The Harry Potter series has always shown both the light and dark sides of magic. It often emphasizes the dire consequences of using the latter. While most of the story's heroes were on the right side of history, other characters still chose to cross this line in the pursuit of power, immortality, and glory.
Harry Potter's main focus is on the power of love, family and friendship, which always overcomes the desire for power. Still, there are several dark witches and wizards, such as Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange, who make up the villains of the Wizarding World. Some distinguish themselves off of merit, skill, or raw magical power.
Updated on February 17th 2023 by Isaac Williams: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has a long history with the Dark Arts and the wizards who use them. There are plenty of powerful dark wizards in the books, films, and other media like Hogwarts Legacy. As such, this article has been updated with even more of Harry Potter's most dangerous practitioners of the Dark Arts.
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15 Verucca Buckthorn-Snyde
Verucca Buckthirn-Snyde was a prominent member of the wealthy Snyde family. In addition, she was one of the leading members of the terrorist organization known as R. In the Hogwarts Mystery mobile game, she was revealed to be the aunt of the main character's rival, Merula Snyde.
Verucca was one of the most powerful Dark witches of her time. She was a talented and accurate duelist, easily battling high-ranked Aurors like Tonks. She was also born a Metamorphmagus, using her innate skill to successfully impersonate others and do undercover work for R.
14 Patricia Rakepick
Before teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts, Patricia Rakepick was a renowned Curse-Breaker for the wizarding bank, Gringotts. Sometime in the mid-1980s, she joined an illicit and mysterious society known as R and attempted to break into a cursed vault that connected to Hogwarts.
Patrica was a powerful and accomplished witch. She mastered both the Dark Arts and the defensive magic that resisted them. According to Dumbledore, she was also particularly adept at Transfiguration and Charms. She routinely came top of her class during her time as a Hogwarts student.
13 Fenrir Greyback
Fenrir Greyback was an ally of Lord Voldemort in the Second Wizarding War. Although he wasn't a full Death Eater, he was one of the few werewolves given any sort of authority in Voldemort's army. Fenrir Greyback's lycanthropy gave him a distinct advantage over many other Dark Wizards.
Greyback was a threat on many levels. He was an accomplished magician with the Dark Arts and a good Snatcher. However, his main prowess came from the physical threat a werewolf could pose. Greyback was even a danger when not transformed, as shown when he bit Bill Weasley.
12 Bellatrix Lestrange
Bellatrix Lestrange was a Death Eater known for her absolute devotion to Voldemort. She was one of the strongest Dark witches of the twentieth century. Born into the powerful House of Black, she was raised to believe in pureblood supremacy and to despise Muggles for 'intruding' into the wizarding world.
Bellatrix was a skilled Occlumens. She was also infamous for her frequent use of the Cruciatus Curse, which she preferred casting over any other spell. She was responsible for torturing Neville's parents, killing Sirius Black, and torturing Hermione, among many other crimes.
11 Antonin Dolohov
Antonin Dolohov was another Death Eater. In his case, he distinguished himself with a stellar dueling record. Other Death Eaters surpassed him in other areas, but Dolohov was able to fight experienced Order of the Phoenix members and come out on top in their fights.
Dolohov only suffered three defeats in the entire series and was outnumbered for all. In one-on-one duels, he was able to best Mad-Eye Moody and even kill Remus Lupin. He also fought Sirius Black to a draw until Harry Potter intervened in their fight. He was the most effective Death Eater in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries by a long stretch.
10 Barty Crouch Jr.
Barty Crouch Jr. was a death eater who didn't show most of his aptitude in the First Wizarding War. His most notable action was helping the Lestranges overpower and torture Frank and Alice Longbottom. However, he managed to show great magical power over the course of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Crouch proved himself able to resist an Imperius Curse after long periods of time. He was also able to overpower Mad-Eye Moody after years of imprisonment. Furthermore, Crouch showed enough skill in potions to brew a constant supply of Polyjuice Potion, and used dark magic effortlessly in his Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons.
9 Emeric The Evil
Emeric the Evil was a particularly violent and power-hungry Dark wizard from the Middle Ageswho hailed from the south of England. He often rode a dragon-like magical beast of unknown origin. In his adulthood, Emeric the Evil somehow obtained the Elder Wand. He then used it to terrorize his hometown and neighboring cities into submission.
Emeric was a menace to a large portion of Wizarding England, threatening much of the country. Despite his dueling abilities, he was later defeated by another Dark wizard of the time, Egbert the Egregious, who took possession of the Elder Wand for a time.
8 Victor Rookwood
Victor Rookwood was an ancestor of the Death Eather Augustus Rookwood. He was also a powerful dark wizard allied with the goblin Ranrow during Hogwarts Legacy. Rookwood was one of the most powerful dark wizards of his time. He was the undisputed leader of a faction capable of posing a significant threat.
Victor Rookwood was skilled with both dark magic and more mundane criminality. He used his magic to help run an elaborate crime gang and criminal racket. In addition, he was proficient enough with curses to condemn Anne Sallow to a life of endless agony.
7 Barnabas Deverill
Barnabas Deverill was one of many wizards to lay claim to the Elder Wand. Mastering the wand makes any wizard fearsome. However, Deverill was able to achieve more with it than many others. He used the Elder Wand to become the most feared warlock in the world during the 18th century.
Deverill established a reign of terror with his use of the Elder Wand. It isn't known exactly how powerful he was, only that the wand helped him become a genuine threat to many. It took another dark wizard, Loxias, to murder him and take the wand.
6 Herpo The Foul
Born in Ancient Greece, Herpo the Foul was one of the first wizards to experiment and fully immerse themselves into the Dark Arts. Not only did he create many of the curses that were used in Harry Potter's time, but he was also the first person to breed and successfully domesticate a Basilisk.
As an adept Parseltongue, Herpo the Foul was able to control the Basilisk, which was rumored to have lived for over nine hundred years. Furthermore, he was the first wizard to seal a piece of his soul inside an object, creating the first recorded Horcrux.
5 Gormlaith Gaunt
Gormlaith Gaunt was a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. She was born in Ireland in the late 1500s. Her radical anti-Muggle views distanced Gormlaith from her sister and brother-in-law. Gormlaith later murdered her family because they used magic to help their Muggle neighbors.
After orphaning her only niece, Isolt, Gormlaith attempted to teach her the Dark Arts and her own pureblood values. Isolt escaped her aunt after twelve years of isolation and settled in America where she later established Ilvermorny. Not one to give up, Gormlaith tracked Isolt down to murder her. However, Gormlaith was struck by a poisonous arrow during their showdown and passed away.
4 Morgana
One of the most famous Dark sorceresses of all time, Morgana (also called Morgan le Fay) was best known as the Queen of Avalon and Merlin's mortal enemy. As King Arthur's half-sister, she reigned during the Middle Ages while secretly practicing both dark spells and healing magic.
At some point in her lifetime, Morgana mastered human Transfiguration and was successful in becoming a bird Animagus. This highly unusual Animagus form proved that she was an incredibly powerful witch. Morgana was one of many witches who were featured on the trading cards in packets of Chocolate Frogs.
3 Salazar Slytherin
Alongside the three other Hogwarts founders, Salazar Slytherin was considered one of the strongest wizards of the Middle Ages. He was nicknamed Serpent-tongue for his ability to communicate with snakes, as well as being a skilled Legilimens with a rich and deep knowledge of the Dark Arts.
Above all else, Slytherin valued determination, cunning, and blood purity; qualities that he looked for when selecting students for his Hogwarts house. Alongside many other dark feats, Slytherin's sheer magical strength comes through in helping create one of the oldest and most powerful magic schools in the world.
2 Gellert Grindelwald
Gellert Grindelwald was the world's most infamous dark wizard before Lord Voldemort. He immersed himself in the Dark Arts while he was studying at Durmstrang, one of the eight most prominent wizarding schools in the world. Though he was expelled for attacking fellow students, he continued experimenting with dark magic and eventually befriended a young Dumbledore.
A born Seer, Grindelwald let himself be consumed by his own visions of greatness. He sought to conquer Muggles, who he considered inferior. His leadership skills made him especially dangerous, as he managed to convince many powerful witches and wizards to join his cause.
1 Lord Voldemort
Considered the most powerful dark wizard of all time, Voldemort was obsessed with his own half-blood ancestry and his search for power and immortality. To achieve the latter, he used his enemies' murders to fracture his soul into six and create his own set of Horcruxes. These rendered him functionally immortal for a time.
Voldemort used his charm to recruit a group of like-minded, strong magical folk who would later become his lackeys, the Death Eaters. He was notable for performing near-impossible feats of magic, including mastering elemental and wandless magic, possessing others, and flying unassisted.