Harry Potter

The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. Potty. These are just some of the names given to Harry Potter. Orphaned as a baby, he is the only person known to have survived the Killing Curse, much less one cast by Lord Voldemort. Raised by his Muggle family, it wasn’t until 1991 that he found out he was a wizard, and joined Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If the early signs of his destiny to defeat the Dark Lord weren’t obvious when he was a baby, they should have been apparent by the end of his first year at Hogwarts. He prevented Voldemort from obtaining the Philosopher’s Stone, which forced him back into hiding. In his second year, he managed to kill the Basilisk that terrorised the school when the Chamber of Secrets opened, therefore undermining Voldemort’s attempts to return to power once more.

At the age of fourteen, Harry Potter was chosen as a fourth Champion in the Triwizard Tournament – to a great deal of contention. He fared admirably, competing against students three years older than himself. At the end of the year it was discovered that the Tournament had been hoodwinked, and Harry was unwillingly taken to Lord Voldemort. Using powerful dark magic, Lord Voldemort regained his body, and tried to kill Harry himself for the second time, however he failed again.

Harry Potter returned safe, insisting that Voldemort was back, but few people in the wizarding world were brave enough to believe him. The next year, he founded a student group called Dumbledore’s Army, which aimed to teach its members how to protect themselves against dark forces. Later in the year he went with some key members of the group to the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic, and fought off many Death Eaters in order to protect a prophecy that had been made about him many years ago. The prophecy, it was thought at the time, would give Harry and Voldemort information on how to defeat each other.

The following year, he worked extensively with Albus Dumbledore, trying to find out about the mystery of Voldemort’s apparent immortality. He was present when Dumbledore was murdered by Severus Snape. He then went on to hunt down and destroy Horcruxes with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, in the hope of defeating Voldemort once and for all. This led to the famous Battle of Hogwarts that took place on May 2, 1998, during which many students, adults, and creatures died. Harry Potter willingly sacrificed himself to save those fighting for him, however when Voldemort cast the curse that ought to have killed him, he actually destroyed a piece of his own soul that had attached itself to Harry sixteen years ago. This meant that Harry survived again, and was able to defeat Voldemort once and for all.

Life Post-Hogwarts

Harry Potter went on to work in the Auror Office, and soon became Head of Department. He married Ginny Weasley, and they had three children: James, Albus and Lily. He worked with Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic, to make the Ministry a better, more equal government, revolutionising it’s laws and outlook. He also got the honour of having his name and profile appear on a Chocolate Frog card.

Hermione Granger

Hermione Granger was born to Muggle parents, and it was therefore a shock for them all to find out that she was a witch. She boarded the Hogwarts Express along with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley and the other first years on September 1, 1991. After being sorted into Gryffindor and beginning the term, she quickly showed herself to be a very bright young witch. She excelled in all her lessons, and consistently came on top of every class.

After Harry and Ron saved her from the mountain troll that had been set loose in the castle, the three became friends, and Hermione tried to focus the other two on working harder in their lessons. She came with Harry and Ron to save the Philosopher’s Stone, and solved the riddle set by Snape which allowed Harry to go on alone. She consequently won fifty points for Gryffindor.

In her second year, she managed to successfully brew a Polyjuice Potion – until she unfortunately added a cat hair to her own draft, and took on it’s likeness. Although she was fascinated by the Chamber of Secrets, and tried to work out what it was, she was petrified by the Basilisk, and was frozen in the hospital wing for many months.

Hermione proved that even she had limits in her third year, when she was given a time turner to allow her to travel back an hour in time to take all the lessons she wanted. She soon became overwhelmed, tired and stressed, but the time turner came in handy when she and Harry went back in time to save Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Sirius Black.

Throughout her fourth year, she supported Harry in the Triwizard Tournament, despite the meddling of Rita Skeeter, a Daily Prophet reporter who was intent on tarnishing both Hermione and Harry’s reputation. She also stood up for Harry during their fifth year when people refused to believe his story of Voldemort’s return. It was her idea to set up Dumbledore’s Army. She went to the Department of Mysteries and fought the Death Eaters with Harry and the others.

After the death of Albus Dumbledore, she promised to go with Harry to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, and she masterminded many plans of deception and stealth to help them obtain them. She was perhaps the only one fully prepared for their mission, and researched everything she could about Horcruxes before they left. She was heartbroken when Ron left them, fearing that her feelings for him were unrequited.

At the Battle of Hogwarts, she fought alongside Harry and Ron, and finally declared her feelings for Ron in a rather physical manner. She destroyed one of the Horcruxes, and was present when Harry defeated Voldemort.

Post-Hogwarts

Hermione returned to Hogwarts to take her NEWT exams before getting a job. Afterwards, she worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, in which she promoted equality for house-elves. She went on from there to work in the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, and scaled the ranks, despite having laughed derisively at Rufus Scrimgeour’s previous suggestion that she work there. However, the Ministry was becoming a better place, and she did much for improving attitudes to Muggle-borns. She married Ron Weasley, and they had two children: Rose and Hugo. Her name and profile also appeared on a Chocolate Frog card.

Ron Weasley

The youngest son of Molly and Arthur Weasley, Ron started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991. He quickly befriended Harry Potter – even before they were sorted into the same house – and it was a friendship that would last a lifetime. He helped Harry to save the Philosopher’s Stone at the end of their first year, earning himself fifty points for Gryffindor after his heroic victory at a game of life-sized wizard’s chess, in which he sacrificed himself to let his friends go on.

He also helped Harry to get into the Chamber of Secrets in their second year, as his sister had been taken down there by a fragment of Lord Voldemort’s soul. During his third year he discovered, to his horror, that his pet rat Scabbers was in fact an Animagus. It’s human form was Peter Pettigrew, and he escaped from Ron to try and find and resurrect Lord Voldemort.

Ron supported Harry throughout the abuse directed at him when he insisted that Voldemort had returned. He helped to set up Dumbledore’s Army, and was with the group who went to the Department of Mysteries to battle with the Death Eaters. He was injured by a mysterious creature that strongly resembled a brain, but recovered soon after.

In his fifth and sixth years, Ron held the position of Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and although he lacked confidence, he did prove himself to be worthy, leading his team to win the Quidditch Cup at the end of his fifth year.

After the death of Albus Dumbledore, he joined Harry and Hermione to try and find the Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort. He struggled the most with the pressure, worrying constantly about the whereabouts of the rest of his family, and deserted his friends for a couple of months. However, he immediately tried to find them again, and eventually found Harry in the Forest of Dean. He saved Harry’s life after Harry dived into a frozen lake to retrieve the sword of Gryffindor and was nearly strangled by the Horcrux he wore around his neck. Ron then managed to destroy the Horcrux.

Ron stayed with Harry and Hermione after that, helping them to infiltrate Gringotts Bank and fighting alongside them at the Battle of Hogwarts. He was present at the death of his brother, Fred, and when Harry finally defeated Voldemort.

Post-Hogwarts

Ron trained as an Auror, and helped Harry to reform the department. However, his most notable job was working with his brother George in Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. He married Hermione Granger, and they had two children: Rose and Hugo. Ron, too, had his name and profile on a Chocolate Frog card, and said that it was the proudest day of his life.

Albus Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards of all time and his early life certainly marked him as different. His younger sister Ariana was attacked by some Muggles who were scared when they saw her do magic and never recovered. His father repaid their actions in kind which resulted in a life-long sentence to Azkaban prison. Albus’ mother then moved the family to Godric’s Hollow in an attempt to evade the judgement of their former neighbours.

Albus first attended Hogwarts in 1892 at the age of eleven and it was here that he showed real evidence of his magical abilities. During his time there he had much of his work on Transfiguration published, and it was his impressive aptitude for this subject that led him to become a teacher of it in later life.

Similar to many young Muggle men at the time, Albus planned to go on the Grand Tour after he completed his NEWTs. This was an extended trip around many countries in Europe in which Muggles studied the art, literature, architecture, and geography of the countries. Wizards undoubtably learned more about magic and other wizarding cultures. However, his journey was prevented by the death of his mother leaving only him, his sister Ariana, and his brother Aberforth left.

Albus stayed home to look after his siblings and insisted that Aberforth return to Hogwarts the following September. After the attacks on her as a young girl Ariana never used magic and was essentially a Squib. Despite having to remain at home, Albus’s life was far from uneventful. Infact, the most turbulent time of his life could arguably be said to have been during this period. He met Gellert Grindelwald, a boy of a similar age, who had come to stay with Albus’s neighbour Bathilda Bagshot.

The two of them quickly became good friends, and it has often been suggested that Albus harboured a supposedly undeclared love for Gellert. Grindelwald introduced Albus to the concept of the Deathly Hallows, and the two of them decided to try and obtain them all, therefore becoming the masters of death, and potentially ruling the wizarding world. They drew up plans to eradicate Muggles, claiming that it was all “for the greater good.”

Their schemes were soon interrupted by Aberforth, who, returning from Hogwarts for the holidays, was shocked at Albus’ neglect of their sister. Aberforth told them that they couldn’t leave Ariana behind when they went looking for the Hallows and that Albus would therefore not be able to go. A tremendous fight broke out between the three boys and Ariana tried to intervene, but was accidentally fatally hit by a curse. Gellert left Godric’s Hollow the following day, and Albus was left to torment himself with guilt over what had happened.

It wasn’t until 1945 that Albus Dumbledore finally defeated Grindelwald who had been gaining strength after he gained power over the Elder Wand – a wand that was apparently unbeatable. However, after defeating Grindelwald, Albus managed to gain the wand’s loyalties, and used it only for good.

Although Albus was offered the position of Minister for Magic multiple times, he always refused it, scared of what he might become if given so much power. His short time with Gellert had revealed to him his biggest weakness, and he punished himself for the rest of his life for not restricting it.

He did, however, accept the position of Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts, and later became Deputy Headmaster. In 1937, he went to the orphanage of Tom Riddle, and informed him of his place at Hogwarts. Although he was struck by a certain strangeness about the boy, and made a point to moniter him when he was at Hogwarts, Albus didn’t realise that he had just met the darkest wizard known to mankind.

Albus was later appointed as Headmaster of Hogwarts, and during this time founded the Order of the Phoenix – a resistance group who worked against the rise of Lord Voldemort. He was well-known as the only wizard Voldemort was afraid of, and worked tirelessly to bring him down. When he interviewed Sybill Trelawney for the post of Divination teacher at Hogwarts, he became witness to a prophecy she made about Voldemort and ‘The Chosen One’. This information, once known to Voldemort, was interpreted to mean Harry Potter, and when Dumbledore was informed of this, he set up protections for Lily and James Potter and their son.

His work was to no avail, however, as the protective charm was betrayed, and the Potters were killed. He left baby Harry on the doorstep of his aunt and uncle’s house, and waited for him to arrive at Hogwarts in ten years’ time.

In 1991, Albus agreed to protect the Philosopher’s Stone on behalf of his friend Nicolas Flamel, but he didn’t realise that the person trying to steal it was in Hogwarts the whole time. He arrived at it’s hiding place just in time to save the now eleven-year-old Harry Potter from the clutches of a diminished Lord Voldemort, but later agreed with Nicolas to destroy the Stone. The following year, the Chamber of Secrets was reopened at the school, and Albus was temporarily suspended from the role of Headmaster for failing to stop the attacks on Muggleborns.

Similarly, three years later, the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge and the Hogwarts High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge tried to arrest him for actions against the Ministry – which, incidentally, he hadn’t committed – and he managed to escape and go into hiding, leaving Umbridge to take his place.

It would have been around this time that Albus became fully aware of the Horcruxes that Voldemort had used to ensure immortality. After a vicious fight with Voldemort in the summer of 1996, Dumbledore went looking for one of the Horcruxes, and found that it was also a Deathly Hallow. This tested his resolve, as he had sworn never to be tempted by the Hallows again, but on touching the ring in which the stone was concealed, he became cursed.

His friend Severus Snape, whom he had ordered to act as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, and who was currently masquerading as a Death Eater, managed to contain the curse, but informed Albus that he would not have much more than a year to live. Albus told Severus that he knew Voldemort was planning to kill him, and that he would use the young Draco Malfoy to do it. Albus implored Severus to do it instead, not as a murder, but as a favour for an old friend.

That year Albus taught Harry about Horcruxes and the two of them travelled to a remote cave to obtain one. On their return at Hogwarts, they were cornered on the Astronomy Tower by Draco Malfoy who disarmed Albus but didn’t kill him. Then Severus emerged and, after a pleading word from Albus, finally closed the old man’s life.

Lord Voldemort

Lord Voldemort – originally known as Tom Riddle – was born in an orphanage to a weak and destitute Merope Gaunt. Merope was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin, and she died almost immediately after giving birth to her son, having only enough time to name him. Tom grew up alone and friendless, however he seemed to enjoy the solitude and used it to intimidate and torment his fellow orphans.

In 1937, he was approached by Albus Dumbledore – current Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts – and was informed that he was a wizard and had a place at Hogwarts. Although he was pleased – seemingly because it made him different – he resisted Dumbledore’s entreaties to let someone accompany him to Diagon Alley and King’s Cross, preferring to do so alone.

Tom arrived at Hogwarts and was instantly sorted into Slytherin. He was noticed by the Head of his house, Horace Slughorn, and was invited to join the Slug Club. Although he didn’t exactly have friends, he surrounded himself with loyal people who could be useful in the future. They would later become Death Eaters.

In 1942, he opened the Chamber of Secrets, using Parseltongue to control the Basilisk and attack Muggleborns. He killed a girl, later known as the miserable ghost Moaning Myrtle, and blamed the crime on fourteen-year-old Rubeus Hagrid. Tom had discovered that Hagrid had been hiding an Acromantula in the castle, and that could easily have been said to be the monster.

When he was sixteen he found out about Horcruxes, and set about to create seven of his own. He murdered his father and grandparents, and then modified his uncle Morfin’s memory to make him think that he’d killed them. Morfin was sent to Azkaban and died there.

When Tom finished school, he asked the Headmaster Armando Dippet whether he could teach Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, but Dippet said that he was too young, urging him to return in a few years. Tom then went travelling, and learnt more about the Dark Arts than anyone before him. During this time, he created a Horcrux in the form of Ravenclaw’s diadem. He then returned to England and worked in a shop: Borgin and Burke’s. Here, he was commissioned to acquire various valuable objects, and killed an old woman to gain a cup belonging to Helga Hufflepuff. He later turned this into a Horcrux.

After disappearing for ten years, in which he continued to make Horcruxes and dropped the name ‘Tom’ for good, he applied again to Dumbledore for the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and was refused outright. This did not perturb him, as he really came to Hogwarts to hide one of his Horcruxes.

As Lord Voldemort, he rose quickly to power, gathering many followers. In 1979 he was informed by Severus Snape of a prophecy predicting his downfall. He went in search of the child who was to defeat him, and found Harry Potter. After discovering his whereabouts, he ventured to Godric’s Hollow and killed Lily and James Potter, and tried to kill Harry. The curse rebounded and hit Voldemort instead, and he almost died. All that kept him alive were the fragments of his soul that he had secreted in Horcruxes.

Ten years passed, and finally what little remained of him was discovered by Quirinus Quirrell. Together they concocted a plan to steal the Philosopher’s Stone, and Voldemort occupied the back of Quirrell’s head to control his movements. They had nearly obtained it when they were foiled by eleven-year-old Harry Potter. Quirrell died in the fight, and Voldemort returned, broken, to his former hiding place.

However, two years later he was found by an old servant, Peter Pettigrew. Peter managed to restore some of Voldemort’s strength and they planned to capture Harry in order to get Voldemort’s full strength and body back. Many months later they succeeded, and he tried to kill Harry again, but their wands wouldn’t work against each other, and Harry escaped.

During the following year, Voldemort’s presence was known only to a select few, and he managed to gather strength and forces. He wanted to hear the prophecy made sixteen years ago about him, and so sent his Death Eaters to get it. Harry and some of his friends were there to protect it, and in the fight between them, the Order of the Phoenix, and the Death Eaters, the prophecy was smashed. Voldemort arrived at the Ministry of Magic and battled Albus Dumbledore. In an attempt to finally beat the man, he tried to possess Harry, but found it excruciatingly painful because of the amount of love that was inside the boy. Ministry workers arrived before Voldemort had time to leave, and his secret return was revealed.

Over the next year, he openly gathered in strength and numbers, and sent his Death Eaters to terrorise wizards and Muggles alike. He ordered Draco Malfoy to murder Albus Dumbledore, and exalted when his one superior was finally eradicated.

After Dumbledore’s death, he took power quickly, infiltrating and overpowering the Ministry of Magic and reinstating anti-Muggle laws. His main aim now was to kill Harry Potter, and as he realised that Harry was destroying his Horcruxes, he became more and more desperate to do so. When he discovered that Harry was at Hogwarts, he waged war against the students, teachers, and Order of the Phoenix members.

Voldemort believed that if he possessed the Elder Wand, he would be able to kill Harry, and so he killed his faithful Death Eater Severus Snape to win true possession over it. He summoned Harry to the Forbidden Forest, where he finally killed him – or so he thought. In reality, when he had tried to kill Harry as a baby a fragment of his unstable soul had broken off and latched onto Harry’s. This fragment had just been destroyed by Voldemort, and Harry lived, finally unconnected to Voldemort.

In their final confrontation Voldemort’s wand, which in fact belonged to Harry, wouldn’t work for him, and his curse therefore rebounded, and he was killed once and for all.

Severus Snape

Severus was the son of witch Eileen Prince and Muggle Tobias Snape. He grew up in a rough estate called Spinner’s End, near Lily and Petunia Evans. When he discovered that Lily was also capable of magic, the two became friends, and took the Hogwarts Express together on September 1, 1971. However, the two were separated by the Sorting Hat who sorted Lily into Gryffindor and Severus into Slytherin. The two managed to remain friends, although as they grew older it became more difficult: Severus befriended many people whom Lily disapproved of; and Lily eventually went out with the boy who had bullied Severus for many years.

Severus’ feelings for Lily grew to resemble much more than friendship. Although he never confessed them to her, he continually tried to win her approval, however when he finally became a Death Eater it was clear their friendship was no more. Severus ingratiated himself with Voldemort and his new friends, and was therefore employed to spy on Dumbledore. Whilst eavesdropping on an interview between Dumbledore and prospective Divination Professor Sybill Trelawney, he unwittingly overheard her make a prophecy concerning Voldemort and the one person who could defeat him. Severus immediately relayed this information to Voldemort, but was horrified to learn that Voldemort thought this person to be Lily Potter’s son.

He begged Voldemort to have mercy on Lily, to kill the child and the husband, and just save Lily. Voldemort disregarded his pleas. Snape suspected that this might happen, so he had already asked Dumbledore to do his best to protect her, along with James and Harry if that was absolutely necessary. Although Dumbledore agreed, he made a condition that Severus must now agree to work for him, and spy instead on Voldemort, therefore becoming a double agent.

After Voldemort disappeared, Severus applied for a teaching position at Hogwarts. Although he desired the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, Dumbledore did not trust him with the power of the role. He instead gave him the role of Potions Master, and the appointed him as Head of Slytherin. Severus had always been talented at potion brewing, and did well in his job.

In 1991, Harry Potter finally arrived at Hogwarts, and Severus was torn by his close likeness to James, and his eyes, which so resembled Lily’s. Although he had promised Dumbledore to protect the boy for Lily’s sake, this did not mean he had to like him. He was blinded by his hatred of James, and tormented Harry throughout his time at Hogwarts.

When his old enemy Sirius Black, best friend of James Potter, escaped from Azkaban in 1993, Severus was eager to be the one catch and vilify him. When Sirius and James’s friend Remus Lupin was appointed as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at the same time, Severus was filled with hatred, and frequently tried to get him sacked. By the end of the year, he managed to track down Sirius, Lupin and Harry, Ron and Hermione all together, and threatened to send Black back to Azkaban, along with Lupin. He was attacked by Harry, Ron and Hermione, and knocked unconscious, and Sirius managed to escape. However, Severus did let slip to his students that Lupin was in fact a werewolf, leading Lupin to resign from his post.

The following year, an old Death Eater returned to Hogwarts: Igor Karkaroff, now Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute. Karkaroff was getting worried because the Dark Mark etched into his skin was growing more vivid: a sure sign that Lord Voldemort was regaining strength. He tried to confer with Severus, who avoided him at all costs. Severus was also being closely watched by ex-Auror Mad-Eye Moody, who had seemingly never forgiven him for being a Death Eater. However, at the end of the year, after Voldemort had returned, it was revealed that Moody was in fact an old Death Eater in disguise who wanted retribution for those Death Eaters who had escaped Azkaban.

Severus waited a short time after Voldemort had called all his Death Eaters back. He was now stoically on Dumbledore’s side, and had resolved to spy on Voldemort, pretending that he was loyal to him, and that he was actually spying on Dumbledore. It was a difficult and dangerous game; one which no one but he could have succeeded at.

As Voldemort rose to power, Severus was present in both the Order of the Phoenix and as a Death Eater. He was also employed to teach Harry Occlumency in an attempt to keep Voldemort out of Harry’s mind. The lessons were catastrophic, and after Harry accidentally saw into Severus’s mind, he refused to teach him any longer.

In 1996, he was finally awarded the role of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. During the summer, Dumbledore came to him for help after being cursed by one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Severus managed to contain the curse, but could not save Dumbledore’s life, and informed him with regret that he would have little more than a year to live. Dumbledore then informed Severus that Severus himself was going to have to kill him. Severus had previously learned that Voldemort had asked Draco Malfoy to kill Dumbledore, and Dumbledore begged that Severus help the boy, and then kill Dumbledore himself. Severus reluctantly agreed.

Around this time, he was visited by Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, the former of whom pleaded with him to help Draco. He made an Unbreakable Vow, which meant that he would do his best to help Draco, or he would die.

During that year, he continued to work alongside Dumbledore and Voldemort, and finally, one summer night, he was alerted to Death Eaters inside the castle. He found Draco Malfoy cornering Dumbledore, but when Draco couldn’t kill him, he did it instead. He, Draco and the Death Eaters fled Hogwarts.

Before Dumbledore died, he had given Severus orders to carry out after his death. Snape did so, continuing to appear to work with the Death Eaters, and was appointed Headmaster of Hogwarts by Voldemort. During this time, he made sure to protect the students to a certain extent (he had to still appear to be on Voldemort’s side), and conferred with Dumbledore’s portrait to get more instructions. He took the sword of Gryffindor and secretly presented it to Harry, as a means of destroying Horcruxes. It was also during this time that Dumbledore told him that Harry was going to have to die, and that he confessed to Dumbledore his everlasting love for Lily.

Severus fled the school immediately before the Battle of Hogwarts, essentially resigning as Headmaster. However, he did fight in the battle, and was finally summoned by Voldemort. Voldemort thought he needed the wand of Albus Dumbledore in order to properly kill Harry, and as Severus had killed Dumbledore, Voldemort believed that he must kill Severus to gain full possession of it. He set his snake, Nagini, on Severus, who died slowly and painfully. His final act was to give Harry, who had been watching in secret, his memories, which would tell Harry exactly what he needed to do, and would finally show him the true hero Severus was. He then looked into Harry’s eyes, and saw only Lily. Having loved her right until the last moment, he was finally reunited with a part of her.

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall was born in Scotland to a witch mother and Muggle father. Her mother, Isobel, had never told her father that she was a witch, and therefore had given up magic. However, Minerva very quickly showed signs of magical ability, and her mother was forced to tell her husband. Minerva had two younger brothers, Malcolm and Robert Jr.

Minerva attended Hogwarts in 1947, and although she was sorted into Gryffindor, the Sorting Hat took five-and-a-half minutes to decide between that and Ravenclaw, and she was therefore one of the rare “hatstalls.” During her time at Hogwarts, Minerva gained a reputation for being one of the most talented students it had ever had, with a particular propensity for Transfiguration. She achieved ‘Outstanding’ in all her OWLs and NEWTs, was a Prefect and Head Girl, and learnt, with help from Albus Dumbledore, how to become an Animagus. In addition, she was an excellent Quidditch player, but a bad fall in her seventh year prevented her from playing properly again.

When she passed her NEWTs, Minerva was offered a job at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and during the summer before she started there, she returned home. Here, she met Dougal McGregor, a Muggle, and fell deeply in love with him. He proposed to her, and although she accepted, she soon realised that to marry him would be to follow her mother’s path of relinquishing her magic and her career. The following day, she informed him that she could not marry him. Because of the International Statute of Secrecy, she was unable to tell him why, for it would risk her losing her job, and she left him heartbroken, and journeyed to London.

Minerva only worked in the Ministry for two years, as she detested their attitude to Muggles and Muggle-borns. She therefore returned to Hogwarts to teach Transfiguration alongside Albus Dumbledore. When Dumbledore became Headmaster, Minerva took sole control over the Transfiguration department, and later ascended to the roles of Head of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress. During this time she remained friends with her former boss, Elphinstone Urquhart, and they met up occasionally. On one meeting in Madame Puddifoot’s teashop, he proposed, but Minerva declined as she was still in love with Dougal.

As Voldemort gradually gained power, Minerva joined the Order of the Phoenix, and fought to stop him. When he was finally destroyed in 1981, Minerva went to 4 Privet Drive to look at the Muggles who would be taking Harry in. She was shocked at their behaviour, and implored Dumbledore not to leave Harry there, but she didn’t understand the power of Lily’s protection, and therefore couldn’t know how important the filial bond would be in Harry’s later life.

The following summer, Elphinstone proposed once more and Minerva finally accepted. Dougal had died, and she felt free to love again. The two of them married and lived in a cottage in Hogsmeade, but Minerva kept her last name much to the disapproval of pureblood extremists. However, tragedy struck once again, as in 1985 Elphinstone was bitten by a Venomous Tentacular, and died. Heartbroken, Minerva returned to live in Hogwarts, unable to endure life alone in the cottage.

In 1991, Harry Potter finally arrived in Hogwarts, and Minerva was pleased to find that he was sorted into her own house. She was even more pleased to discover that he was a natural flyer, and quickly recruited him onto the Quidditch team, in hopes of beating Slytherin once and for all. It was perhaps due to her fierce competitiveness that she arranged for him to have a Nimbus 2000: the best broom there was.

The following year the Chamber of Secrets was reopened, and students began to be attacked by the monster within. When Albus was asked to leave the school by the governors, Minerva took his place temporarily as Headmistress, but when Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber, she decided that she must close the school. However, as Harry and Ron got into the Chamber, killed the Basilisk and saved Ginny, she was able to save the school and announce the return of Dumbledore.

During the Triwizard Tournament two years later, she worked to ensure that her students represented Hogwarts well, and enforced stricter rules than usual. She was evidently upset that Harry had been chosen to compete, and showed him a rare soft side in sympathy. At the end of the year, after ‘Mad-Eye Moody’ had been revealed to be Barty Crouch Jr., it was she who guarded him, however she was unable to prevent Cornelius Fudge from entering with a Dementor, which gave Crouch a kiss: sucking his soul out. This destroyed any evidence he could have given about Voldemort’s plans, and she was furious.

As Voldemort gained power, she worked again with the Order of the Phoenix, and tirelessly supported Dumbledore. When Dolores Umbridge arrived at Hogwarts, Minerva bristled at her interference, but had no power to stop her. She tried her utmost to find loopholes in Umbridge’s rules and to defy her authority without getting sacked. When Umbridge was made Headmistress, Minerva remained Deputy, but did not hide her disgust. When Umbridge and several Aurors tried to get rid of Hagrid, Minerva fought to defend him, but was attacked and hit with multiple stunning spells. She was taken to St Mungo’s Hospital to be treated.

She returned to Hogwarts, and the following year she participated in the fight when the Death Eaters infiltrated Hogwarts. She was devastated at the death of Dumbledore, who had become her best friend, and hated Snape for what he had done. She organised the funeral, and it was assumed that she would be Headmistress of Hogwarts. Later that summer it was announced that Snape would be given the position instead, and he returned to Hogwarts to take it.

Minerva remained at Hogwarts to protect the students against the wrath of the Carrows, and she actively helped to keep the Dumbledore’s Army meetings secret. On May 2, 1998, she found Harry Potter in the Ravenclaw Tower, and made sure to help him find Ravenclaw’s diadem. She fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, and she, Professor Sprout, and Professor Flitwick battled Snape and forced him out of the school.

After the Battle

Minerva finally became Headmistress of Hogwarts after the war in 1998. Minerva had retired by 2017, when Harry's second son began attending Hogwarts.

Kingsley Shacklebolt

When the Order of the Phoenix reformed in 1995, special effort was made to recruit spies within the Ministry of Magic. Shacklebolt was one of two Aurors who joined (the other was Nymphadora Tonks). 

Although Kingsley was supposed to be the Auror in charge of the search for Sirius Black, his search was a sham. Among other things, he reported that Sirius was in Tibet; Shacklebolt was so successful at protecting Sirius that the Ministry never found him. Shacklebolt fought with the Order of the Phoenix at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

When Rufus Scrimgeour replaced Cornelius Fudge as Minister, Shacklebolt was reassigned to undercover security for the Muggle Prime Minister, and he quickly became invaluable to the staff at 10 Downing Street.

Kingsley impressed Vernon Dursley so much that he wanted him to be his escort when the Dursley's evacuated the house on Privet Drive in the summer of 1997. This confidence is never misplaced. It is Shacklebolt who saves Harry and the other guests at Bill and Fleur's wedding when he sends his Patronus to warn everyone that the Ministry had fallen to Voldemort's Death Eaters. When Voldemort's forces attack Hogwarts, Kingsley fights valiantly along side felllow Order members and students. He even crosses curses with Lord Voldemort himself before the Dark Lord's death at the hands of Harry Potter. 

Shacklebolt became Minister of Magic after Voldemort's defeat, employing Harry, Ron and Neville immediately after the battle to apprehend the rest of Voldemort's followers. Harry was also asked to help reform the Ministry, and was eventually appointed to be head of the Auror Department. Together, Harry and Shacklebolt led the Ministry and the wizarding world into much better times.

Sirius Black

Sirius was born into an ancient pure-blood family, nearly all of whom had been Slytherins. He attended Hogwarts in 1971, and quickly met James, Remus and Peter. The four became friends, and he and James, although they were troublemakers, were acknowledged as some of the brightest wizards of their year. Sirius and James hared a mutual hatred for Severus Snape, and for no apparent reason except for him being a Slytherin, joined James in bullying him, much to the disgust of Lily Evans.

Sirius, James and Peter soon worked out that their friend Remus was a werewolf. Instead of being shocked and scared by this revelation, they instead decided to help him, and by their fifth year they had all managed to become Animagi. Sirius became a dog, and he used this disguise in later years when he was being hunted by the wizarding community.

Despite his happy life at Hogwarts, Sirius was becoming increasingly unhappy at home. His younger brother Regulus had been sorted into Slytherin, and his parents already considered him an outcast. When he was sixteen, he ran away from home and went to live with James and his parents who already considered him their son. Regulus, on the other hand, continued to make his parents proud. He joined the Death Eaters, but soon realised that he disagreed with Voldemort’s tyranny, and hunted down a Horcrux to destroy it. He was killed in the attempt.

When Sirius finished his NEWTs, he joined the Order of the Phoenix with James and Lily, hoping to beat Voldemort once and for all. When he heard that his best friend was being targeted by Voldemort, he helped to protect them, but later decided that it might be safer to make Peter the only one who was able to reveal where the Potters were. He thought that he would be the obvious choice, but didn’t realise that Peter had been working for Voldemort for a while, and quickly passed on the information.

Sirius was beyond devastated when he heard about James’s death, and tried to get to Godric’s Hollow to find the bodies. He ran into Hagrid who was picking up Harry, and offered to take him himself, but Hagrid refused. Sirius then went in search of Peter: he was the only one who knew they had switched, and was therefore the only one who knew what Peter had done. He found him in a busy Muggle street. He was almost mad with grief, and tried to kill Peter. Instead, Peter blasted the street apart himself, killing twelve Muggles, transformed into a rat and escaped, leaving Sirius to be captured by Ministry officials. Sirius was sent to Azkaban without a trial.

Sirius spent the next twelve years in Azkaban, brooding on the fact that Peter had escaped. Then, one day, he saw Peter in a newspaper, in his rat form. He found that Peter would, through his owner Ron Weasley, be returning to Hogwarts that September. Sirius knew that Harry would not be safe when Peter was around, and he finally managed to escape from Azkaban whilst in the form of a dog. He swam to England and headed to Hogwarts, determined to protect Harry. Throughout that year, he kept watch over him, and tried to kill Peter.

One summer night, He saw Harry, Ron, Hermione and Peter (still disguised as a rat) in the grounds of Hogwarts, and captured them. He tried to explain that he was only after Peter, but the three were certain that he only wanted to kill Harry. Then, to his delight, Remus Lupin appeared. He had been teaching at the school all year, and had seen Sirius on the Marauders’ Map which they had made so long ago. Remus convinced the children that Sirius was telling the truth, and Sirius was reunited with his godson.

They were interrupted by Severus Snape, who had also seen Remus sneaking around, and followed him. Snape tried to take Sirius to the Dementors, but was attacked by Harry, Ron and Hermione. They all left, with a newly-transformed Peter chained between them, hoping to hand him in and clear Sirius’s name. However, that night was the night of a full moon, and Remus transformed into a werewolf, allowing Peter to escape yet again. Sirius was captured once more, but was saved by Harry and Hermione. They sent him away on a Hippogriff, and he flew far south: trying to escape from the Dementors.

The following year he communicated with Harry through letter, and when he found out that Harry had been entered into the Triwizard Tournament, he flew straight back to England. He hid in a cave in the mountains surrounding Hogwarts, and remained mostly in his dog form to hide from the villagers of Hogsmeade. He gave Harry advice throughout the year, but when Harry returned from his battle with Voldemort in the summer, Sirius was summoned to Dumbledore’s office to be with him.

He re-joined the Order of the Phoenix, and allowed them to set up Headquarters in his childhood home, 12 Grimmauld Place. Few people in the wizarding world knew he was innocent, and he was forced to stay in the house at all times. Some had even begun to suspect his Animagus form, and it was therefore unsafe for him to venture out as a dog. He became angry and frustrated, so when he heard that Harry and some of his friends were in the Department of Mysteries battling Death Eaters, he jumped at the chance to help them.

He fought valiantly; however whilst duelling with his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, he was hit by her killing curse and died instantly. His body fell through a mysterious veiled archway and was never recovered.

Bellatrix Lestrange

Bellatrix was the daughter of Druella Rosier and Cygnus Black of the “Noble and Most Ancient House of Black,” and was the oldest of her sisters Narcissa and Andromeda. A particularly enthusiastic member of Voldemort’s inner circle of Death Eaters, Bella relished causing pain, especially when her victims were powerless; her specialty was the Unforgivable Cruciatus Curse.

Bellatrix was capable of tremendous loyalty. During Voldemort’s first reign of terror, Bellatrix and Lucius Malfoy were so high in Voldemort’s trust that they were each entrusted with one of his Horcruxes. Bellatrix was given the Hufflepuff cup which she secured in the Lestrange family vault deep in Gringotts.

Having successfully avoided capture and imprisonment in the immediate aftermath of Voldemort's fall, she (together with three other Death Eaters) attempted to find and restore Voldemort, torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom into madness for information. For this she was given a life sentence in Azkaban prison, where she was held until her escape more than 14 years later. After her escape, Bella took part in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, where she managed to kill her cousin Sirius, sending him falling through the ancient veiled archway in the Death Chamber.

That summer, Bellatrix's snarling conversation with fellow Death Eater, Severus Snape, goaded him into taking an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa to protect Draco and kill Albus Dumbledore if Draco failed.

After Dumbledore’s death, Snape was ascendant in Voldemort’s trust, and the Malfoys and Bellatrix were singled out for humiliation; Bellatrix was taunted and told to “prune” the Muggle-born and half-blood members of her family tree. So when Greyback and the Snatchers captured Harry, Ron and Hermione with the Sword of Gryffindor, she panicked. The sword should have been in her vault at Gringotts, so she assumed it had been breached and delayed, telling Voldemort that Harry had been captured. She couldn’t bear falling further from favor because the cup might have been stolen from its hiding place along with the sword. Unfortunately for Bellatrix, she dithered too long. Dobby, the Malfoy's former house elf, appeared and helped Harry, Ron and Hermione and other prisoners escape the mansion, knowing exactly where to find one of the last Horcruxes. To Harry’s deep sorrow, Bellatrix killed Dobby with an accurately-thrown knife.

Bellatrix survived Voldemort’s fury and later fought in the Battle of Hogwarts where she was killed in a heated duel by Molly Weasley, whose motherly instincts were on overdrive. She was the last, best lieutenant of Lord Voldemort, who dies himself mere minutes after her. 

Remus Lupin

When he was a young boy, Remus got bitten by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback after his father had insulted him. His parents tried and failed to find a cure, and Remus remained a werewolf for the rest of his life. He was, however, permitted to attend Hogwarts, as Albus Dumbledore believed that with the right precautions he could do no harm to his fellow students. He therefore enrolled at Hogwarts in 1971, and was given a secure house for him to transform in every month.

At Hogwarts he met fellow Gryffindors James, Sirius, and Peter, and the three became close friends. James and Sirius were far louder and more mischievous than Remus, but they valued his friendship, and when they discovered that he was a werewolf they did not desert him as he had expected. Instead, they taught themselves how to become Animagi, and would transform with him every month, run around the school and surrounding area and have adventures. James and Sirius’s Animagi forms were big enough to allow them to control Remus’s more violent instincts, and the four of them became closer because of these escapades.

Upon leaving Hogwarts, Remus found it incredibly difficult to get a job as most witches and wizards were prejudiced against werewolves and didn’t want to employ them. They didn’t bother to find out that Remus didn’t revel in his ability to change, as some werewolves did. Fortunately, James had inherited a great deal of money from his parents, and supported Remus. He joined the Order of the Phoenix, hoping to contribute to the fight against Voldemort, however Sirius was becoming increasingly suspicious of him, wondering whether he had in fact turned traitor. It was for this reason that he wasn’t informed of the plan to hide Lily and James, and their death was a terrible shock to him.

Nothing is known of the next twelve years of his life, but in 1993 he took the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Here he met Harry for the first time, although he didn’t tell him of his close friendship with James. He became a mentor of Harry, who deeply respected him. At the same time, Sirius had escaped from Azkaban, and Remus, still under the delusion that Sirius had betrayed James and Lily, battled his conscience, trying to decide whether or not to tell Dumbledore of Sirius’s ability to turn into a dog at will.

After confiscating the Marauders’ Map from Harry, he discovered that Sirius was once more hiding in the Shrieking Shack: the place he had used to transform into a werewolf whilst at Hogwarts. He headed straight there, and found him in the company of Harry, Ron, Hermione and the disguised Peter Pettigrew. He believed Sirius’ story and convinced the children to believe it too. He then helped Sirius transform Peter back into his human form, proving once and for all that Sirius was innocent.

However, upon returning to the castle with a stupefied Snape in tow, he transformed into a werewolf unaware that it was full moon. This transformation allowed Peter to turn back into a rat and escape. Although Remus had turned safely back into a human by the next morning, the damage had been done. Snape was livid that Sirius had escaped once more, and told the Slytherins that Remus was a werewolf. Knowing that parents would be unhappy at the prospect of having a werewolf teach their children, Remus resigned, and left the castle.

In 1995, after Voldemort’s return, Remus re-joined the Order of the Phoenix. He was later used to spy on the werewolves on Voldemort’s side, and often came back scarred and injured. During his involvement with the Order he met Nymphadora Tonks, and fell in love with her. She reciprocated his feelings, but he was reluctant to get involved with her as he knew that to marry him would doom her to a life of rejection from wizards and witches who were disgusted with her choice of husband, and that any children they had could well be a werewolf.

He eventually changed his mind, and the two married quickly and in secret in 1997 after Dumbledore’s death. He continued to work for the Order, however after Tonks became pregnant he panicked, doubting his abilities as a father. He offered to go with Harry, Ron and Hermione to destroy Horcruxes, however Harry refused, saying that he would not let Remus’s child, Harry’s godchild, grow up without a father. Remus returned to Tonks, and was elated when his son, Teddy, was born in the spring of 1998.

He fought in the Battle of Hogwarts alongside his wife, but was killed by the Death Eater Antonin Dolohov. Moments later, Tonks was killed by her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange. The husband and wife were laid side by side in the Great Hall when their bodies were found. Teddy was looked after by Tonks’s mother, and Harry came to visit him frequently, treating him like his own son.

Neville Longbottom

Raised by his grandmother Augusta Longbottom, Neville never properly knew his parents. They were tortured to insanity shortly after the apparent death of Lord Voldemort in 1981, and he only visited them in hospital ever since. Neville attended Hogwarts in 1991, and was sorted into Gryffindor. He shared a dormitory with Harry and Ron, although he was not perhaps considered a good friend until their fifth year, when he joined Dumbledore’s Army.

During his first year, he struggled with magic, and was frequently bullied by Draco Malfoy and an assortment of other Slytherins. However, he eventually began to stick up for himself, and this new-found confidence stretched to make him stand up to Harry, Ron and Hermione when they snuck out to save the Philosopher’s Stone. Although Hermione put the full body-bind curse on him to keep him quiet, his actions did not go unnoticed, and he earned ten points for Gryffindor which resulted in their triumphant victory in the House Cup over Slytherin.

As he progressed through Hogwarts, he showed a consistent talent for Herbology, which perhaps counteracted some of his deficiencies in other areas of magic. In his third year, after becoming a slave to Sir Cadogan’s constant change of password for the entry to Gryffindor tower, Neville forced the portrait to tell him the passwords in advance so that he could write them down. This resulted in Sirius Black obtaining the list and getting into the Tower, and earned Neville detention and a ban from future Hogsmeade visits.

It wasn’t until his fifth year that Neville began to really show himself as a true Gryffindor. He joined Dumbledore’s Army, and practised hard to learn defensive spells. He then joined Harry in the journey to the Department of Mysteries, and fought alongside his friends against the Death Eaters. He particularly targeted Bellatrix Lestrange, who was one of the people who tortured his parents. The following year, he helped Ron and Hermione defend Hogwarts whilst it was under Death Eater attack.

In his seventh year, Neville did attend Hogwarts, but was instrumental in leading the student rebellion against the new order, and reignited Dumbledore’s Army along with Ginny and Luna. Eventually, when he realised that he’d gone too far, he went into hiding within Hogwarts itself – in the Room of Requirement. As more and more students began to rebel, more of them joined him, and together they waited for Harry to return to help them push out Snape and the Carrows.

Neville was a powerful force in the Battle of Hogwarts, and managed to pull the sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat which proved himself to be a true Gryffindor. He then beheaded Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, on Harry’s orders, therefore destroying the final Horcrux. This enabled Harry to defeat Voldemort once and for all.

Post-Hogwarts

Although Neville worked briefly as an Auror after he left Hogwarts, he soon became the Herbology Professor at Hogwarts. He earned the admiration of his students because of the part he played in the final battle, and would show them his Dumbledore’s Army coin, which he kept as a memento. He married former Hufflepuff classmate Hannah Abbott, the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, and the two of them lived together there. It is unknown whether they had children. Neville also kept in contact with his friends from Hogwarts.

Draco Malfoy

Draco joined Hogwarts in 1991 and was sorted into Slytherin as soon as the Sorting Hat touched his head. He made a point to single out Harry, likely because he was jealous of Harry’s fame and the attention he got from other students. He also frequently bullied Neville Longbottom, and made various offensive comments about many of his contemporaries. In an attempt to get Harry into trouble, he tried to show Professor McGonagall that Harry and Hermione were out of bed at night, but because he only knew because he found them out there, she gave him detention as well. He joined Harry, Hermione, and Neville on detention in the Forbidden Forest, led by Hagrid, and was suitably scared by the experience.

During the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, Draco revelled in the panic amongst the students, and hinted many times that he was the Heir of Slytherin, but to little effect. Similarly, when Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban prison the following year, he seemed to enjoy the fear that was pervading the castle, and let slip to Harry that it was Sirius’s fault that Harry’s parents were dead. During this time he was also determined to get Hagrid sacked from his new position as Care of Magical Creatures teacher by provoking a Hippogriff and consequently demanding a tribunal.

When Harry was chosen as the fourth Champion for the Triwizard Tournament, Draco was if possible even more jealous, and fuelled his hatred for Harry by feeding the Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter information on Harry and his friends. The following year, he ingratiated himself with Dolores Umbridge by signing up to the Inquisitorial Squad, and finally capturing the founders of Dumbledore’s Army.

However, in his sixth year, after his father had been sent to Azkaban for being a Death Eater, Draco was approached by Lord Voldemort and given orders to both get Death Eaters into Hogwarts and kill Albus Dumbledore. Although he was excited by his task at first, bragging about it to his friends, as the year went on and he discovered how seemingly impossible it was to complete his task, he began to get increasingly scared of the wrath of Voldemort. He eventually managed to fix a broken Vanishing Cabinet, creating a pathway between one inside Hogwarts and one in the notorious shop Borgin and Burke’s, allowing Death Eaters to enter the castle.

He then waited for Dumbledore, and cornered him atop the Astronomy Tower, disarming him so that he was wandless. However, he was unable to utter the killing curse, and his task was completed instead by Severus Snape.

Draco returned to Hogwarts the following September to complete his NEWTs, but was also involved with Death Eater meetings whilst home for the holidays, and was therefore present when Harry, Ron and Hermione were captured by Snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor. When asked to confirm that the heavily disfigured person in front of him was in fact Harry Potter, he said that he was unsure, essentially saving the trio’s lives.

He attended the Battle of Hogwarts, but it was clear by the end that his only purpose was to stay alive, and he, his mother and his father all survived.

Post-Hogwarts

Draco married Astoria Greengrass, the younger sister of a Slytherin girl from his own year, Daphne. They had one son named Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. His relationship with Harry mended to a certain extent, but they were far from friendly.

Alastor Moody

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was a former Auror, and was considered to be the most famous Auror of modern time. His profession had apparently been rather hard on him, as he had a wooden leg, a magical artificial eye, and a large chunk taken out of his nose (courtesy of Death Eater, Evan Rosier). He had developed a deep distrust of nearly everyone and everything. His nickname is derived from his magical eye, which is forever swiveling, totally independently of his real eye.

Alastor Moody was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and effectively the leader of the Advance Guard who escorted Harry from the Dursley's house to Headquarters. Moody was later one of the members of the Order who arrived in time to rescue Harry from the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. During the battle, he engaged Antonin Dolohov in a duel, where he was defeated and injured.

In the summer of 1997, Moody lead the Order of the Phoenix's operation of transporting Harry Potter from Privet Drive to The Burrow. The Order had decided to disguise the younger members of the Order, along with Mundungus Fletcher, as Harry Potter by using Polyjuice Potion. Confronted with multiple possible Harry Potters, Voldemort selected the Harry who was sharing a broom with the most powerful Auror, attacking Moody and Mundungus. Mundungus Disapparated to avoid a curse, which caught Moody instead, killing him as he fell hundreds of feet to the ground.

During an infiltration of the Ministry, Harry Potter discovered that Dolores Umbridge had mounted Moody's magical eye on her office door as a sort of trophy. Harry removed it, and later gave it decent burial under the oldest, most gnarled and resilient-looking tree he could find.

Luna Lovegood

Little is known of Luna Lovegood’s early years, except that her mother died when Luna was only nine. Luna was present at her death, and has therefore been able to see Thestrals from a young age. She first attended Hogwarts in 1992, the same year as Ginny Weasley, and was sorted into Ravenclaw. She didn’t meet Harry Potter until 1995, when she shared a carriage with him, Ginny and Neville on the Hogwarts Express.

Luna stood out a lot at school, not aided by the fact that her father Xenophilius ran The Quibbler: a wizarding magazine that seems to have become a bit of a joke. However, in her fourth year she joined Dumbeldore’s Army, and made what were perhaps her first proper friends. She joined Harry and the others to fight at the Department of Mysteries. The following year, although Dumbledore’s Army lessons were discontinued, she remained loyal to it, and helped Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny defend the castle against the Death Eater attack.

In her sixth year, she did return to Hogwarts, however was captured on her journey back home for Christmas, and held hostage in an attempt to make her father publish articles in support of Lord Voldemort and his regime. Luna was held in the cellar at Malfoy Manor along with Mr Ollivander, Dean Thomas, and Griphook the goblin. The four of them were eventually freed by Dobby the house-elf, and taken to Shell Cottage: the house of Bill and Fleur Weasley.

Luna returned to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts, coming at the first summons from Dumbledore’s Army. She fought bravely alongside her friends.

Post-Hogwarts

Luna is naturally inquisitive and adventurous, so after she finished her NEWTs, she went travelling and became a well-known wizarding naturalist. She classified many previously unknown creatures, although notably not her beloved Crumple-Horned Snorcack. She got married later in life than her friends when she married the grandson of the famous Newt Scamander, Rolf. The couple had twin boys named Lorcan and Lysander.

Ginny Weasley

The only daughter of Molly and Arthur Weasley, Ginny attended Hogwarts in 1992, instantly having a major crush on Harry Potter. After she found a mysterious diary in her cauldron, given to her by a vindictive Lucius Malfoy, her formerly simple life became much darker. Possessed by the soul of Lord Voldemort, Ginny was forced to open the Chamber of Secrets and set the terrifying Basilisk against Muggle-born students, including her friend Hermione Granger. Eventually, she was taken into the Chamber, and the soul of Voldemort, in the form of Tom Riddle, threatened to suck out her life and use it to bring himself back. He was defeated by Harry Potter, who saved Ginny.

Ginny grew to become a confident young woman, and was very popular. She attended the Yule Ball with Neville Longbottom, and then had a long succession of admirers until she finally caught the eye of Harry Potter in her fifth year. Although he was forced to break up with her after the death of Albus Dumbledore in order to protect her, she never gave up on him.

Meanwhile, Ginny was an integral part of Dumbledore’s Army, and went with Harry to the Department of Mysteries when she was only fourteen. She battled valiantly, and helped to overthrow the Death Eaters. The following year, she helped Ron and Hermione defend the castle when Harry and Dumbledore went in search for a Horcrux, and led the fight against the Death Eater attack. During her sixth year, she tried to rebel against the Death Eaters in charge of Hogwarts, but frequently got punished for it. She was also present at the Battle of Hogwarts, despite being underage, and again showed her bravery in her selfless actions that day.

Post-Hogwarts

Ginny completed her NEWTs, and went on to play for the Holyhead Harpies: the only all-female Quidditch team in Britain. She married Harry Potter, and eventually retired from playing professional Quidditch to have three children: James, Albus and Lily. Meanwhile, she worked for the Daily Prophet as the senior Quidditch correspondent.

Rubeus Hagrid

Hagrid was born in the West of England, near the Forest of Dean, to a wizard and a giantess. His mother, Fridwulfa, left when he was very young to go back to her giant colony. She later had another son, Grawp, who was Hagrid’s half-brother. Hagrid attended Hogwarts in 1940 and was sorted into Gryffindor. His father died the following year. He showed an instant fascination with magical beasts from this young age, raising werewolf cubs under his bed, wrestling trolls in the forbidden forest and, in his third year, acquiring an Acromantula and hiding it in the castle.

Unfortunately for Hagrid, Tom Riddle found out about Aragog the Acromantula, and framed Hagrid for opening the Chamber of Secrets and setting Slytherin’s monster on the students. Hagrid was promptly expelled from Hogwarts, but Dumbledore persuaded the Headmaster Armando Dippet to keep Hagrid on as a gamekeeper. Although he wasn’t allowed to practise magic, broken fragments of his wand were concealed within a pink umbrella, and he used it for simple forms of magic.

During the rise of Lord Voldemort, Hagrid joined the Order of the Phoenix and fought against him. On the night of the Potters’ death, it was Hagrid who was ordered to collect Harry and bring him to the Dursleys’ house. He used Sirius Black’s motorbike to transport Harry, but was unwilling to leave him with the Muggles. Ten years later, he returned to tell Harry that he was a wizard, and was shocked to find that Harry had no idea. He took him to Diagon Alley, and at the same time retrieved the Philosopher’s Stone on Dumbledore’s orders. This he brought to Hogwarts for Dumbledore to keep safe.

Later that year, he managed to acquire a dragon’s egg, and looked after it until it hatched. The baby dragon that came from it was his pride and joy, and he called it Norbert. However, he was forced to get rid of it, because it was too large and dangerous for his small wooden hut.

In 1992, the Chamber of Secrets opened once more, and as the attacks went on, he was visited by Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, and was arrested as a precaution. Fudge was worried that Hagrid, although nothing had been proven the first time, was again setting a monster on the students. He was sent to Azkaban for the foreseeable future. Luckily, Harry managed to prove that Hagrid was innocent, and he was released. He returned to Hogwarts to rapturous applause.

That summer, Professor Kettleburn the Care of Magical Creatures teacher retired, and Hagrid was given the job. He was ecstatic to become a Hogwarts teacher, and enthusiastically gave his first lesson on Hippogriffs. However, not taking into account Draco Malfoy’s brutish desire to see him sacked, he did not expect him to insult a Hippogriff, and consequently get injured. Although Hagrid took him straight to the hospital wing and the injuries weren’t serious, the damage was done. Draco’s father Lucius campaigned to have Buckbeak the Hippogriff put down, and Hagrid was devastated. After a long-drawn-out court case, Buckbeak was sentenced to death. However, Harry and Hermione managed to save Buckbeak, and although Hagrid didn’t know it was them, he was delighted.

The following year, Hagrid found the woman of his dreams. The Headmistress of the French school Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Madame Maxime, was also a half-giant, although she didn’t care to admit it. They bonded over dragons and Abraxan horses, but when Hagrid mentioned her being a half-giant she was furious. The conversation was overheard by devious Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter, who published the Hagrid’s story, saying that he was a descendent of a violent giantess. This nearly broke Hagrid, as he refused to come out of his hut for days, but was eventually persuaded by the joint efforts of Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

After Lord Voldemort returned, Dumbledore asked Hagrid and Madame Maxime to go to the giants and try and persuade them to join their side. They were gone for many months, but were unsuccessful because the Death Eaters had better bargaining tools. However, Hagrid did find his half-brother, and brought him back to live in the Forbidden Forest. It was a risky place to keep him, but was all Hagrid could think of. He returned to work to the disapproval of Dolores Umbridge, who soon had him sacked and tried to remove him from the castle grounds. Hagrid went into hiding, but not before asking Harry, Ron and Hermione to look after his brother.

On Umbridge’s removal from Hogwarts, Hagrid was given his job back, and Grawp was given a new, more secure, home in the mountains. However, Aragog, his beloved Acromantula began to grow ill, and slowly died. Hagrid held a funeral for him, attended only by Harry and Professor Slughorn, who was only present to try and sneak some Acromantula venom. Hagrid was thoroughly upset by his oldest pet’s death.

When Dumbledore died, Hagrid would not believe it until he saw the body. The death could well have affected him the most, because Dumbledore had always supported, trusted, and looked after Hagrid. With him gone, Hagrid may not have been welcome at Hogwarts; but worst of all was that his oldest friend and mentor was gone for good.

That summer, Hagrid was involved in the attempt to get Harry safely from Privet Drive to The Burrow. He took Harry with him on a sidecar attached to the motorbike he had used to bring Harry to Privet Drive sixteen years ago. They just about managed to get to The Burrow safely following the attack by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, although Hagrid was knocked unconscious during the journey.

He did return to Hogwarts, working both as gamekeeper and as Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Under Snape’s orders, he was in charge of giving students detention which was much safer and more pleasant than any detention with the Carrows. He was arrested after hosting a ‘Support Harry Potter’ party, however he escaped to the mountains with Grawp.

He fought bravely in the Battle of Hogwarts along with his brother, but was captured by the Death Eaters. He was present when Harry walked to meet Voldemort in the forest, and was distraught when Voldemort killed Harry. He carried Harry back to the castle, but didn’t notice that he was still alive. When Harry pulled on the Invisibility Cloak, Hagrid was the first to notice his disappearance. He survived the war, and was among the first to congratulate Harry on Voldemort’s defeat.

After the Battle of Hogwarts

Hagrid remained at Hogwarts, and was still there when Harry’s children went. Being half-giant, he had a longer life-span than humans, so at 88 years old, he was still more than capable of working.

Lily Potter

Lily Potter was born Lily Evans, and was a Muggle-born. She showed early signs of magic which startled and scared her sister Petunia. However, when she was showing her sister her abilities in the park, she was interrupted by Severus Snape, a boy the same age as her, who was a half-blood. He told her that she was a witch and that she would go to Hogwarts when she was eleven. Although she was hesitant at first, she slowly began to believe him, and the two became friends: much to the distaste of Petunia.

Lily and Severus boarded the Hogwarts Express on September 1, 1971, and quickly met James Potter and Sirius Black. Severus had told Lily that he hoped she would be in Slytherin, as he was sure he would be. When she was sorted into Gryffindor, he was visibly upset: no doubt being aware, unlike Lily, of the rivalry between the two houses and how difficult it would now be to remain friends.

Lily showed an early aptitude at Potions and Charms, and was noticed by Potions Master Horace Slughorn, who invited her to join the Slug Club. Despite outside prejudices she remained friends with Severus, although found it increasingly difficult because of the other people he was friends with. They were people who would later become Death Eaters, and she did not approve. However, she still stuck up for him when James Potter bullied him, and tried her best to maintain their relationship. When he called her a Mudblood she felt that it was the ultimate act of betrayal, and it was the final act that ended their friendship. The two had become too different, and she would therefore never know of his true feelings for her.

Despite having loathed him for many years, Lily eventually agreed to go out with James in their seventh year. When the two left Hogwarts, they quickly married, and joined the Order of the Phoenix to help fight Voldemort. During this time, Lily’s relationship with her sister had deteriorated. Never having been able to forgive Lily for being a witch and taking all the attention, Petunia refused to speak to her. A disagreement between James and Petunia’s fiancé Vernon separated the sisters, and they never spoke again.

Lily gave birth to a son, Harry, in July 1980. However, she soon found out that Lord Voldemort had heard of a prophecy which foretold his downfall, and thought that her son was the one who would cause it. Although all manners of protection were given her, James and Harry, they were betrayed by Peter Pettigrew, who told Voldemort of their whereabouts. On October 31, 1981, Voldemort came to the Potters’ house. He killed James almost instantly, but was prepared to spare Lily. She begged him to kill her and have mercy on Harry, but he refused. He killed her, and then turned his wand on Harry, expecting to eradicate the threat. However, although Lily was dead, her love for her son lived on and protected him. Voldemort was unable to kill him, and was destroyed.