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 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, most 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, whereas Slytherins such as Horace Slughorn, Regulus Black, Andromeda Tonks, and later Severus Snape opposed the Death Eaters.

Known Dark Wizards and Witches

 * Death Eaters
 * Snatchers
 * Emeric the Evil
 * Morgan le Fay
 * Gellert Grindelwald
 * Godelot Sr.
 * Herpo the Foul
 * Loxias
 * Lord Voldemort
 * Merwyn the Malicious
 * Quirinus Quirrell
 * Salazar Slytherin
 * Vincent Crabbe
 * Bellatrix Lestrange



Dark Wizards in Fictional Stories

 * The protagonist of the The Warlock's Hairy Heart.
 * The wizard who took Altheda's wand.