List of supporting Harry Potter characters

This article describes important characters from the seven volumes of the Harry Potter series of novels by Joanne K. Rowling.

In addition to this article, there are four others that describe parts of the Harry Potter world:

Main characters

Harry Potter

Harry James Potter (* 31 July 1980 in Godric's Hollow), the main character of the story, is the son of the witch Lily and the wizard James Potter. He lost his parents at the age of 15 months to the deadly curse "Avada Kedavra", carried out by Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard of his time. Harry is the first known wizard to survive this curse, as he was protected by the love of his mother, who sacrificed her life for him. The curse fell back on Voldemort and nearly killed him himself, so that he ceased to exist physically for years and the wizarding world was free of him for the time being. As a result of these events, Harry became famous as "the boy who survived" even as a baby.

Harry has his mother's green eyes, tousled, raven-black hair that sticks out at the nape of his neck like his father's, wears glasses with round lenses and is rather small and slender for his age. He has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead since Voldemort's attempted murder. He has a very good intuition that is "almost always right" (Remus Lupin, Volume 7) and a rather "hot temper" (Albus Dumbledore, Volume 7). He behaves selflessly and modestly; Harry always judges his fellow men by their character and never pays attention to appearances or status, such as purity of blood. He saves several people's lives even though they seek his death or that of his friends (e.g. Draco Malfoy twice during the Battle of Hogwarts in the seventh volume). He pursues things he is convinced of with perseverance, bravery and self-confidence.

Harry spends his childhood with the family of his aunt Petunia Dursley, his mother's sister, in the London suburb of Little Whinging, Surrey. The Dursleys are non-magical people (Muggles) who reject everything foreign and especially the wizarding world. They lie to him that his parents died in a car accident and treat him badly, for example he has to live in the cupboard under the stairs. On his eleventh birthday, Harry learns from Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, the truth about himself, his parents and Hogwarts, the school for wizards and witches where he will go after the holidays. He travels there on the Hogwarts Express along with many other first-year students and is assigned to Gryffindor House by the Sorting Hat. His schoolmates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger soon become his best friends, as well as the headmaster Albus Dumbledore a mentor and Hagrid a close reference person. Harry also gets to know Ron's family, the Weasleys. Ron's parents treat him like their own child and thus give him the longed-for piece of parental security that he never experienced in the Dursley house. Since his first year at Hogwarts, Harry has been a Seeker in his house's Quidditch team, and from the sixth year onwards, he has also been their captain.

At the heart of the story, and Harry's time at Hogwarts, is the ongoing threat posed by Lord Voldemort, whom Harry repeatedly confronts in a fight to the death. After the latter succeeds in regaining his body at the end of Harry's fourth year at school, the connection between Harry and Voldemort increasingly crystallises, making it possible to see into each other's minds and thoughts. Harry also possesses the ability to speak with snakes (Parselmund), which - as it turns out - was transferred to him by Voldemort during the attempted murder. At the end of his fifth year at school, Dumbledore reveals to him the prophecy made shortly before his birth, which announced Voldemort's chosen opponent, who alone would have the power to defeat him. From then on, he is also considered "the chosen one" in the magical world and, accompanied by Dumbledore, investigates Voldemort's career, the knowledge of which is to help Harry in his fight against him. At the end of his sixth year, Harry decides not to return to Hogwarts and instead to continue the search for Voldemort's Horcruxes begun by Dumbledore. Hermione and Ron help him with this. The three friends return there at the end of the seventh volume in the course of the all-important Battle for Hogwarts, where Harry learns that when Voldemort tried to murder him, his soul split, making him a seventh Horcrux, which neither of them knows until the end of the seventh volume. Harry succeeds in defeating Voldemort.

Harry marries Ron's sister Ginny and has children with her, James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna Potter. Rowling has also revealed that later in life, under Shacklebolt's leadership, he becomes the head of Auror Central at the Ministry of Magic.

Harry acquires various items - significant for the course of the story - such as a racing broom (first the Nimbus 2000, later the Firebolt), the Map of the Rumrunner, a cloak of invisibility inherited from his father, the house in Grimmauld Place inherited from his godfather Sirius Black, who was killed in the fifth volume, and a snowy owl named Hedwig, which Hagrid gives him for his eleventh birthday. She dies in the seventh volume. Harry also becomes the rightful owner of the Elder Wand.

Hermione Granger

Hermione Jean Granger (English Hermione) (* 19 September 1979) is the best friend of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. She comes from a Muggle family; her parents are dentists. Hermione is described as a girl or teenager with brown, bushy hair and brown eyes. Until a magical reduction in the fourth book, she has conspicuously large front teeth. She is very clever as well as inquisitive and can often help her friends with their problems with her knowledge of magic, but sometimes gets on their nerves with it. Despite her intelligence, Hermione suffers from fear of failure. She has had a cat-like animal called Crookshanks since the beginning of the third year at school.

Since the fourth volume, Hermione has been determined to free all house elves, and especially those at Hogwarts, from their "slavery", whether they want it or not. To this end, she founds a student initiative called B.ELFE.R. (Bund für ELFEnRechte, in the original "S.P.E.W.", Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare), but hardly anyone wants to join. Harry and Ron are the first members, but are actually not convinced by B.ELFE.R. To everyone's surprise, Hermione goes to the Christmas Ball with the famous Seeker Viktor Krum in the same year. She is also the person who has to be retrieved from the bottom of the Black Lake by Krum in the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.

Hermione is committed to Harry's success in the Triwizard Tournament from the beginning and is one of the few people to believe him when he says he did not throw his name into the Goblet of Fire. In her fifth year at school, Hermione is made a Gryffindor trust student along with Ron. In the same year, she is the driving force behind Harry forming the DA, and takes part in the battle over the prophecy at the Ministry of Magic, as well as the battle at the Astronomy Tower in the sixth volume. During her journey with Harry and Ron in search of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Hermione faithfully stands by Harry's side and is his most important advisor. Due to her highly developed acumen, her level-headedness and her extraordinary skills as a witch, she is always able to recognise the crux of their problems and find an appropriate solution for them. In doing so, she saves her friends' lives several times and is instrumental in the success of their mission (finding the Horcruxes and destroying them).

As already indicated in the previous books, it becomes obvious in the course of the plot of the sixth volume that Hermione has fallen in love with Ron. In the seventh volume, the two finally become a couple. In the epilogue of the seventh volume, the reader learns that Hermione and Ron marry and have at least two children (Rose and Hugo). In addition, Rowling has revealed, Hermione holds a number of important posts in the Ministry of Magic, where she can specifically (and successfully) advocate for the rights of those oppressed in the wizarding world - including Muggle-born wizards and house elves.

Joanne K. Rowling borrowed the original name Hermione from Shakespeare's work A Winter's Tale. In the fourth volume, Rowling explains the correct pronunciation by having Hermione slowly recite her name to Viktor Krum: "Her-my-oh-nee".

Ron Weasley

Ronald Bilius Weasley (* 1 March 1980), known as Ron, is Harry and Hermione's best friend. Like them, he belongs to the Gryffindor house at Hogwarts. He is the second youngest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley. Ron comes from a large family and has five older brothers (Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George) and a younger sister (Ginny).

Ron is described as tall and lanky, with large hands and feet and a long nose. He has blue eyes and, like all Weasleys, red hair and many freckles. Ron suffers from being overshadowed in every way by his older brothers. They were Quidditch captain, head boy and very good students. Ron also has to wear or use many of their old things, be it brooms, clothes or pets ("Scabbers"), because his family does not have enough money to finance new equipment for each of the numerous children. Since the end of the third volume, he has had a little owl called Pigwidgeon, which Sirius Black gives him as a replacement for "Scabbers". Ron is a good chess player, which he proves at the end of the first volume. He is also a very good Quidditch player, but at first he cannot cope with the pressure to perform and is therefore ridiculed by the Slytherins. In fifth year, he becomes keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He is also appointed Gryffindor's trust pupil together with Hermione. Ron has been terrified of spiders since he was three years old, because his brother Fred turned his teddy into a spider and scared Ron terribly.

Ron meets Harry outside platform 9 ¾ and sits with him in the compartment on the Hogwarts Express. They hit it off straight away. Together with Hermione, whom they don't like at all at first, they soon form an inseparable trio. Despite Ron's and Hermione's friendship, hardly a day goes by since the third year of school without the two of them arguing about some trivial matter. By his sixth year at the latest, it becomes clear that Ron has fallen in love with Hermione. However, the two do not become a couple until the seventh volume. Ron destroys a Horcrux with Godric Gryffindor's sword and, together with Hermione, destroys a second Horcrux with the help of a basilisk fang.

After his time at Hogwarts, he marries Hermione and has two children with her, Rose and Hugo. He also works for a while at the Ministry of Magic's Auror Centre, which is run by Harry, before joining his brother George's joke shop as his brother's partner.

Teachers and school staff at Hogwarts

Overview

• Headmaster:
• Prof. Dexter Fortescue (painting in the headmaster's office)
• Prof. Dilys Derwent (hangs as a painting in the headmaster's office, was also a healer at St. Mungo's Hospital)
• Prof. Phineas Nigellus Black (was one of the most unpopular headmasters in the 19th century, also painting in the headmaster's office)
• Prof. Armando Dippet (during school Tom Riddles)
• Prof. Albus Dumbledore (with interruptions until his death at the end of the sixth volume)
• Prof. Dolores Umbridge (during a short time in the fifth volume)
• Prof. Severus Snape (in the seventh volume until shortly before the great battle at the end of the volume).
• Prof. Minerva McGonagall (after Snape from the end of the seventh volume until her retirement)
• Deputy Headmistress (and Acting Headmistress at the end of the sixth volume and for part of the second volume): Minerva McGonagall
• Hufflepuff Homeroom Teacher: Prof. Pomona Sprout
• Gryffindor tutor:
• Prof. Albus Dumbledore (during Tom Riddle's school days)
• Prof. Minerva McGonagall (during Harry's school years)
• Ravenclaw tutor: Prof. Filius Flitwick
• Tutor of Slytherin:
• Prof. Severus Snape (until shortly before the end of the sixth volume)
• Prof. Horace Slughorn (from the end of the sixth volume and during Tom Riddle's school days)
• Arithmantics teacher: Prof. Septima Vektor
• Astronomy teacher: Prof. Aurora Sinistra
• History of Magic Teacher: Prof. Cuthbert Binns
• Herbology teacher:
• Prof. Pomona Sprout
• Prof. Neville Longbottom (Epilogue Volume 7)
• Muggle Studies Teacher:
• Prof. Quirinus Quirrell (before volume 1; according to an interview with Rowling)
• Prof. Charity Burbage (until volume 6; is murdered by Voldemort at the beginning of the seventh volume)
• Prof. Alecto Carrow (Volume 7)
• Teacher of Care of Magical Creatures:
• Prof. Kesselbrand (until Volume 2)
• Prof. Rubeus Hagrid (from volume 3)
• deputy Prof. Wilhelmina Raue-Pritsche
• Broom Flight teacher and organiser of the annual Quidditch tournament: Rolanda Hooch
• Teacher of Defence against the Dark Arts:
• Prof. Quirinus Quirrell (Volume 1)
• Prof. Gilderoy Lockhart (Volume 2)
• Prof. Remus Lupin (Volume 3)
• Barty Crouch Jr. in the guise of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody (Volume 4)
• Prof. Dolores Umbridge (Volume 5)
• Prof. Severus Snape (until shortly before the end of the sixth volume)
• Prof. Amycus Carrow as Teacher for the Study of the Dark Arts (Volume 7)
• Teacher of Transformation:
• Prof. Albus Dumbledore (during Tom Riddle's school days)
• Prof. Minerva McGonagall
• Teacher of fortune telling:
• Prof. Sibyll Trelawney
• Firenze (additionally from the middle of the fifth volume)
• Teacher of Magic: Prof. Filius Flitwick
• Potions teacher:
• Prof. Severus Snape (until Volume 5)
• Prof. Horace Slughorn (from volume 6 and during Tom Riddle's school days)

• Caretaker:
• Apollyon Pringle (predecessor of Filch)
• Argus Filch
• Gamekeeper:
• Mr. Ogg (Hagrid's predecessor)
• Rubeus Hagrid
• Nurse: Poppy Pomfrey
• Librarian: Irma Pince
• Known house elves: Dobby, Winky, Kreacher

Headmaster

Phineas Nigellus Black

Phineas Nigellus Black (* 1847; † 1925) is the great-great-grandfather of Sirius and is considered the most unpopular former headmaster of Hogwarts. Since his death, a portrait of him has been in the Headmaster's Office. In the fifth volume, he is the bearer, albeit reluctantly, of messages between Dumbledore and Sirius or Harry during their stays at 12 Grimmauld Place. When Harry, Ron and Hermione stay at 12 Grimmauld Place during their search for the Horcruxes, Hermione takes his portrait there with her on the journey, but casts a magic blindfold on him so that he cannot reveal her current whereabouts to Snape. Nevertheless, Black manages to give Snape an important tip about Harry and Hermione's camp in the Forest of Dean. Snape uses the information to bring Harry Gryffindor's sword, which can be used to destroy Horcruxes.

Albus Dumbledore

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (* 1881; † 1997) is the headmaster of Hogwarts until his death at the end of the sixth volume. He is a slender and tall wizard, has long silver hair and a long silver beard, bright blue eyes and wears half-moon spectacles on his hooked nose. His Patronus is in the shape of a phoenix and he also possesses a real phoenix named Fawkes; phoenixes, according to family legend, appear to a Dumbledore who is in distress. Dumbledore is humorous, secretly enjoys pranks and disrespecting his students, and likes to eat sweets. As one of the most deserving wizards of the present day, Dumbledore was awarded the "Order of Merlin (1st Class)". As a "Very Big Shot" he was Chairman of the "International Association of Wizards" as well as Grand Master of the "Wizard's Gamot" for many years.

Dumbledore spent his youth in Godric's Hollow, Harry's later birthplace. His mother Kendra was of Muggle origin, his father a wizard. It was in Godric's Hollow that Dumbledore met his future enemy, the black magician Grindelwald. He falls in love with the young Gellert and a relationship of both a sexual and romantic nature develops between them. Later, in Grindelwald's Crimes, we see Albus Dumbledore standing in front of the mirror Erised and Gellert seeing Grindelwald in it; the mirror shows only the dearest heart's desire and Dumbledore also says later that they were both closer than brothers. Together with him he searched for the Deathly Hallows for some time. In 1945, after Grindelwald had established a reign of terror abroad, they had a duel with Dumbledore, which the latter won. In the process, he took Grindelwald's wand, the Elder Wand. The triumph over Grindelwald is one of Dumbledore's greatest achievements. Dumbledore was offered the post of Minister of Magic several times, which he turned down on the grounds that a career in the Ministry did not interest him; there was nothing he liked more than training young minds. He also said that he should not be entrusted with too much power. Before becoming headmaster of Hogwarts, he was the teacher of transformation. He is the founder and "keeper of secrets" of the Order of the Phoenix. He has a scar above his left knee in the shape of the London Underground map.

Dumbledore decided directly after the death of Harry's parents that his aunt and uncle should raise him. Dumbledore, along with Harry, is one of the few who dare to call Lord Voldemort by name. In his view, "the fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself". He visited young Tom Riddle in the orphanage where he was growing up and noticed even then that there was something wrong with Riddle. Dumbledore decided to keep an eye on Riddle and brought him to Hogwarts as a student. Dumbledore passes on his findings to Harry in the sixth volume to equip him for his fight against Voldemort. At the end of the sixth volume, he is killed by Severus Snape with the "Avada-Kedavra" curse. This happens, as it turns out later, at Dumbledore's request; he would have died soon anyway due to a slowly progressing curse. After his death, a portrait of him automatically appears in the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore means bumblebee in Early New English. Rowling announced that she had imagined Dumbledore as often walking around and humming to himself and that is why she chose the name.

In October 2007, Rowling said that she had always imagined Dumbledore to be homosexual. Gellert Grindelwald had been the great love of his youth.

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall is the transformation teacher and Gryffindor's tutor. She is portrayed as strict, strong-willed and fair. As an Animagus, she is able to transform into a tabby cat with silvery fur. Her Patronus form is also a tabby cat. Until Dumbledore's death, McGonagall is the deputy headmistress and then the acting headmistress. She belongs to the Order of the Phoenix. In the seventh volume, she continues as Gryffindor's Headmistress and helps Harry raise a school army of teachers and adult students against Voldemort.

Rowling commented in a later interview that McGonagall had become headmistress for a few years after the death of Severus Snape until her retirement.

Severus Snape

Severus Snape (* 9 January 1960; † 2 May 1998) is Slytherin's tutor until the sixth volume and Potions teacher until the fifth volume. In Harry's sixth year, he received the teaching assignment for Defence Against the Dark Arts, which had been his real subject of choice since the beginning of his teaching career. His chambers and classrooms are located in the underground vaults, the 'dungeons', of Hogwarts. As Slytherin tutor, he mainly bullies Harry and his Gryffindor classmates, preferring his own house. Neville Longbottom in particular lives in constant fear of Snape. Harry describes him as a man with greasy black hair, a long crooked nose and sallow complexion.

Snape's mother Eileen Prince was a witch, his father Tobias Snape a Muggle, which makes him a "half-blood". As a student at Hogwarts, he referred to himself as the "Half-Blood Prince". He lived in open enmity with James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew during his school days. Snape was often the victim of James' and Sirius' sometimes very rude pranks. He transfers his enmity with James to James' son Harry as soon as they meet and does not break away from it until the end of the sixth volume. Snape had been friends with Harry's mother Lily since childhood and, as is later revealed, was also in love with her throughout his life. Due to Snape's interest in the Dark Arts and his new friends (the "Death Eaters"), Lily turned away from him over time. The friendship finally broke after he called Lily, who defended him during another attack by James Potter, a "mudblood".

As a student in the Slytherin house, Snape's path to becoming a follower of Lord Voldemort was opened, and he later joined him. He spied on parts of the prophecy of Sibyll Trelawney for Voldemort. Voldemort, who interpreted the information in such a way that he had to kill the Potters' son, also murdered Lily in the process, although Snape had expressly begged him to spare his great love. Snape never forgave himself for this momentous betrayal of Lily and turned away from Voldemort at that time. He worked as a double agent at Dumbledore's side and was hired by him as a teacher at Hogwarts. In the following years, Snape helps Dumbledore protect Lily's son Harry from Voldemort. However, this alliance between the men remains secret at Snape's express wish, which Dumbledore regrets very much. Others always doubt that Snape has actually gone over to the good side. In the fifth volume, Snape uses his past as a Death Eater and spies as an agent for the Order of the Phoenix. He also teaches Harry Occlumency, which fails because of the lack of trust between them.

At the beginning of the sixth volume, it becomes clear that some Death Eaters, such as Bellatrix Lestrange, doubt Snape's loyalty to Lord Voldemort. When Lestrange and Narzissa Malfoy visit his home in Spinner's End, he gives Bellatrix detailed explanations for all the actions and behaviour that might suggest he is on Dumbledore's side in order to refute their claims. Only when he makes the "Unbreakable Vow" to Narcissa Malfoy does Bellatrix seem convinced of his loyalty. Snape swears to help Narcissa's son Draco, who has been ordered by Lord Voldemort to kill Dumbledore. In fact, Snape apparently kills Dumbledore in cold blood with the "Avada Kedavra" curse. In doing so, however, he follows Dumbledore's plan, who, for one thing, did not want to burden Draco with the murder and, for another, did not have long to live anyway due to a deadly curse.

In the seventh volume, Snape is appointed Headmaster of Hogwarts by the corrupted Ministry of Magic. As planned by Dumbledore, Voldemort is now convinced of Snape's loyalty and trusts him. However, as Snape continues to secretly follow Dumbledore's plans, he uses his Patronus, a hind, to help Harry obtain Gryffindor's sword, which can be used to destroy the Horcruxes. Voldemort, who is unaware of Snape's role until the end, has him killed by the serpent Nagini, believing that this will give him full power over the Elder Wand. Harry, Ron and Hermione find Snape just before his death. He leaves Harry his memories, which reveal his past and motives.

In the epilogue to the seventh volume, the younger of Harry's sons, Albus Severus, is worried that he might be assigned to Slytherin instead of Gryffindor. Harry then says to him, "You are named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I've ever known."

Dolores Umbridge

Dolores Jane Umbridge first appears in the fifth volume of the series, when Dumbledore is forced by the Ministry of Magic to hire her as a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She is the First Undersecretary and a close confidant of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who is trying to combat Hogwarts' supposed "declining standards" with her appointment. Umbridge is disliked at Hogwarts by teachers and most students alike. She is compared to a toad by Harry and his friends (nicknamed "Toad Face") because of her wide, droopy mouth and unflattering clothes. She talks in a high, girlish voice that does not suit her. Her stilted laughter and constant coughing, with which she interrupts others, are perceived as unpleasant.

Like the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge denies the return of Voldemort and accordingly regards practical experience in the subject she teaches as unimportant. Her teaching, always theoretical, consists largely only of having the students read the textbook. Eventually, Umbridge rises to the position of Grand Inquisitor of Hogwarts in order to increase the influence of the Ministry of Magic over the school, thus securing almost unlimited power. Later, she briefly becomes Headmistress of Hogwarts. Harry, in particular, suffers from Umbridge's evil machinations, as she repeatedly makes him write punishment papers, as he firmly claims that Voldemort has returned and has his old power again. He has to write the sentence "I shall not tell lies!" repeatedly in his own blood until it is finally carved so deeply into Harry's skin that fine white scars remain. Umbridge is assisted by the caretaker Argus Filch and an auxiliary - the "Inquisition Squad" - of students from Slytherin House, including Draco Malfoy.

Since Umbridge has a great dislike for "half-humans", she puts Hagrid's teacher status, whose mother was a giantess, on "probation". During the fifth-grade ZAG exams, Umbridge, with the help of four aurors, drives Hagrid from Hogwarts in a "cloak-and-dagger" operation, and she accepts that Professor McGonagall will be seriously injured when she rushes to Hagrid's aid. At the end of the fifth volume, the reader learns that it was she who single-handedly ordered the Dementor attack on Harry and his cousin in Little Whinging. She is also not afraid to use the "Cruciatus" curse to force Harry to hand over information concerning a suspected conspiracy by Dumbledore against the Ministry, which Hermione prevents by a diversionary manoeuvre. She and Harry lure the unloved headmistress into the Forbidden Forest, where - as Hermione had hoped - they encounter the centaurs, who carry Umbridge off into the depths of the forest. She is freed by Dumbledore, who has returned to Hogwarts, and leaves Hogwarts a short time later to boos and abuse from the students, teachers and the poltergeist Peeves.

In the seventh volume, she returns to work as First Undersecretary to the Minister and Chair of the Muggle-born Registration Commission. In this capacity, after Voldemort's rise to power, she presides over show trials in which Muggle-borns are sentenced to Azkaban. Harry, Ron and Hermione learn that she has extorted Slytherin's locket from Mundungus Fletcher without knowing that it is a Horcrux. The three of them take it from her during a break-in at the Ministry and destroy it with the Sword of Gryffindor. According to J.K. Rowling, she is later arrested for her role in the Muggle-born Registration Office.

Tutor

Gryffindor

• Albus Dumbledore (see above)
• Minerva McGonagall (see above)

Hufflepuff

Pomona Sprout

Pomona Sprout (* 15 May) is the Herbology teacher and tutor of Hufflepuff. She can usually be found in the greenhouses at Hogwarts. Her clothes are often stained with soil. In the second volume, she grows mandrakes to revive students petrified by the basilisk.

In the run-up to the second battle for Hogwarts, she spurs the fighting spirit of the somewhat anxious Professor Flitwick by showing her determination to defend Hogwarts as long and fiercely as possible, even if the fight against Voldemort ultimately seems hopeless. As she gathers her Hufflepuff students around her, she contemplates with grim anticipation which of the nasty and dangerous magical plants from her greenhouse she most wants to unleash on the Death Eaters.

Ravenclaw

Filius Flitwick

Filius Flitwick (* 17 October) is the magic teacher and tutor of Ravenclaw. He has goblins in his family tree and is therefore unusually short. During lessons he stands on a pile of books behind his desk to be able to see over them at all. In the sixth volume, when he tries to go to Snape's aid during the Death Eaters' invasion, he is incapacitated by the latter with a Shock Charm. Flitwick was an excellent duelist in his younger years. He proves this during the Battle of Hogwarts at the end of the seventh volume by defeating the Death Eater Antonin Dolohow in a duel.

Slytherin

• Severus Snape (see above)

Horace Slughorn

Horace Slughorn is Potions teacher at Hogwarts from the sixth volume. He already held this post during Tom Riddle's time at school and was Slytherin tutor. Harry and Headmaster Dumbledore persuade him to return to Hogwarts. He succeeds Severus Snape, and after the latter's defection to the Death Eaters at the end of the school year, he also takes over the post of Slytherin tutor from him again. In the book, Slughorn is an exceptional Slytherin character, as he is not malicious despite his negative qualities.

In his earlier active time as a teacher, Slughorn gathered particularly gifted pupils around him and thereby created a significant network among wizards to his advantage. Tom Riddle belonged to his "Slug Club", as did his favourite pupil Lily Potter (née Evans). Already during his return to Hogwarts, he revives the club in the Hogwarts Express. In addition to Harry and other students from well-known wizarding families, he also invites Hermione, who is of Muggle origin, because her school achievements impress him.

Slughorn shows typical characteristics of a Slytherin such as intelligence, determination and hunger for power. He also has the talent to flatter others and to unerringly find the right words for all occasions. His ability to brew potions is at least equal to that of Snape. Added to this is a superior expertise in both the conventional and the dark side of the magical arts. Slughorn selects his acquaintances and protégés only on the basis of influence and ability. Individuals who do not meet his standards are quickly dropped and ignored. However, this selection also means that Slughorn does not share the Slytherins' widespread loathing of Muggle-borns, for both Lily Potter and Hermione Granger were or are literally ensnared by him. Despite all this, he detests the Dark Arts, for hatred and cruelty are alien to his nature. Since Voldemort's return became known, Slughorn has changed his place of residence several times before resuming his teaching duties at Hogwarts, as he rightly fears that his knowledge will be abused by Death Eaters.

Slughorn played a tragic role in the development of Lord Voldemort. It was he who enlightened him about the importance of the Horcruxes, which enabled Voldemort to survive after his first encounter with Harry. Slughorn is ashamed of this and also vehemently refuses to show this memory to his friend Dumbledore when he wants to clear up Lord Voldemort's background. Harry finally succeeds in bringing this memory to himself and showing it to Dumbledore with a vial of Felix Felicis potion, which Slughorn gave Harry on the basis of a best-solved assignment in class.

Slughorn is the only Slytherin to fight on the side of the defenders at the Battle of Hogwarts and, shortly before Harry fights the final battle against Voldemort, even fights the same together with Minerva McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher

The post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is very unpopular, as for decades now the professors who teach this subject have left after only one school year due to death, illness or dismissal. The reason for this is a curse that Tom Riddle placed on the post, as he himself was never chosen to teach the subject (despite two attempts). Voldemort's curse is extinguished by his death at the end of the seventh volume. Severus Snape is the only known character in the books, apart from Tom Riddle, who covets the post of teacher of the subject and, like Tom Riddle once, is always rejected. It is not until Harry's sixth year that Snape receives the longed-for position from Dumbledore.

Professor Quirrell (Year 1)

Quirinus Quirrell (his first name was revealed on Pottermore) is a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter's first year at school. He is described as anxious and insecure. Quirrell serves as a host to the ghost of Lord Voldemort, unrecognised, and is controlled by him. On Voldemort's instructions, he attempts to kill Harry during the school year and obtain the Philosopher's Stone. The attempt to take the stone from Harry by force fails because of the existing protection spell, which has already thwarted Voldemort's first attempt to kill Harry - Quirrell cannot touch Harry without perishing. Voldemort recognises his defeat, flees and leaves Quirrell's body to die.

Gilderoy Lockhart (Year 2)

Gilderoy Lockhart replaces Professor Quirrell as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry's second year at school. Lockhart appears as a handsome and vain self-promoter whose main interest is cultivating his popularity, especially with witches. He became famous as the author of his guidebooks and accounts of great exploits - always with himself as the hero. These stories were actually experienced by other wizards; he stole their memories with a memory spell. He himself has no special knowledge or skills apart from this spell. The attempt to prevent Ron and Harry from revealing his secret with a memory spell fails, thanks to Ron's defective wand, and Lockhart himself loses all memory. Since then, he has been treated in the closed ward of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Diseases and Injuries, with no improvement in his amnesia. According to J. K. Rowling, Lockhart is modelled on a real person whose identity she does not reveal.

Remus Lupin (Year 3)

Remus John Lupin (* 10 March 1960; † 2 May 1998) is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry's third year at school. Lupin became a werewolf as a child through a bite from Fenrir Greyback and has been transforming every full moon since. To facilitate his visit to Hogwarts at that time, a secret passage was created to the Shrieking Shack, where he spent the nights of the full moon. The opening of the secret passage was protected by the Whomping Willow. His friends at Hogwarts became Animagi for his sake so that they could accompany him safely during his phases as a werewolf: James Potter turned into a stag (nicknamed "Crown"), Sirius Black into a dog ("Padfoot") and Peter Pettigrew ("Wormtail") into a rat. Together with Lupin ("Moony"), they created the Map of the Rummy. In his time as a teacher, Lupin teaches Harry the "Patronus" spell as protection against the Dementors. An uncontrolled werewolf transformation and an indiscretion by Snape end his Hogwarts career.

Lupin later has the task, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, of monitoring the werewolves and convincing them not to join Voldemort. Tonks has been in love with him for some time by this time. However, he resists a relationship until Dumbledore's death. They marry a short time later, however. When Tonks becomes pregnant, Lupin regrets the marriage out of concern that the child could be born a werewolf. However, his son is born healthy and is named Ted after Tonks' father; Harry becomes his godfather.

Remus Lupin dies together with Tonks in the Battle of Hogwarts. His death is not described in the books; according to J. K. Rowling, he is killed by the Death Eater Dolohow.

Barty Crouch Jr. as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody (Year 4)

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Dolores Umbridge (Year 5)

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Severus Snape (Year 6)

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Amycus Carrow (Year 7)

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Other school staff

Rubeus Hagrid

Rubeus Hagrid (* 6 December 1928) is a half-giant (Hagrid's father was a wizard, his mother a giantess) who is almost twice the size of a normal human. In the run-up to the fifth volume, he finds out that he has a half-brother named Grawp. Hagrid works at Hogwarts as a gamekeeper, is also responsible for the upkeep of Hogwarts' grounds and, from Harry's third year, is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Hagrid shares this position with Prof. Wilhelmina Raue-Pritsche (originally Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank), who always stands in for him when he is absent for a longer period of time (e.g. on Dumbledore's behalf). He has a permanent pet called Fang.

Hagrid has a preference for wild and dangerous animals, which he considers harmless because he can handle them due to his body size and strength. He sees no danger in breeding dragons or spiders the size of elephants, although this is strictly forbidden. He has been wrongly suspected of committing other offences several times. For example, he was said to have opened the Chamber of Secrets in his third year at school and was therefore expelled from the school and banned from casting spells. His wand was broken, but there are suggestions that he hid the remaining parts in a pink umbrella and continues to perform forbidden magic with it from time to time. He is also suspended several times during his teaching career and is also briefly imprisoned in the wizard prison Azkaban.

For Harry, Hagrid is much more than just a teacher. On the night of Harry's parents' murder, Hagrid brought him to Little Whinging on Dumbledore's orders, to the Dursleys, who were to raise him. Years later, Harry learns from Hagrid that he is a wizard. Since then, a deep friendship develops between the two of them and also between Hagrid, Ron and Hermione. Hagrid only adores Professor Dumbledore more than Harry. Hagrid is a loving person; he would do anything, even die, for his friends. Hagrid is a member of the Order of the Phoenix. In the defence of the school in the sixth volume, he fights against the Death Eaters.

Hagrid owns a flying motorbike that Sirius Black gave him. This is almost destroyed in the seventh volume when Hagrid and members of the Order of the Phoenix escort Harry to the Weasley house and are attacked by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. In her online chat, Rowling wrote that Arthur Weasley had been able to repair the motorbike and that it was now in Harry's possession.

Sibyll Trelawney

Sibyll Patricia Trelawney teaches Divination at Hogwarts and is the great-great-granddaughter of the famous Seer Cassandra Trelawney. She had an interview with Dumbledore at the Boar's Head in Hogsmeade a few weeks before Harry was born, though Dumbledore was not convinced of her abilities. Before he could decline and leave, however, Trelawney made a prediction about the birth of a boy in late July who would have the power to overthrow Lord Voldemort. The first half of this prophecy was secretly overheard by Severus Snape and revealed to Lord Voldemort, the second part was known only to Dumbledore for many years. She made a second prediction in Harry's third year at school about Voldemort's return. Both times, however, she was in a trance and therefore cannot remember anything about it. Otherwise, she has only a few "chance" hits.

Harry, Ron and Hermione soon think Professor Trelawney is a fraud, while other students like Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil are very taken with her apparent ability and firmly believe in her predictions. Trelawney has a habit of predicting death for at least one student per year, which now applies to Harry. In the fifth volume, she is initially placed on probation by Dolores Umbridge due to her lack of ability and later briefly dismissed, but is allowed to stay at the school due to Dumbledore's involvement. After she gets her job back at the end of the school year, she has to share lessons with Firenze, who had filled the position in the meantime, which displeases her greatly. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Trelawney throws one of her crystal balls at the head of the werewolf Greyback to save the student Lavender Brown.

Rolanda Hooch

Rolanda Hooch gives a basic course in broom flying in the first year of each Hogwarts school year and otherwise acts as organiser and referee at the Quidditch Cup matches between the Hogwarts houses. She herself learned to fly on a Silver Arrow broom; her appearance is strongly reminiscent of a falcon.

Firenze

Firenze is a centaur. Centaurs are generally considered to be very wise and gifted astrologers, some of whom are also endowed with clairvoyant abilities. Unlike the other centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, who consider dealing with humans beneath their dignity and therefore usually avoid it, Firenze does not consider centaurs infallible and does not hesitate to save him from Voldemort in Harry's first year. He takes over the teaching of Divination in Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts after Professor Umbridge fires Sibyll Trelawney. In return, he is expelled from the fellowship of the other centaurs, as evidenced by a hoofprint on his chest. Professor Trelawney, who is reinstated by Dumbledore, has to share her lessons with Firenze in the sixth volume, much to her displeasure.

In the seventh volume, Firenze takes part in the battle for Hogwarts and is injured, but survives. According to J. K. Rowling, Firenze is later taken back in by his flock, who eventually realise that working with humans is not dishonourable or shameful.

Argus Filch

Argus Filch is the caretaker of Hogwarts. He is constantly busy monitoring compliance with the school rules. He would love to hang students who break the rules upside down from the ceiling, but Dumbledore won't allow him to do that, even though he has made numerous requests to do so. His hatred of wizarding students stems from the fact that he is a Squib, i.e. comes from a wizarding family, but cannot do magic himself. He is extremely unpopular with the students. Filch's faithful companion is his cat, Mrs Norris. Mrs. Norris is a kind of spy who roams the school on Filch's behalf and alerts him immediately when she sees students breaking the rules. Thanks to Mrs Norris, Filch therefore gets to see a lot of what is going on around him at Hogwarts. One of his most persistent goals is to catch the poltergeist Peeves and have him thrown out of the school, as he is constantly causing him trouble. In the fifth volume, he gets permission from Professor Umbridge to whip the students, but he never gets to use this kind of punishment.

Poppy Pomfrey

Madame Pomfrey is the nurse at Hogwarts. She can heal almost all injuries and illnesses - many even in a few seconds - and is always concerned about the peace of mind of her patients. Madame Pomfrey considers quitting in the fifth volume because Dolores Umbridge wants to take over the school. She stays, however, because her greatest concern is for the pupils, whom she wants to protect from Umbridge.

The Founders of Hogwarts

Godric Gryffindor

Godric Gryffindor is, next to Slytherin, the most famous member of the founding community. Like Harry, Godric Gryffindor comes from the place named after him, Godric's Hollow. Godric Gryffindor was considered a champion of Muggle rights and always favoured the bravest among the new students for his House Gryffindor. The coat of arms of Gryffindor House bears his mark - a golden lion on a red background. His wizarding hat, the Talking Hat, is used to divide the houses at Hogwarts.

Using Gryffindor's goblin-forged sword, Harry kills the basilisk in the second volume. The sword also destroys three of the six Horcruxes created by Voldemort:

• the ring of Vorlost Gaunt,
• the Salazar Slytherin locket and
• the snake Nagini.

Helga Hufflepuff

Helga Hufflepuff is one of the founders of Hogwarts. She always accepted every pupil - regardless of their origin and ancestry - who brought magical talent with them and for whom helpfulness and loyalty were a matter of course. This "generosity" in selection also earned the Hufflepuff house the reputation of producing a particularly large number of "bottles". The coat of arms of the house is a black badger on a yellow background. A cup that used to belong to Helga Hufflepuff later became one of Lord Voldemort's seven Horcruxes.

Rowena Ravenclaw

Rowena Ravenclaw is also a co-founder of Hogwarts, who valued cleverness and erudition as important virtues in her students. This is also how it is seen in the house named after her, which has a bronze eagle on a blue background - the symbol of understanding - in its coat of arms. Her diadem was turned into a Horcrux by Lord Voldemort and hidden in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. Her daughter Helena, who had stolen it, was murdered by the Bloody Baron and has since been the Grey Lady, house spirit of the Ravenclaws.

Salazar Slytherin

Salazar Slytherin, the ancestor of Lord Voldemort, was one of the founders of Hogwarts 1000 years ago and, along with Godric Gryffindor, is considered the best wizard of the founding community. The house of Slytherin can be traced back to him. Cunning, cunning and pure blood were originally among the selection criteria for his students. Slytherin fell out with the other founders because, in his view, only pure-blood wizards had the right to learn magic, and left the school. He previously hid a secret chamber deep beneath the school, the Chamber of Secrets. Only when his true heir comes to Hogwarts - or so the legend goes - can he open the chamber and unleash the terror inside, a basilisk, to rid the school of all "mudbloods". Voldemort, his last living descendant, opens this chamber twice: during his own school years and in Harry's second year by imposing his will on Ginny Weasley from his old diary.

The symbol of the house is a snake because Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. Voldemort, and thus indirectly Harry, inherited this ability from him. Slytherin's golden locket, which also has a snake on it, was turned into a Horcrux by Lord Voldemort, which is later destroyed by Ron Weasley.

A newly discovered snake was named Trimeresurus salazar in 2020.

Pupil

Slytherins

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle stand out less for their intelligence than for their height and weight. They can be found most of the time in the company of Draco Malfoy, who orders them around. Crabbe's and Goyle's fathers belong to the Death Eaters, the followers of Lord Voldemort. In the seventh volume, Crabbe dies from a "demon fire" he himself conjured up in the Room of Requirement. This also destroys a Horcrux (Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem).

Draco Malfoy

Draco Malfoy is Harry Potter's arch-enemy at Hogwarts. He is the only scion of an old pure-blood wizarding family whose members traditionally belong to the House of Slytherin. Like his father Lucius, he is convinced that only pure-blood wizards have the right to be educated at Hogwarts. Accordingly, he insults and bullies the Muggle-born students, including Hermione Granger, whom he repeatedly calls a "mudblood". Draco usually does not appear alone, but in the midst of his Slytherin clique, which mainly includes Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. He is often favoured by his tutor Severus Snape. In the fifth volume, Draco is appointed a Slytherin trust pupil together with Pansy Parkinson.

Draco's enmity with Harry begins on the first day of school, when Draco first insults Ron Weasley and his family on the Hogwarts Express and then offers Harry his friendship, which the latter rejects. In the following years, the enmity between the two becomes more and more complex. Where at the beginning there is only a difference in house affiliation, general dislike on both sides and Draco's hatred for Harry's friends Ron and Hermione, in the second volume they add direct rivalry as seekers of their respective Quidditch house teams. In the fifth volume, both become the leaders of two opposing factions; Draco presides over Dolores Umbridge's "Inquisition Squad", while Harry is the leader of his secret student organisation "Dumbledore's Army". Harry already suspects in the sixth volume that Draco, despite his youth, has been accepted into the ranks of the Death Eaters and is thus a follower of Lord Voldemort. In the same year, there are finally some direct confrontations with physical attacks.

Until the sixth volume, Draco is the arrogant scion of the Malfoy family, who shows no feelings and seems to be ice-cold. He receives an order from Voldemort to kill Albus Dumbledore. With increasing desperation, he tries unsuccessfully to fulfil his mission in various ways throughout the sixth school year. Towards the end of the school year, Harry overhears a conversation between Draco and Moaning Myrtle, in which Draco reveals himself to be desperate and weeps because he fears for his life as well as that of his family. It is Draco who allows the Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts in order to fulfil his mission with their help. However, he cannot bring himself to kill Dumbledore, who has already been disarmed by him. Severus Snape takes over this task (as previously agreed with Dumbledore) and kills Dumbledore with the Avada Kedavra curse. Because he disarmed Dumbledore, Draco unwittingly becomes the true owner of the Elder Wand (literally, "Elder Wand" and/or "Elder Wand"). In the seventh volume, he loses his wand to Harry, making the latter - also unwittingly - the new owner of the Elder Wand. Draco tries to prevent Harry from destroying a Horcrux in the Battle of Hogwarts. Nevertheless, Harry saves his life twice in the aftermath. Draco is reunited with his family after the battle and has a son named Scorpius 19 years later. According to an interview with Joanne K. Rowling on 30 July 2007, Harry and Draco now meet with mutual appreciation.

Other pupils

In addition to the Slytherins already mentioned, other students of this house are mentioned in the books. Millicent Bulstrode is Hermione Granger's dueling partner in the Dueling Club in the second volume. Believing she has collected a hair from Millicent, Hermione uses it to make the Polyjuice Potion, which she, Harry and Ron use to sneak into the Slytherin common room. But it turns out that the hair is from Millicent's cat. Along with Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson is also part of Umbridge's "Inquisition Squad" in the fifth volume and is Draco Malfoy's temporary girlfriend. During the Battle of Hogwarts in the seventh volume, Pansy is the one who is vocal about handing Harry over to Voldemort. Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott are among Draco Malfoy's other circle of friends, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson. Terence Higgs is the Seeker of the Slytherin Quidditch team in the first volume, Marcus Flint the Captain and Chaser together with Adrian Pucey.

Gryffindors

In addition to the main characters Harry, Ron and Hermione, various other Gryffindors play repeated roles in the seven volumes.

Katie Bell

Katie Bell is a huntswoman on Harry's Quidditch team. In fifth year, she joins the "Dumbledore's Army", founded at Hermione's instigation. When Harry becomes captain of the Gryffindor team in the sixth year, Katie is still the only original regular player. On her first Hogsmeade outing of the year, she is badly injured by a jinxed collar she is supposed to give to Dumbledore and is unable to play in the first few games of the season. She has to spend most of the school year in St. Mungo's Hospital and can only take part in the last game.

Lavender Brown

Lavender Brown is close friends with Parvati Patil. Both are in the same year as Harry Potter. Like her friend Parvati, Lavender is an avid admirer of Professor Sibyll Trelawney, the divination teacher at Hogwarts. In the fourth volume, she goes to the Christmas Ball with Seamus Finnigan. Together with Parvati and her twin sister Padma, she joins "Dumbledore's Army" in the fifth school year. During the sixth year, Lavender becomes Ron's first girlfriend. However, he is not really in love with her, but only with her to prove something to Ginny and to make Hermione jealous. Much to Ron's displeasure and the amusement of his friends, she gives him the pet name "Won Won". Their relationship fails because of Lavender's jealousy.

In the seventh volume, Lavender takes part in the resistance fight against Snape and the Carrows when Hogwarts is taken over by the Death Eaters, and finally in the second battle for Hogwarts. In the process, she is seriously injured and subsequently bitten by Fenrir Greyback. Meanwhile, J. K. Rowling announced in an interview that Lavender could be saved and did not become a werewolf.

Colin and Dennis Creevey

The two Muggle-born brothers Colin and Dennis Creevey are one and three years younger than Harry respectively and adore him as their hero. Since they are also members of Gryffindor House, they have ample opportunity to get on Harry's nerves with their constant greetings and penetrating photographs. Draco Malfoy takes full advantage of this to annoy Harry. In his first (Harry's second) year at school, Colin falls victim to a basilisk and is petrified. He is saved by a mandrake potion. At the end of the seventh volume, Colin Creevey falls in the Battle of Hogwarts, in which he took part without permission, after sneaking back after being evacuated from Hogwarts.

Seamus Finnigan

Seamus Finnigan is Dean Thomas' best friend. The sandy-haired boy is of Irish descent. His father is a Muggle, his mother a witch. For his father, the realisation that he was married to a witch was, according to Seamus, quite a shock. An avid wizard chess player, he is a fan of the Kenmare Kestrels Quidditch team, whose poster hangs next to his bed. In Gryffindor, he shares a dormitory with Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. In the fifth volume, he argues with Harry because Seamus' mother claims that Harry's and Dumbledore's statements regarding Voldemort's return are false. He later apologises to Harry and also joins the DA because Harry's interview in the Quibbler convinces him. At the fourth year's Christmas ball, Seamus goes with Lavender Brown. In the seventh volume, he also takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Lee Jordan

Lee Jordan is already the closest friend of the Weasley twins in the first volume and is in the same year as them. He is the stadium announcer at all Quidditch matches during his school years. He is regularly admonished by Professor McGonagall for often being biased. In the seventh volume, Lee runs an underground pirate radio station called Potterwatch, in which he criticises the Death Eater-controlled Ministry and Voldemort. He appears on the station under the alias "Stromer".

Neville Longbottom

Neville Longbottom (* 30 July 1980) is described as a somewhat chubby, clumsy and very forgetful student. Because of his scatterbrained nature, he is teased by Draco Malfoy and bullied by Professor Snape in class. His school performance is rather poor, except in the subject of herbology. Neville lives with his grandmother Augusta because his parents (Alice and Frank Longbottom) went mad as a result of torture by the Death Eaters Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr. and are permanently cared for in St. Mungo's Hospital.

Neville's character undergoes probably the most drastic development in the course of the story. As his self-confidence grows, which is also due to Harry's and Hermione's influence, his school performance improves. He becomes one of the most eager students in Harry's DA class, which makes him a good student in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He and Luna Lovegood, along with Harry and his friends Ron, Ginny and Hermione, are the only two members of the DA ("Dumbledore's Army") who take part in the battle for the Astronomy Tower at the end of the sixth volume. In the seventh year, Neville, along with Seamus, is the only one of the five male Gryffindors of their year to return to Hogwarts and face the Carrows' new regime. Neville, by now no longer the fickle and timid character of the first years, initially continues to lead "Dumbledore's Army" in secret with Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley, and when both girls are no longer at Hogwarts, he is their sole head. He does his best to obstruct the work of the new Hogwarts leadership with the DA. A few weeks before the final battle, he has to flee, as it has become too dangerous for him. He hides in the Room of Requirement and leads a kind of guerrilla war from there. He takes part in the battle for Hogwarts, which he survives. It is Neville who kills Voldemort's snake Nagini, his last Horcrux, by cutting off its head with Gryffindor's sword.

Neville was born one day before Harry. Like the Potters, his parents were also members of the Order of the Phoenix. Due to the prophecy about the birth of an unnamed wizard who was to attain greater power than Voldemort, the latter planned to murder Neville as well as Harry. However, by succeeding in seeking out the Potters first, Voldemort unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy and thus established Harry's fate as the "Chosen One" in the first place. According to Dumbledore, the prophecy could also have originally applied to Neville, but he never learns this in the course of the story. He later becomes a professor of herbology at Hogwarts and is one of the closest friends of the Potters and the Weasleys. Joanne Rowling also revealed that Neville later marries Hannah Abbott, who in the meantime took over the Dripping Cauldron.

Cormac MacLaggen

Cormac MacLaggen is a Gryffindor student, described as tall and wire-haired, who is a year older than Harry. He comes from an influential wizarding family and behaves in an overly conceited and self-righteous manner. He and Harry have a number of quarrels. In the sixth volume, he wants to be keeper in the selection of the Quidditch players for the house team and is outraged that Ron is chosen instead of him, even though Ron had held better. In the sixth volume, Cormac is a member of Professor Slughorn's "Slug Club" and makes intrusive advances to Hermione, who rejects them. Among the Gryffindor students, Cormac is the only one of whom a rather negative character picture is drawn in the novels.

Parvati Patil

Parvati Patil is of Harry's year and was assigned to Gryffindor House by the Sorting Hat, but her twin sister Padma was assigned to Ravenclaw House. Together with her best friend Lavender Brown, she is an enthusiastic follower of the Divination teacher Sibyll Trelawney, whose words they both take at face value. Parvati is invited by Harry as a dance partner to the Christmas Ball on the occasion of the Triwizard Tournament, after his real flame Cho Chang was already taken by Cedric Diggory. Harry does not turn out to be an ideal ball companion. After he ignores Parvati, the beautiful girl prefers to be courted by students from Beauxbatons Academy. In her fifth year at school, Parvati joins the DA together with her sister and her friend Lavender and takes part in the Battle for Hogwarts in the seventh volume.

Dean Thomas

Dean Thomas is of the same year as Harry Potter, is also in Gryffindor and the son of a wizard and a Muggle. His best friend is Seamus Finnigan. Dean is, to the incomprehension of Seamus and Ron, a big football fan (West Ham United). He grew up in London with his mother and stepfather, as his biological father left the family when Dean was very young. The latter was a wizard but never told his wife to protect her. He was killed by Death Eaters because he refused to join them. Dean has several half-brothers and half-sisters (taken from an interview with J. K. Rowling). He is involved with Ginny Weasley from the end of his fifth to the beginning of his sixth year at school, which sparks a fight between him and Ron. In the seventh volume, Dean is pursued as a "Mudblood" and is eventually caught, then imprisoned in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, and finally rescued by Dobby the house-elf. He spends some time with Luna Lovegood together with the Weasley family until he is called to and takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Fred and George Weasley

Fred (* 1 April 1978; † 2 May 1998) and George Weasley (* 1 April 1978), also known as the Weasley twins, are Ron's brothers, two years older. They usually have nothing but nonsense on their minds. Their date of birth, 1 April, Prank Day, also fits in with this. They are the drivers in the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Already during their school years, the twins sell homemade joke articles and make plans to open a shop for magical joke articles later on. When Dolores Umbridge takes over as headmaster at Hogwarts, they end up leaving school early to fulfil this dream. With their "exit" in the middle of their seventh year, they outdo themselves once again by turning an entire corridor into a swamp, freeing their previously confiscated brooms from their chains with a calling spell and escaping the school on them. Shortly afterwards, they open their shop for magical joke articles called Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes (in the original "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes") in Angular Alley, for which Harry provides his winnings in the Triwizard Tournament as start-up capital. Fred and George's career initially displeases their mother very much, as she fervently hopes that her sons will follow in their father's footsteps and obtain a more lucrative job in the Ministry of Magic. It is only when the business proves to be very successful that she changes her mind. The success of the shop proves that Fred and George have great magical talent, despite their constant jokes and silliness.

George loses an ear during the escape from Little Whinging in the seventh volume. When Voldemort later controls the wizarding world, the Weasleys are forced into hiding. On the underground station Potterwatch, Fred appears under the alias "Biter" (English: "Rapier"). Finally, Fred dies in an explosion at the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998. George, Rowling has announced, later names his first son Fred, in memory of his brother. He also has a daughter named Roxanne. George is married to Angelina Johnson.

Ginny Weasley

Ginevra Molly Weasley (* 11 August 1981), called Ginny, is one year younger than Ron and the first girl in the Weasley family for generations. Her middle name comes from her mother. She is described as pretty, with long red hair, light brown eyes and freckles. She has been in love with Harry since the first volume. Later, Hermione advises her to be more herself, as she is more likely to attract Harry's attention that way.

In her first (Harry's second) year at school, Lucius Malfoy gives her the old diary of Tom Vorlost Riddle (Voldemort's real name). It later transpires that it was a Horcrux which housed part of Voldemort's soul. As she writes unsuspectingly in the diary, Voldemort succeeds in possessing her, reopening the Chamber of Secrets and abducting Ginny there. She is rescued by Harry at the end of the second volume. In her fourth year, she becomes a member of Dumbledore's Army (DA) and takes part in both the Ministry battle and the Battle of Hogwarts two years later. Ginny is an exceptionally gifted witch and is invited to join the Slug Club by Professor Slughorn in the sixth volume after a perfectly executed bat-wielding curse.

In the fifth volume, her character becomes more involved in the plot and she is given an active role in the main events. The reader learns that she seems to have given up her crush on Harry. This leads not only to her relationships with Michael Corner and Dean Thomas, but also to Ginny being able to win Harry as a good friend. In the sixth volume, she does get together with Harry. Shortly afterwards, Harry ends the relationship for the time being, so as not to put Ginny in danger due to his task of destroying Voldemort. Ginny takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts, although she is underage.

In the epilogue of the seventh volume, the reader learns that she and Harry married and, 19 years after the events, have three children who are being educated at Hogwarts. In addition, Rowling revealed in an interview that Ginny will first become a Quidditch player ­for the Holyhead Harpies (her favourite team) as an adult before working as a professional Quidditch commentator for the Daily Prophet.

Percy Weasley

Ron's brother Percival Ignatius Weasley (22 August 1976) is two years older than Fred and George and an even bigger nerd than Hermione. He is bent on following all the rules, even if they contradict all good sense. From Harry's first year onwards, he is a Gryffindor Head Boy, then Head Boy in his third year. He is a firm friend of Penelope Clearwater, who is a Ravenclaw student in the second volume and is petrified by the basilisk. After finishing school, Percy gets a job in the Ministry of Magic in the fourth volume, first as secretary to Bartemius Crouch, and a year later as junior assistant to the minister. As his parents are firmly attached to Dumbledore, Percy breaks off contact with them and even incites Ron in a letter to stop hanging out with Harry and Dumbledore because the Ministry of Magic has declared them both mad and dangerous. Even after it becomes known that Harry and Dumbledore were right in everything they said, Percy is not prepared to reconcile with his family for a long time. It is only in the seventh volume that he admits his error and reconciles with his family shortly before the battle for Hogwarts begins.

Other pupils

Besides the already mentioned Gryffindors, other students of this house are mentioned in the books. Oliver Wood is captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team until his last year at Hogwarts (volume 3) and also the one who explains the game and its rules to Harry in the first volume. Angelina Johnson (also a player on the Quidditch team) is a year younger than Wood and succeeds him as captain in Harry's fifth year at school. In the same year she joins the DA. She is the future wife of George Weasley. Another member of the DA is Alicia Spinnet from Gryffindor, who is also a player on the in-house Quidditch team and two years older than Harry.

Ravenclaws

Cho Chang

Cho Chang is a strikingly pretty girl. She is a year older than Harry and a Seeker in the Quidditch team of Ravenclaw House. She is considered Harry's first love. In the third volume, Harry has great difficulty concentrating on his favourite game when Gryffindor plays Ravenclaw. She goes to the Christmas Ball with Cedric Diggory because Harry asks her too late. During the fourth volume, she is involved with Cedric. In the fifth volume, Harry gets his first kiss from her, and she is briefly his girlfriend as well. However, after a first (and only) date on Valentine's Day and subsequent "disagreements", she breaks up with him. She later begins a relationship with Michael Corner, Ginny's former boyfriend, but apparently still has feelings for Harry. In the seventh volume, Cho returns to Hogwarts and takes part in the battle for Hogwarts. According to J.K. Rowling, she later marries a Muggle.

Luna Lovegood

Luna Lovegood is a girl who is said to be not quite right in the head. She is teased by many pupils with the name "Loony" ("crazy", "foolish"). Her father Xenophilius Lovegood is the editor-in-chief and publisher of the magazine Der Klitterer (originally "The Quibbler"), which is known for containing only harebrained articles (often in the form of conspiracy theories). Her mother died due to an improper magic experiment when Luna was nine years old. Luna also has a reputation for being a rock-solid believer in things that have not been proven to exist. In her first years at Hogwarts, she therefore has few friends. It is only the DA meetings ("Dumbledore's Army") that give her the feeling of having friends. However, Luna is much more than the absent-minded and somewhat strange girl she appears to many. She is smart and notices more than most people around her. She is also abysmally honest, which often makes others uncomfortable, and cherishes her few friendships. In her room at home, she has painted pictures of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville on the ceiling and connected them decoratively with strings of words ("friends").

As she too has lost a beloved family member through the death of her mother and therefore knows Harry's feelings after Sirius' death from her own experience, there is an understanding between Luna and Harry in this respect that he does not even have with Ron and Hermione. They also share the feeling of being untrustworthy and therefore outcasts, as in the fifth volume Harry's credibility is questioned when he claims that Lord Voldemort has returned. In the sixth volume, Harry invites Luna to Professor Slughorn's Christmas party. Luna also gets to commentate on a Quidditch match, which she does in her peculiar way (that is, with lots of side comments about rather unrelated things, such as the weather). Luna can see the Thestrals because of her mother's death, as can Harry.

When the Death Eaters take over Hogwarts under Snape's leadership, Luna, together with Neville and Ginny, continues to lead Dumbledore's army. Eventually they try to steal the sword from Gryffindor and are caught by Snape. As punishment, the three are sent to the Forbidden Forest, which however - thanks to Hagrid's supervision - turns out to be rather a cosy evening. At the beginning of the Christmas holidays, Luna is kidnapped by Death Eaters in order to blackmail her father into changing the orientation of the Quibbler and provide them with information about Harry Potter. Along with Mr Ollivander - later joined by Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dean Thomas and the goblin Griphook - she is held in the Malfoy mansion until Dobby rescues them. At the Battle of Hogwarts, Luna first leads Harry to the Ravenclaw common room to show him the replica of Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem (the last lost Horcrux) on her statue, and eventually she fights Bellatrix Lestrange alongside Hermione and Ginny. In a television interview, Rowling has stated that Luna becomes a naturalist after her school years and gets together with Rolf Scamander, the grandson of Newt Scamander (the fictional author of the book Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, which - along with the Harry Potter novels - was put on sale by Scholastic Press in 2001).

Marietta Edgecombe

Marietta Edgecombe is Cho Chang's best friend and a member of Ravenclaw House. She reluctantly joins "Dumbledore's Army" and later betrays it to Dolores Umbridge by showing her the entrance to the Room of Requirement, where the members of the DA are secretly taught magic by Harry. Hermione Granger's magical safeguarding of the membership list activates the curse due to her betrayal, which writes the word "snitch" (in the original: sneak) across Marietta's face in the form of pustules.

Other pupils

Besides the already mentioned Ravenclaws, other students of this house are mentioned in the books. Padma Patil is the twin sister of Parvati Patil, who was assigned to Gryffindor House. She accompanies Ron to the Christmas Ball in the fourth volume and joins Michael Corner, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein in the DA in the fifth volume. Michael Corner meets Ginny Weasley at the Yule Ball in the fourth volume and is with her the following school year. He later dates Cho Chang. Anthony Goldstein is a distant relative of Porpentina Goldstein.

Hufflepuffs

Hannah Abbott

Hannah Abbott is in the same year as Harry and belongs to the Hufflepuff house. She is the only Hufflepuff student to be mentioned in every novel in the series. She has blonde hair, which she usually wears tied in pigtails. Her best friends are Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan, with whom she shares her hobby of collecting chocolate frog cards. Hannah takes Harry's side when, in the second volume, many of the other students claim him to be the Heir of Slytherin. During the Triwizard Tournament, she loyally sticks by her Hufflepuff classmate Cedric Diggory when he competes against Harry in the tournament and, unlike many of her classmates, still gets along well with Harry and his friends. She is appointed as a trust pupil in Harry's fifth year at school. A little later she joins the DA ("Dumbledore's Army"). She is one of the students who defends Harry at the end of the fifth volume against Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle when they attack him on the Hogwarts Express. In the sixth volume, her mother is murdered by Death Eaters. Hannah then leaves Hogwarts and does not return until the seventh volume to help Harry fight for Hogwarts. She later marries Neville Longbottom and becomes the owner of the Dripping Cauldron.

Cedric Diggory

Cedric Diggory is a Seeker on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. He is known for his fair behaviour in competitions. Cedric, who is three years older than Harry, is one of the main characters in the fourth volume of the series. At the beginning of the volume, he attends the Quidditch World Cup in England with his father as well as Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys. In the same school year, he applies to be champion for Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament and is selected together with Harry. He gets together with Cho during the school year and goes to the Christmas Ball with her.

In the final trial of the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric and Harry reach the winner's cup at the same time and decide to take it together. However, the trophy turns out to be a Portkey, which takes them both to a graveyard where Voldemort wants to attack Harry. There, Cedric dies from Wormtail's "Avada Kedavra" curse on Lord Voldemort's orders. After Harry manages to escape from Voldemort, he also takes Cedric's body with him. Cedric's death traumatises Harry for a long time and is also the catalyst for his later ability to see the Thestrals.

Other pupils

Besides the already mentioned Hufflepuffs, other students of this house are mentioned in the books. Justin Finch-Fletchley, Zacharias Smith, Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillan join "Dumbledore's Army" in the fifth volume.

Other schools of magic

Apart from Hogwarts, two other major wizarding schools in Europe are mentioned: Durmstrang University in the north of Eastern Europe and Beauxbatons Academy in France. Both schools send their representatives to the "Triwizard Tournament" in the fourth volume, which takes place at Hogwarts.

Fleur Delacour

Fleur Isabelle Delacour is a student at the Beauxbatons Academy in the south of France. She represents her school in the Triwizard Tournament. Fleur is a girl of almost supernatural beauty. Her grandmother was a Veela. Ron invites her to the Christmas Ball, but is rather rudely rejected and does not get over this embarrassment for a long time. In the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, Fleur has to save her little sister Gabrielle, but she does not succeed. Gabrielle is finally rescued from the lake by Harry, for which Fleur is very grateful to him. During her later employment at the wizarding bank Gringotts, she meets Bill Weasley and falls in love with him. In the sixth volume, the two are a couple and plan their wedding, which the other Weasleys, especially Molly, do not support at first. By Ginny, Fleur is only pejoratively called "slime" (in English, a distortion of Fleur's name, "Phlegm", is used). After Bill's face is disfigured by Fenrir Greyback, she affirms that she still wants to marry him, because she is beautiful enough for both of them. Fleur thus finds acceptance among the Weasleys and, in particular, defuses the permanent conflict with her mother-in-law Molly. In the seventh volume, she fights alongside her husband Bill in the Battle of Hogwarts. In the epilogue, they have a daughter named Victoire who has a relationship with Teddy Lupin, Remus Lupin and Tonks' son. In retrospect, it turns out that Fleur and Bill have two other children named Dominique and Louis. This can be seen on the family tree drawn by J. K. Rowlings and published on her homepage.

Viktor Krum

Viktor Krum is a sought-after Quidditch player from Bulgaria and a student at Durmstrang. At the age of 18, Viktor is selected for the Bulgarian national Quidditch team. He performs the difficult Wronski Bluff (a move in Quidditch named after the Polish Seeker Josef Wronski) at the Quidditch World Cup in the fourth volume, earning Harry Potter's admiration - and later his fair behaviour in everyday life. Krum represents Durmstrang at the Triwizard Tournament. He and Hermione Granger become close during this school year - to the annoyance of Ron Weasley and Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang - and, to the surprise of all the other Hogwarts students, go to the Christmas Ball together. The two keep up a pen-pal relationship after Krum's departure.

Krum is present as a guest at the wedding of Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley. During the celebration, an argument breaks out between him and Luna Lovegood's father, as the latter wears a symbol openly around his neck, which is understood to be a sign of the evil wizard Grindelwald. As it later turns out, however, the symbol originally stands for the Deathly Hallows, whose true existence, however, hardly any other wizard believes in. Xenophilius Lovegood wears the symbol because he is one of the few wizards who believe in the myth, as does Grindelwald, who once adopted the symbol for himself and also owned one of the Deathly Hallows, the Elder Wand, for a time.

Krum also shows interest in Ginny, which Harry (in a brief fit of jealousy) is quickly able to deflect.

Wizard Families

The Blacks

The old Black family has sworn by the purity of their wizard blood for centuries under the motto "Toujours pur". Their family seat is 12 Grimmauld Place, which later becomes the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Many other pure-blooded clans are related to the Blacks, including the Malfoys and the Weasleys. A former headmaster of Hogwarts was a member of the Black family, Phineas Nigellus Black. With few exceptions, the Black family has devoted itself to black magic.

Several family members play a role in the Harry Potter novels:

• Phineas Nigellus Black
• Sirius Black
• Regulus Black
• Bellatrix Lestrange née Black
• Narzissa Malfoy née Black
• Nymphadora Tonks (her mother Andromeda was a born Black)

The Dumbledores

Only two people from the Dumbledore family appear directly in the novels, the brothers Albus and Aberforth. Other family members mentioned are their father Percival, mother Kendra and sister Ariana. The latter, who as a child, like all wizarding children, was not in control of her magic, was apparently abused by a gang of adolescent Muggles after an incident, from which she retained permanent mental damage. Father Percival, who took revenge on the culprits, was imprisoned in Azkaban for this. After this incident, the family moved to Godric's Hollow, where they befriended neighbour Bathilda Bagshot. The mentally unstable Ariana accidentally killed her mother during an uncontrolled bout of magic, whereupon Albus cut short his nascent career to take over the care of her sister as head of the family. At the same time, the young wizard Grindelwald, who later became famous as a powerful dark wizard, was also living in Godric's Hollow. Albus and Grindelwald were close friends at the time. During a quarrel between the Dumbledore brothers and Grindelwald, Ariana died, for which Aberforth blamed Albus. But Albus also blamed himself for the rest of his life, as evidenced by his dreams in the sixth volume. At the end of the seventh volume, Aberforth, who had in the meantime become innkeeper at the Boar's Head in Hogsmeade, still plays an important role in the battle for Hogwarts.

The Gaunts

The Gaunts were the last direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin and of the middle of the three Peverell brothers, Cadmus, to whom the legend of the Deathly Hallows goes back. One of the Deathly Hallows, the Resurrection Stone Ring, is a Gaunts family heirloom and once belonged to Cadmus Peverell. Vorlost Gaunt lived impoverished and secluded with his children Morfin and Merope in a small hut on the outskirts of Little Hangleton village. The overall impression of the Gaunts is that of a backward family of backwoodsmen. This is helped by Dumbledore's statement that they have a habit of marrying their own cousins to keep their family pure-blooded. The last descendant of the Gaunt family is Merope's son Tom Vorlost Riddle (Lord Voldemort). In the Gaunt family's possession is Salazar Slytherin's locket, which is later made into a Horcrux by Voldemort. As the Gaunts, like the Potters, are descendants of the Peverell brothers, there is a distant relationship between Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter.

Vorlost Gaunt (in the original "Marvolo Gaunt") was regarded by the inhabitants of Little Hangleton, as far as is known at all, as a coarse and arrogant tramp who also avoided all contact on his own initiative because of his dislike of Muggles. Merope Gaunt, Vorlost's daughter, was the least appreciated of all by her father, leading a kind of Cinderella existence in the house kitchen and being put down at every opportunity. She was not very attractive and cross-eyed. Morfin Gaunt was apparently somewhat mentally retarded, preferred to speak Parse tongue and surpassed his father in brutality, especially towards Muggles. After an attack on Tom Riddle senior, whom Morfin had long had his eye on as the secret crush of his sister Merope, he was sentenced to three years in Azkaban. His father went to prison at the same time for six months for resisting Ministry officials. When he returned, he found the house abandoned and died not long after.

In the meantime, Merope had managed to win Tom Riddle senior over with the help of a love potion. The two eloped together and Merope became pregnant. But when Tom found out about her secret, he left her. She eventually gave birth to her son in a London orphanage, to whom she was able to give the names Tom and Vorlost (in the original "Marvolo") before she died. Morfin was later sought out by Tom Vorlost Riddle, aged about sixteen, who wanted to learn from him everything about his origins. Tom Riddle then used Morfin's wand to murder the entire Riddle family. He cast a spell on his uncle which made him proudly proclaim that he had committed the murders. The case was thus considered solved in the magical world, and Morfin returned to Azkaban. Before his death, Dumbledore sought him out there to get the memory that contained his encounter with Voldemort. But before the Ministry of Magic could acknowledge his innocence, Morfin died and was buried next to Azkaban.

Marvolo Gaunt's first name in the German translation is "Vorlost", so that the anagram does not lose its meaning, from which Tom Vorlost Riddle derived his new name "Lord Voldemort" (Tom Vorlost Riddle = "is Lord Voldemort"). However, this means that the fact that the names of all family members begin with an "M" is lost.

The Longbottoms

Six members of the Longbottom family are mentioned in the books. In addition to Neville and his grandmother Augusta Longbottom, Neville's parents Frank and Alice are also mentioned, who are permanent patients in St. Mungo's Hospital because they were tortured to the point of insanity by Death Eaters, especially Bellatrix Lestrange. Neville's great-uncle Algie and great-aunt Enid are also mentioned. The Longbottoms are pure-blooded and great supporters of Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter.

The Malfoys

The Malfoy family consists of Lucius Malfoy, Narzissa Malfoy (née Black) and Draco Malfoy. Draco is the only child of Lucius and Narzissa. Narzissa Malfoy is the sister of Bellatrix Lestrange and Andromeda Tonks, Narzissa being the youngest of the three. She is described as slim, tall, blonde and very arrogant. Narcissa is never specifically described as a Death Eater, but her marriage to Lucius Malfoy, association with Sister Bellatrix, and presence on the Death Eater side at the Battle of Hogwarts suggests that she is at least part of the wider Death Eater circle. The Malfoys host Lord Voldemort in their mansion at the beginning of the seventh volume. By this time, they have already fallen out of favour with him after Lucius spoiled Voldemort's chance to hear the prophecy from the Ministry of Magic in the fifth volume. All her attempts to regain his favour, however, are unsuccessful. At the beginning of the sixth volume, Narcissa makes the Unbreakable Vow with Severus Snape to protect her son, who is to help Draco with whatever tasks Lord Voldemort assigns him. Narcissa rightly fears that Voldemort's main aim is to inflict a terrible punishment on the overwhelmed Draco after his foreseeable failure.

At the end of the seventh volume, Narcissa's motherly love finally drives her to open betrayal of the Dark Lord: she is supposed to check for him whether Harry, who has just been hit by Voldemort's death curse, is really dead. She notices that he is alive and quietly asks him if her son survived the battle for Hogwarts. When Harry answers in the affirmative, she assures Voldemort that he is dead, thereby helping him to escape unharmed later. Draco's parents no longer take part in the decisive battle for Hogwarts, but leave the action together with him. According to J.K. Rowling, the whole family escapes trial and subsequent imprisonment for their support of Lord Voldemort during his lifetime, citing their contribution to Harry's rescue. In the epilogue, Draco has a son named Scorpius.

The Potters

The Potter family includes James, Lily (née Evans), Harry and, in the epilogue of the seventh volume, Ginny Weasley, who bears the surname Potter after her marriage to Harry, and their children James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna. The Potters' house in Godric's Hollow was destroyed by Lord Voldemort on 31 October 1981. Where Harry lives as an adult is not known. From a remark at the end of the seventh volume, one can infer that his house has four rooms (12 Grimmauld Place has many more. Five of them are mentioned in the novels).

The Weasleys

Arthur (* 6 February 1950) and Molly Weasley (* 30 October 1949) are the parents of a total of seven children: Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny. After their marriage to Ron, Hermione Granger can also be counted as a member of the family, as can Bill's wife Fleur and George's wife Angelina Johnson. In the seventh volume, the obnoxious Great-Aunt Muriel also makes a small appearance. The Weasleys live in the foxhole. The characteristic feature of the Weasleys is their red hair. They are also known for their poverty. Nevertheless, they always give Harry and Hermione a warm welcome, so Harry is regularly invited to the foxhole during the holidays. The Weasleys are the wholesome - and often healing - element for Harry, the family he never had and longs for. Harry often finds it hard to cope with the fact that he puts the Weasleys in danger just because they are close to him.

Last but not least, the Weasleys, together with the Longbottoms, are the counterpart to the equally pure-blooded Malfoy, Lestrange and Black families and are meant to show that nothing in the world is just black or white.

Members of the Order of the Phoenix

The Order of the Phoenix is an association founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight against Voldemort's reign of terror. The Order was formed when Voldemort first tried to seize power. After his fall, the Order disbanded and is revived by Dumbledore after Voldemort's return at the end of the fourth volume. The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at 12 Grimmauld Place during the fifth volume; after Dumbledore's death in the sixth volume, it is temporarily moved to the Foxhole. Only people who are of age (17 years old) and have already finished school are accepted as members of the Order.

Sirius Black

Sirius Black (referred to as Sirius Black in earlier translations of the first volume) was James Potter's best friend, best man at his wedding to Lily and Harry's godfather. In his school days he was close friends with James, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. The four of them formed the Marauders. Out of friendship with Remus, who is a werewolf, the other three became Animagi. Sirius turns into a big, shaggy, black dog. This is where his nickname "Padfoot" comes from. Sirius was very popular at school, is exceptionally smart and was known for his pranks along with James. He ran away from home as a 16-year-old and lived with James' family for a while. Sirius spends 12 years innocently in Azkaban, accused of betraying Lily and James Potter to Voldemort and murdering Peter Pettigrew and twelve innocent Muggles on the open road. In the third volume, he becomes the first wizard to escape from the wizard prison and prove his innocence to Harry. After that, despite his continued flight from the Ministry of Magic, they remain in constant contact; for Harry, Sirius becomes a kind of surrogate father and brother at the same time. In the fifth volume, Sirius dies during a fight with his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry inherits the house at 12 Grimmauld Place from him, including the house elf Kreacher.

Elphias Doge

Elphias Doge is an elderly gentleman and member of the Order of the Phoenix who first appears in the fifth volume. He is Albus Dumbledore's oldest friend and went to school with him. Shortly after Dumbledore's death, Doge writes an impassioned obituary of Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet, taking issue with Rita Kimmkorn, who is about to launch a scandalous biography of Dumbledore at the same time. At Bill Weasley's wedding at the beginning of the seventh volume, Doge has a lengthy argument in the presence of Harry with Aunt Muriel, who believes Kimmkorn's claims about Dumbledore, which cast the deceased in a bad light.

Aberforth Dumbledore

Aberforth has been a member of the Order of the Phoenix since it was founded by his brother. In his youth Aberforth bred goats. Aberforth was also convicted of inappropriate magic in connection with this breeding, but the newspaper reports about it did not impress Aberforth, as Albus thinks, although he claims not to know whether Aberforth can read. As landlord of the Boar's Head, an inn in Hogsmeade, Aberforth is able to perform for the Order and his brother. Aberforth discovers Severus Snape eavesdropping on the prophecy about Lord Voldemort's possible downfall and thus prevents Snape from hearing the whole prophecy (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).

Aberforth saves Harry and his friends' lives twice in the seventh volume, firstly by sending the house-elf Dobby to help them in an emergency situation and secondly by hiding them from the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. He first helps Neville Longbottom and his friends fight Voldemort's governor at Hogwarts. Later, with Aberforth's help, Harry arrives at the school to face Voldemort in the final battle. Aberforth is responsible for evacuating the younger students from the school during the Battle of Hogwarts. He takes part in the battle himself at the end.

Arabella Figg

Arabella Doreen Figg (Mrs Figg) is a neighbour of the Dursleys who often looked after Harry when the Dursleys were away from home in his younger years. No one would ever have taken her for anything other than an ordinary Muggle. This changes abruptly at the beginning of the fifth volume, when she is revealed as a Squib and covert employee of the Order of the Phoenix, as well as Harry's secret guardian. Mrs Figg breeds gnomes.

Mundungus Fletcher

Mundungus Fletcher is an unreliable crook and swindler, but works for the Order of the Phoenix in return for a favour from Dumbledore. Sirius says Mundungus is very useful to the Order because he knows every crook in Britain. His unreliability is expressed, for example, by the fact that in the fifth volume he neglects his guard duty outside the Dursleys' house, which makes the Dementors' attack on Harry possible. In the seventh volume, he shares the blame for "Mad-Eye" Moody's death when, during Harry's transfer to Tonks' house, he abandons him in the fight against the attacking Death Eaters and cowardly flees. After Harry learns from Kreacher that Mundungus has stolen the Slytherin locket from the Blacks' house, among other things, he makes a final appearance and is questioned by Harry, Ron and Hermione about the whereabouts of the locket.

Alice and Frank Longbottom

Neville's parents Frank and Alice are permanent patients in St. Mungo's Hospital, having been tortured to madness by Death Eaters shortly after Neville's birth. In the fifth volume, Harry and his friends meet them when they are looking around the hospital. This difficult fate of his parents could be one reason why Neville is very insecure and dorky about everything he does at first. Before the attack, Frank and Alice Longbottom were very good Aurors and brought many of the cruellest Death Eaters to Azkaban. Since the first part of the prophecy could have applied to Neville, his parents must have escaped Voldemort several times. In the fourth volume, Harry Potter watches through Albus Dumbledore's Thinkarium the trial in which the Death Eaters who tortured the Longbottoms are sentenced.

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody

Moody was the best Auror in the Ministry of Magic in his time, spending half his life hunting black magicians and obsessed with uncovering conspiracies. But as he has often failed to prove that dark forces were at work, his credibility is pretty much cracked. In battles, he has lost a leg, a piece of his nose and one of his eyes and wears a magical prosthesis instead. With this magical, deep blue eye, he can see backwards (even through his own head), through objects and even under cloaks of invisibility. Dumbledore hires Moody as a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher before the start of fourth year. But before Moody can take up his post, he is ambushed by Barty Crouch Jr. at his home and placed under the "Imperius" curse. With the help of the "Polyjuice" potion, Crouch transforms into his victim and takes up the post of teacher instead. Meanwhile, he imprisons the real Moody in a magical suitcase, from which Moody is freed by Dumbledore at the end of the school year. During the summer holidays, Harry meets the real Alastor Moody, who is even more terrified by his imprisonment than the one Crouch played throughout the fourth school year. In the fifth volume, we learn that Moody is a member of the "Order of the Phoenix" and has also fought against Voldemort in the first war. At the beginning of the seventh book, Moody is killed by Voldemort during Harry Potter's evacuation from Privet Drive.

James Potter

James Potter (* 27 March 1960 † 31 October 1981) is the father of Harry Potter. He was killed by Lord Voldemort when Harry was 15 months old. Before his death, James was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. As a teenager, he was close friends with Remus Lupin (called "Moony"), Sirius Black (called "Padfoot") and Peter Pettigrew (called "Wormtail"). Just like Sirius and Peter, James was an unregistered animagus so they could spend the full moon nights together with the werewolf Remus. James could turn into a stag, hence his nickname "Crown" (in the original "Prongs"). As it turns out in the third volume, Harry's patronus is also a stag. In his school days, James was a hunter and head boy. James had a great dislike for Severus Snape, who was a student at Hogwarts at the same time, and showed it openly through arrogance and arrogance. However, he saved Snape's life after Sirius had previously put him in danger. After his school years, he married Lily Evans, whom he had met at Hogwarts and with whom he was appointed Head Boy in his final year.

Lily Potter

Lily Potter (née Evans) (* 30 January 1960 † 31 October 1981) is the mother of Harry Potter, to whom he owes his green eyes. Her parents were Muggles, which is why she was called a "mudblood" by Severus Snape at least once at school. She was killed, along with her husband James, by Lord Voldemort when Harry was 15 months old. It is said that the only reason Voldemort could not kill Harry was because his mother had sacrificed herself for him out of love. Lily was also once a member of the Order of the Phoenix. She was the sister of Petunia Dursley. Before she even knew about Hogwarts, she was friends with Severus Snape. During her fifth year at Hogwarts, Lily tried to dissuade James, whom she then detested, from his "jokes" towards Snape. As revealed in the seventh volume, Snape was in love with her until his own death (17 years after Lily's death). Rowling confirmed in an interview that Lily also had feelings for Snape. In her fifth year at school, Lily was appointed student confidant together with Remus Lupin, and in her seventh year she was appointed Head Girl together with James Potter. As her former potions teacher Horace Slughorn tells us in the sixth volume, Lily was exceptionally gifted in potions brewing.

Nymphadora Tonks

Tonks, as she prefers to be called, is the daughter of Andromeda Tonks (née Black) and the Muggle-born Ted Tonks. Her mother's heritage makes her the niece of Narzissa Malfoy as well as Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius' second cousin. As a Metamorphmagus, she is able to change her appearance (e.g. her hair colour or nose shape) almost at will. Tonks is a member of the Order of the Phoenix and an Auror. During her school years at Hogwarts, she was assigned to Hufflepuff House. She completed her Auror training in Harry's fourth year at school. She falls in love with Remus Lupin. They marry in the seventh volume and become parents to a son, Teddy (Ted) Remus Lupin, whose godfather Harry becomes. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Tonks is killed along with Remus. Her murderer is Bellatrix Lestrange, as J. K. Rowling later revealed in an interview.

Arthur Weasley

Arthur Weasley is the head of the Weasley family. He is related to the pure-blooded Black family through a couple of corners. In the course of his work, he has developed a particular interest in objects used by non-magical people, especially electrical appliances. Thus, to his wife's horror, he has a huge collection of plugs and batteries, and his greatest desire is "to find out how aeroplanes stay in the air". For these reasons, he is particularly interested in Harry and Hermione, who grew up with Muggles, as they can provide him with much information about the Muggle world. He and his wife Molly treat Harry as their own child.

Arthur has a small, cramped office, very little income and it is said that he was prevented from advancing professionally under Cornelius Fudge because of his Muggle-friendly attitude. He works in the department against the misuse of Muggle artefacts. Under the new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, he is promoted to Head of the Bureau for the Investigation and Seizure of Counterfeit Defence Charms and Protective Items, much to the delight of his wife Molly and the whole family. In addition, Arthur is a member of the Order of the Phoenix and has rendered some useful services to the Order as an employee of the Ministry. He is almost killed during an operation in the fifth volume. Arthur takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts with his whole family. In an interview, Rowling stated that Arthur Weasley was originally not supposed to survive the attack of Voldemort's snake Nagini in the fifth volume. Instead, she had Remus Lupin, another father, die in the seventh volume.

Bill Weasley

William "Bill" Arthur Weasley is the eldest Weasley son, two years older than Charlie. At Hogwarts, he was a student of the Council and Head Boy. For a time he worked for the wizarding bank Gringotts as a curse-breaker in Egypt. However, he gives up this job in the fifth volume and takes a desk job at Gringotts so that he can better support the Order of the Phoenix. During the fight in the Astronomy Tower in the sixth volume, he is bitten by Fenrir Greyback and thus disfigured. However, as it is not a full moon and Greyback was not acting in his werewolf form at the time, the attack leaves him with no psychological consequences, except a taste for bloody flesh. He wears a snake's tooth as an earring and has long red hair that his mother would love to cut a little. Fleur Delacour takes a liking to him, they become a couple and marry in the seventh volume. After the wedding, Bill and Fleur live in their house Shell Cottage on the coast, where Harry also stays temporarily and near which he buries the dead house-elf Dobby. Bill fights alongside his wife Fleur in the Battle of Hogwarts. They have three children named Victoire (who has a relationship with Teddy Lupin in the epilogue), Dominique and Louis Weasley.

Charlie Weasley

Charlie Weasley is three years older than Percy. He is described in the books as very strong. Charlie, like his brother Bill, graduated from Hogwarts and works at a dragon reserve in Romania. He has many burns on his hands from his work. Charlie was an extremely talented Quidditch player. Had he not followed his love of dragons, he could have been an England national player. Like Harry, he is a seeker. In the fifth volume, Charlie joins the Order of the Phoenix. Like his whole family, he also takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Molly Weasley

Molly Weasley née Prewett is the wife of Arthur Weasley and the mother of Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny Weasley. Her brothers Fabian and Gideon Prewett are also among Voldemort's victims, as revealed in the fourth chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The former's watch is given to Harry by Molly for his seventeenth birthday. She is a good-natured woman who also considers Harry to be her son. Her main concern is the safety of her family. She is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix, as is half of her family. She wants all her children to have secure jobs in the ministry. At first, she does not like the twins' plan to open a joke shop in Winkelgasse. Only when she sees how successful they are does she come to terms with it.

Molly doesn't much like her husband Arthur's passion for Muggles and everything to do with them, although she has nothing against Muggle-born wizards. However, she clearly indicates that she, like many other wizards, feels a certain dislike, if not superiority, towards non-magical people. She is prone to occasional outbursts of anger, despite her otherwise warm, amiable nature. At the final battle for Hogwarts, Bellatrix Lestrange attacks her daughter Ginny. Molly then lunges at the Death Eater in a rage and kills her.

Other members

Other members of the Order of the Phoenix include Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid and, as the Keeper of Secrets of the Headquarters and founder of the Order, something like its leader, Albus Dumbledore. Members with minor appearances in the book include Sturgis Podmore, Daedalus Diggel, Emmeline Vance and Hestia Jones.

Employee of the Ministry of Magic

Ludo Bagman

Ludovic Bagman was head of the Magic Games and Sports Department of the Ministry of Magic. He did not take his job seriously, but as a former driver of the "Wimborn Wasps" and due to the resulting enthusiasm for magical games and sports, he was nevertheless well suited for his job. In a charge of spying for the Death Eaters, Bagman was acquitted. However, his penchant for betting becomes his undoing: in the fourth volume, he loses a bet against some goblins and cannot pay his betting debts. So he bets a lot of money on Harry in the Triwizard Tournament. But when Harry wins, the goblins argue that he did not win alone, since Harry shared the victory with Cedric Diggory, and do not forgive Bagman's debt. Bagman then goes into hiding. His whereabouts remain unknown until the end.

Bartemius Crouch

Barty Crouch senior is the superior of Ron's brother Percy, who is absolutely loyal and in bondage to him. Despite his satisfaction with Percy's work, Crouch Sr. cannot remember Percy's name and keeps calling him "Weatherby" instead of Weasley. Crouch senior appears for the first time in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He is portrayed as stiff, humourless and at the same time quite moody. Despite the negative qualities, Crouch senior is considered highly honourable and reliable and is held in high esteem by his colleagues. He lives a secluded life from the public and spends his time working for the ministry.

Crouch Sr. sentenced his only son Barty Jr., who as a Death Eater had been involved in the torture of Neville's parents, to life imprisonment in Azkaban. When his wife, whom he loved like no one else, became deathly ill, she begged him to grant her her last wish that her son live in freedom. With the help of the "Polyjuice" potion, the mother then exchanged places with her son in Azkaban and died there shortly afterwards. From then on, Barty Jr. lived in hiding and under the rule of the "Imperius" curse with his father and the house elf Winky. When Barty Jr. became stronger again, however, he freed himself from the curse and instead placed it on his father. Bartemius Crouch Sr. is killed by his own son at the end of the fourth volume, turned into a bone and buried in Hagrid's garden.

Cornelius Fudge

Cornelius Oswald Fudge is the Minister of Magic of Great Britain and holder of the Order of Merlin, 1st Class, until the end of the fifth volume. He is not an actual enemy of Harry Potter, but as an equally incompetent and scheming Minister of Magic, he is a major threat. Fudge's greatest worry is to be ousted and replaced as Minister by Albus Dumbledore. He denies the return of Lord Voldemort and systematically thwarts all attempts to finally defeat Voldemort and his followers (who, according to him, no longer exist). Fudge puts pressure on the Daily Prophet, the wizarding newspaper, to discredit and silence Harry and Albus Dumbledore. Alongside this, he temporarily brings Hogwarts under the control of the Ministry of Magic by installing Dolores Umbridge first as teacher and "Grand Inquisitor" and finally as Headmistress. At the end of the fifth volume, Fudge is forced to realise that Voldemort has returned and, due to his failure, is eventually replaced as Minister for Magic by Rufus Scrimgeour. He remains in the Ministry, however.

Rufus Scrimgeour

Rufus Scrimgeour is appointed Minister of Magic in the sixth volume, replacing Cornelius Fudge in his post. When Harry meets him and refuses to cooperate with him, Harry comes to the realisation that the Ministry knows nothing but extremes: Scrimgeour's predecessor Fudge did nothing at all against Lord Voldemort, whereas Scrimgeour's seems to be blind actionism with the result that innocent people end up in Azkaban. Scrimgeour was formerly head of Auror Headquarters, has a slight limp and, with his grey-blond whiskers, looks like an "old lion" hardened by years of fighting. In the seventh volume, Rufus Scrimgeour is captured and killed by Death Eaters during their takeover of the Ministry of Magic because he will not reveal anything about the whereabouts of Harry.

Pius Thicknesse

Pius Thicknesse succeeds Rufus Scrimgeour as Minister of Magic in the seventh volume. Previously, he served as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Before taking office, however, Thicknesse was placed under the Imperius Curse by the Death Eater Yaxley, so he is nothing more than a puppet of Lord Voldemort, carrying out his orders in the Ministry. His tenure ends with the Battle of Hogwarts.

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Kingsley Shacklebolt is an Auror who first appears in the fifth volume. He is a member of the Order of the Phoenix's bodyguard that escorts Harry from the Dursley house to 12 Grimmauld Place. At the Ministry, Shacklebolt is tasked with furthering the search for Sirius Black, but as a member of the Order, he knows how to prevent this. In the same volume, Shacklebolt plays an important role by using a memory spell to prevent Marietta Edgecombe from revealing details about the DA ("Dumbledore's Army"). Shacklebolt rushes to Harry and his friends' aid when they become embroiled in battles with the Death Eaters in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries. In the sixth volume, Kingsley is given the task of ensuring the safety of the Muggle Prime Minister, as the Muggle world is now increasingly involved in the conflict with Voldemort. The initially unsuspecting Prime Minister is very pleased with Shacklebolt's work, but extremely shocked when he learns that he is a wizard. At the end of the seventh volume, Shacklebolt is appointed provisional Minister of Magic after the Battle of Hogwarts, in which he directly fought Voldemort, among others, and later - Rowling has revealed in an interview - permanently elected to this post. His official acts include recalling the Dementors from Azkaban and hiring the adult Harry as head of Auror Central.

Other employees

Other Ministry employees named are: Arthur and Percy Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody (suspended), Dolores Umbridge, Dirk Cresswell, Bertha Jorkins, Broderick Bode, Bob Ogden, Amos Diggory (father of Cedric Diggory), Amelia Bones (Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, is killed by Voldemort between the 5th and 6th volumes) and Mafalda Hopfkirch (Hopkirk in the original).

Other wizards

Bathilda Bagshot

Bathilda Bagshot was a famous historian, the author of the textbook "A History of Magic" and Gellert Grindelwald's great-aunt. She lived in Godric's Hollow and knew both the Potters, who sometimes invited her for afternoon tea, and the Dumbledore family. Therefore, she also acts as a source for Rita Kimmkorn's work "Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore" with exclusive background information about his unhappy family life. However, as Bathilda is struggling with memory problems due to her enormous age, Rita Kimmkorn has to help her memory with the help of magic. In the seventh volume, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger come across Bathilda's remains in Godric's Hollow, which Lord Voldemort is using as a trap for Harry. To this end, he has integrated his snake Nagini into Bathilda's corpse. It is unclear whether Bathilda had already died of old age by this time or whether Voldemort had brought her to a brutal end.

Gregorovich

Gregorovitch (in the original Gregorovitch, his first name is not mentioned in the books) is a manufacturer of magic wands in Eastern Europe. Among other things, he made the wand for Viktor Krum, a participant in the Triwizard Tournament. Gregorovich was the owner of the Elder Wand for a long time until it was stolen from him by Gellert Grindelwald. The fact that he continued to claim to own the wand for publicity reasons becomes his undoing: in order to obtain information about this legendary wand, Voldemort hunts Gregorovitch down and eventually kills him.

Gellert Grindelwald

Gellert Grindelwald was notorious in the wizarding world as the most evil wizard before the appearance of Lord Voldemort. The reader is initially only told that he was defeated by Albus Dumbledore in 1945. In the seventh volume, it is revealed about him that he was the grand-nephew of the famous historian Bathilda Bagshot and visited her in the summer in Godric's Hollow, where the young Albus Dumbledore also lived. Previously, he attended Durmstrang School in Eastern Europe and was interested in the Deathly Hallows. He shared a brief friendship with the young Albus Dumbledore, which developed into a relationship of both a sexual and emotional nature. In their youthful exuberance, they planned together a new world order in which wizards would rule over Muggles. Their friendship came to an abrupt end when Dumbledore's younger sister Ariana was unintentionally killed during a wand fight between Albus, Aberforth and Grindelwald; by whom is unclear. In the film Grindelwald's Crimes, a blood oath between Albus and Gellert plays an important role; it prevents them from attacking each other. Grindelwald returned to the East, where he committed various crimes to increase his power. Dumbledore refused to re-establish contact with him for years, until he was forced to intervene against him after he took possession of the Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows. Grindelwald was defeated in a duel, which is not further described, and imprisoned in the wizarding prison of Nurmengard, which he himself had once built to house his own opponents. He is still imprisoned there when Lord Voldemort seeks him out in search of the Elder Wand. Disappointed by his answers, which he had expected to be more, Voldemort kills Grindelwald. Later in the seventh volume, it is implied that Grindelwald has repented of his misdeeds during his long imprisonment.

Igor Karkaroff

Igor Karkaroff is the headmaster of Durmstrang Institute, a wizarding school whose student Viktor Krum attends the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. In the past, Karkaroff was one of Voldemort's Death Eaters. After Voldemort's fall, he betrayed many Death Eaters in order to avoid punishment by the Ministry of Magic. Karkaroff escapes after Voldemort's return in the fourth volume and is found murdered in a remote cabin in the North after about a year.

Rita Kimmkorn

Rita Kimmkorn (in the original "Rita Skeeter") is a reporter for the Daily Prophet who is always on the hunt for new sensations. In the fourth volume, Hermione finds out that she is an unregistered animagus and that her ability to transform into a beetle allows her to obtain information for her articles without being noticed. Hermione uses this knowledge as leverage after Rita writes some very negative articles about Hermione's dealings with Harry. When the Daily Prophet continues to denigrate Harry in the fifth volume, Rita conducts an interview with him about Lord Voldemort's return, which appears in the Klitterer. In the seventh volume, she publishes a book called The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, in which she says she uncovers some terrible secrets about the late headmaster. Rita Kimmkorn writes her articles with what she calls a "fleet writing pen", taking down the interviews she conducts on her own and often twisting some of the facts.

Xenophilius Lovegood

Xenophilius Lovegood is the father of Luna Lovegood and the editor of Klitterer magazine. Just like his daughter, he believes in things that have not been proven and are considered fairy tales and nonsense by the general wizarding community. In the latter's fifth year at school, he supports Harry Potter by publishing an interview that reveals the return of Lord Voldemort. In the aftermath of Voldemort's return, his magazine is the only one to print the truth about what happened to the Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic. In their search for the Horcruxes, Harry, Ron and Hermione meet Luna's father, who reveals the secret of the three Deathly Hallows to them. However, it turns out that he has lured the protagonists into a trap and betrayed them to the Death Eaters in exchange for the life of his daughter Luna, who is being held captive by them. However, the three are able to escape from the approaching Death Eaters and later learn that Xenophilius has been taken to Azkaban.

Olympe Maxime

Olympe Maxime is the headmistress of Beauxbatons, a French wizarding school whose pupil Fleur Delacour takes part in the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. She is always addressed respectfully by everyone as "Madame Maxime". Her appearance is described as elegant, but in her dimensions she is the equal of the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid. Olympe does not want to reveal herself as a half giant in order to avoid the prejudices in the magical world. After the end of the tournament, Hagrid and she jointly take on the challenge of contacting the giants in Eastern Europe to prevent them from joining Lord Voldemort.

Aunt Muriel

Aunt Muriel is a relative of the Weasleys who makes a major appearance in the seventh volume at the wedding between Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. She is passionate about gossip and is a big fan of Rita Kimmkorn, whose revelations about the dark side of Albus Dumbledore Muriel also believes. At the wedding, Harry becomes part of a lengthy conversation between Muriel and Elphias Doge, who disagree about Dumbledore's true character. The 107-year-old witch appears to be a rather unfriendly person and is, for example, unhappy that Bill is marrying a Frenchwoman. Nevertheless, Muriel gives the Weasley family shelter in her home when they are persecuted later in the seventh volume.

Mr. Ollivander

Mr. Garrick Ollivander (his first name was revealed on Pottermore) is an aged wizard and maker of wands. He runs a shop in Angular Alley and remembers every single wand he has sold. Almost every character in the books was his customer, including Harry Potter and the young Tom Riddle. As part of the Triwizard Tournament, Mr. Ollivander comes to Hogwarts to check the contestants' wands, as required by the rules of the game. At the beginning of the sixth volume, it is mentioned that Mr. Ollivander has mysteriously disappeared. In the seventh volume, it finally turns out that he has been kidnapped by Lord Voldemort to give him information about the mysterious Elder Wand ("Elder Wand"). Together with Luna Lovegood, Mr. Ollivander is held in the Malfoy mansion until the house-elf Dobby frees him.

Madam Rosmerta

Madam Rosmerta is the landlady of The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. She is described as good-looking and in some places in the books it is clear that Ron Weasley has a crush on her. In the sixth volume, she becomes an unwilling helper of the Death Eaters by means of the "Imperius" curse.

Muggle

The people without magical ancestry and without magical abilities are called Muggles (in the original "Muggles") by the wizards.

Frank Bryce

Frank, a war veteran, was the gardener at the Riddle estate and was initially accused of murdering the Riddle family. He was released again, as after examining the bodies there was no evidence of murder from a "Muggle point of view". Thereupon Frank returned to his old place of work and also worked there for the subsequent owners of the manor house. Many years later, when the house has been abandoned for a long time, Frank hears strange noises coming from the former master's room one evening and accidentally witnesses a conversation between the weakened, still disembodied Lord Voldemort and his keeper and servant Wormtail about the murder of Bertha Jorkins and the capture of Harry Potter. In the process, he is tracked down by Voldemort's serpent Nagini and subsequently murdered by Voldemort with the "Avada Kedavra" curse.

The Dursleys

The Dursleys live at number 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, a middle-class suburban settlement of London in the county of Surrey. Petunia Dursley was born Evans and is the elder sister of Lily Potter, but unlike her she has no magical abilities. Just like her husband Vernon, Petunia considers magic to be an abnormality or a kind of mental illness. This is probably also because her parents preferred the magically gifted Lily to her, and also because she was not also admitted to Hogwarts at the time (despite a personal letter to Dumbledore). Vernon Dursley runs the successful company "Grunnings", which manufactures drilling machines. He loves to insult his employees ("to make a snail out of them"). He is extremely opposed to anything magical, mainly because he is afraid of what he does not know. When magic is talked about in his presence, Vernon easily loses his temper. He initially tries to prevent Harry from receiving a wizarding education at Hogwarts.

After Harry's parents were murdered by Lord Voldemort, the Dursleys raised Harry rather reluctantly for ten years until his call to Hogwarts. During this time he was never treated well by them. Nevertheless, Harry's regular stay with the Dursleys until he came of age (17 years) is important for his survival, as Dumbledore uses a spell to protect his home from being discovered by Voldemort and his helpers.

Petunia and Vernon have a son named Dudley, whom they spoil very much and treat better than Harry in every way. Dudley is described as rapacious, aggressive, overweight and stupid (a kind of negative counter-image to Harry, who is about the same age); these characteristics, often in combination with each other, lead to repulsive to embarrassingly funny situations. His mother calls Dudley by pet names like "Duddymatz" or "Dud". He is also called "Big D" by his gang members after he becomes junior heavyweight champion. In the fifth volume, Dudley is almost kissed by a Dementor. When saying goodbye to Harry (seventh volume), he thanks Harry for saving him from the Dementors.

The books also mention Vernon's sister, Magdalena "Magda" Dursley (in the original: Marjorie or Marge for short). She breeds English bulldogs and apparently has an even stronger hatred of Harry than the rest of the Dursleys. During a visit in the third volume, she insults Harry's dead parents in the worst possible way, whereupon Harry unwittingly casts a spell on her that blows her up into a giant flying balloon. A special unit of the Ministry of Magic succeeds in reversing the spell.

The Riddles

Until the 1940s, the Riddle family were the lords of the manor in the village of Little Hangleton and occupied the largest and most beautiful estate there. However, they are rather unpopular in the village and notorious for their rudeness and snootiness. Their son Tom is involved with Cecilia, a girl from the village, but leaves her when he is bewitched by Merope Gaunt with a love potion. The two elope, causing quite a stir in the village, and marry. After some time, however, Merope discontinues the love potion or it loses its effect, so the spell is taken away from Tom. Disappointed and feeling that he has been hoodwinked, he leaves her and returns to his childhood home, knowing that Merope is already pregnant with Tom Vorlost Riddle. Finally, the entire Riddle family is murdered one evening by the approximately 16-year-old Tom Riddle with the "Avada-Kedavra" curse. He uses his Uncle Morfin's wand to do it, so he is never officially charged with this murder.

Ghosts

Many ghosts live in the 1000-year-old wizarding school Hogwarts. They are incorporeal, their appearance is pearly white and almost transparent. They can glide through walls and people and communicate with humans. They are images of the souls of deceased wizards, "frail after-images of life". In order to continue to exist as a spirit after death, a sorcerer must consciously choose to do so, although few choose this form of existence. One reason for choosing to exist as a ghost, for example, is the fear of death. One exception is the character Peeves, who, unlike the other ghosts, is a physical poltergeist of chaotic disposition and not the soul of a deceased wizard.

Each of the four school houses at Hogwarts has a house spirit: Gryffindor's house spirit is Nearly Headless Nick, Hufflepuff's is the Fat Monk, Ravenclaw's is the Grey Lady and Slytherin's is the Bloody Baron.

The Bloody Baron

The Bloody Baron is the only Hogwarts ghost who can really control Peeves the Poltergeist. He is the house ghost of Slytherin and obviously died a gruesome death, because his cloak is covered in silver blood splatters. In the first volume, Nearly Headless Nick tells the first-years that he never asked him where he got all the bloodstains. In the seventh volume, it is revealed that he killed his lover, Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, who has since become the house ghost of Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts as the Grey Lady. When he realised what he had done, he also killed himself.

The Almost Headless Nick

The Nearly Headless Nick is the familiar spirit of Gryffindor. His real name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. He is called "Nearly Headless" because when he was beheaded on Halloween, 31 October 1492, his head was not completely severed (the executioner used a blunt axe) but still hangs by two centimetres of neck. That is why he cannot take part in the annual hunt of the headless, apparently popular in the spirit realm. His date of death can also be used to establish the timeline of the Harry Potter world. Accordingly, he celebrates his 500th death anniversary on 31 October 1992; Harry and Ron were thus born in 1980 and Hermione in 1979. (According to J. K. Rowling, Hermione is almost 12 when she comes to Hogwarts.) J. K. Rowling herself does not use this timeline at first and only confirms it in the last volume on the basis of James and Lily Potter's gravestone. Although Nearly Headless Nick is a real ghost, he could be petrified by the gaze of a basilisk in the second volume and later restored with a mandrake potion.

The Grey Lady

The Grey Lady is the familiar spirit of Ravenclaw House. In the seventh volume, it is revealed that her name was Helena Ravenclaw when she was alive and that she was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, the co-founder of Hogwarts. She was murdered by the Bloody Baron. In the search for Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, which was turned into a Horcrux by Lord Voldemort, she is able to give Harry Potter an important clue.

The Moaning Myrtle

The Moaning Myrtle, the ghost of a Ravenclaw student, haunts a girl's toilet, where she constantly laments that she is dead and no one mourns her. She was killed by the Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets many years ago, when she was still at school herself. Voldemort created his first Horcrux with her death. After initially appearing again and again to Olive Hornby, a fellow pupil who had always ridiculed her when she was alive, she was banished to the toilet. She has a bit of a crush on Harry Potter and complains to him when he meets her sporadically (in every even-numbered volume) that he visits her so rarely. Myrtle helps Harry decipher the clue to the Water People in the fourth volume. In the sixth volume, she befriends Draco Malfoy and is not very pleased when he is hurt by Harry with the "Sectumsempra" curse.

Peeves

Peeves is the poltergeist of Hogwarts. He sees his purpose of existence in causing trouble and disturbance wherever he can. Throwing and dropping breakable objects is one of his favourite pastimes. Only the Bloody Baron and Albus Dumbledore can set limits to his goings-on, as these two are the only ones he dares not antagonise. Argus Filch, who suffers greatly from Peeves as a Squib, constantly threatens Peeves to lobby Dumbledore to have Peeves thrown out of Hogwarts. Peeves does not normally obey anyone, but tips his hat when, in the fifth volume, Fred and George Weasley tell him to cause Dolores Umbridge as much trouble as possible (in the original, "Give her hell from us, Peeves!").

In the second battle for Hogwarts (at the end of the seventh volume), Peeves is one of the castle's loyal defenders with a very personal contribution: he hisses over the heads of the fighting wizards and bombards the Death Eaters with all sorts of extremely unpleasant magical plants from Professor Sprout's stash.

Non-human beings

Dementors

Dementors (in the original Dementors) are soulless and evil creatures. They are taller than humans and only visible to wizards. They wear long black cloaks with a black hood up over their faces and have slimy hands that look as if they have decomposed in water. Dementors hover above the ground and take deep, rattling breaths of air. They awaken the worst memories in their victims and suck up happiness wherever they are. Hardly anyone knows what is hidden under their hood, because they only take it off when they want to destroy someone completely. This weapon is called "the Dementor's kiss". When the Dementor performs it, he takes off his hood and sucks the soul out of his victim through a kind of maw. Since one can live without a soul, from then on one lives as an empty shell. Dementors cannot see anything, but they can "sense" their victims by their feelings and thus track them down. When dementors hatch offspring, fog spreads over whole areas. They cannot be physically harmed. The only spell that can counter them is the difficult "Patronus" spell, which drives them away if performed correctly.

Harry Potter first comes into contact with them when they search the Hogwarts Express for Sirius Black, who has escaped from Azkaban, in the third volume. In the fifth volume, Harry and Dudley are attacked by two Dementors. However, Harry is able to drive them away successfully.

As prison guards of Azkaban, the Dementors are subordinate to the Ministry of Magic until the end of the fifth volume. However, when Lord Voldemort makes an open appearance after his return, they revolt and join him, as he is able to provide them with more people to feed on. They are also involved on Voldemort's side in the battle for Hogwarts in the seventh volume, but can be held at bay by various defenders with the "Patronus" spell. According to Joanne K. Rowling, Kingsley Shacklebolt pulls them off as guards of Azkaban.

Leprechauns

Goblins are human-like creatures with pointed ears, narrow faces and long fingers. They are smaller than humans but larger than house elves. Goblins possess a high level of intelligence. They have different magical powers than wizards, which they call "wand carriers". For example, goblins have special metalworking techniques - Godric Gryffindor's sword, for example, is goblin-made. In the wizarding world, they are active in various trades, for example, many of them work in the wizarding bank of Gringotts. However, they do not have much sympathy for wizards because - as briefly hinted at in a conversation in the fifth volume and elaborated in the seventh volume through the statements of the goblin Griphook and the explanations of Bill Weasley - they feel disadvantaged in magical society compared to wizards. This fact seems to have led to conflicts between wizards and goblins in the past, for the so-called "goblin uprisings" are mentioned again and again in various volumes.

For goblins, the buyer of a good is not considered the owner, but the manufacturer. A buyer has only rented the goods and after his demise they are to be returned to the manufacturer.

Another type of leprechaun are the Irish Leprechauns brought along as mascots at the Quidditch World Cup (Volume 4). They distribute their "Leprechaun Gold" over all the spectators, but it dissolves after several hours.

House elves

House elves (house-elves in the original English) are small, humanoid creatures with protruding, pointed bat ears, large eyes and a snout instead of a nose. They usually spend their entire lives serving their masters loyally and submissively. They have enormously strong magical powers, but they never use them against their masters. As the magic of house elves differs in some respects from that of wizards and witches, house elves can also do things that wizards and witches cannot, for example apparate and disappear in places where wizards and witches cannot because of a spell (e.g. Hogwarts or the dungeon in the cellar of Malfoy Manor).

House elves are often not treated as sentient beings, but as a material possession. They represent a kind of status symbol in the wizarding community. The duty to serve is deeply indoctrinated into them, so they do not perceive their service as exploitation. If they do not obey an order from their master - whether by choice or due to adverse circumstances - they punish themselves physically. An owner may release his house-elf into freedom by giving him a garment - but many house-elves see this as a disgrace and the worst thing that can happen to them. In the seventh volume, the house elves who work at Hogwarts fight the Death Eaters in the Battle for Hogwarts.

Dobby

Dobby is a house elf in the service of the Malfoy family. He acts without their knowledge when he tries to keep Harry Potter away from Hogwarts for his protection. He punishes himself for this disloyalty to his masters (and for other disloyalties as well) by, for example, banging his head against a wall. In the course of the second volume, he and Harry become friends. Through a trick, Harry finally frees him from the Malfoys' territoriality. Dobby can rejoice in his freedom, which is why he is an exception among the house elves. He lives out his right to wear clothes, acquired through his freedom, by wearing unnecessarily many items of clothing in combinations that are inappropriate in terms of colour and style. He is later employed by Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts for money. With this money he buys wool, among other things, so that he can regularly knit new socks for Harry. He lovingly looks after Winky, who is not at all happy with her freedom.

In the course of the story, Dobby repeatedly plays smaller roles: He helps Harry pass the second task of the Triwizard Tournament in the fourth volume. In the fifth volume, he is able to tell Harry and the DA ("Dumbledore's Army") about a perfect training room, the Room of Requirement, and warns them about Dolores Umbridge. In the sixth volume, he and Kreacher shadow Draco Malfoy when Harry wants to find out more about his plans. In the seventh volume, he frees Harry and other companions from imprisonment in the dungeons of the Malfoys' estate, and is mortally wounded by Bellatrix Lestrange in the process. Harry buries his friend without magic power, which is unusual for wizards, and thus pays his respects to the loyal house elf. Dobby's gravestone at Bill and Fleur Weasley's house gives Harry the inscription "Here lies Dobby, a Free Elf".

Winky

Winky is a house elf and, like her ancestors, is in the service of the Crouch family. Bartemius (Barty) Crouch releases her in the fourth volume after she was unable to prevent his son Barty Crouch Jr. from stealing Harry Potter's wand under her supervision, drawing the Dark Mark in the sky and escaping. She then wanders around England in search of new employment and meets Dobby. Together with him, she is hired by Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts. However, she has difficulty accepting her freedom and a new "master" and therefore regularly gets drunk on butterbeer. Winky's fate, the bad treatment and dismissal by Bartemius Crouch are the trigger for Hermione Granger to get involved in elves' rights.

From the fifth volume onwards, Winky no longer appears personally in the series; however, Rowling has stated that she takes part - along with the other house elves - in the Second Battle of Hogwarts and continues to work at Hogwarts in a more sober state afterwards.

Kreacher

Kreacher is an old house-elf in the service of the Black family in the house at 12 Grimmauld Place in London. Slightly demented and angry at having to serve the Black family's "black sheep" (i.e. Sirius) of all people, Kreacher often speaks his thoughts aloud as he has lived alone for a very long time and thinks no one hears him. Just like his former masters, he harbours a deep dislike for Muggle-borns and always blatantly calls Hermione "Mudblood". His greatest wish is to have his head stuffed and hung next to the heads of his ancestors on a wall in the Blacks' house. After Sirius' death, Harry Potter inherits both the house and the house elf. Having no better use for him, Harry orders him to work in the kitchen at Hogwarts. Kreacher is not happy that Harry is his new master because he is not part of the Black family. At Hogwarts, Dobby is supposed to check whether Kreacher follows Harry's orders.

In the seventh volume, when Harry, Hermione and Ron begin to understand Kreacher's view of things and show respect towards him, Kreacher becomes courteous and friendly, even towards Hermione. He washes himself again and wears a "spotless white" tea towel. At the end of the seventh volume, he leads the fight of the house-elves of Hogwarts against Voldemort, in the name of his former master Regulus Black, for whom he once stole Salazar Slytherin's locket, a Horcrux, from Voldemort's cave by the sea (this was later stolen by Mundungus Fletcher from the house at 12 Grimmauld Place and taken back from him by Dolores Umbridge).

Giant

The last remaining giants live in the mountains of Eastern Europe (presumably in the Urals or the Caucasus). They have been hunted by humans for centuries because they are alien and very violent. In the mountains, scattered remnants of the once great people have found their last refuge. In addition to persecution by the wizarding community, their numbers have been drastically reduced by bloody wars among themselves. They are ruled by a "gurg". Humans can father offspring together with giants, so-called half-giants. Rubeus Hagrid is a half-giant, as is presumably Olympe Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons School of Wizardry, who, however, denies a descent from giants. After Voldemort's return, the Order of the Phoenix sends the two of them with gifts as ambassadors to the giants to offer friendship and prevent them from joining Voldemort's army again. On his return, Hagrid brings his half-brother Grawp, a giant "only" five metres tall, to Hogwarts, where he hides him in the Forbidden Forest and tries to teach him some English. When Hagrid is expelled from Hogwarts for a short time in the fifth volume, he asks Harry, Ron and Hermione to look after him. In the seventh volume, Grawp, as the only giant of the good side, takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Veela

The Veela make their first appearance in volume four as the team mascots of the Bulgarian national team at the Quidditch World Cup. Outwardly, they appear as beautiful women with shimmering skin and flowing white-gold hair. They begin to dance to supernatural music, sending the male spectators into a trance-like frenzy. Those who watch and listen to the veela fall under the spell of their magic and will do anything to gain their attention. But the veela also have a dark side. When they get angry, they can turn into ugly bird creatures with sharp beaks and scaly wings that throw fireballs at their opponents. Fleur Delacour's grandmother was a veela, which still sometimes manifests itself in Fleur's effect on men.

Water People

Water people (merpeople) live under water. They are intelligent, probably as intelligent as humans and centaurs. Water people have greyish skin, long dark green hair, pointed teeth and yellow eyes. Under water they can use human language, but above water it is only a screeching chant ("sea-ish"), which very few humans understand (e.g. Dumbledore). They keep Grindelohs as pets and plant tang gardens. In the books, they appear during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament (Volume 4) and during Dumbledore's funeral (Volume 6).

Centaurs

Centaurs (in the original Centaurs), of which a herd lives in the Forbidden Forest, have the torso of a horse and the upper body of a man. They are experts in astrology, magical healing, divination and archery. They are also extremely proud. They want nothing to do with the people they feel superior to. In the fifth volume, the centaur Firenze is cast out by his herd because he has agreed to stand in for Prof. Sibyll Trelawney as a fortune-telling teacher, thus supposedly putting himself at the service of the humans. In the seventh volume, the flock nevertheless fights the Death Eaters in the battle of Hogwarts.