Lily Potter
As Played By: Geraldine Somerville, Susie Shinner and Ellie Darcey-Alden
The Character: Harry’s mother and subject of the affections of both James Potter and Severus Snape. Revered by her contemporaries for her beauty, kindness and bravery, she lays down her life in order to protect Harry from Voldemort, so beginning the longest-running feud in the magical world.
Key Quote: “I know James Potter’s an arrogant toe-rag! I don’t need you to tell me that!”
Molly Weasley
As Played By: Julie Walters
The Character: The warm-hearted matriarch of the Weasley clan, Molly rules the Burrow with an iron fist, keeping her army of children in line whilst finding room for Harry and Hermione too. Largely presented in her domestic setting, Molly can also hold her own on the battlefield, as Bellatrix LeStrange can attest to…
Key Quote: “Not my daughter, you BITCH!”
Lucius Malfoy
As Played By: Jason Isaacs
The Character: The elder Malfoy was one of Voldemort’s closest supporters first time around but managed to wriggle his way out of a spell in Azkaban when the Dark Lord was defeated. It’s that slippery nature that best sums him up, alongside his snobbery and cowardice. Indeed, it’s no surprise to see him and his wife down tools once the final battle begins to swing away from Voldemort… although their desire to find Draco should probably be flagged as another contributing factor.
Key Quote: “Potter, your race is run. Now hand me the prophecy like a good boy… ”
Arthur Weasley
As Played By: Mark Williams
The Character: The head of the Weasley clan is an affably bumbling eccentric with a profound interest in the Muggle world and its workings. Alongside his wife Molly, he takes on a kind of surrogate parent role in Harry’s life, and is a key player in the Order Of The Phoenix in the later books. He’s also a big wheel at the Ministry of Magic, before Voldemort’s cronies turn the organisation sour.
Key Quote: “We have a very different idea about what disgraces the name of a wizard, Malfoy.”
Luna Lovegood
As Played By: Evanna Lynch
The Character: Either a “free spirit” or a “total oddball” depending on your perspective, Luna’s charm lies less in her kooky idiosyncrasies and more in her basic decency. Her plain-speaking manner is the only thing able to cut through Harry’s grief following Sirius’s death, and her dedication to Dumbledore’s Army knows no bounds. As for the weirdness? Well, you’d be weird too if Rhys Ifans was your old man.
Key Quote: “I think I'll just go down and have some pudding and wait for it all to turn up - it always does in the end.”
Dolores Umbridge
As Played By: Imelda Staunton
The Character: A squeaking, snarling, pink-clad nightmare, Dolores Umbridge is the passive-aggressive figurehead of the repressive regime that takes grip of Hogwarts in The Order Of The Phoenix . Later seen as the Senior Under-Secretary of the fallen Ministry Of Magic, she callously mounts the late Alastor Moody’s magical eye on the door of her office. So loathsome, even Snape can’t stand her…
Key Quote: “Now I want you to write… ‘I must not tell lies.’”
Minerva McGonagall
As Played By: Maggie Smith
The Character: In the early books, McGonagall appears every inch the classic schoolmarm, with her stern demeanour and seen-it-all-before brand of withering sarcasm. However, as the story progresses, the warmer side of her character is slowly revealed, particularly when Harry and the school come under sustained threat from the Death Eaters. And boy, does she kick some ass come the final reckoning!
Key Quote: (Rallying the enchanted suits of armour) “Hogwarts is threatened. Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!"
Neville Longbottom
As Played By: Matthew Lewis
The Character: Having spent most of the early stories as the bumbling butt of everybody’s jokes, Neville really comes into his own as times grow darker, first as a willing and able member of Dumbledore’s Army, and finally as a key player in the Battle of Hogwarts. Wielding the sword of Gryffindor like a champ, it is he who takes out the serpent Nagini, destroying a fragment of Voldemort’s soul in the process.
Key Quote: (To Voldemort) “I’ll join you when hell freezes over.”
Fred & George Weasley
As Played By: James and Oliver Phelps
The Characters: Mildly irritating in the big-screen version (largely thanks to the wooden delivery of the Phelps boys, who appear to have bagged the roles largely by virtue of being twins), Fred and George provide many of the books’ funnier moments, as well as supplying one of the major emotional hits of the final battle. The scene in which they escape Umbridge’s regime by flying their brooms over the school wall is a punch-the-air moment of pure teenage rebellion.
Key Quote: “George? I think we’ve outgrown a full-time education… ”
Bellatrix Lestrange
As Played By: Helena Bonham Carter
The Character: One of Voldemort’s most trusted lieutenants, the maliciously loopy Bellatrix is a proven sadist, enjoying nothing better than carrying out her master’s more violent commands. Described in the books as, “a witch with prodigious skill and no conscience,” the moment when she finally gets her comeuppance at the hands of Molly Weasley is one of the most joyous moments of the final film!
Key Quote: “I killed Sirius Black, I killed Sirius Black!”
