MULTIFANDOM AND WORDPLAY CHAOS!

All Potterheads know that Argus Filch, Caretaker at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, cannot use magic. Most, including Filch himself, say that this is because he is a Squib (CoS). However, what if this is true only in the sense that Filch is a wizard-born who cannot use magic? In HBP Dumbledore tells us that “…it is also possible that [Merope’s] unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen.” What if Finch lost the ability to perform magic because his heart was broken? What would cause such a heartbreak?

Let us consider, for a moment, Filch’s cat, Mrs. Norris. She is definitely a highly intelligent cat, though definitely not a Kneazle as she is never described as such or as having any other Kneazle-like qualities. She is his constant companion and sometimes seems to help him in his duties of patrolling the halls and watching for students where they don’t belong. The only other non-Kneazle cat that shows anything like this level of intelligence is Minerva McGonagall, an animagus. So what if Mrs. Norris is a failed animagus? What if before she became stuck as a cat she and Filch were in love?

Here’s how I think it happened: Mrs. Norris, a gifted witch who studied transfiguration, was widdowed during Grindlewald’s reign of terror. Years later she meets a wizard named Argus Filch through their mutual friend, Albus Dumbledore and they fall in love. However, before they could exchange vows she attempts to become an animagus and fails, becoming stuck in cat form. While she is not dead per se, she can no longer show love in any human ways. This breaks Argus’ heart, severing his connection to magic. However, he vows to take care of her as best he can for the rest of their lives while also keeping in touch with the wizarding world in hopes of a cure.

But what about Filch’s admission to being a Squib in CoS? Despite the pureblood mania and the anti-Squib bigotry in the wizarding world, being considered a Squib was easier than having to tell everyone that he lost his magic and he was in love with his cat.