Harry Potter Characters, Ranked From Lowest To Highest Kill Count

When the Harry Potter franchise began, it was marketed as young adult novels, and the first couple of books in the series mostly targeted younger fans. However, even in those books, the entire story started off with a tragic pair of deaths, as Harry Potter was an orphan whose parents died at the hands of a dark wizard.

Much like the books, the Harry Potter movies also started off mostly aimed toward kids. But in both cases, the third book took the series to a more mature level, and by the end of the last book and movie, there was an all-out war and several major characters died trying to save Hogwarts and the world. While not all deaths happened on screen, there were 11 different people in the Harry Potter movies with blood on their hands.

11 Fenrir Greyback – 1

One of the scariest members of the Death Eaters was Fenrir Greyback, a savage werewolf. While the franchise showed the good in werewolves with Remus Lupin, who tried hard to keep himself under control, Fenrir was a cold-blooded killer.

While Fenrir was likely responsible for countless deaths in the wizarding wars, as he followed the lead of Lord Voldemort, he only had one confirmed kill onscreen in the Harry Potter movies. Fenrir killed Hogwarts’ student Lavender Brown in the Battle of Hogwarts.

10 Hermione – 1

Of the three main heroes of the Harry Potter franchise, it was Harry who had the most blood on his hands. Neither Ron Weasley nor Hermione Granger got much blood on their hands, as they mostly fought for their own survival.

While Ron never killed anyone in the movies, Hermione had her one big moment in the Battle of Hogwarts. She and Ron walked in and witnessed Fenrir Greyback killing Lavender Brown and Hermione lashed out in anger and killed the werewolf by blasting him over a cliff — a slight change from his death in the books.

9 Peter Pettigrew – 1

Peter Pettigrew was a sniveling man who cared about no one but himself and, at times, his master, Voldemort. He betrayed his old school friends and almost led Harry to his death. There weren’t many people who deserved death more than Peter.

There was even one person that Peter killed, although it was at Voldemort’s command. Peter killed Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire using the Avada Kedavra curse.

8 Mrs. Weasley – 1

Mrs. Weasley only had one kill in the Harry Potter series, but it was one of the most crowd-pleasing moments in the Battle of Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley had already watched one of her sons die and she wouldn’t stand there and allow anyone else to fall on her watch.

She ended up face-to-face with Bellatrix Lestrange, who had killed one of the most beloved characters in the series in Dobby. Molly faced off with Bellatrix and yelled, “not my daughter,” before blasting her with Reducto and disintegrating her.

7 Snape – 1

For most of the series, viewers believed Snape was one of the villains. He was a minor antagonist to Harry Potter through most of the movies and he made life hard for the young wizard. However, Snape’s worst moment came in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

As Harry watched in horror, Snape took the wand from Draco Malfoy and then used the Avada Kedavra spell to kill Albus Dumbledore. With Dumbledore dead, Hogwarts fell, and this was easily the most important death of the series.

6 Barty Crouch Jr. – 2

Barry Crouch Jr. didn’t appear much in the Harry Potter movies, but in his short time on screen, he killed two people. Barty appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the son of Bartemius Crouch Senior and one of the few Death Eaters that remained loyal to Voldemort after his master fell.

Barry was the first person to escape Azkaban and he went on to kill his own father. His second kill was not to a human, but to a mythical creature that was close to Hagrid when he killed Spider with Avada Kadavra.

5 Professor McGonagall – 2

For most of the Harry Potter franchise, Professor McGonagall seemed like the last person who would kill someone in a fight. She was stoic, proper, and demanded respect and order from her students. However, she was also extremely loyal and protective of those she was tasked to care for.

In the Battle of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall proved that she would kill to protect her students. In the dual with Snape, McGonagall killed both Alecto and Amycus Carrow, the brother and sister the Death Eaters brought in as Voldemort’s handpicked professors at Hogwarts after Dumbledore’s fall.

4 Neville – 2+

There is no telling how many people Neville killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, but it was a large number. However, his confirmed kills only rank as two individuals. The first death was Scabior, a member of the Snatchers. This is also where his numbers could grow to astronomical proportions.

Neville brought down half of the wooden bridge in the Snatchers attack. The only confirmed death was Scabior, but several more fell and probably died. The second confirmed death was bigger. It was when Neville killed Nagini, as he decapitated Voldemort’s snake with Gryffindor’s Sword.

3 Bellatrix – 3

Bellatrix Lestrange was one of the deadliest characters in the Harry Potter franchise because she killed with a smile on her face and enjoyed every minute of it. Her first confirmed kill came in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and it devasted Harry because she killed Sirius Black with Avada Kedavra.

The second kill was heartbreaking when she threw a silver knife and killed Dobby the House Elf as he helped Harry escape Malfoy Manor. The third kill came at the Battle of Hogwarts when she killed her own niece, Nymphadora Tonks.

2 Harry Potter – 4

The two main characters in the Harry Potter franchise were the Boy Wizard himself and his enemy, Voldemort. Harry killed more people in the franchise than anyone other than Voldemort. The first death came in the first movie when Harry killed Quirinus Quirrell, although it was unintentional.

In Chamber of Secrets, Harry killed the Basilisk by stabbing it with Gryffindor’s sword and then killed the memory of Tom Riddle with the Basilisk fang. Finally, in the Battle of Hogwarts, it was Harry who killed Lord Voldemort with his Disarming Charm reflecting a Killing Curse.

1 Voldemort – 16

While Harry Potter killed four people, most of the deaths were not voluntary and were a result of Harry defending himself. However, when it came to Lord Voldemort, all the deaths at his hands were purposeful and evil. It all started when he killed James and Lily Potter with Avada Kedavra.

Outside of this, Voldemort remained merciless in his kills. He killed everyone from Alastar Moody and Rufus Scrimgeour to Charity Burbage and Bathilda Bagshot. However, his most important kill outside of Harry’s own parents was when he killed Snape, which inadvertently gave Harry the power to beat him in the end.

About The Author