Harry Potter
Harry is the novel’s protagonist, and from its onset he struggles with the aftershocks of the fight against Voldemort at the end of Goblet of Fire. At the beginning of the novel, he is isolated from his friends, unable to get in touch with any of them, and is ostracized and bullied by the Dursleys. When he’s finally rescued by the Order, he still resents his friends, because they refuse to apologize for neglecting him, and he feels deeply depressed in the weeks before going back to Hogwarts. He is put on trial at the Ministry of Magic for fighting back against a dementor, and is forced to deal with the knowledge that few people at the Ministry believe his story that Voldemort has returned. While undergoing this stress, he also suffers from PTSD after watching Cedric Diggory, one of his classmates, murdered by Voldemort. He is deeply depressed and is uncertain of how to proceed; he knows that he has to defeat Voldemort, but he doesn’t know how to do that, because there is no one to provide guidance. Dumbledore is the only wizard with enough knowledge to do that, and he remains elusive for most of the novel. He’s indecisive but also brave, and puts the needs of others before himself. He launches himself into a dangerous battle to protect Sirius Black, and creates Dumbledore's Army, an association to fight against Voldemort from within Hogwarts.
Ron Weasley
Ron is Harry’s best friend and lives in the shadow of his five older brothers. When he’s made Gryffindor prefect instead of Harry, it comes as a shock, but he’s thrilled and finally learns to come out of his shell somewhat. He also decides to join the Quidditch team, and while he initially plays terribly, his self-esteem suffering as a result, he gradually gets better and learns to be more confident. This new confidence helps him take more of a stand in Dumbledore's Army and in the fight against Voldemort. As a result of growing up with six siblings, he’s very defensive of his family and friends, and even though he can be a bit awkward and bumbling, he has a good heart and is protective. He likes to joke as well, and has a good sense of humor that often helps lighten the mood of the other characters. Ron often grounds other characters when they’re in stressful situations.
Hermione Granger
Hermione is the third member of the trio (along with Harry and Ron), and is known as the smartest student in their year (and perhaps in all years) at Hogwarts. She sees everything logically and is very focused, and when she becomes passionate about a cause she refuses to let anything pull her from her course. In particular, she takes a large role in running Dumbledore's Army, and helps Harry instruct the students in various forms of magic. She also helps organize the initial meetings so that their work goes undetected. She always has the answer to questions and is extremely helpful, and impresses most teachers, which helps her greatly; sometimes she can get teachers to grant her special privileges that help with Dumbledore's Army and the fight against Voldemort. Some people are prejudiced against her because she’s Muggle-born and has non-magical parents, but she rarely lets this affect her. She’s very brave, and even though she’s an adamant rule follower, she is willing to break the rules when her friends are in danger, a huge aspect of her character development. In addition to being book smart, Hermione is good at reading people and helps Harry understand Cho Chang’s emotions multiple times throughout the novel.
Luna Lovegood
Luna is introduced at the beginning of the novel, when the other Hogwarts students meet her on the train. She’s very odd, believing in magical creatures that nobody else believes exist, and wears very eccentric clothes. Her father is the editor of The Quibbler, a magazine that discusses bizarre conspiracy theories and strange magical creatures, which has helped contribute to her oddness. She’s close with her father, though, because her mother died when she was young and she is an only child. Because of her oddness, she’s a bit of a social outcast and prior to the beginning of the novel doesn’t have many friends. However, she isn’t really bothered by it, and is content to move around Hogwarts on her own. She becomes close with the trio through Dumbledore's Army, however, and grows very loyal to their cause. During the final battle in the Ministry, she fights alongside the rest of the crew and defends them even when her own safety is compromised.
Sirius Black
Sirius is Harry’s godfather. He is one of Harry’s only parental figures, and guides him and supports him throughout the novel. The Order’s headquarters is located in his old childhood home. Because he was falsely convicted of murder, he is forced to live in hiding there, which brings back a barrage of negative memories. His parents were prejudiced and cruel people, and Sirius’ childhood was bleak and, at times, emotionally abusive. He spirals into a deep depression over the course of the novel, a result of a combination of these negative flashbacks, an inability to leave the house and fight against Voldemort, and an inability to be there for his godson when he needs him the most. Harry’s presence also reminds him of his father James, who was Sirius’ best friend while he was alive. Sirius has difficulty distinguishing between the two of them at times; sometimes he struggles to decide whether to treat Harry like a son or a friend.
Neville Longbottom
Neville is another Hogwarts student in the same year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He’s regarded as clumsy and incompetent by many of the other students because he has trouble believing in himself and as a result sometimes can’t perform to his fullest. Nevertheless, he’s actually very intelligent and eager to both learn more and contribute to the fight against Voldemort. He eagerly joins Dumbledore's Army and puts a tremendous amount of effort into mastering spells that could help him when the inevitable war with Voldemort comes. During the battle at the Ministry, he fights bravely and protects his friends when they’re in trouble. He is loyal almost to a fault, and will protect and defend anyone that he loves.
Remus Lupin
Remus is Harry’s former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who joins the Order of the Phoenix to help in the fight against Voldemort. He’s a werewolf, which has made him the victim of considerable prejudice throughout his life, but in spite of that he remains kind and compassionate, especially towards Harry and his friends. He works for the Order and is especially vital in recruiting new members. He’s quiet but strong, and in dangerous situations reveals his impressive fighting abilities. Remus is also very intelligent and has an advanced knowledge of magic and defense, which he regularly shows throughout the novel.
Nymphadora Tonks
Tonks prefers to be known by her last name only. She’s one of the youngest members of the Order and is a Metamorphmagus, or a witch who can change her appearance at will. Tonks is very lighthearted and humorous, and likes to change her appearance to make herself look silly to entertain the other members of the Order. In spite of her youth and free-spiritedness, however, Tonks is very intelligent and ambitious; she is an Auror, a member of the magical secret police force, and has risen high in the ranks at a young age. She consistently proves her allegiance to the Order, from working long hours guarding the Department of Mysteries, to fighting in the battle at the Ministry, to helping make Number 12 Grimmauld Place an appropriate headquarters for the Order. She’s Sirius’ cousin, and is one of very few members of the Black family to disagree with their prejudiced and conservative views.
Ginny Weasley
Ginny is Ron’s younger sister, who takes a much larger role in this book. While underage, she still tries to participate in the fight against Voldemort and in the Order (eavesdropping on meetings is her preferred method of involvement). She also plays a vital role in Dumbledore's Army, as her magic skills advance. She is proficient in many complex spells and charms. As the youngest Weasley and the only girl in her family, she knows that she has to prove her strength to her older brothers, three of whom are still at Hogwarts, and who consistently view her as the baby of the family who needs to be protected. She’s extremely brave and fights with great strength at the Ministry battle. Ginny becomes good friends with Luna and defends her from the students who find her strange.
Draco Malfoy
Draco is Harry’s arch-rival, and the two go head to head multiple times throughout the book. He comes from a rich and prominent pure-blood wizarding family who think they’re better than everyone else, and as a result Draco thinks that he’s better than everyone else. His parents were Death Eaters before Voldemort’s downfall, and his father has managed to wrap the Minister of Magic and other high-ranking Ministry officials around his finger. When Umbridge arrives at Hogwarts, Draco becomes one of her personal pets, and does his absolute best to track down Dumbledore's Army and bring both them and Dumbledore down. He’s very snarky and entitled, acting extremely rude to anyone he doesn’t like.
Severus Snape
Snape is another of Harry’s rivals and is also a former Death Eater, although he swears that he’s distanced himself from Voldemort. He teaches Potions at Hogwarts and has made Harry’s life a waking nightmare since he first entered his class, treating him unfairly and abusing both him and the other Gryffindor students. He’s a member of the Order and does make an effort to help on some of the missions, but he shows blatant disrespect for many of the other members. He teaches Harry how to exercise control over his mind to prevent Voldemort from coming in, but the process is something of a disaster because the two hate each other so much. Snape didn’t get along with Harry’s father, and that tension is what leads Snape to hate Harry so much.
Dolores Umbridge
Professor Umbridge steps in as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as a puppet of Fudge and denounces Voldemort’s return. She refuses to teach the students actual defense magic and only teaches them theory. When they speak out against her, she punishes them severely (she makes Harry write “I must not tell lies” in his own blood when he tries to tell her that Voldemort has returned.) She is obsessed with power, assessing every single teacher at Hogwarts to see if they meet her skewed standards and if they agree with her beliefs. If they don’t, she dismisses them and treats them as inferior. She also has hateful views towards magical creatures, and tries to exercise control over centaurs when they operate under a separate legal system.
Albus Dumbledore
Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts and tries to go against Fudge, but has difficulty doing so due to the excessive amount of power that Fudge has. He is involved with the Order and the fight against Voldemort, but he keeps a great deal of information from the other Order members, and is elusive and mysterious for the majority of the novel. While Harry sees him as a father figure, Dumbledore fails him multiple times throughout the novel: he doesn’t communicate with Harry in the summer, while Harry is stuck with the Dursleys, depressed and dealing with PTSD, and doesn’t provide Harry with the necessary support while he’s at school. He is one of the most powerful wizards in the wizarding world, and is perhaps the only person who can defeat Voldemort.
Cornelius Fudge
Fudge is the Prime Minister of the Ministry of Magic, and one of the most vehement deniers of Voldemort’s return. He refuses to accept that Voldemort has come back, and violently criticizes anyone who claims that he has. He hates Dumbledore and tries to have him both arrested and removed from his position on multiple occasions. He’s not a competent leader, and has no idea what to do in a time of crisis. He wants to create a perfect world and denies anything that could threaten the existence of that world. He employs people like Umbridge to do his bidding and consistently puts his faith in people who don’t deserve it because he believes that they’ll help him stay in power.
