Dark Wizard

"First, and understand this, Harry, 'coz it's very important... Not all wizards are good. Some of them go bad."

- Rubeus Hagrid to Harry Potter

A Dark Wizard or Witch is any magical person who primarily studies and/or practises the Dark Arts, otherwise known as Dark Magic. They often retrieve or create some dark objects like Horcruxes, or partake in the illegal breeding of Dark creatures.

In recent history, two dark wizards of particular notoriety were Gellert Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort. Grindelwald was so feared that he caused panic and fear even in places where he was not known to be active, such as the United States. Voldemort's actions were initially limited to Great Britain and parts of Europe, although he did have plans to spread his influence further.

Overview
Some of the magic Dark wizards have been known to practise includes use of the three Unforgivable Curses, creating or brewing dark potions, putting to use/using dark objects, animating Inferi, and attracting all kinds of Dark creatures to make huge armies and command them to attack their enemies. Noted Dark wizards and witches include Herpo the Foul, Raczidian, Morgan le Fay, Emeric the Evil, Salazar Slytherin, Merwyn the Malicious, Ekrizdis, Barnabas Deverill, Gellert Grindelwald, and Lord Voldemort, as well as the latter's followers, known as Death Eaters. According to Rita Skeeter, in a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time, Grindelwald would miss out on the top spot only because Voldemort arrived, a generation later, to steal his crown.

Types of wizards
Others who might be considered Dark wizards are the owners and customers of shops such as Borgin and Burkes, and arguably students of Durmstrang Institute, as the curriculum there teaches much of the Dark Arts. Many Dark wizards and witches appear to believe in the importance of blood purity and to hate Muggles, though there is not necessarily a connection.

In Great Britain, many well-known Dark wizards and witches came out of Slytherin house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, though this is not universal. For example, Peter Pettigrew was in Gryffindor, yet he betrayed the Order of the Phoenix and joined Voldemort ; Quirinus Quirrell, a Ravenclaw also allied himself with the Dark Lord; and (albeit only in an alternate timeline) Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff would become a Death Eater, whereas Slytherins such as Horace Slughorn, Regulus Black, Andromeda Tonks and later Severus Snape opposed the Death Eaters.

Known Dark Wizards and Witches

 * Augustus Rookwood
 * Amycus Carrow
 * Antonin Dolohov
 * Avery
 * Alecto Carrow
 * Bellatrix Lestrange
 * Bartemius Crouch Jr
 * Corban Yaxley
 * Corvinus Gaunt
 * Mr Crabbe
 * Delphini
 * Draco Malfoy (later stopped practising Dark Magic)
 * Ekrizdis
 * Emeric the Evil
 * Ethelred the Ever-Ready
 * Evan Rosie
 * Fenrir Greyback
 * Gellert Grindelwald
 * Godelot
 * Gormlaith Gaunt
 * Mr Goyle
 * Gregory Goyle
 * Herpo the Foul
 * Loxias
 * Lucius Malfoy
 * Marvolo Gaunt
 * Merwyn the Malicious
 * Morfin Gaunt
 * Morgan le Fay
 * Muliciber
 * Narcissa Malfoy
 * Owle Bullock
 * Peter Pettigrew
 * Raczidian
 * Rodolphus Lestrange
 * Rabastan Lestrange
 * Salazar Slytherin
 * Severus Snape
 * Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort
 * Travers
 * Vincent Crabbe
 * Walburga Black
 * Yardley Platt

Dark Wizards in fictional stories

 * The Wizard from The Wizard and the Hopping Pot. (formerly)
 * The Warlock from The Warlock's Hairy Heart.
 * The Evil Sorcerer from The Fountain of Fair Fortune.
 * Antioch Peverell from The Tale of the Three Brothers. (possibly)
 * Antioch Peverell's Killer from The Tale of the Three Brothers.

Possible Dark Wizards

 * Members of the Gaunt Family
 * Members of the Lestrange Family
 * Members of the Malfoy Family
 * Members of the Black Family (mostly)

Behind the scenes

 * In the Harry Potter films, most Dark Wizards appear to Apparate differently than other wizards. Dark Wizards Disapparate by turning into a whirlwind of black smoke and flying into the air, and then spiralling back down to the desired spot. Meanwhile, other wizards can just pop and disappear, or similarly can disappear in a whirlwind of white smoke. The ability to conjure this whirlwind may reflect an advanced wizard or witch.
 * In and its sequel, only Dark Wizards could use magic on the items that had red sparks, symbolising Dark Magic.

Appearances

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Notes and references
Mago Tenebroso Czarnoksiężnik 闇の魔法使い