Monday, January 24, 2011

Characters: Harry Potter part 2

    Hogwarts Teachers 

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and considered to be the modern Merlin in terms of his magical ability. Like any good old, wise guy, is extremely vague about everything important he says; he is also humorously eccentric. Founded the "Order of the Phoenix," the organization that spearheads the fight against Voldemort; most of the characters in the series are personally loyal to him. Dies at the hands of Snape, but revealed to have planned it beforehand as part of an elaborate Batman Gambit.
Enjoys tenpin bowling, lemon sherbets and chamber music.
  • Awesome McCoolname
  • Badass Grandpa: "The Only One He Ever Feared," indeed.
  • Batman Gambit: Almost everything he does is part of one of these.
  • Because I Said So: Really not too keen on explaining why does things.
  • Belated Backstory
  • Beware The Nice Ones
  • Berserk Button: Attempt to harm ANY of his students, and you'll instantly discover why Voldemort fears Dumbledore.
  • Big Good
  • Broken Pedestal: Both subverted and played straight. While he wasn't perfect and did do some bad things, he wasn't as bad as Rita Skeeter implied, and he did genuinely see the error of his ways.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Extremely powerful wizard... and more than a little bit quirky. Example: announcing that he'd like to "say a few words" at the opening ceremony, and then saying, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
  • Celibate Hero: After everything that happened the last time he fell in love...
  • The Chessmaster: Just about everything in the overarching plot of the series happens thanks to his plotting and machinations. Luckily his ultimate goal is good, but he crosses more than a few moral lines in his plans (including part of his plan to destroy Voldemort involving Harry's sacrifice. If Voldemort hadn't stupidly used Harry's blood to regenerate, Harry would have died in book seven. Though as soon as he found out about this, Dumbledore did change his plans to make sure Harry would be able to survive his "death".)
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Difficult to tell how much is Obfuscating Stupidity.
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Crazy Awesome
  • Crazy Prepared
  • Dead Little Sister: Ariana.
  • Disney Villain Death: Although he isn't a villain.
  • The Dumbledore: Trope Namer.
  • Foe Yay: With his old 'friend' Grindelwald.
  • Guile Hero
  • He's Just Hiding
  • Insufferable Genius: Throughout his youth.
  • Knight Templar: how some fans see him. He manipulates those under his guidance and raises Harry to be a sacrificial lamb in his quest to defeat Voldemort; and he once thought that plotting world domination would be best for everyone. Granted he suspected that Harry would probably live but it was still a big risk
  • Mr. Exposition: Even post-mortem, in Deathly Hallows.
  • My Death Is Just The Beginning Unlike most of the examples, he does not use a Unwitting Pawn, since he'd prefer a quick and painless death, and Death Eaters tend to be sadistic.
  • Nobody Over 50 Is Gay: Averted, by a margin of nearly sixty-six years.
  • Not So Omniscient After All: In Dumbledore's own words: "I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being — forgive me — rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger."
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Never stupidity per se, but he nearly always knows a lot more about what's going on than he lets on.
    • Michael Gambon seemed to be working under the impression that all Dumbledore's Cloud Cuckoo Lander qualities are cases of this. Notice in his portrayal that he only pulls out an oddity like enjoying knitting patterns when he's intentionally trying to fool somebody or throw them off their guard.
  • The Obi Wan
  • Omniscient Morality License: Some of the things he says and does could make him seem like an outright Jerk Ass, but it's all okay because he knows everything about what needs to happen already. Some critics of the books have labeled him as a Jerk Stu as a result.
  • Overly Long Name: "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore".
  • Papa Wolf: Again, he "cannot allow you to manhandle [his] students." Which is a polite way of saying that if you try to hurt his students, he will END you.
  • Parental Substitute
  • Posthumous Character: He's alive for most of the book series, but we don't find out his past, his motivations, or really much of anything about him until after he's dead.
  • Pride: Not that he lacks a good reason. Still, it gets him into trouble at times, especially in his youth.
  • Silence You Fool: Part of what makes him a Badass Grandpa is that he has this down cold.
  • The Smart Guy: While there are a lot of brilliant characters in the series, Dumbledore is strongly implied to be the brightest of them all. While a student at Hogwarts, he won just about every honor imaginable.
  • Teen Genius: When he was a teenager.
  • Too Cool To Live
  • TV Genius: Sometimes he seems to border on omniscient. See also The Chessmaster, My Death Is Just The Beginning, and The Smart Guy.
  • What The Hell, Hero?: His brother Aberforth and others question the way he uses Harry throughout the series. Snape does a particularly good job of calling him out in one of the memory scenes in Deathly Hallows:
    "I have spied for you, lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter-"
  • Wizard Beard: Just look at the picture on the main page.
  • Word Of Gay: Possibly the most famous example.
  • Xanatos Funeral: And how!
  • Xanatos Roulette: Way too many of his schemes require exceptionally precise combinations of events and circumstances that can't realistically be predicted. For example, his master plan for removing the Horcrux from Harry would have failed if Voldemort had been a little more thorough with one particular murder.

Severus Snape

A former classmate of Harry's dead parents, Snape is now a teacher at Hogwarts who seems to hate Harry on sight. It's later revealed that Snape was frequently bullied and tormented by Harry's father (whom Harry greatly resembles) and godfather, and that he was once a Death Eater but has returned to the light side for some unspecified reason. Whether he is genuinely with the Order of the Phoenix or the Death Eaters becomes a major point of contention for many characters and fans.
In the sixth book, it's revealed that Snape was the spy who gave Voldemort the (incomplete) prophecy, leading to the murder of Harry's parents. In the seventh book, it's revealed that he and Harry's mother, Lily Evans, were best friends since childhood, and he subsequently fell in love with her, though she cut off said friendship when he referred to her as "mudblood" during a fight. When his actions as Voldemort's spy led Voldemort to begin hunting her, he was instantly remorseful. This is how Dumbledore knew his repentance was genuine and ever since he has helped the Order protect Harry because Lily died to save Harry's life.
Harry names his younger son after him and Dumbledore.
  • Adaptation Decay: Some of the absolute worst Character Derailment in the movies happened to Snape. Even worse? He's played by Alan Rickman, the one actor would could play Snape exactly the way Snape should be played. (In all fairness, Rickman does the best job he can, and Snape is just as intriguing in the movies as he is in the books, although his nasty personality is almost completely absent on celluloid.)
    • Inkstain Adaptation: Rowling herself admitted that, after seeing the films, she couldn't think of Snape as anyone but Rickman. It shows; Books 5-7 were released after the movies started being made. Watch as the descriptions of greasy-haired, bat-like, generally hideous Snape fall off a cliff and disappear.
  • Alliterative Name
  • Abusive Father: Cruelly ironic given his treatment of the students under his care.
  • The Ace: Not quite. See Broken Ace below.
  • All Of The Other Reindeer
  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Everything about his morality and what side he is on is debated by fans of the books.
  • And The Fandom Rejoiced: Alan Rickman is one of the least contested casting choices, with the biggest complaint being that he's so much older than Snape. Partiallyjustified, as Snape's role as double agent, and Headmaster of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows could conceivably cause him so much stress that he'd age rapidly and look like he's well into his 50s, despite only being 37 at the beginning of Deathly Hallows.
  • The Atoner
  • Anti Hero: Type III.
  • Badass Bookworm
  • Base Breaker: One of the more extreme examples in the series. He would likely top the list except that he's never canonically paired off with another character.
  • Belated Backstory
  • Black Cloak
  • Berserk Button: "DON'T CALL ME COWARD!" With good reason, since he is possibly the bravest character in the books besides Harry. Which Harry himself ends up aknowledging, calling Snape "the bravest man I ever knew" in the epilogue.
  • The Boo Radley: Played with.
  • Broken Ace: In terms of fighting ability, Snape would fall somewhere between Voldemort/Dumbledore and everyone else. But well above Gilderoy Lockhart. Outside of duels, he created a slew of potions techniques that made Harry the top of Slughorn's class, several jinxes and hexes, and an extremely powerful curse. Even more telling,he also creates a cure years later. Problem is, he also was so incredibly bitter over his (admittedly bad) experiences in school that he was willing to sell out his first and only love's husband and child in exchange to have her spared from death, and is bit him bad in the ass later as she dies anyway, and his Heel Face Turn comes from having to assume the huge screw-up that such an action was.
  • Character Development: Up To Eleven. Even people who don't care for the series, if they've read it all the way through, agree that Snape is the most well-written character.
  • Comforting The Widow: Tries to do this until Dumbledore calls him out on it. It also goes horrifyingly wrong, as she dies anyway.
  • Common Eye Colors: Black; "they were cold and made you think of dark tunnels".
  • Consummate Liar
  • Creepy Child: Heavily implied to be this, thanks to a combination of poor social skills and his knowledge of the Dark Arts, which, according to Sirius Black, was disturbingly comprehensive when Snape was eleven years old. In the series, he occasionally seems to be the grown-up version of this trope; the rest of the time, he comes off as a semi-normal (if moody, depressed, and extremely emotionally-detached) adult.
  • Curtains Match The Window
  • Dark And Troubled Past: Had an abusive father and neglectful mother and was bullied by James Potter and Sirius Black. How much of this was in retaliation and how much of it was instigated by Snape is up for debate, but please, DO NOT DEBATE IT HERE.
  • Dark Is Not Evil
  • Deadpan Snarker: To the nth degree. Makes for at least one Crowning Moment Of Awesome and Crowning Moment Of Funny each. Sometimes borders on The Snark Knight.
  • Did Not Get The Girl
  • Double Agent
  • Draco In Leather Pants: While Snape isn't evil, the facts stand: He's not a nice guy. He knows it. He never forgives himself for his mistakes. In-canon, he's described as greasy-haired, with a huge hooked nose, crooked and yellowed teeth, and a little too skinny to be healthy (in the movies, he gets an upgrade to Hollywood Homelybecause, well, Alan Rickman ain't half-bad for a guy in his mid-sixties). But the fangirls love him. They really love him. Enough to write reams of erotic fanfiction about him.
    • Enough also to ignore the anti-racism and anti-classism message in the books to bash Lily Evans for cutting off their friendship when he calls her "mudblood" in public and to her very face. Rabid fans Snape are terrifying in the extremes they'll reach to excuse Snape's worst traits and actions, which comes as even worse when you see that Snape himself disapproves of what he did in his past.
  • The Dragon Or so Voldemort thought...
  • Enemy Mine: Played with. Snape never really viewed Dumbledore or Voldemort as his "enemies", but he never really wanted to work with either of them... At first. He was quite happy to be a Death Eater until Voldemort threatened Lily, and when Voldemort reneged on his promise to spare her he appeared to be siding with Voldemort to bring him down.
  • Face Heel Revolving Door: His actions look like this to Harry.
  • Fake Defector
  • Finding Judas
  • Foe Yay: As a student, he was determined to find out where Remus Lupin went every month at the full moon. So determined that his best friend called him out on it. Subverted by the fact that Snape actually does hate Lupin.
  • Fridge Brilliance: Re-read all seven books. What was the first clue that Snape was in love with Lily? When he's insulting Harry, he only compares him to James. (As a matter of fact, Fridge Brilliance was heavily leaned on for his Character Development; the actual trope page has several great examples.)
    • Also, the biggest one: the chapter where Harry looks at Snape's memories is called "Snape's Worst Memory". One would think that it is because he got hummilliated by James Potter and Sirius Black, but one could also expect this was somewhat normal for them. Then comes Deathly Hallows and we discover that it is his worst memory because he called Lily Evans "mudblood", destroying any chance he might have had of ending with her.
  • Get Out: After Harry sees Snape's worst memory.
  • Good Is Not Nice: There are few characters in literature who exemplify this trope as well as Snape does.
  • Heel Face Turn: Near the end of the first war.
  • Hero With Bad Publicity: On purpose.
  • Hidden Depths
  • Hyper Competent Sidekick: Not quite. Snape is very powerful and, for lack of a better word, competent, but he's sidekick to Voldemort and Dumbledore, the two strongest characters.
  • Inspector Javert / Cassandra Truth: Snape takes it as an article of faith that Harry Potter is doing something stupid or illegal at any given time. He's usually right.
  • Insufferable Genius: Improved his textbook while still a student; invented his own spells at the same time; one of only two wizards capable of independent flight.
  • Intelligence Equals Isolation
  • Jerkass
  • Jerkass Facade: Your mileage will vary, HARD, on whether his actions are evidence of a facade or of him just being an asshole. For every "facade" argument, there's an equally compelling "asshole" one, so don't list any examples; that just leads to Conversation In The Main Page.
  • Jerkass Woobie: He suffered abuse from his parents and was bullied mercilessly by his peers. However, LOTS of the suffering he did go through was a result of his own actions and choices.
  • Jerk With A Heart Of Gold: Okay, we get it: He's not the kind of guy you'd go out for drinks with. Nevertheless, he does have people's best interests at heart, and given his brains and loyalty, he's exactly the kind of guy you'd need on your side to win the fight. Dumbledore knew this. Voldemort, being Stupid Evil, did not.
  • Killed Off For Real
  • Knight In Sour Armor
  • Like Father Like Son: Subverted and played straight. It's pretty obvious that Snape would never physically harm his students (his threats are empty; anyone whose parents ever threatened to "beat your ass bloody!" and never did could see that in an instant), but he's got no problems tearing them down verbally. The really sad part is, if he hadn't pushed Lily away and she'd fallen for him instead of James, he would have succeeded in ''not'' turning out like Tobias.
  • Love Redeems
  • Love Him or Hate Him: Throughout the fandom, Snape inspires either massive quantities of unconditional love or seething, undying hatred; very few fans claim the middle ground. NO EXAMPLES, PLEASE.
  • Meaningful Name
  • More Than Meets The Eye
  • My God What Have I Done: When he realizes that his own actions hurt Lily, the person he cared the most for, and eventually led to her murder.
  • Not So Different: While he never realizes it, there are more than a few parallels between himself and Sirius Black. Both were branded as criminals, both hated their families (or, at the very least, Snape hated his father and Sirius hated his entire family), both were hated to a murderous degree by Harry for something they did or more accurately, were accused of doing: Sirius's supposed betrayal of James and Lily, and Snape's murder of Dumbledore, and both are extremely protective of their friends' sons (Sirius to Harry, Snape to Draco). Furthermore, the accusations against them were publicly cleared only after they were killed and bot refused to let go of schoolboy grudges. And, let's face it, they're both noble assholes.
  • Not So Stoic: "DON'T CALL ME A COWARD!"
  • Papa Wolf: Towards Draco Malfoy, and via Narcissa's request; if you fuck with that kid, you will have a come-to-Severus meeting in your immediate future. (Not that Draco actually needs Snape's protection, but this is the reason fanon has it that Snape is his godfather.)
  • Puss In Boots: Most of Dumbledore's plans boil down to "Disappear for a few chapters and let Snape handle it." Usually it works. Except when Dumbledore decides to ignore the fact Harry and Snape do not get along.
  • Redemption Equals Death: During the climax of book seven.
  • Red Herring: He is this thrice. In the first book, all evidence points to him as the person trying to steal the titular Stone. In the fourth, we learn both that he is an ex-Death Eater and that Voldemort has a mole at Hogwarts. Guess who it is? Not him. In the fifth, we learn that his rivalry with Harry is deeply personal, and he seems to be conspiring with Complete Monster Dolores Umbridge against Harry. He isn't.
  • Reverse Mole
  • Ron The Death Eater: While he's not without his flaws, there are those who will completely overlook or ignore his desire to protect people (or the fact that the only ones who died on his watch were "those he could not save") and his loyalty to Dumbledore. There are also those who will say that "pre-emptive karma" justifies James and Sirius bullying him at school. Considering JKR's stance on bullying, it's quite safe to ask how far one must lower their IQ to believe this.
  • Sadist Teacher: To all the Gryffindors, and Neville Longbottom in particular.
  • Stern Teacher: In the movies, which cut out most of his antagonism of Neville and Harry.
  • Stealth Mentor: At the end of book 6, and other subtle instances besides, you know, his job as a Potions Master.
  • Super Window Jump Towards the end of book seven, leaving behind an Efficient Displacement.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: His What The Hell, Hero? speech in Deathly Hallows carries one about if Snape actually does care about Harry. Snape says he doesn't, butYour Mileage May Vary, especially considering that the news that Harry had to die inspired Snape's outburst.
  • Tall Dark And Snarky
  • Teeth Clenched Teamwork: With Sirius Black throughout Order of the Phoenix.
  • Unbalanced By Rival's Kid
  • Unlucky Childhood Friend: Towards Lily.
  • What Could Have Been: According to Rowling, if Snape had chosen Lily's friendship over the Death Eaters, his life would have turned out completely differently. In-universe, he is painfully aware of this.
  • You Are What You Hate: See Like Father Like Son, Not So Different, and Insufferable Genius.

Minerva McGonagall

Professor of Transfiguration, Deputy Headmistress, and Head of Gryffindor House. She is the first professor Harry encounters (besides Hagrid), and he promptly decides that she is someone "not to be crossed". He's right. Stern but fair, McGonagall is protective of her students and really dislikes it when Snape wins the Quidditch Cup from under her nose. Though she takes no crap from anyone, she does have a sense of humor - she assists Peeves during Umbridge's reign of terror and turns a blind eye to the Weasley twins' antics during that year. In fact, she has several Crowning Moments of Awesome during Order of the Phoenix, up to and including shutting down Umbridge at every opportunity. She is Dumbledore's right hand, deputy leader of the Order, and a powerful witch in her own right, and she is probably the teacher Harry trusts the most. Her Animagus form is that of a tabby cat with spectacle markings around her eyes, reminiscent of her glasses. She has a fondness for tartan and Ginger Newts. If she walks into a scene and is startled, expect her to drop the stack of books she is always carrying.
  • Adults Are Useless: Subverted during the final book, where she's shown to be thoroughly competent when it comes down to it. She and the other teachers ready various defenses in preparation for Voldemort's siege.
  • Alliterative Name
  • Animorphism
  • Apron Matron
  • The Aragorn
  • Authority Equals Asskicking
  • Badass Grandma
  • Berserk Button: Don't mess with her students, current or former. No, seriously. Don't.
  • Big No: Upon seeing Harry's 'dead' body in Deathly Hallows. See also Tear Jerker.
  • Commander Contrarian: To Dumbledore. She'll follow through on helping Dumbledore with whatever course of action he decides, but not before voicing her objections, improvements, and alternatives to the plan du jour.
  • Deadpan Snarker: She has her moments.
  • Fanon: There are two versions of student!Minerva - Hermione-ish, uptight bookworm and Quidditch-playing prankster. It's also fairly popular to have her as an Auror who fought during the First Wizarding War before she became a teacher.
    • Why not both, and have her as a bookworm who becomes a hellion on the Quidditch pitch?
  • Hidden Depths: Who would have expected stern Professor McGonagall to be so into Quidditch?
  • Iron Lady: Most definitely. Though she does have rare emotional moments.
  • Kuudere
  • Meaningful Name: In Roman mythology, Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, strength, and skill. Now why does this sound familiar, again?
  • Power Hair: She always has her hair up in a tight bun. It's even slightly lampshaded in Goblet of Fire when several students giggle at her describing the Yule Ball as a "chance to let our hair down".
  • Minored In Ass Kicking: Though it may not be expected, McGonagall holds her own in pretty much every battle at Hogwarts. Most notably, attacking Snape with a fire-lasso and a swarm of knives in Deathly Hallows. She also has an army of galloping desks.
  • Never Mess With Granny: She is not a woman you want to cross.
  • Not So Stoic
  • Number Two: To Dumbledore, as Deputy Headmistress.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: While she's quite strict and doesn't favour Gryffindor with the same devotion that Snape favours Slytherin, she is the one teacher to go to when you need help. She might scold you later, but she'll help whenever you need it.
  • Running Gag: Dropping a stack of books whenever something shocking happens.
  • Screw The Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Her resistance to Umbridge in Book Five includes encouraging mutinous, rule-flaunting anarchy among the students. In which she participates. "It unscrews the other way," anyone?
  • Stern Teacher: To a T.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Dumbledore.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: As an Animagus, she can transform into a cat whenever necessary.

Pomona Sprout

The short and plump professor of Herbology and Head of Hufflepuff House, Sprout doesn't mind getting dirty when dealing with dangerous plants. Like Flitwick, she is cheerful and fair to her students. Not a member to the Order, but loyal to Dumbledore even through Umbridge's reign and she played a significant role in the Battle of Hogwarts.
  • Beware The Nice Ones: Don't mistake her sweetness nor Head of Hufflepuff status for weakness. She can handle tough and dangerous plants without much fuss and she rebelled against the tyranny of Umbridge and Voldemort before using her knowledge of magical plants in the Battle of Hogwarts.
  • Never Mess With Granny

Filius Flitwick

The short professor of Charms and Head of Ravenclaw House. A cheerful man who usually stands on a pile of books whil addressing his class. Like Sprout, cheerful and fair to his students. Not a member of the Order, but loyal to Dumbledore and a former Duelist. He displayed the former under the rules of both Umbridge and Voldemort and the latter in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Rubeus Hagrid

The Hogwarts gamekeeper, and a half-giant as well. Hagrid was the one who explained the wizarding world to Harry, and remains his friend throughout Harry's years at Hogwarts. He also has an unusual affection towards vicious beasts, including Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback (dragon), Fluffy (three-headed dog), and Blast-ended Skrewts. Also has a thing for alcohol.
By the fifth and sixth books, he has become Dumbledore's recruiting agent, and tries to recruit several giants to fight Voldemort. It doesn't go over so well. Hey, at least he didn't die.

Remus Lupin

Introduced as a (temporary) teacher at Hogwarts, Lupin turns out to have been one of James Potter's best friends when they were all in school together. Also, as his Meaningful Name might suggest, he's a werewolf. A member of the Order of the Phoenix.Only one to exit the battle at ministry unharmed, except Dumbledore.
He and Nymphadora Tonks fall in love sometime between years 5 & 6, marry sometime between years 6 & 7, and have a child (Teddy) towards the end of year 7.
Tragically, they are both killed during the Battle of Hogwarts. (Their son is presumably raised by his grandmother.)

Dolores Jane Umbridge

A high-ranking Ministry functionary and perhaps the most universally despised character in the series, Umbridge affects the mannerisms of a kindly old aunt or grandmother, but they're only a thin veneer that covers governmental corruption at its worst incarnate in one woman. Sent to Hogwarts by Cornelius Fudge to keep an eye on Dumbledore, Umbridge wasted no time in turning it into her own personal fiefdom, running the school as a sugar-coated dictator. She lost her post at the end of Order of the Phoenix but retained her Ministry job under Fudge's successors Scrimgeour and Thicknesse. Umbridge is loyal only to the Ministry itself, no matter who runs it, and will gleefully uphold the status quo it lays down, no matter how horrible. The books make no mention of her final fate, but Word Of God comfirms that she was ultimately tried, convicted, and sent to Azkaban.

Horace Slughorn

An old friend of Dumbledore's, and until 1981 the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. In 1996, he returned to his post as Potions Master, and in 1997, resumed his post as Head of Slytherin.
    Other Order of the Phoenix Members  

Sirius Black

When first introduced, he is an escaped Death Eater and mass murderer who betrayed the Potters' location to Voldemort and is apparently out to kill Harry. Of course, once he finally gets there, Hilarity Ensues until we find out who the real traitor was, and that Sirius is actually Harry's godfather. Remains in hiding for the next two books, making it difficult for him to take over legal guardianship. And then he dies.

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody

First introduced in Book Four, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody is a retired Auror, with battle scars to prove it, who comes to teach at Hogwarts. It turns out he was the pawn in a majorXanatos Gambit to help You-Know-Who come back - the Mad-Eye we've been seeing all year is actually a Death Eater under magical disguise - and the real Mad-Eye (who nonetheless acts identically to the imposter, as the Death Eater kept Moody locked in a trunk so he could question him) resumes the fight under the auspices of the Order of the Phoenix in the remaining books.
He is a leading member of the Order of the Phoenix and fights in several battles, but gets killed by Voldemort in the seventh book.
  • Catch Phrase: "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
  • Crazy Awesome
  • Eyepatch Of Power
  • Good Scars Evil Scars: Subverted: he's on the good side, but his face is horribly scarred and disfigured. I.e.: he's missing quite a chunk of his nose, and there is a reason for his Eyepatch Of Power.
  • He's Just Hiding: Parodied in the last book, where Ron tries to think of bizarre ways that he could have survived a battle with Voldemort. Harry and Hermione shoot his theories down. Ron replies sulkily "Well, if you want him to be dead" to which Hermione gets very affronted and cries that they're just trying to be realistic.
  • Informed Ability: Moody's built up as one of the greatest Aurors of all time. Yet despite all his constant vigilance, he gets attacked and subdued in his own home in Goblet of Fire. In Order of the Phoenix, he's quickly knocked unconscious "offscreen" during the battle in the Department of Mysteries. The best explanation anyone has for this is that maybe he was more competent in his youth.
  • Mad Eye: It's not just for visual effect - the electric eye is literally the size of a golf ball.
  • Properly Paranoid
  • Retired Badass
  • Too Cool To Live
  • Well Done Son Guy: Arguably, to Tonks who is his protege.

Molly Weasley, née Prewett

Ron's mother, who eventually grows into a sort of surrogate mother for Harry.

Nymphadora Tonks

A young Auror with the distinction of being a Metamorphmagus. She can easily change her appearance at will, making her an invaluble member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Fleur Delacour

A student of Beauxbatons and a Triwizard Champion, Fleur is a vain and high maintenance half-Veela. However, she reveals herself to be a compassionate individual and loyal lover, and risks her life in the battle against Voldemort.
    Death Eaters 

Voldemort

Real name Tom Marvolo Riddle. The Evil Overlord of the wizarding world in Britain, he fears no one but Albus Dumbledore. Before his downfall, some ten years before the main plot of the first book, he killed hundreds, if not thousands of people, and gathered a huge band of followers, known as "Death Eaters". He tried to kill the one-year old Harry after murdering both of his parents, but failed due to The Power Of Love. The rebounding curse hit him instead, but he remained alive due to the horcruxes, which contained parts of his soul. After rising again and seizing power, he is killed by Harry (and another rebounding curse) in a Showdown at Sunrise. Has something of a snake fetish, and can talk to snakes.
19 years later, he's still dead.
  • Affably Evil: As a Hogwarts student. He managed to fool nearly everyone there except Dumbledore, even being named Head Boy for his efforts. No longer the case by the time of the book, though any of his supporters can tell you he's still quite charismatic.
  • And I Must Scream: His final fate is being imprisoned in the body of a flayed infant in what appears to be the limbo between life and death.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: His title "Lord Voldemort" is merely an anagram of his real name, but he is the heir of a noble title from his Muggle father's side of the family tree. And on his mother's side, he's the last descendant of a line that could be considered wizard nobility.
  • Bad Boss: It is very clear that most of his underlings — including even those who joined Death Eaters to satisfy their sadism — obey him out of abject terror. As punishment for failure, he is not above sending their children to what he thinks is certain death, even having a fit and killing whoever happens to be nearby.
  • Bald Of Evil
  • The Beautiful People: See Tall Dark And Handsome, below.
  • Belated Backstory
  • Big Bad
  • Black Cloak
  • Bond Villain Stupidity: Tom, the Evil Overlord List is an enumeration of things you are supposed to avoid doing, not a bloody to-do checklist!
    • Harry Potter is unique in this regard, as it successfully justifies its villain's Bond Villain Stupidity. Voldemort is one of the most knowledgable wizards of all time (perhaps apart from Dumbledore), but he's not particularly wise with the magic he wields, particularly the older branches of magic.
  • Boomerang Bigot: One of the goals of the Death Eaters was the elimination of any wizard who wasn't pure blooded, specially if they were muggleborn, but Voldemort himself was a half-blood.
  • Broken Ace: As mentioned before, he was Head Boy at Hogwarts and admired by nearly every professor except Dumbledore.
  • Complete Monster
  • Creepy Child: As a kid, he was a creepy orphan who often tormented the other kids at the orphanage. Two of them even went permanently mute after what he did to them.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: In the last book, his name is made a Taboo and anyone who says it immediately alerts the Death Eaters to their location. This is because the only people who are brave enough to say his name are the people who oppose him, like Harry.
  • Devil In Plain Sight: As an adult.
  • The Dreaded: Lord Voldemort, AKA "You-Know-Who" and "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named".
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Because Voldemort has no concept of love or mercy and fails to understand their value, he doesn't see how such emotions could possibly threaten him.
  • Evil Counterpart:
    • He is Dumbledore's match in terms of magical abilities and cunning. In fact, this goes even further when Dumbledore turned out to have a similar idea of wizards' superiority over muggles during youth.
    • Voldemort is also Harry's in terms of growing environment and personality. While Harry is born from the loving union between his parents, Voldemort is born from the completely loveless (and magically forced) union. Also, Harry's parents, in an ultimate act of love, sacrificed themselves so that Harry may live while Voldemort's father abandoned him and Voldemort's mother died due to despair, leaving her son all alone in the world (which explains Voldemort's inability to understand love). Personality-wise, Harry and Voldemort are courageous and smart; however, while Harry goes out of his way to help his friends, Voldemort uses people for his own ends and throws them away when they are no longer useful.
  • Evil Is Sexy: Young Tom Riddle is an in-universe example.
  • Evil Makes You Ugly
  • Evil Overlord
  • Evil Sorcerer
  • Fate Worse Than Death: A trope beyond his comprehension; for him, nothing could be worse than death. Turns out not to save him from death. Or what comes after it, which really is worse.
  • For The Evulz
  • Freudian Excuse: He was conceived under the effects of a Love Potion. When his mother released his father from its effects, his father left the both of them, making his mother lose the will to live. However, Voldemort himself doesn't seem too concerned about this.
  • Hoist By His Own Petard: Repeatedly.
  • It's All About Me
  • I Want Them Alive
  • Leave Him To Me
  • Living Lie Detector: In a very chilling way. He can invade the minds of anyone standing before him, and read their innermost thoughts or show them visions. It doesn't help him with Snape.
    • Or Narcissa.
  • Love Potion: The basis of his conception. After it wore off, daddy left. It's a big reason why he doesn't understand love.
  • Manipulative Bastard: He's good at this if he wants to. Just look at what happened with Ginny.
  • Meaningful Name: "Vol de mort" is approximately French for "flight of death/from death". Alternatively "voleur de mort" would be "thief of death.
  • Names To Run Away From Really Fast: Quite!
  • Nice Job Fixing It Villain
  • Nice Job Breaking It Herod: His attempt to kill Harry backfired on him and left him bodiless and powerless.
  • Obviously Evil
  • Only Mostly Dead: What he is in the first few books before his revival at the end of Goblet of Fire.
  • Parental Abandonment: While he doesn't come off sympathetic, his incestuous background and parental neglect does explain why he's so messed up since his childhood.
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: As Voldemort, he has obvious reptilian features and a snake familiar.
  • Revenge Before Reason: The reason behind his Bond Villain Stupidity and Villain Decay.
  • Self Fulfilling Prophecy: By choosing Harry, he set in motion the chain of events that will bring his downfall.
  • Shut Up Kirk: Right before his final clash with Harry.
  • Smug Snake: Well ''DUH''!
  • Soul Fragment: When he tried to kill the one-year old Harry and failed, he accidentally made him into a horcrux, forging a connection between their minds.
  • Soul Jar: The horcruxes in general.
  • Stupicide
  • Stupid Evil: He'll kill anyone who impedes or irritates him in any way at the drop of a hat. Anyone. Even his own men.
  • Tall Dark And Handsome: In his teenage years. His beauty is more remarked on than that of any other character — including love interests and Veelas.
  • Teen Genius: In the flashbacks to his teen years.
  • Too Dumb To Live: Not literally stupid — he's supposedly a genius — but stupidly arrogant and willfully blind.
  • Villain Decay: Your Mileage May Vary. But many argue that he was much scarier as a menace in the shadows who's known for killing people, than he is after his backstory is revealed and he's shown to be a Stupid Evil homicidal maniac, who may do some Hitler-esque things to reinforce his status as a Complete Monster.
  • X Meets Y: Word Of Goddess says that he's a combination of Adolf Hitler (genocidal madman, who deep down is what he hates) and Josef Stalin (megalomaniac willing to do anything for power).
  • You Have Failed Me: If you're lucky, after you've ticked off Voldemort, he'll kill you without putting you through the Cruciatus Curse first.

Bellatrix Lestrange

A Death Eater who was fanatically loyal to Lord Voldemort. She was one of the few females in the group, as well as among the most dangerous and sadistic of Voldemort's followers. the end of the First Wizarding War, Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, his brother Rabastan, and Barty Crouch Jr. tortured Aurors Alice and Frank Longbottom to the point of insanity searching for information on Lord Voldemort after his first downfall. Bellatrix was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for the crime, but escaped in the 1996 mass break-out, along with nine other Death Eaters. She participated in several battles of the Second Wizarding War, making it a particular goal to kill any relatives who were members of the Order of the Phoenix, including her cousin Sirius Black and niece Nymphadora Tonks. She also killed the Malfoy family's former house-elf, Dobby. She was also the last Death Eater standing during the final battle. Bellatrix's life of violence and malice was eventually ended when she was killed by Molly Weasley during the Battle of Hogwarts
  • Alternate Character Interpretation: Fan Fiction is divided as portraying her either as a Broken Bird Woobie who was forced into a life she didn't want, or as a Depraved Bisexual arguably even more sadistic that her literary counterpart.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil
  • Ax Crazy
  • Baby Talk: To Harry in the Department of Mysteries:
    "The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo."
  • Cassandra Truth: Bella is the only Death Eater who doesn't trust Snape, even going so far as to tell her sister, Narcissa, that she believes Voldemort is "mistaken" in trusting him. Considering Bella's feelings about Voldemort, her deep mistrust of Snape is pretty damn telling.
  • Character Exaggeration: Bellatrix is much more obviously deranged and maniacal in the films, and probably even more sadistic. In the books, she's more serious and focused.
  • Combat Sadomasochist
  • Complete Monster: Bellatrix is one of the most repulsive Complete Monsters in the whole series, only rivalled by Umbridge and Voldemort himself.
  • Dark Action Girl
  • Draco In Leather Pants: Yes, there are some people who actually give her this treatment.
  • The Dragon
  • Evil Counterpart: To Hermione Granger.
    • Especially in the movies where there are more physical similarities between Emma Watson and Helena Bonham Carter than the book versions.
  • Evil Is Sexy: In the movies. Mostly averted in the books, although Bellatrix fit this trope in her pre-imprisonment flashback.
  • Foil: To Molly Weasley, according to Rowling. Their battle in Deathly Hallows was supposed to illustrate the differences between the two women: Bellatrix puts her ideas before the people in her life, whereas caring for and loving others is what is most important to Molly - and what drives her to kill Bellatrix. Narcissa could also be seen as her foil; they share the same cause, but Narcissa's devotion to her husband and son and desire to protect them above all else are what keep her from going as far as her sister does. It's even lampshaded in some scenes where Narcissa is reluctant to let Draco take on certain tasks and Bellatrix can't understand why.
  • For The Evulz: She delights in torture, violence, and destruction.
  • Green Eyed Monster: By Half Blood Prince, Snape has replaced Bella as Voldemort's favorite. She doesn't take this well. Heavy emphasis on the "monster" part.
  • Hair Trigger Temper: Even by Death Eater standards, it really doesn't take much to set her off.
  • Incompatible Orientation: She loves Voldemort. Voldemort loves himself.
  • Karmic Death: Bellatrix might have lived a little longer, had she not tried to kill Ginny and mocked her very pissed-off mother as she jumped to her defense. Which doubles as Death By Irony, considering Bellatrix killed Sirius when he underestimated her abilities. Later, Bellatrix is killed when she underestimates Molly.
  • Kick The Dog: Repeatedly
  • Large Ham: Helena Bonham Carter devours the scenery during all of her scenes. It's delicious.
  • Meaningful Name: "Bellatrix" is the feminine form of "warrior" in Latin.
  • Misaimed Fandom: Helena Bonham Carter has noted that many of the books' fans are revolted by Bellatrix, yet partly want to be her.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Crossed when she, her husband, brother, and Barty Jr. subject poor Alice and Frank Longbottom (Neville's parents) to a Fate Worse Than Death - prolonged torture by Crucio curse until they became insane, unrecognizable vegetables. It's even worse that they did it after Voldemort was gone. Bellatrix then crossed it again when she killed Sirius and yet again when she stabbed Dobby to death, and for a last time when she mocked Molly Weasley for freaking out after her son Fred is killed and her daughter Ginny almost meets the same end by her hand. Enjoy your Karmic Death dealt by THE Mama Bear of the series, sweetie!.
    • How about in the first part of the Deathly Hallows movie, during the scene where Bellatrix pins Hermione to the floor? She carves the word 'Mudblood' into the poor girls arm while she's screaming, and to top it all off it looks like Bella's raping her. Dear God.
  • Psycho Supporter
  • Sanity Slippage: Fourteen years in Azkaban leaves a few psychological scars, even for Bellatrix, who wasn't exactly sane to begin with.
  • Tall Dark And Bishoujo: Pre-Azkaban.
  • Yandere: Bellatrix is madly obsessed with Voldemort and will do anything for him. He exploits this mercilessly.

Lucius Malfoy

Draco's rich, well-connected daddy. Despite being Obviously Evil, Lucius is viewed as a respectable figure by the majority of the wizarding world for most of the series. Though a Death Eater, he is not particularly loyal and will not hesitate to turn his back on Voldemort to save his own skin. Or that of his son.

Narcissa Malfoy

Narcissa is a pure-blood witch, the wife of Lucius Malfoy and the mother of Draco Malfoy. She is the youngest sister of Bellatrix Lestrange and Andromeda Tonks. Although never officially a Death Eater herself, Narcissa believes in the importance of blood purity and supports her husband in following Lord Voldemort during the First and Second Wizarding Wars.
  • Alternate Character Interpretation: She's either a cold, calculating bitch, or a woman who genuinely cares for her family's well being.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil
  • Aw Look They Really Do Love Each Other: Narcissa and Lucius, whose marriage, from the fans' point of view, may simply have been one of convienience until the opening scene of Deathly Hallows.
  • Big Fancy House: Against her will, Voldemort uses her house as a headquarters, making her and her husband extremely uncomfortable.
  • Blondes Are Evil: Averted during her Heel Face Turn, however Narcissa is generally snobbish towards others.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Harry, or, at least for the time being...
  • Evil Is Sexy
  • Evil Matriarch: Her personality is slightly similar to that of her son, Draco. She complains about Harry and his friends to a shopkeeper, asking why they serve "their kind."
  • Heel Face Turn: Narcissa's is a major example. When Voldemort casts a Killing Curse on Harry during the Battle Of Hogwarts, he asks Narcissa to check Harry's vital signs. She uses this opportunity, when she sees that he is alive, to covertly ask him if he knows of Draco's well-being. When Harry replies quietly that he is, Narcissa betrays the Dark Lord, saying that Harry is dead.
  • Hot Mom: Harry notes her to be a very beautiful woman, however, from what he saw, her beauty is somewhat marred by her donning an expression that suggests that she was sniffing dung whenever she was in the company of those she considered her inferiors.
  • Mama Bear: She is fiercely devoted to her family, and will do whatever it takes to protect them.
  • Rich Bitch
  • Screw The Rules, I Have Money!: Narcissa values wealth and power.
  • Smug Snake

Peter Pettigrew

Former Marauder, who betrayed James and Lily Potter's whereabouts to Lord Voldemort, leading to their deaths, then pinned the crime on Sirius Black.
  • All Of The Other Reindeer: Even the teachers occasionally got in on the act. As one of the Marauders, though, he joined in on bullying Severus Snape.
  • Bloodbath Villain Origin
  • Crouching Moron Hidden Monster: He's painted as a poorly-skilled wizard, much like Neville Longbottom, who needed to rely on his friends to scrape by in school. However, he becomes an Animagus and keeps in the disguise for twelve years (as Scabbers, Ron's pet rat), he creates a blast strong enough to blow apart a busy street and kill twelve Muggles in the process, casts a fully-functional Killing Curse with Voldemort's wand, and brews at least two incredibly difficult Dark potions to keep Voldemort alive and help him regain his body, respectively.
  • Dirty Coward
  • Fridge Horror: Pettigrew has been watching over all the Weasley boys since they were eleven. Now think about how many times you've changed in front of your pets and thought nothing of it...
  • Hoist By His Own Petard: See Karmic Death, below.
  • Karmic Death: Voldemort's rebirth potion requires "flesh of the servant, willingly given"; Peter cuts off his hand, and Voldemort rewards him with a silver hand. In Deathly Hallows, the hand strangles Peter when he betrays a tiny impulse of reluctance while attempting to kill Harry, to whom he has a life debt.
  • Its All About Me: He only cares for his own safety.
  • Not So Harmless: Wormtail, who was considered to be a bit of a dunder and weak not only managed to become a Animagus at the age of 15, a impressive feat no matter if you had help, but he was skilled enough to be a member of the Order Of The Phoenix, which counted among its membership incredibly powerful wizards such as Moody and Dumbledore. He was cunning and sly enough to be a spy for the Death Eaters and discreet enough to deflect suspicion from everyone, even Dumbledore. After the death of James and Lily and the fall of Voldemort his escape plan to free himself from Sirius borders on Magnificent Bastard, as he loudly accused Sirius of betraying James and Lily for all those around them to hear, created a massive explosion that killed 12 innocents, a blast of destructive power as has yet to be equaled in the series and faked his death by slicing one of his finger and transforming to a rat and escaping to the sewers, leaving a thunderstruck and framed Sirius behind while he spent 13 years hidden away in a wizarding family and free. He was skilled enough to cast the powerful Killing Curse to its full effect with a wand that was not his and he was capable of brew several complicated dark potions that give Voldemort his corporal form once again. All in all, Not So Harmless is he?
  • The Quisling
  • Redemption Equals Death
  • Red Right Hand: How Sirius figures out that Peter is still alive and has been hiding as Scabbers for years: Scabbers is missing the first toe on his left-front paw. The largest piece of Pettigrew found by the Ministry was his left index finger.
  • What Happened To The Mouse: So Voldemort makes Peter Snape's assistant in Half Blood Prince, right? And by this time Snape knows that Peter betrayed the Potters, leading to the death of the woman he loved, Lily. So the first question is, what did Peter do to piss off Voldemort that much? The second one is, what did Snape do to Peter?
  • The Woobie: A big subversion. It's easy to feel bad for poor, weak, picked-on Peter... Until you find out his dirty little secret. Then he loses the readers' sympathy very quickly.

Fenrir Greyback

    Factions 

Order of the Phoenix

The Death Eaters

Here come the supporting villains! These are the men and women who follow Voldemort, and the enemies of Harry and his friends. The name of the group comes from their belief that they can "conquer death". Mortal to the Order of the Phoenix, their goal is to exterminate all "impure" wizards, create a new world order in the wizarding society, and (eventually) achieve immortality - and during both the first and second wars, they are Voldermort's inner circle and act as the elite force in his Army. Death Eaters are recognizable by the Dark Mark, a magical sign branded into their forearms by Voldemort that burns whenever he summons them to him. Dumbledore describes the Death Eaters as a motley crew of "the weak, seeking reassurance, the ambitious, wanting power and shared glory, and the brutish, gathering around a leader who could show them new forms of cruelty".
  • Aerith And Bob: Their names are very different from each other, ranging from "Lucius" to "Evan" to "Bellatrix".
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: Several of the Death Eaters come from aristocratic families, though not all of them (there's little that's aristocratic or cultured about Greyback or the Carrows, for example).
  • Black Cloak
  • Bloodbath Villain Origin: Sirius Black appears to have this, blowing up a street and killing 12 people, and laughing about it, when arrested. Until it's revealed that Black was innocent, and Wormtail was the one who caused the explosion
  • Brainwashed: Lucius uses this as a ploy to get out of being arrested
  • Draco In Leather Pants
  • Equal Opportunity Evil: Subverted and played straight. While the Death Eaters are willing to work with dark creatures like werewolves and giants that the rest of the wizarding world won't have anything to do with, but if you're not a pureblood wizard you'll never rise higher than Psycho For Hire.
  • Evil Counterpart: To the Order of the Phoenix.
  • Five Bad Band: The top members of the group, including Voldemort himself.
  • Freudian Excuse: Barty Crouch Jr. in the books.
  • Heel Face Turn: Several individual members.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Barty Crouch Jr. comes across as this in his first appearance (the trial flashback). The crime he was guilty of was beyond horrific, but it's hard to not sympathize with the crying teenager who is handed to the Dementors by his own father. And in the present, to his small credit, he gets a minor Pet The Dog moment in acting particularly nice toward Neville while disguised as Moody, showing that he may have regret for what he had done (he does NOT, however, regret supporting Voldemort....)
    • And then you find that actually, he doesn't regret a thing. He just used Neville to help Harry advance in the Triwizard tournament. He was, and always would be, a faithful supporter for Voldemort.
  • Nightmare Fuel: Most of them, but Barty Crouch Jr. and Fenrir Greyback take the prize.
  • Obviously Evil
  • Oddly Small Organization: Partly justified, since they are Voldemort's fanatical inner circle and are sent on all special tasks. The Mooks below them are known as Snatchers, and are not so much an actual organization as an army of collaborators. In the last book, most of their dirty work is done by swarms of inhuman Dementors.
  • Psycho Supporter: Definitely Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr.
  • Putting On The Reich: They view pure-blooded wizards (themselves) as the master race, and their ideology centers on cleansing the world of "mudbloods". Also, in the fourth film, their black robes and pointed hoods intentionally resemble the Ku Klux Klan.
  • Smug Snake: Many of them, but the first prize goes to Lucius.
  • Torture Technician: The Carrows, deliberately placed at Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows to scare and beat the next generation into line with Voldemort's way of thinking. Other Death Eaters torture too, but these are the ones who do it for a living.

Dumbledores Army

Gryffindor

Slytherin

Ravenclaw

Hufflepuff

  • Butt Monkey: Hufflepuff is definitely the most maligned and mocked house in the fandom as well as canon. Hagrid tells us the first thing we ever hear about Hufflepuff, which is "everyone says Hufflepuff are a load o' duffers", although it's not made clear whether or not he actually agrees with this assessment. In any case, the books imply many times that Hufflepuff doesn't deserve its in-universe reputation as the house of weak-willed idiots. Of course, Fan Dumb sometimes misses the subtext and thinks they're actually weak-willed idiots, Cedric notwithstanding.
  • The Generic Guy
  • Hufflepuff House: Trope Namer.

Dementors

Uncanny creatures in black cloaks that are essentially walking (err, make that floating) Mind Rapes waiting to happen. Initially, they serve the Ministry of Magic as guards for Azkaban, but care nothing for human morality- all they want are victims whose emotions they can feed on, and they're more than willing to switch their allegiance to Voldemort when he offers a better deal. Notable for being Harry's worst fear, because they can use their powers to force him to relive the many traumatic experiences of his life, particularly his parents' deaths.
    Misc characters 
  • Aloof Big Brother: Bill & Charlie.
  • Apron Matron: Augusta Longbottom
  • Asexuality: Implied with Charlie Weasley, who didn't feel like he needed a family since he found fulfillment in studying dragons. He is also the only surviving Weasley child not to marry.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Ron and Hermione; implicitly also James and Lily.
  • Beware The Nice Ones: Prof. Filtwick is one of Hogwarts' nicest teachers, however he is one of the main teachers at Hogwarts and used to be a dueling champion as several Death eaters and Snape would find out.
  • But You Screw One Goat: Aberforth has one unhealthy obsession with Capra aegagrus.
  • Butt Monkey: Dudley Dursley, whenever there's a wizard around. The first time he meets a wizard he gets a pig's tail out of it. The second time, an engorged tongue. The third time he nearly gets his soul sucked out. He does manage to make it out of the last two books with no traumatizing experiences. He also almost had a snake set on him by Harry (unintentionally, of course, but on his birthday, no less). Given his generally unlikable personality, the way he is spoiled to within an inch of his life by his parents (which apparently JKR describes as abuse due to how badly it screwed him up), being so fat he's described as being the size of a baby killer whale, and his bullying of Harry, it's all completely deserved, and these episodes are played for laughs (except for the last one, and even then the narration throws in a few fat jokes).
    • On the other hand, he does get rewarded when he later believes Harry's claims about Demoentors and confronts his Abusive Parents on their treatment of Harry. The Epilogue mentions that he's grown into a rather decent person afterwards, and he and Harry are still on friendly terms.
  • The Chamberlain: Cornelius Fudge.
  • Closet Key: Grindelwald.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Xenophilius shows that Luna came by this trope honestly.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Just about every speaking character, at some point in the series.
  • Death By Origin Story: James and Lily Potter, Harry's parents.
  • Dirty Coward: Zacharias Smith and most Slytherins.
  • The Driver: Ernie Prang and Stan Shunpike.
  • Dying Like Animals: Filch, Dolores Umbridge, and various Death Eaters — among others — all qualify.
  • Enemy Mine: Narcissa Malfoy in book 7.
  • Fake Ultimate Hero: Gilderoy Lockhart.
  • Feet Of Clay: Gilderoy Lockhart.
  • Female Success Is Family: Tonks being the prime example.
  • The Gambling Addict: Ludo Bagman.
  • Hanging Judge: Barty Crouch Sr.
  • Happily Married: Molly and Arthur Weasley, also Vernon and Petunia even if they're less sympathetic characters.
  • Henpecked Husband: Arthur Weasley.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Dobby in Deathly Hallows.
  • Intrepid Reporter: Rita Skeeter, antagonist version.
  • Kendo Team Captain: Oliver Wood.
  • Kindhearted Cat Lover: Mrs. Figg.
  • Knowledge Broker: Horace Slughorn.
  • The Libby: Pansy Parkinson.
  • Mama Bear: Narcissa. She actually lies to Voldermort himself to protect Draco. And there's no denial of Lily's Mama Bear qualities, too: she's such a Mama Bear that herHeroic Sacrifice protects Harry from beyond the grave.
  • The Medic: Madam Pomfrey.
  • Mentor Occupational Hazard: Dumbledore, Sirius and Lupin.
  • Never Mess With Granny: Augusta Longbottom. Death Eaters thought they could take her. Turns out she sent Dawlish to St. Mungo's.
  • Nightmare Fuel: Literally, the Dementors.
  • Not So Different: At some point in the series, nearly every main character has been shown to share at least one very distinct trait with a character who initially seems to be their polar opposite. Harry and Voldemort are outright stated in the books, whereas fans picked up on similarities between characters (like Hermione and Bellatrix, for just one example) on their own.
  • The Phoenix: Fawkes.
  • Platonic Life Partners: Harry and Hermione.
  • Prophecies Are Always Right: Subverted with the well-meaning fraud Sybil Trelawney. Then hilariously doubly subverted when all of her predictions eventually come true — almost never in quite the way she expects.
  • Right Hand Attack Dog: Nagini.
  • Salt And Pepper: Dean & Seamus.
  • Scary Dogmatic Aliens: While they are not aliens, Voldemort and the Death Eaters fit the Aliens as Nazis archetype to a T. Also Grindelwald, who is implied to have collaborated with actual Nazis.
  • Screw Politeness, I'm A Senior!: Ron's one-hundred-and-seven-year-old great-aunt Muriel.
  • Sensitive Guy And Manly Man: In Fanon, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.
  • Stupid Sexy Flanders: Cedric, Bill, Tom...
  • Ted Baxter: Gilderoy Lockhart.
  • Terrible Trio: Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.
  • Those Two Guys: Dean Thomas & Seamus Finnegan
  • Three Amigos: Harry, Ron and Hermione.
  • Took A Level In Jerkass: Percy Weasley. Partially subverted as he gave back the level right before the Battle of Hogwarts.
  • With Friends Like These: Ron and Hermione.
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