Most Underrated Characters in Harry Potter

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Lacey Jackson

Lacey jumped into the world of Harry Potter in her 20s. She quickly found herself immersed in the storyline and the emotions explored in the books and movies. A proud Gryffindor she's not afraid to share her opinion while giving you the best information on the Wizarding Worlds lore, merch, and characters!

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Harry Potter is full of rich, well-developed characters, almost all of whom you can relate to or at least identify with to some degree. But there are some I believe are incredibly underrated.

What Qualifies Underrated Characters in Harry Potter?

In my mind, several things makes these top 15 characters underrated:

1. They don’t get credit for so many astounding things that they do
2. They have deep character attributes we should all strive for
3. They do little things daily without any recognition
4. They help others in emotionally healing ways

Top 15 Most Underrated Characters in Harry Potter

Molly Weasley

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Relation: Ron Weasley’s mom, who takes Harry in.
• Best Moment: Preparing everything for the kids, always, before they are even up, including breakfast, lunch, and their laundry.

As a huge Harry Potter fan, I’ve discussed this in another Harry Potter character bio before, but Molly Weasley is possibly one of the most underrated Harry Potter characters.

In reality, she represents all of the mothers who don’t get their due for all of the little things they do without complaint or mention day in and day out, throughout the Harry Potter franchise.

What really stood out to me was one scene in particular. To be clear, I had read the Harry Potter books several times before I had this special “ah ha” moment. It was the chapter where everyone was getting up and ready to go to the Quidditch world cup.

There is a brief mention of Harry and Ron being roused by Molly Weasley because they’re too young to apparate, so they have to walk up the hill to a port key with Mr. Weasley and the other young children.

In an almost imperceptibly brief line, it describes how both Molly Weasley and Arthur handed them packed lunches that she had made earlier that morning and provided breakfast for them while they were groggy and cranky and then escorted them up the road.

What doesn’t get said is the fact that this means despite how incredibly early–it is so early that it warrants pages of complaints from Harry and Ron–Mr. and Molly Weasley have been up for hours. They got themselves ready, Molly Weasley made breakfast, and she packed their lunches. She did everything for them, without question, no matter how many friends were brought into the home.

Narcissa Malfoy

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Relation: Mother to Draco Malfoy, Harry’s enemy at school.
• Best Moment: Choosing to shield Harry in case he was alive, then saving him.

Since I’m on the topic of outstanding mothers, Narcissa Malfoy might not win the category of most loving, but even though she makes mistakes, she absolutely supports Draco Malfoy. She loves her son more than anything and treats him with more kindness and concern than her husband.

But more than that, she is utterly underrated because of her role in saving Harry Potter. Were it not for this snotty upper-class excuse for a woman, Lord Voldemort would never have been defeated nor the Wizarding World saved.

When she knelt beside Harry Potter to check whether he was still alive in the forbidden forest, she tactfully moved her hair around him so no one else could see. She did this from the start knowing that this was her chance.

Luna Lovegood

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Relation: Attends Hogwarts, good friend to Harry Potter, member of Albus Dumbledore’s Army (DA)
• Best Moment: Shrugging off the fact that students had stolen her belongings the night before departing and going for dessert.

I’m not trying to focus exclusively on women; I promise I’ll get to the men next. But for now, I’d like to point out that Luna Lovegood is one of the few Harry Potter characters who, when you finally meet her, feels like she’s been with you the whole time, like she’s just been a friend in the background, giving you love and support.

I included her on this list because she is underrated in that most articles only focus on how she was brave when she was kidnapped and served as the cornerstone for Ollivander’s survival.

But I think she stands out as being underrated because she represents the personality and characteristics I believe everyone should strive for. I wish I could be more like Luna and maintain that perfect self-confidence in the face of humiliation, bullying, condescension, and all the other harmful things to which she is subject while at Hogwarts.

More so, I wish I had her ability to openly and without hesitation love everyone and everything she meets. She has a profound ability to find good in anyone and knows that love is not a limited resource. Giving support and care to friends or family members doesn’t mean there isn’t enough left over for someone else.

Patel Twins

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Relation: Twin sisters who attend Hogwarts, one of them in Gryffindor, both of them friends with Harry Potter
• Best Moment: Gracefully bearing the bad behavior of Ron and Harry at the dance.

The two Patel sisters, Padma and Parvati, don’t get enough credit for the Yule Ball (or for being incredibly smart and caring, but let’s focus on the ball).

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that when I read the chapter on the Yule Ball for the first time, I identified with Harry and Ron. At one of the first school dances I ever went to, I was accompanied by an ex-boyfriend who was still a good friend but went to school on the other side of town. We had some common friends, but he didn’t know many people at my school.

I wasn’t really interested in dancing; I had been motion sick most of the time because, of course, the dance took place on a boat, and, again, a little embarrassed to admit, I kind of just ignored him as Ron and Harry did to Padma and Parvati.

So even though this chapter isn’t necessarily what most people think of when they picture a high school dance, it was precisely my experience. As an adult, I harbor a lot of guilt over how I treated him at that dance (no, I don’t think writing about it here will help allay that guilt), and I know it was likely embarrassing for him to be surrounded by people he didn’t know and still have a good time.

He kept a relatively good attitude about everything, no matter what insecurities he might have been feeling, and I think the twins probably dealt with some of the exact same emotions, and yet they didn’t let it embarrass them or ruin their time.

Professor McGonagall

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Relation: Professor to Harry Potter and head of Gryffindor house.
• Best Moment: Helping Peeves cause havoc to disrupt Dolores Umbridge.

Throughout the Harry Potter franchise, Professor McGonagall was mainly portrayed as the rigorous teacher who could purse her lips thinner than anyone (Ok, now it kind of is starting to seem like it’s primarily female characters, but in my defense, there are many of them).

But where she doesn’t get enough credit and is entirely underrated is the way in which, when Severus Snape was in charge after Albus Dumbledore was murdered, she protected the students with everything she had.

She did her best to avoid ever punishing them, knowing what type of detention would be in their future. All of this was made evident when, up in the Ravenclaw tower, she had her altercation with the Carrows while Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood were under the invisibility cloak.

Of course, prior to that, she bestowed the same level of protection on the students against Dolores Umbridge, doing everything in her power to subvert Umbridges’ authority, even if it was something as simple as whispering to peeves the Poltergeist that the chandelier unscrewed the other direction.

She is that stern old lady we all know who might not be emotive but would die to protect us.

Fleur Delacour

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Relation: Becomes Ron’s sister-in-law and a good friend to Harry Potter, eventually his sister-in-law
• Best Moment: Housing the escapees from Malfoy Manor and rendering ministrations.

Fleur obviously gets a lot of credit for how strong she is when she’s at Hogwarts, participating in the Triwizard championship, and how sternly she stands by Bill’s side even after he is terribly wounded.

Where she doesn’t get enough credit is how she transforms into the perfect spouse, not only supporting her husband but extending that care to all of his family and close friends when times are incredibly dangerous.

Shell Cottage serves as a place where she welcomes anyone in need of protection.

Ron stays there at one point after he gets separated from Hermione and Harry, and Fleur does nothing but welcome him. but the best moment takes place prior to that, when Dobby magically drops Ollivander, Griphook, Luna, Dean, Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Shell Cottage; it’s only a brief line in the book and it’s hardly even mentioned in the Harry Potter movie, but many of the characters suffered severe torture, had several broken bones that hadn’t mended and other profoundly horrifying injuries which she took upon herself to heal immediately.

Not once did she shake, complain, or find that it was too discussing or overwhelming. She was Brave and she knew what her part was to play at every moment.

Merope Gaunt

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Relation: The dark lord’s mother, and a distant relation to Salazar Slytherin.
• Best Moment: Leaving her abusive home.

Before my better half had agreed to read the Harry Potter books, they had only seen the Harry Potter movie, and I went to great lengths to annoy them by continually pointing out entire subplots that were tossed out in the movie.

Merope Gaunt nearly broke me in the scene where, after being berated by her father and brother, she leaned up against the filthy wall hoping to disappear into it. Everything about that description resonates with anyone who has suffered abuse.

Unfortunately, her character doesn’t seem to achieve much after escaping from the family, and even that escape was only facilitated by some lengthy prison sentences. But credit where credit is due; she endured so much, and your heart just goes out to her, wanting to whisk her away and give her a better life.

Kreacher

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Relation: House elf to the Black family, and eventually to Harry Potter
• Best Moment: Hitting Mundungus with a frying pan.

And on the note of people whose subplots are kicked out of the Harry Potter movies, Kreacher doesn’t get enough credit for his complete character development. The moment when Hermione broke down at the thought of Kreacher being home with the delicious warm stew only to be potentially met by Death Eaters, my heart broke for him.

When he told his story of his master’s death and ultimately wrote off that Lord Voldemort tried to kill him without care and had suffered with the weight of that secret, knowing how much it was breaking Mrs. Black’s heart, it was hard not to sigh.

He became not just something to pity but a hero unto himself, especially when he tracked down Mundungus Fletcher and tried to take a frying pan to his head, just one for good measure.

He sold all of us fans on Kreacher when he started working at Hogwarts, even if he was still kind of a pain because, in the end, he led the house elves in the fight against Lord Voldemort. He truly doesn’t get enough credit for that.

In the books, that scene was a triumph.

Kreacher served as proof that every being deserves love. It was hard for me to stomach the treatment he received even though he was, admittedly, disgusting and insufferable. But when Harry and Ron started being nicer to him (sorry, Hermione, but Kreacher never came around to you), he became loving and supportive.

This really speaks to the fact that nurture plays a significant role over nature, and if we treat beings with respect and kindness, we will likely receive the same in return, at least to the best of our ability.

Charlie Weasley

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Relation: Ron’s older brother, eventually brother-in-law to Harry Potter
• Best Moment: Shrugging off dragons as dangerous.

(Ok, now we are starting to even things out here)

Charlie Weasley is somehow the most laid-back of all the Weasleys. I attribute this to his being the second oldest. While not the most senior, he definitely has all of the attributes of the second oldest, not realizing that they would be plenty more behind him, so he kind of goes against the path of the oldest child without rebelling too much.

To be clear, I absolutely love the actors who portrayed Fred and George Weasley, but one of the things about the description of all the Weasley boys that was changed in the Harry Potter movie is that Fred, George, and Charlie are all supposed to be short and stocky with Percy and Ron being tall and lanky.

So when I picture Charlie, I imagine a short, stocky guy who works hard outdoors, has oddly ripped forearms, and that weathered look about his skin.

This physical description could easily be applied to his personality and character; because he is working with dragons fearlessly and trying to overcome Lord Voldemort in other parts of Europe, he doesn’t get nearly as much credit as the other Weasley, yet he plays a critical role.

Neville Longbottom

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Relation: Attends Hogwarts, good friend to Harry Potter, member of Albus Dumbledore’s Army (DA)
• Best Moment: Taking the gum wrapper from his mentally insane mother, despite his grandmother’s protestations.

Neville Longbottom gets a lot of credit by fans for being pudgy and working to overcome his shortcomings by joining Albumdore’s Army and fighting against the dark lord. I don’t want to discredit any of that because he really is a loyal friend.

But where he touches my heart the most and doesn’t get credit is the hospital. This entire storyline is cut from the Harry Potter movies (seeing that a lot lately, aren’t we?) so we miss the hospital setting at Christmas and the description of Neville Longbottom there with parents.

Despite everything he might be afraid of or embarrassed by, when Harry, Ron and Hermione are introduced to his mentally insane parents, he puffs up like a peacock, daring them to say anything negative. This small gesture speaks volumes about his true loyalty, and where it came from.

And when Neville Longbottom and his grandmother leave, Neville’s mom hands him a gum wrapper, to which his grandmother notes that she does that all the time and has no idea what she is doing, so he should toss it out. But Neville stands firm, defying the woman who terrified him the most by slipping it into his pocket.

Hedwig

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Relation: Ignoring Harry in his bedroom for not letting her out.
• Best Moment: Keeping Harry on toes about his behavior toward animals.

Every time I reread the Harry Potter series, I cry at three main points:

1. When Hedwig dies
2. When Dobby dies
3. When Fred dies

Even though I know what’s coming, it doesn’t matter how much I try to emotionally prepare myself; the tears flow.

Hedwig is an entirely underrated Harry Potter character because she’s kind of just viewed as an animal, a way to transport mail back and forth, but in the books, there is profoundly rich detail describing her personality, the way she turns her body away from Harry when she’s displeased, clucks at him, bites him, flies off, flaps her wings, or otherwise demonstrates her feelings.

As a reader, you know when she is happy, hungry, scared, or angry. I won’t fault the director of the Harry Potter movie because it would be very challenging to replicate all of the tiny descriptions that I think any pet owner can appreciate.

But moreover, Hedwig was the most loyal sidekick, helping wherever she could, enduring attacks while trying to deliver messages to Sirius Black and even protecting Harry with her final breath (see? There I go again, tearing up at the thought).

They never found her body, so she couldn’t get the funeral Dobby did. And with so much going on in the midst of the attack, there was never time to properly grieve her death or even say a few words about her (now, I need a tissue). She became yet another overlooked loss in the midst of so many.

Buckbeak

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Relation: Adopted pet to Harry’s godfather.
• Best Moment: Living in a cave to keep Sirius sane.

Buckbeak touches our hearts because we don’t want him to be killed only because of Malfoy. And sure, he is redeemed and helps save Sirius from execution on the same night.

But one thing he doesn’t get enough credit for is the fact that he stays with Sirius. After his Escape he could have gone anywhere. He could have roamed the fields of Europe or Asia, flown off to find a mate. but he didn’t.

I think like all horses he could sense the fact that Sirius Black  needed companionship so he stopped by him, living off scraps and rats in the caves behind Hogsmeade, and being confined to an upstairs bedroom later in the Harry Potter series. but for the duration of Sirius’ time in hiding, Buckbeak stuck by him, never left his side, and was always there to give him a quick getaway if he needed it.

Grawp

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Relation: Hagrid’s brother.
• Best Moment: Saving Hermione and Harry from Dolores Umbridge.

Grawp, Hagrid’s brother, is introduced for a short while, and plays a role in interacting with Harry and Hermione during the Quidditch game, but after that he disappears for a while until the final Battle of Hogwarts.

However, while there are running jokes about his stupidity and his inability to communicate, even in the books we see evidence that he has been taking the English lessons seriously because, when part of the building is blown up, his face appears asking for Hagrid’s whereabouts. He can communicate, and even though he is somewhat childish, he manages to bond with Hermione, respect them, save them in the Forbidden Forest from Umbrage, and even participate in the final battle.

Nearly Headless Nick

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Relation: Ghost who haunts Hogwarts.
• Best Moment: Knocking over the suit of armor to give Harry a distraction.

Nearly Headless Nick is underrated because he’s one of those characters who seems to be present all the time but isn’t really admired for much, he’s basically the background noise of the ghost world.

However, he is there to provide support to Harry Potter at several moments throughout Hogwarts history. He helps Harry early on, giving him guidance, distracting Filch by pretending to be Peeves so that Harry can get away safely, and even offering Harry comfort when Harry is confused about the things he saw in the ministry of magic and the death of Sirius Black.

Peeves

• First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Relation: Poltergeist who haunts Hogwarts.
• Best Moment: Saluting Fred and George as they departed Hogwarts, instructing him to give Dolores hell for them.

Peeves might cause trouble everywhere (like seriously, why would anyone want to dump ink on people for no reason or be a snitch for the sake of it?) but he is underrated in his loyalty to the school.

Most people only focus on how he causes trouble and he won’t leave, but when it comes to Dolores disrupting the flow, he takes on new responsibilities causing problems, not so much targeting children, but causing disruptions and damage.

Honorable Mentions

While all of the ones listed above were my absolute top picks, I know there are many characters that fans of the Harry Potter franchise will be disappointed didn’t make the list. I felt they were too prominent to be listed but I will list them as honorable mentions instead:

• Ginny Weasley
• Fenrir Greyback
• Colin Creevy
• Bellatrix Lestrange
• Professor Trelawney
• Peter Pettigrew
• Albus Dumbledore
• Remus Lupin
• Fred Weasley
• George Weasley

Most Underrated Characters in Harry Potter: FAQs