The 5 Most Evil Characters in the Harry Potter Series

Ever find yourself rooting for the bad guys? Okay, even if you never have, you must admit that evil characters can make or break a film or novel. The Harry Potter series is populated with any number of intriguing and wholly unique characters, both good and evil. However, this article will concentrate on the latter. Here are the top 5 evil characters in the Harry Potter series.

One. Severus Snape. All right, so the jury is still out on whether Severus Snape is truly good or evil, but Harry Potter himself has acted upon the assumption that Snape is evil from the start. And evidence in the penultimate Harry Potter novel seems to suggest as much. And even if Snape does turn out to be a sheep in wolves' clothing, he made a delicious bad guy. With his greasy black hair and his sinister snare, Severus Snape seemed to jump off the page and off the silver screen. Definitely one of the top 5 evil characters in the Harry Potter series.

Two. Draco Malfoy. Harry Potter's school-age nemesis has had Harry Potter fans nervous from the start. Draco Malfoy, son of the Death Eater Lucious Malfoy (and now a Death Eater himself?) is seemingly always up to something. And unlike most school-age bullies, Draco Malfoy is more than capable of killing. Draco may not yet have the body count to prove it, but he is certainly one of the top 5 evil characters in the Harry Potter series.

Three. Bellatrix Lestrange. Even this witch's name can make your spine tingle. A member of the Black family, Bellatrix Lestrange is one of Voldemort's most fearsome Death Eaters, and she was the first female Death Eater introduced to Harry Potter fans. Bellatrix Lestrange is also one of the group that tortured Auror Frank Longbottom and his wife Alice (Neville's parents) into madness. For all that and more, she ranks among the top 5 evil characters in the Harry Potter series.

Four. The Dementors. Collectively, the Dementors are perhaps the single most frightening characters in the Harry Potter series. These creatures, adorned in dark, hooded cloaks, suck the soul out of your body, and they were once the guardians of the wizard prison Azkaban. Now it seems they have joined Lord Voldemort, and a terrific match they do make. So practice your patronus charm.

Five. Voldemort. You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This dreaded character is evil incarnated, a true villain for the ages, who ranks right up there with Darth Vader, Goldfinger and Khan. His name alone strikes fear in wizards both good and evil. And I would be remiss not to mention his name (or some version thereof) in my list of the top 5 evil characters in the Harry Potter series.