Harry Potter’s battle against Lord Voldemort and his followers drives all seven books in the series, with either He Who Must Not Be Named or one of his acolytes serving as the main villain in each installment. That said, the Wizarding World is so richly populated, and Harry’s life so complicated, that the Boy Who Lived comes up against many other antagonists who have no direct ties to the evil arch-foe who gave him his scar.
Some of these villains are guilty of pursuing personal power or self-preservation at all costs, while others abuse their positions of authority for their own ends. They may get in Harry’s way due to their significant roles within the Ministry of Magic, or because they happen to be Hogwarts professors. Others are infamous figures from Wizarding World history whose misdeeds still have repercussions in the present day. These witches and wizards prove that you don’t need to be a Death Eater to be a dangerous threat.
8
The Dursleys Abused Harry Throughout His Childhood
Unlike most Harry Potter villains, the Dursleys are not out to increase their own magical or political power and take over the world. Instead, they are guilty of a much more mundane kind of cruelty, which is maybe why they are considered some of the most hated characters in the franchise. While Voldemort, for instance, is a pretty far-fetched character, it’s all too common to know someone like Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, or Harry’s cousin, Dudley.
Dumbledore may have had the best of intentions when leaving baby Harry with the Dursleys after his parents’ death, as he thought the boy’s own blood relations would love and care for him, but poor Harry endured an awful childhood at 4 Privet Drive. Because they hated magic, and because of Petunia’s venomous attitude toward her late sister, Lily, Harry was raised as a virtual slave, suffering no end of neglect, abuse, and bullying at their hands.
The case could be made that Dudley is less to blame for his actions, as he was merely a product of his parents. Harry himself seemed to forgive his cousin to some extent, as they maintain a distant but polite relationship as adults, with their children even playing together on occasion. Nevertheless, he no doubt carried around the misery of his pre-Hogwarts years with the Dursleys for the rest of his life.
7
Rita Skeeter Acquired Gossip Through Illegal and Immoral Means
A pointed satire of unethical tabloid journalism, Rita Skeeter is a gossip columnist for The Daily Prophet who writes incredibly biased and often completely fabricated articles in order to boost her own profile. Known for her sensationalist, “enchantingly nasty” (as Dumbledore put it) prose, Rita believed it was her job to give the people what they “like to read” and not what they “ought to read.”
Her smear campaign against both Harry and Dumbledore in the press was a huge part of why public opinion turned against them, even poisoning the minds of some of Harry’s own friends and classmates, which, in turn, helped Voldemort’s underground influence to grow. Rita could make such inaccurate claims because she scattered just enough factual information among the lies, which she only acquired in the first place through illicit means.
As an unregistered Animagus, Rita often spied on people in her beetle form. Similarly, she only got the material for her tell-all biography about Dumbledore by dosing Bathilda Bagshot, a vulnerable, elderly witch, with Veritaserum. At least Hermione found out the truth about her and was able to blackmail Rita into writing the truth about Voldemort’s return and clearing Harry’s name.
6
Barty Crouch Sr. Was a Ruthless Hypocrite
Barty Crouch Jr. is generally considered the more heinous character to bear that name, but maybe the apple doesn’t fall all that far from the tree. While his son, a devout Death Eater and master manipulator, is obviously an evil man, Barty Crouch Sr. is seemingly an upstanding politician but is actually guilty of a shockingly ruthless approach to his job and a personal hypocrisy that ultimately cost his wife her life.
As Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement during the First Wizarding War, Crouch was infamous for instructing his Aurors to treat Death Eaters with extreme force, even condoning the use of torture. He also allowed suspected Death Eaters — such as Sirius Black — to be incarcerated in Azkaban without trial. Azkaban’s inhuman conditions can also be leveled at him, too.
And yet when it came to his own Death Eater son, Crouch betrayed his hardline stance and helped him escape Azkaban, allowing his wife to take his place and die in prison. Depending on your point of view, you could also blame Barty Sr.’s distant parenting for Jr. becoming a Death Eater in the first place. Crouch may have acted out of a desire to either punish the wicked or protect his family, but he left behind a troubling trail of bodies and bloodshed.
5
Cornelius Fudge Was a Cowardly, Self-Serving Politician
Maybe it’s unfair to label Cornelius Fudge a villain, as he doesn’t necessarily display any cruel or callous traits. In fact, he is originally portrayed as a genial and good-humored person. However, his cowardice and feeble leadership in a time of crisis mean that, at the very least, he can be classified as a powerful obstacle for Harry, Dumbledore, and everyone who opposes Voldemort.
Fudge appears to be a perfectly adequate Minister of Magic during peacetime, but as soon as Voldemort returns, his fear — of both the Dark Lord himself and the potential impact on his career — leads him to deny the truth at every turn. He even uses the media to smear Harry and attempts to oust Dumbledore from Hogwarts. In retrospect, Fudge’s willful ignorance left the Wizarding World woefully underprepared for what became the Second Wizarding War.
Fudge may not have committed any evil deeds himself, per se, but the total negligence of his responsibilities and duties as political leader of the Wizarding population means that he can be blamed for how easy it was for Voldemort to restart his reign of terror. His successor, Rufus Scrimgeour, was ultimately ineffectual, but at least he understood the reality of the threat and attempted to combat it.
4
Gilderoy Lockhart Revealed Himself to Be a Callous Fraud
At first, Gilderoy Lockhart’s only sin appears to be his vanity, but as Harry and Ron eventually discover, the Wizarding World’s most famous adventurer is actually a complete fraud. Falsifying his achievements to chase fame and fortune is one thing, but Lockhart’s methods of maintaining his lies are what really elevate him to full-on villainy.
As he admits himself, Lockhart’s one genuine magical talent is his knack for memory charms, and no one knows how many truly exceptional witches and wizards had their lives ruined by Lockhart when he wiped their memories and took credit for their heroic deeds. He wasn’t even above wiping the memories of two 12-year-old boys to save his own skin, condemning an 11-year-old girl to death in the process.
Yes, Lockhart’s fraudulent reputation is generally thought of as his worst trait, but let’s not overlook the fact that he is willing to allow Ginny Weasley to die in the Chamber of Secrets just to maintain his public image — an act that, unbeknownst to him, would have led to Voldemort’s resurrection. Thank Godric Gryffindor that Ron’s broken wand backfired and wiped Gilderoy’s own memory instead.
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3
Salazar Slytherin Wanted to Purge Hogwarts of All Muggle-Borns
Speaking of the Chamber of Secrets, the Basilisk is often considered Tom Riddle’s pet, with the blame for its many attacks on Hogwarts students over the years laid at the future Lord Voldemort’s door. While Riddle unleashed the Basilisk twiceover, Salazar Slytherin — the man who hid the beast inside the school in the first place — should not be let off the hook for enabling those crimes to take place.
While viewed as one of the finest wizards of his age and venerated as one of the four Hogwarts founders, Salazar Slytherin is notorious for his bigotry towards Muggle-borns. He famously fell out with his co-founders over his insistence that no Muggle-borns be allowed entry to the school. By all accounts, Slytherin was nowhere near as dangerous as Riddle, his own descendant, so he is not known to have attacked or murdered any Muggle-borns himself. However, his own crime is something far more underhanded and insidious.
He may not be directly responsible for any deaths, but Slytherin still installed the Basilisk inside the Chamber of Secrets so that someone else could one day rid Hogwarts of all its Muggle-born students. Clearly, Salazar had just as much of a murderous hatred for Muggle-borns as Voldemort, even if he perhaps had just enough restraint not to act on that hatred himself.
2
Dolores Umbridge Didn’t Need a Horcrux to Corrupt Her
Who is the most detestable character in the entire Harry Potter saga, and why is it Dolores Umbridge? Similar to the Dursleys, Umbridge triggers such a visceral response from fans as her brand of villainy is all too real. Hiding behind her sickly-sweet demeanor (and an addiction to both the color pink and cat paraphernalia), Umbridge is an ambitious and amoral middle-management sort who delights in bullying anyone she deems to be beneath her.
Her reign at Hogwarts during Harry’s Fifth Year saw her impose a totalitarian control over both the students and staff, and she even displayed a vindictive pleasure in torturing minors through her wound-inflicting quill. She is similarly capable of pre-determined acts of evil, as Umbridge sent a Dementor to Little Whinging to attack Harry and Dudley.
Although never officially a Death Eater, Umbridge clearly shared their views, as she thrived in the Ministry during the Second Wizarding War. As Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, Umbridge sentenced many innocent witches and wizards to Azkaban, even condemning some to a Dementor’s Kiss. She did wear a Horcrux during this period, but in Umbridge’s case, it is unlikely that it needed to corrupt her. It’s more likely that it found itself a kindred spirit.
1
Gellert Grindelwald Wanted to Enslave the Muggle World
As despicable as Umbridge and the rest of the individuals on this list are, the Wizarding World’s most notorious villain not associated with Voldemort has to be Gellert Grindelwald. While Tom Riddle was still a student at Hogwarts, Grindelwald was launching an attempt to take over magical society so that he could subjugate Muggles, whom he believed were inherently lesser than witches and wizards.
While not quite as monstrous as Voldemort, Grindelwald was just as ambitious, justifying his tyrannical aims because he believed he would be protecting Muggles from their own savage instincts. Though not explored in the Harry Potter books themselves, the Fantastic Beasts films make plain that Grindelwald was a master of manipulation, and his silver tongue meant he was adept at swaying people over to his side. Not least, a lovestruck Albus Dumbledore once upon a time.
Famously, Grindelwald spent 50 years of his life locked up in Nurmengard, following his defeat in 1945. Apparently, he eventually felt remorse for his past actions, which indicates his long imprisonment may have been partially voluntary. Likewise, his final act was to defy Voldemort, which ultimately aided in Harry’s quest to destroy the dark wizard who came to overshadow Grindelwald’s own impact on history.
- First Film
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Cast
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Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane
- Created by
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J.K. Rowling
- Latest Film
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two
- Reunion Date
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January 1, 2022
- Where to watch
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HBO Max