‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix‘ contains a whole plethora of new characters and places. We are given a proper introduction to the Ministry of Magic in this book, and as Harry first visits the Ministry for his trial, he is spellbound by how huge, and interesting the Ministry building is. Through his eyes, the readers get a glimpse of this building and its architecture. Furthermore, since Voldemort’s return in the previous book, a lot of interesting events are taking place. Voldemort seems to be recruiting new members to join his ranks, including the giants and several death eaters that the readers were oblivious to come about in this book.
Other new characters include some members of Dumbledore’s Army and some other students of Hogwarts.

Harry Potter
Harry Potter is the protagonist of this book. He is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts and is from the Gryffindor house. He recently fought his enemy Voldemort and came back from the ordeal alive. But the Ministry of Magic rubbishes his claim that Voldemort is back. They are hellbent on vanquishing his stories about how he fought Voldemort and how Cedric Diggory was killed on Voldemort’s orders. Furthermore, Harry’s scar hurts a lot more than ever, and he is able to envision some things that are happening elsewhere. He heads a team of students dubbed the Dumbledore’s Army and teaches them essential skills needed to defend themselves from dark magic.
Ron Weasley
Ron Weasley is the closest friend of Harry Potter. He is a fifth-year student. He is very funny and humorous. He has been elected as the new prefect for his house, Gryffindor. He is also a crucial member of Dumbledore’s army and is present with Harry during the battle against the death eaters.
Hermione Granger
Hermione Granger is the closest friend of Harry and Ron. She is a fifth-year student who belongs to the Gryffindor house. She is considered the brightest student of her time, and she is very resourceful and extremely intelligent. She is one of the first people to suggest the formation of Dumbledore’s Army and is a crucial member during the battle against the death eaters at the Department of Mysteries.
Dolores Umbridge
Dolores Umbridge is the undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. She is eventually appointed as the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts but continues to promote herself up till the point she becomes the headmistress of Hogwarts. She is a very controlling and dangerously strict woman who furthers the cause of the Ministry to keep Harry and the rest of Hogwarts in check.
Sirius Black
Sirius Black is the godfather of Harry and is an important member of the Order of the Phoenix. He has offered his house, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, as the official headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. However, due to being a fugitive after being wrongly accused of murder, he is unable to do any work besides sitting at home, which bothers him.
Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore is considered by many to be the most gifted and greatest living wizard of his time. He is the headmaster of Hogwarts and serves as a constant guide to several different people, Harry included. He is wrongly accused of hatching plots to overthrow the ministry as a means to discredit him and give up his position as the headmaster of Hogwarts.
Voldemort
Voldemort is the antagonist of this book and the series as a whole. He is a dark wizard with the belief that only pure-blooded wizards and witches should be allowed to do magic and is therefore trying his best to attain the power to see his vision come into action. However, he is almost always thwarted by Harry Potter.
Neville Longbottom
Neville Longbottom is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts from Gryffindor house. He is a shy and timid boy. He is a little hesitant to do most things and is, therefore a subject of constant ridicule from most bullies. He is seen with his parents at St. Mungo’s hospital, who was tortured with the Cruciatus Curse by some death eaters long ago. Neville is present at the ministry during their battle against the death eaters.
Luna Lovegood
Luna Lovegood is a fourth-year student at Hogwarts and is from the Ravenclaw house. She is a strange and eccentric girl who is the subject of constant ridicule due to her strange behavior. She is the one who assures Harry that she can see the thestrals too and is very friendly to most people who come her way. She is present during the battle against the death eaters at the Department of Mysteries.
Ginny Weasley
Ginny Weasley is the youngest of the Weasley siblings and is the sister of Ron and the Weasley twins. She is a fourth-year student from Gryffindor and is a crucial member of Dumbledore’s Army. She is present at the Department of Mysteries, where they battle a hoard of death eaters.
Avery
Avery is one of the death eaters present at the Department of Mysteries during their battle against the members of Dumbledore’s Army and, later, the Order of the Phoenix.
Bane
Bane is one of the centaurs that resides in the Forbidden Forest.
Professor Binns
Professor Binns is a teacher of History of Magic at Hogwarts. He is the only teacher at Hogwarts who is also a ghost.
Alphard Black
Alphard Black was a member of the Black family and was the uncle of Sirius Black. He reportedly left an inheritance to Sirius, which helped Sirius take care of himself when he left his house at the age of sixteen.
Regulus Black
Regulus Arcturus Black was Sirius’s younger brother. Very little is known about him, except that he died early, but in later books, he is an important figure.
The Bloody Baron
The Bloody Baron is the ghost of Slytherin’s house.
Broderick Bode
Broderick Bode is an unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries. He is sent a Devil’s Snare to the hospital wing he is in and is instantly killed by it.
Amelia Bones
Amelia Bones is a member of the Wizengamot and head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She is at the trial for Harry’s use of underage magic. She is quite impressed by his ability to perform the Patronus charm at such a young age.
Susan Bones
Susan Bones is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. She is from the Hufflepuff house. She is a member of Dumbledore’s Army.
Lavender Brown
Lavender Brown is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. She is from the Gryffindor house.
Millicent Bulstrode
Millicent Bulstrode is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. She is from the Slytherin house.
Cho Chang
Cho Chang is a sixth-year student at Hogwarts. She is from the Ravenclaw house and has a short-lived relationship with Harry. She is also a member of Dumbledore’s Army.
Michael Corner
Michael Corner is a student of Ravenclaw house and a Quidditch player. He is the boyfriend of Ginny Weasley for a short while and is also in Dumbledore’s Army.
Vincent Crabbe
Vincent Crabbe is one of the cronies of Draco Malfoy and is constantly helping Draco whenever he tries to bully someone.
Crabbe
Crabbe is the father of Vincent Crabbe and is a death eater.
Roger Davies
Roger Davies is a seventh-year student at Hogwarts. He is also a Quidditch player and captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.
Dawlish
Dawlish is one of the best aurors of the ministry. He is seen with Kingsley Shacklebolt when the Minister of Magic and Umbridge try to arrest Dumbledore.
Dedalus Diggle
Dedalus Diggle is one of the members of the Order of the Phoenix that escorts Harry to the headquarters from Privet Drive.
Dobby
Dobby is a house elf that Harry once helped to become free from his masters, the Malfoys.
Antonin Dolohov
Antonin Dolohov is a death eater who is present during the battle against members of Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix.
Petunia Dursley
Petunia Dursley is Harry’s Aunt and the wife of Vernon Dursley. She stays in Privet Drive.
Vernon Dursley
Vernon Dursley is the uncle of Harry. He stays at Privet Drive and works at a drilling company.
Dudley Dursley
Dudley Dursley is the cousin of Harry. He almost gets kissed by a dementor in Little Whinging but is saved by Harry’s Patronus charm.
Marietta Edgecombe
Mariette Edgecombe is the friend of Cho Chang, who leaks all the secrets of Dumbledore’s Army to Umbridge.
The Fat Friar
The Fat Friar is a ghost at Hogwarts and is from the Hufflepuff house.
Mrs. Figg
Mrs. Figg is a neighbor of Harry’s who Harry finds out was placed by Dumbledore near Privet Drive to ensure Harry’s safety. She testifies in favor of Harry, which helps him win his trial.
Argus Filch
Argus Filch is the caretaker at Hogwarts. He is usually angry because of how the students keep making a mess around the school.
Firenze
Firenze is a centaur that stays in the Forbidden Forest.
Mundungus Fletcher
Mundungus Fletcher is a hustler who sells stolen goods in markets and is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Professor Filius Flitwick
Professor Filius Flitwick is a teacher at Hogwarts. He teaches the subject of Charms and is the head of the Ravenclaw house.
Seamus Finnigan
Seamus Finnigan is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. He belongs to the Gryffindor house and is a friend and dormmate of Harry and Ron. However, at the beginning of this book, he questions Harry about his claim that Voldemort has returned because his mother believes that Harry is lying.
Cornelius Fudge
Cornelius Fudge is the Minister of Magic. He is unwilling to agree with Harry and Dumbledore’s claims that Voldemort has returned. He also holds a full-scale inquiry for a mere matter of Harry using underage magic just so that he could get Harry to go out of Hogwarts.
Golgomath
Golgomath is a giant who resides in the mountains. He defeats Karkus and is crowned the new king of the giants.
Gregory Goyle
Gregory Goyle is one of the cronies of Malfoy who helps him bully the students of Hogwarts.
Grawp
Grawp is a giant and a half-brother to Hagrid. Hagrid brings him back from his journey and keeps him in the Forbidden Forest.
Professor Grubbly-Plank
Professor Grubbly-Plank is a teacher at Hogwarts. She teaches Care of Magical Creatures in the absence of Hagrid.
Rubeus Hagrid
Rubeus Hagrid is the Keeper of Keys and Gamekeeper at Hogwarts. He is also a Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts. However, he is missing in the first half of the book. It is later found out that he had gone on a mission to parlay with the giants, as advised by Dumbledore.
Angelina Johnson
Angelina Johnson is a final-year student at Hogwarts. She is a chaser in the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Lee Jordan
Lee Jordan is a final-year student at Hogwarts. He is from the Gryffindor house and is a close friend of the Weasley Twins.
Karkus
Karkus is the leader of the giants that live in the mountains. However, he is overthrown by Golgomath soon after.
Kreacher
Kreacher is an old house-elf that belongs to the house of the Blacks.
Bellatrix Lestrange
Bellatrix Lestrange is a death eater and has been staying in Azkaban Prison until recently when she broke out. She is responsible for torturing two Aurors, Frank and Alice Longbottom, with the Cruciatus Curse.
Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart was a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. He now resides at St. Mungo’s Hospital as a patient after one of his spells accidentally backfired, and he left with a loss of memory at the end of the second book.
Frank and Alice Longbottom
Frank and Alice Longbottom were both gifted Aurors during the First Wizarding War against Voldemort. However, they were tortured with the Cruciatus Curse by a group of death eaters and were later transferred to St. Mungo’s Hospital permanently. They are the parents of Neville Longbottom.
Remus Lupin
Remus Lupin was a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to Harry in his third year. He is a close friend of Sirius Black and Harry’s parents, James and Lily Potter. He is a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Ernie Macmillan
Ernie Macmillan is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. He is from the Hufflepuff house and is a prefect as well. He is also a member of Dumbledore’s Army.
Walden Macnair
Walden Macnair is one of the most dangerous Death Eaters. He was also hired as the executioner for Buckbeak’s killing.
Magorian
Magorian is one of the centaurs residing in the Forbidden Forest.
Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. He is from the Slytherin house and is a bully who constantly harasses other students, especially the ones from Gryffindor. He is appointed by Umbridge as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad. He has a rivalry with Harry.
Narcissa Malfoy
Narcissa Malfoy is the wife of Lucius Malfoy and the mother of Draco Malfoy.
Professor Marchbanks
Professor Marchbanks is the head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, who arrives at Hogwarts to inspect the OWLs or Ordinary Wizarding Levels examinations.
Madame Maxine
Madame Maxine is the Headmistress of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and possibly half-giant. She accompanies Hagrid to parlay with the giants on Dumbledore’s orders.
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Professor McGonagall is a teacher at Hogwarts. She teaches Transfiguration and is the head of the Gryffindor house. She is also a licensed Animagus and can transform into a cat at will.
Montague
Montague is a final-year student at Hogwarts. He is from the Slytherin house and is the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He is also a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody
Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody is a gifted auror who leads the team of aurors from Privet Drive to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. He has a magical eye that scans his surroundings for possible dangers, which is why he got his nickname “Mad-Eye.”
Nearly Headless Nick
Nearly Headless Nick or Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington is the Gryffindor ghost at Hogwarts. He is very friendly with Harry.
Phineas Nigellus
Phineas Nigellus is one of the former headmasters of Hogwarts. He is also an ancestor of Sirius Black.
Mrs. Norris
Mrs. Norris is the pet cat of Mr. Filch, who prowls around the castle most of the time.
Pansy Parkinson
Pansy Parkinson is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. She is from the Slytherin house. She is also a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
Padma Patil
Padma Patil is the twin sister of Parvati Patil and a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. She is from the Ravenclaw house. She is a member of Dumbledore’s Army.
Parvati Patil
Parvati Patil is the twin sister of Padma Patil and is a fifth-year Hogwarts student from Gryffindor house. She is also a member of Dumbledore’s Army.
Peeves
Peeves is a poltergeist who inhabits Hogwarts castle. He is very mischievous and constantly causes trouble in the corridors.
Perkins
Perkins is one of the wizards from the Ministry who works at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. He is a colleague of Mr. Weasley.
Madam Pince
Madam Irma Pince is the librarian at Hogwarts School.
Sturgis Podmore
Sturgis Podmore is an auror who is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He is eventually found to be under the Imperius Curse during the events of this book.
Madam Poppy Pomfrey
Madam Poppy Pomfrey is the head nurse at the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts.
Lily Potter
Lily Potter is the mother of Harry Potter and the wife of James Potter.
James Potter
James Potter is the father of Harry Potter and the husband of Lily Potter.
Augustus Rookwood
Augustus Rookwood is a death eater who is present at the battle against Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix at the Department of Mysteries.
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Kingsley Shacklebolt is a gifted auror who works for the ministry and is also secretly a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Zacharias Smith
Zacharias Smith is a fourth-year student at Hogwarts from the Hufflepuff house. He is also the seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and a member of Dumbledore’s Army.
Professor Severus Snape
Professor Snape is a teacher of Potions and the head of Slytherin house at Hogwarts. He is very rude to Harry despite being a member of the Order of the Phoenix and is constantly belittling him. He teaches Occlumency to Harry under Dumbledore’s orders but stops eventually after Harry accidentally accesses his childhood memories of being bullied.
Alicia Spinnet
Alicia Spinnet is a final-year student at Hogwarts. She is also a chaser in the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Professor Pomona Sprout
Professor Pomona Sprout is a teacher of Herbology at Hogwarts. She is also the head of the Hufflepuff house.
Dean Thomas
Dean Thomas is a fifth-year student at Hogwarts and is from the Gryffindor house. He is a close friend of Seamus Finnigan and is the dormmate of Harry, Ron, and Neville.
Professor Tofty
Professor Tofty is one of the elderly professors who is in charge of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Ordinary Wizarding Levels Examination.
Nymphadora Tonks
Nymphadora Tonks is one of the aurors who escorts Harry from Privet Drive to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. She is a very likable witch with shapeshifting abilities.
Professor Sibyll Trelawney
Professor Sibyll Trelawney is the teacher of Divination at Hogwarts. She is also known for making the prophecy about Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter that serves as the basis for the plot of this series.
Arthur Weasley
Arthur Weasley is the father of the Weasley siblings and the husband of Molly Weasley. He works at the Ministry of Magic and is the head of the Department of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts.
Molly Weasley
Molly Weasley is the mother of the Weasley siblings and is the wife of Arthur Weasley. She is very kind to Harry and treats him like her son.
Bill Weasley
Bill Weasley is the eldest of the Weasley siblings. He works for Gringotts Bank.
Charlie Weasley
Charlie Weasley is the second eldest of the Weasley Siblings. He works in Romania with dragons.
Percy Weasley
Percy Weasley is the third eldest of the Weasley brothers. He works in the Ministry of Magic as a secretary to the minister himself. He is dismissive of Harry’s claims and has a falling out with his family because of this.
Fred and George Weasley
Fred and George Weasley are the twin Weasley brothers who are older than Ron and Ginny. They are a very adventurous and fun-loving lot who like cracking jokes and pranks. They decide to leave Hogwarts and pursue their dream of building a joke shop.
FAQs
Why did Dumbledore not talk to Harry in Book 5?
Dumbledore was aware of the connection between Harry’s mind and Voldemort’s and was trying to find a way to end it. However, he was afraid that if Voldemort was aware of this connection, he would exploit Harry and therefore did not want any harm to come to Harry. Eventually, when Harry lashed out at Dumbledore in his office, Dumbledore had no choice but to send him to learn Occlumency with Snape.
How did Dumbledore escape the aurors and the Minister?
Dumbledore is considered to be one of the most gifted wizards to have ever lived. Therefore, when he was threatened that he will be taken captive for creating Dumbledore’s Army, he decided to knock everyone, including the aurors, the Minister, and Umbridge, unconscious and then warn Harry and McGonagall and leave the place with Fawkes, the Phoenix.
Did Harry become the snake in the Order of the Phoenix?
No, Harry did not become the snake in the Order of the Phoenix. He just dreamt of an event occurring in real-time, in which he was the snake that attacked Mr. Weasley. It was most probably because Harry was connected in his mind to Voldemort. It is revealed in later books that the reason for this connection is because of how a part of Voldemort’s soul exists in Harry and the snake, thereby connecting them.