10 Best Supporting Characters in Harry Potter

One of the best things about Harry Potter (besides the Butterbeer) is the phenomenal cast of characters. There are so many great characters that the movies simply can’t capture all of the tremendous subplots revolving them. Of all these fantastic personalities, however, these are the 10 best supporting characters in Harry Potter.

Warning: spoilers ahead!

10. Professor McGonagall

Professor McGonagall is a tough lady. At one point she takes several stunning spells to the chest, and somehow lives to tell the tale. She also is the main parent figure for Harry at Hogwarts, handling his schedule, and, later, even helping him plan out the courses he will need to take in order to become an Auror.

We never learn much about McGonagall, at least not in the main Harry Potter books. But she is one of only a few Animagus of the century. So that’s saying something.

9. Luna Lovegood

Luna is kooky, but great. She’s a true friend to Harry, and her oddness only makes her more lovable. Although apart from her lovableness, I’m not exactly what irreplaceable role she plays in the books…other than she tips Harry off about Ravenclaw’s Diadem. Make not mistake, however: her fans are many.

8. Dobby

Everybody’s favorite free elf, Dobby, gets the short end of the stick in the movies, making appearances in the films only in the second movie, and in the seventh. However, in the books, he plays a pretty significant role in the fourth, fifth, sixth AND seventh books.

Oddly enough, his contributions to Harry’s story are often relegated to Neville. For example, it was Dobby who gives Harry Gillyweed in the books, and Neville who gives it to Harry in the movies. In the books, it’s Dobby who tells Harry about the Room of Requirement, and that it would be a great place to host Dumbledore’s Army meetings, but Neville in the movies.

Dobby is such a great friend to Harry and such a tremendous little creature in general. For this reason, his death is one of the most moving deaths in the entire series.

7. Cedric Diggory

Cedric Diggory was the character who put Hufflepuff on the map. A house that typically has so little to brag about that beating Gryffindor once at Quidditch was a major deal, Cedric shows that there is a whole lot more to the virtues of Hufflepuff than our somewhat Gryffindor-centric minds will admit. He was kind, and good – and pretty much everybody loved him. In fact, he was always the school favorite, easily outstripping Harry in popularity.

He was a fantastic character who was cut down before his prime. But were he to have lived, he would have continued to be a fantastic supporting character for the rest of the story.

6. Bill Weasley

Also on our list of strongest wizards, there’s a lot more to Bill than meets the eye. Sure, he’s the handsome curse breaking, Veela heart-winning eldest Weasley. But he is also quite capable. Obviously he prefers danger and adventure over the safety of a white collar profession – a profession he easily could have earned given his complete O.W.L’s. We don’t see a whole lot of Bill in the books or movies, but whenever he’s around you get the feeling he’s got your back. Which makes him a great supporting character.

5. Madeye Moody

So, the funny thing with Madeye is that we don’t ever really get to know the real one. But we do get to know imposter moody, who has done such a good job of impersonating real Moody that we might as well have been spending all of The Goblet of Fire with the real one. Paranoid, powerful, and kind, Madeye lights up the room whenever he is around, and plays a fundamental role in the story, both as an imposter and as the real deal.

4. Sirius Black

Who doesn’t want a renegade, rebellious godfather looking after their best interests? When Harry’s in trouble, Black is the first person he thinks of asking for help. As Harry’s Godfather, he is a bit of a surrogate dad. Of course, being the Wizarding World equivalent of a convicted felon does not afford Black with very many chances to meet with Harry in real life, he still does his best to guide the young wizard through a dark time in his life.

Losing Sirius marks a major change and development in Harry’s life. I would argue that even more so than Cedric dying, the loss of Serious causes Harry to finally grow up, and makes him mentally and emotionally ready to tackle the tremendous challenges that come next.

3. Fred and George

Fans of the movies who have not read the books might be surprised to know that the twins make appearances in the books even more often than they do in the films. For example, the twins are there from the very start, on the Hogwarts express as it heads to London. They are also quite a bit more vindictive and their mischievousness reaches a whole added level.

Fred and George are also the centers of one of the biggest fan theories of all time. So that just goes to show how important their sub plots are to the story. I feel like an entire series could probably be made on them alone.

2. Arthur Weasley

Aha! Another Weasley!

Arthur is another character who is great in both the movies and in the books. However, some of his best moments get cut out a bit from the books. He’s sort of Rowling’s idea of the ideal wizard. He comes from pureblood birth – the Wizarding World’s version of royalty – but remains aloof from the negative things that often come along with pure blood wizards being too focused on their blood status.

Arthur is also a mugglefile – he loves muggles and all of their technologies. His greatest ambition is to one day find out how airplanes stay up.

More than this, Arthur actually has a lot of key scenes (often left out of the movie) where he gives Harry vital guidance – guidance that many other adults are reticent to give him.

Arthur’s strength is more in character than in his magic, and in his brains. He is unceasingly curios, but never displays particularly powerful magic.

1. Neville Longbottom

Longbottom is, in many ways and above anyone else, Harry’s foil. In fact, he very well could easily have been “the chosen one” had Voldemort not chosen Harry. Also, he could very well have been killed, and Voldemort not stopped.

Neville was born on the same day as Harry, but displays considerably less magical talent. His character arc, however, is perhaps the greatest arc of any character in Harry Potter. We see him go from bumbling fool to macho snake slaying, Gryffindor Sword pulling war hero.

And that’s it for my top ten. Agree? Disagree? What would you change on this list? Leave your comments below!