Harry Potter's relationships

"Harry, you are so loved. Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong."

- Lily Potter's final words of support

Throughout his life, Harry Potter has had many relationships with other people. He had little connections in his early years, but over time, he built a friendly relationship with a large number of people, good and bad.

Hedwig
Hedwig was the Snowy owl that Rubeus Hagrid bought Harry for his eleventh birthday, from Eeylops Owl Emporium in Diagon Alley. Hedwig was often Harry's only companion during the lonely holidays he spent with the Dursleys, and the bond that developed between them was a close one. Hedwig was usually very affectionate with Harry, which she showed by gently nibbling his ear or fingers. However, she was not above snubbing him out of jealousy or nipping him a bit harder than usual on the rare occasions he snapped at her.

Hedwig was also highly intelligent; she understood perfectly when Harry asked her to peck Ron and Hermione until they responded to him, and even flew, completely of her own accord, to where Hermione was on holiday in France, to ensure that Harry received a gift for his thirteenth birthday. In 1997, Harry was completely grief-stricken after Hedwig was struck by a Killing Curse during the Battle of the Seven Potters.

Parents
James and Lily Potter died when their son was only a year old. Harry barely knew them, but nevertheless regarded them with great reverence. He fiercely defended their memory if anyone spoke ill of them. In 1995 he punched Draco Malfoy for insulting his mother and he frequently became furious with Professor Snape, who taunted Harry that James was not the great man others made him out to be. Snape was, to Harry's horror proven right in the spring of 1996. Harry accidentally witnessed James bully Snape using the Levicorpus spell in one of Snape's memories, with Dumbledore's Pensieve. However, Harry was relieved to know that his mother was a fair and kind person, who neither participated in nor tolerated bullying and would stand up for those in need. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black later assured him that James had changed his ways, eventually becoming mature enough to win Lily over.

The few times he ever saw his parents were through pictures given to him by Rubeus Hagrid, a vision within the Mirror of Erised, spectral forms which came out of Voldemort's wand during Priori Incantatem, stored memories within the Pensieve, and as lifeless corpses in a flashback that was triggered when he saw his now-ruined parents' house. The last known time he saw them where when he "summoned" them during the Battle of Hogwarts by using the Resurrection Stone. Both James' and Lily's spirits had "loving smiles on their faces" and told their son that they were tremendously proud of him, for being so brave and strong despite all the suffering and pain that he had been forced to endure, and gave him the support he needed to sacrifice himself to Voldemort. Harry described their presence as his courage, the very reason why he was able to keep putting one foot in front of the other, with his mother smiling at him, and his father nodding encouragement.

Albus Dumbledore maintained that Harry's greatest strength was his love for his parents and the love they had for him, and in part, this literally translated to the protection afforded to Harry by his mother's sacrifice. Harry eventually named two of his children after his parents, a gesture that clearly stated that he would always keep the memory of his parents alive and honoured. It is seen that both his parents call him a name of affection, as James calls Harry "son" and Lily calls him "sweetheart", it is very possible that they had a nickname for Harry when he was a baby.

Petunia Dursley
After James and Lily were murdered by Lord Voldemort, Harry was taken in by his maternal aunt, Petunia Dursley. Petunia had not been fond of her late sister, jealously and bitterly regarding her as a "freak" for her magical abilities. She took out her resentment on Harry, treating him poorly and depriving him of affection. When Harry was finally told about his wizarding background, Petunia admitted she had always feared he would turn out "like his parents".

Though after years of neglect, Harry did not particularly care for his aunt either, he was concerned enough for the Dursleys to push them to go into hiding during the height of the Second Wizarding War. Just before departing, Petunia gave her nephew an odd, tremulous look, and seemed to want to say something more to him than goodbye, but ultimately just shook her head and left. She had wanted to wish him luck, and admit that her loathing of him and his world was born out of jealousy, but years of pretending that "normal" was best had hardened her too much.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry was browsing through the repressed memories of Severus Snape that were given to him after the latter's death at the fangs of Nagini and explained Snape's true loyalties. In addition, Harry viewed many memories of Petunia as a child, and discovered the real reasons for her deplorable treatment of him: Petunia, as a child, was jealous of her sister for her magical abilities, and had written to Albus Dumbledore to accept her into Hogwarts so that she could learn magic herself. When this request was denied, Petunia responded by furiously rejecting the wizarding world in general and her sister in particular. However, Harry was more concerned with uncovering Snape's loyalties at the time. It is unknown if he ever revealed this information to anyone after the War.

Dudley Dursley
Harry and his cousin Dudley did not get along very well for most of their early lives. While Vernon and Petunia treated Harry poorly, they spoiled Dudley to the extreme. Dudley constantly bullied his much smaller cousin throughout their childhood, but did his best not to provoke him after he found out that Harry was a wizard, though the two still got into an occasional argument and trading of insults.

This changed after Harry saved Dudley from a pair of Dementors that attacked them during the summer of 1995. When the Order of the Phoenix placed the Dursleys into hiding to keep them safe during the height of the Second Wizarding War, Dudley was the only member of the family to express concern for Harry's safety, asking his parents why Harry was not accompanying them and where he would go, if not with them. He also expressed remorse for his prior treatment of Harry, and the two shook hands before the Dursleys left.

The cousins eventually reconciled as adults, remaining on "Christmas card terms" and visiting each other occasionally. At these times, Harry's three children and Dudley's children would all play together while their fathers would sit together quietly.

Vernon Dursley
Vernon Dursley became Harry's uncle through Vernon's marriage to Harry's Aunt Petunia. Harry lived with the Dursleys after Albus Dumbledore appealed to Petunia and convinced her to take Harry in following the death of the Potters. Vernon seemed to resent this fact as much as, if not more than, his wife; he and Petunia begrudged Harry all but the meanest comforts, even forcing their nephew to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs until shortly before Harry's eleventh birthday. After Harry discovered his magical abilities, Vernon tended to take offence whenever Harry used words related or pertaining to magic in the house. Vernon rarely referred to Harry by name, instead referring to his nephew by pronouns or "[The] boy". Vernon seemed to take particular pleasure in showing Harry all he was missing, while simultaneously spoiling and indulging Harry's cousin, Dudley.

In 1995, when Harry and Dudley were attacked by Dementors, Vernon demanded that Harry leave, thinking it the only way to protect his family from Lord Voldemort, though Petunia disagreed after receiving a Howler from Dumbledore. In 1997, Harry and the Dursleys parted ways, thus ending the protection placed on Harry by his mother's sacrifice for as long he had a "home" with his blood relatives, or until he came of age. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley were hidden by the Order of the Phoenix, to be protected from the Death Eaters, while Harry was transported to the Burrow prior to searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes. Vernon almost shook Harry's hand, but changed his mind and left the house quickly. It is unknown if the two ever met again.

Marjorie Dursley
Marge Dursley was Vernon's sister, whom Harry was forced to call "Aunt Marge" despite only being indirectly related to her, and despite the fact that Marge, in fact, hated Harry. She seemed to resent Harry's parents for having "left Harry to be a burden on their decent, hard working relatives", and called his mother the "bad egg" of Petunia's family, while assuming his father was a "good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger" after Vernon told her James had been unemployed.

She spoiled Dudley, giving him gifts and money, while she gave Harry dog biscuits, and was overjoyed to think he was being regularly beaten at St. Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. In 1993, Harry lost control of his magic, and inflated Marge like a balloon after she insinuated that Harry's parents had died as a result of their driving while drunk. She was found floating near a chimney in Sheffield, and her memory was modified by the Ministry of Magic; had the Wizarding community not been in a panic about Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban, the incident could have resulted in serious trouble for Harry.

Sirius Black
Filling in as a paternal figure or an uncle (unlike Uncle Vernon), Sirius Black was Harry's godfather, as well as his most trusted confidant. When Harry's scar hurt in 1994, he acknowledged that he could tell and ask Sirius anything without feeling foolish, hesitant, or uncomfortable. During Dolores Umbridge's dictatorial rule over Hogwarts during the 1995–1996 school year, Sirius supported Harry's rebellion against her, telling Harry that he and James would have done the same thing. He also supported Harry's plan to teach students practical defensive magic.

When Harry first met Sirius, he wanted to kill Sirius for the betrayal of his parents. When the truth was revealed that Peter Pettigrew had been the one who sold the Potters to Lord Voldemort, Sirius still showed immense guilt, because it had been his idea for Pettigrew to become the Potters' Secret Keeper.

Harry, for his part, became very protective of Sirius. Knowing that the Ministry believed him guilty of mass murder, Harry refused to put Sirius in danger if it could be avoided. When Harry was mysteriously entered into the Triwizard Tournament, he tried everything to convince Sirius to remain in hiding instead of returning to England. During Umbridge's year at the school, Harry asked Sirius not to come to Hogsmeade as Padfoot, since he did not want to risk Sirius getting thrown back into Azkaban; while Sirius obeyed Harry's wishes, he observed that James would have been willing to take the risk.

When Sirius was killed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry at first refused to believe he was dead. Harry was completely devastated by Sirius's death; for the following months, Harry avoided talking about Sirius if he could; whenever the subject came up, he would distract himself in some way to avoid joining the discussion. Very fortunately, Harry was able to move on with his life after a short period of grieving, knowing that Sirius would not want him to shut himself away or crack up. When Harry prepared to sacrifice himself to Voldemort in 1998, Sirius was one of the spirits he summoned using the Resurrection Stone. Sirius assured Harry that dying was "quicker and easier" than falling asleep.

Sirius also was the one who gave Harry his first toy broomstick, as a year old baby. In a letter to Sirius, Harry's mother thanked him and described James's impression that Harry would be a "good Quidditch player." Sirius later gave Harry another broomstick, the Firebolt, as thirteen years's worth of presents from his godfather.

Harry would name his eldest son after James and Sirius.

Ron Weasley
Ron Weasley became Harry's best friend during their first year at Hogwarts. Ron, along with his mother, brothers, and sister first met Harry at King's Cross Station, when Harry was unable to find platform 9¾. Ron sat across from Harry during the train ride and the two almost immediately bonded over the ample sweets Harry purchased from the Hogwarts Express food trolley, which Harry happily shared with Ron, who was unable to afford any sweets himself. Harry cemented his friendship with Ron by turning down Draco Malfoy's offer to help Harry avoid making friends "with the wrong sort", after Draco insulted Ron's family. After being Sorted into Gryffindor House together and sharing the same dormitory, the two grew even closer, and eventually gained another best friend in Hermione Granger when they saved her from a troll on Hallowe'en. As Ron was raised in a wizarding family, he was often called upon to explain customs and items that were commonplace to wizards, but completely new to Harry and Hermione, who had both been raised in Muggle society.

In the summer of 1992, after Dobby had prevented Harry from receiving any letters, Ron and his twin brothers (Fred Weasley and George Weasley) flew their father's Flying Ford Anglia to rescue Harry from Privet Drive. After spending a few days less than a month at Ron's home, Harry and Ron were supposed to return to school on the Hogwarts Express with Ron's other siblings. However, Dobby had blocked the entrance to the platform, and Harry and Ron were unable to board the train. Panicking, the pair flew the enchanted car to Hogwarts; however, they landed on the Whomping Willow and lost the car as well as broke Ron's wand. Later on in the year, when Hermione had been Petrified by Slytherin's basilisk, Harry and Ron ventured into the Forbidden Forest together, where they were rescued from a clan of Acromantula by the missing Ford Anglia. Ron also accompanied Harry down to the Chamber of Secrets the same year to rescue his sister Ginny.

Harry and Ron had a major falling out in 1994 when Harry was made a Triwizard Champion; despite knowing it to be completely contrary to Harry's character, Ron's insecurities initially led him to believe Harry had cheated in order to enter the tournament, but left Ron out of scheme to keep the resulting glory and attention for himself. However, Ron soon realised how badly he had misjudged the situation and apologised. Ron was later taken as the object Harry would "sorely miss" in the Second Task of the competition.

Harry and Ron had an even more serious falling out in 1997, when they, along with Hermione, were hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes; the negative energy within Slytherin's Locket affected Ron more severely than the other two, causing him to temporarily abandon his friends before regretting his decision, and returning to them as soon as he was able. During this outbreak, Ron thought that Harry and Hermione were in love, which momentarily disrupted Ron and Hermione's relationship.

Upon his return, Ron watched Harry follow the silver doe to Gryffindor's sword, and saved Harry's life after he jumped into a lake to retrieve it. When Harry finally opened the locket, Ron saw the part of Voldemort's soul transform into a supposed Harry and Hermione kissing, and it almost led him to believe that the imagined relationship between Harry and Hermione was real. However, Lord Voldemort underestimated how strong Ron really was, and so the locket was destroyed when Ron plunged the sword of Griffyndor into it and overcame his fears and worries. The hardships Ron and Harry faced together served to reinforce their bond, and they remained friends for life. Ron's fierce loyalty and sense of humour often helped Harry relax and have fun even in the darkest times of his life.

The two were like brothers, and would eventually become brothers-in-law when Harry married Ginny. Ron was an uncle of Harry's three children and became godfather to Harry and Ginny's eldest son, James Sirius Potter. Harry also had a niece, Rose Weasley and a nephew, Hugo Weasley, through Ron's marriage to Hermione. It can be assumed that out of all his nieces and nephews that Harry's closest to Ron and Hermione's children, it's also every likely that he might be godfather to one or both of them.

Hermione Granger
Harry and Ron initially found Hermione Granger to be stuck-up and arrogant. Eventually the three became best friends after Harry and Ron saved her from a troll in 1991. Hermione in turn, lied to keep them from getting in trouble. Her quick mind was at times the only thing that saved the three friends from potential failure in both life-threatening and everyday situations. Out of concern for her friend, Hermione often chided Harry for his recklessness; though this occasionally put some strain on their relationship, it often served to keep Harry on track, such as when he briefly considered pursuing the Deathly Hallows instead of the Horcruxes.

Hermione was always with Harry and was fiercely protective of him, from snapping at Lavender Brown when she doubted Harry's claim that Lord Voldemort returned to interceding when Dolores Umbridge was about to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry. Hermione stood by Harry even when Ron doubted him during the Triwizard Tournament, accepting his story "without question". She also stood by him when Ron temporarily left them in 1997, despite her own romantic feelings for Ron. Harry, for his part, was quick to defend Hermione against Cho Chang, Draco Malfoy, and others who insulted her. He was also known to protect her physically on instinct when in dangerous situations. Hermione even saved Harry's life twice in 1997, first during the attack at Godric's Hallow on Christmas Eve and again during the ambush at the Lovegood house.

Though their friendship remained entirely platonic, at times their closeness engendered jealously or curiosity in others; especially those who had feelings for one or the other, including Cho Chang, Viktor Krum, and even Ron. When the two were briefly alone together during the search for the Horcruxes, Harry and Hermione experienced some "charged moments," in which the two "shared something very intense". It's also been stated that "in some ways Hermione and Harry are a better fit" than her and Ron. However, the two choose not to act on those moments and each remained devoted to Ginny and Ron, respectively.

As Harry himself described, Hermione was one of two of his best friends, akin to a sister. The two were also close enough to share their feelings with one another before sharing those feelings with their significant other. They provided the other with comfort and support when in emotionally stressing situations, as shown when Harry brought Hermione her possessions, when she left them behind in Transfiguration class after a nasty row with Ron. After Sirius Black's death Hermione proceeded to keep a close eye on Harry, looking for signs of distress that usually come with the loss of a loved one.

Through Hermione's marriage to Ron, and through Harry's marriage to Ginny, Hermione became his sister-in-law. She was also an aunt to his children and the godmother of his oldest son, James Sirius Potter. Harry also had a niece, Rose Weasley and a nephew, Hugo Weasley, through Hermione's marriage to Ron. It can be assumed that out of all his nieces and nephews that Harry's closest to Hermione and Ron's children. It's also every likely that he might be godfather to one or both of them. Harry's son Albus is shown to have a close relationship with Ron and Hermione's oldest Rose and Lily a close relationship with Hugo. Harry and Hermione also saw their children off to Hogwarts together in 2017 standing side-by-side waving and watching the train disappear.

Ginny Weasley
Simply put, Harry was the love of Ginny Weasley's life. At age eleven Harry saw Ginny for the first time at King's Cross Station in 1991. However they did not formally meet until the summer of 1992, at which point it became blatantly clear that Ginny had a huge crush on Harry. Though the feeling moderated over time, until 1995 she was too shy and nervous around him to speak to him comfortably. She became even further embarrassed after Harry saved her from the Chamber of Secrets in his second year, when she had been possessed by a fragment of Voldemort's soul. Hermione helped Ginny by advising her to be more like herself around Harry, and perhaps even see other people. Ginny took this advice, and Harry came to see her as she truly was: strong-willed, funny, stubborn, and compassionate.

The two became good friends in Harry's fifth year. The same year Harry started to enjoy her company as much as Ron or Hermione's, and she was also able to tell him to shut up and cheer up during his depression. Ginny would also defend Harry whenever she felt it was needed, such as; in 1992 when she stood up to Draco Malfoy and told him "to leave [Harry] alone". She also told off Blaise Zabini in 1996 when he insulted Harry and even stood up to Hermione, her close personal friend in defence of his use of the Sectumsempra curse on Malfoy. In 1997 she told off her then boyfriend Dean Thomas for laughing at the fact that Harry was injured by Cormac McLaggen during a Quidditch match.

On 11 July 2014, Rita Skeeter remarked that Harry was "publicity-hungry" — just as Ginny was approaching and Rita was taken "unaccountably ill" with what some called "a jinx to the solar plexus". Ginny was also possessive of Harry seen when she was visibly displeased with the attention Gabrielle Delacour paid him at Bill and Fleur's weeding, and spoke up when his ex-girlfriend, Cho Chang, volunteered to take Harry to see Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, insisting that Luna take him instead.

After his relationship with Cho "fell apart" and Harry spent a good deal of time with Ginny at the Burrow in the summer of 1996, Harry's feelings for Ginny began to deepen and change. In his first potions class with Horace Slughorn, the love potion Amortentia revealed he was attracted to "something flowery he had smelled at the Burrow", which later turned out to be Ginny's hair. After witnessing her kissing Dean Thomas, Harry started to feel jealous and fantasise about kissing her himself, although he determinedly tried to convince himself that his feelings for her were "elder-brotherly". He began having dreams about her of a seemingly intimate nature, even reflecting once that he was very glad that Ron could not perform Legilimency. One of the many reasons that Harry fell in love with Ginny is that she is rarely weepy, in stark contrast to Cho, who cried all over the place after her previous boyfriend was murdered.

Shortly after Ginny and Dean broke up, she and Harry spontaneously kissed at a Gryffindor Quidditch Cup victory party. The two began dating, and Harry regarded this time as one of the happiest in his life. However, after the murder of Albus Dumbledore, Harry decided to end things with Ginny, fearing that Voldemort would target her if he learned of their blossoming/growing strong romance and knowing that he would be leaving with Ron and Hermione to find Voldemort's Horcruxes. Ginny was upset, but respected Harry's decision, knowing that it was for "some stupid, noble reason" and maintained hope that he would return to her.

The two soon saw each other again during the summer while Harry stayed at the Burrow. For Harry's seventeenth birthday, Ginny passionately kissed Harry as something for him to remember her by, but they were interrupted by Ron and Hermione. The former told Harry not to "mess Ginny around", as his sister had been "pretty cut up" when Harry ended their romantic relationship, though Hermione was more sympathetic towards the two of them. The two were soon separated for months as Harry tracked down Horcruxes with Hermione and Ron, while Ginny returned to Hogwarts, but still harboured pretty strong romantic feelings for one another. After Ron abandoned his friends, Harry took to staring at Ginny's dot on the Marauder's Map, and was worried when he heard that she, Neville, and Luna had got in trouble for attempting to steal the Sword of Gryffindor for him.

When the Battle of Hogwarts broke out, Ginny was fierce in her determination to fight and give Harry time to find the lost diadem. Harry in turn wanted Ginny to stay out of the fighting, but was forced to ask her to leave the safety of the Room of Requirement when he, Hermione, and Ron needed to search it for Ravenclaw's Diadem. When preparing to sacrifice himself to Voldemort, Ginny was the last person about whom Harry thought. Harry's supposed death, the death of her one love was enough to drive Ginny to attack the incredibly powerful Bellatrix Lestrange alongside Luna and Hermione. Near the end of the battle, after Ginny was nearly murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry ran at Bellatrix rather than Voldemort, though Mrs Weasley got there first. When the battle was over Ginny was one of the first ones that rushed to hug him.

After the Second Wizarding War Harry and Ginny resumed their strong romance. Sometime between 1999 to 2002, they married and later had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna. All three of the couple's children were named in honour of family members, friends, and allies (most of whom they are named after are deceased). The couple was seen escorting their children to the Hogwarts Express in 2017. The two made Ginny's brother Ron and Hermione Granger the godparents to their eldest son and Neville Longbottom the godfather to their second son. It's unknown who Lily's godparent is, but it can be assumed that it's one of their closest friends. They also have several nieces and nephews, Harry's most likely closest to Ron and Hermione's children, Rose and Hugo Weasley.

Luna Lovegood
Harry met fellow Hogwarts student Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw, on 1 September 1995 on the Hogwarts Express. Although Harry found the younger witch rather strange, he was grateful when she told him that she believed his claim that Lord Voldemort had returned. She seemed to be one of the few students who did. Harry and Luna became friendlier through Dumbledore's Army. After they fought together in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries Luna comforted Harry over the loss of his godfather, telling him about her late mother. She holds Harry's hand in the process and they both show some feelings for each other. The following year, Harry defended Luna and Neville Longbottom when Romilda Vane implied they were not worth spending time with, whereas the previous year he found the two as embarrassment to his standing in front of Cho Chang, and he later on invited Luna to attend Slughorn's Christmas Party with him.

During the year in which Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to hunt down Voldemort's Horcruxes, Harry visited the Lovegood household, and found Luna decorated her bedroom with pictures of her five friends: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville. Harry found this sight to be very touching, and felt great affection for Luna. Upon learning that Luna was being held hostage by the Death Eaters, Harry felt greatly worried, to the point of feeling some pity for her father for attempting to turn the trio in for ransom, but had confidence in Luna surviving nevertheless. In the prelude to the final battle, Luna aided Harry in his search for Ravenclaw's Diadem, having been the one to inform Harry of its existence in the first place, and she stunned Alecto Carrow when Harry was too shocked to move, which probably saved him from being held captive until Voldemort's arrival. Later when Harry was going to sacrifice himself, he realised that Luna was one of his closest friends and one of the persons he would like to see before his death.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, Luna was the only one who noticed that Harry wanted to get away from the victory party, and created a distraction so that he could go speak with Ron and Hermione in private. The two remained friends into adulthood and Harry gave his daughter the middle name "Luna" in honour of his friend. It's also quite possible that Harry became friends with her husband (Rolf Scamander) and close to her twins, Lorcan and Lysander.

Dobby
Harry and Dobby had a very strong relationship. Dobby loved and respected him very much, to the point where he considered Harry to be his best friend. Dobby became a vitally important figure in Harry's life, and their relationship played a crucial role in Harry's ultimate defeat of Lord Voldemort. When Harry first met Dobby, he was a bit confused. Throughout the year, when Dobby made attempts to drive Harry away from Hogwarts, causing some rather unpleasant results on the way, Harry made some threats that were never followed through. Near the end of the 1992–1993 school year, Harry freed Dobby from the slavery of the Malfoy family. Lucius became enraged and intended to attack Harry, but Dobby protected him by using a defensive spell. Dobby may have realised that he underestimated Harry, as Harry managed to stop Lucius' plot and survive the Chamber of Secrets.

Dobby was appointed to work at the kitchen of Hogwarts Castle in the paid service of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, though even as a free elf, his loyalty always laid foremost with Harry. When Harry visited the kitchens and therefore Dobby, Dobby hugged him so tightly that Harry felt as though his ribs might crack. Dobby also aked if it would be alright if he vivited Harry from time-to-time, with Harry responding with an of course. Dobby visited Harry on Christmas day and presented him with a present, socks and when Harry tried them on Dobby's eyes misted with tears. In 1994, Dobby provided Harry with Gillyweed for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.

In 1995, Dobby told Harry about the Room of Requirement and how to get inside. It is a secret room inside Hogwarts castle and cannot be seen even on the Marauder's Map. Harry and his friends used the room in Dumbledore's Army's meetings and practices. When Marietta Edgecombe betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Dolores Umbridge, Dobby immediately warned Harry that the Inquisitorial Squad was going to attack, even though the house-elves had been forbidden to tell anyone, proving that he was far more loyal to Harry than to Umbridge or Hogwarts in general. When he heard, Harry ordered Dobby not to punish himself for disobeying a direct order from Umbridge.

In 1998, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Garrick Ollivander, and the goblin Griphook were captured and taken hostage at the Malfoy Manor. Alerted to their whereabouts by Aberforth Dumbledore, Dobby rescued the hostages in two groups, first Apparating Dean, Luna, and Ollivander to Shell Cottage, then returning to do the same for Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Griphook. Dobby dropped a chandelier on Bellatrix Lestrange to release Hermione from being held at knife-point, giving Ron the opportunity to take a wand and Disapparate with Hermione. Enraged by what he had done, Bellatrix threw the same silver knife at Dobby, mortally wounding him, just as he Disapparated with Harry and Griphook. Upon arriving at Shell Cottage, Harry discovered Dobby's wound and cried out for help as Dobby died in Harry's arms. Harry dug a grave without using magic and held a small funeral for the elf in the garden of the cottage. Dobby's epitaph read "HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF". After the funeral, Harry remembered the one Dumbledore had and thought that Dobby deserved one just as grand.

It was the grief Harry felt for Dobby's death that ultimately grounded him, ridding Harry of the "weird, obsessive longing" to find the Elder Wand and the resentment for how little he felt Albus Dumbledore had actually disclosed during their time together. While digging Dobby's grave, Harry reflected on all Dumbledore had said about love, all that he had foreseen, and replaced his trust in the late Headmaster. Harry then made the conscious decision to continue his pursuit of Horcruxes and not the Hallows.

Neville Longbottom
Neville Longbottom became Harry's dorm-mate in 1991 in their first year at Hogwarts.

In 1996, Harry learned that the prophecy that prompted Lord Voldemort to target his parents could have been referring to Neville. Though Harry sympathised with the fact that Neville's parents had been tortured into insanity by Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, as well as Barty Crouch Jr., he spent part of the journey to Hogwarts prior to his sixth year pondering how things could have been different if Voldemort had chosen to attack Neville, and he had become the "one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord" instead of Harry.

In the initial years, Harry was quite friendly with Neville, though he was not as close to him as he was with Ron and Hermione. Harry helped out Neville in many occasions, such as in 1992, when he advised him to stand up to Draco Malfoy who constantly bullied him. Harry and Neville became close friends only in their fifth year at school, when Neville took part in Dumbledore's Army, an organisation that Harry led and taught in opposition to Dolores Umbridge. Neville became highly devoted to the D.A. Harry's encouragement and training helped Neville not only improve his magical abilities, but gain badly needed confidence and incredible courage. He fought alongside Harry in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, where Neville saved Harry's life from the Death Eater Walden Macnair. In 1997, Neville was one of only three D.A. members who still checked their enchanted coin enough to receive Hermione's call for help prior to the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.

In 1998, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on the run, Neville re-formed Dumbledore's Army with Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, in resistance against Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow. Neville spoke out against their anti-Muggle rhetoric and habit of using the Cruciatus Curse on students. He did this regardless of the consequences, saying he noticed it always gave people hope when Harry did that. When Harry returned, Neville deferred to his leadership and summoned the rest of Dumbledore's Army, believing Harry was there to lead a revolt. Harry and Neville fought together throughout the Battle of Hogwarts, and just before Harry sacrificed himself, he left Neville with the instruction to kill Nagini, Voldemort's snake and last remaining Horcrux. When everyone believed Harry to be dead, Neville openly defied Voldemort, who tried to burn him alive with the Sorting Hat, but failed due to Harry's sacrificial protection. Using the opportunity given to him by the sudden arrival of reinforcements, Neville completed the task Harry gave to him; he drew the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and slew Nagini, destroying the last Horcrux and rendering Voldemort mortal, thus allowing Harry to finally kill him.

Nineteen years after the battle, Neville had become the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, and taught Harry and Ginny's children, James and Albus. They both remain close friends in adulthood. Harry made Neville the godfather to his second son Albus.

Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas
In addition to Ron and Neville, Harry’s room mates at Hogwarts were Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Although he was not as close to them as he was to Ron, Harry was nevertheless friendly with both of them.

Dean made a banner for Harry during his first Quidditch match, and believed him about the return of Lord Voldemort in 1995, unlike Seamus, eagerly joining Dumbledore's Army. However, Seamus eventually realised that Harry was telling the truth about Voldemort's return, he joined the D.A. and became friends with Harry again. Harry resented Dean slightly during their sixth year out of jealousy over Dean's romance with Ginny Weasley, on whom he had developed a crush. When Dean and Ginny split up, Harry's enmity lifted, though Dean then became upset when Harry kissed his ex-girlfriend soon after their break-up, in spite of this, he never seemed to carry any ill will towards Harry.

Dean, like the Trio, left Hogwarts in 1997, because he was unsure whether he was a Muggle-born or not. He was caught by a group of Snatchers, led by Fenrir Greyback, along with Ron, Harry and Hermione. During his rescue from Malfoy Manor, he was very reluctant to escape with Dobby and leave Harry behind and lived for a few days at Shell Cottage. Seamus and Dean eventually fought along with Ron in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Cho Chang
In his earlier years at Hogwarts, Harry was attracted to Cho Chang, a popular girl in Ravenclaw house and seeker of their Quidditch team, who was one year older than him. It was said that his stomach did "somersaults" whenever he saw her. During the Triwizard Tournament in 1994, Harry plucked up the courage to ask her to the Yule Ball, but was disappointed to find that she had already agreed to go with Cedric Diggory, though she seemed to genuinely feel bad about having to turn him down.

In their next year, following Cedric's tragic death, Harry and Cho grew closer, eventually sharing a kiss under the mistletoe. However, Cho was still mourning Cedric, and became unreasonably jealous of Harry's friendship with Hermione, which, compounded with Harry’s inexperience with girls, put a strain on their relationship; Harry, unimpressed with Cho's attitude and started to see her in a more negative light when the misunderstanding soured their first date's experience.

Although Harry was still attracted to Cho, his stomach reacted less violently when she was around, merely doing a "feeble lurch" rather than a somersault. The last straw was Cho's friend Marietta Edgecombe betraying Dumbledore's Army to Dolores Umbridge; Cho defended Marietta and called the jinx Hermione had placed on the D.A. parchment a "horrible trick", both of which angered Harry. The two stopped speaking to one another, and Cho soon began dating Michael Corner. However, any animosity seemed to have vanished by 1998, as Cho was among the former D.A. members who returned to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts. Just before the battle, she offered to show Harry the Ravenclaw common room, and seemed disappointed when this offer was fiercely denied by Ginny Weasley. Harry, on the other hand, did not hesitate nor argue on Ginny's insistence on taking Luna instead.

Weasley Family
Beginning in the summer of 1992, Harry came to spend many of his holidays with the Weasley family at the Burrow. Through his friendship with Ron, and his later romance with Ginny, the Weasleys became far more of a family to him than the Dursleys ever were.

Molly Weasley announced to Harry's godfather that Harry was "as good as" one of her actual sons. Her boggart was of dead family members, one after another — which also included Harry. Molly was always keen to make sure Harry was taken care of; at one point Harry noted that she "fussed over the state of his socks and tried to get him to eat fourth helpings at every meal". Her caring sometimes led her to become overprotective of Harry. She strongly objected to the Order members giving Harry information regarding Voldemort during the summer of 1995. She even went as far as to give him, for his coming of age, her brother's watch. The watch was clearly a treasured family heirloom, and reminder of how much she had already lost in the struggle against Voldemort.

Arthur Weasley was a surrogate father to Harry who like his wife treated him like one of his own children. He opened his home to Harry for months at a time and invited him to family functions. Arthur unlike most entrusted Harry with sensitive information others had felt him too young to understand. Harry once saved Mr Weasley's life, after seeing him being attacked by Nagini in the Department of Mysteries before Christmas of 1995.

When Ron was poisoned in Harry's sixth year, and Harry saved him with a bezoar, Arthur pointed out how he had saved several members of the Weasley family. He also said that it was a good day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit with him on the train in 1991.

Twins Fred Weasley and George Weasley helped Harry out numerous times. They saved him from the Dursleys during the summer of 1992 with an enchanted car, gave him the Marauder's Map in 1993, as well as volunteered to be D.A. members in 1995 and later that same year, distracted Dolores Umbridge so that Harry could use her office to communicate with Sirius Black. The twins, whom Harry regarded as close friends, were also on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with Harry for four years. Harry gave his Triwizard winnings to the Weasley twins to start Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. In their gratitude for the "start-up loan", they gave Harry products from their joke shop free of charge. Fred's death during the Battle of Hogwarts was one of the deaths that hit Harry the hardest.

Harry liked Percy Weasley the least of Ron's brothers, finding him pompous. He was however, genuinely shocked when Percy sided with the Ministry against him in 1995. Percy later came to his senses and fought alongside Harry in the Battle of Hogwarts. When Harry saw his sons off to Hogwarts, he thought he overheard Percy talking and "was glad to have the excuse not to stop and say hello", but not out of spite.

He was also friends with Bill, describing him as "cool" upon first meeting him. Harry also participated in Bill's wedding with Fleur Delacour, and lived for a month at their house, Shell Cottage. He liked Charlie, who helped him out somewhat during the Triwizard Tournament. In his first year, Harry heard many times that Charlie was a great Quidditch player, and was very happy when he and his team lived up to Charlie's reputation.

After the end of the Second Wizarding War, Harry officially became part of the Weasley family through his marriage to Ginny.

Children
Harry had three children with Ginny Weasley: James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna. The eldest James, was named after his grandfather. He possessed an outgoing personality and was a troublemaker (like his namesake), he also liked to tease his younger brother. Albus on the other hand, was quieter and more thoughtful, much like his father. Lily, the youngest, was very like her mother in regards to personality.

Harry had a very strong connection with James, even though his oldest son didn't want to show it in front of other people (especially his friends and girls). Still, Harry was permitted hugs before James boarded the Hogwarts Express.

It is shown that Harry's second son Albus liked to stay next to him and looked to him for advice and comfort. For example, when Albus confided to Harry in a "whisper that was for his father alone" how very real his fear of being Sorted into Slytherin was. Harry responded that Albus and Severus were the names of two former headmasters of Hogwarts; one was a Slytherin, and "the bravest man I ever knew". He also informed his son that the Sorting Hat would listen to the wearer's choice. Harry knew that for a fact because it had considered putting him into Slytherin; this was something Harry had not shared with any of his other children. When saying goodbye to him, Albus hugged him and appeared to be holding his arm "extremely tight". Albus also closely resembled Harry, having the same eyes and untidy hair. He also expressed an interest in Harry's past, asking why the people on Platform 9¾ was staring at Harry.

Harry and Lily love each other dearly and were seen holding hands while walking into Kings Cross, much like Lily's mother and maternal grandfather. Lily was jealous of her brothers as they boarded the train for Hogwarts, exactly as Ginny had been in 1991. Harry comforted her by reminding her that she would be joining them in two years.

Nieces and nephews
Harry had many nieces and nephews through the Weasley family. The children of Bill and Fleur were: Victoire, Dominique and Louis Weasley. James announced that he had seen Teddy Lupin kissing Victoire at King's Cross Station in 2017.

The children of Percy and his wife Audrey were Molly (named after her grandmother) and Lucy. Either Molly or both of the girls were attending Hogwarts in the 2017-2018 school year, because Percy was at King's Cross on 1 September 2017.

The children of George and Angelina Johnson, were Fred (named after his late uncle) and Roxanne.

Harry was most likely closest to Ron and Hermione's children, Rose and Hugo, as they were the same ages as Albus and Lily, respectively, and Albus was "relieved" to meet up with Rose at King's Cross. Ron and Hermione were probably close to all of Harry's children as well, and Harry's eldest son, James is their godson. It is also highly likely that Ron and Hermione made Harry their daughter's godfather.

Fleur Delacour
Harry met Fleur Delacour in October 1994; his first opinion of her was that she was a very beautiful girl who looked like a Veela. Fleur initially paid him as little attention, as she did most of the younger Hogwarts students. She was even condescending towards him, calling him a "little boy" and believed (like everyone else) that he cheated his way into the tournament for a chance at personal glory. She was also give him looks, such as when he was wiping his wand down and accidently made sparks shoot out the end. After the second task, her attitude towards him changed, when Harry saved Fleur's younger sister Gabrielle Delacour. Fleur in turn became much kinder to Harry in her gratitude. She kissed him on both cheeks as a way of saying thank you and they became good friends. After the Triwizard Tournament was completed and the students were returning home she gave Harry a goodbye. The two also mourned Cedric Diggory, a friend to them both, who was murdered by Lord Voldemort during the Third Task of the tournament.

In the summer of 1996 Fleur met Harry again at the Burrow, when Fleur was about to marry Bill Weasley, the eldest brother of Harry's best friend. While Fleur stayed at the Burrow, Harry seemed to be the only male who was unaffected by Fleur's beauty. This was possibly due to the platonic relationship that developed between them over the course of the tournament. She would often display affection for him, such as bringing him a breakfast tray while he was in still in bed and kissing him on both cheeks in a form of greeting and farewell. Like Ron and Arthur Weasley, Harry appeared to like Fleur and would defend her, much to the dismay of Molly, Hermione, and Ginny. Eventually, Fleur joined the Order of the Phoenix and in 1997 she put herself in great danger during the Battle of the Seven Potters, acting as one of Harry's decoys. She was also very loyal to Harry. When her wedding was gate-crashed by Death Eaters, she did not tell them that Harry had been there. After the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor, Harry and his friends lived with Bill and Fleur for roughly one month at Shell Cottage. While at the cottage, Fleur cared for them all, much like a mother or an older sister. Also during that time she became protective of him and, by extension, his friends.

Eventually Harry married Ginny Weasley and, though marriage, Fleur became Harry's sister-in-law. Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin, was seen kissing Victoire at King's Cross Station in 2017. Harry had two nieces and a nephew through Fleur's marriage to Bill. It's quite possible that Harry became close to Fleur's children and in return she became close to his.

Teddy Lupin
Teddy Lupin was Harry's godson and the son of Remus and Nymphadora Lupin. The couple was two of Harry's close friends. In March 1998, Remus asked Harry to be Teddy's godfather, which he happily accepted. After Remus and Tonks were murdered in the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry helped Teddy's grandmother raise him. By 2017, Harry and Teddy were clearly very close. When Harry's children wanted Teddy to move in with the Potters. Harry mentioned that Teddy had been coming to their home for dinner four times a week, and that he practically lived with them already. The Potter kids were also thrilled at the idea that Teddy, who was seen kissing Victoire (the daughter of Bill and Fleur) might officially become a part of their family.

In 1998, as Harry was planning to break in to the Lestrange Vault, he wondered if he was becoming as reckless as a godfather to Teddy as Sirius Black had been to him. With helping Andromeda raise Teddy, Harry possibly became a father figure towards him, as Harry could understand how Teddy felt without parents.

Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore was a mentor to Harry, akin to a grandfather figure. Dumbledore arranged for Harry to be rescued from Godric's Hollow after his parents' murder and left him in the care of his aunt Petunia Dursley in order to give him the benefit of the magical protection of his mother's blood.

In Harry's fifth year, he admitted to Harry that he had not told him of the prophecy concerning himself and Voldemort, because he wanted to spare Harry the pain and responsibility it would burden him with for as long as possible. Though Harry was initially furious with him for the frustration he felt for being kept in the dark, the two continued to be close. By Harry's sixth year, Dumbledore took on the role of providing Harry with additional insights into the origins of Voldemort, largely through the use of the Pensieve. He entrusted Harry with the task of getting a final, crucial memory from Horace Slughorn regarding Voldemort's knowledge of Horcruxes.

Dumbledore's death was greatly devastating to Harry, though he persevered in the impossibly difficult task Dumbledore had left him of finding and destroying each of the Horcruxes. Harry had difficulty coping with the fact that there was much Dumbledore had not told him about his history with the Deathly Hallows and Gellert Grindelwald; however, when he learned during the Battle of Hogwarts that Dumbledore had supposedly planned all along for Harry to kill himself, Harry innately showed incredible faith in his mentor by serenely accepting the task. When Harry allowed himself to be struck by Voldemort's Killing Curse, his soul entered a state of Limbo, resembling King's Cross Station, where Dumbledore was waiting to speak with him.

The fact that Dumbledore himself was there to meet Harry in a place between life and death attested to the bond of fellowship between them. They discussed all that had happened to Harry since Dumbledore's death, as well as things that had remained unsaid prior to it. At one point, Dumbledore seemed to beg for Harry's reassurance, uncharacteristically doubting some of the decisions he had made in the course of his life, which Harry easily gave him. Though Harry had felt some resentment for how little he felt Dumbledore had actually revealed of himself in their time together, Harry probably learned secrets and saw a side of Dumbledore that no one else knew during the events at "King's Cross".

Harry also had a unique relationship with the Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes; not only was Harry's wand one of the only two ever made with feathers from Fawkes's tail, but the phoenix found Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, helped him slay the Serpent of Slytherin, and provided Harry with the only known antidote to the serpent's venom: phoenix tears. Fawkes's song was a source of comfort for Harry on a number occasions before the phoenix left Hogwarts following Dumbledore's death.

Harry later named his second son Albus, after the Hogwarts Headmaster.

Draco Malfoy
"Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy."

- Harry expressing his deep distaste for Draco Malfoy

Draco Malfoy became Harry's rival almost from the moment they met at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions in Diagon Alley. Draco came from a family that believed strongly in the importance of blood purity, thus he considered himself superior to most people. He bullied and insulted Muggle-borns and Gryffindors in particular. He was bitterly jealous of Harry's seemingly effortless heroism. Despite his strong hatred towards Draco, Harry had restraint towards Draco's taunts. He occasionally had to restrain Ron Weasley (and on one occasion, George Weasley) from attacking Draco and only resorted to violence if Draco insulted someone he cared about. Draco bit off more than he could chew in his ambition to be like his father (Lucius Malfoy) when he became a Death Eater at a young age. To punish his father, Voldemort ordered Draco to assassinate Albus Dumbledore, threatening his parents' lives if he failed. Although he let several Death Eaters into Hogwarts in 1997, Draco found himself unwilling to actually go through with murdering Dumbledore, even when given the opportunity to do so.

In 1998, when Harry was brought to the Malfoy Manor to be handed over to the Dark Lord, Draco was very reluctant to identify him. During the confrontation that ensued, Harry disarmed him winning both his hawthorn wand and, unknowingly, the Elder Wand. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione saved his life twice. First against Crabbe's Fiendfyre and from a masked Death Eater.

Because of his family's switching of sides during the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco was not sent to Azkaban for his crimes. By 2017, he was married and had a son. Draco saw Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron at King's Cross Station when sending their children to Hogwarts, where he gave them a curt nod. While Draco and Harry eventually made peace, they never became friends. It is also unknown if Harry ever gave Draco his original wand back, as Harry won its allegiance and it is never stated how a wand that has been won behaves towards its original master afterwards.

Rubeus Hagrid
Rubeus Hagrid was Harry's first friend in the wizarding world. In effect, he rescued Harry twice: once from the wreckage of his destroyed home, as a baby; second, from the Dursleys to take him back into the wizarding world.

Both orphaned outsiders, Harry and Hagrid shared a bond that Harry never failed to honour. He constantly defended the half-giant against name-calling and mockery, and despite his disapproval, helped Hagrid protect various dangerous "pets" and raise his half-brother Grawp. For example in his first year Harry along with his friends helped Hagrid find baby dragon Norbert a new home, despite the risk that was involved. Harry also refused to believe Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets, even when Tom Riddle's Diary showed him the memory. Discovering Hagrid's ancestry as a half-giant did nothing to deter their friendship; Harry showed no concern to begin with, and was disgusted when Rita Skeeter revealed it via media, causing Hagrid depression.

During the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, Voldemort forced a distraught Hagrid to carry Harry's "corpse" out of the Forbidden Forest, during which time Hagrid expressed his fury with the centaurs for initially refusing to fight, prompting them to join in soon after. After the battle Harry and Hagrid shared an embrace both thankful that their friend was alive and uninjured.

In 2017, Harry's sons, James Sirius and Albus Severus Potter, were planning to meet Hagrid for tea shortly after their arrival at Hogwarts, which implied that Harry and Hagrid stayed in touch long after the war.

Minerva McGonagall
Harry had a strong relationship with Minerva McGonagall, his Transfiguration teacher and the head of Gryffindor house. Minerva showed her care for Harry ever since she, Dumbledore and Hagrid left him in the care of the Dursleys, in part because she had been quite fond of Harry's late parents. She was sort of a loving grandmother to him and expressed concern with both Dumbledore's choice trusting Hagrid to safely transport Harry to Little Whinging, and of the choice of family with whom Harry would stay. She spent hours on end spying on the Dursleys to get an insight to what life for Harry growing up would be like.It is unlikely, however, that she kept watch over Harry, as she would never go against Dumbledore's actions, no matter how much she disagreed with them.

When Harry arrived at Hogwarts, Minerva was pleased that he was Sorted into Gryffindor house. When she saw Harry on a broomstick and the natural flying abilities he displayed, rather than punishing or expelling him, she brought him to see Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, announcing that she had found their new Seeker. In her gratitude for Harry accepting the position, McGonagall bought him a Nimbus 2000 for his first Quidditch game. However, Minerva's concern for Harry did not blind her to his misdemeanours around the school. Though she often let Harry off for breaking school rules, she only did so only under life-threatening circumstances, but did not hesitate to give him detention for being out of bounds and in addition, taking points away from Gryffindor as well.

Though theirs was a typical student-teacher relationship for Harry's first three years at Hogwarts, after Harry was selected to become a Triwizard Champion, the sheer level of danger he faced seemed to warm her to him. In Harry's fifth year, McGonagall urged Harry not to give Dolores Umbridge or the Ministry any more ammunition to use against him, and she later stood up for him to Umbridge, promising to help Harry become an Auror if it was the last thing she did. Harry felt a powerful surge of anger when Umbridge later gloated that Minerva was too ill to talk to anyone after being hit in the chest with four simultaneous Stunners. McGonagall considered him a talented and likeable wizard and expressed pride at having Harry in her house. Harry in turn felt great affection for her.

When Harry secretly infiltrated Hogwarts shortly prior to the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry defended Minerva's honour against Alecto and Amycus Carrow who had been posted at the school by Voldemort. Amycus demanded to know where Harry was in the Tower and McGonagall asked why he would be there as he belonged in her house with clear pride in her voice. When Amycus Carrow spat at McGonagall, Harry was outraged to the point of attacking him with the Cruciatus Curse, and agreeing with Bellatrix Lestrange's assertion that one had to "really mean it" to perform it correctly. Although shocked by Harry's sudden appearance and his use of an Unforgivable Curse, Minerva was clearly touched. Though Minerva tried to convince Harry to flee out of concern for his safety, Minerva immediately joined Harry in retaking the castle and preparing for battle when he informed her that he was acting on Dumbledore's orders. Nearing the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, Minerva's devastation was clearly equal to that of Ron, Ginny and Hermione, when she saw Rubeus Hagrid carrying Harry's seemingly dead body. She later duelled Voldemort head on in the final battle. When the battle ended with Voldemort's death at Harry's hands, Minerva was among the first to embrace him.

Severus Snape
During his years in school, Harry's relationship with Severus Snape was nothing short of deepest mutual loathing. When Harry first saw Snape in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, he got the initial feeling that Snape disliked him; only after his first Potions lesson did Harry realise the resentment dug much deeper. Harry soon learned that Snape saw Harry as a younger version of his father — a self-centred boy who enjoyed the attention paid to him, and was "so arrogant that criticism simply bounced off him."

In 1995, after having "looked inside" Voldemort's mind, and discovering that Arthur Weasley, who was on guard duty at the Department of Mysteries, was to be killed by Nagini, Albus Dumbledore ordered Snape to teach Harry the skill of Occlumency. Occlumency would allow Harry to block his mind from Voldemort's Legilimency probing. These lessons were very tedious and trying; at one point Snape provoked Harry into casting a Shield Charm, which allowed Harry to catch a glimpse of Snape's own memories. Later, when Snape left the room to attend to Montague, Harry entered the Pensieve in order to see what memories Snape was hiding from him — which turned out to be of Snape being taunted by his father and the other Marauders, and of Snape calling Lily a Mudblood out of humiliation. This caused Harry great distress because he had never before believed a word of Snape's criticisms of James. Although humbling Harry somewhat towards Snape, they still retained a very strained and bitter relationship during Harry's remaining time at Hogwarts.

In 1994, Snape's relationship with Harry was further strained when Harry helped Sirius Black escape as Snape during that time believed that Sirius betrayed Harry's mother, whom he loved since childhood, to Voldemort. Harry, on the other hand, had learned that Sirius was innocent, having been framed by Peter Pettigrew, who was the actual culprit.

After Sirius was murdered during 1996 in the Department of Mysteries by Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry took savage pleasure in blaming Snape for his death. He believed that Snape's taunt to Sirius about his uselessness to the Order of the Phoenix was one of the main factors which caused Sirius to leave his house and fight. Harry's hatred of Snape reached its height in 1997 when he discovered that Snape had told Voldemort about the prophecy involving him, which led Harry to believe that Snape had betrayed his parents. Harry raged at Dumbledore for trusting Snape, only to have Dumbledore silence him. Later the same night Snape killed Dumbledore, which only seemed to confirm what Harry had come to believe about his former Potions master, resenting Snape almost as much as he resented Voldemort himself.

In 1998, Harry witnessed Voldemort order the death of Severus Snape, in an attempt to gain the allegiance of the Elder Wand. Despite his hatred of his former teacher, he still felt sorry for the way Voldemort had killed Snape without even feeling sorry for taking his life. As Voldemort left Snape mortally wounded by Nagini in the Shrieking Shack, Harry was able to obtain several memories that contained not only the truth about Snape's motives and unwavering allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix, but relayed a crucial message from Dumbledore. What Harry discovered about Snape's persistent love for Lily Evans also explained Snape's final act: he had instructed Harry to look at him, so he could die looking into the eyes Harry inherited from his mother.

By 2017, Harry considered Snape to be one of the bravest men he had ever known, and gave his second son, who was the only one of his children to inherit Lily's eyes, the middle name "Severus". Harry ensured that Snape's portrait eventually found its rightful place among Hogwarts's previous headmasters.

Ironically, the two shared many similarities that neither of them were aware of. Both were half-blood wizards who grew up among Muggles. Both of their Muggle caretakers were cruel to them (Snape's father was implied to be abusive to Snape and his mother, while the Dursleys were neglectful towards Harry). Both Snape and Harry's childhoods involved Petunia (Snape was friends with Petunia's sister Lily, while Harry was Petunia's nephew). Both grew up wearing secondhand clothes (however, Snape was likely forced to wear them due to his family's poverty, Harry's relatives were simply reluctant to afford any major expenses on him). In addition, the two grew up virtually friendless until attending Hogwarts (Snape due to his unstable family life and secondhand clothes, Harry due to his relatives isolating him).

Upon entering Hogwarts, Snape and Harry were bullied mercilessly; in Snape's case, by the Marauders, and Harry by Snape himself, Draco Malfoy, among others. Furthermore, both had at least one near-death experience during their Hogwarts: Snape was nearly killed in an abortive prank by the Marauders, while Harry repeatedly had Voldemort attempting to kill him. However, both Harry and Snape had at least one silver gleaming: their attraction to a redhead (Lily Evans and Ginny Weasley, respectively). Of course, Snape did not marry Lily (who married James and mothered Harry), while Harry himself did marry Ginny (with whom he had sired a child named Albus Potter).

Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart was Harry's Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in Harry's second year. Lockhart was a very handsome and famous author, who claimed he had done great deeds, but had in fact only taken credit for the deeds after erasing the memories of the actual doers: his only skill. Lockhart was extremely vain and highly self-obsessed; he assigned all of his own, very expensive, books for his class. Lockhart continually pulled Harry into the limelight against his will, often implying that Harry hoped to be as famous as Lockhart, which caused Harry a great deal of embarrassment and irritation.

In addition to this, Lockhart was an utterly incompetent teacher, a fact that became apparent to Harry during his first lesson with the author. After setting an irrelevant, narcissistic half-hour test, Lockhart released a cage of Cornish pixies into the classroom without giving any sort of instructions on how to control the creatures, and, in the resulting havoc, went on to instruct Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger to round up the creatures after his own attempt had failed. At one point during the year, Lockhart's ineptitude caused unnecessary harm to Harry when, in a misguided attempt at first aid for a bone fracture, he used a spell that removed all the bones in his arm. This forced Harry to endure a painful night in the hospital wing on a course of Skele-Gro. This, combined with the fact Lockhart had arrogantly ignored Harry's refusal of treatment, soured their relationship further.

When Ginny Weasley had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets, Lockhart boasted that he knew exactly how to enter the Chamber and defeat the monster within; though McGonagall only challenged him to do so in order to shut him up, Harry and Ron, who actually did know how to get into the Chamber, tried to tell him what they knew, only to find him packing his things and getting ready to flee. At this point, Lockhart admitted the truth about his "accomplishments", bringing Harry's contempt for the incompetent, arrogant narcissist to boiling point. In the tunnels to the Chamber of Secrets, Lockhart attempted to erase Harry and Ron's memories, but fortunately for everyone except him, Lockhart attempted to cast the Memory Charm with Ron's broken wand, and the charm backfired. Harry, Ron, and Hermione encountered him again, with absolutely no memories but still using his battered peacock feather quill, as a permanent resident of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Harry didn't have much sympathy for Lockhart for the attempt was all Lockhart's fault to begin with.

Sybill Trelawney
As Sybill Trelawney had a tendency to predict various grim deaths for Harry every Divination class, Harry was not especially fond of his Divination professor. Though most of Trelawney's predictions were nonsensical, in 1996, Harry learned it was Trelawney who had made the prophecy about him and Voldemort, and another in 1994 regarding the return of Peter Pettigrew to the service of Voldemort, though she was completely unaware of having done so.

Though Harry was not a huge fan of the subject, in general, Harry liked the other Divination professor, Firenze, a centaur who had saved Harry's life in 1991. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry saw Trelawney spiking crystal balls at the invading Death Eaters.

Despite his general dislike of Sybill for being mostly a fraud who kept annoying him with nonsensical predictions of his death, Harry was nevertheless disgusted when Dolores Umbridge dismissed the Divination professor for inadequate performance, a dismissal that was utmost cruel and unceremonious.

Remus Lupin
Harry's simple student-teacher relationship with Remus Lupin quickly developed into a strong friendship. A friendship that was akin to one that a kind, loving uncle and his favourite nephew would share.

Harry first met Remus when he was an infant. They met again in 1993 when Remus saved him from the Dementors on the Hogwarts Express. Remus had been appointed the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts for the 1993-1994 school year. He soon became Harry's favourite professor as well as a mentor. It was suggested that Remus' classes were how Harry discovered his extraordinary talent for Defence Against the Dark Arts. When Harry continued to be badly affected by Dementors, Remus agreed to give him private lessons to teach him the Patronus Charm. It was during these lessons that Harry discovered that Remus was one of his parents' oldest, dearest friends. Although Remus attempted to maintain a teacher-student relationship with Harry, he did act more as a close friend or a beloved uncle at times; with him answering his questions patiently, sharing Butterbeer after a private lesson, assisting him in avoiding trouble with Professor Snape and even returning the Marauder's Map to Harry once he was no longer a professor. Harry in turn, became deeply fond of Remus and was upset to hear of his resignation after Snape exposed him as a werewolf. He even attempted to try and talk him into staying on at Hogwarts but, it was futile, though Remus told him that it had been a real pleasure teaching him, and assured him that they would meet again.

The two indeed met again in the summer of 1995 when members of the Advance Guard of the Order of the Phoenix arrived to pick up Harry from Privet Drive. Although initially wary of intruders, Harry relaxed on learning of Remus's presence in the group, indicating that he still trusted his father's old dear friend despite a year without contact. During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Remus protected Harry and Neville Longbottom from an attack by Lucius Malfoy and saved Harry's life by preventing him from running into the Veil in the Death Chamber in an attempt to save his godfather, Sirius Black.

Remus's undercover assignment with the werewolves prevented him from maintaining contact with Harry in the wake of his godfather's death, something about which he expressed regret. On the few occasions that they saw each other during Harry's sixth year, Harry was worried about Remus's increasingly haggard and gaunt appearance. He displayed a protective streak towards Remus, expressing anger over his forced resignation from Hogwarts and the general perception of werewolves.

In 1997, Harry was thrilled to hear of Remus's marriage to Nymphadora Tonks and was puzzled by Lupin's increasingly worried appearance. He was outraged when Remus temporarily left his wife for fear of their then unborn child becoming a werewolf. While Harry maintained his stance on their argument, he deeply regretted the harsh words he said to Remus in his anger. When Teddy Lupin was born, Harry was relieved that Remus had clearly forgiven him, and was overwhelmed but delighted to be made Teddy's godfather. Remus also spoke about Harry on Potterwatch, saying that if Harry could hear him he would tell him to trust his instincts which were "nearly always right". This deeply affected Harry who was then informed by Ron that Lupin was back with Tonks, having apparently listened to what Harry had said despite the way he said it.

Of all the people who died during the Battle of Hogwarts, Remus's death along with those of his wife and Fred Weasley, were the ones that hit Harry the hardest. Remus was one of the spirits that was summoned by the Resurrection Stone to speak to Harry and give him the support he needed as he walked to what he believed was his death, indicating the almost familial bond between Remus and Harry.

In his copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Harry wrote in the werewolf entry that they "aren't all bad". He and Teddy became very close after the war. Harry and his family had dinner with Teddy four times a week and Harry's children hoped that Teddy would either be married into the Weasley-Potter family, or Harry would ask Teddy to move in with the Potters.

Dolores Umbridge
Harry disliked Dolores Umbridge from the moment he first laid eyes on her, which was shortly before she voted in favour of Harry's undeserved expulsion from Hogwarts; her voice made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and his hate for her boiled for reasons he could not explain at first. In the summer of 1995, Umbridge sent two Dementors after Harry and his cousin, Dudley Dursley, in an attempt to silence Harry from contradicting the Ministry of Magic's official position maintaining that Lord Voldemort had not returned to power. Harry was forced to use a Patronus to defend himself and Dudley from the Dementors, which resulted in Harry being summoned to the Ministry on the charge of using underage magic; if convicted, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts. Umbridge took part in Harry's prosecution and spoke in favour of his conviction, but Harry was cleared due to Albus Dumbledore's defence, as well as the impartiality of Amelia Bones and several other members of the Wizengamot. Though Harry was triumphant in his clearance, Umbridge kept glaring at him after leaving the courtroom, and he felt resentment for her voting his guilt.

Harry soon encountered Umbridge again when she was appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, by the Ministry. Harry was outspoken in his outrage at the Ministry's denial of Voldemort's return and their refusal to allow Hogwarts students to practise defensive magic, which Umbridge sadistically responded to by making him carve the words, "I must not tell lies", into the back of his own hand using a Black Quill. Umbridge clearly favoured Slytherin students, and presumably those who had ties to the Ministry in particular, as demonstrated by her allowing the Slytherin Quidditch team to re-form before any other, following the passage of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four, and later giving Harry and the Fred Weasley and George Weasley lifetime bans from playing Quidditch after they attacked Draco Malfoy.

Umbridge monitored all incoming and outgoing mail, resulting in the injury of Harry's owl, Hedwig, and she made it nearly impossible for Harry, Ron and Hermione to visit Hagrid at his hut. When Harry publicly recounted witnessing Voldemort's resurrection in an interview with Rita Skeeter, published in The Quibbler, Umbridge banned him from Hogsmeade trips. One by one, Umbridge was robbing Harry of his reasons to want to stay at Hogwarts.

In order to offer students the practical defensive education Umbridge was denying them, Harry formed and led Dumbledore's Army. When they were betrayed to Umbridge by one of their members, Harry was nearly expelled from Hogwarts until Dumbledore convinced Cornelius Fudge that Harry only formed the organisation on his orders. Dumbledore was forced to leave Hogwarts to avoid being sent to Azkaban, after which Umbridge took the position of Headmistress and the students took to making things as difficult for her as possible.

Umbridge attempted to have Hagrid arrested after a couple of Nifflers were released in her office, despite his obvious innocence, which resulted in his going on the run and Professor McGonagall being seriously injured and temporarily disabled at St Mungo's Hospital. With seemingly no adults left for him to turn to, Harry attempted to use Umbridge’s fire, the only fire not being monitored by the Ministry, to check on Sirius Black, after having a vision that Sirius was being tortured in the Department of Mysteries. Remembering that Severus Snape was, in fact, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry gave Snape the cryptic message, "he's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!" Umbridge nearly used the Cruciatus Curse on Harry in order to make him explain his statement, when Hermione intervened and tricked Umbridge into believing the D.A. had been building a weapon for Dumbledore in the Forbidden Forest. When Harry, Hermione, and Umbridge were confronted by a herd of centaurs, Umbridge's angry diatribe — in which she referred to the centaurs as "creatures of near-human intelligence" and "filthy half-breeds" — resulted in her being carried off into the depths of the forest.

After the Ministry finally acknowledged Voldemort's return to power, Umbridge was removed from Hogwarts. However, Harry was furious to learn later that year that Umbridge was still working for the Ministry. When Voldemort became the de facto Minister for Magic, with an Imperiused Pius Thicknesse as his puppet, Umbridge, knowingly or not, immediately showed sympathy for his agenda by taking part in the hunt for Harry Potter and branding him "Undesirable Number 1." When Harry, disguised as Albert Runcorn by way of Polyjuice Potion, met Umbridge again in 1997, she had become Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, and was cruelly interrogating and trying innocent Muggle-born wizards and witches, before sentencing them to Azkaban for "stealing magic". When Umbridge taunted a Muggle-born witch by claiming Salazar Slytherin's locket was a family heirloom and proof of her relation to the pure-blood Selwyn family, Harry stunned Umbridge in a fit of anger. Hermione replaced the locket with a decoy, after which she, Ron, and Harry proceeded to free all the Muggle-borns awaiting interrogation.

After the Second Wizarding War, Umbridge was given a life sentence in Azkaban in regards to her crimes against Muggle-borns.

Horace Slughorn
Harry first met Horace Slughorn in 1996, when he accompanied Albus Dumbledore in attempting to persuade the old Potions Master to come out of retirement. From the start, Harry was unsure how he felt about Slughorn; though he was clearly not someone with even the slightest inclination toward becoming a Death Eater, he seemed wholly more superficial and self-serving than the likes of people in the Order and most of Harry's other professors. Slughorn had a habit of nurturing and promoting students who would allow him to benefit from his connections to them later on; on the other hand, he seemed to take into account genuine merit as much status within the wizarding community, as he told Harry that his mother, who had no connections at all as a Muggle-born witch, was one of his all time favourite students.

Though he resisted, Slughorn ultimately could not pass up the opportunity to "collect" Harry, nor could he deny that there was no safer place to be than where ever Dumbledore was. Horace Slughorn resumed his post as Potions Master, and made quick work of inviting several choice students (which included Ginny Weasley, when he saw her perform an excellent Bat-Bogey Hex on Zacharias Smith, and later Hermione, the best in her year) in addition to Harry, to be a part of his Slug Club.

In due course, Harry realised that Dumbledore had not just wanted Slughorn back at Hogwarts because he needed to fill a position. During one of their private lessons, Dumbledore showed Harry a memory that belonged to Horace Slughorn, in which Slughorn was chatting with a group of Slytherin boys, including a young Tom Riddle. Riddle had apparently gifted Slughorn his favourite crystallised pineapple, was being being charming, and generally seemed to be building up to something. Indeed, when the other boys left, Riddle stayed behind, and slowly but surely made his way to his point; he wanted to know what Slughorn knew about Horcruxes. The room suddenly got hazy, and a voice that belonged to Slughorn but was clearly inorganic reprimanded Riddle for asking such a thing, before the memory abruptly ended.

Dumbledore told Harry that original version of the modified memory would be of vital importance in understanding exactly what destroying Voldemort would entail, and tasked Harry with retrieving it. Aside from simply being "Harry Potter", Harry had three things that would help him do what even Dumbledore apparently could not: a reputation with Slughorn as an excellent potioneer, courtesy of the Half-Blood Prince, the vial of liquid luck he had won, also courtesy of the Prince, and Slughorn's fondness for Harry's own mother. A combination of all those things, as well as a healthy dose of mead and the opportunity to collect a few vials of Acromantula venom, allowed Harry to finally collect the memory that confirmed what Dumbledore had suspected Voldemort had done to travel "farther down the path to immortality than anyone else"; created not just one, but several Horcruxes.

Slughorn also fought alongside Harry during the Battle of Hogwarts, even taking on Voldemort directly with the aid of Minerva McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Lord Voldemort
Lord Voldemort, who sought to destroy Harry ever since the boy was an infant, was Harry's most dangerous enemy. Dumbledore described the relationship between Lord Voldemort and Harry as follows: "You and Lord Voldemort have journeyed together into realms of magic hitherto unknown and untested... Voldemort wrapped your destinies together more securely than ever two wizards were joined in history... both kin and mortal enemy". The two wizards had their destines locked together ever since a prophecy foretelling of a child "with the power to Vanquish the Dark Lord" was made and relayed in part to Voldemort, who decided to act, to prevent it from coming to fruition. Though two infants fit the description of "The Chosen One", Voldemort believed the son of James and Lily Potter posed the greater threat, as he, like Voldemort himself, was a half-blood.

To circumvent the prophecy, Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to murder baby Harry. When Lily refused to move aside and allow Voldemort access to his true target, her loving sacrifice afforded Harry a protection so powerful it caused the Killing Curse aimed at Harry to rebound. Voldemort's body was destroyed and the fragment of soul residing within it was forced to flee and exist in a weak, spectral form. In attempting to murder Harry, Voldemort unintentionally embedded a piece of his soul and some of his own abilities into Harry, as well as effectively marking Harry "as his equal". It was only after Voldemort attacked Harry that the latter became a Parselmouth, a trait Voldemort inherited from Salazar Slytherin, as well as the ability to see into Voldemort's mind on occasion — both tools that aided Harry in bringing about the of Voldemort. As it happened, when Voldemort tried to murder Harry in the Forbidden Forest during the Battle of Hogwarts he was unable to because when Voldemort had used Harry's blood to restore his body, he had unwittingly bound Harry's life to his own. As such, the curse only destroyed the Horcrux piece of Voldemort’s soul within Harry, while Harry survived.

There are many features that both Voldemort and Harry share: both were only children who were "abandoned" at a very young age, too young to properly remember their parents. Both had grown up believing untruths about their parents (Harry was told that his parents were unemployed drunks who had died in a car accident, while Voldemort was allegedly told that his mother was from a circus). Voldemort, like Harry, never knew his mother. Although he did meet his father, he only sought him out for revenge and murdered him. Harry only vaguely remembers both his parents, being too young when they were murdered to remember anything more than vague images and fleeting feelings. However, he had been able to connect with them through objects that once belonged to them such as, his father's Invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map, his mother's letter, old photographs, and also his parents' friends. He also met their spirits via the Resurrection Stone. In addition, both boys wore second-hand clothes: Harry was given his repulsive cousin Dudley's enormous cast offs and Tom wore tatty hand-me-downs supplied by the orphanage. Both Riddle and Harry were friendless as children: Harry was kept isolated and denied a normal social life by his aunt and uncle, while Tom expressed his bitterness and loneliness by tormenting the other orphans, frightening them away.

Both Harry and Voldemort were Parselmouths: wizards who have the ability to speak to snakes. This is less coincidental than it might seem, for Voldemort actually transferred this ability to Harry when attacking him. Voldemort was in Slytherin house and the Sorting Hat almost placed Harry into Slytherin, though Harry asked to be placed in some other House, thus, making it so his choices define who he is. Both boys had followers: Tom gathered a small group of "friends" through fear, intimidation, as well as tenuous promises and then later a whole group calling themselves the Death Eaters. Similarly, many students gravitated to Harry out of loyalty and a shared cause, but also curiosity and an attraction to his fame.

The two wizards also had "twin" wands: each wand contained the same phoenix feather wand core, that is later revealed to be from Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix. As well, both boys were unaware they were wizards until about the age of eleven, even though each could make unusual things happen. Both Harry and Tom were of great interest to Dumbledore and both felt their first home was Hogwarts. In addition, both achieved greatness in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, however, each for different reasons. Both Harry and Voldemort were half-bloods, though that only matters to Tom Riddle. Both are also rule breakers: Harry, of course, feels justified when he does things like leaving his dorm after hours, entering the Forbidden Forest, as well as eavesdropping on teachers because he believes it serves a greater purpose. Tom might have engaged in similar activities, but if so, then he did this for darker and self-serving reasons, as well as without benefit of an Invisibility Cloak like Harry: while at school, Tom framed Hagrid for a girl's death, then went on to worse crimes.

However, there are also many features that set Harry and Voldemort apart: during his Sorting, Harry requested not to be placed in Slytherin. It is unlikely Tom Riddle would have made a similar request, even if he was unaware what his ancestry was. Furthermore, Voldemort never had friends, only followers who feared him or hoped to gain some reward or advantage. Harry made many friends: his dorm-mates, the Weasley family, as well as many teachers: especially Hagrid, Remus Lupin, as well as (the real) Alastor Moody. They supported Harry because they share a common belief. While both were half-blood, Harry's mother was Muggle-born, whereas Lord Voldemort's father was a Muggle.

Most importantly, Harry cared about the people around him, even pitying Draco Malfoy when the boy was ordered by Voldemort to assassinate Dumbledore. Harry had the ability to love and be compassionate, making him more vulnerable to suffering pain, but also capable of experiencing deep friendship and loyalty that helped guide him to greatness. For Voldemort, love, fidelity, or compassion are unknown and unwelcome concepts. Voldemort would demand loyalty and respect from his Death Eaters, but had little in return. Voldemort had a tendency to dispose of Death Eaters who either failed him, angered him, or were no longer of use to him. Despite literally sharing the same blood, Voldemort and Harry were also related by blood, however distantly, through their shared descent from the Peverells (Voldemort through the Gaunts and Harry through the Potters). This made them distant cousins.

It is possible that Harry won the allegiance of Voldemort's wand after the latter's death during their duel in the Great Hall. If so, it is highly unlikely Harry will ever use the wand due to his personal history with both the wand itself and its original owner.

Voldemort and Harry share some things: the same wand cores and the same family because Harry Potter is related to Tom Riddle, they are related through the Peverell brothers.

Quirinus Quirrell
The first of Voldemort's servants to try to murder Harry was his Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirinus Quirrell. Though not a Death Eater, he encountered Voldemort in the forests of Albania, and was seduced into the Dark Lord's service by promises of wealth and power. Harry found out about Quirrell's true loyalties at the end of his first year, in the seventh of the Philosopher's Stone Chambers. This news also came with the discovery that Voldemort was actually sharing Quirrell's body, and the turban Quirrell wore was, in fact, hiding Voldemort's face on the back of Quirrell's head. When Quirrell attempted to grab Harry, he found he was unable to do so without experiencing unbearable pain, due to the power of Harry's mother's sacrificial protection. Voldemort detached himself from his servant to escape the pain and fled before Albus Dumbledore's arrival because Dumbledore could have killed him, leaving Quirrell to die.

Barty Crouch Jr.
Harry first learned about the Death Eaters after the 1994 Quidditch World Cup Riot, where Barty Crouch Jr. raised the Dark Mark in the sky. At the end of Harry's fourth year, he realised that the man he thought was Alastor Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr., disguised by way of Polyjuice Potion.

Crouch attempted to murder Harry, but Albus Dumbledore, along with Professors McGonagall and Snape, rushed into Moody's office and stunned him. When Dumbledore forced Crouch to drink Veritaserum, he revealed how he had escaped from Azkaban with the help his father and dying mother, and told Dumbledore about how Voldemort had helped him overpower his father, allowing Crouch to later Confund the Goblet of Fire to declare Harry a Triwizard Champion.

Cornelius Fudge arrived at Hogwarts soon after with a Dementor for a bodyguard, and the latter subsequently gave Crouch the Dementor's Kiss. Barty Crouch Jr.'s role in the conspiracy behind the Triwizard Tournament was a key factor in Voldemort's return to full strength.

Bellatrix Lestrange
Harry felt contemptuous of Bellatrix Lestrange from the moment he learned of her torturing of Alice and Frank Longbottom, his eyes immediately drawn to her picture wherever he saw it. Bellatrix in turn hated Harry as much as he hated her. She even volunteered for the task of killing him in 1997. Throughout their encounter in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Bellatrix goaded Harry with sarcastic baby-talk, mocking him for falling for Lord Voldemort's ploy and travelling to the Ministry of Magic to save his non-present godfather. She abandoned the baby-talk, however, becoming incensed when Harry used Voldemort's name — a mark of deep disrespect in Bellatrix's eyes.

After Bellatrix murdered Sirius Black, Harry seemed to hate her as much as, if not more than, he did Voldemort. He chased her into the Atrium of the Ministry in a fit of rage, where he tried (unsuccessfully) to torture her by use of the Cruciatus Curse. He even had to restrain himself from destroying her wand, which he managed to procure during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix would later murder both Nymphadora Tonks and Dobby the house-elf in 1998, also nearly killing Ginny Weasley during the second round of the Battle of Hogwarts. In the latter incident, Harry, who had been hurrying towards Voldemort in the Great Hall, noticed the danger to Ginny's life and made a beeline for Bellatrix instead. He was beaten to her, however, by Molly Weasley's abrupt intervention.

Though she spoke disparagingly of the fact that Harry was a half-blood, and vehemently denied Harry's claims that Voldemort was the same, Bellatrix despised Harry mostly out of loyalty to her master, the man with whom she had developed an obsessive infatuation. As such, Bellatrix more or less hated anyone who challenged or threatened Lord Voldemort. Regardless of his feelings, Harry recognised that Bellatrix made a fearsome opponent; while he hated her as his godfather's murderer, he acknowledged that she was also a "witch of prodigious skill and absolutely no conscience".

As Harry's hate towards Bellatrix was prominent amongst the many other Death Eaters, he tended to focus on her whenever her picture was shown in the Daily Prophet, or when her name came up. It was due to this relationship that he saw the resemblance between Bellatrix and her younger sisters, Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks, to the point of even nearly mistaking the latter for Bellatrix herself.

Peter Pettigrew
Peter Pettigrew was once a friend of Lily and James Potter, but later betrayed Harry and his parents to Lord Voldemort, which resulted in Lily's and James' deaths and Harry being marked as the "Boy Who Lived". Harry initially believed Peter Pettigrew had been courageous for challenging the alleged traitor, Sirius Black, despite appearing so comparatively timid and weak; Harry even compared him to his own friend Neville Longbottom. As Scabbers, Harry felt that Hermione should at least feel responsible when Crookshanks allegedly ate him, when in truth Peter faked his death a second time.

After Sirius Black escaped from from Azkaban in 1993, the alleged convict made his way to Hogwarts. As Sirius was mumbling "he's at Hogwarts" in his sleep people assumed that he supposedly had the goal of killing Harry in a crazed bid that would bring Lord Voldemort back to full power. In reality Sirius was making his way to Hogwarts in order to get revenge against Pettigrew for his role in the murder of his two friends and the previous twelve years he spent in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. Sirius also worried about Pettigrew being within close proximity to Harry.

Towards the end of the school year, Black managed to pull Ron Weasley through the Whomping Willow and in to the Shrieking Shack, followed closely by Hermione Granger and an incensed Harry. When they were joined shortly after by Remus Lupin, he and Sirius revealed a completely different truth: Pettigrew had been the one to betray Harry's parents, and had subsequently framed Sirius by pretending to confront him, then faked his own death by cutting off one of his own fingers and hiding in his unregistered Animagus form as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers. Although Harry was disgusted by Pettigrew's disloyalty and cowardice, he convinced Sirius and Remus not to become murderers, and instead force Pettigrew to face justice in the hands of the Dementors. Though Pettigrew escaped, making it impossible to prove Sirius Black's innocence, Harry's decision to spare his life was not fruitless: Pettigrew owed Harry a life debt.

Pettigrew, who had fled to Albania and sought protection from Sirius in the service of Lord Voldemort, returned to Great Britain in 1994. After Harry and Cedric Diggory were transported to the Little Hangleton graveyard following the end of the Triwizard Tournament, Pettigrew murdered Cedric, bound Harry to the grave of Tom Riddle Sr., and concocted a potion using the senior Riddle's bones, one of Pettigrew's own hands, and Harry's blood, to return Voldemort to physical form. When instructed by Voldemort to give Harry back his wand, Pettigrew did so without looking at him.

In 1998, during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor, Peter Pettigrew's life debt was repaid; Harry reminded him that he had saved his life, and Pettigrew momentarily hesitated in the midst of attempting to strangle him. As a result, the silver hand Voldemort had made for Pettigrew, as a reward for sacrificing his own, saw the hesitation as sign of weakness, and turned against him. Though Ron and Harry both tried to save him, the hand ultimately strangled Pettigrew to death.

Lucius Malfoy
Harry first saw Lucius Malfoy in 1992 at Borgin and Burkes, though they didn't officially meet until Lucius got into a fist fight with Arthur Weasley at Flourish and Blotts, over Malfoy's many insults aimed at the Weasley family. Though Harry didn't know it till much later, after a good deal of damage had been done, Malfoy had used the scuffle as a pretext for handing Ginny Weasley a book that turned out to be Riddle's Diary.

Harry and Malfoy met again at the end of the same year, when Harry tricked Malfoy into freeing his house-elf, Dobby; when Lucius threatened Harry in his anger at having lost his servant, Dobby demonstrating the might of his house-elf magic to protect Harry. They would eventually meet again in the Ministry of Magic, in 1995, after which Lucius was outed as an active Death Eater and arrested. Following his failure at the Ministry, and Voldemort's discovery of the fact that Lucius had allowed one of his Horcruxes to be destroyed, Voldemort punished him by giving his son the seemingly impossible task of assassinating Albus Dumbledore.

When Harry and his friends escaped from Malfoy Manor on Lucius' watch, the Malfoys fell further out of Voldemort's favour. During the final battle, Lucius and his wife both deserted the Death Eaters, placing greater importance in the safety of their son, and Narcissa's crucial act of lying to Voldemort about Harry's supposed death insured that the Malfoy family was not sent to Azkaban.

Other Death Eaters
Throughout the Second Wizarding War, Harry encountered a number of other Death Eaters: Antonin Dolohov, who murdered the Prewetts and Remus Lupin, and almost killed Hermione Granger during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries; Travers, who murdered the McKinnons; Augustus Rookwood, who was possibly responsible for the explosion that killed Fred Weasley; Yaxley, who imprisoned innocent Muggle-borns with the Muggle-Born Registration Commission; Walden Macnair, who was violent and bloodthirsty, and almost killed Buckbeak in 1993; Alecto and Amycus Carrow, who tortured the students of Hogwarts when they had been appointed Deputy Headmasters; Thorfinn Rowle, who indiscriminately cast Killing Curses all around him during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and took part in the skirmish at the Luchino Caffe, and Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, who participated in the torture of Alice and Frank Longbottom. Lucius Malfoy, Rookwood, Dolohov, MacNair, and the Lestranges (including Bellatrix), all took part in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, along with Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle (fathers of Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle), Mr Nott, Jugson, Avery, and Mulciber.

In 1997, during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, Harry got his first glimpse of Fenrir Greyback, who was known for craving human flesh even out of Werewolf form, as well for planning his attacks by positioning himself near his intended victims prior to the full moon (typically the children of his employer's enemies). Harry, Ron and Hermione were taken hostage by Greyback and a gang of Snatchers just before the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor, during which time Greyback expressed a disturbing interest in Hermione. Though he wasn't a Death Eater, and lacked the Dark Mark tattoo, Greyback was allowed to wear Death Eater's robes whenever Voldemort made use of him.

Order of the Phoenix
Harry first heard about the Order of the Phoenix in 1995, a year after Lord Voldemort's return. The Order of the Phoenix was an organisation founded and led by Albus Dumbledore in opposition to Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War, and was reinstated at the start of the Second Wizarding War. Most of the Order members worked to the best of their ability to protect Harry, at great personal risk, throughout the Second War, for which Harry came to view many of them much like a surrogate extended family.

Alastor Moody
Harry first saw the real Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody shortly after Barty Crouch Jr. was revealed to have been keeping Moody imprisoned in his own trunk, using his hair for Polyjuice Potion, and taking Moody's place as temporary Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts for most of the 1994-1995 school year.

The real Moody brought the Advance Guard of the Order of the Phoenix to Privet Drive in 1995, to safely transport Harry to the Order's headquarters, and Sirius Black's ancestral home, at 12 Grimmauld Place. As Harry got to know Moody through his time spent around the Order, Moody proved every bit the great, albeit incredibly paranoid, wizard he was reputed to be. When Moody was murdered by Voldemort during the Battle of the Seven Potters, Harry was shocked and horrified by the abrupt end of such a skilled Auror, and shared a drink in his honour with the rest of the Order.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione infiltrated the Ministry of Magic in 1997, to steal Salazar Slytherin's locket from Dolores Umbridge, Harry found Moody's magical eye lodged in the door to Umbridge's office. Harry reclaimed the eye, though doing so ended up alerting the Ministry to the breach in security, and later buried it under "the oldest, most gnarled and resilient-looking" tree he could find, marking the spot with a small cross. Little though it was, Harry was certain Moody would prefer it to having his eye put to use spying for Dolores Umbridge.

Nymphadora Tonks
Harry and Nymphadora Tonks first met in August 1995 when the Advance Guard came to Privet Drive in order to transport Harry to 12 Grimmauld Place. From there, she became one of Harry's most valuable allies and friend. The pair immediately took a liking to each other and Harry was particularly impressed by Tonks's position as an Auror, as well as her extraordinary Metamorphmagus abilities. At the time of their first meeting Harry was intimidated by the rest of the Advance Guard, but not Tonks who was clumsy and funny. Later, during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Tonks was among the Order members that came to the rescue of Harry and his friends. Harry was later relieved to hear that she would recover from the injuries she suffered at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Their friendship grew during the next few years. In 1996, Harry hoped Tonks would be among the Aurors set to escort him to the Hogwarts Express, though she was not. Shortly after, Tonks rescued Harry on the Hogwarts Express; she performed the counter-curse to remove the Full Body-Bind Curse placed on him by Draco Malfoy, healed his broken nose, and ensured he reached safety within Hogwarts. Tonks felt sorry that Harry wasn't able to attend her and Remus' wedding in 1997. When Lupin briefly left Tonks, due to fears that the child she carried would be infected with lycanthropy like himself, Harry was furious with him for leaving his family. It was largely because of Harry's words that Lupin returned to Tonks. Nine months later in March, Tonks and Remus asked Harry to be godfather to their son, Teddy Remus Lupin. During the Battle of Hogwarts Tonks was murdered by her aunt Bellatrix, who finally succeeded in killing her "blood traitor" niece. Tonks's death, along with that of her husband, Fred Weasley, and Colin Creevey were those that hit Harry the hardest.

In honour of Tonks and her husband's memory, Harry helped Nymphadora's mother raise Teddy. Harry acted as a father figure to their orphaned son and Teddy would spend three or four nights a week dining with the Potter and Weasley families. When Harry saw his two sons off to the Hogwarts Express in 2017, James came running back to his parents to announce that he had seen Teddy snogging Victoire Weasley, which may have meant Teddy eventually became an official member of the extended Potter-Weasley family.

Aberforth Dumbledore
Aberforth was the younger brother of Albus Dumbledore. Though Harry, Ron and Hermione had known him for years as the owner of the Hog's Head, they didn't officially meet him or learn his true identity until 1998, when Harry, Ron and Hermione apparated outside of Aberforth's pub, in Hogsmeade. Harry had read about Aberforth in The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, a book Rita Skeeter had written, which described Aberforth as unlettered, rude, and bitter for having lived in the shadow of his elder brother. When the trio apparated outside of the Hog's Head, they set off a Caterwauling Charm set by Death Eaters. As the three were hidden beneath Harry's Invisibility cloak, the Death Eaters used Dementors to smoke them out; the Death Eaters recognised Harry's stag Patronus, but Aberforth claimed it was he who had set off the Caterwauling charm, and that the Patronus had actually been a goat.

Upon taking refuge in the Pub, the trio discovered Aberforth had saved their lives once before; he had been able to send Dobby to save them from the Malfoy Manor after Harry called to him through the broken shards of the two-way mirror, as Aberforth had bought Sirius' mirror from Mundungus. Aberforth advised Harry to take Ron and Hermione away from Hogsmeade, and to save himself. He told them about his family life, and that his sister, Ariana, had been so traumatised after being attacked by three Muggle boys, that she became unable to control her magical abilities. He also told them why his father had been imprisoned in Azkaban, and about the events leading up to the deaths of his mother and sister. Though Harry understood, or at least sympathised with, Aberforth's bitterness, he echoed Albus's sentiments by saying "sometimes you've got to think about the greater good!" Harry then informed Aberforth that, despite what he believed of his brother, Albus had never been free of what Gellert Grindelwald had done to Aberforth or what had happened to Ariana, referring to all Harry had heard Albus say under the effects of the Emerald Potion. After receiving this insight into his brother's mind, Aberforth showed the trio the secret passage to the Room of Requirement concealed behind Ariana's portrait.

Other OOTP Members
Before Harry had even known he was a wizard, Dedalus Diggle had met and even publicly bowed to a bemused, young Harry, much to the Dursleys confusion and disgust. In 1997, Diggle and Hestia Jones took the Dursleys into hiding under the Order's protection from Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Hestia was furious when she realised how little Harry's uncle and aunt seemed to know or care about him, and was unimpressed by Dudley's attempt at reconciliation. Though Harry was mostly amused by Dudley's declaration that he did not consider Harry a "waste of space", he probably appreciated Hestia's indignation on his behalf all the same.

Harry thought Arabella Figg was just his odd, cat-loving neighbour, until 1995, when he learned she was a Squib, and a member of the Order. She was outraged to learn that Mundungus Fletcher had abandoned his post when he was supposed to be guarding Harry, which left the boy and his cousin vulnerable when they were attacked by Dementors. Figg also participated in Harry Potter's trial, as a witness in Harry's defence. It is unknown if Figg fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, though it is likely that she did not fight, as she lacked magical powers.

Harry had learned from Moody that several members of the First Order had been killed during the First Wizarding War, including: the Prewett brothers, Edgar Bones and his family, Marlene McKinnon and her family, Caradoc Dearborn, Benjy Fenwick, and Dorcas Meadowes. In Harry's fourth year, Dumbledore told him that Alice and Frank Longbottom had been tortured to insanity and were permanently incapacitated in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, shortly after Voldemort's fall, by four Death Eaters who were attempting to discover their Master's whereabouts. Harry was later confused when he heard about the arrest of Order member Sturgis Podmore, who had apparently been attempting to break into the Department of Mysteries in 1995, but eventually realised that Podmore had been imperiused. Harry also learned about the death of Emmeline Vance in the Daily Prophet, when she was killed around the same as the murder of Amelia Bones.

Mundungus Fletcher was likely the member of the Order Harry liked least (barring, initially, Severus Snape), as he was a criminal who callously pilfered many of Sirius' inherited possessions very shortly after his death. Harry attempted to strangle Fletcher when he saw him hawking Black family heirlooms outside of the Three Broomsticks Inn, in 1996, and was disgusted to learn that Fletcher had abandoned Alastor Moody during the Battle of the Seven Potters. When Harry realised that one of the items Mundungus had stolen from 12 Grimmauld Place had been Salazar Slytherin's Locket, he ordered Kreacher, the house-elf, to catch him. Kreacher did so, and it was with reluctance that Harry stopped the house-elf from beating Mundungus senseless, in order to learn that the locket had been taken from Mundungus by Dolores Umbridge.

Augusta Longbottom, the mother of Frank Longbottom, mother-in-law of Alice Longbottom, and grandmother of Neville Longbottom, was not an original member of the Order, but she fought in both Wizarding Wars. She thought highly of Harry and his friends, and was immensely proud of her grandson. When Augusta arrived at the school to join in the final battle, she rushed off to find Neville, whom she was unsurprised to hear was off somewhere fighting Death Eaters.

Ted Tonks (Nymphadora Tonks' dad) also were not original members, but were crucial in transferring Harry safely the Burrow, after the sacrificial protection was broken. Harry seemed to liked the cheery-looking Ted Tonks immediately. After the Battle of the Seven Potters, Andromeda and Ted healed Harry's and Hagrid's injuries, before they took a Portkey to the Burrow. Harry was saddened by the news of Ted Tonks' murder at the hands of Snatchers. He later helped Andromeda raise his grandson, Teddy Lupin, after Nymphadora's and Lupin's deaths.

Cedric Diggory
Harry and Cedric Diggory, were, for better or worse, rivals throughout Harry's third and fourth years at Hogwarts. As Cedric was Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, one of their first encounters involved Cedric catching the Golden Snitch and securing the win for his team, while Harry fell off his broomstick after the Dementors guarding the school found their way onto the Quidditch pitch.

The next year, when both Harry and Cedric were declared Champions in the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric was the school's obvious favourite, as most of the students believed Harry had entered the competition illegally. Cedric also believed Harry had entered illegally and asked him how he managed to do it, but Cedric did not dislike Harry for this, as most of the school did. Though the negative attention abated slightly after Harry's stellar performance in the first task, Cedric also beat Harry in asking Cho Chang to the Yule Ball. And although Cedric remained good-natured and gracious throughout, Harry could not help feeling jealous, and even slightly insecure about the fact that Cedric "looked the part" of a Champion.

Regardless, when Rubeus Hagrid showed Harry that the Tournament's first task would involve facing dragons, Harry felt compelled to help Cedric, realising he alone would be unprepared, as both Heads of other the two competing schools had seen the dragons as well. Cedric reciprocated by helping Harry with the second task, and during the third, each had occasion to save the other's life. As, such, when they reached the Triwizard Cup at the same time, they agreed to take it together; both boys were transported to the Little Hangleton graveyard, and Harry watched in horror as Peter Pettigrew murdered Cedric on Voldemort's command to "kill the spare." When Cedric's ghostly image emerged from Voldemort's wand, which was locked in Priori Incantatem with Harry's, he asked Harry to take his body back to his parents, which Harry honoured, risking his life in the process.

Kreacher
Kreacher was the last in a line of house-elves who served the House of Black, inherited by Sirius Black and later Harry. In his fanatical loyalty to the House of Black, Kreacher mimicked the family's pure-blood supremacist views, and as such, despised Sirius for being a "blood traitor" and for supposedly breaking his mother's heart. By extension, he hated, and muttered profanities about, anyone associated with Sirius, particularly Harry and the motley crew of blood statuses that made up the rest of the Order of the Phoenix.

For his part, Sirius saw too much of the family he hated in Kreacher, and had no problem treating Kreacher with utter disdain. After the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry learned that Kreacher had helped trick Harry into going to the Ministry of Magic by pretending Sirius was not at Grimmauld Place when Harry tried to find him, and thus helped bring about Sirius's end. In his will, Sirius left everything he owned to Harry, including Kreacher. As Harry wanted nothing to do with the house-elf, but could not risk setting him free and letting any information Kreacher had about the Order fall into the hands of the Lestranges or the Malfoys, he sent Kreacher to work in the Hogwarts' kitchens.

In 1997, when Harry, Ron and Hermione hid in 12 Grimmauld Place at the start of their hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes, they discovered that "R.A.B" stood for Regulus Arcturus Black, and Harry remembered actually having seen and tried to open Slytherin's Locket in the summer of 1995. They asked Kreacher if he knew from where the locket came and what had become of it, and the house-elf was forced to reveal all that had happened between him, Voldemort, and Regulus Black; when Regulus was still a Death Eater, Voldemort told him he required the service of a house-elf, and Regulus volunteered Kreacher for the job. Voldemort took Kreacher to a seaside cave, where he ordered Kreacher to drink an emerald green potion. Kreacher was tortured by the potion, and then left to die in the hands of the Inferi; he was only able to survive and disapparate out of the cave because his master called him home. Regulus became disillusioned by Voldemort's ill-treatment of Kreacher, and soon after, deduced both the existence of Voldemort's Horcruxes and the fact that the magic that binds a house-elf to obey their master would supersede the cave's magical protections. Regulus then had Kreacher return with him to the cave, but instead of forcing Kreacher to suffer the effects of the potion again, ordered Kreacher to leave the cave with the locket, and destroy it as soon as he could. To protect Kreacher and his family, Regulus forbade Kreacher to tell any member of the family what had happened. Kreacher took the locket and attempted to destroy it, but not before watching in horror as Regulus drank the potion himself, and was killed by the Inferi.

Though he initially did not want to admit it, Harry realised that Kreacher playing a crucial role in leading Sirius to his death was something that could have, and should have, been avoided. When Kreacher finished his story, Harry, with Hermione's guidance, made an effort to show the distraught house-elf kindness, comforting him about Regulus' death and even giving him Regulus' fake locket; the miserable, wretched house-elf they had known became almost unrecognisable. Kreacher told the trio that Mundungus Fletcher had taken the locket, and gladly obeyed Harry's order — which Harry made a point of phrasing as a request — to find Fletcher and bring him to Grimmauld Place.

From that point on, Kreacher happily tidied up the house and fed the trio, until they accidentally broke the Fidelius Charm on 12 Grimmauld Place, and were forced to flee. Kreacher later led the Hogwarts house-elves, in the name of Harry, "defender of house-elves", and brave Regulus Black, in a fervent attack on the invading Death Eaters during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Andromeda Tonks
The first time Harry met Andromeda he thought that she looked a lot like her sister Bellatrix Lestrange, but with kinder eyes and lighter hair. Her resemblance to Bellatrix was such that Harry attempted to attack her, but upon realising his mistake he felt bad and apologised, as her physical comparison to her sister was very offensive to her. In April 1998 Remus Lupin asked Harry to be the godfather to his son and her grandson, stating that he and Tonks agreed that there was no one better.

After Voldemort's final downfall, Harry helped Andromeda raise Teddy Lupin. The two acted as Teddy's main parental figures. Harry respected Andromeda for her ideals and because she was Tonks' mother. It is possible that after the war they saw each other regularly and probably in such a scenario that they developed a bond because of Teddy. It is also highly likely that Andromeda herself was welcomed at Harry and Ginny's house as a dinner guest, just as her grandson was.

Cornelius Fudge
When Harry lost his temper and blew up Aunt Marge, and believing that this time he would surely be expelled from Hogwarts, Harry went on the run and boarded the Knight Bus, but ran into Cornelius Fudge, then Minister for Magic, who seemed strangely unconcerned by what Harry had done. Furthermore, Fudge treated Harry like a friend, although he did not sign Harry's letter permitting to allow him to visit Hogsmeade.

However, by 1995, the relationship between Fudge and Harry was not so rosy. Harry had witnessed Voldemort’s return to power, which he told both Albus Dumbledore and Fudge. The latter stoutly refused to believe Harry, and branded Dumbledore and Harry as liars/nutters in a smear campaign. In the summer of 1995, Harry performed a Patronus Charm to save Dudley Dursley and himself from Dementors, for which Harry was unreasonably threatened with expulsion from [Hogwarts]] and tried by the entire Wizengamot. Though Harry was cleared of all charges, thanks to Dumbledore's defence and Amelia Bones's impartiality, Fudge took his revenge by employing his undersecretary Dolores Umbridge as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. Umbridge sadistically tortured Harry when he repeatedly contradicted the Ministry’s opinion that Voldemort had not returned. In 1996, after Dumbledore’s Army was discovered, Fudge came to Hogwarts to expel Harry, but Dumbledore claimed the D.A. had been formed on his orders. Though Harry was allowed to remain at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was forced to go on the run after overpowering several Ministry officials.

Later that year, toward the end of Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Fudge arrived at the Ministry in time to see Voldemort disapparate with Bellatrix Lestrange, and was forced to acknowledge that Dumbledore and Harry had been telling the truth all along. As the wizarding community had lost all confidence in him, he was forced to resign as Minister for Magic.

Rufus Scrimgeour
Fudge's successor, Rufus Scrimgeour, did little to improve Harry's view of the Ministry. Scrimgeour asked Harry to essentially become the Ministry's mascot for the purpose of restoring public confidence, despite all they had done to Harry and the fact that Dolores Umbridge was still in their employ. Harry refused, stating he could not pretend to approve of the Ministry's methods, showing Scrimgeour the scars on the back of his hand and citing the fact that Scrimgeour was arresting innocent people like Stan Shunpike. Harry also took issue with the fact that the Ministry was not putting in enough effort in the matter of public safety.

On 1 August 1997, Voldemort and his Death Eaters took over the Ministry, and murdered the Minister after torturing him in an attempt to ascertain Harry’s whereabouts. Although Harry did not like Scrimgeour, who hardly appeared to care at all about what actually happened to Harry or his friends, he was incredibly grateful that the Minister's final act had been to protect him.