Harry Potter Characters, Ranked

A double agent whose full arc reframes the entire series, revealed through the Prince's Tale to have loved Lily and protected Harry all along. The most morally complex character Rowling ever wrote.

Headmaster of Hogwarts and the only wizard Voldemort ever feared, whose grand plan and buried flaws (Grindelwald, the Deathly Hallows) drive the whole saga. Died atop the Astronomy Tower to complete his design.

Repeatedly saves the trio through sheer preparation, from brewing Polyjuice in year two to carrying the essentials in a beaded bag on the Horcrux hunt. The brains the plot literally could not function without.

Created six Horcruxes to splinter his soul into seven pieces in pursuit of immortality, becoming the defining dark wizard of the age. Menacing, though his fatal inability to understand love makes him predictable by the end.

Wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban for twelve years, he becomes the closest thing Harry has to a father before dying through the veil in the Department of Mysteries. Reckless, loyal, and gone too soon.

Deputy Headmistress who animates the castle's statues to defend Hogwarts in the final battle. Stern, fair, and quietly the most competent adult in the building.

The unwitting seventh Horcrux who walks willingly to his own death to end Voldemort. A solid protagonist, if often the least interesting person in his own scenes compared to those around him.

The gentle half-giant who first tells Harry he's a wizard and never wavers in loyalty. Big heart, questionable taste in pets, unmatched warmth.

The werewolf Defense teacher who taught Harry the Patronus Charm and treated him with real care. His death alongside Tonks quietly orphans another child.

Provides the emotional grounding and wizarding-world context Harry lacks, and sacrifices himself on the chessboard in year one. His jealous streak and mid-hunt walkout keep him human.

Unfailingly kind and unbothered by ridicule, she sees Thestrals and truths others miss. A fan-favorite whose calm weirdness cuts through the series' darkest stretch.

Grows from timid target of Snape's contempt into the boy who slays Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor. The definitive underdog payoff of the series.

Gleefully sadistic Death Eater who murders Sirius and tortured the Longbottoms into insanity. A genuinely unsettling villain, felled at last by Molly Weasley.

The schoolyard rival whose sixth-year task to kill Dumbledore reveals a frightened boy in over his head. More tragic than menacing once you look closely.

The twin pranksters who bring levity and, eventually, real courage to the resistance. Fred's death in the final battle lands harder than almost any other.

The warm surrogate mother of the series who delivers its most cathartic kill on Bellatrix. Fierce love in a hand-knitted sweater.

The house-elf who defies his masters to protect Harry and dies with a knife in his chest, saving the trio from Malfoy Manor. Small character, enormous emotional weight.

Spends all of book five smearing Harry and Dumbledore rather than admit Voldemort returned, costing the wizarding world a year of preparation. Cowardice dressed as governance.

A celebrity fraud who took credit for others' deeds by erasing their memories, then Obliviated himself with Ron's broken wand. Entertaining, but useless when it counted.

Betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort, framed Sirius, and hid as a rat for twelve years to save his own skin. The snivelling coward whose treachery starts the whole tragedy.

Carved lines into children's hands with a blood quill and weaponized bureaucracy to torment Hogwarts. Widely considered more hateable than Voldemort himself.