HARRY POTTER Characters: Full List & Analysis

Who drives the story

Main characters

Harry Potter

An orphan raised in a cupboard under the stairs, famous in a world he never knew existed. He wants a family and a home; what he finds is a lightning scar, a prophecy of rivalry, and the discovery that his mother's love still protects him.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Boy Under the Stairs; Part 2: You're a Wizard, Harry; Part 3: Hermione, the Troll, and the Mirror; Part 4: The Trapdoor and the Man with Two Faces
Themes:: Love as protection; Death, faced without fear; Friendship and loyalty; Choices over birth; The outsider finding home

Ron Weasley

The sixth of the Weasley children, poor in money but rich in loyalty, who becomes Harry's first real friend. He sacrifices himself on a giant chessboard so Harry can face what's beneath the trapdoor.

Appears in:: Part 2: You're a Wizard, Harry; Part 3: Hermione, the Troll, and the Mirror; Part 4: The Trapdoor and the Man with Two Faces
Themes:: Friendship and loyalty

Hermione Granger

A brilliant, bossy Muggle-born witch who learns to break rules for her friends. She lies to teachers to save Harry and Ron, solves the potion riddle, and earns fifty points for cool logic in the face of fire.

Appears in:: Part 2: You're a Wizard, Harry; Part 3: Hermione, the Troll, and the Mirror; Part 4: The Trapdoor and the Man with Two Faces
Themes:: Friendship and loyalty; Choices over birth

Rubeus Hagrid

The half-giant gamekeeper who delivers Harry's Hogwarts letter and the words 'You're a wizard, Harry.' He borrows Sirius Black's flying motorbike, carries baby Harry to Privet Drive, and keeps a three-headed dog named Fluffy.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Boy Under the Stairs; Part 2: You're a Wizard, Harry; Part 4: The Trapdoor and the Man with Two Faces

Albus Dumbledore

Hogwarts' headmaster, the only wizard Voldemort feared, who leaves baby Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep and guides him from the shadows. He moves the Mirror of Erised, destroys the Stone, and teaches Harry that death is but the next great adventure.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Boy Under the Stairs; Part 3: Hermione, the Troll, and the Mirror; Part 4: The Trapdoor and the Man with Two Faces
Themes:: Love as protection; Death, faced without fear; Friendship and loyalty

Lord Voldemort

The dark wizard who killed Harry's parents and lost his power trying to kill the boy. Reduced to shadow and vapour, he shares Professor Quirrell's body and hunts the Philosopher's Stone to regain his own.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Boy Under the Stairs; Part 2: You're a Wizard, Harry; Part 4: The Trapdoor and the Man with Two Faces
Themes:: Love as protection; Death, faced without fear

Professor Snape

The Potions master who takes an instant dislike to Harry and humiliates him in class. He seems the villain all year — until the truth points elsewhere.

Appears in:: Part 3: Hermione, the Troll, and the Mirror; Part 4: The Trapdoor and the Man with Two Faces

The Dursleys

Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley — Harry's 'perfectly normal' relatives who lock him in a cupboard and flee wizarding letters to a hut on a rock. They are the world Harry escapes.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Boy Under the Stairs; Part 2: You're a Wizard, Harry

Also in the story

Supporting characters

Professor Quirrell

The stuttering Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher hiding Voldemort's face beneath his turban. He is the true thief after the Stone, and Harry's touch burns his skin.

Appears in:: Part 4: The Trapdoor and the Man with Two Faces
Themes:: Love as protection

How they are connected

Key relationships

Ron Weasley Harry Potter
The sixth of the Weasley children, poor in money but rich in loyalty, who becomes Harry's first real friend.
Hermione Granger Harry Potter
She lies to teachers to save Harry and Ron, solves the potion riddle, and earns fifty points for cool logic in the face of fire.
Hermione Granger Ron Weasley
She lies to teachers to save Harry and Ron, solves the potion riddle, and earns fifty points for cool logic in the face of fire.
Rubeus Hagrid Harry Potter
The half-giant gamekeeper who delivers Harry's Hogwarts letter and the words 'You're a wizard, Harry.
Albus Dumbledore Harry Potter
Hogwarts' headmaster, the only wizard Voldemort feared, who leaves baby Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep and guides him from the shadows.
Albus Dumbledore Lord Voldemort
Hogwarts' headmaster, the only wizard Voldemort feared, who leaves baby Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep and guides him from the shadows.
Albus Dumbledore The Dursleys
Hogwarts' headmaster, the only wizard Voldemort feared, who leaves baby Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep and guides him from the shadows.
Lord Voldemort Harry Potter
The dark wizard who killed Harry's parents and lost his power trying to kill the boy.
Lord Voldemort Professor Quirrell
Reduced to shadow and vapour, he shares Professor Quirrell's body and hunts the Philosopher's Stone to regain his own.
Professor Snape Harry Potter
The Potions master who takes an instant dislike to Harry and humiliates him in class.
Professor Quirrell Harry Potter
He is the true thief after the Stone, and Harry's touch burns his skin.
The Dursleys Harry Potter
Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley — Harry's 'perfectly normal' relatives who lock him in a cupboard and flee wizarding letters to a hut on a rock.

Go deeper

HARRY POTTER themes & symbols

Love as protection · Death, faced without fear · Friendship and loyalty · Choices over birth

Themes explained

Read the full HARRY POTTER summary

The full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.

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