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Harry Potter: A Ranking of the Most Powerful Families


Summary

VIDEO: The Most Powerful Weasleys (RANKED) - Harry Potter Theory
Harry Potter Theory
  • Lupin Family: Remus Lupin, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, is a renowned and brave character, with a father who banished a dangerous creature. His son Teddy also shows great skills.
  • Nott Family: Similar to the Malfoys, the Nott family has a strong social standing and played a part in the Death Eater clan. Cantankerus Nott authored a biased pure-blood directory.
  • Abbott Family: The Abbotts have a rich history, and while they belong to the sacred 28 pure-blood families, they don't strive for pure-blood status. Hannah Abbott, a member of Dumbledore's Army, shows bravery.

There are plenty of powerful Harry Potter families in the wizarding world, and not all of them are purebloods. The most powerful Harry Potter families contribute to the history and the lore of the franchise. Blood status and family trees are major narrative themes in Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. After all, both Voldemort and Grindelwald's goals see a world run by pure-blooded wizards and witches with muggles in their "rightful place." Within the canon of history that J.K. Rowling has created, many famous Harry Potter family names crop up in Fantastic Beasts and the various lore-building tie-in products like videogame Hogwarts: Legacy.

The film series didn't allow for a ton of exploration of these famous Harry Potter families, however, the upcoming Max reboot TV show could shed more light on their influence. There is quite a mixture of powerful surnames in the wizarding world, from the well-known Malfoys and Weasleys to the more complicated family trees of the Lestranges or Blacks. Some families in Harry Potter have roots in the dark arts and evil wizards, while others, such as the Potters, have done quite the opposite.

Blue and orange image of Harry Potter and his Hogwarts friends/allies

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20 Lupin Family

Remus Lupin standing with Tonks in the Harry Potter movies

The most notable member of the Lupin family in the famous Harry Potter families list is Remus. He's a werewolf, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and a former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Remus had a penchant for the Patronus charm and is one of the bravest characters introduced during the series.

Not a ton was revealed about the rest of his family, meaning there won't be much for the Harry Potter reboot show, but what fans know is positive. His father Lyall worked at the Ministry of Magic and banished the Screaming Bogey of Strathtully. Remus married Nymphadora Tonks, a Metamorphmagus member of the Order of the Phoenix who was also incredibly brave. Their child Teddy went on to be Head Boy at Hogwarts, showing he possessed strong skills of his own.

19 Nott Family

The Death Eaters with Voldemort in Goblet of Fire

The Nott family of the famous Harry Potter families roster seemed to have the same kind of social standing as the Malfoys, seeing as they partook in the same Death Eater clan and were safe when the Muggle-Born Registration Commission was in effect. Proof of their strong ancestry comes from Cantankerus Nott.

This wizard was the one who was the author of the Pure-blood Directory published in the 1930s. Nott singled out the Pure-blood families and wrote a biased account that placed the 28 families (The Sacred 28) listed as higher in status compared to the rest. They might not be as well-known as other families, but they have a fair bit of power.

18 Abbott Family

Hannah Abbott sitting among classmates in the Harry Potter movies

The Abbotts don’t appear to be a hugely powerful wizarding family by the time Harry Potter is enrolled at Hogwarts, but they do have a rich history in the world. Abbott is one of the “Sacred 28” pureblood wizard families, but they do not strive to maintain that pureblood status, unlike the families that support Voldemort. By the 1930s, they married into muggle families, and by the 1990s, Hannah Abbott, a half-blood witch is a member of Hufflepuff house, loses her mother to a Death Eater attack, and becomes a member of Dumbledore’s Army.

The Abbotts traditionally make their home in Godrick’s Hollow, an old village for wizarding families, and one of her family members was once a Hogwarts Headmaster as his portrait hangs in the castle in several different places. American wizard historian Theophilus Abbott is also likely related to the family.

17 Macmillan Family

Ernie Macmillan talking in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Ernie MacMillan was always shown as a very pompous boy who made it known how strong his roots were. He said exactly this in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where he blurted out how his ancestor line was filled with witches and warlocks centuries in the past. His role was cut to the bone for the Harry Potter movies, so hopefully, he, and his family's impact, will be shown in the Harry Potter reboot series.

Ernie was largely exempt from the extremism shown during the war due to his family, which is enough proof that his blood status protected him. This tribe on the famous Harry Potter families list also had connections to the Black family, as Sirius Black’s paternal grandmother was a MacMillan by birth.

16 Rowle Family

Delphini in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Like the Abbotts, the Rowle family is also on the list of 28 pureblood wizarding families. None of the family members feature prominently during Harry Potter’s youth, but there is quite a bit known about their family history. Damocles Rowle was the Minister of Magic from 1718 to 1726, and several members of the family over the next few hundred years were active ministry employees, including Regina Rowle, an Unspeakable.

The Rowle family is also prominent enough when Harry Potter has children that Delphini, daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort, is entrusted to a member of the family. While Delphini claims that the family only takes her on as a ward for the money, the family maintains the secrecy of her origins throughout her life, maintaining a connection to dark wizards.

A blended image features Harry Potter using his wand and a dragon breathing fire

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15 Sayre Family

The Sayre family illustration for Harry Potter

The Sayres are an interesting wizarding family because they aren’t a huge part of the original series of Harry Potter novels. They are, however, connected by various marriages to some of the oldest wizarding families in the stories like the Gaunts and the Peverells. The family is originally from Ireland but migrated to the United States, specifically New England.

Isolt Sayre founded the biggest Wizarding school in North America in the Harry Potter lore. She began Ilvermony which is where most of the characters in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, like the Goldstein sisters, learned their magic.

14 Ollivander Family

Ollivander with Harry Potter handing him a wand in The Sorcerer's Stone

While Garrick Ollivander didn’t seem to have any power in social status, the fact remains that the Ollivander family in Harry Potter has been responsible for handing out wands to the British Wizarding world for millennia by this point. There are very few witches or wizards who didn't begin their journey with a visit to Ollivander's wand shop in Diagon Alley.

The first Ollivander to set up the wand-making business was in the year 382 BCE, meaning the entire British Wizarding world was reliant on this family. Due to this, the Ollivanders certainly had the power to influence the future of the Wizarding world since so many get their wands from them, but they seem content as wand makers.

13 Gaunt Family

The Gaunt family illustration for Harry Potter

The Gaunt family is no longer a powerful family by the events of the Harry Potter series, but they are descended from some very powerful wizards. They are direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin, one of the Hogwarts founders, and Cadmus Peverell, who originally owned the Resurrection Stone.

Those who belonged to the Gaunt family inherited the ability to speak Parseltongue and passed the Deathly Hallow down. In a case of one of the pure blood magical families trying to keep their bloodline completely pure, the Gaunt family name disappears from the Wizarding world around the 1940s, but Voldemort and his daughter are the last members of the family line, though neither of them uses the name.

12 Rosier Family

Vinda Rosier in Fantastic Beasts

While not one of the prevalent famous Harry Potter families, the Rosiers are introduced in the books, but their role in the dark arts has been further explored in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Possibly hailing from France, the Rosiers are part of the Sacred 28 pureblood families list, and through Druella Black née Rosier (mother of Bellatrix and Narcissa), the family is connected to the Black, Lestrange, and Malfoy family.

The name Rosier was first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire during which Igor Karkaroff tries to sell out fellow Death Eater Evan Rosier, only to find out that he was captured and killed by Mad-Eye Moody. Vinda Rosier in the Fantastic Beasts series is one of Grindelwald's most loyal acolytes. It's quite clear that the Rosiers have dutifully been a part of the dark part of history in the wizarding world, and their connections to other rich and high-status pureblood families prove they're one of the most powerful Harry Potter families around.

11 Parkinson Family

Genevieve Gaunt and Scarlett Byrne as Pansy Parkinson in Harry Potter

While her part in the books and movies was relatively minor, Pansy Parkinson comes from a powerful — and problematic — famous Harry Potter family. Pansy Parkinson was always brash about her status, along the lines of how Malfoy behaved. Her conceitedness was due to the Parkinson family including a Minister of Magic in their family tree.

Perseus Parkinson was the head of the magical government from 1726 to 1733, during which he attempted to pass a law that marrying Muggles was illegal. Even two-and-a-half centuries later, Pansy benefited from this heritage as her family remained upper-class and in the powerful Slytherin House. The notorious Harry Potter mean girl was given little screen time in the movies, and the new Harry Potter reboot would do well to showcase more of how her family's status has made her such an antagonistic force.

Harry Potter wands montage

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10 Bones Family

Amelia Bones at Harry's trial

This may seem like an odd choice because none of the members of the Bones family were central characters in the series. However, a deeper dig shows how formidable this entry to the famous Harry Potter families list is. Hagrid once told Harry Potter that they were among the greatest wizards in history. Alastor Moody also praised the Bones family.

Edgar Bones was in the Order of the Phoenix and fought bravely in the First Wizarding War. Seraphina Bones was famous enough for a portrait at Hogwarts. Amelia was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Susan was part of Dumbledore's Army and survived the Second Wizarding War. Like Ernie, the Hufflepuff was left largely out of the movies, along with her family's vast influence, something the Harry Potter reboot should rectify.

9 Dumbledore Family

Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts 3

Albus Dumbledore alone is powerful enough to ensure the Dumbledore family always ranks highly on a famous Harry Potter families ranked list. There's a reason he's considered by many to be the greatest wizard of all time. He defeated Gellert Grindelwald, led the Order of the Phoenix, helped discover all the uses of dragon's blood, and became Headmaster at Hogwarts. He's also the only wizard Voldemort is said to fear. Albus's parents, Percival and Kendra, didn't make any notable contributions to the Harry Potter canon (beyond Albus himself). However, Albus's brother Aberforth Dumbledore is part of the Order of the Phoenix, and he fought during the Battle of Hogwarts.

His sister Ariana suffered an attack when she was young, and though she had trouble with her magic after it, she was tragically strong enough to kill her mother when she lost control one night unintentionally. The tumultuous Dumbledore family history was touched upon but largely left out of the movies, despite playing a huge role in Harry's relationship and perception of the Headmaster. The scandal played a big part of The Deathly Hallows, a subplot that the Harry Potter reboot would do well to include.

8 Selwyn Family

Selwyn in Harry Potter holding up his hand

Although the Selwyns were barely mentioned, their place as a powerful example among the dozens of famous Harry Potter families is confirmed by the appearances-obsessed Dolores Umbridge pretended that she was related to them. The Selwyn's are pure bloods, and count themselves among the Sacred 28.

Outside the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Selwyn was also the name of a powerful Death Eater in Voldemort’s ranks. It's never stated in the books, but the Harry Potter movies implied a Selwyn killed Hedwig, and led the Death Eaters who tried to capture Harry on the Hogwarts Express. It's clear that, especially among the kind of wizards that frequent Knockturn Alley, that Selwyn is a powerful Harry Potter family.

7 Black Family

The Black Family Tree from Harry Potter

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black is well known even to casual viewers thanks to Harry's godfather, Sirius. Sirius Black's family tree is on display in their home at 12 Grimmauld Place. The Black family in Harry Potter used to have a Malfoy-like attitude to bloodline purity, disowning any member who showed support or love for muggles, but those who stuck around were usually impressive wizards and witches.

Key famous Harry Potter family Black members outside of Sirius Black include his younger brother Regulus, who was brave enough to hunt down Voldemort's Horcruxes before his death. Strong women like Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were also part of the family, and they are distant relatives to most pure-blood lines, including the Weasleys and Lupins. The films did their best to include Black family history, but the Harry Potter TV series could provide the opportunity to at least introduce Phineas Nigellus and reinforce why Sirius ran away in the first place.

6 Lestrange Family

Leta Lestrange sitting at a table in Fantastic Beasts 2

The Lestrange family is another one of the ancient pure-blood lines in the franchise. The first real introduction to them is through the evil Bellatrix, a high-ranking member of the Death Eaters who was responsible for taking down the Longbottoms and murdering Sirius Black. The Fantastic Beasts series has expanded on this entry of the famous Harry Potter families list by providing more knowledge on Leta Lestrange.

She proved herself reliable through a handful of experiments that got her into trouble while in school. As an adult, she was an essential member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. This line also produced a Minster of Magic and, eventually, the powerful daughter of Voldemort. Bellatrix's husband, Rodolphus, is one of Voldemort's fiercest followers, and while he doesn't speak in the books, he's still seen and spoken of frequently. Since he wasn't introduced in the film series, the Harry Potter TV show should at least see him in the flesh.

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5 Scamander Family

Newt and Theseus Scamander in Secrets of Dumbledore

The Scamander family is another case of a family that gets a lot of light shed on them in Fantastic Beasts. It is Newt Scamander who literally writes the book about the magical creatures that can be found all over the world. Though Newt gets expelled from Hogwarts, he is trusted by Albus Dumbledore against Gellert Grindelwald.

Newt wasn't alone in terms of talented wizards and witches in his famous Harry Potter family lineage. His mother bred hippogriffs, which helped inspire his life's work. Newt's brother Theseus worked as an Auror for the British Ministry of Magic and was considered a war hero for his efforts in the First Wizarding War. In addition, Luna Lovegood of the Harry Potter book series goes on to marry Newt's grandson, Rolf Scamander.

4 Longbottom Family

Neville Longbottom at the Battle of Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

There are many reasons the theory that Neville Longbottom could have been the "chosen one" instead of Harry Potter persists — and the Longbottom family name is more than partly responsible. When digging deeper into the family history of this entry of the famous Harry Potter families roster, it makes some sense. Neville's parents, Frank and Alice, were both respected Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix. Their story is a tragic one. Frank and Alice were tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange and refused to give up information. The torture drove them to insanity.

Neville was a late bloomer but went on to be a key member of Dumbledore's Army, and he gave the killing blow to Voldemort's snake, Nagini, rendering Voldemort mortal again. His grandmother was known as a powerful witch in her own right. The Longbottom family got the raw end of the deal in the Harry Potter movies, along with Neville's insecurities about coming from such a powerful Harry Potter family and feeling inadequate. If the Harry Potter reboot wants to please fans, the Longbottom's legacy should be wholly apparent, including the heartbreaking scene in which Neville visits his parents at St. Mungos.

3 Malfoy Family

Malfoy Family during the Battle of Hogwarts

The official description of the Malfoy family said one would "never find one at the scene of the crime, though their fingerprints might be all over the guilty wand" (via wizardingworld.com). That's not a ringing endorsement, but it is fitting. This famous Harry Potter family is powerful enough to be involved in a lot of pivotal moments throughout the history of the series. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy are more followers than they are leaders, but that doesn't make them any less potent.

Meanwhile, their son Draco was a formidable foe for Harry Potter, and the two ultimately share a mutual respect. Draco Malfoy's son Scorpius played a considerable role in a time-traveling adventure during his time at Hogwarts. As one of the wealthiest pureblood families around, Lucius Malfoy's influence is vast, within both Hogwarts as a school governor and the Ministry of Magic. The Harry Potter film series left out just how far the antagonist's reach was, and if the Harry Potter reboot show wants to stay faithful to the books, including the full spectrum of Lucius' control and fall from grace is key.

2 Weasley Family

Weasley Family in Dumbledore's Army

In terms of sheer volume, the Weasley family probably has enough members to take over the wizarding world. They may not have a lot of money, but they have an impressive array of wizards and witches at their disposal. For starters, most of them were members of the Order of the Phoenix and fought bravely against Voldemort. Arthur held a position in the Ministry of Magic, and Molly defeated Bellatrix Lestrange. Their children include a dragonologist, Head of the Department of Magical Transportation, Auror, and Quidditch star, to name a few.

The entire family on this famous Harry Potter families list played vital roles during the Second Wizarding War. They're as tough as they are plentiful. Like the Longbottoms, the Weasley family and their impact on the wizarding world were diminished in the Harry Potter film series. Charlie was never shown and barely mentioned, and Percy's arc and redemption were completely axed. Hopefully, the Harry Potter TV show will show the whole Weasley clan and give Percy the storyline he got in the books.

1 Potter Family

Harry Potter and his parents in Sorcerer's Stone

The Potters are the focal point of the series, but they're still the most powerful Harry Potter family. A lot of the Potter ancestors were powerful and include Aurors, inventors, and Wizengamot members. And that's all before audiences get to James and Lily Potter, who were both brave members of the Order of the Phoenix who battled Voldemort to protect their son, Harry. It's no mystery why the Potter vault at Gringotts is so full of Galleons.

Despite what Severus Snape said about him, Harry Potter proved himself to be a powerful wizard. He was able to go toe to toe with Voldemort on several occasions and was the one to ultimately defeat him, proving once and for all why he's the titular character of Harry Potter. Harry went on to lead the Auror Office and become Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. His children all show incredible potential at Hogwarts.

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