Friday 8 July 2011

Top Five: Secondary Characters in Harry Potter

With the impending end of the Harry Potter film series upon us, I thought it would distract me from my sadness be fun to list my top five characters in the series, not counting the main trio of awesomeness - because, well, their awesomeness goes without saying. One of the wonderful things about Harry Potter is the rich array of characters that J. K. Rowling has created; even the most minor figures are fully fleshed out and fly off the page. Here are the ones I love the most (SPOILERS ahead)...



1. Severus Snape. The question of whether he's really good or evil provides one of the most compelling mysteries in the series, and the powerful payoff is well worth all the suspense. The flashback sequences building up to the final reveal all give Snape's character so much complexity, depth and, ultimately, heroism that it's his story more than any other which really stuck with me after finishing the books.



2. Hagrid. I've got a thing for gentle giants (think Fezzik in The Princess Bride). Hagrid is Harry's first friend at Hogwarts, and while he may not always get things quite right, he's loyal to a fault. His love for all creatures great and small is adorable, while his devotion to Dumbledore is truly touching.



3. Neville Longbottom. I loved Neville's character in the novels, especially the parallels he draws with Harry. Of course, his role in the final battle - and the image of him pulling the sword of Gryffindor out of the sorting hat - is the ultimate Neville moment, and the culmination of years of quiet bravery and strength. (P.S. How fine is that boy lookin' these days?!)



4. Dobby. Not gonna lie, I hated Dobby at first. He's so damn annoying in Chamber of Secrets. But by the end of the series he's completely lovable - not to mention unforgettable. It's utterly gut-wrenching when he dies, made even more so by the fact that it's because he was saving Harry and his friends. It's one of the saddest moments of the whole series.



5. Voldemort. He's one sick mother chucker, but we couldn't have Harry Potter - or Harry Potter - without good old Voldie. My favourite book in the series is The Half-Blood Prince, mainly because of the insight we get into Voldemort's character. I love the flashbacks to Tom Riddle. But it's Voldemort himself - the twisted biatch he is today - that is most fascinating. He's definitely one of the greatest villains ever created.

Coming soon: Pash, Pick or Pass - the Gryffindor edition! Our contenders will be Harry, Ron and Neville. Stay tuned for the post and linky!

Who are your fave non-trio Harry Potter characters?

18 comments:

  1. I love Neville and Snape as well. My absolute favourite HP character, though, is James Potter. I like to be obscure ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay Neville! I adore him. My other all time fav is Sirius. So sad that it's all coming to an end :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Belle I am going to shock you here and say that I have not read HP. I know, I know something is obviously wrong with me. But don't worry I am reading it soon with some friends who finally pressured me into it LOL :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hmmmmm, I think Luna is one of my favourite characters, and Fred and George. But I definitely love all the ones you listed as well. It's too hard too pick just one!

    Oh and I know what you mean about the guy playing Neville, when did that happen?!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Agrippina - That is obscure! I must admit I wasn't a fan of James because of the way he treated Snape :-/

    Lan - Me too! Definitely the end of an era. I think I feel sadder now that the movies are finishing than I was when the books finished! Don't know why.

    Nic - I. Am. Shocked. ;-) Glad you're finally reading it! It's one of my favourite series - like so many others!

    Kayleigh - I love Fred and George, too. I nearly put them in the list but I would have just ended up listing ALL the characters if I kept on going lol.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dobby!

    Okay. I have the same confession as Nic. I have not read HP yet. :(

    But I love the movies. Oh, and I did read book one, years ago... but that was about it.

    *be's full of fail*

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh dear. Missie, you must get onto that! I only read them a couple of years ago myself after friends nagging me for years to do it - I'd picked up the second book earlier and hated it, but when I finally read them all I became just another Potterhead ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my, I agree with you on Dobby completely. I didn't mind him too much in The Chamber of Secrets book, but in the movie of the same name he was absolutely annoying! He did improve a bit in the later movies...The fact that I was really sad when he died in the last one means I must have finally accepted him...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love all of your choices :D. It was so hard to pick just 5 characters, but I think I've finally managed:

    1. Dobby - enough said.
    2. Luna Lovegood - she's quirky, and a little weird, but she has a good heart!
    3. Sirius Black - he's Harry's godfather, and even though he was only part of Harry's life for a short time, he did a lot to shape who Harry became.
    4. Neville Longbottom – i agree with you, he really grew as a person and as a character throughout the series. It was interesting to see the comparisons between him and Harry in the later books (not addressed in the movies, which was a bit sad).
    5. Tom Marvollo Riddle (aka. Voldemort) – I think I prefer Tom to Voldie, but I guess they are the same person, so I have to choose both.

    Great idea, especially so close to the finale of the movies. It’s nice to reflect on the things we loved about it, knowing it’s all going to end in less than 1 week. Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I havent read the books (which i must) but i've watched all the movies countless times. I love the storyline of snape, i'm still confused as to wether he is evil or not. And I love Dobby way too much, i cried when he died in the last movie, he was so sweet and innocent.
    great post! i'm a huge fan of Harry Potter and I'm dreading the last movie but i'm looking forward to Ron and Hermonies kiss!

    ReplyDelete
  11. SNAPE! You hate him, you feel sorry for him, you hate him and then you love him! SNAPE!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ooooh Snape. I remembering loving/hating/loving/hating him (like Melissa says above) through much of the series, but ended up totally feeling for the guy at the end. Alan Rickman is the perfect Snape - I love the character more just because of Alan's performance.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wynter - I agree, he was even more annoying in the second movie! But it's so sad when he dies.

    Alisa - Great list! I know, I'm so excited for the movie but also kind of dreading it at the same time.

    Abbey - I love the movies, but the books are so much better, there's so much more to them. Definitely give them a read!

    Mel - I know, right?! Such an amazing storyline.

    Jess - I agree, Alan Rickman nails Snape. He's brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love eet! I agree on most of these choices. I wish Luna was a bit cooler in the movies, but I love her in the books. Plus heck yes about Neville being dreamy.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh yeah! Plus Professor McGonagall, I love her stoic ass so much!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love Luna in the books, too, she hasn't had enough time in the movies, I don't think. Professor McGonagall is also awesome! And Dumbledore. And Fred and George. And, oh, everyone, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  17. LOVE your picks! I love how even the secondary characters all have depth and backstory. I could go on and on listing all of my favorite secondary characters from HP (Molly Weasley, Professor McGonagall, etc). Props to you for keeping the list short :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks! Haha it was tough, there are SO many great characters.

    ReplyDelete