Poppy Pomfrey
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Madam Poppy Pomfrey is a magical nurse in the Harry Potter series of books. She is in charge of the hospital wing in the school of Hogwarts and is depicted as a stern and competent woman who takes her profession seriously.
Due to their talent in getting involved in things over their heads, Harry and his friends end up in Madam Pomfrey's care quite often.
Madam Pomfrey did not appear in the film adaption of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but does appear in the film adaption of the second book, where she is played by Gemma Jones.
Her first appearance is in the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
In the first book, Ron goes to Madam Pomfrey after being bitten by Norbert, a baby dragon. Ron told her he was bitten by a dog, as telling the truth would incriminate Hagrid. (Keeping dragons being illegal.) After Harry fought Professor Quirrell in the dungeons, he spent three days unconscious in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was reluctant for Harry to have visitors (particularly Ron and Hermione.)
Madam Pomfrey helped Harry in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by regrowing the bones on his arm after Gilderoy Lockhart incompetently tried to mend Harry's broken arm; removing all bones from it instead. Earlier on in the book, Hermione ended up in the hospital wing for a month after a mishap with the Polyjuice Potion, which left her half-feline. Later on, Hermione (like the other victims) was stuck in the hospital wing after seeing the reflection of the Basilisk's eyes (which petrified her). Madam Pomfrey informed Harry and Ron that there was no point talking to a petrified person, which was in a way true, but it turned out to be very useful when Harry discovers the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets written on a crumpled piece of paper in her hand...
After Dolores Umbridge stunned Minerva McGonagall in the fifth book, to get her out of the way, Madam Pomfrey said she would resign in protest, if she were not afraid of what would become of the students without her.
In Half-Blood Prince, Madam Pomfrey takes care of Ron dutifully after he was poisoned, and when Harry had his skull cracked during quidditch. She was distraught over Albus Dumbledore's death, bursting into tears when it was revealed in the Hospital Wing by Harry how Severus Snape killed Dumbledore with Avada Kedavra.
Name meaning
The poppy is one of the oldest-known medicinal plants. The opium poppy has been used as a painkiller and soporific for thousands of years, and its extract, morphine, is the most widely used analgesic in the world. However, both are equally well known as addictive and oft-abused narcotics. The name might also be a reference to the custom of wearing poppies on Remembrance Day in respect for those who have died in war, echoing the words of the poet John McCrae that poppies now grew on the killing fields of Flanders.
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