Ten Best Harry Potter Characters

This is just a fun little post.  You can have your students do this when reading a short story.  Maybe only 3 or 5 characters.  Have them use examples from the text or direct quotes.  In honor of the last HP movie, I thought that I'd write out a list of my favorite Harry Potter characters.  This is in no particular order. 

Peeves the Poltergeist
A highly inappropriate, disobedient nutcase poltergeist that obligingly lives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he is constantly causing chaos with his pranks.  My favorite scene with Peeves, although there are so many, is in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when the Weasley twins direct Peeves to give Umbridge hell.  I love seeing the way that Peeves salutes the twins, and causes quite an uproar from Umbridge, while the rest of the student body and the professors ally themselves with the unruly poltergeist.  I've always been sad that he's never been included in the movies! 

Lord Voldemort
 Some people might think that I am weird having him on the list, but I just have to say that I admire how JK Rowling wrote Voldemort's character.  Voldemort is pure evil.  Seriously, he is.  At one time, when he was younger, he may have been not as evil, but that nastiness has always been there.  Most authors write their antagonists with having a little bit of heart and remorse left in them, so you can feel almost sympathy with the enemy.  Not with Lord Voldemort.  He is everything a human being shouldn't be, and some of my favorite chapters in the whole series are found in book 6 when Harry learns about Voldermort's past, and how he became the man/wizard/monster that terrorized the wizarding world.  I think it's incredible to see how Voldemort became corrupted by his lust for power.  Rowling does an excellent job of writing nasty, evil villains and this is somebody that even Harry, who is a kind, well-meaning kid for the most part, can kill.  If I had to choose a person to be second to Lord Voldemort in the evil contest, I would have to say that Bellatrix and Umbridge are tied.

Hermione Granger
Hermione is the best of the best.  She is your goody two shoes, who loves school and getting good grades.  Basically, she is a model student.  If Harry and Ron hadn't become friends with Hermione, there would be no Harry Potter series.  She is the glue that holds the trio together.  Honestly, the boys are so clueless without her, and without her knowledge and skill they wouldn't have survived all their years at Hogwarts. 


Draco Malfoy
Draco's transformation from spoiled, nasty little rich boy into a young man that is essentially bullied by Voldemort really shows his true nature.  By the time that you get to book 6, most people realize that Harry and Draco are arch enemies (at least in the school sense).  They jinx and curse each other, and pull pranks.  Harry is as guilty of this relationship as Draco is.  In book 6, you finally see Draco at his breaking point.  He is bullied into killing Dumbledore, an act that will most likely kill him in the process.  During books 6 and 7, you sympathize with Malfoy, and come to realize that as "evil" as he was in the previous books, he's nothing compared to Voldemort. 


Nymphadora Tonks
I'm all about girl power.  And Tonks is a pretty hip and skilled witch that can take on some serious tasks.  You don't learn very much about her in book 5.  She has the ability to change her appearance at will, she's an auror (that has to take some skill), she is notoriously clumsy, and she likes to ask annoying questions of Harry.  I wish that they had more of her in the books, but she is definitely a B plot character.  And, she's not so awesome in book 6. (Love sick? pssh)  And in book 7, you barely see enough of her before you see that she died.  I'd like to see a sequel to the Harry Potter books that deals with the adult perspective of Voldemort's rise to power (like during books 5 and 6 of the series).

Weasley Family
Okay, I kind of cheated.  I had to include ALL of the Weasleys.  This is the family that Harry wished that he had.  And Ron, his BFF, is a part of that family.  I love Harry's relationship with the entire family.  From Ron, Fred, and George that view Harry as a close friend (almost a brother), to Ginny's childish fan girl obsession that turns into romance;   Percy's disapproval of Harry and Ron's friendship; and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's almost parent like affection of Harry.  As Mr. Weasley says in book 6, "Half of our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it... Well all I can say is that it was a lucky day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express".  On the flipside of this quote, where would Harry be without the Weasleys?  Without Ron? 

Professor McGonagall
This is a teaching blog, so I have to write a little blurb about my favorite teacher in the books.  She sure is strict, but I really think that her methods got results.  Okay, now to stop talking about her as a teacher.  Some of my favorite scenes from books 5 to 7 are with her in them.  I really liked in book 5 when she defends Harry while engaging in a yelling match with Umbridge (that's pretty unprofessional, at least she tells him to leave before it escalates).  I also like how stalwart she is---like when Harry mentions in book 5 after McGonagall is injured that he never imagined Hogwarts without her.  One of my favorite, absolute, favorite scenes is from book 7 when Harry is hiding under the invisibility cloak in the Ravenclaw dorm.  When McGonagall confronts the Carrows, they spit in her face.  Harry, in retaliation, removes his cloak and performs the cruciatus curse on them.  McGonagall, in response says, "Potter, I- that was very-very gallant of you." McGonagall, although a strict teacher, is very fair and well-liked and respected by the general student and staff population.  Maybe unknown to Harry, she is also an important mentor and guide for him while at Hogwarts. 

Severus Snape
Best written character in the story.  Snape's loyalty and devotion toward Lily Potter allowed him to protect Harry, who looks exactly like his most bitter rival (James Potter).  It's almost funny, the way that Snape bullied and punished Harry.  Especially in the 6th book, when Snape tells him that he will only be able to defeat Lord Voldemort if he can master his emotions and nonverbal magic.  One of my top 5 chapters in the entire book is when Harry sees Snape's memories after he dies.  Poor Snape, so misunderstood, but he eventually receives the respect he deserves, even if it is a little late. 

Albus Dumbledore
Harry's Gandalf.  Okay, maybe not so much.  But Dumbledore is a pretty conniving old man.  He knows what's expected of Harry, and tries to protect him as much as possible, even though he knows that Harry will have to be killed (eventually).  I like that book 7 shows a different side of Dumbledore.  Although he's always been Harry's hero, Harry realizes that not all heroes are perfect.  Do I really have to say anymore about Dumbledore? 

Harry Potter
Harry could quite possibly be my least favorite character in the series if I let all of his annoying habits (jumping to conclusions, playing hero, being a drama queen) get in the way.  But no matter how many faults he has (which show that he is human), he still has so much good left in him.  After all he's been through, he's not that bitter.  He's learned to deal with the crazy muggle Dursleys, and he's learned to deal with the backlash that comes from being famous.  Through most of the series, he's a reluctant hero.  He doesn't want to be famous and be the chosen one, but he will, because he knows what needs to be done.  I love how clueless he is with girls, I love how Harry fights and argues with his friends and I love how even though there was a part of Voldemort in him, he was still a genuinely good person.