Fred Weasley & George Weasley

While our three heroes fumbled and stumbled about at Hogwarts, trying to decide what their futures held, the Twin Brothers Weasley had the luxury of knowing their passion. Pranks. Gags and gaffes. While everyone else fretted over

their exams, Ron's older brothers had an entrepreneur's eye and a magician's mirth. Having always been on hand to help Harry out in tough situations, the brave brothers, who were auspiciously born on April Fool's, have still yet to experience their most intense and tragic moments. The more they pestered and prodded at Ron, the more we realized that they were the kind of older brother's that we all would have wanted to grow up with. Taking umbrage at Umbridge and leaving Hogwarts with a bang in Order of The Phoenix showed us that these two weren't just goofy side splitters; they were brave and valiant freedom fighters.

Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart is a real charmer. It's through sheer charisma (and the occasional memory charm) that he established himself in society as one of the most accomplished wizards of all time, without actually performing any of the heroic acts he claims to have done in numerous best-selling books. The vain and self-aggrandizing Lockhart's habit of exaggerating his own deeds would backfire when he was hired as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He would at first relish the position as yet another avenue of self-promotion, but his buffoonery and incompetence soon get the best of Lockhart. His false claims are revealed by Harry Potter and his friends after Lockhart cowardly attempted to flee the school upon being ordered to confront the monster in the Chamber of Secrets.

Horace Slughorn
Horace Slughorn first came to Hogwarts as a young boy and was sorted into Slytherin house. He proved an excellent student, excelling in Potions, which he would later return to the school to teach -- he instructed the likes of Tom Marvolo Riddle, Severus Snape, and Lilly Evans. It was Slughorn who taught Riddle about Horcruxes, information the twisted young man would later use to make himself immortal. Slughorn is skilled, but has never been especially brave -- he attempted to live incognito in the Muggle world for many years to evade potential recruitment by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. And Slughorn even tries to hide from Dumbledore when the Headmaster comes calling on him to return to the school. The often bumbling Slughorn is also known for his propensity for living the good life, and he does not hesitate to exploit connections with former students who have gone on to lead successful careers to sustain his well-to-do lifestyle.

Peter Pettigrew
Pettigrew was a sniveling coward who's treachery led to the execution of James and Lily Potter at the hands of Lord Voldemort. He was directly responsible for the heaping loads of pain and misfortune that befell Harry, and what made it all worse washe was a friend. Pettigrew was a one of James' old crew, albeit the stumpy sluggish one. As a member of Gryffindor, Pettigrew was the best example of Voldemort's corruptive and corrosive influence. Acting in place of Voldemort, as the nemesis incarnate, in the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pettigrew showed us just how low a man could sink. What a thrill it was to discover that Ron's mangy pet, Scabbers, was really Pettigrew in rat's clothing. We cringed as Harry let Pettigrew live, but it was only because we knew that we could never be that compassionate. Of course, Harry's act of mercy indirectly leads to truly awful things, but that doesn't mean that it was wrong. Pettigrew was fiercely fun to hate, and was truly befitting of his Death-Eater name "Wormtail."

Sybill Trelawney
Sybill Trelawney is the professor of Divination at Hogwarts. And to say she's an odd bird is a bit of an understatement. Her thick glasses and gaudy dress make for a strange appearance, and Trelawney's habit of speaking in a hushed, ethereal tone don't help matters. She's a seer known for making vague predictions that sometimes come true. And much like many real-life psychics, there's plenty of skepticism surrounding Trelawney's abilities -- particularly from Hermoine Granger. But she's the one who prophesied about the Chosen One: "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not..." It's Harry Potter, of course, who ultimately becomes the subject of the prophesy. And it's Trelawney's mysterious power, coupled with her bizarre behavior, that make the character fascinating and fun.

Nymphadora Tonks
Nymphadora Tonks: Most of the wizards we see in Harry Potter are either experienced adults often professors of course or the underage students who are the focus of the series. This helps make Tonks a refreshing change of pace, as she represents a young adult wizard someone who's completed all of her training, but still has the brash, energetic attitude of youth. A Metamorphmagus, Tonks can change her appearance, and uses that ability to constantly change her hair color into dramatic colors, including everything from pink to purple. In the books, she's known to wear jeans and band t-shirts, and brings a fun, punkish attitude to the Harry Potter universe while also functioning as a loyal, brave member of the Order of the Phoenix, who's quick to take up the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Alastor Moody
Grizzled. If there's one word that could describe Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody in a nutshell, it's "grizzled." One of the most renowned Aurors of all time, Moody was a fierce fighter for good in the First and Second Wizarding Wars. He'd lost an eye, which was replaced with a magical one, he has a wooden leg, and his face is covered with scars. His experiences in battle left him emotionally damaged as well -- paranoid, bitter, and eccentric. In spite of his seemingly fragile mental state, the veteran Moody was convinced to come out of retirement by Dubledore to serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. But Moody was shortly attacked by Barty Crouch Jr., who would trap and subsequently impersonate him using polyjuice potion in service of Voldemort. The real Moody would go on to serve in the reformed Order of the Phoenix, faithfully protecting Harry Potter from Voldemort and his forces.

Lucius Malfoy
Draco Malfoy was trouble from the second we met him, so it was no shock to discover his dear old dad was cut from the same cloth. A man of power and influence in the wizarding world, Lucius hides behind a shield of wealth, while plotting some very dark things. A longtime supporter of Voldemort, it was his actions that set into motion the entire plotline of The Chamber of Secrets, as he slid Tom Riddle's old diary into Ginny Weasley's cauldron. His unwarranted, biting comments about the Weasley family are enough to make us hate him, but on top of that, Lucius has shown he is willing to do anything in support of his Dark Lord, including one-on-one confrontations with Harry. Lucius is brought to life in the films by the great Jason Isaacs, who gives the character just the right arrogant, smug attitude You can feel Lucius' absolute conviction in his actions, and his anger that a boy like Potter would dare attempt to stop Voldemort and those, like Lucius, who follow his lead.

Bellatrix Lestrange
Some people just enjoy being evil. If you're looking for proof, let us introduce you to Bellatrix Lestrange and suggest you pray that you survive the encounter. Bellatrix has little of the cold, calculating nature of Voldemort or Lucius Malfoy. She simply relishes doing wicked, wicked things and laughing all the while. Her villainy would have been cemented simply by her backstory, as we discovered she had tortured poor Neville Longbottom's parents so horrifically, it left them insane. But after she escaped from Azkaban, Bellatrix proved she was far from done. She murdered her own cousin, Sirius Black, and, per usual, seemed more entertained than anything by what she'd done which left Harry Potter without someone he'd come to love like a family member. For those who've read the books, you know that Bellatrix is still not done when it comes to dark, violent and lasting actions, with the question becoming who can put a stop to this fanatical Voldemort follower, and the wreckage she leaves in her wake?

Luna Lovegood
"I know she's insane, but it's in a good way." Ron Weasley's characterization of Luna Lovegood is precisely what makes this "Looney" Ravenclaw girl such a delight. If ever there were a Harry Potter character plucked from the mind of Tim Burton (besides his real-life wife, the evil Bellatrix), Luna is it. She's an off-beat type with an interest in the macabre. And really, it's not surprising that she's a little strange when you consider that her mother died in a tragic magical accident when she was young and her father, Xenophilius, publishes the outrageous wizarding tabloid The Quibbler.

While Luna is often shunned for her oddball ways, things change when she meets Harry Potter and friends on the Hogwarts Express on the way to their fourth year at school. Luna joins the cadre of heroic students in Dumbledore's Army and plays a critical role within the group.

Neville Longbottom
Neville Longbottom is the quintessential dimwit-turned-hero. When we first meet him at Hogwarts, Neville is a shy introvert who is simply not that good at magic. In fact, those close to Neville quietly wondered if he might nearly be a Squib, someone born into a wizarding family without magic powers. He's lovable, sure, but his early misadventures don't explicitly foreshadow the valiant defender of Hogwarts that he would ultimately become. While he begins to show loyalty and signs of bravery early on, it isn't until Neville's fifth year and his participation in Dumbledore's Army, that we see him truly come into his own. Neville accompanies his friends on their mission to the Department of Mysteries where he comes face to face with the Bellatrix Lestrange, the twisted servant of Voldemort who cruelly tortured his parents years before using the Cruciatus Curse.

Rubeus Hagrid
For a boy like Harry, who grew up without any friends, a big warm and fuzzy brute like Hagrid couldn't have busted down the door at a better time. And a true friend he was. When the rest of the faculty at Hogwarts were quick to skewer Harry with insults or shrug off his queries with mysterious glares, Hagrid was always there as a true confidant. It's always helpful to have a big lug on the payroll who's got your back, even if he is a bit of a well-intentioned clutz. At this point in the movie series, Hagrid's most involved storylines are behind him, but his most powerful and emotional moments have yet to come. They're spare, but they still resonate because of his history with Harry, Hermione and Ron. Hagrid has become the surrogate for us, the audience, as we watch our favorite students mature and develop into young warriors. The short scene in Goblet of Fire, when he walks through the woods with our heroes, recollecting favorable times with the three of them, gave us all a cherished memory.

Draco Malfoy
As we follow Harry Potter's path of righteous adventure during his years at Hogwarts, it only makes sense that we follow his cracked mirror reflection. As someone that grew up totally opposite to Harry, the arian aristocratic puke known as Draco Malfoy was privileged, pompous and prejudice. While the threat of Voldemort's return loomed outside the walls of Hogwarts, Harry needed a lesser evil to keep him occupied when school was in session. And Draco did his absolute best to make Harry's life as harried and horrible as possible. But just when we were beginning to think that Draco was nothing more than a nuisance, he gets charged, by the Dark Lord, with a "mission that shall not be named." All of sudden we're witnesses to Draco's initiation into the ranks of true evil and we find ourselves actually invested in choices. Choices that could lead him to salvation or damnation.

Lord Voldemort
The greatest thing about Lord Voldemort (nee Tom Marvolo Riddle) was that he was rotten to his very core. There would be no redemption for such a wicked spirit. There was never any "good" lying dormant underneath Voldemort's dark exterior. He was never corrupted as a child; he was the corrupter. When other powerful sorcerers don't even have the cajones to speak your name, then you know you've truly arrived as the ultimate master of malice. As the most sinisterly popularized villain since Darth Vader, Voldemort was truly frightening. In book after book, Harry managed to evade certain death only by the skinny skin of his teeth. We literally could not figure out a way that Harry, as cunning as he was, could ever defeat such a powerfully evil force. Voldemort might not have been able to comprehend love or friendship, but that certainly didn't stop us from taking delight in such a devilishly dreadful dude.

Sirius Black
"Have you seen this wizard?" "Approach with extreme caution!" "Notify immediately by owl the Ministry of Magic." So read the wanted posters plastered everywhere in the wizarding world upon Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban prison, where he'd been sent years earlier for the murder of twelve Muggles and aiding Lord Voldemort. But Sirius is an innocent man. And it's after he is vindicated that the character truly comes alive. Sirius was a close friend of James and Lily Potter -- so much so that they named him as Harry's godfather. And while he maintains and sort of edgy, rebellious appeal -- emitting a truly badass vibe at times -- it's the father-son relationship that begins to develop between Sirius and Harry that endears the character to us. Sadly, however, Sirius meets his untimely demise before he can truly become the full-fledged father-figure that Harry so craves.

Severus Snape
Whether you love him, or hate him, or love to hate him, Severus Snape makes quite an impact in the Harry Potter series. If you're Harry, Snape is a nightmare of a teacher picking on the boy from the moment he stepped into Potions class, and showing clear favoritism toward Draco Malfoy and other Slytherin students. And yet When Harry and his friends thought Snape was the one trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, it turned out he was trying to protect it,

and every now and again, Snape actually seems like he's trying to help these kids.
Snape turned into one of the most discussed and debated characters from Harry Potter. Is he an evil man with moments of good, or a good man who has some very ugly characteristics? Or something more complicated all together? We couldn't ask for a better actor than Alan Rickman to portray Snape, bringing the same charisma he's given to so many screen villains, from Die Hard on. But wait, is Snape truly a villain or not? The Half-Blood Prince certainly provides a major new development in that regard...

Albus Dumbledore
For a character that was introduced into popular culture a mere twelve years ago, it speaks volumes that Professor Dumbledore has already taken his place among the great mentor figures in literature and film. Like Gandalf and Yoda before him Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore plays the role of wise sage, guide, and pseudo-grandfather in the story.

There's a whimsical eccentricity to Dumbledore that might mislead some into thinking he's a kind of absent-minded professor. That would be a mistake as he's proven to be one of the most skilled wizards that ever lived. Dumbledore is a master of occlumency, legilimency, transfiguration, charms, alchemy... just to name a few. Apart from his magical prowess, Dumbledore is gradually revealed as a rather Machiavellian figure who works secretly behind-the-scenes to orchestrate many of the key dramatic happenings in the Potterverse.

Ron Weasley
Ron Weasley is Harry Potter's best friend and ever-present sidekick. But unlike most sidekicks, Ron isn't a coward or a simpleton, nor is he content to live in Harry's shadow. Of the three friends that make up the main cast of characters, Ron is the comic relief -- not an uncommon trait for sidekicks of his ilk -- a characteristic that makes him instantly endearing. And while he lacks Harry's natural magical talent, or Hermione's smarts, Ron overcomes his shortcomings with faithfulness and perseverance. In spite of his fear of spiders, Ron follows Harry loyally into the Forbidden Forest, and mixes it up with the bad guys more than a few times in the series. He goes from bumbling Gryffindor keeper to Quiddich hero. And works undercover at Hogwarts to co-found the vigilante student group Dumbledore's Army. Ron's flirtation/frustration with Hermione is also a highlight.

Hermione Granger
Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's best girl-pal, is so much more than just a token throw-in for female readers/viewers to identify with. In fact, she narrowly edges out Ron for second place on our list. Why? We're glad you asked... Potter author J.K. Rowling describes her as "very logical, upright, and good." And while she's at first painted as a brainy do-gooder who always plays by the rules, it's fun to watch Hermione develop over the course of the series. Throughout the novels and films, Hermione remains the voice of reason, but she'll break the law without hesitation if it's for the greater good. And her Spock-like logic is no help at all when hormones come into play -- completely fracturing, in fact, when it comes to her playfully love-hate relationship with Ron.

Harry Potter
It's a given, of course, that Harry Potter himself tops our list, but it's important to still reflect on why the character has been so universally accepted. He's a sympathetic figure... a kid plucked from unfortunate circumstances and thrust into a magical reality. He realizes he has been gifted with great power. And then he's pitted against the ultimate evil in the wizarding world, Lord Voldemort, who years ago killed his mother and father -- everybody loves an underdog story of good vs. evil. We've watched him grow up in this fantastic setting -- forming friendships, fighting foes, and finding love. While Harry only partially realizes his deepest desire, to see his dead parents again, he is fathered and mothered by the care-taking adults who surround him -- Albus Dumbledore, Hagrid, Molly and Arthur Weasley, and Sirius Black to name a few. His faithful friends Ron and Hermione are an extension of this ad hoc family -- as close as any real brother and sister. And Harry has needed all the support he can get in his battle against those who would do him harm -- from school bully Draco Malfoy, to soul sucking Dementors, the terrible Death Eaters, and ultimately the Dark Lord himself.