It's been more than fifteen years since the release of the final Harry Potter book, yet the franchise remains just as popular as ever. Not only did the early 2020s see the release of a new wizarding world-inspired open-world RPG in the form of Hogwarts Legacy, but also the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts spinoff series. With this in mind, only a fool would bet against there being more to follow in the years to come.
Despite Harry serving as the central character in the books and movies, he's far from the strongest wizard to feature in them. Many of the supporting cast have proven themselves to be far more capable than the young wizard on multiple occasions and there are plenty of other powerful witches and wizards mentioned elsewhere in Harry Potter lore as well.
Updated March 8, 2023, by Tom Bowen: There's a lot to love about Hogwarts Legacy: an open-world RPG set deep in the heart of the Wizarding World. Perhaps the most tantalizing thing about the game is the chance to learn more about the series' rich lore, which is something that's skipped over quite a bit in both the movies and many of the earlier Harry Potter games. The likes of Harry, Ron, and Hermione don't appear in Hogwarts Legacy, but the game does introduce plenty of new characters, some of whom are among the most powerful witches and wizards in the Harry Potter universe.
12 Harry Potter
He may be the titular character, but Harry is far from the most powerful wizard in the wizarding world. Sure, he does eventually go on to take down the greatest dark wizard of all time, but his success comes more as a result of his mother's sacrifice and the support of his friends than it does his own brilliance.
To his credit though, one thing that Harry does possess in abundance is bravery, which is easily his biggest strength. He backs this up with a decent understanding of the dark arts and a never-say-die attitude, which, together, allow him to persevere in situations where lesser wizards might otherwise falter.
11 Hermione Granger
Hermione's capacity for and relentless pursuit of knowledge makes her one of the most powerful characters in the Harry Potter universe. Of course, she doesn't look it, but there are plenty of times when she demonstrates this throughout both the books and the movies.
That she later goes on to become the Minister for Magic seems to suggest that Hermione's upwards trajectory continues even after she leaves Hogwarts. It's bittersweet, really, as had she not spent the majority of her childhood walking in her best friend's shadow, she may well have achieved this kind of recognition much earlier on.
10 Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
By the time viewers are introduced to Mad-Eye Moody, he's clearly past his best; as evidenced by the fact that he spends the overwhelming majority of The Goblet of Fire locked inside a chest. In his heyday, however, Moody was said to have been the very best Auror at the Ministry of Magic and played an integral role in rounding up the Dark Lord's followers after his initial downfall at Godric's Hollow.
Even after his best years are behind him, it takes a combination of Mundungus Fletcher's cowardly betrayal and Voldemort's immense fury to bring Mad-Eye down. He effectively gives his life to protect Harry due to his unwavering belief in Albus Dumbledore's judgment, which in itself requires great strength. His strength of will is only a small part of what made Moody such a powerful wizard though.
9 Minerva McGonagall
When Snape flees Hogwarts following Harry's eventual return, it's McGonagall who steps up to protect the school and its students from the Death Eaters. Even knowing the stakes and what exactly they're up against, she doesn't think twice about caving to Voldemort's demands and mounts a truly admirable defense that's able to keep most of the young witches and wizards under her care alive.
Like some of the other witches and wizards throughout the books and movies, the true extent of Professor McGonagall's power is never really explored. She's able to survive every challenge she's presented with though and, having worked with the great Albus Dumbledore for as long as she did, likely benefited greatly from his vast and extensive knowledge of the magical world.
8 Credence Barebone
Introduced as part of the Fantastic Beasts movies, Credence Barebone was the bastard son of Aberforth Dumbledore. After several years of physical and psychological abuse, Credence developed an Obscurus: a dark parasitic force that feeds upon the magical essence of damaged young witches and wizards. Usually, those afflicted by an Obscurus die before they turn ten, but Credence somehow managed to survive into adulthood.
As he grew, so too did the power within him, making him one of the greatest known threats to the wizarding world. Grindelwald tried to weaponize this power against Dumbledore, using the hate and resentment that Credence harbored toward the family that abandoned him as a baby to bend the young Obscurial to his will. He's ultimately able to overcome his issues though, forcing Grindelwald to come up with a new strategy.
7 Bellatrix Lestrange
With the exception of Voldemort and Grindelwald, no dark wizard has more blood on their wand than Bellatrix Lestrange. Throughout the books and movies alone, she's responsible for the deaths of Sirius, Dobby, and Tonks, but her true body count is thought to have been considerably higher. Of course, there are also the ones who she left alive.
One of the things that really set Bellatrix apart was the pleasure that she took from doing the Dark Lord's bidding. More so than any of Voldemort's other servants, her dedication to her master was unshakable and she took great pride in carrying out his orders. The fact that she goads Harry after killing Sirius and later Neville having tortured his parents is a clear indication of this.
6 Severus Snape
Snape rarely gets the credit he deserves, despite dedicating most of his life to protecting a child who he could barely stand to look at. The strength of character he displayed in doing so is impressive, as too was his willingness to risk his life by double-crossing the most powerful dark wizard of all time. Luckily for him, his magic was as strong as his willpower and determination.
After returning to the Dark Lord's service and killing his friend and mentor to protect an innocent child, Snape manages to hide his true intentions from Voldemort using the power of Occlumency. Considering that Voldemort was thought to have been the most capable Legilimens alive, Snape being able to successfully shield himself suggests that, in some ways, at least, the Half-Blood Prince was stronger than Voldemort.
5 Salazar Slytherin
The books don't provide nearly enough detail about the Hogwarts founders to accurately assess their magical might, but there are one or two key takeaways. It's stated, for example, that the four of them were among the greatest witches and wizards of their era and also that Slytherin valued power above all else.
The fact that old Salazar was able to hide a secret death chamber right beneath his co-founders' noses suggests that he was probably the most gifted of the bunch, especially as rumors of its existence began circulating after he left the school. His affinity for dark magic — which the series' lore seems to suggest can make a witch or wizard far more powerful — only serves to back this notion up.
4 Gellert Grindelwald
Though Grindelwald's name does pop up from time to time throughout the mainline Harry Potter books and movies, it wasn't until Fantastic Beasts that fans of the franchise really got an idea of what the dark wizard was all about. His relationship with Dumbledore certainly makes him all the more intriguing, but, in the end, it's his immense power that really defines him.
Second only, perhaps, to Lord Voldemort, Grindelwald was among the most dangerous dark wizards of all time and believed in a world in which muggles were subjugated and ruled over by wizards. His "for the greater good" mantra wouldn't have felt out of place in nineteen forties Germany, nor would some of the terrible atrocities that he committed in pursuit of his ideal world.
3 Merlin
Though he is barely mentioned in the Harry Potter books and movies, Merlin is still a fairly prominent figure in the wizarding world. Just as he is in real-world myths and legends, it's stated that Merlin was an incredibly accomplished wizard who was capable of wielding the rare ancient magic that's explored throughout the course of Hogwarts Legacy.
Like Harry and his friends, Merlin attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where, many years later, he was immortalized in portrait form. Although he was sorted into Slytherin, Merlin hated the dark arts and was a sworn enemy of the dark witch Morgana (also known as Morgan le Fay), who just so happened to be King Arthur's evil half-sister.
2 Lord Voldemort
That Lord Voldemort was ultimately defeated by love could perhaps be seen as a cheap cliche. In some ways though, it seems fitting that it took an unquantifiable and intangible force to bring about his downfall. After all, no witch or wizard in recent history could match the Dark Lord when it came to raw hatred, and his ability to channel this hatred into death and destruction was as impressive as it was terrifying.
That Voldemort was able to cheat death on multiple occasions surprised many, while his willingness to tear his soul apart in pursuit of this temporary immortality showed the lengths that he would go to just to stay on top, as too did murdering Snape. Though the lack of love in his life is ultimately what led to his downfall, it's also what allowed him to rise to the very top and remain there for as long as he did.
1 Albus Dumbledore
It's often said that Dumbledore was the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared and this likely remained true right up to the former Hogwarts headmaster's final breath. Even after having regained much of his former power, Voldemort was still no match for the aging Dumbledore when the two squared off at the Ministry of Magic, with the Dark Lord ultimately having to resort to trickery and manipulation to get his long-time nemesis out of the picture.
Even before the rise of Voldemort, Dumbledore had already proven himself to be the very best around by defeating his former partner Grindelwald in an epic duel. That the latter had the Elder Wand in his possession at that time makes this feat all the more impressive, as the Deathly Hallow is said to make its wielder more or less invincible in battle. As it turns out though, even with the advantage given to him by the Elder Wand, Grindelwald just wasn't a match for Dumbledore.