The 14 Most Important Harry Potter Secondary Characters, Ranked

While the titular boy wizard in the "Harry Potter" film series (Daniel Radcliffe) is undoubtedly the main character, his journey from orphaned infant to the savior of the magical world wouldn't have been possible without his two best friends, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint). He also receives a lot of guidance from Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris and Michael Gambon), who manipulates the entire first eighteen years of Harry's life so that he can defeat the murderous dark wizard Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). With the addition of secret good guy and fan favorite Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), these are the main characters, but there are several secondary characters who play vital roles in the story — both for good and evil.

We've ranked the most impactful supporting characters in the "Harry Potter" film franchise in order of importance, and here's how we did it: For this list, we looked at each character's total screen time, their individual importance to the plot, and how integral they are to the emotional beats of the story.

Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) is one of the most hated characters in the "Harry Potter" series, if not all of fiction. She's a monstrous woman who refuses to teach the students of Hogwarts any legitimate Defense Against the Dark Arts skills and disciplines Harry by forcing him to carve admonishments into the back of his hand with a magic quill. Umbridge, who first appears in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," is the epitome of "lawful evil." She is committed to an unjust standard of law and order — Cornelius Fudge's Ministry of Magic and, later, Voldemort's — and will do anything to maintain it because it gives her power. 

Umbridge is important to the series because she is not initially aligned with Voldemort but still seamlessly fits into the horrific system of pure-blood supremacy that he puts into place in the two-part finale "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." She's proof that Voldemort and his followers are not the only evil people in the wizarding world, and that the ministry of magic is inherently flawed even without Voldemort's interference. Not only is she important in understanding the moral spectrum of the "Harry Potter" series, but without her fascist takeover of Hogwarts in the fifth film, Harry and his friends never would have formed Dumbledore's Army.

Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones) has a much larger presence in the Harry Potter books than the movies. That said, he's still integral to the plot of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," providing background on the wizarding world. Dobby is a house-elf, and house-elves are magically bound to serve witches and wizards. He is enslaved by the Malfoys (who treat him horrifically) and, as such, is aware of Lucius Malfoy's (Jason Isaacs) scheme to sneak Tom Riddle's diary into Hogwarts in the second film. 

Because he is magically incapable of revealing his masters' secrets, Dobby decides to do everything he can to keep Harry from returning to Hogwarts (where he will encounter Riddle's diary and find himself in mortal peril). Much to Harry's annoyance, Dobby antagonizes the Dursleys and makes Harry and Ron miss the Hogwarts Express. By the end of "Chamber of Secrets," Harry understands that Dobby was trying to save his life and tricks Lucius into freeing his house-elf.

This act establishes a deep bond between Harry and Dobby that would go on to have a big impact on the story. Their relationship plays a huge role in the events of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1," in which Dobby saves Harry, Ron, Hermione, and others from the Malfoys. He loses his life in the process, and even his death is important in the grand scheme of things, as it spurs Harry on in his quest to defeat Voldemort.

If Dolores Umbridge sits squarely in the "lawful evil" camp, then, to stick with Dungeons & Dragons alignment comparisons, Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) is the definition of "chaotic evil." Bellatrix, like Umbridge, makes her first appearance in the fifth movie. She is the closest thing Voldemort has to a devout believer. In fact, she probably feels more passionate about his blood supremacist ideals than he does. She's frankly insane, and was so even before a stint in Azkaban prison. 

Bellatrix is important because she's responsible for some of the most potent acts of evil in the plot. She is one of three Death Eaters who tortured the parents of Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), destroying their minds and leaving them with lifelong insanity. Her biggest contribution to the overall arc (at least as far as Harry is concerned) is murdering Sirius Black in the Department of Mysteries, an event that takes a real toll on the titular wizard. Sirius was the father figure that Harry needed in his life at that moment, and witnessing his death would haunt him for years to come.

If this list was based on secondary characters as they're depicted in the Harry Potter books, then Ginny Weasley would have been ranked higher. Unfortunately, the films don't really do the character justice. Even Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny in all eight films, admits that movie Ginny was undercooked. "There were parts of the character that just didn't get to come through because there weren't the scenes to do that," she said on Michael Rosenbaum's "Inside of You" podcast. However, that's not to say that Ginny doesn't leave her mark on the films.

In the second film, Ginny falls victim to Tom Riddle's diary and is forced to open the Chamber of Secrets. Our heroes knowing the location of the chamber is vitally important, because Ron and Hermione later enter it to retrieve a Basilisk fang (one of the few things capable of destroying a Horcrux). Ginny herself becomes a particularly formidable member of Dumbledore's Army, the student-founded organization that plays a big role in the Second Wizarding War. She more than holds her own against Death Eaters at the Ministry in the fifth movie and again at Hogwarts in the eighth. And, of course, Ginny is important because she turns out to be the love of Harry's life.

Because of all of the life-and-death scenarios in which Harry and his friends find themselves throughout their time at Hogwarts, it's easy to forget that they're actually just students at a school. Dumbledore is the headmaster, but he's often far more concerned with orchestrating Voldemort's defeat than running a school. Snape is the potions master and head of Slytherin House, but still bullies children so relentlessly that it seems like he never graduated. While Harry is at Hogwarts, the school goes through six different Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, most of whom are miserable at their job. Not to mention there's a bumbling groundskeeper, a fraudulent divination professor, and a bitter caretaker.

One of the only consistent, dependable, and trustworthy authority figures at Hogwarts and, indeed, in Harry's life, is Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith). She is so good at her job that she managed not to be sacked by Umbridge in the fifth movie, and fair enough to hold students from any house accountable for their actions when they do something wrong. What makes her so important is that she drove Snape out of Hogwarts following Dumbledore's death and then led the defense of the school during the Battle of Hogwarts, the climactic battle of the franchise. Without her presence, there's not telling what might have happened.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley (Mark Williams and Julie Walters) play an important role in the films as some of the only sane adults around Harry. Molly and Arthur often seem like the only people in the room who remember that Harry, Ron, Hermione are still underage children deserving of nurturing and protection, even if they think they know better. The fact is that while Harry sees Sirius as a father figure, Molly and Arthur are essentially his parents in the magical world.

After he meets Ron during his first visit to Platform 9¾, Harry becomes a part of the Weasley clan. He spends his summers with the Weasleys at the Burrow, and Molly puts it best when she and Sirius are arguing over how much Harry should be told about the Order of the Phoenix: When Sirius says, "He's not your son," Molly shoots back with, "He's as good as!" Harry's connection to Voldemort may have led him down a dark path if not for the love and care of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

Despite her oddball reputation, Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) is a surprisingly sagely character. Her ability to provide off-handed insight to Harry at opportune moments is uncanny, especially in the fifth movie. When Harry first encounters Luna, she assures him that she sees the thestrals pulling the carriages to the castle as well. She later explains that the only people who can see them are people who have witnessed someone's death, much to Harry's sorrow. She also enlightens him: Harry has been moodily pulling away from his friends and loved ones, and she explains that, by wallowing in bad feelings, he is doing exactly what Voldemort would want.

The purpose of Luna's introduction at this stage is to give Harry an outlet for his grief. He's still reeling over the death of Sirius, and, as someone who also knows what it's like to see a loved one die, Luna is someone he can confide in. She sets Harry on the right path with her matter-of-factness, and she later becomes a good friend and ally to him: She is with Harry at the Department of Mysteries in the fifth movie, she goes to Slughorn's Christmas party with him in the sixth, and, of course, she fights alongside him in the Battle of Hogwarts in the last film.

Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall) is a pretty pathetic figure. He was inexplicably sorted into Gryffindor as a kid and clung to James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. But when they grew up and things got dangerous, he turned on his friends and gave away Lily and James' location to Voldemort, facilitating their deaths. Because of this, he's one of the most important secondary characters — he essentially sets Harry's entire life story in motion with his betrayal.

In the first three movies, Pettigrew is masquerading in his animagus form as Scabbers, Ron's pet rat, to avoid trouble for his betrayal and Voldemort's fall. Pettigrew's escape at the end of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" has another big impact on Harry — it ensures that Sirius must remain a fugitive and is therefore incapable of serving as Harry's guardian. Pettigrew is also the one who gets Voldemort everything he needs to become fully corporeal in the fourth movie, so he's pretty pivotal to the overall arc.

Fred and George Weasley (James and Oliver Phelps) are famous jokesters known to everyone at Hogwarts. They're at the heart of many funny moments in the films, but the most important thing they do in the story is an act of kindness: They pass the Marauder's Map onto Harry. Of course, they could have no idea how pivotal the map would become, but if they hadn't decided that it was time to pass on the magic map (which shows the location of everyone inside Hogwarts), then things might have worked out quite differently.

If Harry hadn't come into position of the map, then Professor Lupin wouldn't have figured out that Peter Pettigrew was alive and that Sirius Black was in fact innocent. The map later became useful to Harry as he and the rest of Dumbledore's Army avoided detection by Umbridge, and he used it to monitor Draco Malfoy's movements after becoming convinced that Voldemort had made him a Death Eater. It's safe to say that Fred and George's gift was put to good use.

Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) was the first competent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that Harry ever had and the first person Harry met who was good friends with his parents. Through Lupin, Harry learns how to create a patronus and defeat Dementors. He also enlightens Harry about Sirius' relationship with his parents and confirms the truth of Sirius' story about Peter Pettigrew, a life-changing revelation for the young wizard.

Lupin is also a key figure in the Order of the Phoenix as well as a source of constant support and comfort for Harry. Of course, the film series is not always respectful in its acknowledgement of Lupin's importance — like Ginny Weasley, he would place higher in our ranking if this were about the books. The fact that Lupin is one of the biggest Harry Potter characters to die off screen has never sat right with many fans of the source material. Yet, movie Lupin is still important to Harry, becoming the bridge between him and the parents he never knew.

Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) is the first person from the wizarding world that Harry meets, and this fact alone makes him an important character. He literally rescues Harry from the Dursley's and informs him that he's a wizard in what has become one of, if not the most iconic line in all of the films. However, beyond that, Hagrid is actually involved in a lot of other, more subtle moments that are vital in the grand scheme of Harry's journey.

The affable gamekeeper is especially important in enlightening Harry and his friends about certain things going on around Hogwarts. For example, he gives our main trio the secret to calming Fluffy in the first movie and instructs them to follow the spiders if they want to get to the bottom of the central mystery in the second film. He drops a lot of hints that he often instantly regrets, and while these moments are played for laughs, the fact is that Hagrid is more than just a big friendly half-giant.

What clinches Draco Malfoy's (Tom Felton) importance to the story is what he does to help Harry in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1." Up until the sixth movie, Draco serves mostly as an irritating, school-level foil to Harry; a bully from a rival house who is infinitely jealous of the attention and praise that Harry gets. When Draco's father is banged up in Azkaban, Voldemort brings him into his ranks and gives the kid a real zinger of a mission: Sneak the Death Eaters into Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore. Ultimately, Draco is unable to murder Dumbledore himself, so Snape does it for him, an outcome Snape and Dumbledore had secretly planned for.

Draco becomes disillusioned with Voldemort's terror after watching the Death Eaters commit destruction throughout the castle. Luckily, this is what gives Draco the courage to refuse to identify Harry when he's taken prisoner in Malfoy Manor. He knows it's Harry underneath the swelling caused by Hermione's improvised jinx, but he also knows what will happen if he confirms as much, so he chooses to say he's not certain. This one act of defiance (and, dare we say, bravery) from Draco saved Harry's life and gave Dobby enough time to free him, so it really changed everything.

Harry's godfather Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) represents the remnants of his lost life. When Sirius escapes Azkaban and reunites with his godson, Harry gets a brief glimpse of what might have been — before everything is once again ruined by Peter Pettigrew's escape. He's still able to rely on Sirius for support and advice in his fourth and fifth year, but at the end of the fifth movie, Sirius is killed in one of the most heartbreaking moments in the "Harry Potter" franchise. Sirius wasn't around for as long as Harry would have liked, but he made a huge impact on the boy wizard in their time together.

Sirius' death is essentially the beginning of the end of the story, setting in motion a series of important events. Without it, Harry would never have had the insight on death and loss that he later needed in order to face Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. When the spirits of his parents appear right before that fateful moment, Sirius is alongside him. The pep talk they give fills Harry with the courage he needs to lay his life down — at this point, he believes the only way to stop Voldemort is to let the Dark Lord kill him. Of course, all Voldemort ends up doing is killing the piece of himself that latched onto Harry all those years ago.

Neville Longbottom is the most important secondary character in Harry Potter because he's basically the co-Chosen One. The prophecy made by Professor Trelawney states that "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies" and that they will be "born to those who have thrice defied him." Voldemort learns that there are two boys born at the end of July whose parents are against him: Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. He goes after the former, and the course of Harry's life is changed in that moment, but the truth is that it could have easily been Neville.

Ultimately, both boys play a pivotal role in defeating Voldemort. While Harry is out hunting for Horcruxes, Neville remains at Hogwarts, keeping Dumbledore's Army alive and spearheading the resistance from within the school, which is under the Dark Lord's control at this stage. Come the final battle, they double-team him — as Harry engages in a duel with Voldemort in the grounds, Neville kills his snake Nagini, the final Horcrux. This opens the door for Harry to finally finish the job. Without Neville's timely intervention, there's no telling which the battle may have swung.