Harry Potter/Characters/Other Characters

Rita Skeeter
Played by Miranda Richardson

A reporter for the Daily Prophet known for her "enchantingly nasty" and often slanderous writings. She is, a fact that makes it easy for her to eavesdrop on people and reveal their darkest secrets to everyone.


 * Femme Fatalons
 * Hot Scoop
 * Intrepid Reporter: Antagonist version.
 * Jerkass: To the point of being the only character in the books that Dumbledore treats with open rudeness, as opposed to the condescending politeness he reserves for everyone else he dislikes.
 * Karma Houdini: Not initially, but by the final book, she's a successful writer again. In fairness, what we see of her biography of Dumbledore isn't as blatantly untrue as what she had been writing before, though every bit as mean-spirited.
 * Malicious Slander: Her specialty.
 * Making a Spectacle of Yourself
 * Overshadowed By Bitchiness: When she's introduced, she's the series' primary Jerkass female character that everyone loves to hate...until Umbridge enters the picture in the following book.
 * Paparazzi
 * Twisting the Words: Rita writes only what she cares for what would make the most popular story, and so half her work is twisting the facts and words to fit her often slanderous version. The other half is flat-out lying.

Viktor Krum
Played by Stanislav Ianevski

A world-renowned Bulgarian Quidditch player and the Durmstrang Triwizard Tournament champion. He becomes romantically involved with Hermione during his stay at Hogwarts, much to Ron's fury. He later shows up at Bill and Fleur's wedding, where he is angered by Xenophilius Lovegood's Deathly Hallows necklace. He explains to Harry that the symbol was the mark of Grindelwald. He remains in contact with Hermione, but only as pen pals.


 * Badass Bookworm: While most of his time in the library was an attempt to get close to Hermione, he apparently does like books on his own.
 * Crewcut of Awesome: In the film.
 * Big Man on Campus
 * Famous-Named Foreigner: Krum was a famous Bulgarian king who ruled in the 9th century.
 * Husky Russkie: Well, a burly Bulgarian, to be precise.
 * or as Skeeter put it in the movies, a Bulgarian Bon-Bon
 * Ladykiller in Love: Surrounded by smitten girls because of his fame, he falls for Hermione, the one girl who mostly just ignored him.
 * The Quiet One: Especially in the film, where he only has about two or three lines of dialogue.
 * Nevertheless, in the book it's noted that when he's talking to Hermione at the Yule Ball, it's the first time Harry has ever actually heard him talk.
 * Troubled but Cute: Described as surly and glowering, he’s also….duck footed, and round shouldered. Yeah, he’s not actually described as handsome per say, but when he’s seen interacting with Hermione he shown to be very sweet. Also the not-so-handsome part can be explained by Harry’s opinion on the matter being skewed.
 * In the movie this is played straight, depending on personal taste.
 * Romantic False Lead
 * Shark Man: Transforms into one in the second Triwizard task.
 * White Sheep: He's probably not the only student to feel this way, he's against Durmstrang's Dark Arts heavy curriculum, preferring Hogwarts more friendly approach.
 * Wronski Feint: Uses the Trope Namer in the Quidditch World Cup.

Igor Karkaroff
Played by Predrag Bjelac

The Headmaster of the Durmstrang Institute. Karkaroff is a former Death Eater who avoided imprisonment in Azkaban by becoming an informant for the Ministry and selling out several of his former comrades. He arrives at Hogwarts in the fourth book as one of the judges of the Triwizard Tournament. .


 * Beard of Evil
 * Culture Equals Costume
 * Dirty Coward
 * Evil Teacher
 * Foil: To Snape, who also gave up being a Death Eater, but for very different reasons.
 * Jerkass: Is blatantly biased towards his own school as a judge in the Triwizard Tournament, treats most of his students like crap and is a cowardly turncoat to boot.
 * Put on a Bus ->
 * : His main purpose.
 * Stepford Smiler

Olympe Maxime
Played by Frances de la Tour

The half-giantess Headmistress of the Beauxbatons Academy. Madame Maxime arrives at Hogwarts in the fourth book as one of the judges of the Triwizard Tournament and develops a relationship with Hagrid. When Voldemort returns, she goes on a mission with Hagrid to recruit the remaining giants in Britain to the fight against the Death Eaters.


 * Action Girl
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: According to Hagrid's account of their travels.
 * Half-Human Hybrid: Half-giantess.
 * I Am Big Boned: Her justification for her size.
 * Large and In Charge
 * Love Interest: To Hagrid.

Gabrielle Delacour
Played by Angelica Mandy

Gabrielle is Fleur's little sister, and looks exactly like a younger version of her. During the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, Gabrielle is placed in the lake as the person Fleur would miss most. Fleur is not able to reach her, so Harry Potter brings her to the surface alongside Ron. This gains Harry extra points for "moral fiber."

Thanks to this heroism, Gabrielle develops a crush on Harry, and is sorry to have to return to France at the end of the tournament. She returns for her sister's wedding to Bill Weasley. At the wedding, she gives Harry a "glowing look" that angers Ginny.


 * Blue Eyes
 * Hair of Gold
 * Precocious Crush

Xenophilius Lovegood
Played by Rhys Ifans

Xenophilius "Xeno" Lovegood is a rather mad wizard who edits the Quibbler and is the father of Luna. He lives in the area of Ottery St. Catchpole, not far from the Weasleys, in a house that looks like a black tower. He believes in things few other people do, such as the Deathly Hallows, the Crumple-Horned Snorckack, and government conspiracies.

Xeno is very close to Luna, especially after his wife (Luna's mother) died from an experimental spell. Therefore, when Voldemort takes over, he kidnaps Luna to try to silence Xeno and the Quibbler. Later on, Xeno himself is captured, though he is later released. Harry first sees the symbol of the Deathly Hallows when Xeno appears at Bill and Fleur's wedding wearing the symbol on a necklace.


 * Agent Mulder
 * Ambiguous Disorder: Similar to his daughter (see Hogwart's Students character sheet for details).
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Conspiracy Theorist
 * Intrepid Reporter
 * Knight Templar Parent: When the Death Eaters kidnap Luna and threaten to harm her unless he helps them capture the Golden Trio, he does. When they show up at his house, he puts on a Stepford Smiler act and pretends that everything is well and good at his house in an attempt to keep them there until the Death Eaters arrive. Unlike the ordinary portrayal of a Knight Templar Parent, he is meant to be sympathetic. Hermione even delays their escape so that the Death Eaters can see that he did indeed have the trio to present to them.
 * Loners Are Freaks
 * Meaningful Name: "Xenophilius" is Greek for "lover of the strange," opposite of "xenophobe." "Xeno" also sounds like "Zeno," the name of several Greek philosophers. The most famous one, Zeno of Elea, created several paradoxes, and was described as "the universal critic."
 * Morality Chain: Luna. The Death Eaters use it to their advantage.
 * Room Full of Crazy: His house.
 * Sanity Slippage
 * Stepford Smiler: After he publishes way too many supportive articles in The Quibbler supporting Harry Potter, the Death Eaters kidnap Luna and threaten to harm her unless he helps them get their hands on the Golden Trio. He does this by pretending that things are hunky-dory at their house, going so far as to pretend that Luna is still there, despite the fact that he is doing this to trap them and the fact that he is in misery over the fact that his Luna is in the hands of the Death Eaters.
 * Windmill Crusader

Gellert Grindelwald
Played by Jamie Campbell Bower, Michael Byrne

A dark wizard defeated by Dumbledore years before the events of the series. In the final book of the series, it is revealed that he and Dumbledore had previously been working together to find the Deathly Hallows, become masters over death, and put Muggles under the domination of Wizards. Their friendship ended when Grindelwald attacked Dumbledore's brother Aberforth and the fight that ensued killed their sister Ariana.


 * Alliterative Name
 * The Atoner: Implied. He refuses to give the location of the Elder Wand to Voldemort, claiming he never had it. This only applies in the book, as in the film, he freely tells Voldemort where it is.
 * Blond Guys Are Evil
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Mentioned on Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog Card in the first book, then never mentioned or referenced again until the final book, where he plays a major role in the Backstory.
 * Closet Key
 * Evil Former Friend
 * Evil Sorcerer
 * Ho Yay: Canonical, intentional Ho Yay by Word of God, but Rowling also stated later that this was one-sided on Dumbledore's part and that Grindelwald had only been using his affections to his advantage.
 * Incompatible Orientation: Dumbledore loved him to the point where it turned him to support the Dark Arts, whereas Grindelwald was in love with pure-blood supremacy.
 * A Nazi by Any Other Name: According to J. K. Rowling, that he was defeated in 1945 isn't a coincidence.
 * Poisonous Friend
 * Predecessor Villain: To Voldemort.
 * Teen Genius
 * Teen Genius

Merope Gaunt
The teenaged girl, abused by her father and brother (due to them thinking she was a Squib), who drugged Tom Riddle Sr. with a potion, marrying him when he was too infatuated with the potion to consent. When she became pregnant, she stopped giving him the drug, apparently believing he had fallen in love with her. He quickly left, and Merope, at 19, gave birth to Voldemort.


 * Abusive Parents: Her father.
 * Death by Childbirth: She dies giving birth to Tom Riddle, Jr., who later renames himself Voldemort.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Being abandoned by Tom Riddle, Sr.
 * Double Standard Rape (Female on Male): Subverted. Even if her actions concerning Tom Riddle, Sr. are never called rape, they still aren't treated as okay.
 * Expy: Of Mayella from To Kill a Mockingbird.
 * Posthumous Character
 * Slipping a Mickey: She did this to Tom Riddle, Sr. once both her father and brother were locked away in Azkaban and she had an opportunity.
 * Stalker with a Crush: on Tom Riddle, Sr. before she tricked him into drinking a Love Potion
 * Teen Pregnancy: She married Tom Riddle, Sr. at the age of eighteen and died giving birth to their child at the age of nineteen.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: An indirect version. She was subjected to a barrage of emotional, verbal, and physical abuse by her father and brother. She escaped the house where she had lived such a horrible life by tricking Tom Riddle, Sr. into marrying her and doing the nasty with her enough times to give birth to Wizard Hitler.
 * Yandere: For Tom Riddle, Sr., big time. She stalked him, drugged him with a Love Potion, and being abandoned by him plunged her into so deep a depression that she couldn't even go on after giving birth to his child.

Walburga Black
Sirius's mother, who sympathized with Voldemort's goals but did not join the Death Eaters. She lives on through a portrait of herself in 12 Grimmauld Place which has a Permanent Sticking Charm applied to it.


 * Berserk Button: Do NOT make loud noises around her portrait unless you want her to scream your ears off.
 * Black Shirt
 * Evil Matriarch: From what Sirius tells us, anyway.
 * Fantastic Racism
 * Jerkass
 * Large Ham
 * No Indoor Voice
 * The Thing That Would Not Leave: Justified due to the Permanent Sticking Charm.

Dobby
Played by Toby Jones

A house elf who initially serves the abusive Malfoy family. Unlike his masters, he admires Harry and tries to warn him and protect him when Lucius Malfoy orchestrates the opening of the Chamber of Secrets...in unfortunate ways. He is eventually freed thanks to Harry and gets new employment in the kitchens at Hogwarts, from where he occasionally lends Harry a hand.


 * Badass Adorable
 * Badass Finger-Snap
 * Berserk Button: Dobby is friendly or at least respectful to all people...so long as they don't insult Harry. He easily blasts away his ex-master Lucius Malfoy in Chamber of Secrets when he attempts to attack him, and in Half-Blood Prince, Harry finds him proudly beating the snot out of Kreacher when the latter badmouths him.
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * The Dog Bites Back
 * Hero Worshipper
 * I Just Want to Be Free
 * Stop Helping Me!: Dobby's idea of protecting Harry in the second book is to get him injured so badly that he'll have to be sent home. Harry actually makes him promise at the end of the book never to try and save his life again..
 * Third Person Person
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the second book.
 * Third Person Person
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the second book.

Kreacher
Played by Timothy Bateson, Simon McBurney

A house elf who serves the Black family. He shares the same ideologies as many of the pure-blood wizards, and looks down on Muggle-borns. Sirius Black treats him harshly, which leads to some unforunate events at the end of Order of the Phoenix.


 * Big Damn Hero:
 * The Dog Bites Back
 * Fantastic Racism: Towards Muggle-borns.
 * Foil: To Dobby. They're different as night and day, and absolutely despise one another.
 * Heel Face Turn
 * I Just Want to Be Loved
 * Meaningful Name: Kriecher is German for "bootlick".
 * Morality Pet:
 * Replacement Goldfish:
 * Shadow Archetype: Towards Dobby. They both come from abusive households, but Dobby is a much kinder character who loves everyone while Kreacher is bitter and looks down on non-pureblood wizards.
 * Third Person Person
 * Undying Loyalty:
 * Undying Loyalty:

Winky
The Crouch family house-elf. She is extremely loyal to Barty Crouch, Sr. and very happy with her lot in life. For years, she cared for Crouch's imprisoned son, but she was freed as punishment for failing to keep him under control at the Quidditch World Cup. Winky eventually came to work at Hogwarts, where she was very unhappy and constantly worried about how her master was getting on without her. Remaining loyal to Crouch, Sr. even after he had sacked her, she refused to divulge any of his dark secrets.


 * Drunk on Milk: After being freed, she starts hitting the bottle with butterbeer, which usually doesn't have any apparent intoxicating effect. We're told that it's "strong for a house-elf."
 * Foil: To Dobby, who was happy to be freed.
 * Happiness in Slavery: She believes in the house-elves being enslaved, much to Hermione's annoyance.
 * Third Person Person
 * Undying Loyalty: To Barty Crouch, Sr.

Others

 * Apron Matron: Augusta Longbottom.
 * Berserk Button: Calling a centaur a "filthy half-breed" to its face isn't the wisest idea.
 * Butt Monkey: There are many across the series, but a notable background one is Dawlish the Auror. He's been knocked out by Dumbledore a few times, beaten by Dirk Cresswell (who wasn't carrying a wand), and was completely owned by Augusta Longbottom. Basically, if a character has to get away, Dawlish is the casualty.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Just about every speaking character, at some point in the series.
 * The Driver: Ernie Prang and Stan Shunpike.
 * Funetik Aksent: Stan Shunpike.
 * Kindhearted Cat Lover: Mrs. Figg.
 * Last-Name Basis: Two throwaway characters in "The Prince's Tale" are only referred to as "Avery" and "Mulciber".
 * Never Mess with Granny: Augusta Longbottom. Death Eaters thought they could take her. Turns out she sent Dawlish to St. Mungo's.
 * Not So Different: At some point in the series, nearly every main character has been shown to share at least one very distinct trait with a character who initially seems to be their polar opposite.
 * The Ophelia: Poor, poor Ariana...
 * Those Two Guys: Stan Shunpike and Ernie Prang
 * Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Ron's one-hundred-and-seven-year-old great-aunt Muriel.
 * Some could argue that Augusta Longbottom is like this as well.