Learn more about the most powerful wizards who outranked others in the Harry Potter franchise.
The magical Harry Potter universe is filled with talented and noteworthy characters. From witches to wizards, pureblood to muggle-born, the list could be endless. If left to subjective opinion, we’d also have a varied list of the most powerful wizards. It’s no wonder there’s still an endless debate about this.
So, what makes a powerful wizard? Well, their skill and keen sense of spell of course! In the list we are sharing with you, we’ve objectively selected only the best wizards based on their demonstrated power and skill within the Harry Potter series.
Speaking of which, a great wizard is nothing without his wand. So, grab your magical fire-shooting wand here.
Now, let’s proceed to the list!
1 Albus Dumbledore
Image credit: Variety
Top skills:
Legilimency, Occlumency, Gubraithian fire, disillusionment charm, and transfiguration.
Top achievements:
Defeating Grindlewald, discovering the twelve uses of dragon blood, being headmaster at Hogwarts, and collaborating with Nicolas Flamel in alchemy.
Beginning with the best of the best, Dumbledore is undoubtedly the most powerful wizard to have existed in Harry Potter. At the beginning of the Harry Potter movies, Albus Dumbledore is portrayed as an old but wise Headmaster who looks out for the best interest of everyone at Hogwarts. But even being a Hogwarts headmaster was, in itself, a testament to his abilities.
Throughout the series, we see demonstrations of his incredible power. A great example is his duel with Voldemort towards the end of The Order of the Phoenix. Despite being weak, he defends himself against Voldemort while protecting Harry, aiding in their escape.
Let’s also not forget that he was the one who defeated Gellert Grindelwald, who wielded the Elder wand that was supposedly invincible in duels. Their fight is still described as the most epic duel in the wizarding world. No wonder he was the only wizard the Dark Lord feared challenging.
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2. Lord Voldemort
Image credit: Legion Media
Top skills:
Legilimency, Occlumency, and mastery of the Dark Arts
Top achievements:
Mastering the three unforgivable curses, creating and using the seven Horcruxes, and conjuring an army of Inferi.
Although he was the main antagonist in the whole series, we must admit that the skills and abilities of Lord Voldemort were almost unparalleled except for Dumbledore. He rightly earned his title of the Dark Lord, being the worst among the most dangerous dark wizards, even Grindelwald.
Just the fact that he successfully split his soul into seven Horcruxes to preserve his life already speaks a great deal of exponential power. That, combined with his mastery of dark magic and his loyal followers, made him a formidable threat that struck fear throughout the wizarding world.
Even as a student, Voldemort, alias Tom Riddle, was extremely gifted. By the seventh year, he had earned the Medal of Magical Merit and was made Head Boy at Hogwarts. Harry defeated him in the end. But it is worth noting that it took Harry a significant feat of strength and all his friends’ combined forces.
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3. Gellert Grindelwald
Image credit: Preeti Chouhan
Top skills:
Transfiguration, Occlumency, healing magic, and mastery of dark arts
Top achievements:
Starting the global wizarding war
Yet another powerful dark wizard in the Harry Potter universe, whose notoriety is only surpassed by Voldemort. But this is only because, unlike the Dark Lord, Grindelwald practiced dark magic with more caution, avoiding certain aspects of the dark arts, such as the Horcruxes.
Even though his appearance in the Harry Potter series was brief, it still spoke volumes about the kind of power Grindelwald wielded. He could conjure up spells without a wand or words, which was not an easy feat for most wizards. He was also a natural-born seer, which is how he envisioned himself ruling over the muggle world.
Gellert even managed to locate and take possession of the Elder wand, which he used to launch devastating attacks across Europe. While his reign of terror was not as dark and gruesome as Voldemort’s, he spread fear in both the muggle and wizarding world. Enough to make him Dumbledore’s worthy rival.
4.Severus Snape
Image credit: Rolling Stone
Top skills:
Occlumency, Portions, Charms, Spellwork, and mastery of defense against the dark arts
Top achievements:
Joining the Order of the Phoenix and fooling Lord Voldemort
Severus Snape is perhaps the most underrated character in the Harry Potter world. His ability to use Occlumency to shield himself against Lord Voldemort, the greatest Legimen at the time, shows how skilled he was. In fact, he was the one who taught Harry to prevent others from invading his mind.
But this is no surprise since later in the series, Snape was revealed to be a man of many talents. From a young age, he had become a master of potions and spell-work, rightfully earning the title of the Half-blood Prince. He could create new spells like Levicorpus, a skill that many witches and wizards could never hope to master.
According to Sirius Black in The Goblet of Fire, Snape apparently knew more curses as a first-year student than half the seventh-year students of his time. His vast knowledge of the Dark Arts also gave him a prowess in defending against it. Maybe that is why he dared to work as a double agent among other death eaters, pretending to be on the Dark Lord’s side. While we can argue whether he was a hero or villain, one thing is certain. He was definitely a skilled and powerful wizard.
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5.Mad-Eye Moody
Image credit: Wizarding World
Top skills:
Dark arts detection, Defensive Magic, and combat
Top achievements:
Becoming a distinguished Auror, leading the Order of the Phoenix after Albus Dumbledore’s demise.
Alastor Moody, better known as Mad-eye Moody, is yet another one of the most powerful wizards in Harry Potter who isn’t given enough credit. He only appears briefly in the series and dies rather quickly during the second wizarding war. However, in his prime days, while fighting the first wizarding war, he gained the reputation of a great duelist and was among the strongest wizards.
As an exceptional Auror, he was no match for most death eaters and was said to repel them with the simple tap of his staff. Moody was also a fearless dark wizard catcher responsible for filling half the cells at Azkaban. Aside from that, he knew plenty of counter-curses and could cast a variety of spells without incarnations, making him a formidable battler.
6. Harry Potter
Image credit: Rotten Tomato
Top skills:
Parseltongue, Defensive Magic, Occlumency, and Quidditch prodigy
Top achievements:
Defeating Voldemort, becoming the youngest seeker in the Gryffindor quidditch team, and producing a Patronus at the age of 13
You may be shocked to see the star of the show so far down the list of the most powerful wizards in Harry Potter. We can argue that while Harry demonstrated bravery in facing and defeating his contenders throughout the series, he mostly did so with the help of his friends and loved ones.
But even so, he wasn’t called the chosen one for nothing. After all, he was prophesied to be the one to defeat the powerful lord of dark wizards. An event that turned out to be Harry’s greatest achievement. We also can’t forget that Harry is one of the very few wizards who survived the Killing curse. The first time was when he was a baby and was shielded by his mother’s love. The second time was in Deathly Hallows, during the battle of Hogwarts, where he applied his mastery of the Elder wand.
Harry Potter defeated the Basilik and saved Ginny Weasely in the Chamber of Secrets. He also saved the Philosopher's Stone and even faced off against the bone-chilling dementors. Given his achievements, it is only right that Harry is considered a skilled wizard. With a bit more years of experience and knowledge, he would have been at par with Dumbledore.
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7. Sirius Black
Image credit: Movie Web
Top skill:
Transfiguration
Top achievements:
Becoming an Animagus at the early age of fifteen, becoming part of the Order of the Phoenix, and escaping Azkaban undetected
Sirius Black was a close friend of James Potter and, later in the series, revealed to be Harry’s godfather. Although we do not see much of his abilities in the series, Black was undeniably a talented wizard.
By fifteen years old, Sirius had already mastered the art of being an Animagus, which allowed him to turn into a huge dog the size of a bear. He used this ability to effectively escape the dementors at Azkaban and remain hidden from the Ministry of Magic. This was something many wizards could not achieve.
Also, being one of the original members of the Order of the Phoenix, he was considered a skilled duelist with a lot of experience fighting death eaters. This prowess was especially demonstrated during the battle at the Department of Ministries before he was struck down by his deranged cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange.