Character:Bathilda Bagshot
From UnknowableWiki
Bathilda Bagshot was the noted author of A History of Magic (PS5). She lived in Godric's Hollow, where she befriended several of the more prominent wizards who lived in the town, including the Dumbledores and the Potters. She was killed by Voldemort during the Second War.
By the time of her death, Bathilda was a very old woman, stooped and shuffling, with thinning white hair. She lived alone, left to her own devices and fairly mad (DH17).
Bathilda was the only resident of Godric's Hollow who had any interaction with the Dumbledores; though the family rebuffed all attempts at friendship, Bathilda came to know the family after writing a letter to a young Albus Dumbledore showing interest in a paper he had published in Transfiguration Today. As Gellert Grindelwald's great-aunt, she welcomed her nephew to Godric's Hollow when he showed an interest in visiting, and encouraged his friendship with Albus Dumbledore. Grindelwald stayed with Bathilda for about two months, leaving abruptly after his fight with the Dumbledore brothers and Ariana Dumbledore's death. Bathilda told a great deal about the Dumbledores to Muriel Prewett's mother while Muriel listened at the door (DH11, DH18, DH8).
As one of the few people who had known the Dumbledores, Bathilda was the main source of most of the material in Rita Skeeter's book The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. However, by the point the reporter interviewed her, Bathilda was more or less insane, and so Rita had to resort to a variety of other methods, including Veritaserum and possibly Legilimency to get information for her story (DH8, DH18). Skeeter sent her a copy of the book with a note—in which she referred to Bathilda as Batty—thanking her for the cooperation and mentioning that Bathilda had revealed everything, even though she did not remember doing so (DH18).
Bathilda also befriended the Potters when they moved to Godric's Hollow, and visited often, doting on baby Harry and telling the family stories of Albus Dumbledore. Bathilda may have started going mad by this point—Lily seemed to doubt her facilities a little, but this may have been because she found it hard to believe Bathilda's assertion that Dumbledore and Grindelwald had been friends (DH10).
Some time before Christmas Eve, 1997, Voldemort murdered Bathilda. He then left his snake Nagini, enchanted to look like the elderly woman, waiting as a trap for Harry Potter (DH17).
On Christmas Eve, 1997, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger came to Godric's Hollow in search of Bathilda, believing that Albus Dumbledore might have left Gryffindor's sword with her before his death (DH16). The Nagini-Bathilda greeted them and led them to Bathilda's house. The snake then lured Harry away from Hermione and summoned Voldemort to the house; however, Hermione rescued Harry in the nick of time (DH17). Hermione also recovered Bathilda's copy of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, from which she and Harry learned of Dumbledore's friendship with Grindelwald and which set them on the trail of the Deathly Hallows (DH18, DH19).
Bathilda's body, with traces of Dark magic, was found soon after Harry and Hermione's departure from Godric's Hollow (DH22).
