Sturgis Podmore was born in the 1950s, either in 1956 or 1957, in Great Britain. It is very likely that he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when he turned eleven in the 1960s. He may have been in either Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff, as it is very unlikely that he was in Slytherin house. At the time he graduated from Hogwarts, the First Wizarding War had already started.
He joined the Order of the Phoenix, a reactionary group of wizards and witches led by Albus Dumbledore, the founder of the Order, in response to Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He may have been the youngest member of the Order of the Phoenix, but he was definitely one of its youngest members. He was younger than the Marauders and Severus Snape by a few years, but may have been in Hogwarts at the same time as them for a few years.
He was said to have thick, straw-coloured hair, which gave his head an appearance of being thatched. He was arrested by Ministry of Magic watchwizard Eric Munch on 31st August 1995 for trespassing and attempted robbery of the Department of Mysteries. It was later revealed that he was working under the influence of the Imperius Curse and was under the control of the Death Eaters.
Interestingly, there exists a satirical Harry Potter podcast hosted by some fans called Sturgis Podmore. Sturgis’s name is the inspiration for this podcast. It may be named after him because of his surname ‘Podmore,’ which contains the prefix ‘pod-‘ from podcast.
Appearance
Sturgis Podmore was said to be a square-jawed wizard with a good posture. He had thick, straw-colored hair, which gave his head a thatched appearance. Ron once pointed at him and claimed that his head looked like it was thatched and that he had a square jaw. He was also known to be a jovial and playful person as he had winked at Harry when he met him for the first time when he was serving in the Advance Guard assigned to bring Harry to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix at Grimmauld Place. It is possible that Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore of the Headless Hunt was related to Sturgis as they both had the same surname.
Member of the Original Order of the Phoenix
Very little is known about Sturgis’s early life. His blood status is also not known for sure, but he may have been a half-blood. He must have likely obtained his wand at eleven years old, and he started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was considered a very talented wizard and had great magical aptitude which is probably why he was recruited to be one of the Order of the Phoenix members at such an early age.
Sturgis Podmore was one of the members of the original Order of Phoenix, which was active during the First Wizarding War. Created by Albus Dumbledore, it was the first line of defense against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, who wanted to conquer the wizarding world and make it follow their Pure-blooded ideology. He was probably very close to Albus Dumbledore, as he was described as his “great friend”. He had a good relationship with most members of the Order and even seemed to like Harry.
Sturgis Podmore most likely joined the order immediately after he graduated from Hogwarts and may have been its youngest member. Mad-Eye Moody exclaimed that he looked really young when showing Harry Potter a photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix. Sturgis was also one of the few surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix, as many of its members suffered a gruesome fate. Harry was very upset learning that Sturgis had been arrested, as were many other Order members, including Alastor Moody and Remus Lupin.
During the Second Wizarding War, Sturgis became a member of the Advance Guard as he was already a long-standing member of the Order of the Phoenix. Other members who were a part of the Advance Guard include Remus Lupin , Kingsley Shacklebolt , Nymphadora Tonks , Hestia Jones , Emmeline Vance , Elphias Doge, and Dedalus Diggle. He was a part of the Advance Guard when he escorted Harry from Privet Drive to 12 Grimmauld Place. This is probably his first appearance in the Harry Potter books.
The Department of Mysteries
Sturgis Podmore took an active part in the Order of the Phoenix that was reinstated when Voldemort returned in the year 1995. Sturgis helped the Order with a lot of assignments, including the ones that required him to take great risk. On 12 August 1995, Sturgis Podmore was placed on guard duty in the Ministry of Magic by the Order of the Phoenix. His assignment was to protect the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries from Death Eaters at all costs. Incidentally, this was the same day that Harry Potter had a hearing at the Ministry related to his use of underage magic. Arthur Weasley and Harry had seen Sturgis in the Ministry on this day.
However, Lucius Malfoy was also present in the Ministry on that day, and he secretly cast the Imperius Curse on Sturgis Podmore. A few days passed by, and Sturgis was still under the influence of Malfoy and his Imperius Curse until 31 August 1995, when he was caught snooping around the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. The Department of Mysteries was a highly classified area and therefore, the wizard Eric Munch, who was a Ministry watchwizard, arrested him when he tried to break through a top-security door protecting the Department of Mysteries at one in the morning.
Imprisonment in Azkaban
Sturgis Podmore was arrested and brought in front of the Wizengamot for trial and charged with trespassing and attempted robbery. He was given a six month sentence in Azkaban prison after he refused to reveal anything about why he chose to trespass, speak in his own defence, or even confess to his crime. Meanwhile, on 1st September 1995, Mad-Eye Moody seemed irritated that Sturgis had not returned his Invisibility Cloak, and nor had he reported for duty as he was supposed to be present to escort Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the King’s Cross Station.
However, Sturgis had already been arrested by that time and was also tried in the Wizengamot, which Moody would only get to know later. A newspaper report in the Daily Prophet clarified that Sturgis Podmore, who lived in Number Two, Laburnum Gardens in Clapham, was arrested by Eric Munch, the watchwizard at the Department of Mysteries.
Release and Later Activities in the Order of the Phoenix
After six months of Sturgis’s imprisonment in Azkaban, he was released. He then rejoined the Order of the Phoenix and continued to be an integral part of their activities. The Second Wizarding War had begun, and someone competent in the magical arts and having magical abilities was in high demand to help the Order.
Interestingly, the Death Eaters continued their attempt to obtain the prophecy, and Lucius Malfoy imperiused an Unspeakable named Broderick Bode. However, Bode’s fate ends up being far worse than Sturgis’s as he is eventually killed by the Death Eaters. Interestingly, Hermione realized that the Death Eaters must have killed Bode because they had imperiused him to fetch the “weapon” from the Department of Mysteries, too.
It is highly likely that Sturgis Podmore took part in the Battle of Hogwarts. There is no narrative about any feat of his in the battle, but it is highly likely that he fought with several Death Eaters and helped Harry win the battle against Voldemort.
Wrongful Conviction – A Menace With No Solution
Sturgis Podmore was wrongfully convicted for something he didn’t do and, in fact, was protecting what he was accused of stealing. Since it was the magical world, the Imperius Curse is difficult to detect, and given the circumstances of the Order of the Phoenix being there on slightly “illegal” grounds themselves, it went undetected. However, wrongful conviction has always been a real bother, even in the Muggle world. It is one of the most important problems faced by prisons today. Some people who are convicted for a crime are framed or wrongfully convicted due to lack of proper evidence.
FAQs
What happened to Sturgis Podmore?
Sturgis Podmore was wrongfully accused of trying to break into the vault containing prophecies at the Department of Mysteries. He was actually guarding those prophecies against possibly being robbed by the Death Eaters, but he was put under the influence of the Imperius Curse by Lucius Malfoy, and he was sent to fetch the Prophecy. He was eventually caught by a watchwizard at the Ministry named Eric Munch.
Was Sturgis Podmore under the Imperius curse when he was supposed to testify, and is that why he wouldn’t testify in his own defense?
It is highly likely that Sturgis Podmore was still under the Imperius Curse when he was arrested and supposed to testify in the Wizengamot. It is said that he said nothing to defend himself and was, therefore, given a sentence of six months in Azkaban. However, it is also possible that he was not under the Imperius Curse during the trial but kept quiet because he didn’t want to reveal the plans of the Order of the Phoenix to the Ministry of Magic.
Who is the Podmore family in Harry Potter?
The Podmore family was a wizarding family from Great Britain in the Harry Potter series. Sturgis Podmore was born into this family. It is also possible that Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore, one of the participants in the Headless Hunt and a ghost, was a member of this family when he lived.
