Bill Weasley Character Bio

Latest posts by Lacey Jackson (see all)

Introduction

Bill Weasley is the oldest of the Weasley children, a pureblood wizard who attended Hogwarts and was also part of Gryffindor. During that time, he served as prefect and head boy. After setting a great example for his younger siblings, he graduated and started working for Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He worked in Egypt as a curse-breaker. However, when Voldemort returned to power, he returned to England to participate in the Order of the Phoenix while at the same time dating Fleur Delacour. 

He was severely injured by a werewolf but did not turn into one. In spite of these injuries, he married Fleur Delacour, but their wedding was disrupted by the arrival of many Death Eaters who had confirmed that the ministry of magic had fallen. After Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron escape Malfoy Manor, Bill welcomes them to his house and helps them heal from their wounds. He later fought alongside the rest of the Order of the Phoenix during the Battle of Hogwarts and survived. After the war, he had three children.

Bill Weasley Quick Facts

Full Name William Weasley
Birth Date November 29, 1970
Birth Place Great Britain
Nick Name Bill
Death Date  
Age When Series Starts 21
Zodiac Sign Sagittarius 
Siblings Charles, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny
Children Victoire, Dominique, Louis
Partner / Spouse Fleur Delacour
Most Memorable Moment Being attacked by Greyback
Magical Heritage Pureblood
Hogwarts House Gryffindor
Wand Unknown
Patronus Non-corporeal
Actors Who Played Domhnall Gleeson
   
Last Updated Apr 29, 2022

Bill Weasley Birthplace

Bill Weasley was born in Great Britain. 

Bill Weasley Family

Bill Weasley Family
Image from Fandom

Bill Weasley’s parents were Molly and Arthur Weasley. They were very kind, loving family members. His mother was a stay-at-home mom, and his father worked for the ministry of magic. Bill got along quite well with all of his younger siblings, although he was much closer to Charlie because Charlie was closer to him in age. Bill selected Charlie to be the best man at his wedding. His younger siblings, especially Ginny, looked up to him and supported him whenever their mother criticized his choice of clothing or hair. Bill was one of the only siblings who didn’t tease Ron and allowed Ron to come and stay at his house after Ron abandoned Harry Potter and Hermione.

Bill Weasley’s Physical Traits

Bill Weasley's Physical Traits
Image from Fandom

Rita Skeeter once interviewed all of the Gringotts charm breakers and referred to Bill as a long-haired pillock. Bill Weasley was described as tall, lean, Whitby classic Weasley red hair, but he had an earring, he wore dragon in leather boots, had long hair always tied in a ponytail, and genuinely looked cool. Once he was attacked by Fenrir Greyback, his face had scars across it, which made him look even cooler.

Bill Weasley Early Life

Bill Weasley was raised in Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon, England. He was the first of 7 children born during the First Wizarding War. Members of his family, like his maternal uncles, were murdered while fighting Death Eaters, and while he was a child, the world became peaceful again after Voldemort’s disappearance. He was educated at home in simple matters like math, reading, and writing. His family was pureblood, but they were not wealthy. They made up for this lack of wealth with a great deal of love.

Bill Weasley Hogwarts Years

Bill Weasley attended Hogwarts in 1982. He proved himself to be a strong leader and popular student with great academic skills. He had an incredibly heavy workload from his third year onward. 

During his fourth year, he became even more popular because of his bravery and his gifts. He started breaking curses during school, something that would eventually lead him to his career as a curse breaker for Gringotts. He became a prefect in his fifth year and obtained 12 O.W.L.s.

During his 7th year, he was made head boy. He also received a medal of magical merit. When Bill was at Hogwarts, he had a pen pal at a magical school in Brazil. He wanted to go on an exchange trip, but his parents couldn’t afford it. His pen pal was so offended that he sent Bill a cursed hat which made his ears shrivel up. 

Bill Weasley After Hogwarts Years

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Bill Weasley_Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Image from Fandom

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry meets Bill Weasley for the first time. Bill came as something of a surprise. He worked for the Wizarding Bank Gringotts and had been head boy at Hogwarts. It was thought that he would be the same as Percy, but he was simply cool, with long hair he had held back in a ponytail. He was tall with the same Weasley red hair. He wore an earring that looked like a fang. His clothes wouldn’t have been out of place at a rock concert except for the fact that his boots were made out of dragonhide.

It was his long hair end earring that caused a great deal of concern at home. His mother insisted that wearing such a horrible thing must cause problems at work. Bill refuted that as long as he brings home plenty of treasure, nobody cares how he dresses. She regularly tried to cut his hair and wasn’t successful until his wedding day. 

After the Weasleys came to collect Harry Potter so that they could all attend the Quidditch World Cup together, there were simply too many of them to eat inside, so they set up dinner out in the garden. Bill and Charlie were making two battered old tables fly above the lawn and smash into one another attempting to knock the other one out of the air while everyone left. In the end, Bill’s table caught Charlie’s with a significant bang and knocked off one of its legs. The noise resulted in Percy sticking his head out his window on the second floor and yelling at everyone. So Bill and Charlie redirected their tables end to end, attached the broken table leg, and conjured tablecloths from nowhere. 

After the Quidditch World Cup when a group of masked Death Eaters trampled through the camp, lighting tents on fire and torturing the Muggle family and charge, Bill joined his brothers Percy and Charlie to help the ministry of magic. During the scuffle, Bill lacerated his arm. 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

At the start of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bill came back to Great Britain, taking a job at home so that he could help the order. However, he also started giving private lessons to Fleur Delacour, who got a job at Gringotts to improve her English. As he is of age, Bill was officially part of the order and spent the evening Harry Potter arrived at dinner, his long hair still up in a ponytail. 

Bill was helping to talk the Goblins into siding with Dumbledore this time, although he said many of them were still anti-wizards at the moment, particularly because Bagman owed goblins a lot of money and had never actually paid. It was Bill who reminded the group that Dumbledore was the only person Voldemort was ever afraid of.

At Christmas, Bill visited his father at St. Mungo’s several times.

Later, Bill proposed to Fleur after one year together. They became engaged, and he brought her to the Burrow to be with his family for a while. 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Bill Weasley_Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Image from Fandom

The following year Bill was one of the members of the Order of the Phoenix who patrolled Hogwarts whenever Dumbledore left to look for Horcruxes. On the night that Death Eaters broke into the school, Bill was attacked by Fenrir greyback. The wounds were contaminated, but he did not turn into a werewolf. It was this scene that solidified the approval of Molly Weasley for Fleur Delacour, who would soon become her daughter-in-law. A few days later, he was released from Madam Pomfrey’s care to attend Dumbledore’s funeral.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Bill Weasley_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_Wedding
Image from Fandom

The group slowly returned home, with Bill and Fleur the last to arrive. Molly Weasley gave her son Bill a tremendous hug, and he returned it in a perfunctory fashion, looking toward his father and saying, “Mad-Eye’s dead.” They gave a toast to their fallen hero, and Bill set off immediately to try and find his body, but they never did.

Fleur Delacour and Bill got married on August 1st, 1997. During the reception, Death Eaters interrupted the party, breaking through the protective spells after the ministry of magic had fallen. Bill and his family were questioned but eventually allowed to return to work. Later that Year, Ron came to stay with Bill after he abandoned Harry and Hermione, and Bill didn’t make any negative comments, although wrong could tell he wasn’t exactly impressed. Later that year, when Harry Potter, Hermione, Ron, Dean Thomas, Griphook, Mister Ollivander, and Luna Lovegood escaped from Malfoy Manor, they were taken care of at Bill’s home until they were well enough to fight in the final battle.

During this time Bill Weasley took Harry Potter aside because he realized that Harry Potter had been planning something with Griphook the Goblin. Bill made it very clear that he had worked with goblins for a long time and they had a very different idea of concepts like ownership. He explained that goblins believed whoever made an item owned it. Therefore, even if a wizard purchased an item that was made by a goblin, when that wizard or witch died, the item should have been returned back to the goblin who made it. Goblins did not appreciate the act of wizards and witches passing possessions on to their heirs. Bill used the example of their great aunt Muriel and the goblin made tiara she owned. When Griphook saw that Tiara he made a face at the dinner table because he didn’t believe that the tiara should have remained in the Weasley family but instead should have been returned to whatever goblin made it. Bill simply warned Harry Potter that he had to be particularly careful with the words he used in any deal he brokered.

Bill Weasley_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_Battle at Hogwarts
Image from Fandom

Bill fought in the final battle of Hogwarts, showing up with his whole family and resolving previous family quarrels with Percy Weasley when he showed up at the last minute. He survived the fight without any serious injuries except for the loss of his brother Fred. 

Bill Weasley Spouse & Kids

Bill Weasley Spouse_Fleur Delacour
Image from Fandom

Bill Weasley married Fleur Delacour. They met during the Triwizard Tournament. She was immediately attracted to him, eyeing him from across the room. At the end of the year, she took a job at Gringotts Bank to improve her English, and one year later, Bill proposed. Many of the females in the family were against this relationship because they thought it was too soon, and they were only getting engaged at such a young age because they were afraid of what would happen next with Lord Voldemort coming back to power.

However, after Bill was attacked by Fenrir Greyback and Fleur Delacour declared that she loved him no matter what he looked like, that she was attractive enough for the both of them, and she would be the person to take care of his injuries from now on, the family realized that she loved bill for who he was. They were married in August of 1997 and set up their home at Shell Cottage along the beach.

After the Second Wizarding War they had three children. Bill was protective of his oldest daughter, especially when she reached puberty, and he had to regularly interrupt her conversations with teenage boys.

Bill Weasley Magical Abilities and Special Skills

Bill Weasley Magical Abilities and Special Skills
Image from Fandom

Bill Weasley was very talented when it came to defense against the dark arts. When he was a student, he practiced defensive spells on Death Eater dummies. He had to learn many counter-curses for his work as a curse-breaker. He was highly proficient at dueling as well, a skill he demonstrated throughout his life but especially during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, the Battle of the Seven Potters, and the Battle of Hogwarts. He was able to use Transfiguration, conjuration, and banishment easily throughout his everyday life. He also used many charms like the levitation charm, stunning spell, mending charm, and fire-making spell. He was highly knowledgeable in History of Magic, especially Goblin history, which is how he was able to explain to Harry Potter the way goblins view ownership differently than wizards.

 During his time at Hogwarts, he also earned his ordinary Wizarding level in multiple subjects like astronomy, potions, herbology, muggle studies, divination, defense against the dark arts, care of magical creatures, History of Magic, Transfiguration, and arithmancy. 

Bill Weasley Wand

No details are known about his wand.

Bill Weasley Trivial and Fun Facts

Bill Weasley Trivial and Fun Facts
Image from Fandom

The actor who played Bill, Domhnall Gleeson, is the son of the actor who played Mad-Eye Moody. 

In the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Bill Weasley is shown in a photograph, where the character is portrayed by actor Richard Fish. However, Domhnall Gleeson portrays the character for the rest of the films. 

Bill Weasley was heavily featured in multiple books like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. However, he was not featured in the film adaptations of any of those books. In the movies, Harry Potter doesn’t meet him officially until the first part of the Deathly Hallows. 

Bill Weasley Appearances in Books 

Bill Weasley appears in the following books:

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (mentioned only)
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (mentioned only)
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (mentioned only)
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Bill Weasley Appearances in Films

Bill Weasley appears in the following films:

  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (only in a photography)
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Bill Weasley Quotes 

Ginny explaining about the attack by Fenrir Greyback:

Greyback attacked him. Madam Pomfrey says he won’t — won’t look the same anymore… We don’t really know what the aftereffects will be — I mean, Greyback being a werewolf, but not transformed at the time.

Molly giving Bill a hard time about his appearance:

Molly Weasley: “…with a horrible, great fang on it, really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?”

Bill: “Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn about how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure.”

Molly Weasley: “And your hair’s getting silly, dear. I wish you’d let me give it a trim…”

Bill’s younger brothers teasing about his new relationship:

George Weasley: “Remember old Fleur Delacour? She’s got a job at Gringotts to “eemprove ‘er Eeenglish” —”

Fred Weasley: “And Bill’s been giving her a lot of private lessons.”

FAQs

Question: What is Bill Weasley’s Patronus?

Answer: Bill Weasley’s Patronus was a magpie, a type of bird. It’s a bird known for the song about sorrow and joy.

Question: What is Bill’s Real Name in Harry Potter?

Answer: Bill’s real name is William although everyone calls him Bill much the same as Charlie’s real name is Charles and Ron’s real name is Ronald.

Question: What Happened to Bill Weasley’s Face?

Answer: Bill Weasley’s face was slashed and ripped by Fenrir Greyback. Because Fenrir Greyback was a werewolf the wounds were cursed so they would never heal leaving Bill with a scarred face. 

Question: Is Bill Weasley a Werewolf?

Answer: Fenrir Greyback was not in his full werewolf form the night he attacked Bill Weasley. That meant Bill was not turned into a full werewolf. However, he did this play some tendencies similar to a werewolf like enjoying his meat raw.

Research Citations

IMDB. Harry Potter Full Cast. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0926084/fullcredits/cast

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2000.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2002.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Listening Library, 2003.

Rowling, J. K. (2010). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. London: Bloomsbury. Chicago (Author-Date, 15th ed.) Rowling, J. K. 2010.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top