Griphook

Griphook was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when he showed Harry Potter to his vault in Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He was the first Gringotts goblin to be introduced by name in the Harry Potter series. He later appears in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where he assists the golden trio in breaking into Gringotts Wizarding Bank and locating a Horcrux, Helga Hufflepuff’s cup, which is hidden in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange.

However, his respect for Harry Potter cannot hide his distrust of wizards and witches, which is why he betrays them in the end and escapes the vault with the Sword of Gryffindor, only to eventually get killed by Lord Voldemort over his fit of rage about losing the cup of Helga Hufflepuff from Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault. 

Sadly, Griphook betrayed the trio, as he would have probably survived if he hadn’t run away early from the Lestranges’ vault. Despite his love for goblin-made artifacts and distrust for wizards, he was known for having some good traits, including his alliance with Harry Potter when Lord Voldemort was on the opposite side.

Griphook: The Goblin

Griphook was one of the few goblins in the Harry Potter series who was mentioned by name. Goblins were non-human but similar to humans in that they could speak to humans despite having their language. He is the most crucial character among goblins in the Harry Potter universe. Very little is known about his early life except that he was born into a family of goblins and was mainly born and brought up somewhere in the British Isles. At least one of his relatives may have worked in Gringotts Wizarding Bank. 

Griphook was first seen in the wizarding world of Harry Potter when Harry came to Gringotts with Rubeus Hagrid to collect some money from his vault. He was the Goblin that took them to the vault and explained the defense mechanisms in place to a young Harry. He also helped Hagrid collect the Philosopher’s Stone from Nicholas Flamel’s vault. However, the contents of the item that Hagrid took from the vault were kept a secret for a very long time until Harry, Ron, and Hermione figured out what it was. 

In the videogame Hogwarts Mystery, in the 1989-1990 school year, he had assigned his subordinate curse-breaker Bill Weasley to retrieve the golden dragon egg created by the infamous goblin blacksmith Urgruff the Unwary from a mother dragon who believed it was one of her eggs. He later spoke to Bill’s accomplices, Jacob’s sibling, Nymphadora Tonks and Merula Snyde, about a break-in of Gringotts.

They all discussed the attempted break-in of Sir Elric Parpidum’s vault. After seeing the latter defeat a Hungarian Horntail, he is also believed to have asked Jacob’s sibling to join Gringotts as a curse breaker. The thief was eventually revealed to be the Dark Wizard Burke, who was caught and taken to Azkaban.

In LEGO Harry Potter, Griphook reveals a goblin dance party when he unknowingly opens the vault door of Vault 712 instead of Vault 713. He is a playable character in the same and is required to open Goblin Chests, which contain special items like studs and character tokens. In the first level of the game “Magic Begins,” one can play as him by casting the Reducto spell on the chest that lies in front of the first vault of the Gringotts’ Basement. He wears a blue suit in the game even though LEGO Harry Potter merchandise is sold with Griphook’s Lego figure in a red suit.

In the film adaptation of the Harry Potter series, Griphook was played by the veteran English actor Warwick Davis. He played several characters and was among the prominent members of the Harry Potter cast. Despite J. K. Rowling’s request for an utterly British cast in the earlier movies, his role was also played by late American actor Verne Troyer, known for his appearance as Mini Me to Dr Evil in the Austin Powers films.

Warwick Davis also played Professor Flitwick and the bank teller who greets Harry and Hagrid when they first visit Hogwarts. Another short-statured non-goblin character, Dobby, the house elf, was played by Toby Jones. Griphook has a similar surname to that of actor Taylor Triphook.

In the Hamburg production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the role of Griphook is played by Dave Wilcox. He also voiced the role during the 2021 Harry Potter Book Night organized by Bloomsbury Publishing.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Griphook worked in the Gringotts Wizarding Bank as the bank was run mainly by goblins and only had a few select jobs for wizards, like Bill Weasley, a curse breaker for Gringotts. He was the only Goblin named explicitly in the Harry Potter series among the goblins who worked at Gringotts. Griphook is first introduced when he takes Harry and Hagrid to the vaults at Gringotts, where Harry collects the money he needs from his parents’ vault, and Hagrid collects the Philosopher’s Stone from Nicolas Flamel’s vault.

Griphook worked in Gringotts Wizarding Bank and would be seen several times throughout the Harry Potter series, including when he helped Harry break into Bellatrix’s vault. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger eventually broke into the bank with Griphook. He also showed the trio the Thief’s Downfall, which finally alerted the guards about their break-in. It was a waterfall believed to cause a thief’s downfall by revealing any possible jinx or magic being used to conceal them. The trio was always unaware of checking visitors before entering the high-security vaults, so Harry had to use the Imperius Curse on one of the Goblins.

Griphook And Godric Gryffindor’s Sword

Griphook was seen by Harry, Ron, and Hermione when they were in the forest looking for the Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort. Griphook and another goblin, Gornuk, were camping with Dean Thomas, Dirk Cresswell, and Ted Tonks, who were all escaping Death Eaters and snatchers who were on the lookout for Muggle-born wizards and witches. This new hunt was immediately after the fall of the Ministry of Magic to Lord Voldemort’s hands and at the height of the Second Wizarding War.

Shortly after, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were caught by a gang of snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor. They were caught because they uttered Lord Voldemort’s name, which had been made taboo after Lord Voldemort’s new regime had come to fruition.

In the Malfoy Manor, when Bellatrix Lestrange got hold of the Sword of Gryffindor among the possessions collected from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, she became very furious. She started torturing Hermione with the Cruciatus Curse. Harry and Ron were sent to a dungeon below, where they met Griphook again. Some Snatchers had killed Ted Tonks, probably Fenrir Greyback, the dangerously fierce werewolf, and his friends. Greyback’s team also caught Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Griphook was later asked to verify if the sword was a fake or had been stolen from Bellatrix’s vault by a thief, and despite it being the real sword, he lied to Bellatrix. He pretended that the trio did not have the actual sword of Gryffindor and that the one they had was fake. Dobby later rescued them from the Malfoy Manor before the Dark Lord was summoned to catch Harry.

Griphook apparated to the Shell Cottage along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione with the help of Dobby, the House Elf. Griphook was injured and was therefore attended to by Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley, who stayed at the Shell Cottage. Harry suspected there must have been another Horcrux in Bellatrix’s vault, so she was very riled up after seeing the Sword of Gryffindor. 

Griphook did not give up the truth about the Sword of Gryffindor being the real one because he wasn’t in support of the wizarding rule of Lord Voldemort, who was trying to take control of the wizarding world. The new regime had placed the wizards in direct control of the goblins, which enraged Griphook. Furthermore, goblins had long maintained a hatred for wizards and their ways, including the fact that the Goblin was the sword maker and had given it to Godric Gryffindor.

Gryffindor decided to pass on the sword through new generations of wizards instead of returning it to the goblins. Goblins believed the sword was Goblin’s property after its owner’s death. Furthermore, they were unhappy about wizards and witches refusing to share the secrets of wand lore with them.

Griphook, along with the others, was brought to the Shell Cottage by Dobby. Griphook’s legs were severely hurt, and Fleur had to use skele-gro to heal him. Harry wanted to see Griphook because he felt that Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault contained something else, too. The trio questioned Griphook and decided to break into Gringotts with Griphook’s help. Hermione transformed into Bellatrix using the Polyjuice Potion and a hair of Bellatrix she had collected from Malfoy Manor.

Griphook accompanied Harry, Ron, and Hermione to steal Helga Hufflepuff’s cup from Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault. It was one of the lower vaults of Gringotts and was protected by a Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon. They eventually entered the vault, but according to Hermione Granger’s later revelation, the vault contained cursed goblets, and everything inside the vault started multiplying at an alarming rate.

However, Griphook betrays the trio and runs out of the vault with Bogrod, another Goblin, into nearby caves. He also ratted them out to the guards, citing the cup’s theft as a reason for them being thieves. The trio managed to escape on the back of the Ukrainian Ironbelly, and their adventure of running on a dragon from Gringotts would be told forever. 

Griphook would eventually die due to the killing curse in the hands of Lord Voldemort after the latter was summoned to Gringotts after Harry Potter was sighted there. In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Sword of Gryffindor disappears near Griphook’s corpse as the camera shows Lord Voldemort stepping over Griphook’s lifeless body. It reappears in the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts. Lord Voldemort’s death eaters in Gringotts most likely summoned him when news got out that Harry had been sighted in Gringotts. 

Griphook’s death is considered by many to be Griphook’s undoing due to his act of betrayal. Griphook’s mistrust of wizards and witches was strongly influenced by the prejudice Griphook had about them based on many Goblins’ beliefs. Despite Griphook’s arrogance and betrayal after the Lestrange vault door was opened, the role of Griphook in the heist was paramount.

Despite his savage personality, he was sometimes a helpful companion to the trio and had a favorable impression of Harry Potter. He was the only Goblin to respect Harry Potter as much as he did. After he, the trio, and the others are brought by Apparition to the Shell Cottage by the house-elf Dobby; they realize that Bellatrix’s knife has stabbed Dobby. Dobby eventually died in Harry’s arms, and Harry decided to bury Dobby’s body without magic, contributing to the great respect Harry received from Griphook.

Griphook’s Mistrust of Wizardkind

Like most other Goblins in Gringotts and otherwise, Griphook’s general mistrust of wizardkind came from their complex history. Goblins did not trust wizards and witches because they had always treated the other magical beings with particular disdain, and most blood purity fanatics of wizardkind considered goblins, house elves, centaurs, and some other beings as sub-human species or lesser creatures not worthy of the same respect given to humans. He even asks Hermione, who among the wand-carriers protests as Lord Voldemort’s rule cements itself further into the Ministry of Magic.

Despite Hermione’s reassurance of Harry, Ron, her, and many others fighting the good fight, Griphook still could not understand the importance of their stealing of Helga Hufflepuff’s cup and still ended up deceiving them. This misunderstanding is common among people who are set in their ways and unwilling to see how some things are not how they seem.

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