The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a vast universe ripe with different kinds of characters. We have the good, the bad, the lost, and the in-between. In this article we will explore the top 5 antagonists of the Wizarding World. To keep it simple, it will focus on the top 5 of the 1970s and beyond. Sorry, no Grindelwald here.
5. Peter Pettigrew, The One Who Betrayed
The one who betrayed his friends. That in itself lands him on this list. The first act of betrayal was Peter telling Voldemort where Lily and James Potter were. He betrayed the trust given onto him by his friends for his own benefit. As a result, Voldemort killed them both. Not satisfied with that, Peter then betrayed Sirius. He framed Sirius as his murder, going as far as cutting off his own finger to make it that much more believable. Because of this, Sirius was locked in Azkaban for 12 years. This prevented him from being the godfather he could have been for Harry. Finally, Peter was the loyal servant who helped Voldemort come back to power and spend the next 3 years trying to kill Harry, the son of his supposed close friends.
4. Voldemort, The Dark Lord
Most would think he would be number one, and in most cases he would be. But there was a method to his madness. He was incapable of love due to the love potion his mother used on his father. Now that doesn’t excuse any of the things he did (and boy did he do a lot on his quest for power). The Dark Lord killed innocent people, at times for no reason at all. He even killed his own father and grandparents in his younger years. He relentlessly hunts down Harry Potter who is only a year old when Voldemort first tries to kill him. Voldemort has no reservations about splitting his soul into pieces, which one must kill a person to do, just to achieve eternal life. This man also kills a beautiful innocent unicorn to preserve his life. There is so much more he did, but these are just some of the unspeakable things this man did to get the power he so yearned for.
3. Bellatrix Lestrange, The Sadistic Servant
Ah, the Dark Lord’s most loyal servant. Bellatrix Lestrange, unlike her master she so loved, had no reason to torture or kill. She simply had a sadistic twisted devotion to the Dark Lord. Bellatrix would stop at nothing to serve him, such as torturing Neville’s parents so badly they lost their minds and forgot their own son. Another example is cutting off her own sister when Andromeda married a Muggle-born. Worst of all, she killed not just her cousin Sirius, but her young niece, the aforementioned Andromeda’s daughter. There was no remorse shown for doing these things and she would have continued tormenting those that opposed her master if it weren’t for Molly Weasley taking her down. Bellatrix was worse than Voldemort because her madness had no reason or purpose but the sheer enjoyment she got from seeing people suffer.
2. Albus Dumbledore, The “Good Guy”
A few Harry Potter fans will agree with me on this. Dumbledore was almost the worst person in the whole series. This man right here was so powerful even Voldemort was afraid of him. That being said… He sucked. Dumbledore left Harry with his aunt and uncle saying it was the best place for him, and yet knew of all the abuse Harry went through without doing anything. He gave Harry limited information, but expected him to hold his own against the Dark Lord. Oh, and let’s not forget, he embarks on this huge mission of finding Horcruxes knowing he was dying soon, and would leave Harry to not just find them, but destroy them. Finally, if all this wasn’t enough, he knew that both Harry and Voldemort would have to die at some point. He basically helped Harry survive until it was okay for him to die with Voldemort.. Dumbledore manipulated everyone into doing what he thought was right and only gave vague explanations when asked anything.
1. Dolores Umbridge, The Ultimate Villain
This witch right here. Now this woman was the worst of the worst. A very unlikable person that hid behind a sickly sweet demeanor. if anyone opposed her, she would bring them down. While “teaching” at Hogwarts, she created crazy decrees to maintain some of that power given to her by the ministry. Not to mention she stated how much she hated children, in particular Harry. Her punishments were extremely cruel. Detention with her was writing lines with a quill that wrote with one’s own blood, which came from carving the lines in back of your hand. Harry and others had permanent scars from this. She hated Muggles including her own mother, and any half creatures such as centaurs. Students were not able to study Defense Against the Dark Arts because she put that on hold. She was the ultimate villain in Harry Potter.
These are my picks for the top 5 antagonists in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Do you agree or disagree? Who would your top 5 antagonists be? Let me know in the comments down below.
