Rank Your Top Ten Harry Potter Wizards

List for Characters strictly in the series. They must have enough feats to base a argument with (characters like Gryffindor, Merlin not allowed)

My Top Wizards in the Series

1. Dumbledore- nuff said
2. Lord Voldemort - able to combat dumbledore even though he had possession of the elder wand (dumbledore was old and trying to protect Harry and still won)
3. Grindewald- Dumbledore said they were close in power even though dumbledore beat him while he had the elder wand
4. Severus Snape- one of the best potions makers, accomplished legilimens, able to combat the other school teachers, unaided flight, invented a host of spells, half blood prince
5. Bellatrix Lestrange- battled two highly skilled wizards while laughing, beat Sirius Black, solo'd the Longbottoms, was said to have been Voldemort's most trusted and learned the darkest and most powerful spells
6. Aberforth: Dumbledore's brother, was soloing death eaters in the battle of hogwarts
7. Alastor Moody- very skilled auror back in his day, Voldemort recognized him as the most skilled/powerful protector when they were trying to get Harry to the safehouse (people present included Kingsley Shacklebolt and Lupin)
8. McGonnagal/Flitwick/Slughorn- very skilled Hogwarts teachers. Slughorn was being hunted by Voldemort for recruiting purposes, McGonnagal was stated to be able to overcome a group of aurors if not blind sided and was an animagus, Flitwick enchanted the school
9. James/Sirius/Lupin/Peter- James and Sirius were said to be very gifted/skilled wizards at a young age, Voldemort went after James himself and James put up a fight, Sirius battled Bellatrix and was holding his own, Lupin became a teacher at hogwarts, Peter blew up a whole street and killed dozens of muggles with one spell, all were animagus
10. Kingsley Shacklebolt: was made temporary minister after Voldemort fell, said to be best active auror always assigned to protect the prime minister

If Gandalf isn't #1, there's something wrong with you.

@_mongul: harry potter?

@hulkage: Yeah?

@_mongul: since when had he been in HP.

@hulkage: Learn your harry potter dude

Flitwick should be higher on your list. Dude was a duelist champion some time after he graduated, so we know he's a skilled fighter. He's also the one who enchanted all those flying keys to protect the Sorcerer's Stone, which was a rather impressive feat of magic. And though Snape did cheap shot him with a spell once it was Flitwick's arrival that forced Snape to flee as Snape knew he couldn't beat all the teachers at once. His charm to protect the school was also one of the most impressive spells in the series. As least to me. You don't see wizards doing large scale spells like creating a wind storm like that often.

Flitwick also dueled Yaxley and defeated, maybe outright killed, Antonin Dolohov during the battle for Hogwarts. By feats Antonin isn't that much weaker than Bellatrix, if not her equal. They can both duel two skilled wizards simultaneously as Antonin did just that against Dean Thomas and Parvati Patil. Her feat of killing Sirius is matched by Antonin dueling Sirius and Harry alongside Lucius and murdering Remus Lupin in a duel who, by your list, is roughly equal to Sirius. Antonin even bested Mad Eye Moody in a duel in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

Harry Potter?

Been done before here..

Harry Potter thread

@bumpyboo: Does this count as repeat?

@princearagorn1: I wouldn't say so, the other thread is about the franchise in it's entirety and I would assume is for more general discussion, whereas this one is asking for a very specific type of response :)

Dumbledore has the second best wizard duel I have ever seen.

@bumpyboo: I see.

---------------------

Then here's my list:

1.Albus dumbledore: Fought voldemort quite casually, and was winning, till he decided to hide behind harry.

2.Gellert Grindelwald: Apparently just a shade apart from Albus.

3.Voldemort: Obviously. No need to explain.

4. Filius flitwick: Dueling champion of hogwarts, beat Dolohov.

5. Antonin Dolohov: Floored mad-eye and killed Lupin-tonks (no!!)

6. Mad-eye Moody: Arguably the toughest auror of all times.

7. Serious Black: Laughting in face of Bellatrix. Cost him the duel though.

8. Bellatrix Lestrange: Apparently the best lieutenant of voldemort. Beat both tonks and kingsley flat out.

9. Kingsley shacklebolt: Best known working auror, working security for the PM.

10. Hermione Granger: Better hexing skills than aurors in fifth year, tagged antonin twice. Arguably McGonagall should be here, considering she would've supposedly taken on four aurors at once. Or harry, depending on plot, he's sometimes fast enough to react to voldemort..

@metaljimmor: better?

@princearagorn1:

That seems like a more appropriate place for Flitwick, yes. The guy didn't get much screen time but his feats are pretty impressive, even if we didn't get to see them in detail.

I like this list.

What's the first?

The one in The Sword in the Stone.

Ah yes, that was a fun one.

So who'd you put in top 10?

NO MINE S BETTER ADMIT IT!

@princearagorn1:

Honestly not much different than yours, though I'd slip Snape somewhere around Sirius. After you get past Moody the list really gets pretty muddied with so many characters around the same skill level. I also wouldn't rank Hermione that highly. She's a skilled wizard but she wasn't that impressive as a duelist.

@princearagorn1: Nah, Voldemort is better than Grindelwald, who was said to be the SECOND greatest dark wizard of all time, behind Voldy.

well, she did tag dolohov.. I might have added snape there, but I don't think they were on the same level. He was a superb occlumence, so I thought that might be his area..

He stayed away from the entire country dumbledore was in lol, of course he'd be considered less dangerous. But he was said to be as skilled as dumbledore at least thrice, while dumbledore was always considered better than voldemort. What about others?

@princearagorn1: I'm still gonna put Voldy ahead of him, though, there's a lot of categories that can qualify though, they could mean that Voldy had better mastery of the Dark Arts, but Grindy was a better duelist etc, but in the lore, many considered Voldy above him.

As for the rest, I more or less agree, don't know if I would put Hermione there, she's a genius, but I would put her dueling on par with Harry's, maaaaybe silightly below him depending on plot.

And Bela is better than Sirius to me.

Dumbledore is obviously the most powerful and maybe the wisest and also the laziest, I'd even say he was half troll.

@the_stegman:

I'm still gonna put Voldy ahead of him, though, there's a lot of categories that can qualify though, they could mean that Voldy had better mastery of the Dark Arts, but Grindy was a better duelist etc, but in the lore, many considered Voldy above him.

imo voldemort would be considered darker because of his goals as well - he was obliterating anyone other than pure wizards, and anyone who tolerated muggles.

Compared to that, grindelwald was only about establishing wizards in their rightful place, not outright killing half-bloods and all.

Besides, three people who actually interacted with them considered them near-equals: Bathilda, Aberforth, and Dumbledore himself; while I don't think anyone considered voldemort could equal dumbledore, only that he was capable of magic dumbledore couldn't.

As for the rest, I more or less agree, don't know if I would put Hermione there, she's a genius, but I would put her dueling on par with Harry's, maaaaybe silightly below him depending on plot.

Well, harry fluctuates for plot reasons, reacting to voldemort repeatedly. But hermione does better in most of the small skirmishes from what I remember. She's far more versatile as well.

And Bela is better than Sirius to me.

idk, Sirius was toying with her as much as she was toying with Mrs. Weasley, which I don't see anyone doing any time soon.

Excluding epilogue--

1. Dumbledore

2. Grindewald

3. Voldy

4. Moody

5. Bellatrix

6. McGonnagal

7. Shacklebolt

8. Flitwick

9. Snape

10. Abeforth

Including epilogue--

Mostly the same. Only difference would be that Ron and Harry would share Shacklebolt's position. They are said to be one of the greatest aurors. Now I don't think they ever became as good as Moody, but they should've reached/surpassed Kingsley.

1. Dumbledore.

2. Grindewald.

3. Voldemort.

4. Moody.

5. Bellatrix.

6. Flitwick.

7. Shacklebolt.

8. McGonnagal.

9. Snape.

10. Dolohov.

1. Albus Dumbledore - beat and forced into retreat the 2nd and 3rd most powerful wizards (Voldemort and Grindelwald), was widely considered the best wizard in the series by many series by many people,one shotted Kingsley, Fudge, Umbridge, and Dawlish. One shoted Snape in Prince's Tale, one shotted Bellatrix with the enchanted statue, etc.

2. Voldemort- Considered the darkest wizard ever. Extremely powerful wizard was able to defeat Kingsley, McGonagall, and Slughorn in a 3 on 1 duel.This is even more impressive considering his wand was not working properly due to Harry's sacrifice. Overcame Snape, an extremely powerful wizard with one spell. Note that a solid argument could be made that Grindelwald was the better duelist. The reason i put him number 2 was because he made a major invention of not using a broom to fly which was considered impossible among other things. Shame he didn't use that in the battle of Hogwarts to dodge spells.

3. Grindelwald - Was able to give Dumbledore the most epic duel ever witnessed. Was only a shade less skillful than a Dumbledore in his prime. Was probably a superior duelist to Voldemort in his prime.

4. Snape - Master Occlumens, skilled in Legilimency. Inventer of numerous spells even in his youth including the deadly sectumsempra. Was the only one besides Voldemort to fly without a broomstick. Was able to hold his own against McGonagall despite not wanting to harm her.

5. Bellatrix - Very good duelist. Probably best witch based solely on dueling feats although McGonagall might be better at magic in general. Defeated Tonks, Kingsley, and killed Sirius all in a row in the Department of Mysteries. Was the only Death Eater to deflect a spell from Dumbledore although later she did get defeated by Dumbledore with one spell later (that's no shame though). In the Battle of Hogwarts killed Tonks, and was winning a 3 on 1 vs. Luna, Hermione, and Ginny. Killed by Molly but hey the most skilled witch or wizard does not always win a duel upsets do happen plus she was overconfident.

6. - 10. From here on it becomes more a matter of opinion as there are numerous witches and wizards equally skilled and none stand out although I'd probably put McGonagall at number 6. Some who could go in that place in no particular order are Kingsley, McGonagall, Slughorn, Flitwick, Barty Crouch Snr, Dolohov, Sirius, Lupin, Harry and Hermione by Epilogue, etc.

A side note, I notice a lot of people put Mad Eye Moody at the top I don't because although it was said he was the best Auror the ministry ever had I believe that was because of extreme tenaciousness rather than greatness as a wizard or skill in dueling. Think about it, is a guy who got scars all over, lost an eye and a leg that good at dueling? Probably not since he can't even block curses from average Death Eaters which would comprimise most of the cells in Azkaban he filled. Plus he never really showed himself to be that powerful in the book. Lost to Dolohov, beaten by Crouch Jr and Pettigrew although in this case he probably was ambushed, and one shotted by Voldemort.

If this is about duelling skills, I guess mine looks like that:

1. Albus Dumbledore - defeated Grindelwald and stalemated with the most powerful dark wizard of all time without trying to kill him.

2. Voldemort - This is a tough choice but I will just take his title for granted.

3. Gellert Grindelwald - Obviously

4. Bellatrix Lestrange - a prodigious witch with outstanding duelling skills.

5. Filius Flitwick - a duelling champion, he defeated Dolohov one of the more powerful death eaters.

6. Antonin Dolohov - Antonin Dolohov was an extremely skilled dueller who killed Lupin, the Prewett brothers and even defeated Alastor Moody

7. Sirius Black - an excellent dueller who did manage to hold his own against Bellatrix Lestrange, his recklessness caused his death.

8. Kingsley Shacklebolt - probably the best auror of his time, he was the personal bodyguard of Fudge and the one supposed to catch Sirius. He showed at numerous times that he was able to fight several death eaters at once.

9. Minerva Mcgonagall - her transfiguration skills amazed me.

Now I'm going to talk about the absents who obviously should have their place in this ranking.

Alastor Moody considered to be the greatest auror of all time has without a doubt his place his place on the list, I didn't put him because I don't know how skilled he was in his prime. Something tells me that he is the one who caught Dolohov and that this is the reason why Dolohov seemed really satisfied to have defeated him although this is just speculation, however Dolohov is said to be one of the earlier death eaters so he is at least in Moody generation and in that case should have got even more rusty than him, having been jailed at Azkaban for 15 years.

At any rate Moody in his prime really high up there probably among the top 6.

James Potter, the leader of the marauders, considered to be one of the cleverest student of his time at Hogwarts, he was asked to join the death eaters along with his wife so I guess he was pretty powerful wizard. His only feat is his little showdown against Snape at the end of his fifth year and from what I saw he had excellents reflexes who made him able to easily disarm Snape. The problem is that he died too early for us to know how good he really was but with all his hype I would put him around Sirius.

Severus Snape could have been the 10th but I was hesitating with Remus Lupin, he showed that he was highly capable dueller better than the average but he never showed outstanding feats in that area. He is surely a talented wizard with a wide variety of skills but not the extremely talented duellist that most of his fans believe him to be, as I said there is the difference between being a great dueller and being a great wizard overall.

Remus Lupin, the best DADA teacher Harry ever had, who is said to be extremely talented in these areas, he survived the First wizard War while many others found their death and he managed to come out of several battle unscathed. I feel that he is fairly good dueller and between he and Snape I don't know who would win.

Of course there is alot of others wizards who could have their place on the list such as Amelia Bones who is said to be powerful witch who put up a fight against Voldemort himself, there are Order members who died during the first war such as Edgar Bones (Amelia's brothers), Fabian and Gideon Prewett (Molly's brothers) who are said to have "fought like heroes", Aberforth Dumbledore who participated in a three-way duel between himself, Albus and Gellert Grindelwald and defeated Rookwood, the Longbottoms who were extremely popular auror renowned at the moment. On the dark side there are Yaxley who seems to be proficient dueller as he managed to hold his own against Flitwick awhile, Evan Rosier a young death eater who put up a fight against Prime Moody as he took his nose...

In brief I just put the wizards we know best but we can speculate about a lot of wizard who could apply to this list.

Ron left the aurors after two years so even though I'm sure he is a fairly skilled dueller but I don't think he reached Kingsley's level. However Harry became the youngest head of the Auror Office mostly because of his leadership's skills and and his feats during the war, I have no doubt that he became a highly proficient fighter.

In my view the top wizards are as follows

Albus Dumbledore

Lord Voldemort

Gellert Grindlewald

Minerva Mcgonagall

Severus Snape

Bellatrix Lestrange

Filius Flitwick

Antonion Dolohov

Mad eye moody

Kingsley Shacklebolt

all i can say is, Pre-Epilogue Harry won't be in my Top 10 List.

I'm creating a Grindelwald respect thread since he's appaered in Fantastic Beasts Who want to be tagged when I release it?

Why did I put Moody above Bella? And where is Doholov?

Count me in.

@rbt: Allright nice

I would like a tag!

Off the top of my sleep deprived head...

At the top is Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Voldemort and possibly Credence.

Then there is Delphi and Bellatrix.

Followed by people like Flitwick, Kingsley, Yaxley, Dolohov and possibly Moody or Aberforth.

My favorits, in no order:

• Fred and George Weasley
• Neville Longbotom
• Sirius Black
• Nymphadora Tonks
• Ron Wisley
• Albus Dumbledore
• Minerva McGonagall
• Severus Snape
• Scorpius Malfoy
• Newt Scamander

Top 10 for me:

1. Dumbledore: Fairly obvious and self explanatory. 1 shotting an entire room of death eaters, having the upper hand on Tom, defeating Grindlewald etc.

2. Grindlewald: Fought DD for hours on end during his prime (granted he had the elder wand, an incredibly overrated piece of wood if you ask me but hey). DD was described to be "a shade more skillful" hence why he is no 2.

3. Voldy: Arguably the most feared dark wizard of all time. Held his own against DD, defeated McGonagall, Kingsley and Slughorn 3v1 whilst they were amped by Harry's love/ sacrifice.

Massive gap

4. Bellatrix: A witch of "prestigious skill". Best dueling feats outside the big 3. Stomped snatchers 1v4, was gaining the upper hand against Luna, Ginny and Hermoine 3v1. Beat Tonks, Sirius and Kingsley back to back (defeated the latter in a half a page stomp), deflected a spell from Dumbledore, curbed Harry, killed Tonks etc.

5. Amelia Bones: I wasn't sure where to place her since she only has 1 dueling feat, but it's incredibly high end. She supposedly gave Voldy a great fight 1v1. Based off of this you could argue she should be above Bella and in the no-mans land between spots 3 and 4 but due to her lack of feats I think this is a good spot for her.

6. Flitwick: Most knowledgeable charms master alive today. Defeated Dolohov. Seemed to be extremely adept at defensive magics as evidenced when he was head of defence at the BOH.

7. Dolohov: Has his own spell/curse that when performed non-verbally was enough to nearly kill Hermoine. I believe Madame Pomfrey states that it would do even more damage if the incantation had been said aloud. Defeated Moody (not prime). Killed Lupin. Probably the most powerful DE after Lestrange.

8. Minerva MCgonogall: Extremely adept at transfiguration, which unlike Snapes affinity and skill with potions, would be very effective and powerful in a duel. Dueled Voldy along with 2 others.

9. Shacklebolt: Could duel and defeat two people at once. Dueled Agustus Rookwood. Highly ranked within the auror order. Briefly held off Voldy in the battle of the seven Potters, he and Hermoine dueled 5 DE's, defeating 3 of them (1 of them was Travers I believe).

10. Moody (not prime): He has lot's of hype surrounding him that he never quite lived up to, but I thought he was worth a mention here.

I purposely left out Delphini as I have not finished TCC but based on what I have read so far and others comments I would place her above Bellatrix and below Voldermort.

Alright! :)

@darthduelist9: Tag me too, I heard he was a beast in the movie.

Good, didn't know you were into Harry Potter? And yeah, he did some pretty impressive stuff.

This is 100% Correct. Maybe instead of Moody should be Snape thanks to the alchemy knowledge but only because this

Top 4(only a few really stand out to me, most others have similar feats/accolades)

• Albus; Speaks for itself, he is the best. No questions asked.
• Voldemort: Able to consistently duel Albus into a draw despite Albus having the Elder Wand.
• Grindelwald: Went toe-to-toe with Albus in his prime for 3 hours, if that's not impressive I don't know what is.
• Credence Barebones: I know he never technically used magic, but the size of his obscuris and how long he lived speaks for his magical potential(hoping to see more of him). Even so, the obscuris is probably one of the most powerful things we've seen from HP, so I'll give him a spot for that.

Adult Wizards( not any serious explanation required):

1. Albus Dumbledore.
2. Voldemort
3. Gellert Grindelwald
4. Severus Snape
5. Bellatrix Lestrange
6. Minerva McGonagall
7. Alastor Moody
8. Filius Flitwick
9. Sirius Black
10. Kingsley Shacklebolt

As far as the students are concerned:

1. Harry Potter-I am well aware that though his knowledge is dwarfed by people like Hermione, the sheer power of his spells, along with his potential, should enable him to edge it out to 1, along with his substantial experience( relatively of course, here). His track record isn't all PIS either, just his showings against Voldemort. That and JK Rowling has stated that he surpassed Hermione overall, after the 4th year.
2. Hermione Granger-No explanations required.
3. Draco Malfoy-Tough one, but he too, just edges it here, mainly because of his later hype.
4. Fred/George Weasley
5. Ginny Weasley
6. Ron Weasley
7. Cedric Diggory( wasn't able to achieve his potential, or even complete his education, hence his low ranking, but he was noteworthy even in whatever he did).
8. Luna Lovegood
9. Vincent Crabbe
10. Gregory Goyle

This obviously doesn't include people like young Dumbledore, or Voldemort( if I had to place them, they would most likely be higher than Harry, simply because they have his raw power and likely more potential than him, and Hermione's vast knowledge). Also this doesn't have people like Bill and the like, because they are well into adulthood. Characters, are at their Deathly Hallows versions, so it is safe to assume that they are at their primes, and better than whatever they have shown previously.

It is also hard to gauge how the kids compare to the adults, but judging holistically, they should start getting stomped or at least, handily overcome at and before 7.

@darthduelist9

Tag me as well.

@lordofthelight: The lack of Dolohov and Snape as your number 4 spot...disturbs me.

@vengefulshot

First of all, this is made mainly( almost wholly) by the novels, as they are the main source of canon. Movies would have enormous inconsistencies, and taking that at face value, Harry as of HP7 would be higher than Snape, because Voldemort one-shotted Snape, whereas Harry at least held his own. So, the impact of movies is negligible, and the movies themselves are horrible, when it comes to portraying characters' power levels, or even how they should be.

That being said, I did consider Dolohov. But for his inconsistencies, he would have been 10. Actually, I have Sirius, Kingsley and Dolohov as rough equals.

Who would you rather have as your number 4 spot?

@lordofthelight: Dolohovs only real inconsistency was getting beat by 2 students in the final book IIRC.

Everyone on your list is above Snape in terms of dueling imo, with Bellatrix being significantly better than all of them (outside the obvious 3).