Celebrate the Characters You Love to Forget: Vote NOW in MuggleNet’s Minor Madness Tournament!

Who is the character that did the thing? You know, the thing at the place where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were? COME ON. You must know who we are talking about! THAT GUY. Ugh – well, we’re certain that if we could remember the name, you would know who we’re talking about. Maybe it’s time we show some of these characters – the ones we love to forget – a little appreciation. After all, not every character can be a Dumbledore, a McGonagall, or even a Hagrid. We think that you’ll agree when we say that some of the most fascinating characters are the ones who are the most forgettable.

This year, our magical March Madness-inspired tournament is celebrating minor characters in the Harry Potter novels (no films – sorry, Bem fans). We’ve selected 64 of the most forgettable memorable minor characters and ranked them using an internal staff poll. But only one can come out on top as the most memorable minor character! There are four divisions with sixteen characters each. Now, we need you to vote for your favorite in each pairing!

Come back for each round as we narrow down the competition:

Round 1: March 1–11

Round 2: March 13–20

Round 3: March 22–25

Round 4: March 26–27

Semifinals: March 28–29

Finals: March 30–31

Let’s see who the contestants are:

Division 1: Famous/Historical Mentions

All of these are famous people in the wizarding world who are indirectly named, referenced, or only briefly appear.

1. Gwenog Jones: Captain and Beater of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team

2. Wendelin the Weird: A witch who enjoyed being burned at the stake in the Middle Ages

3. Barnabas the Barmy: Tried to train trolls for the ballet and immortalized in a tapestry on the seventh floor of Hogwarts

4. Wailing Widow: A ghost guest from Kent who appeared at Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party

5. Wizard Baruffio: Incorrectly incanted a spell and ended up on the floor with a buffalo on his chest

6. Stubby Boardman: The lead singer of the musical group The Hobgoblins

7. Dilys Derwent: Headmistress of Hogwarts and Healer; she has portraits in both the school and St. Mungo’s

8. Arkie Alderton: A well-known broomstick designer who a man that was forced in front of the Muggle-born Registration Committee claims is his father

9. Patrick Delaney-Podmore: Leader of the Headless Hunt

10. Bowman Wright: Metal charmer who invented the Golden Snitch

11. Cassandra Vablatsky: Seer and author of Unfogging the Future

12. Arsenius Jigger: Author of Magical Drafts and Potions

13. Quentin Trimble: Author of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection

14. Barnabas Cuffe: Editor of the Daily Prophet

15. Professor Croaker: Unspeakable who specialized in time magic

16. Hassan Mostafa: Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch and referee of the 1994 Quidditch World Cup

Division 2: Harry’s Brief Encounters

These are characters that Harry interacts with in some way, but only for a small amount of time.

1. Florean Fortescue: Owner of the ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley

2. Gabrielle Delacour: Fleur’s younger sister, whom Harry saved from the lake in the second task

3. Anthony Goldstein: A Ravenclaw student who is friends with Terry Boot and Michael Corner and a member of Dumbledore’s Army

4. Eloise Midgen: A student who tried to curse off her acne and had to have her nose reattached

5. Ernie Prang: The driver of the Knight Bus

6. Archie: The wizard at the Quidditch World Cup who likes “a healthy breeze ’round [his] privates” (GoF 84)

7. Dirk Cresswell: Head of the Goblin Liasion Office and favorite of Horace Slughorn

8. Travers: A Death Eater who murdered Marlene McKinnon and her family

9. Walburga Black: Sirius and Regulus Black’s mother, preserved in a painting at Grimmauld Place

10. Doris Crockford: A witch that met Harry in the Leaky Cauldron and was so excited she kept coming back to shake his hand

11. Sanguini: A vampire that attended Slughorn’s Christmas party

12. Scabior: A Snatcher in the group that captured Harry, Ron, and Hermione

13. Gornuk: A goblin who went into hiding with Griphook to avoid Death Eaters

14. Eric Munch: The watchwizard who weighed Harry’s wand at the Ministry of Magic

15. Eldred Worple: Author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires and a guest at Slughorn’s party

16. Graham Montague: Slytherin Chaser and Captain who was shoved into the Vanishing Cabinet by the Weasley twins

Division 3: Name-Drops

These characters are all named but are not seen in the action.

1. Professor Sinistra: The Hogwarts Astronomy professor

2. Professor Galatea Merrythought: The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who was rumored to be retiring at the end of Tom Riddle’s time at Hogwarts

3. Dorcas Meadowes: A member of the Order of the Phoenix who was personally murdered by Voldemort

4. Mandy Brocklehurst: A student in Harry’s year Sorted into Ravenclaw

5. Lily Moon: A student in Harry’s year

6. Augustus Pye: Trainee Healer who worked with Arthur Weasley while he was in St. Mungo’s

7. Sally-Anne Perks: A student in Harry’s year, Sorted just before him

8. Caradoc Dearborn: An original member of the Order of the Phoenix, missing and presumed dead

9. Gladys Gudgeon: A fan of Gilderoy Lockhart’s who writes him frequently

10. Billy Stubbs: A boy at the orphanage with Tom Riddle; his rabbit was found in the rafters after he and Tom had a fight

11. Jim McGuffin: The weatherman on the Dursleys’ evening news

12. Herbert Chorley: Junior Minister to the Muggle Prime Minister who reacted badly to a Death Eater’s Imperius Curse

13. Benjy Fenwick: A member of the Order of the Phoenix who was killed by Death Eaters

14. Madam Z Nettles: A witch who gave a testimonial for the Kwikspell Course

15. Enid Smeek: Described Bathilda Bagshot to Rita Skeeter as “nutty as squirrel poo” (DH 355)

16. Urquhart Rackharrow: Inventor of the Entrail-Expelling Curse who has a portrait at St. Mungo’s

Division 4: Very, VERY Background

1. Charity Burbage: Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts who was murdered by Voldemort

2. Marcus Belby: A prospective member of the Slug Club who does not impress Slughorn

3. Madam Malkin: Seamstress and shop owner in Diagon Alley

4. Aunt Muriel: The Weasleys’ elderly relative who knows a lot of gossip about the Dumbledore family

5. Bob Ogden: Ministry employee who was sent to the Gaunt House

6. Frank Bryce: The Muggle caretaker of the Riddle house who was murdered by Voldemort

7. Griselda Marchbanks: Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority and elder of the Wizagamot

8. Professor Tofty: A member of the Wizarding Examinations Authority and OWL exam proctor

9. Mrs. Cole: The matron of the orphanage where Tom Riddle grew up

10. Wilkie Twycross: The Ministry Apparition instructor

11. Albert Runcorn: Ministry wizard who allegedly reported Muggle-borns and was impersonated by Harry

12. Merchieftainess Murcus: The head of the merpeople in the Hogwarts lake

13. John Dawlish: Auror who failed to arrest both Dumbledore and Augusta Longbottom

14. Caractacus Burke: Cofounder of Borgin and Burkes, a Dark Magic shop in Knockturn Alley

15. Euan Abercrombie: A small boy who is terrified of Harry due to the Daily Prophet‘s smear campaign

16. Adrian Pucey: Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team

Keep an eye on our social media all month as we reveal who will move forward in the tournament. Keep voting for your favorite to win!