The Dresden Files/Characters/Harry's Household

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden
"My job hadn't changed: When demons and horrors and creatures of the night prey on this city, I'm the guy who does something about it."

Our hero, a smart-assed private investigator and wizard with a really big cat, an even bigger dog and a dark past. Since he killed his mentor in a magical duel after said Evil Mentor's failed attempt to bring him over to The Dark Side, he's been under very serious suspicion by the White Council as a potential warlock. Only Ebenezar McCoy's intervention stopped him from being executed. Now he makes a living helping the helpless and beating the snot out of vampires, but he's starting to realize that his family history is a lot more complicated than he had suspected...

"Lara Raith: "You wear your pain as armor.""
 * Ambiguous Disorder: In-universe, Murphy mentions most muggles he interacts with wouldn't have a hard time thinking this even if it's not the case. Dresden is a self-declared wizard who never looks people in the eyes, has a Man Child personality, a near-pathological need to snark, bad personal hygiene, and Nerves of Steel that means he responds little to things normal people would lose their wits over. From Harry's POV he has logical reasons for most of these (avoid soulgazes, no electricity in his apartment, Seen It All when it comes to supernatural horror, etc), but that doesn't make him seem any less weird to the muggles he must uphold The Masquerade to.
 * Anti Hero: Type 2 or 3. He's generally a good guy with a bad case of Chronic Hero Syndrome and Honor Before Reason, but piss him off and you'll wish you'd never been born. Can slide into Type 4 at times, particularly in Changes, especially when he  ....
 * Bad Dreams
 * Bad Liar: One would imagine that someone capable of hatching a (usually) half-decent plan with a half-second's notice would be able to lie half-decently, but Harry simply cannot. Averted in the later books, if only because he stops trying.
 * Badass: Of all shapes and sizes
 * Badass Beard: Every once in a while.
 * Badass Bookworm /GeniusBruiser: Depending on where you place his six foot eight, but skinny, person.
 * Heartbroken Badass:
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Badass On Paper: While he is certainly an actual badass, reading a list of his accomplishments out of the context of the extreme amounts of effort and hardship and sheer freakish happenstance involved at the time would give you the impression that he is far more dangerous than he is in reality.
 * Handicapped Badass: Getting  in Blood Rites didn't slow him down much, and he still had limited use in Dead Beat, wherein one of the most badass moments in the entire series happened.
 * Being Good Sucks: Lord, does it ever.
 * Berserk Button: Hurt, threaten or kill a woman or child in his presence? He will take you down.
 * Threaten a woman or child that he holds dear, like the Archive, or, and he will pick up literally every weapon at his disposal to make sure that you die in an excruciatingly painful way.
 * The Chessmaster: Harry evolves into this over the course of the novels.
 * The Chew Toy: Jim has said his whole career revolves around torturing Harry.
 * Character Development: Changes from a well meaning yet reckless and impulsive to a smarter, more analytical and cautious badass.
 * This is the focus of much of Ghost Story and is explicitly stated by Uriel at the end.
 * Chivalrous Pervert: We know about the chivalry, and the perversion, well, apparently the faerie queen has a great ass.
 * Chronic Hero Syndrome: In one book, a vampire realizes that he is protecting someone because people in trouble go to him, and he helps them.
 * And he has a massive Guilt Complex to go with that Chronic Hero Syndrome.
 * The Collector of the Strange: Vampire teeth. He also has a variety of *very* odd things in his lab, including spent uranium powder and a sack baggy made of the scrotum of a Lion. It was a gift.
 * Combat Pragmatist: Primarily the reason that Harry continues to assert that he is not a "good" person. Occasional forays into spur of the moment damsel rescuing aside, Harry rarely ever goes into a situation without being prepared and more tellingly, if he sees an opportunity to get the upper hand over a superior opponent by playing dirty, he doesn't hesitate to use it.
 * Also, he's perfectly willing to use a gun or hand-to-hand combat when that would work better than magic, which is especially effective since a lot of people expect him to be a Squishy Wizard with no combat skills other than magic.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Constantly, to the point where his influence has turned several of his friends and associates into snarkers too.
 * Deal With the Devil: He's turned down a lot of these over the course of the series.
 * Destructive Savior: When destroying buildings is a Running Gag, you know you've got one on your hands. Ghost Story reveals that the first magical battle he engaged in at seventeen, against, ended with  . And the fallout of the Battle of Chichen Itza results in a massive power vacuum.
 * Though technically he's been one since Blood Rites. Approximately
 * Determinator: He's usually been shot, stabbed, beaten, and kicked in the guts enough times to kill most men before the real fight even starts.
 * The Dreaded: Harry becomes one of these to some of his enemies. At one point in Changes, when he encounters a Red Court vampire, it panics and runs away screaming.
 * Famed in Story: It's gotten to the point where nasties rarely come to Chicago unless he's a specific part of their plans, since they know it's a bit of a death sentence, and
 * As a result of all this, he's pretty much the ruler of Chicago-not that he runs it like a gangster or something, but no small-time mage or other supernatural creature would start anything serious, for fear that the Wrath of Dresden would come down upon them.
 * Defender or Protector of Chicago is more apt. Gentleman Johnny Marcone and the person in charge of Monoc would beg to differ on the ruler aspect.
 * Stories of his exploits also stretch to the Nevernever, in particular a certain tale involving a donut.
 * Fatal Flaw: His old-fashioned chivalry. He is a sucker for a Damsel in Distress.
 * As of later books he seems to be getting over this, at least in the Wouldn't Hit a Girl sense.
 * Firstperson Smartass: To the point that one of his defining traits in the Dresden Files RPG is "Epic Wiseass."
 * For the Funnyz: Could be the poster boy for this.
 * Full Contact Magic: He's no Squishy Wizard, except in a Puny Earthlings sense. For all the chucking fire around, he's quite likely to slug someone. Or shoot them.
 * Freak Out: Undergoes a subtle and prolonged one in Changes. We'll see if he gets better or not.
 * Good Is Not Nice: Boy howdy.
 * Good Scars Evil Scars: Small Favor includes a partial listing of his (large) collection and he acquires more after that, including some very noticeable ones on his face in Turn Coat.
 * Healing Factor: A very, very slow one- improved bodily regeneration is the reason wizards live so long, and it means he can eventually recover from what should be permanent injuries.
 * Now enhanced as of Changes, one of the many benefits of
 * He Who Fights Monsters: In 'Ghost Story, Harry comes to realize that the lines he crossed in Changes made him into the very things he was fighting. And then later in the book, realizes that this conclusion was an overreaction to one bad decision and that he's still fundamentally a good guy.
 * Hot Blooded: He's snarky enough that it isn't immediately apparent, but just watch him react to challenges and/or slurs.
 * Honor Before Reason: Harry will swear up and down that he's an Anti Hero, but he's kind of exaggerating.
 * : Revealed in Changes.
 * Houseboat Hero: At the end of Changes. Briefly.
 * Huge Guy Tiny Girl: He's about 6' 8", and Murphy supplies the "tiny girl" part.
 * According to Welcome to the Jungle, he's six-foot-nine, actually. Everyone supplies the "tiny girl" part. Except maybe Gard.
 * Hurting Hero
 * : Revealed in Changes.
 * Houseboat Hero: At the end of Changes. Briefly.
 * Huge Guy Tiny Girl: He's about 6' 8", and Murphy supplies the "tiny girl" part.
 * According to Welcome to the Jungle, he's six-foot-nine, actually. Everyone supplies the "tiny girl" part. Except maybe Gard.
 * Hurting Hero

""The Almighty and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye.""
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: He considers it "the prerogative of wizards to be grumpy."
 * Kill It With Fire: Harry can bring a lot of power to bear with fire magic, and it's his usual go-to for combat evocation.
 * Kindhearted Cat Lover: Harry's landlady considers him this. It's one of the reasons she hasn't thrown him out after missing rent checks and "wild late-night parties."
 * Loophole Abuse: He points out that the Law of Magic against
 * He also uses this, crossed with Exact Words in Small Favor, to avoid getting slaughtered by
 * Male Gaze: Harry notices women who look good. This is one of his big character flaws and blind spots.
 * Meaningful Name: Malcolm Dresden was a stage magician, and thus named his son after three of the greatest stage magicians in history. And considering how many seemingly-impossible situations he's escaped from.... Out-of-universe, his last name was also chosen in reference to the firebombings of the German city Dresden in World War II, mostly because Harry has a similar effect on nearby buildings.
 * Perhaps accidentally, the city of Dresden is also known for its handmade porcelain. So Harry was named after a town famed for pottery.
 * Mistaken for Gay: By Butters in Dead Beat.
 * Later takes advantage of this
 * Moment of Weakness: Harry is forced to admit to Lash's growing influence when such a moment causes pointless collateral damage in White Night.
 * My God What Have I Done: A significant part of Ghost Story hinges on Harry realizing just how horrible the consequences of his choices were, especially after he learns that  This revelation shakes him to the core.
 * Proven Guilty has another such moment. Yes, it's awesome that he with Hellfire, but immediately after, he finds that the girl he was rescuing from it had   he hadn't been focused so much on, and having so much fun with, obliterating the monster.
 * Nay Theist
 * Nay Theist


 * Nice Job Breaking It Hero:
 * The Nicknamer: It even becomes significant in-story on occasion;
 * And when he calls
 * One Man Army: He probably has the highest "monsters killed/time" ratio on the entire White Council.
 * Inarguable after Changes, though other people still did the prep work.
 * One of Us: Tends to quote Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. A lot. Plays D&D.
 * Papa Wolf: Few things make him madder than threatening or actually harming children. Along comes Changes...and let's just say that no one would be making any attempts on
 * Perpetual Frowner
 * Perpetual Poverty: Highly prevalent in the first few books, but begins to be mitigated as the series progresses, especially once
 * Person of Mass Destruction: He's one of the strongest wizards in the world, and according to Murphy's narration in Aftermath, seeing him in action is downright terrifying, even when he's on your side.
 * Playing With Fire: He likes fire. It took Mavra crispy-frying his hand to make him stop using it.
 * Though he also  Changes.
 * Pop Cultured Badass: So. Damn. Much.
 * Rage Against the Mentor: Let's see. The first one he killed in self-defense, and the second one . Not a real great track record there.
 * Restart At Level One: For most of the books, he's used to being the most magically powerful--and knowledgeable--person around. In Ghost Story, he's repeatedly reminded of--and annoyed by--the fact that he's "the new guy" as far as is concerned, and he has to relearn a lot before he's effective at doing anything.
 * Revolvers Are Just Better: Harry prefers revolvers, generally large-caliber ones, because of both the simplicity, the power of such a high-caliber weapon, and because having a .44 shoved in your face is quite intimidating.
 * The potential Dirty Harry jokes are also probably part of it.
 * Ring of Power: Starts off with one that builds up force each time he moves his arm, capable of knocking a big man off his feet and flipping a car. He eventually upgrades to modified ones, one on each finger, capable of delivering impacts common with high speed car crashes and could possibly flip 24 cars when fully charged.
 * Sad Clown
 * Screw the Rules I'm Doing What's Right: Constantly. Most important in Grave Peril, where he breaks the Accords and starts a war over doing the right thing.
 * Sensor Character: Harry can sense the presence of magic in others. He can even tell how skilled a user the other person is from minimal contact.
 * Significant Birth Date: Halloween. Since this is also when dark power is at its strongest, his birthdays tend to really suck.
 * Sophisticated As Hell
 * /  In Ghost Story, it's revealed that   Yikes.
 * Though, eventually Mab found out about it, and was a bit irked about this. She let him off with what amounted to a very stern "Don't you ever try that crap on me again."
 * The Alleged Car The Blue Beetle is junk.
 * Took a Level In Badass: As the series progresses, Harry gradually goes from being a semi-athletic gumshoe who gets exhausted slinging a few spells to a well-toned, building-crushing chessmaster who can sling with the nastiest wizards and monsters the world over. And this is prior to the events of Changes, where
 * He's taken multiple levels. When he suffered a Heroic BSOD and started kicking more ass; when he started training with Murphy he learned enough martial arts that he actually could kick ass; when  he began fighting smarter and developed more clever uses of his spells; when he  he learned a lot about the world (and ); when he  he relearned better ways of casting magic; when he  he... well, started kicking more ass; and when he.
 * Treacherous Advisor: Lash, and Lea to some extent.
 * Unreliable Narrator: Sometimes. Jim makes a point that Harry has severe tunnel vision about some issues, such as when magic he isn't particularly good at is even being used (especially noncombat magic, water magic, and noncombat water magic). Books with other viewpoints show that some characters Harry writes off have Hidden Depths. This is also used to explain the occasional continuity errors, such as issues with geography and names changing between books (he's bad at that subject/heard the name wrong)
 * Walking Techbane: To the point where he can't have a water heater in his apartment. Or a refrigerator. Or light bulbs.
 * Weapon of Choice: Harry's primary weapon is the blasting rod, which lets him focus magic into concentrated blasts of force or fire. He also routinely packs a revolver of one stripe or another.
 * We Help the Helpless: Doesn't he ever.
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl
 * Xanatos Speed Chess: From the get go, Harry demonstrates some pretty decent skills as a PI, but he develops some serious skills in the art of manipulation, cunning and developing plans to leave him winning something even if he doesn't end up with all the marbles at the end. Then again, he had, so maybe that helped.
 * Out Gambitted: To a number of people in the following spoiler.
 * Out Gambitted: To a number of people in the following spoiler.

Bob the Skull
Harry's wiseass spirit of intellect familiar, currently inhabiting a skull after some unspecified, long-ago incident that pissed Mab off at him. Since technology goes haywire around wizards, Harry can't use a computer, which is why he keeps Bob around. Bob knows how valuable he is, and as such Harry has to bribe him with things like porn and trips outside his skull to make sure he cooperates.

"Harry: And they have boobs.
 * Deadpan Snarker: And we love him for it.
 * Dirty Old Man: Word of God is that his personality is based on his owner. He's obsessed with sex because Harry was a Hormone Addled Teenager when he acquired Bob.
 * Everyone Has Standards: Bob is generally cheerfully amoral. But even he thinks Kemmler was a Complete Monster.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: Let's just say that when Bob needs to take on other spirits, he rarely has any trouble handling them, the only possible exceptions being a Physical God and
 * Lovable Sex Maniac: Bob. . Even though he has no body. Among other things, he usually spends his time reading sleazy romance novels when he is not helping Harry. Bob explains his fascination with the naked female form as being a purely aesthetic appreciation for their beauty and grace...
 * Lovable Sex Maniac: Bob. . Even though he has no body. Among other things, he usually spends his time reading sleazy romance novels when he is not helping Harry. Bob explains his fascination with the naked female form as being a purely aesthetic appreciation for their beauty and grace...

Bob: And they have BOOBS!"

""It's like ninety-percent porn!""
 * Magical Computer: Literally. Bob has an expansive knowledge of all things magic, and somehow possesses the capability to understand the current state of magic and any changes to it that may have occurred.


 * Mr. Exposition
 * Pragmatic Adaptation: The TV series changed him from an animated skull to a ghost attached to the skull. This is because it's much easier to show emotion and the like with, you know, a face.
 * Servile Snarker: He's bound to serve Harry. That doesn't mean he has to be polite about it.
 * The Smart Guy: Rounding out the team.
 * Spirit In A Skull
 * Spirit In A Skull

Mister
Harry Dresden's feline of unusual size. Mister is a matter-of-fact animal and eats Harry's leftover food whenever possible. After  Just so you know.


 * Cats Are Magic: They can see ghosts, of course.
 * Cats Are Mean: Mister quickly established who was boss when Mouse moved in.
 * Killer Rabbit: Mister is this to
 * Mega Neko: He weighs around thirty pounds.
 * Running Gag: Harry has a whole grab-bag of jokes about Mister's massive size, usually related to his eating habits (dogs, sheep, small children...) or breeding (part bobcat).
 * This Is My Human: Bob, who's ridden around in his head, says he thinks this.
 * This Is My Human: Bob, who's ridden around in his head, says he thinks this.

Mouse
""Woof.""

Harry's dog, acquired accidentally when Harry was hired by a Tibetan monk to retrieve a litter of fu dog puppies from captivity. Mouse accidentally got left behind, and Harry couldn't get in touch with the monks to return him. Harry named him Mouse because he was small, grey and quiet... and the last line of the book in which he's introduced is, "Why did you buy large-breed puppy chow?"


 * Amplified Animal Aptitude: As he is in fact a magic dog, it's not too odd that Mouse seems to be about as smart as an average human. He's still a dog, though; he can't talk, nor does he have opposable thumbs, and his idea of a good time is a nice long bellyrub.
 * In Changes
 * Angel Unaware
 * Berserk Button: In the short story Day Off, it's revealed to be not a good idea to threaten Mister in front of him.
 * Big Friendly Dog: He's one of these except for the "dumb" part, and plays it up to make himself less scary to people who meet him.
 * So big that Dresden refuses to call him a "dog" anymore. "Dogosaurus" is common, and when refering to both of his pets, they were referred to as "Mister, my large cat, and Mouse, my small Ankylosaur."
 * The Canine Companion version of Cool Pet
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Possibly. The reaction of several characters, such as Nicodemus and Ancient Mai, imply that he is more dangerous than he looks, so Butcher seems to be foreshadowing something important.
 * Even the Dog Is Ashamed: Mouse has been known to sigh at Harry's density when it comes to the fair sex, and at one point plays up an injury to make the person whose fault it was feel guilty.
 * Also when Harry is giving the guitar a bad name.
 * Evil Detecting Dog
 * Fluffy the Terrible: Mouse has a bark that crosses dimensional borders, shrugs off bullet wounds and being hit by a speeding van, and is a credible physical threat to a high-ranking fae. Luckily, he's also loyal, compassionate, and possibly more intelligent than his owner.
 * Gentle Giant: Well, usually. pushed him too far, though.
 * Half Canine Hybrid: Mouse is a temple dog-- part mortal canine, part Chinese guardian spirit called a foo dog.
 * As revealed in Changes,
 * In Ghost Story,  himself refers to Mouse as "little brother."
 * Heroic Dog: On several occasions, Mouse saves Harry's life.
 * Large Ham: Turn Coat - the bullet wound scene.
 * Make the Dog Testify: Towards the end of Turn Coat, Mouse's testimony is instrumental in bringing a Bad Guy to justice. It helps that this is a court of wizards, so "My dog can identify the culprit" is not quite so blink-inducing, particularly since most of the Chinese wizards could immediately identify him as an intelligent, evil-detecting temple dog.
 * Mighty Roar: Mouse doesn't bark often, but when he needs to sound an alarm, he can literally be heard for a mile.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: It hasn't been made clear just how smart he is, but it's a lot smarter than any dog has a right to be.
 * Proven as of Changes.
 * : When he does, holy wrath is about to descend on someone.