History Characters / TheDresdenFilesUnfazedEverymansAndBadassNormals

* EvilIsPetty: Wannabe and his group harass Harry basically for standing up to him.

* DrivenToSuicide: She says that if Dresden abandons her (so he isn't arrested for kidnapping) she'll go to some nearby cops, but Dresden can tell she'll go back to the bridge where Gogoth will eat her.

A reporter who took over Susan Rodriguez's position after the latter writer was infected by the Red Court and left the magazine. Appears in ''Proven Guilty''.

* ObviouslyEvil: They wear black robes, dark mark tattoos (from Literature/HarryPotter), and one even has a Slytherin scarf.

[[folder: Lydia Stern]]

A reporter who took over Susan Rodriguez's position after the latter writer was infected by the Red Court and left the magazine. Appears in ''Proven Guilty''.

* IntrepidReporter: Describes her in a nutshell.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted. A member of Kravos' cult calling herself Lydia appears in ''Grave Peril''.

[[folder: Dr. Helena Pounder]]

A tall and powerfully-built archeologist who had a child with one of the Forest People, Strength of a River in his Shoulders.

* BrawnHilda: Helena is more than six feet tall and powerfully built. Dresden says that she 'wasn't really pretty' and looks like a bouncer.
* MamaBear: Dresden refers to this trope by name after meeting her, and it fits. After all, when her son is being bullied, her way of solving the problem is to pull some strings and have a professional wizard--capable of fighting warlocks, vampires, and demons--hired at her son's school to can sort them out.
* RescueRomance: Starts dating Strength of a River in his Shoulders after he saves her life by getting her food when she's stranded on a barren dig site for months.

[[folder: Sandra Marling]]

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention [=SplatterCon=], she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.

* SilkHidingSteel: She appears perfectly normal at first, and in fact drops out of the 'Proven Guilty' case less than halfway through it (and hasn't reappeared so far). However, the RPG notes (which are written from an in-universe perspective) show how Marling was indirectly responsible for Molly's corruption, Molly's abduction by phages, and Dresden being distracted by Madrigal for long enough to allow said abduction to occur. It also mentions that she vanished after the novel and Dresden--wizard PI--has been completely unable to locate any trace of her.

* WhatAnIdiot: He does a lot of stupid things, but his attempts to fight Murphy in ''Last Call'' after she clearly demonstrates how outmatched he is top the list.

!Occult proprietors and their staff

[[folder: Artemis Bock]]

The man who owns Bock Ordered Books, one of the best resources for literature on the supernatural in the Midwest.

* MagicalLibrary: It's a store, not a lending library, but his shop otherwise fits the concept.
* NiceGuy: Even when people don't have enough money to buy from him, he tries to work something out so they can still benefit from his wares. He's been known to let minor talents cast protective wards on his shop in lieu of cash payment, for instance.

[[folder: Lydia Stern]]

A reporter who took over Susan Rodriguez's position after the latter writer was infected by the Red Court and left the magazine. Appears in ''Proven Guilty''.

* IntrepidReporter: Describes her in a nutshell.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted. A member of Kravos' cult calling herself Lydia appears in ''Grave Peril''.

[[folder: Dr. Helena Pounder]]

A tall and powerfully-built archeologist who had a child with one of the Forest People, Strength of a River in his Shoulders.

* BrawnHilda: Helena is more than six feet tall and powerfully built. Dresden says that she 'wasn't really pretty' and looks like a bouncer.
* MamaBear: Dresden refers to this trope by name after meeting her, and it fits. After all, when her son is being bullied, her way of solving the problem is to pull some strings and have a professional wizard--capable of fighting warlocks, vampires, and demons--hired at her son's school to can sort them out.
* RescueRomance: Starts dating Strength of a River in his Shoulders after he saves her life by getting her food when she's stranded on a barren dig site for months.

[[folder: Sandra Marling]]

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention [=SplatterCon=], she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.

* SilkHidingSteel: She appears perfectly normal at first, and in fact drops out of the 'Proven Guilty' case less than halfway through it (and hasn't reappeared so far). However, the RPG notes (which are written from an in-universe perspective) show how Marling was indirectly responsible for Molly's corruption, Molly's abduction by phages, and Dresden being distracted by Madrigal for long enough to allow said abduction to occur. It also mentions that she vanished after the novel and Dresden--wizard PI--has been completely unable to locate any trace of her.

[[folder: Ray]]

An abusive superintendent who was supporting drug dealers that were unaffiliated with Marcone's outfit. Appears in the short story ''Aftermath''.

* DeadManWalking: He survives the story, but it's heavily implied Maria will kill him as soon as she's done investigating the drug dealers he's supporting.
* DomesticAbuse: Implied that he's doing this to Maria, his live-in girlfriend [[spoiler:and elite troubleshooter for Marcone]].
* WhatAnIdiot: He made several stupid decisions, including his idea to support some drug dealers who weren't operating with Marcone's permission, and his attempt to beat down Murphy in a fistfight.

[[folder: Herbert Orson Caine]]

A rapist, brute, extortionist, and dabbler in dark magic. Appears in the short stories ''Heorot'' and ''Last Call''.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted. A member of Kravos' cult named Lydia appears in ''Grave Peril''.

[[folder: Dr. Helena Pounder]]

A tall and powerfully-built archeologist who had a child with one of the Forest People, Strength of a River in his Shoulders.

* BrawnHilda: Helena is more than six feet tall and powerfully built. Dresden says that she 'wasn't really pretty' and looks like a bouncer.
* MamaBear: Dresden refers to this trope by name after meeting her, and it fits. After all, when her son is being bullied, her way of solving the problem is to pull some strings and have a professional wizard--capable of fighting warlocks, vampires, and demons--hired at her son's school to can sort them out.
* RescueRomance: Starts dating Strength of a River in his Shoulders after he saves her life by getting her food when she's stranded on a barren dig site for months.

[[folder: Sandra Marling]]

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention [=SplatterCon=], she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.

* SilkHidingSteel: She appears perfectly normal at first, and in fact drops out of the 'Proven Guilty' case less than halfway through it (and hasn't reappeared so far). However, the RPG notes (which are written from an in-universe perspective) show how Marling was indirectly responsible for Molly's corruption, Molly's abduction by phages, and Dresden being distracted by Madrigal for long enough to allow said abduction to occur. It also mentions that she vanished after the novel and Dresden--wizard PI--has been completely unable to locate any trace of her.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Makes anti-gay slurs as he beats on Dresden.

!Private detectives

[[folder: Vince Graver]]

A Private Investigator who was hired to spy on Harry during the ''Turn Coat'' case. Dresden managed to get him on his side, and Graver was able to obtain key evidence in proving that Samuel Peabody was a spy on the White Council.

* PrivateDetective: His job.

[[folder: Nick Christian]]

A Private Investigator and one of Harry's mentors.

----
* FriendToAllChildren: He takes a variety of jobs to pay rent, but his passion is missing children cases. He's managed to save several children from abductors over the years, and in his view, that makes all the sacrifices he's made worth it.
* PrivateDetective: His job.

%%!Occult proprietors

%%[[folder: Artemis Bock]]

%%The man who owns Bock Ordered Books, one of the best resources for literature on the supernatural in Chicago.

%%----
%%* NiceGuy: Even when people don't have enough money to buy from him, he tries to work something out so they can still benefit from his wares. He's been known to let minor talents cast protective wards on his shop in lieu of cash payment, for instance.


%%[[/folder]]

%%[[folder: Burt Decker]]

%%Proprietor of Left Hand Goods, an occult store whose merchandise is mostly overpriced junk, and who doesn't much care about the purposes his customers put their purchases to.

%%[[/folder]]

!Other

[[folder: Waldo Butters]]

->''"Polka will never die!"''

Chicago medical examiner, polka enthusiast and geek extraordinaire. He was assigned to autopsy the corpses found after a fire, but since said fire was in fact the result of a wizardly [[KillItWithFire temper tantrum]], he got a vampire corpse, called it "humanlike, but definitely nonhuman" and consequently got stuck in a mental institution for observation for three months. This gave him a cheery disrespect for authority that helps him get along quite well with Harry.

%%!Occult proprietors

%%[[folder: Artemis Bock]]

%%The man who owns Bock Ordered Books, one of the best resources for literature on the supernatural in Chicago.

%%----
%%* NiceGuy: Even when people don't have enough money to buy from him, he tries to work something out so they can still benefit from his wares. He's been known to let minor talents cast protective wards on his shop in lieu of cash payment, for instance.


%%[[/folder]]

%%[[folder: Burt Decker]]

%%Proprietor of Left Hand Goods, an occult store whose merchandise is mostly overpriced junk, and who doesn't much care about the purposes his customers put their purchases to.

%%[[/folder]]

!Other

[[folder: Waldo Butters]]

->''"Polka will never die!"''

Chicago medical examiner, polka enthusiast and geek extraordinaire. He was assigned to autopsy the corpses found after a fire, but since said fire was in fact the result of a wizardly [[KillItWithFire temper tantrum]], he got a vampire corpse, called it "humanlike, but definitely nonhuman" and consequently got stuck in a mental institution for observation for three months. This gave him a cheery disrespect for authority that helps him get along quite well with Harry.

* ActionSurvivor: Butters started as a normal, but highly principled man. He is nothing special but then some zombies attack and it kick starts his journey to being a badass normal in a world of the supernatural.
* AmazonChaser: Dates Andi in ''Cold Days'' who still has a well-muscled body and could easily lift Butters.
* AscendedFanboy: He gets to be a real, honest to goodness [[spoiler: [[ThePaladin Knight]], complete with a special sword of his own, with a mission from [[BigGood God]]]].
** Not just that, he isn't any old [[spoiler: Knight]] he's effectively a [[spoiler:: Jedi knight, complete with lightsaber]]. Can one ascend from two different fandoms at once?
** Butters has effectively multiclassed.
* BadassLongcoat: Grabs Harry's bulletproof one at the climax of ''Skin Game'', although the difference in their size means it fits him more like a Jedi robe...
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He may be a bit overfond of polka, but he's very good at remembering bits of random information and thinking about them logically, even when faced with a ZombieApocalypse.
* ChekhovsGun:
** His one-man polka suit in ''Dead Beat''.
** His deep love of ''Star Wars'' and the ideals of right over coming wrong and one man being able to make a difference, even if it is by a HeroicSacrifice. All very befitting [[spoiler:a Knight of the Cross]].
* ChekhovsSkill: Harry taught him how to make a magic circle so Harry's magic wouldn't interfere with his technology. Later he draws a magic circle to prevent the undead armies from killing him and his drum.
* TheCoroner: The reason why he's a coroner despite being an excellent medic, is that he doesn't have the professional detachment needed to be one.
-->'''Harry:''' Butters hated seeing people in pain.
* CowardlyLion: At first, he runs in terror from a necromancer with some zombies. [[spoiler: Later, he begins using magiteck with Bob's help to fight back against supernatural predators. Then he becomes a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]].]]
* CrazyPrepared[=/=]ProperlyParanoid:
** In ''Changes'', he is shot in the back. A few minutes later it is revealed that he put on a kevlar vest the minute he [[AFriendInNeed got the call]], and brought [[OurVampiresAreDifferent garlic]] and [[GeometricMagic chalk]] too.
** In ''Ghost Story'' he has Bob examine and then shadow Harry, without Harry knowing it, to ensure if Harry's shade is some trick or turns evil, Bob will end him.
* DiagnosisFromDrBadass: Does this to Aristides in ''Ghost Story''.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: As of ''Skin Game'', he [[spoiler:is a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]]. A [[Film/StarWars JEDI]] Knight of the Cross, lightsaber and all. A JEWISH Jedi Knight of the Cross, no less]].
* HiddenDepths: Another layer gets peeled off with every appearance. Butters is probably the poster child for this trope; initially he appears as a polka-loving nerd, but by the time of ''Ghost Story'' he is one of Harry's most valuable allies, for his brains, his honesty and his incredible courage, considering he has nothing even resembling super-powers, or even ordinary strength, to take into battle with him.
* IJustWantToBeBadass: Waldo Butters, about 120lbs soaking wet, tried to become part of the US military but washed out of boot camp. Same with the police. He failed both times but still had the push to be stronger. This push led him to ride on a zombie dinosaur to save the world and pursue other dangerous paths. This finally culminates in him [[spoiler:becoming a Knight of the Cross]].
* JewishAndNerdy: Self-described as such in-universe.
* JewishMother: Mama Butters, from Bob's description, is capable of whipping up a massive FancyDinner for JewishHolidays as Harry sees in Bob's 'apartment'. Also nags Butters about finding himself a Nice Jewish Girl if only he'd clean up. Bob fills in for her at times, complete with Yiddish accent, to Butters' dismay.
* JumpedAtTheCall: After the events detailed in TookALevelInBadass, Butters can't contemplate ''not'' [[spoiler:accepting ''Fidelacchius'']].
* KnightInShiningArmor: [[spoiler: This is a requirement for all Knights of the Cross. Even before receiving ''Fidelacchius'', he was defending Chicago in Harry and Molly's absence.]]
* LetsGetDangerous: He saved Harry's life by attacking Cassius. And later, subdued a gunman with an improvised taser. Later on in Ghost Story he cripples Aristides by knowing exactly which bones to break
* LovableCoward: Deconstructed, then subverted.
* {{Magitek}}: Butters is not very strong with magic in a practical sense. He is, however, brilliant in the theoretical sense. With Bob's help, he can make enchanted items which give him a distinct edge and element of surprise, like a self-propelling skateboard that can clock up to 30mph. [[spoiler:He can even make a listening device that won't short out when he sneaks it into Harry's bandages]].
* TheMedic: Although he says he finds it weird to operate on people who are still alive, Harry's acquaintance with him comes in handy when he, say, needs a bullet wound treated and doesn't want to intrude on the police's busy schedule. Or sewing up a sliced up Morgan in ''Turn Coat''.
* NoticeThis: In-Universe example. Because of Butter's RPG history, it seems [[spoiler:Heaven will be giving him signs like this. On a jog with Michael, he notices a homeless man with a yellow exclamation point over the man. Michael explains to him this is a job]].
* NerdGlasses: He wears them.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler:A Batman [[JewishAndNerdy Jewish]] [[Film/StarWars Jedi]] [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]], [[RuleOfThree anyone]]?]].
* NonActionGuy: Doesn't stop him from being useful when the need is there.
* PostModernMagik: In ''Ghost Story'' he rigs up a two-way radio for Harry to converse with the others. Bob the Skull observes that while Butters has no talent for magic himself, he probably understands magic theory better than Harry.
* ShorterMeansSmarter: He's very smart, and he's ''tiny'', apparently -- when he curls up into a fetal position, Harry thinks he could probably fit in a grocery bag.
* SurvivalMantra: When shaking to his core in ''Dead Beat'' because of the attacks by zombies, Harry gives him some good reasons to not give up. The more important reason becomes this mantra. That reason: "POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!!"
* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: With Bob the Skull's help. He may not have the power in magic, but with his mind, he can make formulas and theories beyond what Harry can understand.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** As of ''Ghost Story''. Before the series, he was a plain muggle coroner. But after receiving a few victims in Harry's cases, from the exploding hearts of ''Storm Front'' to claiming some of the remains found from the Velvet Room were not human, and then meeting Harry in ''Death Masks'' and the whole debacle in ''Dead Beat'' Butters learned quickly if he was to be part of this other world, he would have to toughen up.
** As of ''Skin Game'' this nearly defies belief. First off, using artifice spells and Bob as a portable magical battery, he's got a magical skateboard that travels at sub-motorcycle speeds, skill with an improvised whip that would put Indiana Jones or Simon Belmont to shame, and magical amnesia grenades. And that's all BEFORE he [[spoiler:becomes the Lightsaber of Faith wielding Jewish Jedi Knight of the Cross]]. ItMakesSenseInContext.
%%* UnfazedEveryman

[[folder: Vince Graver]]

A Private Investigator who was hired to spy on Harry during the ''Turn Coat'' case. Dresden managed to get him on his side, and Graver was able to obtain key evidence in proving that Samuel Peabody was a spy on the White Council.

* PrivateDetective: His job.

[[folder: Nick Christian]]

A Private Investigator and one of Harry's mentors.

* FriendToAllChildren: He takes a variety of jobs to pay rent, but his passion is missing children cases. He's managed to save several children from abductors over the years, and in his view, that makes all the sacrifices he's made worth it.
* PrivateDetective: His job.

[[folder: Steven "Stevie D" Douglas]]

A hired thug operating in the Chicago area. Baron Marcone and Duchess Ortega have both hired him for jobs.

* GenreSavvy: He knows that Dresden's a tough opponent, so he tries to kill him as soon as he has a chance, before Dresden has time to cast any countermeasures. He even tried to kill Butters--whom he hadn't been paid to shoot--just because Butters was between him and Dresden and he didn't want to give Dresden the few seconds it would take to move Butters out of the way.
* ProfessionalKiller: His job.

[[folder: Anna Valmont]]

A professional thief who was a member of a crew that called themselves the Churchmice, Valmont first met Harry when she was hired to steal the Shroud of Turin in ''DeathMasks''. She reappears in ''SkinGame'' as part of Nicodemus's caper.

* {{Badass}}: She manages to steal the Shroud of Turin from the Vatican and is arguably the best thief in the world.
* BoringButPractical: [[spoiler:In Hades' vault, she goes right for the fountain of diamonds, filling her sack from the spout. She chose them over the gold and other treasures because they had the highest value for their weight and would be easy to move once they got back home. Anna's practicality ends up ensuring that the heroes involved in the caper come away with a monetary profit]].
* TheBusCameBack: Returns after a 10 year absence.
* ClassyCatBurglar: She has a reasonable claim to the title of the best thief in the "Dresdenverse" at the moment.
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler: Her main reason for joining Nicodemus' group in ''Literature/SkinGame'' is for a chance to avenge her friends that died in ''Literature/DeathMasks''.]]

[[folder: Dr. Helena Pounder]]

A tall and powerfully-built archeologist who had a child with one of the Forest People, Strength of a River in his Shoulders.

* BrawnHilda: Helena is more than six feet tall and powerfully built. Dresden says that she 'wasn't really pretty' and looks like a bouncer.
* MamaBear: Dresden refers to this trope by name after meeting her, and it fits. After all, when her son is being bullied, her way of solving the problem is to pull some strings and have a professional wizard--capable of fighting warlocks, vampires, and demons--hired at her son's school to can sort them out.
* RescueRomance: Starts dating Strength of a River in his Shoulders after he saves her life by getting her food when she's stranded on a barren dig site for months.

[[folder: Sandra Marling]]

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention [=SplatterCon=], she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.

* SilkHidingSteel: She appears perfectly normal at first, and in fact drops out of the 'Proven Guilty' case less than halfway through it (and hasn't reappeared so far). However, the RPG notes (which are written from an in-universe perspective) show how Marling was indirectly responsible for Molly's corruption, Molly's abduction by phages, and Dresden being distracted by Madrigal for long enough to allow said abduction to occur. It also mentions that she vanished after the novel and Dresden--wizard PI--has been completely unable to locate any trace of her.

[[folder: Vince Graver]]

A Private Investigator who was hired to spy on Harry during the ''Turn Coat'' case. Dresden managed to get him on his side, and Graver was able to obtain key evidence in proving that Samuel Peabody was a spy on the White Council.

* PrivateDetective: His job.

[[folder: Nick Christian]]

A Private Investigator and one of Harry's mentors.

* FriendToAllChildren: He takes a variety of jobs to pay rent, but his passion is missing children cases. He's managed to save several children from abductors over the years, and in his view, that makes all the sacrifices he's made worth it.

[[folder: Steven "Stevie D" Douglas]]

A hired thug operating in the Chicago area. Baron Marcone and Duchess Ortega have both hired him for jobs.

* GenreSavvy: He knows that Dresden's a tough opponent, so he tries to kill him as soon as he has a chance, before Dresden has time to cast any countermeasures. He even tried to kill Butters--whom he hadn't been paid to shoot--just because Butters was between him and Dresden and he didn't want to give Dresden the few seconds it would take to move Butters out of the way.
* ProfessionalKiller: His job.

[[folder: Anna Valmont]]

A professional thief who was a member of a crew that called themselves the Churchmice, Valmont first met Harry when she was hired to steal the Shroud of Turin in ''DeathMasks''. She reappears in ''SkinGame'' as part of Nicodemus's caper.

[[folder: Waldo Butters]]

->''"Polka will never die!"''

Chicago medical examiner, polka enthusiast and geek extraordinaire. He was assigned to autopsy the corpses found after a fire, but since said fire was in fact the result of a wizardly [[KillItWithFire temper tantrum]], he got a vampire corpse, called it "humanlike, but definitely nonhuman" and consequently got stuck in a mental institution for observation for three months. This gave him a cheery disrespect for authority that helps him get along quite well with Harry.

* ActionSurvivor: Butters started as a normal, but highly principled man. He is nothing special but then some zombies attack and it kick starts his journey to being a badass normal in a world of the supernatural.
* AmazonChaser: Dates Andi in ''Cold Days'' who still has a well-muscled body and could easily lift Butters.
* AscendedFanboy: He gets to be a real, honest to goodness [[spoiler: [[ThePaladin Knight]], complete with a special sword of his own, with a mission from [[BigGood God]]]].
** Not just that, he isn't any old [[spoiler: Knight]] he's effectively a [[spoiler:: Jedi knight, complete with lightsaber]]. Can one ascend from two different fandoms at once?
** Butters has effectively multiclassed.
* BadassLongcoat: Grabs Harry's bulletproof one at the climax of ''Skin Game'', although the difference in their size means it fits him more like a Jedi robe...
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He may be a bit overfond of polka, but he's very good at remembering bits of random information and thinking about them logically, even when faced with a ZombieApocalypse.
* ChekhovsGun:
** His one-man polka suit in ''Dead Beat''.
** His deep love of ''Star Wars'' and the ideals of right over coming wrong and one man being able to make a difference, even if it is by a HeroicSacrifice. All very befitting [[spoiler:a Knight of the Cross]].
* ChekhovsSkill: Harry taught him how to make a magic circle so Harry's magic wouldn't interfere with his technology. Later he draws a magic circle to prevent the undead armies from killing him and his drum.
* TheCoroner: The reason why he's a coroner despite being an excellent medic, is that he doesn't have the professional detachment needed to be one.
-->'''Harry:''' Butters hated seeing people in pain.
* CowardlyLion: At first, he runs in terror from a necromancer with some zombies. [[spoiler: Later, he begins using magiteck with Bob's help to fight back against supernatural predators. Then he becomes a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]].]]
* CrazyPrepared[=/=]ProperlyParanoid:
** In ''Changes'', he is shot in the back. A few minutes later it is revealed that he put on a kevlar vest the minute he [[AFriendInNeed got the call]], and brought [[OurVampiresAreDifferent garlic]] and [[GeometricMagic chalk]] too.
** In ''Ghost Story'' he has Bob examine and then shadow Harry, without Harry knowing it, to ensure if Harry's shade is some trick or turns evil, Bob will end him.
* DiagnosisFromDrBadass: Does this to Aristides in ''Ghost Story''.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: As of ''Skin Game'', he [[spoiler:is a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]]. A [[Film/StarWars JEDI]] Knight of the Cross, lightsaber and all. A JEWISH Jedi Knight of the Cross, no less]].
* HiddenDepths: Another layer gets peeled off with every appearance. Butters is probably the poster child for this trope; initially he appears as a polka-loving nerd, but by the time of ''Ghost Story'' he is one of Harry's most valuable allies, for his brains, his honesty and his incredible courage, considering he has nothing even resembling super-powers, or even ordinary strength, to take into battle with him.
* IJustWantToBeBadass: Waldo Butters, about 120lbs soaking wet, tried to become part of the US military but washed out of boot camp. Same with the police. He failed both times but still had the push to be stronger. This push led him to ride on a zombie dinosaur to save the world and pursue other dangerous paths. This finally culminates in him [[spoiler:becoming a Knight of the Cross]].
* JewishAndNerdy: Self-described as such in-universe.
* JewishMother: Mama Butters, from Bob's description, is capable of whipping up a massive FancyDinner for JewishHolidays as Harry sees in Bob's 'apartment'. Also nags Butters about finding himself a Nice Jewish Girl if only he'd clean up. Bob fills in for her at times, complete with Yiddish accent, to Butters' dismay.
* JumpedAtTheCall: After the events detailed in TookALevelInBadass, Butters can't contemplate ''not'' [[spoiler:accepting ''Fidelacchius'']].
* KnightInShiningArmor: [[spoiler: This is a requirement for all Knights of the Cross. Even before receiving ''Fidelacchius'', he was defending Chicago in Harry and Molly's absence.]]
* LetsGetDangerous: He saved Harry's life by attacking Cassius. And later, subdued a gunman with an improvised taser. Later on in Ghost Story he cripples Aristides by knowing exactly which bones to break
* LovableCoward: Deconstructed, then subverted.
* {{Magitek}}: Butters is not very strong with magic in a practical sense. He is, however, brilliant in the theoretical sense. With Bob's help, he can make enchanted items which give him a distinct edge and element of surprise, like a self-propelling skateboard that can clock up to 30mph. [[spoiler:He can even make a listening device that won't short out when he sneaks it into Harry's bandages]].
* TheMedic: Although he says he finds it weird to operate on people who are still alive, Harry's acquaintance with him comes in handy when he, say, needs a bullet wound treated and doesn't want to intrude on the police's busy schedule. Or sewing up a sliced up Morgan in ''Turn Coat''.
* NoticeThis: In-Universe example. Because of Butter's RPG history, it seems [[spoiler:Heaven will be giving him signs like this. On a jog with Michael, he notices a homeless man with a yellow exclamation point over the man. Michael explains to him this is a job]].
* NerdGlasses: He wears them.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler:A Batman [[JewishAndNerdy Jewish]] [[Film/StarWars Jedi]] [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]], [[RuleOfThree anyone]]?]].
* NonActionGuy: Doesn't stop him from being useful when the need is there.
* PostModernMagik: In ''Ghost Story'' he rigs up a two-way radio for Harry to converse with the others. Bob the Skull observes that while Butters has no talent for magic himself, he probably understands magic theory better than Harry.
* ShorterMeansSmarter: He's very smart, and he's ''tiny'', apparently -- when he curls up into a fetal position, Harry thinks he could probably fit in a grocery bag.
* SurvivalMantra: When shaking to his core in ''Dead Beat'' because of the attacks by zombies, Harry gives him some good reasons to not give up. The more important reason becomes this mantra. That reason: "POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!!"
* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: With Bob the Skull's help. He may not have the power in magic, but with his mind, he can make formulas and theories beyond what Harry can understand.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** As of ''Ghost Story''. Before the series, he was a plain muggle coroner. But after receiving a few victims in Harry's cases, from the exploding hearts of ''Storm Front'' to claiming some of the remains found from the Velvet Room were not human, and then meeting Harry in ''Death Masks'' and the whole debacle in ''Dead Beat'' Butters learned quickly if he was to be part of this other world, he would have to toughen up.
** As of ''Skin Game'' this nearly defies belief. First off, using artifice spells and Bob as a portable magical battery, he's got a magical skateboard that travels at sub-motorcycle speeds, skill with an improvised whip that would put Indiana Jones or Simon Belmont to shame, and magical amnesia grenades. And that's all BEFORE he [[spoiler:becomes the Lightsaber of Faith wielding Jewish Jedi Knight of the Cross]]. ItMakesSenseInContext.
%%* UnfazedEveryman

[[folder: Vince Graver]]

A Private Investigator who was hired to spy on Harry during the ''Turn Coat'' case. Dresden managed to get him on his side, and Graver was able to obtain key evidence in proving that Samuel Peabody was a spy on the White Council.

[[folder: Nick Christian]]

A Private Investigator and one of Harry's mentors.

* FriendToAllChildren: He takes a variety of jobs to pay rent, but his passion is missing children cases. He's managed to save several children from abductors over the years, and in his view, that makes all the sacrifices he's made worth it.
* PrivateDetective: His job.

[[folder: Steven "Stevie D" Douglas]]

A hired thug operating in the Chicago area. Baron Marcone and Duchess Ortega have both hired him for jobs.

* GenreSavvy: He knows that Dresden's a tough opponent, so he tries to kill him as soon as he has a chance, before Dresden has time to cast any countermeasures. He even tried to kill Butters--whom he hadn't been paid to shoot--just because Butters was between him and Dresden and he didn't want to give Dresden the few seconds it would take to move Butters out of the way.
* ProfessionalKiller: His job.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Anna Valmont]]

A professional thief who was a member of a crew that called themselves the Churchmice, Valmont first met Harry when she was hired to steal the Shroud of Turin in ''DeathMasks''. She reappears in ''SkinGame'' as part of Nicodemus's caper.
----

!Occult proprietors

[[folder: Sandra Marling]]

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention [=SplatterCon=], she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.

* SilkHidingSteel: She appears perfectly normal at first, and in fact drops out of the 'Proven Guilty' case less than halfway through it (and hasn't reappeared so far). However, the RPG notes (which are written from an in-universe perspective) show how Marling was indirectly responsible for Molly's corruption, Molly's abduction by phages, and Dresden being distracted by Madrigal for long enough to allow said abduction to occur. It also mentions that she vanished after the novel and Dresden--wizard PI--has been completely unable to locate any trace of her.

[[folder: Susan Rodriguez]]

A reporter for the ''Midwestern Arcane'', a trashy tabloid that doesn't deserve a journalist as good as she is. She will put herself at an extraordinary amount of risk to get the scoop on some genuine weirdness, and constantly pesters Harry for leads. Harry's girlfriend until the Red Court got their hands on her..

%%* ActionGirl: In the later books.
* ActionMom: In ''Changes'', she joins [[PapaWolf Harry]] in their quest to retake their daughter, no matter the price they may have to pay.
%%* BrokenBird
* DamselInDistress: Repeatedly, in the earlier books. Harry had to rescue her an inordinate number of times early on.
* HeroicSacrifice: Just about literally. She lets Harry sacrifice her on the altar that is being used to empower the bloodline curse, to target the Red Court.
* HotScoop: Harry notes more than once how lucky he is to be dating "dark and curvy" Susan. Even his lovesick brother takes notice in ''Grave Peril''.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Keeps Maggie secret from Harry so that Harry's enemies won't gun for her... yet fails to realize that keeping in contact with Maggie could do the same thing. Fortunately she has enough sense to tell the truth when shit gets real.
* IdiotBall: Showing up at Bianca's party in ''Literature/GravePeril'' with a fake invitation for the sake of a scoop despite Harry's many warnings explaining why it was a bad idea due to her being a human with no powers or means of defense from vampires.
* IntrepidReporter: Harry notes that she gets into a lot of trouble investigating angles for the ''Midwestern Arcane''.
* KilledOffForReal: Was (willingly) killed by Harry in ''Literature/{{Changes}}'' as a sacrifice in order to kill the entire red court and save Maggie.
%%* LatinLover
* MissingMom: With her death in ''Changes'', she is now this to Maggie.
* MarkedChange: The Fellowship's normally invisible tattoos allow her to use the junior league version of the Red Court's abilities without letting her bloodthirst get out of control.
* MyGreatestFailure: How Harry views what happened to her.
%%* ShesGotLegs
* ShootTheDog: After she attacks Martin and starts to turn into a full vampire, Harry has to cut her throat to turn a bloodline curse intended for him on the Red Court.
* SlashedThroat: Courtesy of Harry as part of the ritual to sacrifice her and destroy the entire Red Court.
%%* StarCrossedLovers: With Harry.
* TookALevelInBadass: While never one to shy away from most danger, after becoming a half-vampire and joining the Fellowship, she became a skilled fighter, weapon's expert, and terrorist to the Red Court. She has enough combat skill to hold her own using just a metal table leg as an improvised club.
%%* VampireRefugee
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Waldo Butters]]

->''"Polka will never die!"''

Chicago medical examiner, polka enthusiast and geek extraordinaire. He was assigned to autopsy the corpses found after a fire, but since said fire was in fact the result of a wizardly [[KillItWithFire temper tantrum]], he got a vampire corpse, called it "humanlike, but definitely nonhuman" and consequently got stuck in a mental institution for observation for three months. This gave him a cheery disrespect for authority that helps him get along quite well with Harry.
----

[[folder: Susan Rodriguez]]

A reporter for the ''Midwestern Arcane'', a trashy tabloid that doesn't deserve a journalist as good as she is. She will put herself at an extraordinary amount of risk to get the scoop on some genuine weirdness, and constantly pesters Harry for leads. Harry's girlfriend until the Red Court got their hands on her..

%%* ActionGirl: In the later books.
* ActionMom: In ''Changes'', she joins [[PapaWolf Harry]] in their quest to retake their daughter, no matter the price they may have to pay.
%%* BrokenBird
* DamselInDistress: Repeatedly, in the earlier books. Harry had to rescue her an inordinate number of times early on.
* HeroicSacrifice: Just about literally. She lets Harry sacrifice her on the altar that is being used to empower the bloodline curse, to target the Red Court.
* HotScoop: Harry notes more than once how lucky he is to be dating "dark and curvy" Susan. Even his lovesick brother takes notice in ''Grave Peril''.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Keeps Maggie secret from Harry so that Harry's enemies won't gun for her... yet fails to realize that keeping in contact with Maggie could do the same thing. Fortunately she has enough sense to tell the truth when shit gets real.
* IdiotBall: Showing up at Bianca's party in ''Literature/GravePeril'' with a fake invitation for the sake of a scoop despite Harry's many warnings explaining why it was a bad idea due to her being a human with no powers or means of defense from vampires.
* IntrepidReporter: Harry notes that she gets into a lot of trouble investigating angles for the ''Midwestern Arcane''.
* KilledOffForReal: Was (willingly) killed by Harry in ''Literature/{{Changes}}'' as a sacrifice in order to kill the entire red court and save Maggie.
%%* LatinLover
* MissingMom: With her death in ''Changes'', she is now this to Maggie.
* MarkedChange: The Fellowship's normally invisible tattoos allow her to use the junior league version of the Red Court's abilities without letting her bloodthirst get out of control.
* MyGreatestFailure: How Harry views what happened to her.
%%* ShesGotLegs
* ShootTheDog: After she attacks Martin and starts to turn into a full vampire, Harry has to cut her throat to turn a bloodline curse intended for him on the Red Court.
* SlashedThroat: Courtesy of Harry as part of the ritual to sacrifice her and destroy the entire Red Court.
%%* StarCrossedLovers: With Harry.
* TookALevelInBadass: While never one to shy away from most danger, after becoming a half-vampire and joining the Fellowship, she became a skilled fighter, weapon's expert, and terrorist to the Red Court. She has enough combat skill to hold her own using just a metal table leg as an improvised club.
%%* VampireRefugee

[[folder: Waldo Butters]]

->''"Polka will never die!"''

Chicago medical examiner, polka enthusiast and geek extraordinaire. He was assigned to autopsy the corpses found after a fire, but since said fire was in fact the result of a wizardly [[KillItWithFire temper tantrum]], he got a vampire corpse, called it "humanlike, but definitely nonhuman" and consequently got stuck in a mental institution for observation for three months. This gave him a cheery disrespect for authority that helps him get along quite well with Harry.

* ActionSurvivor: Butters started as a normal, but highly principled man. He is nothing special but then some zombies attack and it kick starts his journey to being a badass normal in a world of the supernatural.
* AmazonChaser: Dates Andi in ''Cold Days'' who still has a well-muscled body and could easily lift Butters.
* AscendedFanboy: He gets to be a real, honest to goodness [[spoiler: [[ThePaladin Knight]], complete with a special sword of his own, with a mission from [[BigGood God]]]].
** Not just that, he isn't any old [[spoiler: Knight]] he's effectively a [[spoiler:: Jedi knight, complete with lightsaber]]. Can one ascend from two different fandoms at once?
** Butters has effectively multiclassed.
* BadassLongcoat: Grabs Harry's bulletproof one at the climax of ''Skin Game'', although the difference in their size means it fits him more like a Jedi robe...
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He may be a bit overfond of polka, but he's very good at remembering bits of random information and thinking about them logically, even when faced with a ZombieApocalypse.
* ChekhovsGun:
** His one-man polka suit in ''Dead Beat''.
** His deep love of ''Star Wars'' and the ideals of right over coming wrong and one man being able to make a difference, even if it is by a HeroicSacrifice. All very befitting [[spoiler:a Knight of the Cross]].
* ChekhovsSkill: Harry taught him how to make a magic circle so Harry's magic wouldn't interfere with his technology. Later he draws a magic circle to prevent the undead armies from killing him and his drum.
* TheCoroner: The reason why he's a coroner despite being an excellent medic, is that he doesn't have the professional detachment needed to be one.
-->'''Harry:''' Butters hated seeing people in pain.
* CowardlyLion: At first, he runs in terror from a necromancer with some zombies. [[spoiler: Later, he begins using magiteck with Bob's help to fight back against supernatural predators. Then he becomes a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]].]]
* CrazyPrepared[=/=]ProperlyParanoid:
** In ''Changes'', he is shot in the back. A few minutes later it is revealed that he put on a kevlar vest the minute he [[AFriendInNeed got the call]], and brought [[OurVampiresAreDifferent garlic]] and [[GeometricMagic chalk]] too.
** In ''Ghost Story'' he has Bob examine and then shadow Harry, without Harry knowing it, to ensure if Harry's shade is some trick or turns evil, Bob will end him.
* DiagnosisFromDrBadass: Does this to Aristides in ''Ghost Story''.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: As of ''Skin Game'', he [[spoiler:is a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]]. A [[Film/StarWars JEDI]] Knight of the Cross, lightsaber and all. A JEWISH Jedi Knight of the Cross, no less]].
* HiddenDepths: Another layer gets peeled off with every appearance. Butters is probably the poster child for this trope; initially he appears as a polka-loving nerd, but by the time of ''Ghost Story'' he is one of Harry's most valuable allies, for his brains, his honesty and his incredible courage, considering he has nothing even resembling super-powers, or even ordinary strength, to take into battle with him.
* IJustWantToBeBadass: Waldo Butters, about 120lbs soaking wet, tried to become part of the US military but washed out of boot camp. Same with the police. He failed both times but still had the push to be stronger. This push led him to ride on a zombie dinosaur to save the world and pursue other dangerous paths. This finally culminates in him [[spoiler:becoming a Knight of the Cross]].
* JewishAndNerdy: Self-described as such in-universe.
* JewishMother: Mama Butters, from Bob's description, is capable of whipping up a massive FancyDinner for JewishHolidays as Harry sees in Bob's 'apartment'. Also nags Butters about finding himself a Nice Jewish Girl if only he'd clean up. Bob fills in for her at times, complete with Yiddish accent, to Butters' dismay.
* JumpedAtTheCall: After the events detailed in TookALevelInBadass, Butters can't contemplate ''not'' [[spoiler:accepting ''Fidelacchius'']].
* KnightInShiningArmor: [[spoiler: This is a requirement for all Knights of the Cross. Even before receiving ''Fidelacchius'', he was defending Chicago in Harry and Molly's absence.]]
* LetsGetDangerous: He saved Harry's life by attacking Cassius. And later, subdued a gunman with an improvised taser. Later on in Ghost Story he cripples Aristides by knowing exactly which bones to break
* LovableCoward: Deconstructed, then subverted.
* {{Magitek}}: Butters is not very strong with magic in a practical sense. He is, however, brilliant in the theoretical sense. With Bob's help, he can make enchanted items which give him a distinct edge and element of surprise, like a self-propelling skateboard that can clock up to 30mph. [[spoiler:He can even make a listening device that won't short out when he sneaks it into Harry's bandages]].
* TheMedic: Although he says he finds it weird to operate on people who are still alive, Harry's acquaintance with him comes in handy when he, say, needs a bullet wound treated and doesn't want to intrude on the police's busy schedule. Or sewing up a sliced up Morgan in ''Turn Coat''.
* NoticeThis: In-Universe example. Because of Butter's RPG history, it seems [[spoiler:Heaven will be giving him signs like this. On a jog with Michael, he notices a homeless man with a yellow exclamation point over the man. Michael explains to him this is a job]].
* NerdGlasses: He wears them.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler:A Batman [[JewishAndNerdy Jewish]] [[Film/StarWars Jedi]] [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]], [[RuleOfThree anyone]]?]].
* NonActionGuy: Doesn't stop him from being useful when the need is there.
* PostModernMagik: In ''Ghost Story'' he rigs up a two-way radio for Harry to converse with the others. Bob the Skull observes that while Butters has no talent for magic himself, he probably understands magic theory better than Harry.
* ShorterMeansSmarter: He's very smart, and he's ''tiny'', apparently -- when he curls up into a fetal position, Harry thinks he could probably fit in a grocery bag.
* SurvivalMantra: When shaking to his core in ''Dead Beat'' because of the attacks by zombies, Harry gives him some good reasons to not give up. The more important reason becomes this mantra. That reason: "POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!!"
* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: With Bob the Skull's help. He may not have the power in magic, but with his mind, he can make formulas and theories beyond what Harry can understand.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** As of ''Ghost Story''. Before the series, he was a plain muggle coroner. But after receiving a few victims in Harry's cases, from the exploding hearts of ''Storm Front'' to claiming some of the remains found from the Velvet Room were not human, and then meeting Harry in ''Death Masks'' and the whole debacle in ''Dead Beat'' Butters learned quickly if he was to be part of this other world, he would have to toughen up.
** As of ''Skin Game'' this nearly defies belief. First off, using artifice spells and Bob as a portable magical battery, he's got a magical skateboard that travels at sub-motorcycle speeds, skill with an improvised whip that would put Indiana Jones or Simon Belmont to shame, and magical amnesia grenades. And that's all BEFORE he [[spoiler:becomes the Lightsaber of Faith wielding Jewish Jedi Knight of the Cross]]. ItMakesSenseInContext.
%%* UnfazedEveryman

[[folder: Malcolm Dresden]]

Harry's deceased father. Formerly a stage magician, he died when Harry was around six years old. Officially, he died because of a brain aneurism; some have hinted otherwise. We'll know sooner or later. His ghost made a brief, cryptic appearance in ''Dead Beat''.

* DeadPersonConversation: In ''Dead Beat''.
* MayDecemberRomance: WordOfGod reveals Margaret was around a century old when she met him.
* MoralityChain: It's hinted he became this for Margaret.
* PosthumousCharacter: He died long before the series started.
* PungeonMaster: Where Harry gets it from.
* ThePowerOfLove: His genuine love for Margarete helped her become a better woman.
* SoProudOfYou: To Harry.
* StageMagician: His profession.
%%* TellMeAboutMyFather
* VaguenessIsComing:
** "Beware the Jabberwock, my son." However, this ''may'' just be part of the lead-up to a pun. "No, I don't have a vorpal sword to lend you. You'll have to make do with a Snickers snack."
** His remarks about how "Death" and "Terrible waters" lie in Harry's future play this straight, when events in ''Changes'' (Harry shot dead by Kincaid) and ''Aftermath'' (rise of the aquatic Fomor) are taken into account.

[[folder: Margaret "Maggie" Angelica Dresden]]

The daughter of Harry and Susan. She was conceived during ''Death Masks''. The living Macguffin of ''Changes.'' She was kidnapped by Arianna to be used in a sacrificial ritual, but saved by Harry.

* ABoyAndHisX: She and Mouse, whom Harry tasked as her protector, are virtually inseparable.
* BuffySpeak: According to her, Mouse "slayerized" a monster under her bed.
* TheCutie: Was this until Arianna kidnapped her.
** BreakTheCutie: Compare the smiling photo to the broken-down wreck she is when Harry meets her (after narrowly securing her a reprieve)
* DisappearedDad: Harry, by virtue of not being told she even existed for the first five years of her life and later his death.
* HappilyAdopted: As of ''Ghost Story'' is now living with the Carpenters with Mouse as her companion.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: At [=EasterCon=] 2015, Jim announced that he was planning a series following Maggie's future adventures at an ExtranormalInstitute.
* HumanSacrifice: Arianna planned this for her, and after Arianna's plans fell through thanks to her death at Harry's hands, the Red King tried to do the same. She was saved, but it's pretty safe to say that she'll have scars for years to come.
* MissingMom: Susan because it was too dangerous to keep her around while Susan was fighting the Red Court, and later because Susan died in a HeroicSacrifice, saving little Maggie from the Red Court.
* {{Protectorate}}: As Michael puts it:
-->'''Michael:''' Things did not turn out well for the last monster who raised his hand against your child. Or any of his friends. Or associates. Or anyone who worked for him. Or for most of the people he knew. \\
'''Michael:''' Whether or not that was your intention, you did establish a rather effective precedental message to the various predators should they ever learn of her relationship with you.

[[folder: Vince Graver]]

A Private Investigator who was hired to spy on Harry during the ''Turn Coat'' case. Dresden managed to get him on his side, and Graver was able to obtain key evidence in proving that Samuel Peabody was a spy on the White Council.

* PrivateDetective: His job.

[[folder: Nick Christian]]

A Private Investigator and one of Harry's mentors.

* FriendToAllChildren: He takes a variety of jobs to pay rent, but his passion is missing children cases. He's managed to save several children from abductors over the years, and in his view, that makes all the sacrifices he's made worth it.

[[folder: Steven "Stevie D" Douglas]]

A hired thug operating in the Chicago area. Baron Marcone and Duchess Ortega have both hired him for jobs.

* GenreSavvy: He knows that Dresden's a tough opponent, so he tries to kill him as soon as he has a chance, before Dresden has time to cast any countermeasures. He even tried to kill Butters--whom he hadn't been paid to shoot--just because Butters was between him and Dresden and he didn't want to give Dresden the few seconds it would take to move Butters out of the way.
* ProfessionalKiller: His job.

[[folder: Anna Valmont]]

A professional thief who was a member of a crew that called themselves the Churchmice, Valmont first met Harry when she was hired to steal the Shroud of Turin in ''DeathMasks''. She reappears in ''SkinGame'' as part of Nicodemus's caper.

* BoringButPractical: [[spoiler:In Hades' vault, she goes right for the fountain of diamonds, filling her sack from the spout. She chose them over the gold and other treasures because they had the highest value for their weight and would be easy to move once they got back home]].

!White Court Servitors

[[folder: Justine]]

Thomas Raith's long-time girlfriend and primary food source. After he almost killed her in ''Blood Rites'', she was in a wheelchair for a while, got out of it, her previously dark hair turned white, and, ironically, she and Thomas could no longer touch since love burns White Court vampires. Largely due to this last characteristic, she is now Lara Raith's personal assistant, since Lara prefers to have an assistant that none of her family members can turn into a thrall.

* BiTheWay: It turns out in ''Ghost Story'', that she goes both ways. Thomas is deeply appreciative. However, this is not for the usual reasons. As discussed later, her and Thomas's love for each other makes her poison to him. Until she has sex with someone she doesn't love... Thus... wax on, wax off. Just with girl-on-girl sex.
* TheChick: With a twist, namely the insanity mentioned below.
* DistressedDamsel: In ''Grave Peril'', although it's mostly because she's too crazy to think straight. She is quite resourceful otherwise.
* CloudCuckooLander: Justine's mind is...off, especially when separated from Thomas. The 'almost drained of life-force' may have cured this, she seems far more stable in later books.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: By the time ''Turn Coat'' rolls around....
* HelloNurse: Enough so that [[PsychoLesbian Bianca]] hates [[OfficialCouple Thomas]] on principle for getting to her first.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: After the events of ''Blood Rites'' her hair goes white.
* MoralityChain: To Thomas.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: One of the masks she wears in later books.
* TheOphelia: When she's separated from Thomas in ''Grave Peril''.
--> She brayed out a sharp laugh. 'There is no out of here. This is the larder. The Christmas turkey doesn't get up and walk away.'
* ThePowerOfLove: This protects her from the White Court vampires. Lara being Lara, she realized that this was a very helpful trait in someone who would need to work around them. In ''Ghost Story'', she figures out a way to avoid this: sleep with others to remove the protection, then lay with Thomas. Rinse and repeat.
* SilkHidingSteel: Definitely becomes this in ''Even Hand'', even getting Marcone to underestimate her.
* StarCrossedLovers: With Thomas Raith.
* SickeninglySweethearts: WordOfGod reveals that she and post-''Turn Coat'' Thomas are like this in private.
* TalkativeLoon: Justine is certifiably insane, but Thomas' routine "feeding" helps her keep her sanity. When separated from him in ''Grave Peril'', she ''rapidly'' slips into madness.
** Subverted in ''White Night'', where it's revealed that she's just faking so the rest of the White Court will leave her alone, and is actually stable now with the help of medication.
* TookALevelInBadass: Volunteered to work as Lara's assistant to feed Thomas (and thus Harry, and thus the White Council) information on the Court's activities. However, she ''really'' takes on in Even Hand, where she infiltrates the stronghold of Mag, a powerful Fomor sorcerer, frees his slaves, and steals his bank account information, and then manages to get Marcone to kill Mag.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Riley]]

A mercenary assigned as the 'babysitter' of Tania Raith when she went up against Dresden. He followed her orders, but also had the authority to pull the plug on the operation once Dresden took the upper hand.

----

* BadassNormal: He has no magic powers, but he's still a tough foe, and Dresden is continually impressed by his intelligence and skill in combat.

[[/folder]]

!Other

[[folder: Susan Rodriguez]]

A reporter for the ''Midwestern Arcane'', a trashy tabloid that doesn't deserve a journalist as good as she is. She will put herself at an extraordinary amount of risk to get the scoop on some genuine weirdness, and constantly pesters Harry for leads. Harry's girlfriend until the Red Court got their hands on her..
----

[[folder: Anna Valmont]]

A professional thief who was a member of a crew that called themselves the Churchmice, Valmont first met Harry when she was hired to steal the Shroud of Turin in ''DeathMasks''. She reappears in ''SkinGame'' as part of Nicodemus's caper.

!Marcone's Mob

[[folder: John "Gentleman Johnny" Marcone]]

->''"One day, probably soon, you'll get yourself killed thanks to that [[VirtueIsWeakness irrational set of compulsions you call a conscience]], long before my name tops your list. I needn't lift a finger. [[TheUriahGambit Giving you information seems an excellent way to accelerate that process]]. [[EnemyMine It will also tax the resources of my enemies.]] And... I believe I have no objection to [[EvenEvilHasStandards contributing against any organization that would victimize children so]]."''

The boss of the Chicago criminal underground, he's not quite as unpopular with the cops as one might expect since he runs his operation with the minimum of bloodshed and the maximum of profit. He's smart enough that he generally tries to keep Harry on his side, but isn't averse to working against him when necessary. Harry hates his guts, but he has still probably done him more good than harm overall, even as the two men recognize that they will eventually come into a situation where only one will be left standing.

* AbnormalAmmo: Uses an anti-ward musket ball in Even Hand. According to Gard, who made it, a bullet of that power takes a ridiculous amount of power to enchant, and it'll only work if the original bullet has killed a great man.
-->'''Gard:''' "I was unconscious for three weeks after scribing the rune for that one. To say nothing of the fact that the bullets themselves are rare. That one [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars killed a man named Nelson at Trafalgar]]."\\
'''Marcone:''' "How do you know?"\\
'''Gard:''' "[[BeenThereShapedHistory I took it out of him]]. Men of his caliber are few and far between."
* AffablyEvil: Can be very charming when he wants to be, is almost uniformly polite in the face of Harry's deliberate provocation, and has assisted the heroes even in situations where it doesn't materially benefit himself. Harry continuously reminds himself that, no matter how often Marcone assists him or even saves his life, he is still a ''bad person''.
* AmbiguouslyEvil: Sometimes it's hard to tell if he's a Type I AntiVillain or a particularly [[SociopathicHero hard-core]] AntiHero.
* AntiVillain: He's more often help than hindrance to Harry; while his empire of crime is vast and increasing, he maintains order and reduces violence. We ultimately learn from his StartOfDarkness in ''White Night'' that the motivation that drives him is to prevent {{Innocent Bystander}}s from harm, and he is desperate to heal a young girl in a coma from a bullet meant for him. In ''Small Favor'', he refuses to be freed first until the Archive is rescued, and during the subsequent escape, shelters her and makes sure she is the first person on the rescue helicopter.
* ArchEnemy: He believes himself to be this for Harry Dresden. He had stated in his monologue of "Even Hand" that someday he and Harry ''will'' face each other for one final time and has been preparing armament to ensure his victory. It's difficult to decide which is more impressive: that Harry can destroy the strongest mob boss in the nation or that Marcone can kill one of the deadliest wizards on the planet.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Even when he's not surrounded by God-knows-how-many bodyguards, this is seriously one guy you ''do not'' want to mess with. He has led an army of mercenaries into battle. He is an expert marksman, able to hit Nicodemus while not striking the Shroud of Turin Nicodemus wore as they were atop a high speed train.
* {{Badass}}: He once managed to keep a knife hidden from FBI agents, then pull it out and throw it through a rope while hanging upside down in the dark.
* BadassNormal: One time, he ripped Nicodemus into shreds with a machine gun. It slowed him down for, like, two seconds, but it's the thought that counts.
-->''Marcone was criminal scum, but I’ll give the rat his due—he’s got balls that drag the ground when he walks.''
* BadassInANiceSuit: Always dressed impeccably.
* BerserkButton: It's hard to find something that will set Marcone off, but if he even ''thinks'' you're threatening children, and especially Amanda Beckit, a.k.a. "Persephone", he will ''murder'' you until you ''die''. He outright says in ''Changes'' that part of the reason why he is helping Harry against the Red Court is because they are hurting children.
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:In ''Literature/SkinGame'' he, Mab and Hades execute one jointly, years in the making, to get revenge on Nicodemus for his plot in ''Literature/SmallFavor''.]] It works to a breathtaking degree.
* BigDamnHeroes: He's needed to be rescued a couple of times now. On the flip side, he's also been one to show up at the last second with a rescue squad (usually Hendricks and Gard) a couple of times as well.
* BornInTheWrongCentury: Nicodemus has commented on the irony. A few centuries ago, a man like John Marcone could carve out a kingdom and rule it with the kind of stable, effective-if-ruthless government that people really would appreciate. But it's been a long time since that age of warrior kings. He seems to be aware of it himself, if his choice of magical employees are any indication. Harry appears to take it to heart in ''Skin Game'', where he [[spoiler: honors an ancient Norse-Germanic tradition of ''weregild'' and pays the crime boss for the henchman who died during the robbery to smooth things over. Marcone, after some deliberation, decides he likes the idea and accepts]].
* ClaspYourHandsIfYouDeceive: He does the finger-steepling thing quite a bit, as his character design is based on [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} David Xanatos]].
* CrazyPrepared: This is a man who puts extra light and thin doors at dramatic entry points to reduce shrapnel. Not to mention having both technological and magical defenses installed in multiple safe houses, though they do sometimes interfere with one another.
* CynicismCatalyst: He will do ''anything'' to try to make up for the fact that a little girl took a bullet meant for him and has been in a coma ever since. When Harry soulgazed him in ''Storm Front'', even before he discovered what had happened, Harry could tell how much that single event had changed him.
-->''It was a dry and cool place, inside Gentleman Johnny Marcone. Except for one dim corner. There, hidden away from his everyday thoughts, there lurked a secret shame. I couldn't quite see what it was. But I knew that, somewhere in the past there was something that he would give anything to undo, would spill blood to erase. It was from that dark place that he drew his resolve, his strength.''
* DiabolicalMastermind: One does not become boss of Chicago's underworld without becoming both of these.
* DeadpanSnarker: His narration of ''Even Hand''.
-->Mag entered in the manner so many of these self-absorbed supernatural cretins seem to adore. He blasted the door into a cloud of flying splinters with what I presumed was magic.\\
For God's sake.\\
At least the vampires would call for an appointment.
* TheDon: Runs basically all organized crime in Chicago. The cops are actually fairly willing to put up with this, as organized crime's gotten a lot less violent since he took over, and his control of things prevents turf wars.
* EnemyMine: Has probably teamed up with Harry more times than he's been an antagonist.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Marcone is willing to take a profit from any single vice you can name... except those which involve the exploitation of children. The defining moment of this trope may have been the opening scene of ''Even Hand'', where he personally sees to the execution of a pimp who sold children and a drug dealer who sold to minors.
* EvilGloating: Marcone actually does this, but only in a non-violent situation and when he is fully protected from Harry's response. This happens when Harry sees Helen Beckitt come in to the main office at Marcone's "health club" and reveal herself to be Marcone's lover.
* TheFettered: Marcone is a pure pragmatist, capable of making ruthless and utterly cold-hearted decisions if it means good business. Unless children are concerned. On at least one occasion, Marcone has knowingly made a bad decision because a child's safety was on the line.
* FriendlyEnemy: Generally courteous, and often helpful, towards Harry. Harry responds by being as rude as possible to drive home his view that Marcone's a villain, however friendly he acts. Both men respect one another, after a fashion, even as they realize that they will never be able to reconcile their fundamental differences.
* FriendToAllChildren: His first rule. To Harry's annoyance, since it means he can't just dismiss the guy as a mustache-twirling villain.
* GenreSavvy:
** After the first time failed, Marcone never threatened Harry again and had accepted with saintly tolerance Harry's insults and property destruction. This seems bizarre for TheDon at first sight, until one realizes that he ''must'' have recognized that Harry always came out not only alive, but victorious over and over again against enemies several magnitudes stronger than him (and Marcone). As per "Even Hand," Marcone has been implementing precautions into all his buildings specifically to destroy Harry.
** Word of Jim is Marcone is the type who would read the EvilOverlordList and roll his eyes at some of the really stupid things on there.
* GreenEyes: Harry's usual description is "the color of worn dollar bills." Murphy compares them to "dead grass." Noticeably, in a flashback, his eyes are a more healthy-looking "bright, grass-green."
* IGaveMyWord: Johnny takes the obligations he assumes very seriously. If you buy protection from him, his people ''will'' protect you, not just from shakedowns, but from outside threats as well. If [[spoiler:signing the Accords]] means that a supernatural problem occurring in his territory is his responsibility, then he ''will'' make certain that the problem is dealt with. And he is fully willing to put his own life on the line to ensure that his obligations are met.
* IKnowYourTrueName: Actually we ''don't''. In his narration of ''Even Hand'', he mentions the fact "John Marcone" is ''not'' his real name.
%%* JohnnyMcCoolname:
* KnifeNut: He always seems to have several lying around.
* LesserOfTwoEvils: It's frequently pointed out that, yes, he's the leader of all organized crime in Chicago, but [[EvenEvilHasStandards his standards]] and [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatism]] keep the levels of collateral damage much lower than they would be without him, and his absolute control over the criminal underworld has stopped turf-wars. On a plot level, he's been a major figure in roughly half the books so far, and has been the actual villain in exactly zero of them.
* TheMafia: Runs the Chicago branch, though with less wise-guy tradition and more ruthless pragmatism.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: "Even Hand" ended with his arm broken, several ribs bruised or cracked, and lacerations all over his body. He barely reacted, killed the dark wizard, and went out to a nice restaurant after a quick check-in with his private doctor.
* ManOfWealthAndTaste: As a SharpDressedMan who owns a whole fleet of expensive cars, and only buys the best of anything, this is a given.
* MoralityPet: "Persephone," the girl who was put into a coma by a drive-by hit on Marcone when he was younger. Harry outright says that this is the entire reason why Marcone tightly controls the streets and doesn't hesitate to kill criminals who hurt innocents. To a certain extent this applies to all children (for instance, his protectiveness towards The Archive), as does his BerserkButton.
* MysteriousBacker: Mostly since, as the name itself implies, he's a pragmatic, but ruthless gangster.
* NobleDemon: The man is corrupting scum. He will work his way through PragmaticVillainy with a cold ruthlessness. However, he always honor his promises and debts, and he never harms children in his venture, at least not directly. He won't permit any drug dealing to them and will personally deal with the violators.
* NoNonsenseNemesis: This is how he and Harry view each other. Neither treat the other lightly or with anything but cautious respect. Take how some of the rooms Marcone designed just to stop Harry (see ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill) and the man hires a Valkyrie who works for Odin as his security manager for the magical side.
* NotDistractedByTheSexy: He is the only human so far who not only is completely unmoved by White Court glamour, but he managed to pierce through the veils of [[HornyDevils Lara]] at their first encounter, finding her shadow government "amusing." In ''Cold Days,'' Thomas tells Harry that Marcone has become the second man to turn Lara down in a century (Harry being the first).
* NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters: His modus operandi reduces the amount of collateral damage and civilian casualties in Chicago's criminal underworld. However, it's made explicitly clear that this is done out of ruthless pragmatism, not any real sense of decency.
-->''I am not a humanitarian. When I offer charity it is for tax purposes.''
* PapaWolf: Summed up when Harry makes a probing threat against Persephone:
-->''I'll kill you. If you so much as breathe in her direction, I'll kill you, Dresden. Myself.''
* PragmaticVillainy: His way of dealing with Harry Dresden in ''Storm Front'' is to try and pay Harry not work the case. He escalats the amount offered to a considerable amount: a week's pay for doing nothing. It is said this is his usual method of getting people out of his way.
* RedBaron: ''Gentleman'' Johnny Marcone. It says something about the man that he makes the nickname "Gentleman" {{Badass}}.
* RagsToRiches: Mentions in ''Fool Moon'', when a loup-garou is on the loose, that his parents were in no position to leave him much of anything, let alone the silver necessary to kill it.
* SecretTestOfCharacter:
** A subtle one in his first encounter with Harry. When he asks for Harry's normal hourly rate, to calculate how much taking it would cost to pay Harry to take the week off and do nothing involving the case, Marcone initial calculation increases the total by several hundred dollars. Harry quickly corrects him to the proper lower estimate and Marcone acknowledges the error. He wonders just how much of an honest person Harry is and gets an answer.
** He also got one by looking Harry in the eyes to engage in a soulgaze. Harry, not Marcone, was the one to look away first. They stared into each other's souls and Harry blinked.
* SharpDressedMan: He tends to wear silk suits "worth more than Harry's car". [[TheAllegedCar Then again...]]
* TheStoic: In ''Death Masks'', the fact that he ''blinks once'' is implied by Harry to be a massive tell for him. Invoked in ''Even Hand.''
-->'''Marcone:''' (Narration) I am not made of stone, but I have found it is generally best to behave as if I am.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: For Dresden. He is sure that one day he and Dresden would face each other one last time. And he is not certain that he would be the one left standing.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: He is preparing for Harry finally coming after him, so he plans in spades to deal with him and any potential Death Curse Harry could strike him with. One room in his establishments is guarded by sigils painted in invisible ink, set to activate if a person of serious magical talent walks on them (like Harry), and will activate a cache of claymore mines. These mines are buried about one every square foot in a small room, but the walls are covered, and likely the ceiling as well. If each mine holds only 300 pieces of metal shrapnel, then even powerful monsters would be severely injured. A human wizard like Harry would likely be dead before he knew what hit him and thus unable to cast a death curse.
* VetinariJobSecurity: He's a crime lord who makes a profit off any vice trade you care to name, but he's infinitely better than any of the alternatives. Harry at one point tells him someday he won't be the lesser evil, but until then, it seems everyone is relieved Marcone's running the Outfit and keeping the collateral damage down.
* WhatBeautifulEyes: He has GreenEyes, which suggest extreme materialism (being the color of worn dollar bills).

[[folder: Hendricks]]

Marcone's chief bodyguard/enforcer.

* BadassNormal: Joins Thomas in charging a line of undead uberghouls at the end of ''White Night.'' And survives.
* TheBrute: He is strong, tough, and fearless, serving as Marcone's personal bodyguard. Unlike most brutes, he ''does'' have a very sharp mind underneath, but he only shows this in private moments or when things are dire. Otherwise, he is content to appear to be DumbMuscle.
* CulturedBadass: In addition to being a juggernaut of a man, Hendricks is quite well read.
* EvilRedhead: Morally ambiguous redhead, at least. With a crew cut.
* GeniusBruiser: He actually has a degree in philosophy and is working on his thesis. In ''Small Favor'', he helps decipher Nick's plans and is the first, after Harry, to point out that the Denarians are out of coins and will need to trade for more or sacrifice one of their number. The other people in the room are Knights who have faced Nicodemus and the Denarians before and a centuries old Valkyrie.
* GentleGiant: Subverted. While Hendricks is not, by nature, a violent man, and while he does prefer peaceful solutions to problems when possible, he still shows no hesitation about loyally fighting and killing on Marcone's behalf.
-->'''Marcone:''' (Narration) He might disapprove of killing, but he did it thoroughly.
* HiddenDepths: A former professional football player and well-read student of philosophy, who treats his [[ImpliedLoveInterest probable girlfriend]] with great tenderness and has a sharp and analytical mind.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Dresden assumes he's just DumbMuscle because he speaks rarely and usually in monosyllables but...
* PunchClockVillain: Played with. Hendricks is not the brutal, uncaring thug Harry likes to type him as, and he prefers his boss to use peaceful solutions to problems, but his private morals don't stop him from loyally killing for a powerful crime lord.
* InSeriesNickname: Harry likes to call him "Cujo," after the famous fictional dog. It's not quite accurate to the novel, but the idea of Hendricks as a kind of vicious guard dog is pretty fitting.
* TheQuietOne: Rarely speaks in complete sentences when "on the clock." "Even Hand" shows him to be more talkative in private.
* TechnicallyASmile[=/=]TheUnSmile: When he ''does'' "smile," it's described as the kind of smile that would make dogs burst into nervous howling.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Hendricks never does this himself, rather, everyone else does this to him. To the casual viewer, he looks like a big, dumb thug in a cheep suit. While he ''is'' a big thug, he is anything but stupid, and extremely competent. Marcone is well aware of this, which is the whole reason Hendricks is his right-hand man in the first place.
-->'''Marcone:''' (Narration) Looking at him, one would not think him capable of such a thing. But that is Hendricks, generally.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Marcone, and Marcone ''knows'' it. In ''Small Favor'', it's heavily implied that Sigrun Gard is under a geas and unable to give up information to Harry about Marcone's whereabouts, but Hendricks is able to authorize her to speak. That means John Marcone trusts him enough to believe that he'll never abuse that power to work against him, and John Marcone doesn't trust almost ''anyone'' that much.
* WarriorPoet: In ''Even Hand'', it's revealed Hendricks has a habit of quoting classic literature at Marcone whenever he disagrees with Marcone's decisions.
-->'''Marcone:''' (Narration) Hendricks looked at me sharply. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. I already knew the tone of whatever he would say. ''[[Literature/AChristmasCarol Are there no prisons]]'', perhaps. Or, ''[[Creator/JohnDonne No man is an island, entire of itself. It tolls for thee]]''. On and on.
* WeaponOfChoice: Hendricks rarely goes into battle without toting some kind of heavy machinegun or shotgun. Harry comments that riot guns look like toys in his hands.

[[folder: Helen Beckitt]]

First appearing in ''Storm Front'' as a distraught woman who lost her only daughter to mob violence. Broken from that act of violence, she wanted revenge and ran against Harry Dresden when she and her husband used magic to kill. After getting out of prison for drug dealing, Marcone offered her a job as an accountant. She is now Marcone's girlfriend, and the madame of one of his "health clubs."

* BrokenBird: The loss of her daughter was something she never recovered from.
* DespairEventHorizon: After the loss of her daughter,
* EnemyMine: In ''Small Favor'' she sells Marcone out to the Denarians hoping to have the man killed once and for all.
* MeaningfulName: Ms. Demeter. Like the Goddess, her daughter is trapped in a coma, unable to be woken up by any means Marcone (Hades) has tried.
* MissKitty: Runs the Executive Priority gymnasium/brothel for Marcone.
* PutOnABus / TheBusCameBack: Arrested and sent to prison in ''Storm Front,'' she came back eight books later.
* RevengeBeforeReason: In ''Storm Front'' she didn't care who she had to destroy if it means Marcone is destroyed.
* StockholmSyndrome: Her feelings for Marcone, and vice versa are...complicated.
* YouKilledMyFather: Her daughter was killed during a hit aimed at Marcone. Though averted later when Harry learns her daughter is alive, but in a coma and cared for by Marcone. He won't reveal her to her mother, fearing the despair Helen would go through with finding her daughter alive but in such a state would be unbearable to the woman.

[[folder: Maria]]

A little woman who appeared to be terrified of Ray, an abusive drugdealer who owned the property she lived in. She gave Murphy some information on an investigation after Murphy dealt with Ray. However, she ultimately turned out to be one of Marcone's elite troubleshooters who was trying to sniff out and deal with an unsanctioned drug-dealing operation in Chicago.

* ManipulativeBitch: She thoroughly manipulates Murphy, just as Marcone wanted.

[[folder: Hamilton Luther]]

One of Marcone's soldiers who retired and went straight. After he beat a White Court vampire to death for trying to assault a little girl, the White Court tried to have him jailed. Marcone arranged for Harry Dresden to learn about the case and save Luther.

* TheBrute: Beat a White Court vampire to death with his bare hands.

[[folder: Eduardo Anthony "Bony Tony" Mendoza]]

A former carny who learned how to swallow an impressive variety of objects and who later used that talent as a smuggler of small but pricy items. His murder kicked off Dresden's investigations into the Kemmlerites around Chicago.

* GenreSavvy: Aware that the necromancer he was trying to make a deal with couldn't be trusted, Mendoza asked Marcone about precautions he could take. When Marcone told him that wizards interact poorly with technology, Mendoza hid the book he wanted to sell and came to the meeting with a flash drive that contained the books coordinates. Unfortunately...
** WrongGenreSavvy: Grevane didn't act as rationally as Mendoza had expected and just killed him once they met up.
* SwallowTheKey: How he transported his goods.

[[folder: Mr. Franklin]]

One of Marcone's hired guns.

* ProfessionalKiller: We see him trying to kill the fake Father Vincent.

[[folder: "Spike"]]

One of Marcone's high-ranking hired guns.

* ProfessionalKiller: Helps gun down Lawrence at the Varsity.

[[folder: Tommy Tomm]]

Marcone's bodyguard, and another hired gun.

* BodyguardingABadass: He's tough, but Marcone's in a whole different league.
* DeathBySex: He dies while making love to Jennifer Stanton.

[[folder: "Gimpy" Lawrence]]

Marcone's bodyguard. He ultimately betrays his employer for Victor Sells.

* BadLiar: When Dresden calls him out on his dealings with Sells, he crumbles very quickly.
* TheMole: Sells' man in Marcone's organization.

!White Court Servitors

[[folder: Justine]]

Thomas Raith's long-time girlfriend and primary food source. After he almost killed her in ''Blood Rites'', she was in a wheelchair for a while, got out of it, her previously dark hair turned white, and, ironically, she and Thomas could no longer touch since love burns White Court vampires. Largely due to this last characteristic, she is now Lara Raith's personal assistant, since Lara prefers to have an assistant that none of her family members can turn into a thrall.

* BiTheWay: It turns out in ''Ghost Story'', that she goes both ways. Thomas is deeply appreciative. However, this is not for the usual reasons. As discussed later, her and Thomas's love for each other makes her poison to him. Until she has sex with someone she doesn't love... Thus... wax on, wax off. Just with girl-on-girl sex.
* TheChick: With a twist, namely the insanity mentioned below.
* DistressedDamsel: In ''Grave Peril'', although it's mostly because she's too crazy to think straight. She is quite resourceful otherwise.
* CloudCuckooLander: Justine's mind is...off, especially when separated from Thomas. The 'almost drained of life-force' may have cured this, she seems far more stable in later books.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: By the time ''Turn Coat'' rolls around....
* HelloNurse: Enough so that [[PsychoLesbian Bianca]] hates [[OfficialCouple Thomas]] on principle for getting to her first.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: After the events of ''Blood Rites'' her hair goes white.
* MoralityChain: To Thomas.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: One of the masks she wears in later books.
* TheOphelia: When she's separated from Thomas in ''Grave Peril''.
--> She brayed out a sharp laugh. 'There is no out of here. This is the larder. The Christmas turkey doesn't get up and walk away.'
* ThePowerOfLove: This protects her from the White Court vampires. Lara being Lara, she realized that this was a very helpful trait in someone who would need to work around them. In ''Ghost Story'', she figures out a way to avoid this: sleep with others to remove the protection, then lay with Thomas. Rinse and repeat.
* SilkHidingSteel: Definitely becomes this in ''Even Hand'', even getting Marcone to underestimate her.
* StarCrossedLovers: With Thomas Raith.
* SickeninglySweethearts: WordOfGod reveals that she and post-''Turn Coat'' Thomas are like this in private.
* TalkativeLoon: Justine is certifiably insane, but Thomas' routine "feeding" helps her keep her sanity. When separated from him in ''Grave Peril'', she ''rapidly'' slips into madness.
** Subverted in ''White Night'', where it's revealed that she's just faking so the rest of the White Court will leave her alone, and is actually stable now with the help of medication.
* TookALevelInBadass: Volunteered to work as Lara's assistant to feed Thomas (and thus Harry, and thus the White Council) information on the Court's activities. However, she ''really'' takes on in Even Hand, where she infiltrates the stronghold of Mag, a powerful Fomor sorcerer, frees his slaves, and steals his bank account information, and then manages to get Marcone to kill Mag.

[[folder: Riley]]

A mercenary assigned as the 'babysitter' of Tania Raith when she went up against Dresden. He followed her orders, but also had the authority to pull the plug on the operation once Dresden took the upper hand.

----

* BadassNormal: He has no magic powers, but he's still a tough foe, and Dresden is continually impressed by his intelligence and skill in combat.

[[/folder]]

!Other

[[folder: Susan Rodriguez]]

A reporter for the ''Midwestern Arcane'', a trashy tabloid that doesn't deserve a journalist as good as she is. She will put herself at an extraordinary amount of risk to get the scoop on some genuine weirdness, and constantly pesters Harry for leads. Harry's girlfriend until the Red Court got their hands on her..
----
%%* ActionGirl: In the later books.
* ActionMom: In ''Changes'', she joins [[PapaWolf Harry]] in their quest to retake their daughter, no matter the price they may have to pay.
%%* BrokenBird
* DamselInDistress: Repeatedly, in the earlier books. Harry had to rescue her an inordinate number of times early on.
* HeroicSacrifice: Just about literally. She lets Harry sacrifice her on the altar that is being used to empower the bloodline curse, to target the Red Court.
* HotScoop: Harry notes more than once how lucky he is to be dating "dark and curvy" Susan. Even his lovesick brother takes notice in ''Grave Peril''.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Keeps Maggie secret from Harry so that Harry's enemies won't gun for her... yet fails to realize that keeping in contact with Maggie could do the same thing. Fortunately she has enough sense to tell the truth when shit gets real.
* IdiotBall: Showing up at Bianca's party in ''Literature/GravePeril'' with a fake invitation for the sake of a scoop despite Harry's many warnings explaining why it was a bad idea due to her being a human with no powers or means of defense from vampires.
* IntrepidReporter: Harry notes that she gets into a lot of trouble investigating angles for the ''Midwestern Arcane''.
* KilledOffForReal: Was (willingly) killed by Harry in ''Literature/{{Changes}}'' as a sacrifice in order to kill the entire red court and save Maggie.
%%* LatinLover
* MissingMom: With her death in ''Changes'', she is now this to Maggie.
* MarkedChange: The Fellowship's normally invisible tattoos allow her to use the junior league version of the Red Court's abilities without letting her bloodthirst get out of control.
* MyGreatestFailure: How Harry views what happened to her.
%%* ShesGotLegs
* ShootTheDog: After she attacks Martin and starts to turn into a full vampire, Harry has to cut her throat to turn a bloodline curse intended for him on the Red Court.
* SlashedThroat: Courtesy of Harry as part of the ritual to sacrifice her and destroy the entire Red Court.
%%* StarCrossedLovers: With Harry.
* TookALevelInBadass: While never one to shy away from most danger, after becoming a half-vampire and joining the Fellowship, she became a skilled fighter, weapon's expert, and terrorist to the Red Court. She has enough combat skill to hold her own using just a metal table leg as an improvised club.
%%* VampireRefugee
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Waldo Butters]]

->''"Polka will never die!"''

Chicago medical examiner, polka enthusiast and geek extraordinaire. He was assigned to autopsy the corpses found after a fire, but since said fire was in fact the result of a wizardly [[KillItWithFire temper tantrum]], he got a vampire corpse, called it "humanlike, but definitely nonhuman" and consequently got stuck in a mental institution for observation for three months. This gave him a cheery disrespect for authority that helps him get along quite well with Harry.
----
* ActionSurvivor: Butters started as a normal, but highly principled man. He is nothing special but then some zombies attack and it kick starts his journey to being a badass normal in a world of the supernatural.
* AmazonChaser: Dates Andi in ''Cold Days'' who still has a well-muscled body and could easily lift Butters.
* AscendedFanboy: He gets to be a real, honest to goodness [[spoiler: [[ThePaladin Knight]], complete with a special sword of his own, with a mission from [[BigGood God]]]].
** Not just that, he isn't any old [[spoiler: Knight]] he's effectively a [[spoiler:: Jedi knight, complete with lightsaber]]. Can one ascend from two different fandoms at once?
** Butters has effectively multiclassed.
* BadassLongcoat: Grabs Harry's bulletproof one at the climax of ''Skin Game'', although the difference in their size means it fits him more like a Jedi robe...
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He may be a bit overfond of polka, but he's very good at remembering bits of random information and thinking about them logically, even when faced with a ZombieApocalypse.
* ChekhovsGun:
** His one-man polka suit in ''Dead Beat''.
** His deep love of ''Star Wars'' and the ideals of right over coming wrong and one man being able to make a difference, even if it is by a HeroicSacrifice. All very befitting [[spoiler:a Knight of the Cross]].
* ChekhovsSkill: Harry taught him how to make a magic circle so Harry's magic wouldn't interfere with his technology. Later he draws a magic circle to prevent the undead armies from killing him and his drum.
* TheCoroner: The reason why he's a coroner despite being an excellent medic, is that he doesn't have the professional detachment needed to be one.
-->'''Harry:''' Butters hated seeing people in pain.
* CowardlyLion: At first, he runs in terror from a necromancer with some zombies. [[spoiler: Later, he begins using magiteck with Bob's help to fight back against supernatural predators. Then he becomes a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]].]]
* CrazyPrepared[=/=]ProperlyParanoid:
** In ''Changes'', he is shot in the back. A few minutes later it is revealed that he put on a kevlar vest the minute he [[AFriendInNeed got the call]], and brought [[OurVampiresAreDifferent garlic]] and [[GeometricMagic chalk]] too.
** In ''Ghost Story'' he has Bob examine and then shadow Harry, without Harry knowing it, to ensure if Harry's shade is some trick or turns evil, Bob will end him.
* DiagnosisFromDrBadass: Does this to Aristides in ''Ghost Story''.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: As of ''Skin Game'', he [[spoiler:is a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]]. A [[Film/StarWars JEDI]] Knight of the Cross, lightsaber and all. A JEWISH Jedi Knight of the Cross, no less]].
* HiddenDepths: Another layer gets peeled off with every appearance. Butters is probably the poster child for this trope; initially he appears as a polka-loving nerd, but by the time of ''Ghost Story'' he is one of Harry's most valuable allies, for his brains, his honesty and his incredible courage, considering he has nothing even resembling super-powers, or even ordinary strength, to take into battle with him.
* IJustWantToBeBadass: Waldo Butters, about 120lbs soaking wet, tried to become part of the US military but washed out of boot camp. Same with the police. He failed both times but still had the push to be stronger. This push led him to ride on a zombie dinosaur to save the world and pursue other dangerous paths. This finally culminates in him [[spoiler:becoming a Knight of the Cross]].
* JewishAndNerdy: Self-described as such in-universe.
* JewishMother: Mama Butters, from Bob's description, is capable of whipping up a massive FancyDinner for JewishHolidays as Harry sees in Bob's 'apartment'. Also nags Butters about finding himself a Nice Jewish Girl if only he'd clean up. Bob fills in for her at times, complete with Yiddish accent, to Butters' dismay.
* JumpedAtTheCall: After the events detailed in TookALevelInBadass, Butters can't contemplate ''not'' [[spoiler:accepting ''Fidelacchius'']].
* KnightInShiningArmor: [[spoiler: This is a requirement for all Knights of the Cross. Even before receiving ''Fidelacchius'', he was defending Chicago in Harry and Molly's absence.]]
* LetsGetDangerous: He saved Harry's life by attacking Cassius. And later, subdued a gunman with an improvised taser. Later on in Ghost Story he cripples Aristides by knowing exactly which bones to break
* LovableCoward: Deconstructed, then subverted.
* {{Magitek}}: Butters is not very strong with magic in a practical sense. He is, however, brilliant in the theoretical sense. With Bob's help, he can make enchanted items which give him a distinct edge and element of surprise, like a self-propelling skateboard that can clock up to 30mph. [[spoiler:He can even make a listening device that won't short out when he sneaks it into Harry's bandages]].
* TheMedic: Although he says he finds it weird to operate on people who are still alive, Harry's acquaintance with him comes in handy when he, say, needs a bullet wound treated and doesn't want to intrude on the police's busy schedule. Or sewing up a sliced up Morgan in ''Turn Coat''.
* NoticeThis: In-Universe example. Because of Butter's RPG history, it seems [[spoiler:Heaven will be giving him signs like this. On a jog with Michael, he notices a homeless man with a yellow exclamation point over the man. Michael explains to him this is a job]].
* NerdGlasses: He wears them.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler:A Batman [[JewishAndNerdy Jewish]] [[Film/StarWars Jedi]] [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]], [[RuleOfThree anyone]]?]].
* NonActionGuy: Doesn't stop him from being useful when the need is there.
* PostModernMagik: In ''Ghost Story'' he rigs up a two-way radio for Harry to converse with the others. Bob the Skull observes that while Butters has no talent for magic himself, he probably understands magic theory better than Harry.
* ShorterMeansSmarter: He's very smart, and he's ''tiny'', apparently -- when he curls up into a fetal position, Harry thinks he could probably fit in a grocery bag.
* SurvivalMantra: When shaking to his core in ''Dead Beat'' because of the attacks by zombies, Harry gives him some good reasons to not give up. The more important reason becomes this mantra. That reason: "POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!!"
* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: With Bob the Skull's help. He may not have the power in magic, but with his mind, he can make formulas and theories beyond what Harry can understand.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** As of ''Ghost Story''. Before the series, he was a plain muggle coroner. But after receiving a few victims in Harry's cases, from the exploding hearts of ''Storm Front'' to claiming some of the remains found from the Velvet Room were not human, and then meeting Harry in ''Death Masks'' and the whole debacle in ''Dead Beat'' Butters learned quickly if he was to be part of this other world, he would have to toughen up.
** As of ''Skin Game'' this nearly defies belief. First off, using artifice spells and Bob as a portable magical battery, he's got a magical skateboard that travels at sub-motorcycle speeds, skill with an improvised whip that would put Indiana Jones or Simon Belmont to shame, and magical amnesia grenades. And that's all BEFORE he [[spoiler:becomes the Lightsaber of Faith wielding Jewish Jedi Knight of the Cross]]. ItMakesSenseInContext.
%%* UnfazedEveryman
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Malcolm Dresden]]

Harry's deceased father. Formerly a stage magician, he died when Harry was around six years old. Officially, he died because of a brain aneurism; some have hinted otherwise. We'll know sooner or later. His ghost made a brief, cryptic appearance in ''Dead Beat''.
----
* DeadPersonConversation: In ''Dead Beat''.
* MayDecemberRomance: WordOfGod reveals Margaret was around a century old when she met him.
* MoralityChain: It's hinted he became this for Margaret.
* PosthumousCharacter: He died long before the series started.
* PungeonMaster: Where Harry gets it from.
* ThePowerOfLove: His genuine love for Margarete helped her become a better woman.
* SoProudOfYou: To Harry.
* StageMagician: His profession.
%%* TellMeAboutMyFather
* VaguenessIsComing:
** "Beware the Jabberwock, my son." However, this ''may'' just be part of the lead-up to a pun. "No, I don't have a vorpal sword to lend you. You'll have to make do with a Snickers snack."
** His remarks about how "Death" and "Terrible waters" lie in Harry's future play this straight, when events in ''Changes'' (Harry shot dead by Kincaid) and ''Aftermath'' (rise of the aquatic Fomor) are taken into account.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Daniel Carpenter]]

The second oldest of Michael and Charity's children, now a member of the Chicago Alliance.
----
* BadassNormal: Has no powers, but he has been very well trained. ''Bombshells'' reveals he's just come from a tour in the army.
* TheBigGuy: He is a trained fighter on the large size.
%%* GrayEyes
* HotBlooded: Is a bit eager to deal with the Fomor and other issues, with a tendency to not think first.
* IdiotBall: He mentioned Murphy was now the custodian of two of the Swords in front of a White Court Vampire. Not his brightest move.
* KnifeNut: His preferred weapon.
%%* LightningBruiser
%%* YoungGun
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Margaret "Maggie" Angelica Dresden]]

The daughter of Harry and Susan. She was conceived during ''Death Masks''. The living Macguffin of ''Changes.'' She was kidnapped by Arianna to be used in a sacrificial ritual, but saved by Harry.
----
* ABoyAndHisX: She and Mouse, whom Harry tasked as her protector, are virtually inseparable.
* BuffySpeak: According to her, Mouse "slayerized" a monster under her bed.
* TheCutie: Was this until Arianna kidnapped her.
** BreakTheCutie: Compare the smiling photo to the broken-down wreck she is when Harry meets her (after narrowly securing her a reprieve)
* DisappearedDad: Harry, by virtue of not being told she even existed for the first five years of her life and later his death.
* HappilyAdopted: As of ''Ghost Story'' is now living with the Carpenters with Mouse as her companion.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: At [=EasterCon=] 2015, Jim announced that he was planning a series following Maggie's future adventures at an ExtranormalInstitute.
* HumanSacrifice: Arianna planned this for her, and after Arianna's plans fell through thanks to her death at Harry's hands, the Red King tried to do the same. She was saved, but it's pretty safe to say that she'll have scars for years to come.
* MissingMom: Susan because it was too dangerous to keep her around while Susan was fighting the Red Court, and later because Susan died in a HeroicSacrifice, saving little Maggie from the Red Court.
* {{Protectorate}}: As Michael puts it:
-->'''Michael:''' Things did not turn out well for the last monster who raised his hand against your child. Or any of his friends. Or associates. Or anyone who worked for him. Or for most of the people he knew. \\
'''Michael:''' Whether or not that was your intention, you did establish a rather effective precedental message to the various predators should they ever learn of her relationship with you.


[[/folder]]

[[folder: Vince Graver]]

A Private Investigator who was hired to spy on Harry during the ''Turn Coat'' case. Dresden managed to get him on his side, and Graver was able to obtain key evidence in proving that Samuel Peabody was a spy on the White Council.

----
* PrivateDetective: His job.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Nick Christian]]

A Private Investigator and one of Harry's mentors.

----
* FriendToAllChildren: He takes a variety of jobs to pay rent, but his passion is missing children cases. He's managed to save several children from abductors over the years, and in his view, that makes all the sacrifices he's made worth it.
* PrivateDetective: His job.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Anna Valmont]]

A professional thief who was a member of a crew that called themselves the Churchmice, Valmont first met Harry when she was hired to steal the Shroud of Turin in ''DeathMasks''. She reappears in ''SkinGame'' as part of Nicodemus's caper.
----
* {{Badass}}: She manages to steal the Shroud of Turin from the Vatican and is arguably the best thief in the world.
* BoringButPractical: [[spoiler:In Hades' vault, she goes right for the fountain of diamonds, filling her sack from the spout. She chose them over the gold and other treasures because they had the highest value for their weight and would be easy to move once they got back home]].
* TheBusCameBack: Returns after a 10 year absence.
* ClassyCatBurglar: She has a reasonable claim to the title of the best thief in the "Dresdenverse" at the moment.
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler: Her main reason for joining Nicodemus' group in ''Literature/SkinGame'' is for a chance to avenge her friends that died in ''Literature/DeathMasks''.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sandra Marling]]

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention [=SplatterCon=], she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.

----

* SilkHidingSteel: She appears perfectly normal at first, and in fact drops out of the 'Proven Guilty' case less than halfway through it (and hasn't reappeared so far). However, the RPG notes (which are written from an in-universe perspective) show how Marling was indirectly responsible for Molly's corruption, Molly's abduction by phages, and Dresden being distracted by Madrigal for long enough to allow said abduction to occur. It also mentions that she vanished after the novel and Dresden--wizard PI--has been completely unable to locate any trace of her.

[[/folder]]

A Private Investigator who was hired to spy on Harry during the ''Turn Coat'' case. Dresden managed to get him on his side, and Graver was able to obtain key evidence in proving that Peabody was the spy.

[[folder: Anna Valmont]]

A professional thief who was a member of a crew that called themselves the Churchmice, Valmont first met Harry when she was hired to steal the Shroud of Turin in ''DeathMasks''. She reappears in ''SkinGame'' as part of Nicodemus's caper.

* {{Badass}}: She manages to steal the Shroud of Turin from the Vatican and is arguably the best thief in the world.
* BoringButPractical: [[spoiler:In Hades' vault, she goes right for the fountain of diamonds, filling her sack from the spout. She chose them over the gold and other treasures because they had the highest value for their weight and would be easy to move once they got back home]].
* TheBusCameBack: Returns after a 10 year absence.
* ClassyCatBurglar: She has a reasonable claim to the title of the best thief in the "Dresdenverse" at the moment.
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler: Her main reason for joining Nicodemus' group in ''Literature/SkinGame'' is for a chance to avenge her friends that died in ''Literature/DeathMasks''.]]

[[folder: Sandra Marling]]

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention [=SplatterCon=], she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.

* SilkHidingSteel: She appears perfectly normal at first, and in fact drops out of the 'Proven Guilty' case less than halfway through it (and hasn't reappeared so far). However, the RPG notes (which are written from an in-universe perspective) show how Marling was indirectly responsible for Molly's corruption, Molly's abduction by phages, and Dresden being distracted by Madrigal for long enough to allow said abduction to occur. It also mentions that she vanished after the novel and Dresden--wizard PI--has been completely unable to locate any trace of her.

[[folder: Eduardo Anthony "Bony Tony" Mendoza]]

A former carny who learned how to swallow an impressive variety of objects and who later used that talent as a smuggler of small but pricy items. His murder kicked off Dresden's investigations into the Kemmlerites around Chicago.

* GenreSavvy: Aware that the necromancer he was trying to make a deal with couldn't be trusted, Mendoza asked Marcone about precautions he could take. When Marcone told him that wizards interact poorly with technology, Mendoza hid the book he wanted to sell and came to the meeting with a flash drive that contained the books coordinates. Unfortunately...
** WrongGenreSavvy: Grevane didn't act as rationally as Mendoza had expected and just killed him once they met up.
* SwallowTheKey: How he transported his goods.

[[folder: Mr. Franklin]]

One of Marcone's hired guns.

* ProfessionalKiller: We see him trying to kill the fake Father Vincent.

[[folder: "Spike"]]

One of Marcone's high-ranking hired guns.

* ProfessionalKiller: Helps gun down Lawrence at the Varsity.

[[folder: Tommy Tomm]]

Marcone's bodyguard, and another hired gun.

* BodyguardingABadass: He's tough, but Marcone's in a whole different league.
* DeathBySex: He dies while making love to Jennifer Stanton.

[[folder: "Gimpy" Lawrence]]

Marcone's bodyguard. He ultimately betrays his employer for Victor Sells.

* BadLiar: When Dresden calls him out on his dealings with Sells, he crumbles very quickly.

A mercenary assigned as the 'babysitter' of Talia Raith when she went up against Dresden. He followed her orders, but also had the authority to pull the plug on the operation once Dresden took the upper hand.

[[folder: Susan Rodriguez]]

A reporter for the ''Midwestern Arcane'', a trashy tabloid that doesn't deserve a journalist as good as she is. She will put herself at an extraordinary amount of risk to get the scoop on some genuine weirdness, and constantly pesters Harry for leads. Harry's girlfriend until the Red Court got their hands on her..

%%* ActionGirl: In the later books.
* ActionMom: In ''Changes'', she joins [[PapaWolf Harry]] in their quest to retake their daughter, no matter the price they may have to pay.
%%* BrokenBird
* DamselInDistress: Repeatedly, in the earlier books. Harry had to rescue her an inordinate number of times early on.
* HeroicSacrifice: Just about literally. She lets Harry sacrifice her on the altar that is being used to empower the bloodline curse, to target the Red Court.
* HotScoop: Harry notes more than once how lucky he is to be dating "dark and curvy" Susan. Even his lovesick brother takes notice in ''Grave Peril''.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Keeps Maggie secret from Harry so that Harry's enemies won't gun for her... yet fails to realize that keeping in contact with Maggie could do the same thing. Fortunately she has enough sense to tell the truth when shit gets real.
* IdiotBall: Showing up at Bianca's party in ''Literature/GravePeril'' with a fake invitation for the sake of a scoop despite Harry's many warnings explaining why it was a bad idea due to her being a human with no powers or means of defense from vampires.
* IntrepidReporter: Harry notes that she gets into a lot of trouble investigating angles for the ''Midwestern Arcane''.
* KilledOffForReal: Was (willingly) killed by Harry in ''Literature/{{Changes}}'' as a sacrifice in order to kill the entire red court and save Maggie.
%%* LatinLover
* MissingMom: With her death in ''Changes'', she is now this to Maggie.
* MarkedChange: The Fellowship's normally invisible tattoos allow her to use the junior league version of the Red Court's abilities without letting her bloodthirst get out of control.
* MyGreatestFailure: How Harry views what happened to her.
%%* ShesGotLegs
* ShootTheDog: After she attacks Martin and starts to turn into a full vampire, Harry has to cut her throat to turn a bloodline curse intended for him on the Red Court.
* SlashedThroat: Courtesy of Harry as part of the ritual to sacrifice her and destroy the entire Red Court.
%%* StarCrossedLovers: With Harry.
* TookALevelInBadass: While never one to shy away from most danger, after becoming a half-vampire and joining the Fellowship, she became a skilled fighter, weapon's expert, and terrorist to the Red Court. She has enough combat skill to hold her own using just a metal table leg as an improvised club.
%%* VampireRefugee
[[/folder]]

[[folder: John "Gentleman Johnny" Marcone]]

->''"One day, probably soon, you'll get yourself killed thanks to that [[VirtueIsWeakness irrational set of compulsions you call a conscience]], long before my name tops your list. I needn't lift a finger. [[TheUriahGambit Giving you information seems an excellent way to accelerate that process]]. [[EnemyMine It will also tax the resources of my enemies.]] And... I believe I have no objection to [[EvenEvilHasStandards contributing against any organization that would victimize children so]]."''

The boss of the Chicago criminal underground, he's not quite as unpopular with the cops as one might expect since he runs his operation with the minimum of bloodshed and the maximum of profit. He's smart enough that he generally tries to keep Harry on his side, but isn't averse to working against him when necessary. Harry hates his guts, but he has still probably done him more good than harm overall, even as the two men recognize that they will eventually come into a situation where only one will be left standing.
----

[[folder: Justine]]

Thomas Raith's long-time girlfriend and primary food source. After he almost killed her in ''Blood Rites'', she was in a wheelchair for a while, got out of it, her previously dark hair turned white, and, ironically, she and Thomas could no longer touch since love burns White Court vampires. Largely due to this last characteristic, she is now Lara Raith's personal assistant, since Lara prefers to have an assistant that none of her family members can turn into a thrall.

* BiTheWay: It turns out in ''Ghost Story'', that she goes both ways. Thomas is deeply appreciative. However, this is not for the usual reasons. As discussed later, her and Thomas's love for each other makes her poison to him. Until she has sex with someone she doesn't love... Thus... wax on, wax off. Just with girl-on-girl sex.
* TheChick: With a twist, namely the insanity mentioned below.
* DistressedDamsel: In ''Grave Peril'', although it's mostly because she's too crazy to think straight. She is quite resourceful otherwise.
* CloudCuckooLander: Justine's mind is...off, especially when separated from Thomas. The 'almost drained of life-force' may have cured this, she seems far more stable in later books.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: By the time ''Turn Coat'' rolls around....
* HelloNurse: Enough so that [[PsychoLesbian Bianca]] hates [[OfficialCouple Thomas]] on principle for getting to her first.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: After the events of ''Blood Rites'' her hair goes white.
* MoralityChain: To Thomas.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: One of the masks she wears in later books.
* TheOphelia: When she's separated from Thomas in ''Grave Peril''.
--> She brayed out a sharp laugh. 'There is no out of here. This is the larder. The Christmas turkey doesn't get up and walk away.'
* ThePowerOfLove: This protects her from the White Court vampires. Lara being Lara, she realized that this was a very helpful trait in someone who would need to work around them. In ''Ghost Story'', she figures out a way to avoid this: sleep with others to remove the protection, then lay with Thomas. Rinse and repeat.
* SilkHidingSteel: Definitely becomes this in ''Even Hand'', even getting Marcone to underestimate her.
* StarCrossedLovers: With Thomas Raith.
* SickeninglySweethearts: WordOfGod reveals that she and post-''Turn Coat'' Thomas are like this in private.
* TalkativeLoon: Justine is certifiably insane, but Thomas' routine "feeding" helps her keep her sanity. When separated from him in ''Grave Peril'', she ''rapidly'' slips into madness.
** Subverted in ''White Night'', where it's revealed that she's just faking so the rest of the White Court will leave her alone, and is actually stable now with the help of medication.
* TookALevelInBadass: Volunteered to work as Lara's assistant to feed Thomas (and thus Harry, and thus the White Council) information on the Court's activities. However, she ''really'' takes on in Even Hand, where she infiltrates the stronghold of Mag, a powerful Fomor sorcerer, frees his slaves, and steals his bank account information, and then manages to get Marcone to kill Mag.

[[folder: Waldo Butters]]

->''"Polka will never die!"''

Chicago medical examiner, polka enthusiast and geek extraordinaire. He was assigned to autopsy the corpses found after a fire, but since said fire was in fact the result of a wizardly [[KillItWithFire temper tantrum]], he got a vampire corpse, called it "humanlike, but definitely nonhuman" and consequently got stuck in a mental institution for observation for three months. This gave him a cheery disrespect for authority that helps him get along quite well with Harry.

* ActionSurvivor: Butters started as a normal, but highly principled man. He is nothing special but then some zombies attack and it kick starts his journey to being a badass normal in a world of the supernatural.
* AmazonChaser: Dates Andi in ''Cold Days'' who still has a well-muscled body and could easily lift Butters.
* AscendedFanboy: He gets to be a real, honest to goodness [[spoiler: [[ThePaladin Knight]], complete with a special sword of his own, with a mission from [[BigGood God]]]].
** Not just that, he isn't any old [[spoiler: Knight]] he's effectively a [[spoiler:: Jedi knight, complete with lightsaber]]. Can one ascend from two different fandoms at once?
** Butters has effectively multiclassed.
* BadassLongcoat: Grabs Harry's bulletproof one at the climax of ''Skin Game'', although the difference in their size means it fits him more like a Jedi robe...
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He may be a bit overfond of polka, but he's very good at remembering bits of random information and thinking about them logically, even when faced with a ZombieApocalypse.
* ChekhovsGun:
** His one-man polka suit in ''Dead Beat''.
** His deep love of ''Star Wars'' and the ideals of right over coming wrong and one man being able to make a difference, even if it is by a HeroicSacrifice. All very befitting [[spoiler:a Knight of the Cross]].
* ChekhovsSkill: Harry taught him how to make a magic circle so Harry's magic wouldn't interfere with his technology. Later he draws a magic circle to prevent the undead armies from killing him and his drum.
* TheCoroner: The reason why he's a coroner despite being an excellent medic, is that he doesn't have the professional detachment needed to be one.
-->'''Harry:''' Butters hated seeing people in pain.
* CowardlyLion: At first, he runs in terror from a necromancer with some zombies. [[spoiler: Later, he begins using magiteck with Bob's help to fight back against supernatural predators. Then he becomes a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]].]]
* CrazyPrepared[=/=]ProperlyParanoid:
** In ''Changes'', he is shot in the back. A few minutes later it is revealed that he put on a kevlar vest the minute he [[AFriendInNeed got the call]], and brought [[OurVampiresAreDifferent garlic]] and [[GeometricMagic chalk]] too.
** In ''Ghost Story'' he has Bob examine and then shadow Harry, without Harry knowing it, to ensure if Harry's shade is some trick or turns evil, Bob will end him.
* DiagnosisFromDrBadass: Does this to Aristides in ''Ghost Story''.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: As of ''Skin Game'', he [[spoiler:is a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]]. A [[Film/StarWars JEDI]] Knight of the Cross, lightsaber and all. A JEWISH Jedi Knight of the Cross, no less]].
* HiddenDepths: Another layer gets peeled off with every appearance. Butters is probably the poster child for this trope; initially he appears as a polka-loving nerd, but by the time of ''Ghost Story'' he is one of Harry's most valuable allies, for his brains, his honesty and his incredible courage, considering he has nothing even resembling super-powers, or even ordinary strength, to take into battle with him.
* IJustWantToBeBadass: Waldo Butters, about 120lbs soaking wet, tried to become part of the US military but washed out of boot camp. Same with the police. He failed both times but still had the push to be stronger. This push led him to ride on a zombie dinosaur to save the world and pursue other dangerous paths. This finally culminates in him [[spoiler:becoming a Knight of the Cross]].
* JewishAndNerdy: Self-described as such in-universe.
* JewishMother: Mama Butters, from Bob's description, is capable of whipping up a massive FancyDinner for JewishHolidays as Harry sees in Bob's 'apartment'. Also nags Butters about finding himself a Nice Jewish Girl if only he'd clean up. Bob fills in for her at times, complete with Yiddish accent, to Butters' dismay.
* JumpedAtTheCall: After the events detailed in TookALevelInBadass, Butters can't contemplate ''not'' [[spoiler:accepting ''Fidelacchius'']].
* KnightInShiningArmor: [[spoiler: This is a requirement for all Knights of the Cross. Even before receiving ''Fidelacchius'', he was defending Chicago in Harry and Molly's absence.]]
* LetsGetDangerous: He saved Harry's life by attacking Cassius. And later, subdued a gunman with an improvised taser. Later on in Ghost Story he cripples Aristides by knowing exactly which bones to break
* LovableCoward: Deconstructed, then subverted.
* {{Magitek}}: Butters is not very strong with magic in a practical sense. He is, however, brilliant in the theoretical sense. With Bob's help, he can make enchanted items which give him a distinct edge and element of surprise, like a self-propelling skateboard that can clock up to 30mph. [[spoiler:He can even make a listening device that won't short out when he sneaks it into Harry's bandages]].
* TheMedic: Although he says he finds it weird to operate on people who are still alive, Harry's acquaintance with him comes in handy when he, say, needs a bullet wound treated and doesn't want to intrude on the police's busy schedule. Or sewing up a sliced up Morgan in ''Turn Coat''.
* NoticeThis: In-Universe example. Because of Butter's RPG history, it seems [[spoiler:Heaven will be giving him signs like this. On a jog with Michael, he notices a homeless man with a yellow exclamation point over the man. Michael explains to him this is a job]].
* NerdGlasses: He wears them.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler:A Batman [[JewishAndNerdy Jewish]] [[Film/StarWars Jedi]] [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]], [[RuleOfThree anyone]]?]].
* NonActionGuy: Doesn't stop him from being useful when the need is there.
* PostModernMagik: In ''Ghost Story'' he rigs up a two-way radio for Harry to converse with the others. Bob the Skull observes that while Butters has no talent for magic himself, he probably understands magic theory better than Harry.
* ShorterMeansSmarter: He's very smart, and he's ''tiny'', apparently -- when he curls up into a fetal position, Harry thinks he could probably fit in a grocery bag.
* SurvivalMantra: When shaking to his core in ''Dead Beat'' because of the attacks by zombies, Harry gives him some good reasons to not give up. The more important reason becomes this mantra. That reason: "POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!!"
* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: With Bob the Skull's help. He may not have the power in magic, but with his mind, he can make formulas and theories beyond what Harry can understand.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** As of ''Ghost Story''. Before the series, he was a plain muggle coroner. But after receiving a few victims in Harry's cases, from the exploding hearts of ''Storm Front'' to claiming some of the remains found from the Velvet Room were not human, and then meeting Harry in ''Death Masks'' and the whole debacle in ''Dead Beat'' Butters learned quickly if he was to be part of this other world, he would have to toughen up.
** As of ''Skin Game'' this nearly defies belief. First off, using artifice spells and Bob as a portable magical battery, he's got a magical skateboard that travels at sub-motorcycle speeds, skill with an improvised whip that would put Indiana Jones or Simon Belmont to shame, and magical amnesia grenades. And that's all BEFORE he [[spoiler:becomes the Lightsaber of Faith wielding Jewish Jedi Knight of the Cross]]. ItMakesSenseInContext.
%%* UnfazedEveryman

[[folder: Malcolm Dresden]]

Harry's deceased father. Formerly a stage magician, he died when Harry was around six years old. Officially, he died because of a brain aneurism; some have hinted otherwise. We'll know sooner or later. His ghost made a brief, cryptic appearance in ''Dead Beat''.

* DeadPersonConversation: In ''Dead Beat''.
* MayDecemberRomance: WordOfGod reveals Margaret was around a century old when she met him.
* MoralityChain: It's hinted he became this for Margaret.
* PosthumousCharacter: He died long before the series started.
* PungeonMaster: Where Harry gets it from.
* ThePowerOfLove: His genuine love for Margarete helped her become a better woman.
* SoProudOfYou: To Harry.
* StageMagician: His profession.
%%* TellMeAboutMyFather
* VaguenessIsComing:
** "Beware the Jabberwock, my son." However, this ''may'' just be part of the lead-up to a pun. "No, I don't have a vorpal sword to lend you. You'll have to make do with a Snickers snack."
** His remarks about how "Death" and "Terrible waters" lie in Harry's future play this straight, when events in ''Changes'' (Harry shot dead by Kincaid) and ''Aftermath'' (rise of the aquatic Fomor) are taken into account.

[[folder: Daniel Carpenter]]

The second oldest of Michael and Charity's children, now a member of the Chicago Alliance.

* BadassNormal: Has no powers, but he has been very well trained. ''Bombshells'' reveals he's just come from a tour in the army.
* TheBigGuy: He is a trained fighter on the large size.
%%* GrayEyes
* HotBlooded: Is a bit eager to deal with the Fomor and other issues, with a tendency to not think first.
* IdiotBall: He mentioned Murphy was now the custodian of two of the Swords in front of a White Court Vampire. Not his brightest move.
* KnifeNut: His preferred weapon.
%%* LightningBruiser
%%* YoungGun

[[folder: Margaret "Maggie" Angelica Dresden]]

The daughter of Harry and Susan. She was conceived during ''Death Masks''. The living Macguffin of ''Changes.'' She was kidnapped by Arianna to be used in a sacrificial ritual, but saved by Harry.

* ABoyAndHisX: She and Mouse, whom Harry tasked as her protector, are virtually inseparable.
* BuffySpeak: According to her, Mouse "slayerized" a monster under her bed.
* TheCutie: Was this until Arianna kidnapped her.
** BreakTheCutie: Compare the smiling photo to the broken-down wreck she is when Harry meets her (after narrowly securing her a reprieve)
* DisappearedDad: Harry, by virtue of not being told she even existed for the first five years of her life and later his death.
* HappilyAdopted: As of ''Ghost Story'' is now living with the Carpenters with Mouse as her companion.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: At [=EasterCon=] 2015, Jim announced that he was planning a series following Maggie's future adventures at an ExtranormalInstitute.
* HumanSacrifice: Arianna planned this for her, and after Arianna's plans fell through thanks to her death at Harry's hands, the Red King tried to do the same. She was saved, but it's pretty safe to say that she'll have scars for years to come.
* MissingMom: Susan because it was too dangerous to keep her around while Susan was fighting the Red Court, and later because Susan died in a HeroicSacrifice, saving little Maggie from the Red Court.
* {{Protectorate}}: As Michael puts it:
-->'''Michael:''' Things did not turn out well for the last monster who raised his hand against your child. Or any of his friends. Or associates. Or anyone who worked for him. Or for most of the people he knew. \\
'''Michael:''' Whether or not that was your intention, you did establish a rather effective precedental message to the various predators should they ever learn of her relationship with you.

[[folder: Anna Valmont]]

A professional thief who was a member of a crew that called themselves the Churchmice, Valmont first met Harry when she was hired to steal the Shroud of Turin in ''DeathMasks''. She reappears in ''SkinGame'' as part of Nicodemus's caper.

* {{Badass}}: She manages to steal the Shroud of Turin from the Vatican and is arguably the best thief in the world.
* BoringButPractical: [[spoiler:In Hades' vault, she goes right for the fountain of diamonds, filling her sack from the spout. She chose them over the gold and other treasures because they had the highest value for their weight and would be easy to move once they got back home]].
* TheBusCameBack: Returns after a 10 year absence.
* ClassyCatBurglar: She has a reasonable claim to the title of the best thief in the "Dresdenverse" at the moment.
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler: Her main reason for joining Nicodemus' group in ''Literature/SkinGame'' is for a chance to avenge her friends that died in ''Literature/DeathMasks''.]]

[[folder: Sandra Marling]]

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention [=SplatterCon=], she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.

* SilkHidingSteel: She appears perfectly normal at first, and in fact drops out of the 'Proven Guilty' case less than halfway through it (and hasn't reappeared so far). However, the RPG notes (which are written from an in-universe perspective) show how Marling was indirectly responsible for Molly's corruption, Molly's abduction by phages, and Dresden being distracted by Madrigal for long enough to allow said abduction to occur. It also mentions that she vanished after the novel and Dresden--wizard PI--has been completely unable to locate any trace of her.

A part-time volunteer at a homeless shelter who befriended Molly Carpenter after the other girl was sentenced to community service. An offhand comment by her led Molly to study recent research on using fear to bypass addictions, which had the unfortunate result of Molly using fear spells on their mutual friends Nelson and Rosie. As chair of the horror convention SplatterCon, she also invited horror director 'Darby Crane' to Chicago; when Darby Crane turned out to be White Court vampire Madrigal Raith, Harry mistakenly blamed Raith for Molly's actions.