Dolores Umbridge was one of the biggest Muggle-haters to appear in the series, and fans were shocked to learn that she was actually a half-blood whose mother was a Muggle! The pink toad began her ministry career at the age of 17, using a combination of ruthless devotion to the law and brown-nosing to climb the government ladder. She made her way from an intern in the Improper Use of Magic Office to the head of the Muggle-Born Registation Commission where she sadistically sentenced many innocent people to imprisonment and worse. Rowlings revelation about Umbridges back story on Pottermore makes her crimes all the more deplorable. Coming from a family of four, only Dolores and her father were magic, with her mother a Muggle and her brother a Squib, which brought her more shame. She grew to despise Muggles, and convinced her father that they were both superior to non-magic people, making him denounce his wife and son and send them back to the Muggle world, never to be heard from again. That wasnt quite enough for Dolores, however, and her father himself would end up a victim to his daughters delusions of grandeur. Growing more power hungry with every promotion, Umbridge became ashamed of her father, who was a low-level worker in the Department of Magical Maintenance. She eventually forced him to retire and disappear from the public eye on the promise of a monthly allowance, freeing her to begin building an elaborate lie about her pure-blood status. Anyone who happened to ask her if she was related to the Umbridge that used to mop the ministry floor would fall victim to a nasty accident, and this went on until people simply stopped asking and chose to take her at her word that her late father was a distinguished member of the Wizengamot, Britains highest Wizard court of law. What else have you found on Pottermore that deserves to be on this list? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.
