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• Aug 27, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists - so it makes perfect sense that I'd love this feature!

Top Ten Memorable Secondary Characters

One Reason (Among Many) J.K. Rowling Is Amazing

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I started working on this post in the same way I always do - browsing Goodreads and my bookshelves to jog my memory and inspire my list. But I kept coming back to the same issue. While there are so many memorable secondary characters in literature, all I wanted to talk about was how impressed I am that J.K. Rowling managed to create so many secondary characters that I'll never forget.

If you've read my blog before, you may know that I was really late to the whole Harry Potter thing. In fact, it wasn't until late 2011 that I finally got to know this world and the people that inhabit it. I spent the next few months making me way through the series, falling in love with these characters in a way I'd never anticipated. I finished the last book at the very beginning of 2012 - a fitting way to ring in the New Year, if you ask me.

But that's the only time I've read these books. I didn't grow up with them. I didn't spend years re-reading each copy before the new one came out. I didn't attend the movie premieres or even pay attention to when a new book was being released. I've read these books once, but once was all it took for me to be hooked.

And I'm still shocked at how clearly these characters stand out in my mind. Some may argue that creating memorable characters is easier when you've got seven books to allow your readers to get to know them, but I'd argue that even characters who only appear in one book are incredibly well-drawn. I mean, think about Cedric Diggory. That's a character who only appears in one book, but I didn't have to go check Goodreads or flip through the book to try and remember his name.

One of the many reasons I fell in love with this series is because of the secondary characters. Rowling creates people who have flaws, likes and dislikes, personalities... Her attention to detail when it comes to her characters is unlike anything I've ever read before. Within one paragraph, she can tell you a few seemingly tiny things that speak volumes about the entire character. Need an example? Read the very beginning of the very first book, and tell me you don't have a pretty clear picture of the Dursleys after those couple of opening paragraphs.

I already know I'll be reading these books again and again in the coming years. There's something about them that's so magical - and it's not just because of Hogwarts. Ask anyone who has read these books who their favorite character is and I can almost guarantee that you'll get a whole range of answers. You'd think everyone would automatically say Harry Potter, right? But no, there's a favorite for everyone in these books. 

You want to find ten of my favorite secondary characters? Just open these books. You can find so many of them there. And that's just one (of many) reasons why I'm now a J.K. Rowling fangirl.

To complete this week's list, here are ten secondary characters in Harry Potter that immediately come to mind:

1. Hermione Granger. My husband telling me that I'm just like her is the best compliment ever.

2. Fred & George Weasley. I just can't even with these two. Don't get me started. 

3. Luna Lovegood. Gotta root for the girl who does her own thing!

4. Dobby. The house-elf I'll never forget.

5. Severus Snape. Always.

6. Sirius Black. Would my list be complete without this beloved character?

7. Draco Malfoy. Oh, Draco. Your family really didn't do you any favors.

8. Remus Lupin. Only one of the best teachers ever at Hogwarts... and so much more!

9. Dolores Umbridge. My blood boils just thinking about her!

10. Hedwig. Only Rowling could make me love an owl.