Harry Potter Characters We'd Love To See Origin Stories For
Over the course of seven books, eight movies, a stage play, multiple games, and a variety of spinoffs, the "Harry Potter" series has captured the imagination of audiences worldwide in an unprecedented fashion. The cross-section of "Harry Potter" fandom cuts across remarkably diverse swaths of age, gender, and nationality.
It can be difficult to ascribe the success of the series to any single factor. The story of Harry's journey through Hogwarts is part-boarding school drama, part-mystery thriller, and part-epic fantasy. Naturally, such a complex storyline needs equally compelling characters to surround the central character.
"Harry Potter" has these characters in spades. Often absurd, delightful, or terrifying, but always extremely human, the supporting characters that fans fell in love with through the books and movies are some of the best that young adult fiction has to offer. Here are 14 such "Harry Potter" characters who deserve to have their own story that properly explores their origins.
Rubeus Hagrid
At the heart of the "Harry Potter" franchise is Harry himself who, after years of loneliness and abuse, discovers he belongs to a magical world where he is seen as a famous hero instead of a nobody. The most valuable part of discovering his wizarding heritage for Harry isn't the spells he learns or his generous inheritance, but finally having friends who love and support him wholeheartedly.
And there is no better friend to Harry than Hogwarts gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid. A wild-looking half-giant of a man, Hagrid's formidable appearance belies the fact that he is one of the most gentle and sensitive characters in the entire series. Hagrid saves the young Harry from the burning wreck of his home in the first chapter of the first book, and after that, Hagrid devotes his life to looking after Harry both physically and emotionally.
But Hagrid's life before meeting Harry is also fascinating. He was born to a human father and a giantess mother, with his half-breed nature leading to a difficulty in fitting in with pure-blood wizards. Hagrid's gentle nature is fostered by his great love for all manner of misfit creatures. It would be great to see Hagrid's evolution from an overgrown social outcast, to the fiercely loyal and unfailingly good-natured gamekeeper who would come to be seen as Albus Dumbledore's right-hand man.
Remus Lupin
If Hagrid is an example of a dangerously-othered outcast finding acceptance and happiness by coming to terms with who he is, Remus Lupin is a tragic example of someone suffering the opposite fate. Born an ordinary wizarding child, Remus is bitten by the most fearsome werewolf of the modern age, Fenrir Greyback, when he is just a young boy.
As a result, the innocent Remus is inflicted with the curse of turning into a werewolf once a month against his will. His condition haunts Remus throughout his life, convincing him that he could never live anything close to a normal life. Fortunately, Dumbledore reaches out to scared little Remus and assures him that there is a place for him at Hogwarts.
And so Remus becomes a student at Hogwarts, where he meets James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, together forming the infamous quartet of "The Marauders," the greatest mischief-makers in Hogwarts history. Remus' early struggles with his secret condition and the bonds of friendship he forms with the other Marauders would make for an interesting standalone film. It would also give us the opportunity to delve into the wild escapades of the Marauders that have heretofore only ever been hinted at.
Nicolas Flamel
Despite being a courageous and helpful lad, Harry Potter isn't the most extraordinary wizard to walk the planet. But there are other master wizards shown in action throughout the series who can do things with magic that are almost beyond comprehension. One such wizard is the alchemist Nicolas Flamel.
Fans of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" will remember Flamel as Dumbledore's close friend, and the creator of the fabled "Philosopher's Stone," which produces an elixir allowing one to live forever. Flamel himself has used the stone for centuries, making him one of the longest-living wizards in history.
Flamel's brilliance, coupled with his immensely long life, would no doubt produce some fascinating tales. The story of how he came to discover the Philosopher's Stone could itself be a full-length movie, and we could also see the many battles fought over centuries as various witches and wizards try desperately to get their hands on Flamel's one-of-a-kind treasure.
The Bloody Baron
The very first "Harry Potter" novel is as whimsical a kid's story as you could hope to read. But it contains a portent of darker things to come with the character of "The Bloody Baron." The Baron is Slytherin's official house ghost, and his initial introduction is one of the most disturbing things ever seen in a "Harry Potter" book.
"Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there," J.K. Rowling writes in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," "With blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood." It is repeatedly emphasized that the Baron is one of the scariest creatures at Hogwarts, whom all the other ghosts are wary of crossing. The final book reveals the tragic story of the Baron's condition.
He is born into nobility, and is one of the first students at Hogwarts. There the Baron falls in love with Helena Ravenclaw, who resolutely rejects his advances. Baron pursues Helena on the orders of her mother, Rowena, and when she rejects him once again, he stabs Helena in a fit of rage. Consumed with guilt, the Baron takes his own life, and is cursed to forever haunt his old school alongside the ghost of the woman he had loved so much. That's like a twisted take on "Romeo and Juliet" with actual magic and curses thrown into the mix.
Charlie Weasley
Charlie Weasley is Ron's big brother, the second-oldest son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, and a courageous soldier in service of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. To top it all off, Charlie is also a talented magizoologist, whose job involves taking care of all sorts of dangerous magical creatures, especially dragons.
Now you might be thinking that we've already gotten a spinoff movie built around a magizoologist in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise, featuring Eddie Redmayne in the lead role as Newt Scamander. But it's clear that audiences haven't embraced Newt, which is probably why the series has pivoted to focusing on Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore instead.
Whatever the reason, the "Fantastic Beasts" films have chosen to move away from Newt's gentle approach to magical animal husbandry. So there's certainly an exciting opportunity to fill the void by showcasing Charlie on his exploits as a dragon tamer. In fact, it would be double-awesome to see Hagrid and Charlie teaming up to take on all sorts of dangerous magical creatures in the vein of a buddy-cop action movie, only set in the world of magic.
Nymphadora Tonks
There are not a lot of badass female characters in the "Harry Potter" series. Even the best-known character of the bunch, Hermione Granger, primarily uses brains instead of brawn to win the day. So it would be refreshing to have a more "action-heroine" type of character from the wizarding world, and that's where Nymphadora Tonks comes in. Even though fans already know about Tonks' tragic passing at the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," her earlier life is ripe for a cinematic adaptation.
As a young witch at Hogwarts, Tonks is special because of her rare Metamorphmagus powers. (That is to say, she can change her appearance at will without having to rely on spells or potions.) After graduating from Hogwarts, Tonks trains to become an Auror under the personal tutelage of the legendary Auror Mad-Eye Moody.
We'd love to watch an entire series of movies about the early days of Tonks as a young Auror, taking on all sorts of dangerous missions as the ultimate master of disguises. It would be like "James Bond" crossed with "Hunger Games" by way of "Mission Impossible," where everyone keeps taking off their masks to reveal they were secretly another person all along.
Mundungus Fletcher
Most of the characters in "Harry Potter" can be neatly fit into a box marked either "good" or "evil." But there are a few who defy such easy categorization. Some characters you can't help but sympathize with, even as they do things that repulse you, like Severus Snape. But then there's the other kind of repulsive but "technically good" character, like Mundungus Fletcher, who is a lot harder to root for.
Mundungus represents the seedy underbelly of the wizarding world that Harry rarely comes into contact with. A petty criminal, Mundungus finds himself, to his own bemusement, working under Dumbledore for the Order of the Phoenix after the events of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
Despite teaming up with the good guys due to a deep sense of gratitude towards Dumbledore, Mundungus always has difficulty sticking to the straight and narrow path. He can't help but steal things from Sirius' house, even after Sirius has died, and is the first one to flee when Lord Voldemort's army comes after Harry and his doppelgangers, resulting in the death of Mad-Eye Moody. It would be fascinating to see the wizarding world from Mundungus' perspective in a spinoff movie that sees his rise from the streets of Diagon Alley to the halls of Hogwarts and beyond.
Gilderoy Lockhart
Befitting its status as the best magical school in the world, the teachers at Hogwarts are uniformly competent. They are even able to throw down against the worst Death Eaters in Voldemort's army when required. Except, that is, for Gilderoy Lockhart, who couldn't throw down with his own reflection unless he could catch it with its back turned.
Lockhart is one of Hogwarts' greatest answers to the question, "Who would be stupid enough to apply for the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" While Lockhart is most definitely vain, self-centered, and a complete coward, he does possess a certain cunning that allows him to become a celebrated hero within the wizarding community without any of the talent to back it up.
It is revealed that Lockhart has achieved his fame by following around wizards who fought against fearsome dark magic, learning their strategies, wiping their memories, and then taking credit for saving the day in their stead. A fascinating movie could be made out of Lockhart's methods of achieving fame under false pretenses: the wizarding world's version of a social media "influencer" who can't actually do anything useful, but still manages to get followers by keeping up appearances.
Mad-Eye Moody
Harry has long dreamed of becoming an Auror, and a big reason for this comes from him watching Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody at work (even if his mentor did turn out to be an imposter). Moody's life story reads like something out of the diary of a battle-hardened war veteran. He is Dumbledore's most skilled and trustworthy ally in the Order of the Phoenix, the kind of man that even Death Eaters fear to cross. As an Auror, Moody is said to have filled half the jail cells in Azkaban, earning him countless enemies and turning him into the physically battered, paranoid, wreck of a man Harry is introduced to in his fourth year.
A single movie would probably not be enough to capture the breadth of Moody's experiences with the wizarding underworld. Instead, a full-length drama series similar in style to "The Wire" or "Peaky Blinders" would be a fitting vehicle to explore the life and times of the most celebrated Auror of all time.
Bellatrix Lestrange
On the one hand, there are very few major villainous characters in "Harry Potter" that are women. On the other hand, Bellatrix Lestrange makes up for their relatively small numbers by being evil enough for a whole squadron of Death Eaters all on her own. And it would be absolutely fascinating to learn how she got that way.
Bellatrix first comes into prominence as half of the husband-and-wife duo responsible for torturing Neville Longbottom's parents to the point of madness. Although Bellatrix is married to Rodolphus Lestrange, all her love is reserved (in the form of fanatical devotion) for Lord Voldemort and the principles of pure-blood superiority that she wholeheartedly believes in.
Apart from shedding light on Bellatrix's early years as a Death-Eater-in-the-making, her own solo spinoff could also explore the complexities of Bellatrix's relationship with Voldemort. The Dark Lord is clearly not the type to harbor warm feelings towards anyone else. But Bellatrix is one of his most trusted followers, and the two are apparently intimate enough to have a child that the world did not learn about until much later. We can't even imagine the twisted faux-love story that could be made out of two such compelling yet utterly unhinged characters.
Godric Gryffindor
The world of "Harry Potter" is one that is mired deeply in questionable traditions. The entire central conflict between pure-blood, half-blood, and Muggle-born wizards stems from a resistance to change on the part of wizarding families, and their insistence upon keeping to the old ways even if they are bigoted and ultimately harmful.
Because of this emphasis on tradition, it would be fascinating to see how the wizarding community developed in the first place. One way to explore that would be with a story about Godric Gryffindor and the formation of Hogwarts as a standard of wizarding excellence worldwide.
Gryffindor serves as one of the founders of arguably the greatest magical institution in the world, but his tenure is mired with clashes over the entry of half-bloods and Muggle-borns to the school. Gryffindor is considered one of the best duelists of his time, possessing a magical sword along the lines of Excalibur. He embodies the qualities of strength and bravery that would become a symbol for students of his house, making him potentially the most badass protagonist any "Harry Potter" story could have.
Tom Marvolo Riddle
Throughout "Harry Potter," Lord Voldemort is a larger-than-life figure. He is a boogeyman straight out of your worst nightmares who wants nothing less than the destruction of everything good and pure, and whose very name strikes terror in the hearts of those who seek to oppose him. But before Voldemort becomes the physical embodiment of great evil, he is handsome young Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Tom is a child in a muggle orphanage when Albus Dumbledore informs him of his magical ancestry on his mother's side. The young boy embarks on his journey through Hogwarts, steadily gaining a reputation as the most brilliant, if slightly foreboding, student at the school. After learning all that Hogwarts can teach him, Tom continues alone down an increasingly dark and twisted path.
The young wizard's quest for ultimate power is marked with all sorts of brutalities, grim adventures, and the warping of Tom Riddle's soul into something beyond the limits of humanity. A solo movie focusing on the transformation of Tom into Voldemort would truly be something to behold, taking viewers on a journey into the darkest corners of the wizarding world.
Albus Dumbledore
Despite being one of the most important characters in the entire series, precious little concrete information is known about Albus Dumbledore beyond the highlights of his career. We do know, however, that he once plotted with Gellert Grindelwald to rule over the muggle community.
We also know that Dumbledore would eventually come to his senses, devoting the rest of his life to stamping out evil in all forms. But these facts don't shed much light on who Dumbledore is as a person, where he perceives his own place in the world to be, and how the years of leading the charge against ultimate evil take their toll on his soul.
Some of these questions might be answered in the upcoming "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore." But what would be even more compelling is a reverse-"Breaking Bad"-style series where we get to see Dumbledore going from a cocky young wizard who thinks he deserves to rule over the world to the lonely old headmaster, filled with regrets over his past actions, content to simply nurture a new generation of witches and wizards.
Severus Snape
Few characters in the history of fiction have been as loathed and loved as Severus Snape. The character starts out as the stereotypical bullying teacher, before going into darker territory as a turncoat, finally revealing that his true motivations are something entirely different than what fans had been expecting.
Snape's backstory is as filled with tragedy as Harry's, but in a different manner. Born to neglectful parents, Snape is tormented throughout his time at Hogwarts by James Potter and his cronies, and to make matters worse, Lily Evans, the love of his life, ends up marrying his most hated enemy. Joining the Death Eaters brings cold comfort, as his actions ultimately result in the death of his beloved Lily.
The rest of his wretched life is spent dealing with condemnation from all corners while trying to protect the child of the woman he loved and the man he hated. And to cap it all off, Snape eventually learns, to his great horror, that all his begrudging efforts to save Harry are only so the boy could fulfill the prophecy with his death. If there was ever a character created to be at the center of a Shakespearean-style tragedy, it's Severus Snape. So hop to it, Hollywood.