Characters in Harry Potter
From Conservapedia
The characters in the fictional universe of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series are both numerous and varied in skill, background and ideology. Below is a list of the main people encountered in the books.
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Main Characters
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is the protagonist of the series, a young wizard who is studying magic at Hogwarts.
Hermione Granger
Hermione Granger is one of Harry's two closest friends and a student in the Gryffindor house. She is portrayed as remarkably studious, relying on books and knowledge over instinct. She is played in the movies by Emma Watson.
Ron Weasley
Ron Weasley is one of Harry's two closest friends, and is in the Gryffindor House. He is portrayed as a brave and noble character, however constantly feels overshadowed by Harry's fame and success, leading to a split between the two. They reconcile towards the end of the last book, and remain friends into adulthood. In the movies he is played by Rupert Grint.
Voldemort
Voldemort is the evil Dark Lord and principle antagonist. Like Harry, he went to Hogwarts, unlike Harry he was in Slytherin House. He took possession of a teacher named Quirrell in the first book in order to steal the sorcerer's stone. In the second book the memory of Voldemort's sixteen year old self, Tom Riddle, unleashes a giant serpent monster on Hogwarts. In the first books of the series he schemes to be resurrected and regain his former power, something which is achieved in the fourth book. He begins building his empire in the final books, however at the height of his new power is slayed by Harry during an epic battle at Hogwarts.
Secondary Characters
Dudley Dursley
Dudley Dursley is a cousin of Harry Potter an one of the initial antagonists. He is portrayed as being a sadistic and spoiled bully, who together with his gang victimise a number of children their age, particularly Harry. He does show irregular displays of fear and empathy, and redeems himself at the end of the series by changing his attitude and expressing love towards his cousin.
Petunia Dursley
Petunia Dursley is the aunt and guardian of Harry Potter. Her jealousy of her sister's magic abilities is reflected in the hostile attitude she shows towards her niece in contrast to the loving and over caring relationship with her son.
Vernon Dursley
Vernon Dursley is the uncle and guardian of Harry Potter. He is the owner of a large drill company and, like his wife, displays hostility towards his niece and amorosity towards his son.
Filius Flitwick
Filius Flitwick is head of Ravenclaw House teacher of charms at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An old and short man, he has to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk, however his magical powers are expansive.
Neville Longbottom
Neville Longbottom is in Gryffindor house at Hogwarts. He is a nice boy but is bullied and made fun of by some of the other characters, especially his classmate Draco Malfoy and his sinister teacher Professor Severus Snape. Eventually in the series it is discovered that Lord Voldemort murdered his parents. Neville appears slow, but is actually intelligent. He is great at herbology.
Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy is Harry's chief nemesis at their wizard school Hogwarts. He is a villain and a ruthless bully. He comes from a rich family. His father is a supporter of the evil Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents. Draco's favorite teacher is the sinister Severus Snape, who also hates Harry. Draco fights Harry in the battle of Hogwarts in the last book but Harry saves his life from a fire. Draco's first name is Latin for dragon, while his last name is from French "mal foi", literally "bad faith" or "evil faith". His father is named Lucius, which derives from Lucifer, another name for the devil. In the film adaptations of the books Draco Malfoy is played by Tom Felton.
Lucius Malfoy
Lucius Malfoy is a villain and a supporter of the Dark Lord Voldemort, and the father of Harry's classmate and enemy Draco Malfoy. In the Harry Potter films, he is portrayed by Jason Isaacs.
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall is the assistant headmistress of Hogwarts. She is head of Gryffindor house and transfiguration teacher. She is usually rather strict but but fair, and is occasionally seen bending the rules in order to achieve a just outcome.
Pansy Parkinson
Pansy Parkinson is a Slytherin student at Hogwarts, who often displays a bullying nature. In the movies she is played by Genivieve Gaunt.
Professor Quirrell
Professor Quirrell is a character in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling. He speaks in a stutter, and has a timid personality. He also wears a turban. Harry and his friends believe that the sinister Professor Severus Snape is bullying Quirrell in order to get the Sorcerer's Stone and hand it to the Dark Lord Voldemort.
However when Harry gets past Hagrid's monster and the spells blocking the stone to head Snape off he is surprised to meet Quirrell there, not Snape. Quirrell admits to Harry that he is the person who was trying to give the stone to Voldemort not Snape. He then takes his turban off and reveals that the spirit of Voldemort is on the back of his head and possesses his body. Harry kills Quirrell and Voldemort flees. Harry wakes up the next morning with Dumbledore in the hospital wing.
Severus Snape
Severus Snape is a Hogwarts teacher. He teaches potions but wants to become Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Snape is also head of Slytherin House, one of the four Hogwarts houses in the series. Snape is a ruthless bully as teacher and hates Harry Potter. He shows favoritism, consistently undermining efforts of students from other houses in his classes while consistently supporting efforts of students from his own house. His favorite student is Harry's nemesis Draco Malfoy. At the end of the series he is murdered by Voldemort.
Though his unsavory qualities are stressed through the majority of the series, Snape is depicted especially in the fifth and seventh books as a sympathetic and even tragic character. It is revealed in the fifth book that he was bullied constantly by James Potter, Harry's father whom Harry had previously thought could do no wrong, and there are hints in the fifth and seventh books that he had a terrible upbringing.
In the seventh book, Snape is arguably the most heroic secondary character. It is shown that, though he was never able to reconcile his intense dislike of James Potter, and he never truly reconciles with Harry, he had consistently put his own life in considerable danger to protect Harry and Hogwarts in general. At the end of book 7, an older Harry says to his son, Albus Severus, that Snape was "probably the bravest man [I] ever knew."
JK Rowling has said that Snape is based on a cruel teacher she had and is intended to illustrate the fact that many teachers abuse their power, which Snape does. He is played in the movies by Alan Rickman.
Madam Sprout
Madam Sprout is the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, and also head of the Hufflepuff house.
