The ‘Harry Potter‘ movie starts with Harry’s little Dursley house and soon takes us to Hogwarts. But what we don’t know is that many characters have been fighting their tragic battles long before we get a peek into their lives.
As their pasts slowly come to light, we start to see how much they went through and why they became who they are. Know about those Harry Potter characters here:
1. Minerva McGonagall
Sure, Minerva McGonagall often appears strict, but her life explains why she keeps so much of her heart guarded. She grew up as the daughter of a witch and a Scottish Presbyterian minister who reacted badly when he learned the truth about his wife’s magical identity. As she got older, Minerva feared repeating her mother’s heartbreak.
Because of that, she called off her engagement to a Muggle she loved and later married a fellow Ministry employee instead. However, her path took another tragic turn when her husband died from a Venomous tentacle bite just three years into their marriage. From then on, Minerva lived at Hogwarts, carrying loss after loss.
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2. Harry Potter
Harry’s tragedy didn’t have to wait to hit Hogwarts; it started long before. Because of the prophecy, Voldemort targeted him, and his parents were murdered right in front of him when he was only a baby. The memory haunted him in nightmares for years.
Even after surviving the attack, his life didn’t get easier. He grew up with the Dursleys, who bullied him, ignored him, and kept him away from any form of affection. For a full decade, Harry lived without love. Yet somehow, he grew into someone who believed in it more than anyone else.
3. Severus Snape
The Severus Snape we saw first in Harry Potter wasn’t always the version he grew up with. Snape’s father, a Muggle, was abusive, while his Pure-blood mother barely showed him care.
Snape grew up alone, craving connection until he met Lily Evans, who changed his life forever. Even then, his loneliness followed him to Hogwarts and affected how he treated others, and made him lash out at classmates.
4. Albus Dumbledore
The honesty of Dumbledore has a touch of guilt and grief from his past. When Harry learns the truth in Deathly Hallows, the picture becomes painful. Dumbledore’s father had gone to prison for attacking Muggles, and the family struggled from that moment on.
Things grew even darker when Albus got into a heated fight involving himself, his brother Aberforth, and Grindelwald. Ariana stepped between them, and Dumbledore spent the rest of his life believing he might have caused her death. Later, when he tried to use the Resurrection Stone in hopes of seeing Ariana again, he weakened himself and brought his own downfall.
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5. Merope Gaunt
The backstory of Merope Gaunt holds some of the darkest roots in the entire series. She belonged to the Gaunt family, a long line of Pure-blood wizards tied to dark magic. Raised in a broken shack, she lived under the cruelty of her father and brother, who abused and belittled her constantly. Because of this, she struggled to perform magic properly.
Only after they were taken to prison did Merope find freedom. She used that time to enchant her Muggle neighbor, Tom Riddle, hoping for the love she was never shown. Some believe her painful isolation pushed her into that desperate act. Without her tragic life, Voldemort might never have been born, and everything that followed in the wizarding world would have changed.
6. Sirius Black
Sirius Black could have easily followed his Pure-blood family’s dark beliefs, but he refused. He rejected their elitist values and chose the tougher road, finding true friendship with James, Remus, and Peter. He eventually ran away from home and was welcomed by the Potters, who became the family he chose. But his new life crumbled too.
Peter Pettigrew framed him for the deaths of James and Lily, leaving Sirius to face Azkaban for a crime he never committed. The betrayal turned out to be much more because it came from someone he trusted with his whole heart.
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7. Remus Lupin
Even among the many sad stories, Remus Lupin’s childhood is one of a kind. After his father angered Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf attacked young Remus as revenge. The bite changed his life completely. From then on, he lived with lycanthropy and faced painful monthly transformations and the constant fear of hurting someone.
Remus spent years feeling separate from everyone else, forced to hide his condition. And when he finally found friendship with James, Sirius, and Peter, that happiness didn’t last. All of them were gone by the time Remus turned 21.
8. Rubeus Hagrid
Rubeus Hagrid brings a wide smile to our faces, yet his childhood was anything but easy. His mother left when he was just three, and his father died while Hagrid was in his second year at Hogwarts. Even after this heartbreak, things only grew harder. The following year, Tom Riddle framed him for opening the Chamber of Secrets, and Hagrid was expelled for a crime he never committed.
Although Dumbledore stepped in and allowed him to stay on as Gamekeeper, the damage stayed. Being punished for something he didn’t do, and losing his wand in the process, left scars that never truly healed. Still, Hagrid kept his kindness, even when the world didn’t treat him kindly in return.
9. Ariana Dumbledore
Among all the stories, Ariana’s story is one of the saddest in the wizarding world. When she was six, a group of Muggle boys saw her doing magic and attacked her when she couldn’t explain it. The trauma shattered her ability to control her powers, and she struggled for the rest of her life. The consequences spread through her family.
Ariana’s father was sent to prison for avenging her, and he later died there. Years later, Ariana accidentally caused an explosion that killed her mother. Her short life held fear, confusion, and pain, and even her death left deep wounds in her brothers.
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10. Neville Longbottom
Neville’s story mirrors Harry’s perfectly. He was the other possible child of the prophecy, and though Voldemort didn’t choose him, his parents suffered the consequences. Death Eaters tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom until they lost their sanity.
Neville visited them at St. Mungo’s, but they never recognized him. And unlike Harry’s parents, Frank and Alice didn’t die as heroes. Neville grew up with expectation, pressure, and grief that followed him everywhere.
