Although J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter novels were filled with magic and wonder, there’s no denying that the story of The Boy Who Lived was always steeped in tragedy. The story’s ultimate goal of fighting against evil, made characters visibly undergo pain, grief, and significant loss.
With Lord Voldemort ensuring that people who defied him would suffer, the story surrounding Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter witnessed tragic backstories and painful character arcs. So let’s take a look at five Harry Potter characters who endured great sufferings but were remembered for their heroism in the series.
1. Ariana Dumbledore
Introduced as merely a moving picture in Daniel Radcliffe‘s Harry Potter films, Albus Dumbledore’s late sister Ariana had endured great suffering during her few years on the earth.
Abused by a bunch of muggle kids as a six-year-old because of her magical qualities, Ariana began her life with great traumas and assaults, that eventually caused her to become emotionally and magically unstable.
Despite great potential, the ordeal not only turned Ariana into an obscure girl who was then confined at her home, but it also led her father to be imprisoned after taking vengeance on the kids. Eventually, at the age of fourteen, one of her magical outbursts killed her mother, and within a few months, even she passed away in the crossfire of a three-way fight between Albus Dumbledore, his brother Aberforth, and Gellert Grindelwald.
2. Sirius Black
Born into a family of pureblood witches and wizards, Sirius Black was expected to have a great life. But unfortunately, with his family being pureblood supremacists, Sirius always felt out of place in his own home. Thereafter, although he made friends with James, Remus, and Peter at Hogwarts, his life took a sharp turn following the rise of Lord Voldemort.
He almost had a similar character arc to Draco Malfoy, who never felt at home, or experienced the love of his family, which led him to vent out and bully other students, even Sirius had similar experiences. But unlike Draco, Sirius never chose the dark side, which made all the difference.
It led Sirius to be framed for murdering 15 people, betraying James and Lily Potter, and spending the better part of his life in Azkaban. Eventually, after enduring all manners of horror, when Sirius met his godson and began seeing a ray of hope and happiness in his life, he was killed by his own cousin Bellatrix before he could really enjoy his time with Harry.
3. Neville Longbottom
Unlike any young character in J.K. Rowling‘s novels, Neville Longbottom was the one who endured the most ridicule, bullying, and harassment, until he rose against all odds. Despite having all the reasons to turn evil, given the amount of tragedy he faced since his young age, Neville showed incredible strength in standing against Lord Voldemort.
During the Dark Lord’s initial rise to power, when Harry’s parents were killed, making him a tragic hero, Neville’s parents were brutally tortured to insanity by Bellatrix. Thereafter, Neville was tortured by his family, because they believed that he wasn’t magical enough to attend Hogwarts. However, after he got his acceptance letter, Neville’s suffering aggravated, as he began facing humiliation from not just family, but even friends and teachers.
Neville was bullied into becoming underconfident and accepting that he was an idiot, until the very last moment when he pulled out the sword of Gryffindor to showcase his willpower and abilities. The worst part about his arc was how quickly he was forced to grow up as a child and understand the heartbreaking fact about his parents’ vegetative state.
4. Severus Snape
Even with all his flaws, Severus Snape will always be considered a sympathetic character in the Harry Potter franchise. Born to neglectful parents and forced into a hard childhood, Snape eventually found a bit of happiness with Lily Evans (Potter) after he went to Hogwarts. However, that too was short-lived, since he quickly began withstanding bullying from James Potter and the Marauders.
Thereafter, although Snape began finding his solace and passion in Dark Arts, it ultimately led him to become a Death Eater. After his venture into the dark side, Snape initially lost the woman he loved to James and then lost Lily completely to the Dark Lord, who killed the Potters.
Since then, Snape secretly dedicated his life to destroying Voldemort’s reign of terror, by living and dying as a villain so that he could save the Wizarding World.
5. Rubeus Hagrid
Ever since his birth, Rubeus Hagrid had endured great suffering and yet grew up to become a gentle giant. Left by his mother at a young age, Hagrid didn’t get much respect in the Wizarding World for being a half-giant. Although the greatest opportunity of his life was getting to study at Hogwarts, he quickly began facing extreme racism and bullying for his size and growth.
Soon he was falsely accused by Tom Riddle of unleashing the monster in the Chamber of Secrets, which led to his subsequent expulsion. Not only that, the accusation stripped him of his wand and got him arrested for his illegal hobbies. Hagrid was forever forbidden to do magic since his half-giant heritage came out in trial.
Although Hagrid deserved a second chance after being proven innocent, he couldn’t achieve anything more than just being the gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts. Through his years, Hagrid endured many trials and tribulations, but he faced the worst fate when he had to bury his ally, Albus Dumbledore.
Harry Potter films are available on Max.
