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 Dark Witch is any magical person who actively studies and/or practises the Dark Arts.

Some of the magic they have been known to practise includes use of the three Unforgivable Curses, creating or brewing dark potions, putting use to/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, Morgan le Fay, Gellert Grindelwald, and Lord Voldemort, as well as the latter's followers, known as Death Eaters.

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 includes 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, one of the most important Death Eaters, Barty Crouch Jr, was in Ravenclaw, whereas Slytherins such as Horace Slughorn, Regulus Black, Andromeda Tonks, and later Severus Snape opposed the Death Eaters.

Notable Dark Wizards and Witches

 * Herpo the Foul
 * Merwyn the Malicious
 * Emeric the Evil
 * Owle Bullock
 * Morgan le Fay
 * Salazar Slytherin
 * Godelot
 * Loxias
 * Gellert Grindelwald
 * Voldemort
 * Yardley Platt

Dark Wizards in fictional stories

 * The main character of The Warlock's Hairy Heart.
 * The wizard who took Altheda's wand.

Behind the scenes

 * In the Harry Potter films most Dark Wizards appear to Apparate differently than 'white wizards'. Dark ones Disapparate by turning into a whirlwind of black smoke and flying into the air, and then spiralling back down to the desired spot. Meanwhile, white wizards will just pop and disappear, sometimes in a flash of white light, but this might Death Eaters.
 * In Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, only Dark Wizards could use magic on the items that had red sparks, symbolising Dark Magic.