Which is your favorite Harry Potter character? We may have a host of them! Here’re the 10 best Harry Potter characters of all time, according to us.
If you ask any Harry Potter fan, books or movies we don’t judge, what attracts them to this franchise, the answers will range from having grown up with the books to a love for the world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All these options, however, can never supersede the first choice: the characters in the books, who are relatable (yet perfectly exaggerated) to feel like they inhabit the real world while knowing that their portrayal can be heightened enough in its quirks.
Because the Harry Potter books spawned a multimillion-dollar, multiple-part franchise of movies, the Harry Potter story has attracted a legion of fans. The curious difference here is that a list of the top 10 characters from the Harry Potter universe will differ for Harry Potter movie fans and Harry Potter book fans. This list, penned by yours truly, clearly highlights the ten best Harry Potter characters based on the books by JK Rowling. While there are bound to overlap with the movie iterations of these characters (on account of their relative faithfulness with the source material), there may be some surprising additions to this list! Come, let’s dive in!
Exploring the Enchantment: The 10 Most Beloved Characters from the Harry Potter Series
10. Draco Malfoy
There is a strong argument that Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince helped in crafting stronger character arcs for the developing protagonists and antagonists in the series, leading to a confluence in terms of plot progressions and character confrontations. One of the more interesting character arcs born out of this book would have to be Draco Malfoy’s.
The son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy is a “pureblood”, i.e. generational racism informed his actions into believing that he is naturally superior to individuals who aren’t. His contempt, in particular, would be towards the muggle-born wizards, and this animosity naturally translates to his support of Voldemort’s return and rise to power.
However, his depiction in Half-Blood Prince as an individual who is scared, confused, and unable to properly voice his fears to anyone is in sharp contrast to how his character was framed at the beginning, where the Dark Mark becomes a point of pride for him as well as his classmates in Slytherin. His disillusionment with the whole movement grows, especially in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. While he is never properly acknowledged in the final book, his enduring presence as the key antagonist for our three protagonists ensured that he got a well-deserved epilogue.
9. Bellatrix Lestrange
The Death Eaters, as a concept, were meant to symbolize a wizarding world version of the Ku Klux Klan—a group of fanatic followers devoted to blood purity and a single cause, personified by Lord Voldemort. But it was only with Bellatrix Lestrange that the readers understood how dangerous the Death Eaters could be.
First appearing in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Harry sees her trial in the Pensieve, Lestrange finally manages to escape from Azkaban in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She is characterised as a stately and purposeful woman whose infamy managed to almost surpass her master. Bellatrix is acutely aware of her actions, and unlike her film iteration, she is very composed yet completely unflappable when hurting and torturing children to attain her goals.
What, however, stands out is her proficiency and brutality in combat, especially in the battle at the Ministry of Magic, where she manages to not only block one of Albus Dumbledore’s spells and defeat her niece Tonks but is also responsible for the death of her cousin Sirius Black. It is further compounded by her undying loyalty towards Voldemort and steadfast belief in his ideology, which could also be interpreted as her harboring romantic feelings towards her master; that alone makes her more dangerous.
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8. Dobby
Dobby, the estranged elf of the Malfoy family who chooses to help Harry Potter by ensuring he doesn’t reach Hogwarts in his second year and thus never has to face the danger of the Chamber of Secrets, is more of a lovable pest in the second Harry Potter book. Dobby, however, slowly becomes a much more important character in the course of the series.
He is the inciting incident and inspiration for Hermione to start SPEW, which ultimately lets Rowling introduce the house elves of Hogwarts and show the class division within that society, which had initially only been touched upon in the second book. But Dobby is also characterized by how much of an ally he remains towards Harry throughout the books – he is responsible for informing Harry about the gillyweed, which helps him in the second task of The Triwizard Tournament and about the Room of Requirement, which becomes the training ground for Dumbledore’s Army. Finally, Dobby also helps Harry in his investigation into Draco Malfoy.
Thus, Dobby’s death in the final book is soul-crushing because the readers are already aware of how his depiction had been instrumental to the progression of “The Golden Trio” in the series, signifying his selflessness and steadfast belief in his friends, even though led to his death.
7. Ron Weasley
One could only dream of having a friend as loyal as Ron Weasley had been to Harry Potter. Perhaps Ron sets the bar too high for how friendship is supposed to be depicted because, from the first book to the last, Ron’s loyalty towards Harry never wavers. It, although, risks wobbling because of his characteristic insecurity.
Ron Weasley is one of the best-written characters in the series because, through him, Rowling shows what it would be like to always be overshadowed – a very relatable feeling among every teenager. Ron had always felt like the odd one out, especially in the presence of his stronger and more impressionable brothers, and now he was at risk of being overshadowed by his best friend.
But, as Rowling shows throughout the series, Ron realizes and acknowledges his strengths and proves himself to be a bastion of loyalty. It helps that he is quick-witted, humorous, and good-natured, and the lack of family wealth only makes him more open-minded and accepting than his fellow wizarding peers. Truly “Weasley is Our King”.
6. Dolores Umbridge
Appearing in Book 5 as the primary antagonist and making a small appearance in the final book, Dolores Umbridge is the most loathed character in the whole series, yet she is neither a death eater nor a strong opponent from a magical standpoint.
Dolores Umbridge is a bully, a manipulative politician who is content to peddle lies and maintain the government propaganda, content to choose sides when the wind blows in a different direction. Her calmness in delivering corporal punishment displays her ruthlessness, masking a psychotic tendency. There is a sadistic streak in her that even Voldemort, with his high body count, is unable to emote.
But what made Umbridge so horrifying was how much of the climate of uncertainty and fear allowed her to step into power as the Ministry’s right hand in controlling Hogwarts. Umbridge, in her conception and execution, highlights a mildly heightened and yet real perspective of evil that could transcend both the wizarding world and the real world, and that alone makes her terrifying and highly effective. There are very few characters who are loathed in the Harry Potter Universe even more than Lord Voldemort, and Umbridge is at the top of that list.
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5. Lord Voldemort
“The Dark Lord”, “He Who Must Not Be Named,” and “Lord Voldemort” are all pseudonyms of the gifted wizard Tom Riddle Jr. But before readers even knew him as Tom Riddle, Voldemort as a character was the boogeyman, a terrifying individual who had been defeated by Harry Potter when he was a baby (except for a select few individuals who knew that Voldemort would always return). Rowling portrays Voldemort as a feared presence, both in his individuality and ideology. There is a pervasiveness to his entire character that is bound to elicit unease, but when he finally comes back to life in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, he becomes a corporeal figure and is a legitimately terrifying presence.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, an extension of his backstory from the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book is explored, revealing a tragic yet haunting backstory. His hatred towards the muggles is not one to be condoned but the story helps you understand him better. His decision to split his soul into seven Horcruxes becomes a tangible MacGuffin for his downfall and a marker of his inhumanity.
Voldemort is the personification of brilliance intermingled with psychosis, a mixture of all the deadly dictators of the 20th Century conceptually, while aesthetically and through magical prowess alone, he is one of the most terrifying figures in the Wizarding World, which informs the mystique of Harry Potter when the story begins and further strengthens the resultant antagonism between the two of them as Voldemort rebirths.
4. Hermione Granger
When Hermione Granger was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, readers came to know her as an intelligent yet bossy girl with a know-it-all attitude. But Granger’s personality development throughout the series of Harry Potter books is undoubtedly one of the biggest assets of the series as it shows the progression of her character into a true literary icon.
Rowling’s portrayal of Hermione Granger underlines that while her brilliance is a strong asset, her kindness and loyalty ultimately emerge as the defining features of her personality. Born of muggle parents and forced to be a receptacle for all kinds of racist remarks, her choice to fight against society and prove herself to be the brightest witch of her age is admirable. But her friendship with Harry and Ron, especially her loyalty while maintaining her sense of individuality while her two best friends are at odds with each other, is especially remarkable.
One of the most moving moments in the final book (depicted gorgeously in the film) is her choosing to wipe out memories of her existence from her parents to keep them safe. This shows her bravery and resilience, which also helps her endure the Cruciatus Curse. Hermione Granger is undoubtedly one of the best characters in the entire series!
3. Harry Potter
It would be a poor list of the top ten characters in the Harry Potter series if it did not include the titular character. From ‘The Boy Who Lived’ to ‘The Chosen One’, Harry Potter leads the ultimate wish-fulfilment childhood for every kid — kids who are orphans, have grown up in abusive households, or are generally lonely in the world. They could relate to Harry Potter and his adventures in the Wizarding World, remaining in awe and wonder at the new chapter in his life which proves that Harry is famous but yet unaware of his fame.
However, what the books managed to explore very well was Harry’s personality. Rather than just being a figurehead, like in the films, Harry Potter is a brave and headstrong individual, prone to spurts of anger. He is also extremely loyal and values friendship over wealth and fame. Additionally, the books also portray Harry as someone with a sarcastic streak and a rebellious nature, further influenced by his godfather and the other marauders. As the books progress, readers learn why Harry Potter becomes the de facto leader of the revolution unlike the movies, where the concept of Harry Potter as a figurehead is itself powerful enough. The books do a perfect job of developing Harry’s personality and character arc.
There are moments where his anger and frustration at the world, at his fame, and at his connection with Voldemort force him to lash out, and those are moments young adults reading the book most relate with; his flaws add wrinkles to an already fascinating character. Harry Potter is, however, also prone to being a saviour, delving too much into his hero complex, but he develops to be self-aware enough to realise that he can’t help himself with it.
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2. Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore is the only wizard Voldemort ever feared and one of the most powerful wizards who ever lived. His character is quite complicated in the mythos of Harry Potter.
As depicted in Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince as well as in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Albus Dumbledore’s friendship with Gellert Grindelwald led to a change in his ideology, where the policy of magical superiority almost ensured a fascistic streak within Dumbledore until the death of his sister. But Dumbledore’s brilliance also brought with it a streak of arrogance, due to which his methods to identify the Horcruxes and his efforts to defeat Voldemort took decades, making Harry the focal point of this decades-long journey.
However, the complexity of Dumbledore’s character never takes away his devotion towards Hogwarts, his students, or the wizarding world at large. There are notable moments in the entire series where Dumbledore’s selflessness and love shine through, for example, when he chooses to take the fall for Dumbledore’s Army and go on the run from the Ministry of Magic or when he finally reveals to Harry that he was planning to abstain from revealing about the prophecy because he wanted Harry to enjoy his childhood. These characteristics help offset the machiavellian nature of Dumbledore and how he has been the person manipulating all the events of the Harry Potter books from the start. While it doesn’t make him entirely lovable and completely shatters the grandfatherly image of Dumbledore we were introduced to in the first book, it makes him one of the most complicated and, therefore, one of the most memorable characters of the whole series.
1. Severus Snape
This shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but Snape’s character displays surprising poignancy, especially at the end, which leaves an impression on the readers because the turn of his character wouldn’t be revealed to Harry until the very end. While Harry had been informed that Snape was on their side or had been training to protect him, it was hard for Harry to believe the same. It didn’t help that Snape’s appearance, condescension, and noticeable partiality made him a character Harry and, by extension, the readers would love to hate.
Flashes of his brilliance and complex characteristics appear in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which only become apparent in hindsight but are marred by Dumbledore’s death at Snape’s hands. Thus, from that moment on, to completely unseat and subvert readers’ expectations by showing Snape as an antihero acting as a double agent to protect Harry’s life from the sidelines, to be Dumbledore’s only confidant at witnessing the machiavellian scheming feels like a masterstroke.
What makes Snape’s character arc so poignant and yet human is his recoiling in horror at the true extent of Dumbledore’s plan and his revelation that he had been involved in this perilous journey because of his love for Lily Evans, Harry’s mother. This contextualizes each move Snape makes throughout the series, while his anger may be directed toward how much Harry resembles his father. Snape might have been led by petty jealousy and a confused ideology in his youth, but choosing to clandestinely act in service of Harry’s protection throughout his life feels paramount—a perfect coda to a saga.
