Minor Characters in Harry Potter Series Have Major Roles

The obvious major characters in J.K. Rowling's seven book Harry Potter series are Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Snape and Voldemort. But does that make the rest of the characters minor? J.K. Rowling weaves all of her many characters so tightly into her clever tale that letting go of even the most minor character would create numerous gaps in the story.

Due to the somewhat formulaic plot of each novel in the Harry Potter series, there are quite a few minor characters that play a reprisal role in the series. Each book begins in summer with Harry suffering at the Dursley residence, the home of his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley. After some drama with relatives, Harry then transitions to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry usually stopping first at the Weasley household where Mrs. Weasley reigns supreme.

There and on the train to Hogwarts Harry catches up on everything that has happened in the wizarding world over the summer. The opening feast at Hogwarts includes the ritual of the Sorting Hat and Headmaster Dumbledore's welcome to students and introduction of new faculty. The students settle into their school schedules, but very soon problems begin to present themselves to Harry and his friends. Christmas is usually a fun break from the tension and danger which awaits them when they return for their second semester.

The following characters are representative of this familiar pattern to Harry's life. Harry's cousin Dudley Dursley reflects his parents disdain for wizards and Harry. Fred and George Weasley, Ron's older twin brothers, as older students at Hogwarts provide Harry with valuable insight into the school's inner workings. As the first character to visit Harry at the Dursleys, Dobby connects Harry's life outside of the wizard world to the reality of his importance to wizards. And from year to year Ron Weasley's younger sister Ginny grows up as Harry becomes increasingly more aware of girls.

If given the opportunity, Harry Potter himself might divide the series' characters into five categories: enemies, friends, mentors, informants, and girls. Before arriving at Hogwarts, Harry's number one enemy is his cousin Dudley. He is an overweight spoiled brat who gets everything he wants while Harry wears his hand-me-downs. After Harry's first year at Hogwarts though, Dudley no longer seems so formidable especially since Dudley shares his parents' fear of magic.

In the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Aunt Petunia disciplines Dudley for the first time in his life by putting him on a diet. Harry silently enjoys Dudley's suffering but does not gloat too much. A year later in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix an in-shape Dudley has taken up boxing. His gang terrorizes the neighborhood kids.

Then Harry saves his cousin from the kiss of a dementor. This is the beginning of a change in Dudley's attitude towards Harry. It is not a Hallelujah kind of change. But the beauty of Rowling's characters is that they are consistent yet often surprising, and even the minor ones develop.

The ghosts of course cannot change. They float around Hogwarts butting into conversations and giving information and advice when they please, all except Peeves. Peeves does not fit anywhere. According to the ghosts, he is not even really a ghost. He is a Bart Simpson type poltergeist. He writes rude words on the blackboards and wreaks havoc when he is upset.

Yet the fact that Hogwarts tolerates the presence of Peeves demonstrates what a unique school it is. What can a Peeves do that a wizard or witch professor cannot instantly fix? In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone the students sing the school anthem. The last stanza is:

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot. (128)

Hogwarts is not the kind of school where the mediocre get by. Every student owns a wand and is being taught to use it. There is definitely incentive for students to pay attention in a place where boys like Draco Malfoy have way more power in the spoken word than Dudley Dursley has in his fists. So the school anthem shows an educational philosophy that encourages student independence. No wonder this fantasy book is hugely popular with American children.

Fred and George are exactly the kind of Hogwarts students that would not survive any other school. They are also two of the most consistent minor characters in the series. They are the somewhat stereotypical twins who are always causing trouble. But their trouble is the kind that only jokester wizards could pull off.

Fred and George are always where the action is, always together. Their particular skills obtained for them a Marauder's Map, a very useful tool for navigating around Hogwarts. Harry inherits the map from them when the twins feel he needs it more. Without help from Fred and George and many other characters, Harry might never have overcome the tasks destined for him.

Dobby the Malfoy's house-elf is one such helper. He is an informant turned into a friend by Harry's kindness. He first appears to Harry in the second book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. During Harry's first summer away from Hogwarts, Dobby has prevented Harry from receiving mail from his friends. He hopes to discourage Harry from returning to Hogwarts where Harry will be in danger.

Of course, Dobby's plan does not work. Harry would go through hellfire to get away from the Dursleys. Hogwarts is Harry's true home. Later Dobby also makes his home at Hogwarts when as a freed house-elf he cannot find any work with wizard families. Then Dobby is in even better position to aid his beloved Harry.

Ultimately, the Harry Potter series is about growing up. And a big part of the maturation process includes learning how to deal with the opposite sex. At Hogwarts one of Harry's two best friends is Hermione, but Harry does not see her as a girl. The one who intrigues him is Cho Chang. Cho, however, is crushing on Cedric Diggory.

Meanwhile, Ginny Weasley has an infatuation for Harry that she gives up on for lack of any interest on Harry's part. When Harry finally does open his eyes to Ginny, she has a boyfriend and then another boyfriend. Yet Harry is often around Ginny, and she is so much like her indefatigable mother. The boy who has defeated monsters cannot give up so easily in his personal life.

Each minor character is its own thread in the fabric that makes up the Harry Potter series. A character like Dobby may seem to have disappeared but then pops back up in another book. Some characters like Ginny do not see much action but are part of the conversation and gossip between Harry and his friends. The details of their lives are sub-stories in the plot. Characters like Fred and George and the poltergeist Peeves provide comic relief and sometimes advance the plot.

Even that knucklehead Dudley Dursley cannot be forgotten. We forgive as Harry forgives. Without Dudley readers would not see the true good natured heart of Harry Potter who proves that love does indeed conquer all. In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series there are no minor characters.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1997.

-----. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1999.

-----. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2000.

-----. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2003.