The Harry Potter series keeps its magic relatively ambiguous compared to other fantasy stories, but now that many fans are experiencing the Wizarding World from a gaming perspective, they’re looking more closely at the power-scaling. When you get down to it, it’s hard to say who’s stronger than whom in this franchise, as power comes in diverse forms, and surprise and strategy go a long way. We may not be able to meticulously scale and rank every character, but when it comes to power, you know it when you see it in this series. That’s why it feels pretty safe to say these are the top seven strongest witches and wizards in Harry Potter.
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This list is leaning on primary sources, so bear in mind that it only contains the powerful witches and wizards we get to know in detail. When discussing the Wizarding World’s most powerful characters, fans often bring up historical figures like Merlin, or the four founders of Hogwarts. If we got to know them better, those characters would likely make the top of this list, but for now, we simply don’t know enough about them. Then again, when we do get new information, it doesn’t always make them seem more formidable — like when Hogwarts Legacy revealed that Merlin lived after the founding of Hogwarts, and was sorted into Slytherin.
Thankfully, the Wizarding World of the 1990s has more than enough powerful magic-users to fill out this list, and then some. Read on for the top seven most powerful witches and wizards in the Harry Potter franchise.
Nicolas Flamel
Power comes in many forms, and they can’t always be compared against each other in simple terms in this series. However, Nicolas Flamel’s development of an immortality potion should definitely count for something. Flamel is actually a real historical figure — he lived in France in the 1300s, drafted legal documents, and supposedly practiced alchemy in the hopes of achieving immortality.
In the Wizarding World, Flamel succeeded, surviving for over six centuries until his off-screen death in 1992. Flamel was the only wizard ever to crack the secret of creating the Philosopher’s Stone, which produced the Elixir of Life and kept Flamel and his wife Perenelle alive indefinitely. Flamel was a friend of Albus Dumbledore, and the two consulted when they realized that Voldemort would likely come seeking the Elixir himself. Finally, the two decided to pass on and let the secrets of the stone pass with them.
Immortality aside, we see Flamel helping in the fight against Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movies, and we get some hints about his other powers. He was apparently a skilled practitioner of divination, with a crystal ball out and ready for use in his study. He also mentioned his history as a duelist, and he is seen using a minor spell without a wand or incantations. It may have taken him over 600, but he earned his place on this list.
Minerva McGonogall
Professor McGonogall is one of the most intimidating figures at Hogwarts during the main story, and that’s no accident. She was the Deputy Headmistress, head of Gryffindor House, and transfiguration instructor, as well as Dumbledore’s successor when the Second Wizarding War was over. McGonogall was awarded Order of Merlin, First Class after seeing the school through this dark time, and according to canon material, she remained the headmistress of Hogwarts into at least the 2020s.
Most of the powerful magic we see from McGonogall pertains to the field she teaches, transfiguration. She is an adept Animagus, using her cat form to spy on Death Eaters during both of Voldemort’s reigns, and she displays the greatest ability to transform other people and things that we see in the series. On several occasions, she conjures things like food from thin air, while later on we see her conjure dangerous animals in the heat of battle.
McGonogall’s best feat in the show is likely the awakening of all the suits of armor in Hogwarts to fight against the Death Eaters. In the book, she also animates furniture and other decorative items to attack and confound the enemy, and she even allows herself a moment of excitement at using the spell. McGonogall might deserve a spot even higher on this list, especially when compared with the next entry.
Severus Snape
Unlike a lot of Harry Potter fans, I despise Severus Snape, which is how you know he objectively earned his place on this list. Much as I don’t want to acknowledge it, Snape proves himself to be one of the most powerful wizards in the series through natural gifts, shrewd study, and discipline. We really get a glimpse of his mind and his talent in the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Harry unknowingly benefits from Snape’s own notes in an old textbook.
Snape is the potions professor for most of the series, though he is at least equally proficient in defense against the dark arts — and not too shabby at the dark arts themselves. He also tutors Harry in occlumency and in the process, displays his skills in legilimency. This is particularly important as Voldemort is said to be a master of legilimency, and Snape continuously betrayed him at the highest level without being detected.
Snape also gets points for learning all of his skills in a relatively short time — Flamel was over 600 years old, and McGonogall was at least 99 years old when the series began, while most of the characters higher up on this list are much older as well. Snape, on the other hand, was 31 years old when Harry Potter first enrolled at Hogwarts, and only 38 when he died. With more time to study and hone his craft, who knows how much more powerful he might have become.
Hermione Granger
Hermione Jean Granger is described as a once-in-a-lifetime genius so often that you could become numb to it in the series — as Ron certainly seems to be. However, even as a teenager, her accomplishments are hard to overstate. She gets the top grades at Hogwarts, yet still goes above and beyond to learn more and make connections with esteemed witches and wizards. In her third year, she gets approval to use a Time-Turner in order to take every single class available to her — something that is highly regulated and only allowed in very specific circumstances.
Hermione’s incredible feats often double as plot contrivances for the series She is able to brew Polyjuice Potion in her second year, she learned an Undetectable Extension Charm on a small handbag to carry supplies when she, Harry, and Ron were on the run, and she mastered important healing magic to care for her comrades in the field.
Of course, many of Hermione’s best accomplishments came after the series was over. She got a job at the Ministry of Magic working on behalf of magical creatures like House Elves, and she was eventually elected Minister of Magic. Whatever comes next for the Wizarding World, its lucky to have Hermione at the helm.
Voldemort
Tom Marvolo Riddle, the dark wizard who eventually took the name Lord Voldemort and attempted to impose his xenophobic, fascist views on the world, was an undeniable genius in the study and use of magic. He was said to have some amount of mastery in just about every subject mentioned in the main series, and after graduating from Hogwarts, he traveled the world learning more arcane secrets where he could. We get plenty of chances to see him dueling, employing charms, and invading others’ minds with legilimency. We also see him use some unique skills like parseltongue and flying unaided by a broomstick.
Voldemort’s most impressive feats of magic seem to be his darkest as well. While creating one horcrux is described as an unthinkable painful act, he repeats this process seven times, dividing his soul into eight pieces. He uses magic so extensively that it changes the appearance of his body, smoothing his nose to make himself look more like a snake. Ultimately, Voldemort is never truly overpowered, but is defeated by forces he can’t understand.
Gellert Grindelwald
A lot of conversations online debate whether Grindelwald is more powerful than Voldemort, or vice versa. After some thought, I opted to place Grindelwald higher because he doesn’t seem to share Voldemort’s greatest weakness: an inability to love. While the magic of love was so foreign to Voldemort that it killed him twice, Grindelwald had an authentic and loving relationship with Albus Dumbledore that made both of them stronger.
As for his powers, Grindelwald seems to be another certified genius, with an unfortunate penchant for the dark arts. He was an excellent duelist, with his final showdown against Dumbledore regarded as the greatest duel ever recorded. He was also particularly skilled at divination, which helped him amass power and gain followers, as they believed in his visions of the future. He coupled this with extensive knowledge of magical history as well, bending past events to justify his war against muggles.
Grindelwald’s history also led him to the magical artifacts known as the Deathly Hallows, and ultimately, to the Elder Wand. It was a feat to find the wand and gain its loyalty, and that only added to his own power as well. However, even with it, he couldn’t stand up to the number one wizard on this list.
Albus Dumbledore
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin First Class, was the greatest wizard of his time by a long shot. He defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald and contributed to both defeats of Voldemort, and he protected Hogwarts from numerous catastrophes even when the government was trying to stop him. Even during peacetime, Dumbledore advanced various fields of magical study and learned some unique skills that few others ever display, like the ability to speak Mermish.
Even with all of his skills and accomplishments, Dumbledore was able to continue learning and improving because, unlike his rivals on this list, he had humility. Dumbledore obtained the Elder Wand but resolved to end the cycle of violence around it, rather than using it to its full potential. In the later books, we learn just how much he tortured himself for his mistakes, rather than celebrating his victories. This is why concepts like the magical potency of love made sense to Dumbledore, even when they were lost on characters like Voldemort.
The magic of the Wizarding World is frustrating in many ways, but it’s nice that it’s not a straightforward power-scaling system. There’s too much nuance to witchcraft and wizardry to say for sure who is “more powerful” in many circumstances, even if these seven do seem to stand above the rest. Hopefully that’s an aspect of the franchise that will stay intact as it moves forward in the years to come.
Who do you think was the most powerful wizard in Harry Potter? Let us know in the comments below!
