99 Fun Facts About Harry Potter Characters

Whom does Hannah Abbott marry as an adult?

Neville Longbottom, the first-year who kept losing his toad Trevor, grew up to become Hogwarts's Herbology professor.

Which subject is taught by Cuthbert Binns, the only ghost professor?

History of Magic is still his because Binns fell asleep by the staff-room fire one day and got up to teach, leaving his body behind.

Who signed the note "R.A.B." in the fake locket?

Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother, swapped the Horcrux for a fake and ordered Kreacher to escape with the real locket and destroy it.

In the Order of the Phoenix novel, who betrays Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge?

Marietta Edgecombe talked to protect her mother's Ministry job, and the jinxed parchment she had signed spelled SNEAK in pimples across her face.

Which of his own spells kills Vincent Crabbe?

Fiendfyre, which Crabbe conjured but could not control, killed him in the novel; the films gave the spell and the death to Goyle instead.

Which character does David Tennant play in Goblet of Fire?

Barty Crouch Jr, an escaped Death Eater, spends the year disguised as Mad-Eye Moody by drinking Polyjuice Potion to rig Harry's path to Voldemort.

Which future Superman auditioned to play Cedric Diggory?

Henry Cavill lost the part to Robert Pattinson, then lost Twilight's Edward Cullen to him too, despite being author Stephenie Meyer's first choice.

Which of Dumbledore's school friends writes his obituary in the Daily Prophet?

Elphias Doge still showed the marks of dragon pox when he started Hogwarts, so most pupils kept away, but young Albus befriended him.

Which tavern does Aberforth Dumbledore own?

At the Hog's Head, Aberforth sent Ariana's portrait to fetch help, and the secret passage behind it led Harry, Ron and Hermione into Hogwarts.

Who plays Aberforth in Deathly Hallows – Part 2?

Ciarán Hinds's Aberforth reveals he was the one who sent Dobby to rescue the trio from Malfoy Manor.

What attacks Harry and his cousin Dudley in a Little Whinging alleyway in Order of the Phoenix?

Dementors were driven off by Harry's Patronus, and when the cousins parted two years later, Dudley thanked Harry for saving his life.

Which actress, Matilda's Miss Trunchbull, plays Harry's inflated Aunt Marge in Prisoner of Azkaban?

Pam Ferris's Marge insults Harry's parents until he inflates her, and Ministry wizards later have to puncture her and wipe her memory.

What does Arabella Figg crossbreed at her home near Privet Drive?

Crossbreeding cats and Kneazles paid off for the Squib: her cat Mr. Tibbles, set to watch Harry, caught Mundungus Fletcher deserting his post.

Which star of The Fast Show was cast as Argus Filch in HBO's Harry Potter series in 2025?

Paul Whitehouse had already shot scenes as the portrait knight Sir Cadogan for Prisoner of Azkaban, but they were cut from the film.

Professor Flitwick has distant ancestry from which magical race?

Goblin ancestry was Rowling's answer when asked if Flitwick, who stands on a pile of books to see over his desk, was just a short human.

What kills Astoria Greengrass, Draco Malfoy's wife?

A blood curse from an ancestor left Astoria frail, yet she insisted on having a son, Scorpius, so Draco would not be alone after she died.

Whom did Fenrir Greyback turn into a werewolf as a child?

Remus Lupin was bitten as a small boy in revenge, because his father Lyall had insulted werewolves while questioning Greyback.

Which two relics are associated with Godric Gryffindor?

The sword and the Sorting Hat share a bond: a true Gryffindor in need can pull the sword from the Hat, as Harry does to slay the Basilisk.

What became of Hagrid's wand when he was expelled?

It was snapped in two, and his pink umbrella, which he still uses for small spells, most likely hides the pieces.

Which star of the sitcom My Family plays flying instructor Madam Hooch in the first Harry Potter film?

Zoë Wanamaker's Hooch takes an injured first-year to the hospital wing, and while she is gone Harry's flying wins him a place on Gryffindor's team.

Which Ministry witch, who once warned Harry about underage magic, does Hermione impersonate with Polyjuice Potion?

Mafalda Hopkirk's form let Hermione sneak into the Ministry of Magic, where the trio went hunting for the locket Horcrux.

What is the name of Lee Jordan's pirate radio station in Deathly Hallows?

Potterwatch, hosted by Lee Jordan under the code name River, reported deaths and news that the Ministry-controlled Daily Prophet would not.

What position does Viktor Krum play for Bulgaria's national Quidditch team?

Seeker Krum quit Quidditch after Bulgaria lost the 2002 World Cup final, then returned at 38 and led his underdog team to win the 2014 World Cup.

Lily Potter's maiden name, Evans, came from which pen-named author's real surname?

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, and Lily Evans, a Muggle-born, learned she was a witch from a neighbourhood boy, Severus Snape.

What does Harry's godson Teddy inherit from his mother, Nymphadora Tonks?

Being a Metamorphmagus runs in the family, and after both his parents died at the Battle of Hogwarts, Teddy was raised by his grandmother Andromeda.

Which Rising Damp star plays Beauxbatons headmistress Olympe Maxime in the Goblet of Fire film?

Frances de la Tour's Maxime insists she merely has big bones, denying her giant blood, yet she later goes with Hagrid as an envoy to the giants.

Why is Professor McGonagall sent to St Mungo's Hospital in Order of the Phoenix?

She took four Stunning Spells to the chest defending Hagrid from Aurors, yet she was back at Hogwarts before the school year ended.

Which actor, Vigilante in the series Peacemaker, plays Cormac McLaggen, the Keeper rival Hermione sabotages?

Freddie Stroma's McLaggen made only four of five saves at the tryouts because Hermione had Confunded him, so Ron kept the Keeper spot.

Who plays Mad-Eye Moody in the films?

Brendan Gleeson's Moody is killed when Voldemort and the Death Eaters ambush the Order moving Harry out of Surrey, the same attack that kills Hedwig.

Which star of The Elephant Man plays the wandmaker Ollivander in the Harry Potter films?

John Hurt's Ollivander is kidnapped by Voldemort, who wants to learn about wands, and held at Malfoy Manor until Dobby helps him escape.

Rowling said Draco's Slytherin friend Pansy was based on whom?

Girls who teased her at school inspired Pansy, and Rowling loathed her so much that she flatly ruled her out as Draco's future wife.

Which habit let Professor Quirrell seem too timid to be hiding Voldemort under his turban?

A stutter was Quirrell's act, so while Harry suspected Snape of chasing the Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell was the one trying to steal it for Voldemort.

Whose bodyguard is the Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt?

The Muggle Prime Minister had Kingsley posing as his secretary and found him so efficient that he refused to get rid of him.

Which Hufflepuff member of Dumbledore's Army, who doubted Harry's story, commentates on a Quidditch match in Half-Blood Prince?

Zacharias Smith's commentary so enraged the Gryffindors that the moment the match ended, Ginny flew her broom straight into him.

Who puts Pius Thicknesse under the Imperius Curse to make him puppet Minister?

Corban Yaxley then took over as Head of Magical Law Enforcement and, with Umbridge, put Muggle-born witches and wizards on trial.

What happens when Gilderoy Lockhart tries to wipe Harry and Ron's memories in the Chamber of Secrets?

His spell backfires on him and wipes out his own memory, the same charm he had used on the real heroes whose deeds his books claimed.

Who plays Sybill Trelawney in the films?

Emma Thompson's Trelawney is sacked by Umbridge and ordered out of the castle, but Dumbledore steps in and lets her stay at Hogwarts.

Which Horcrux did Voldemort make using Moaning Myrtle's death?

Tom Riddle's diary became a Horcrux through her murder, and fifty years later it possessed Ginny Weasley and made her reopen the Chamber of Secrets.

Which star of The IT Crowd was cast as Molly Weasley in HBO's Harry Potter series in 2025?

Katherine Parkinson's Molly is the mother who, in the final book, kills Bellatrix Lestrange in a duel after Bellatrix attacks Ginny.

What rescues Harry and Ron when Aragog's children close in on them in the Forbidden Forest?

The flying Ford Anglia had run wild in the forest since crashing into the Whomping Willow, and it drove the boys and Fang to safety.

After which historical figure is Dumbledore's phoenix named?

Guy Fawkes is burned in effigy on bonfires every 5 November, which makes his name a joke for a bird that bursts into flames and is reborn from its ashes.

Which subject does Dumbledore hire the centaur Firenze to teach at Hogwarts?

Divination was the post he took, but the other centaurs branded him a traitor for serving humans and banished him from their herd in the forest.

Which ghost does Kelly Macdonald play in Deathly Hallows – Part 2?

The Grey Lady admitted that a flattering young Voldemort, then still a student, coaxed out of her where the lost diadem was hidden, and he made it a Horcrux.

Why was the house-elf Kreacher written back into the Order of the Phoenix film after being cut?

Rowling said he'd matter later, and in the final book Kreacher tracks down Mundungus Fletcher, the thief who had taken the real locket Horcrux.

Who plays the human Nagini in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald?

Claudia Kim's Nagini is a Maledictus, a woman doomed to turn into a snake for good, and decades later Voldemort makes that snake one of his Horcruxes.

Why did Nearly Headless Nick choose to become a ghost?

He was afraid of death, Nick confessed, which is why he told a grieving Harry that Sirius would not come back as a ghost but had gone on.

Which comedian filmed scenes as Peeves that were cut from Philosopher's Stone?

Rik Mayall's Peeves was cut, Chris Columbus said, because none of the filmmakers were happy with the character's design, and the scenes have never been released.

Which Doctor Zhivago star plays Madam Rosmerta in the Prisoner of Azkaban film?

Julie Christie's Rosmerta runs the Three Broomsticks, and in the books she is put under the Imperius Curse to help Draco get at Dumbledore.

Which Quidditch team signs Oliver Wood after Hogwarts?

Puddlemere United signed him straight after Hogwarts, yet Wood still came back to fight for the school against Voldemort in the final battle.

Which Hogwarts professor turns out to have loved Harry Potter's mother, Lily, since childhood?

Severus Snape made Dumbledore swear to keep that love a secret, above all from Harry. Actor Alan Rickman was told the truth by Rowling early on and used it to shape how he played scenes.

Which wizard, Harry Potter's godfather, escapes Azkaban prison by slipping through the bars as a dog?

Sirius Black is the first person known to break out of Azkaban by his own means. Twelve years of near starvation left him thin enough to slip between his cell bars in animal form.

Which device does Professor McGonagall give Hermione Granger so she can attend several classes at once?

A Time-Turner, worn as a gold hourglass pendant, lets Hermione sit two lessons in the same hour all year. The Cursed Child adds a legal limit: no trip further back than five hours.

Which animal does the fake Mad-Eye Moody turn Draco Malfoy into for trying to curse Harry Potter from behind?

A ferret is what Draco becomes, and the impostor slams him repeatedly against the ground. The teacher doing it is really a Death Eater disguised with Polyjuice Potion.

Albus Dumbledore claims that a scar above his left knee is a perfect map of what?

The London Underground is his claim, though nobody in the story ever sees the scar, so whether he really has one is left unknown.

Which dreamy Hogwarts student wears radish-shaped earrings and a necklace made of Butterbeer caps?

Luna Lovegood can also see Thestrals, the winged horses most students cannot, because she watched her mother die at the age of nine. Her father edits the magazine The Quibbler.

Which line does Dolores Umbridge make Harry Potter write with a quill that scars his hand?

I must not tell lies stays scarred into Harry's hand permanently. The quill needs no ink: it writes in the user's own blood, cutting each word into the back of the hand.

Which actor played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, before his death in 2002?

Richard Harris turned the part down three times, and gave in only when his 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again. Michael Gambon took over the role after Harris died.

The name Voldemort, which the Dark Lord chose for himself, comes from French words that can mean what?

Flight of death is one reading of the French "vol de mort", which can also mean theft of death. Rowling says the final t is silent, as in French, though the films pronounce it.

What is the name of the giant three-headed dog that guards the Philosopher's Stone inside Hogwarts?

Fluffy has one weakness, and Hagrid lets it slip himself: play music and the dog falls asleep. Harry gets past with a flute that Hagrid carved for him.

Which witch kills the house-elf Dobby with a thrown knife and later dies in a duel with Molly Weasley?

Bellatrix Lestrange was always going to fall to Molly: Rowling wanted the villain's obsessive love beaten by a mother's love. The curse that ends the duel hits her right over the heart.

Which school friend betrays Harry Potter's parents to Voldemort and then lives in hiding as a pet rat?

Peter Pettigrew faked his own murder by leaving a severed finger behind, then spent twelve years as the Weasley family's pet rat, Scabbers. He is finally strangled by the silver hand Voldemort gave him.

Which Hogwarts nurse regrows the bones in Harry Potter's arm with Skele-Gro after a botched healing spell?

Madam Pomfrey had to step in because Gilderoy Lockhart's attempt to mend a Quidditch break failed disastrously, leaving the arm boneless. Regrowing the bones costs Harry a painful night in the hospital wing.

Which Minister for Magic is removed from office after refusing to believe that Voldemort has returned?

Cornelius Fudge feared Dumbledore was after his post, so his Ministry ran a campaign to wreck Harry's credibility instead. He was finally removed for incompetence.

Which Daily Prophet reporter spies on Hogwarts students by secretly turning herself into a beetle?

Rita Skeeter is finally caught in insect form by Hermione, who traps her in a jar and forces her to stop writing for a full year.

Which spell becomes Harry Potter's signature move and rebounds Voldemort's Killing Curse in their final duel?

Expelliarmus is only a Disarming Charm, one Harry first sees cast at the school Duelling Club. In the last duel the Elder Wand recognises him as its master and turns the curse back on its caster.

Buckbeak, the proud beast that attacks Draco Malfoy in Rubeus Hagrid's first lesson, is which creature?

A hippogriff, part eagle and part horse, Buckbeak is sentenced to death by the Ministry for the attack. Harry and Hermione rescue him just before the executioner can carry it out.

Hedwig, the pet Harry Potter receives from Rubeus Hagrid as a birthday gift, is which kind of owl?

A snowy owl, Hedwig is killed early in Deathly Hallows, a loss Rowling said stands for the end of Harry's innocence and security.

Which subject does Minerva McGonagall teach at Hogwarts, a post Albus Dumbledore held before her?

Transfiguration suits McGonagall, an Animagus who can change her own shape at will. She leads the defence of the castle in the final battle and becomes headmistress once Voldemort is dead.

Which broomstick does Professor McGonagall buy for Harry Potter when he makes the Gryffindor Quidditch team?

Nimbus 2000 is the broom Harry rides until it is destroyed during a match in his third year. Its replacement, a Firebolt, is promptly confiscated by McGonagall herself.

Which retired Hogwarts teacher is disguised as an armchair when Albus Dumbledore arrives to rehire him?

Horace Slughorn had wrecked the house himself to fake a struggle, hoping his visitor would give up and leave. He returns to teach Potions, the man who once told a young Voldemort about Horcruxes.

Which older Hogwarts student is Harry Potter's first love interest and kisses him during his fifth year?

Cho Chang is among the first students to believe Harry when he says Voldemort is back. Their only date, a Valentine's Day trip to a Hogsmeade tea shop, ends in a row.

Which Gryffindor girlfriend takes to calling Ron Weasley "Won-Won" during their sixth-year romance?

Lavender Brown also sent Ron a Christmas necklace reading "My Sweetheart", which he greatly disliked. She ends the romance after seeing him leave the boys' dormitory with Hermione.

Which witch falsely tells Voldemort that Harry Potter is dead, so she can get into Hogwarts to find her son?

Narcissa Malfoy feels Harry's heartbeat and announces that he is dead anyway. That single lie is what later keeps her whole family out of Azkaban.

Which sister of Albus Dumbledore dies in a three-way duel between her brothers and Gellert Grindelwald?

Ariana had been attacked at the age of six by three Muggle boys who saw her doing magic. Her death in the duel ends her eldest brother's plans with Grindelwald for good.

Which Harry Potter actor plays both Professor Flitwick and, in the last two films, the banker Griphook?

Warwick Davis took over Griphook from Verne Troyer, who played the part in the first film. His career began as an extra Ewok, promoted to play Wicket when Kenny Baker fell ill.

Harry Potter's wand, with its phoenix-feather core, is made from which wood?

Holly was Rowling's choice because the wood is said to repel evil. She set it against the yew of Voldemort's wand, a tree with poisonous sap that symbolises death.

In the giant chess game guarding the Philosopher's Stone, Ron Weasley takes the place of which piece?

A knight is the piece Ron plays, and he lets himself be taken so that Harry can checkmate the king. Dumbledore rewards the game with fifty house points.

Which of his own inventions does Albus Dumbledore leave to Ron Weasley in his will?

A Deluminator can drain the light from any lamp, but Ron finds a second use for it. After he is separated from Harry and Hermione, it leads him back to them.

Which Scottish actor plays the half-giant gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid in all eight Harry Potter films?

Robbie Coltrane was the author's pick from the start, and already knew the books from reading them to his son. Rowling briefed him on Hagrid's past and future to help him prepare.

Which spell does Hermione Granger correct Ron Weasley for mispronouncing in a first-year Charms lesson?

Wingardium Leviosa soon earns its keep: Ron uses it to lift a mountain troll's own club, saving Hermione. She had been first in the class to make a feather float.

Which actor plays the reborn Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, his nose erased digitally afterwards?

Ralph Fiennes kept his own blue eyes on screen, because the filmmakers decided against coloured contact lenses. His nephew played the villain as a boy in Half-Blood Prince.

Hermione Granger's Patronus takes the shape of which animal, said to be J. K. Rowling's own favourite?

An otter fits a character whom Rowling says resembles herself as a young girl.

Which camera-carrying Gryffindor idolises Harry Potter and survives the Basilisk by seeing it through a lens?

Colin Creevey is left petrified rather than dead, though the film inside the camera is destroyed. He is a milkman's son, amazed to discover that he is a wizard at all.

Which object does Draco Malfoy secretly repair in the Room of Requirement to let Death Eaters into Hogwarts?

A Vanishing Cabinet is one of a pair, the other standing in the shop Borgin and Burkes, so mending it opened a portal between the two. Peeves had damaged it years before.

Which house-elf, sacked after being caught holding a wand, turns to drinking Butterbeer at Hogwarts?

Winky is crushed by her freedom, convinced she has shamed her mother and grandmother before her. Butterbeer is barely alcoholic, but it proves potent for an elf.

Vernon Dursley, Harry Potter's bullying uncle, is a director of Grunnings, a firm that makes what?

Drills are the firm's whole business, and Vernon relishes ordering his staff around from a high office on the ninth floor. On the story's first morning he yells at five different people.

Which catchphrase is the veteran Auror Mad-Eye Moody known for barking at those around him?

Constant vigilance could not save Moody himself: an impostor overpowered him, locked him in his own magical trunk and taught the Hogwarts classes in his place.

Norbert, the baby dragon Rubeus Hagrid hatches in his hut, is sent to live at a sanctuary in which country?

Romania is where Charlie Weasley works with dragons, and where he later discovers that Norbert is female. She is renamed Norberta.

Gilderoy Lockhart boasts of winning which Witch Weekly award five times in a row?

Most Charming Smile sits oddly beside his books of heroic deeds, which were really other wizards' work: he erased their memories and took the credit.

J. K. Rowling borrowed Hermione Granger's first name from a character in which Shakespeare play?

The Winter's Tale supplied the name, though Rowling says the schoolgirl and Shakespeare's Queen Hermione have little in common. In the play the queen is reported dead after collapsing in a swoon.

Argus Filch's snooping cat, Mrs Norris, takes her name from a character in which Jane Austen novel?

Mansfield Park has its own Mrs Norris, whom Rowling described as similarly odious and frequently hanging around in the background.

Which thief in the Order of the Phoenix Disapparates in terror mid-air, leaving Mad-Eye Moody to die?

Mundungus Fletcher was disguised as Harry that night, and once he had fled, Voldemort's curse hit Moody full in the face. He had protested against partnering the old Auror at all.

Ron Weasley's Patronus takes the form of which small dog breed, one J. K. Rowling has owned herself?

A Jack Russell was what Rowling called a really sentimental choice on her part. Casting a full-bodied Patronus at all is treated as a mark of superior magical ability.

Which witch, Voldemort's mother, won her Muggle husband with a love potion and died soon after giving birth?

Merope Gaunt was abandoned by her husband before the child was born, and the boy grew up alone in an orphanage. Rowling ties his loveless conception to his inability to understand love.

Fang, Rubeus Hagrid's enormous black dog, is described in the Harry Potter books as which breed?

A boarhound on the page, Fang is played on screen by Neapolitan Mastiffs, a very different breed. Boarhound is an old name for the Great Dane.

Which school does Dudley Dursley attend, following his father Vernon, who was a pupil there before him?

Smeltings sent home a dismal report on Dudley, citing poor results and bullying. By then he was so large that the school outfitters had no knickerbockers big enough to fit him.

Professor McGonagall shares her surname with a real Scotsman lampooned as Britain's worst-ever what?

Poet is the title William McGonagall never shook off. Rowling found his name irresistible, and liked the idea that so brilliant a witch might be his distant relative.

What is the name of Rubeus Hagrid's giant half-brother, who stands sixteen feet tall yet counts as small?

Grawp is introduced to Harry and Hermione by Hagrid, who asks them to look after his brother if he is sacked from Hogwarts.

Kingsley Shacklebolt's Patronus interrupts a Weasley wedding with a warning, taking the form of which animal?

A lynx carries his spoken warning to the Burrow. A Patronus that can talk is an extremely complex piece of magic, a way of sending messages invented by Dumbledore.