Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Ron, also a fifth-year, is a loyal friend who defends Harry when his reputation is questioned numerous times by individuals who believe that Harry is lying about Voldemort’s return. Ron’s parents are in the Order of the Phoenix, as are Ron’s older brothers, Charlie and Billy, and he rightly emulates them over his shallow and political brother Percy. Ron grows in confidence in the novel, having been chosen as a prefect and earning the Keeper spot on the Quidditch team; often overshadowed by his accomplished siblings, this book sees Ron emerging from their shadows.  

Like Harry, Ron is principled, believing that the students have the right to learn defensive magic, which Umbridge is barring them from practicing in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Along with Hermione, he encourages Harry to instruct his fellow students and becomes an active participant in Dumbledore’s Army. Ron risks his life accompanying Harry to the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic, illustrating the loyalty and bravery of a Gryffindor.

Hermione shares many traits with Harry and Ron—bravery, loyalty, and love—but she also is organized, intuitive, and observant in ways they are not. Hermione has a strong sense of social justice; she advocates for the rights of house elves, even Kreacher who repeatedly calls her a “Mudblood.” Hermione defends Harry against those who criticize him, comes up with the idea to form Dumbledore’s army, and finds a way to hold the members accountable through a bewitched parchment.

Hermione is intelligent and discerning; she correctly wonders whether Voldemort, knowing Harry rushes to aid those in need, planted the vision in Harry’s mind of Sirius being tortured. At the first-day feast, she recognizes the Ministry’s interference at Hogwarts through her careful attention to Umbridge’s speech. No longer all about following the rules, she tells a quickly crafted lie to Umbridge to lead her to the forest, a victory for the greater good since that rids the school of a genuinely evil headmistress.

Sirius is brave and determined, but his loneliness and frustration sometimes make him impetuous and careless. He is wrongly believed to have committed mass murder and is pursued by both the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort’s supporters, which means he must spend his time in his ancestral home at 12 Grimmauld place, which he despises. His confinement leads to great frustration. When Sirius learns that Harry is at the Ministry of Magic, he travels there to save his godson, leading to his death at the hands of Bellatrix.

Sirius sometimes is irresponsible in his advice to Harry; Mrs. Weasley suggests that Sirius often treats Harry too much as a friend because Harry reminds Sirius so strongly of Harry’s father, James. He asks Harry to meet him at Hogsmeade, an act that could endanger Sirius and Harry. When Harry refuses, he laments that Harry is more risk-averse than James. Because Kreacher’s long association with members of the Black family has colored the house elf’s opinions about wizarding pedigrees, Sirius detests him and does not treat him respectfully, which leads Kreacher to divulge sensitive information to Narcissa, an act that ultimately leads to Sirius’s death.

Dumbledore is a powerful wizard and Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore is a defender of justice and often advocates for those who are powerless. He symbolizes integrity and goodness.

Throughout much of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore is publicly discredited for declaring that Voldemort has returned. However, this does not prevent him from following Ministry activities and getting involved when needed, as he does during Harry’s hearing. Since the book is told from Harry’s perspective, Dumbledore is notably absent in this volume because he keeps his distance from Harry so that Voldemort cannot leverage Harry and Dumbledore’s relationship for his gain. Despite his absence, his appearance at certain critical times shows that he is aware of Harry’s situation. When Dumbledore’s Army is discovered, Dumbledore takes the blame, saying that he organized the group, an act that forces him to flee and results in Dolores Umbridge becoming Headmistress of Hogwarts. Dumbledore relinquishes his power because, unlike Umbridge, power is not his motivator. Instead, he seeks to protect Harry and the other Hogwarts student from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. While he knows that life under Umbridge will be unpleasant, he is focused on the long game that will, he hopes, culminate in Voldemort’s defeat.

Dumbledore’s appearance at the Ministry of Magic reveals the depth of his magical powers and his understanding of Voldemort’s weakness. Mobilizing statues to assist him, he prevents Voldemort from getting the upper hand while also waging psychological warfare by calling him Tom Riddle and showing no fear for his safety during the fight. Despite his distance from Harry, Dumbledore actively works to protect and save Harry in this book. In Chapter 37, Harry (and the reader) hear Dumbledore’s rationale for not telling Harry about the prophecy, which he acknowledges as a rare miscalculation: Not wanting to burden Harry any further, Dumbledore kept him in the dark, a reminder to Harry that even a powerful headmaster can sometimes make a wrong decision.