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Gilderoy Lockhart is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series created by J.K. Rowling. Lockhart is the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor during Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts and is a famed writer, known for claimed feats of bravery. It is eventually revealed that Lockhart is a fraud who has been taking credit for other wizards' accomplishments and then erasing their memories. Lockhart was portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Background
Gilderoy Lockhart was born on the 26th of January, 1964 to a Muggle father and a Witch mother. Lockhart was spoiled by his mother as a child which planted the beginnings of his vanity. Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Lockhart was sorted into Ravenclaw, just narrowly escaping being sorted into Slytherin. Lockhart was disappointed in the fact that none of the other students really paid any sort of attention to him, as he believed that he was a genius and the most talented wizard attending the school. Lockhart did maintain good marks and claimed that he intended to captain the England Quidditch team and become the youngest Minister for Magic. Lockhart's desire for attention festered during his schooling to the point that he begged the Headmaster for a school newspaper for the simple purpose of wanting to see his own name in print, as well as carving a twenty foot long signature into the Quidditch Pitch and creating a spell that shot a hologram of his own face into the sky (similar to Voldemort's Dark Mark). After graduating from Hogwarts in 1982, Lockhart became an author, travelling to different parts of the world and gaining mastery over Memory Charms. Lockhart would use his cunning sensibilities to trick witches and wizards into privately revealing to him their greatest achievements before erasing their memories and claiming responsibility for their heroic actions. He published these supposed encounters that he took credit for in his novels and filled them with self-praise. Due to his supposed heroics, Lockhart was named an honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League, as well as earning an Order of Merlin, Third Class.

Employment at Hogwarts
After deducing Lockhart's lies for fame due to being familiar with two of the wizards he tricked into revealing their secrets and stealing their memories, Lockhart was employed as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher by Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore believed that bringing Lockhart into a normal, school atmosphere would reveal his true intentions and fraudulence. Dumbledore also used the chance at teaching Harry Potter to lure Lockhart into the position. Minerva McGonagall strongly objected to Lockhart's appointment as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, as she remembered teaching him during his enrollment at the school and recalled his attention-seeking ways. Dumbledore explained to McGonagall that there was plenty to learn from a bad teacher, such as what not to do and who not to be. Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid also correctly deduced that Lockhart got the job because he was the only person to apply after what happened to Quirinus Quirrell the year prior. Due to his newfound employment, Lockhart assigned his entire bibliography for the course. During a trip to Diagon Alley to sign books at Flourish and Blotts, Lockhart met Harry Potter and excitedly dragged the boy to the front for photo opportunities as well as gifting him a set of his books.

Upon arriving at Hogwarts to begin his teaching, Lockhart decorated the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with portraits of himself and copies of his publications. In his first lesson, Lockhart assigned his students a three page, 54 question quiz on himself, to which the only student to achieve 100% was Hermione Granger. Lockhart then proceeded to release a cage of Cornish Pixies into the classroom, causing chaos. Lockhart failed to calm the creatures and asked Harry, Hermione and Ron Weasley to clean up the mess while fleeing back into his office. Most male students and the entirety of the staff despised Lockhart, viewing him as incompetent and annoying. Several female students, such as Hermione Granger, were infatuated with Lockhart and a few Muggle-Born students such as Colin Creevey and Justin Finch-Fletchley appreciated Lockhart as their books helped introduce them to the Wizarding World. After the incident with the Cornish Pixies, Lockhart refrained from bringing live creatures into the classrooms, and instead would re-enact portions of his claimed "achievements". Lockhart would often drag Harry into these re-enactments, to which Harry played along in order to get a signed form allowing Harry access to the Restricted Section of the library to access a book on brewing Polyjuice Potion. Lockhart would often get on Harry's nerves as he would constantly attempt to boost his own fame. Lockhart believed that Harry was using his fame from defeating Lord Voldemort as an infant to make a name for himself, and viewed Harry and Ron's arrival at the school via the Flying Ford Anglia as a publicity stunt. Lockhart made Harry serve his detentions by helping Lockhart answer his fan mail, to which Harry found dull and requested that he serve his detentions helping groundskeeper Argus Filch clean the Trophy Room with Ron. After a Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, Harry broke his arm due to a rogue Bludger. Lockhart offered to help Harry mend his arm, and despite Harry's refusal Lockhart accidentally vanished the bones in Harry's arm.

Following attacks and petrifications due to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Lockhart formed a brief Duelling Club for the students, only to be embarrassed in the first session by being instantly disarmed by Severus Snape. Lockhart then angered a snake conjured by Draco Malfoy by launching it into the air rather than vanishing it, causing Lockhart to be indirectly responsible for Harry's Parselmouth abilities to become known. During the Valentine's Day feast, Lockhart completely redecorated the Great Hall with pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti, much to the distaste of McGonagall, Ron and rest of the staff. Lockhart continued to make false claims that he knew where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was and remained unconcerned about the ordeal. After Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber, the teachers forced Lockhart into going into the Chamber and defeating Slytherin's Monster. While attempting to run away, Lockhart was caught and cornered by Harry and Ron to give him information about the entrance to the Chamber. Lockhart accidentally revealed his fraudulence to them and was forced by the two into the Chamber of Secrets with them.

Insanity and residency at St. Mungo's
While in the Chamber of Secrets, Lockhart siezed Ron's broken wand. Lockhart claimed that after erasing their memories he would take a piece of the Basilisk's shedded skin up to the surface and claim that he was too late to save Ginny and that Harry and Ron lost their minds at the sight of her dead body. Lockhart attempted to perform his memory charms but the spell backfired and slammed him into some rocks, giving him complete amnesia. Lockhart was then returned by Harry, Ron and Ginny to McGonagall's office where Dumbledore derided him of his memory loss, having succeeded in ousting him for his fraudulence. After being dismissed from Hogwarts and replaced by Remus Lupin, Lockhart became a permenant resident at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Despite his incapacitation, Dumbledore never made Lockhart's fraudulence and crimes public, as he felt that he had gotten what he deserved. On Christmas in 1995, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny came across Lockhart in the hospital. Ron felt somewhat guilty for his own broken wand causing Lockhart's incapacitation, but Harry was less sympathetic as he had tried to erase their memories before the spell backfired. Lockhart never had any visitors and his memory never fully recovered. He would still recieve fan mail but he was completely unaware as to why.

Production
Lockhart is narcissistic — he decorates both the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and his personal office with smiling portraits of himself. He is also a coward and appears rather unintelligent — he is incapable of performing defensive magic, but claims he is skilled at performing Memory Charms, which at least (shown by his success) appears true. His favourite colour is Lilac, and he uses Lilac-coloured ink when he answers his fan-mails, proven by Harry when he was addressing a letter, on his detention. Lockhart's true "skills" were demonstrated during an early Defense Against the Dark Arts class when he sets several pixies loose in the classroom, telling students, "See what you make of them!" When the pixies wreak havoc and Lockhart is unable to control them, he rapidly departs, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione to deal with them.

J.K. Rowling has said on her site that Lockhart is the only character that she directly based on a person she knew in real life, and that she "barely exaggerated", although she refuses to reveal who it was. Hugh Grant was initially in talks to portray Lockhart in the film adaptation but was unable to due to scheduling conflicts. After Grant was unavailable, Alan Cumming and Jude Law had also been considered for the role. The character of Lockhart as well as the scenes in St Mungo's Hospital were originally going to be in the film adaptation for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix but were cut as it would have required building a new set.

Reception
Lockhart has become a fan favourite character in the franchise over time, with many fans seeing Lockhart as being a parody of celebrities and fame. IGN ranked Lockhart as the 22nd best character in the Harry Potter mythos stating, "Gilderoy Lockhart is a real charmer. It's through sheer charisma (and the occasional memory charm) that he established himself in society as one of the most accomplished wizards of all time, without actually performing any of the heroic acts he claims to have done in numerous best-selling books. The vain and self-aggrandizing Lockhart's habit of exaggerating his own deeds would backfire when he was hired as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He would at first relish the position as yet another avenue of self-promotion, but his buffoonery and incompetence soon got the best of Lockhart. His false claims are revealed by Harry Potter and his friends after Lockhart cowardly attempted to flee the school upon being ordered to confront the monster in the Chamber of Secrets." Kenneth Branagh recieved praise for his performance as Lockhart, with fans particularly noting the comedic levity the actor brought to the character. For his performance as Lockhart, Branagh won the London Film Critics Circle British Supporting Actor of the Year.