekey ·Wigby ·Winkle ·Winky ·Wooby ·Wugby ·Unidentified house-elf (I) ·Unidentified house-elf (II)
Support staff	Phineas Nigellus Black's secretaries ·Noreen Blainey ·Rancorous Carpe ·Argus Filch ·Harry Fricker ·Rubeus Hagrid ·Rolanda Hooch ·Hankerton Humble ·Gladwin Moon ·Ogg ·Irma Pince ·Poppy Pomfrey ·Apollyon Pringle ·Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus ·Agnes Scribner ·Wainscott ·Carriage driver (1890s) ·Gamekeeper (1890s) ·Unidentified Healers ·Librarian (?th century) ·Librarian (21st century)