Griphook
From UnknowableWiki
| Creature profile | |
|---|---|
| Griphook | |
| Also known as | Grip'ook |
| Species | goblin |
| Allegiance | former Gringotts employee |
| Appearance | short; sallow skin; black eyes; long, thin fingers and feet; domed head; pointed beard |
| First appearance in canon | Diagon Alley (PS) |
Griphook is a former goblin employee of Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
Contents |
Characteristics
Griphook is a typical goblin, with sallow skin, black eyes, long and thin fingers and feet, a domed head, and a pointed beard. He is slightly taller than a house-elf, but not by much (DH24). He does not eat normal human fare, instead choosing to eat raw meat, roots, and fungi (DH25).
Like all goblins, Griphook distrusts wizards in affairs relating to gold and treasure (DH25), and resents them for not sharing the secrets of how to make and use a wand, calling wizards "wand-carriers" (DH24). He is proud, and refuses to serve wizarding masters; for this, he left Gringotts when it fell under Death Eater control during the Second War (DH15). He also feels that goblins are the rightful owners of all goblin-made items, including Muriel Prewett's goblin-made tiara and Gryffindor's sword, and believes that wizards do not respect this view. He is also bloodthirsty and enjoys the ideas of hurting wizards and pain in other, lesser creatures (DH25).
Harry Potter's first Gringotts visit
Griphook showed Harry Potter to his family vault when Harry first visited Gringotts, before his first year at Hogwarts. During the same visit, he also took Hagrid, who was accompanying Harry, to vault 713, from which Hagrid retrieved the Philosopher's Stone. He showed his disdain for wizards and his enjoyment of others' suffering when he described the particularly nasty fate of any who tried to break into vault 713 (PS5).
Resignation from Gringotts and Capture by Death Eaters
During the Second War, Griphook left Gringotts after the bank fell to Death Eaters, refusing to serve any wizards. He met Dirk Cresswell, Gornuk (another goblin), Ted Tonks, and Dean Thomas while in hiding. He related the story of the Hogwarts students (including Ginny Weasley) who attempted to steal Gryffindor's sword from Severus Snape's office to them, and revealed that as his act of revenge upon the Death Eaters, he did not reveal that the sword, which Snape stored in Gringotts after the attempted theft, was in fact a fake (DH15). Soon after, Cresswell, Ted, and Gornuk were killed, and Griphook and Dean were captured by Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback, who took them to Malfoy Manor, along with Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, who had also been captured (DH23).
On Harry's request, Griphook tells the Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor that the sword (Gryffindor's sword) they found with the Trio was not the actual sword, but a fake, saving Hermione from immediate death at Bellatrix Lestrange's hands. When Dobby comes to rescue the prisoners from the Manor, Harry is sure to take Griphook with them (DH23). However, when Dobby caused the chandelier in the Manor to fall, Griphook's legs were badly injured, which Fleur and Bill healed using Skele-Gro when the group arrived at their home at Shell Cottage.
Shell Cottage and the Gringotts Break-in
While Griphook was healing, Harry came to talk to him about breaking into Gringotts, as he had guessed that Voldemort had put one of his Horcruxes in the Lestrange family vault, and he wanted to obtain it. The goblin took some persuading, but finally agreed to help the Trio break into the vault—after they assured him that they were not seeking to steal something for their own personal gain. The goblin also agreed because he respected Harry, albeit grudgingly, for the respect the wizard gave to other, supposedly "lesser," beings, such as Dobby and Griphook himself (DH24). However, in exchange for his assistance, he demanded Gryffindor's sword, creating a problem for Harry, as the sword was the only method the Trio knew of destroying the Horcruxes. Harry agreed, planning to give the goblin the sword after he'd finished using it to destroy the Horcruxes (DH25).
The four spent several weeks planning the break-in, with Griphook providing the details necessary for success. During this time, Griphook was a taxing guest for Bill and Fleur, choosing not to eat his meals with the rest of the household—and then, once Bill told him he had to eat with them, not eating the same food as the others staying at Shell Cottage. Griphook also showed his disapproval of the passing down of Muriel's goblin-made tiara when Fleur gave it to Ollivander to return to her great-aunt, once again showing his view that objects belong to their makers, and disapproving of wizards passing down objects without paying the goblins (payment, to them, is seen as rental) (DH25).
Once the plans had been finalized, the group went to Gringotts. Griphook was under the Invisibility Cloak with Harry, while Hermione used Polyjuice Potion to become Bellatrix Lestrange and Ron was magically disguised. While heading into the vault, Griphook realized that the bank had been warned of the possible danger to the Lestrange vault; however, the four were able to make it to the vault, although they did it with some difficulty, and at the cost of their disguises. Once inside, the Trio found and obtained Hufflepuff's Cup, Voldemort's Horcrux, though they caused a sea of burning copies of the cup to form when they touched it, which ended up burying and severely hurting Griphook. However, Harry saved the goblin, who then recovered Gryffindor's sword—he had not trusted the Trio to keep their word—and ran into the crowd of goblins who had arrived to apprehend the theives. The Trio did not see him again (DH26).
