History Monster / HarryPotter

* [[DarkActionGirl Bellatrix Lestrange]] is a psychopathic [[Characters/HarryPotterDeathEatersInnerCircle Death Eater]] who seems to be motivated primarily by her desire to inflict as much pain on as many people as possible [[PsychoSupporter in the name of Voldemort's cause]]. Bellatrix, [[PsychopathicWomanchild gleeful cruelty]] incarnate, has a special fondness for torturing people with the Cruciatus curse, and tortured Neville Longbottom's parents to the point where they exist in near-comas, and will never recognize their own son again; she is also an accomplished arsonist, burning down multiple residences basically just for the sake of it. Bellatrix is the cause of death for half of her non-Death-Eater family members, including her cousin [[Characters/HarryPotterSiriusBlack Sirius Black]] and her niece Nymphadora Tonks, as well as Dobby, and delights in the torment these deaths cause.
* [[Characters/HarryPotterDoloresUmbridge Dolores Jane Umbridge]] is a domineering and abusive matron figure and a bureaucrat whose pettiness and personal failings cause catastrophic harm to those under her control, all while maintaining a [[SugaryMalice kind, grandmotherly veneer]]. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', she becomes a [[SadistTeacher teacher at Hogwarts]] and forces students who speak up against the [[Characters/HarryPotterMinistryOfMagic Ministry of Magic]]--or who just displease her--to use the Blood Quill, which uses the writer's blood as ink and can result in permanent scarring. At one point she threatens to use the illegal Cruciatus curse, which has been shown to cause unimaginable pain, and reveals that she sent the two Dementors after Harry and his cousin. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'', she willingly supports the Death Eater-controlled Ministry, and holds hastily rushed and sadistic trials against Muggle-borns, where she accuses them of stealing magic and gleefully sentences them to the Potter-verse's worst fate, the soul-stealing Dementor's Kiss.

* [[DirtyCoward Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew]] is one of the most despicable characters in the series despite being the lowest-ranking member of Voldemort's inner circle. Once a slimy agent of the [[Characters/HarryPotterOrderOfThePhoenixMembers Order of the Phoenix]] with a vehement belief in [[IFightForTheStrongestSide being on the winning team]], Wormtail defected to the Death Eaters by revealing the location of the Potters--James having been [[EvilFormerFriend one of his best friends since Hogwarts]]--to his new master, resulting in the death of Harry's parents. After the end of the First Wizarding War, Wormtail escapes retribution by [[FrameUp framing his other friend]], Sirius Black, for his own betrayal and the massacre of thirteen people, leaving him to rot in Azkaban for twelve years. Returning and conspiring to resurrect the dark lord, Wormtail coldly murders Cedric Diggory before performing a ritual to restore Voldemort's power, effectively starting the Second Wizarding War just so he could hide behind the dark lord's back again.

%% NOTE: Due to the controversial nature of this trope, any changes (additions, removals, edits) should be discussed [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=6vic3f9h1cy5qivsenw8llok here]].

* [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Dolores Jane Umbridge]] is a domineering and abusive matron figure and a bureaucrat whose pettiness and personal failings cause catastrophic harm to those under her control, all while maintaining a [[SugaryMalice kind, grandmotherly veneer]]. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', she becomes a [[SadistTeacher teacher at Hogwarts]] and forces students who speak up against the Ministry of Magic--or who just displease her--to use the Blood Quill, which uses the writer's blood as ink and can result in permanent scarring. At one point she threatens to use the illegal Cruciatus curse, which has been shown to cause unimaginable pain, and reveals that she sent the two Dementors after Harry and his cousin. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'', she willingly supports the Death Eater-controlled Ministry, and holds hastily rushed and sadistic trials against Muggle-borns, where she accuses them of stealing magic and gleefully sentences them to the Potter-verse's worst fate, the soul-stealing Dementor's Kiss.

[[caption-width-right:350:"I'm going to talk to [[Characters/HarryPotterHermioneJeanGranger this one]]. Girl to Girl"]]

* [[DarkActionGirl Bellatrix Lestrange]] is a [[PsychopathicManchild psychopathic]] Death Eater who seems to be motivated primarily by her desire to inflict as much pain on as many people as possible [[PsychoSupporter in the name of Voldemort's cause]]. Bellatrix, gleeful cruelty incarnate, has a special fondness for [[TortureTechnician torturing people with the Cruciatus curse]], and tortured Neville Longbottom's parents to the point where they exist in near-comas, and will never recognize their own son again; she is also an accomplished arsonist, burning down multiple residences basically just for the sake of it. Bellatrix is the cause of death for half of her non-Death-Eater family members, including her cousin [[Characters/HarryPotterSiriusBlack Sirius Black]] and her niece Nymphadora Tonks, as well as Dobby, and delights in the torment these deaths cause.

* * [[DarkActionGirl Bellatrix Lestrange]] is a [[PsychopathicManchild psychopathic]] Death Eater who seems to be motivated primarily by her desire to inflict as much pain on as many people as possible [[PsychoSupporter in the name of Voldemort's cause]]. Bellatrix, gleeful cruelty incarnate, has a special fondness for [[TortureTechnician torturing people with the Cruciatus curse]], and tortured Neville Longbottom's parents to the point where they exist in near-comas, and will never recognize their own son again; she is also an accomplished arsonist, burning down multiple residences basically just for the sake of it. Bellatrix is the cause of death for half of her non-Death-Eater family members, including her cousin [[Characters/HarryPotterSiriusBlack Sirius Black]] and her niece Nymphadora Tonks, as well as Dobby, and delights in the torment these deaths cause.

* [[DarkActionGirl Bellatrix Lestrange]] is a [[PsychopathicManchild psychopathic]] Death Eater who seems to be motivated primarily by [[{{Sadist}} her desire to inflict as much pain on as many people as possible]] in the name of [[PsychoSupporter Voldemort's cause]]. Bellatrix, gleeful cruelty incarnate, has a special fondness for [[TortureTechnician torturing people with the Cruciatus curse]], and tortured Neville Longbottom's parents to the point where they exist in near-comas, and will never recognize their own son again. She is also an accomplished arsonist, burning down multiple residences basically just for the sake of it. She's the cause of death for half of her non-Death-Eater family members, including Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks, as well as Dobby, and delights in the torment these deaths cause.

[[redirect:Monster/{{Literature}}]]

->''"We really are talking about someone who is incredibly power hungry. Racist, really. And what do those kinds of people do? They treat human life so lightly. I wanted to be accurate in that sense. My editor was shocked by the way the character was killed, which was very dismissive. That was entirely deliberate. That is how people die in those situations. It was just like, You're in my way and you're going to die.''"
-->--[[http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2047304,00.html J.K. Rowling]] on '''Lord Voldemort''' killing '''Cedric Diggory''' at the end of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''.

{{Complete Monster}}s from the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' franchise.
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* [[BigBad Lord Voldemort's]] defining characteristic is [[TheSociopath being a sociopath]] [[EvilCanNotComprehendGood who cannot understand love]] and has no remorse for any of his actions. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is killing two young wizarding parents and [[MoralEventHorizon his attempted murder of their one-year-old]]. He started two genocidal wars against Muggle-born wizards, Muggles, and their supporters alike, out of a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi-esque]] desire to create the "perfect" wizarding world; [[BoomerangBigot this despite the fact that he himself is half-Muggle]]. Most heinously, he is well aware that using the spell to murder other humans will split his soul irrevocably, because of how evil the spell is - and uses this knowledge to create immortality for himself. He gets even worse in the later books, as his magical transformations and soul-mutilations have [[VillainousBreakdown taken a toll on his mind]], driving him pretty much completely AxCrazy. Throughout the books Voldemort tried to open the Chamber of Secrets as a teenager to wipe out all "mudbloods" (witches or wizards born of two non-magical individuals) in Hogwarts, killed his father and grandparents and framed his uncle for the crime, ordered Cedric Diggory's murder, murdered an entire family [[DisproportionateRetribution because the mother didn't know where someone Voldemort was looking for was]], [[ShootTheMessenger indiscriminately killed his own followers when given bad news]], and killed [[spoiler:the seemingly loyal Severus Snape]] because he believed his minion's death would grant him greater power. ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'' and ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' explain [[FreudianExcuse his transformation into a monster]], but serve more as a cautionary tale than a true FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:his mother basically enchanted and raped his father, and when his father was freed of the enchantment, he bolted, and his mother died of despair. This led to him growing up without any idea of love or what it entailed.]]
* [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Dolores Umbridge]] is a domineering and abusive matron figure and a bureaucrat whose pettiness and personal failings cause catastrophic harm to those under her control, all while maintaining a [[StepfordSmiler kind]] [[BitchInSheepsClothing grandmotherly]] [[FauxAffablyEvil veneer]]. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', she becomes a [[SadistTeacher teacher at Hogwarts]] and forces students who speak up against the Ministry of Magic ([[DisproportionateRetribution or just displease her]]) to use the Blood Quill, which [[ColdBloodedTorture basically uses the writer's blood as ink and can result in permanent scarring]]. At one point she threatens to use [[AgonyBeam the illegal Cruciatus curse]], which has been shown to cause unimaginable pain, and reveals that she sent the two Dementors after Harry and his cousin. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'', she willingly supports the Death Eater-controlled Ministry, and holds [[KangarooCourt hastily rushed and sadistic trials against Muggle-borns]], where she accuses them of stealing magic and gleefully sentences them to the Potter-verse's FateWorseThanDeath, the [[YourSoulIsMine Dementor's Kiss]]. She is shown to greatly enjoy [[MindRape psychologically torturing]] her victims, and delights in her new post.
* [[TheSociopath Bellatrix Lestrange]] is a [[PsychopathicManChild psychopathic]] female Death Eater who seems to be motivated primarily by [[{{Sadist}} her desire to inflict as much pain on as many people as possible]] in the name of Voldemort's cause. Bellatrix's [[AxCrazy insanity]] makes her an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]] case of TheFundamentalist, and while Voldemort is a cold and unfeeling murderer, Bellatrix is gleeful cruelty incarnate. She has a special fondness for torturing people with the Cruciatus curse, and tortured Neville Longbottom's parents to the point where they exist in near-comas, and will never recognize their own son again. She is also an accomplished arsonist, burning down multiple residences basically just for the sake of it. She's the cause of death for half of her non-Death-Eater family members, including [[spoiler:Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks, as well as Dobby]], and delights in the torment these deaths cause; she also tried to kill Ginny Weasley during the assault on Hogwarts. Common readings of her also note that she is obsessed with Voldemort, and relishes his cause more than any other Death Eater in the series.
* [[PsychoForHire Fenrir Greyback]] is a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]], but unlike werewolves who go helplessly violent in wolf form, he bites people in human form just for the [[CardCarryingVillain pleasure of ruining their lives]]. His actions are all-but-explicitly stated to be pedophilic in nature, based on what he did to Lupin. In addition, he is a [[ImAHumanitarian cannibal]], in both wolf and human form. He's shown trying to eat Harry at the Battle on the Astronomy Tower, wants to eat Hermione when Bellatrix is done torturing her, and attacks Lavender at the Battle of Hogwarts. He shows absolutely no remorse for doing any of these things, and [[SavageWolves takes a perverse delight in the damage he causes]]. The only reason he showed up at the Battle of Hogwarts was to engage in [[WouldHurtAChild raping and eating children, after all]].

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{{Complete Monster}}s from the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' franchise.

* [[PsychoForHire Fenrir Greyback]] is a werewolf, but unlike werewolves who go helplessly violent in wolf form, he bites people in human form just for the pleasure of ruining their lives. His actions are all-but-explicitly stated to be [[PaedoHunt pedophilic in nature]], based on what he did to Lupin. In addition, he is a [[ImAHumanitarian cannibal]], in both wolf and human form. He's shown trying to eat Harry at the Battle on the Astronomy Tower, wants to eat Hermione when Bellatrix is done torturing her, and attacks Lavender at the Battle of Hogwarts. He shows absolutely no remorse for doing any of these things, and takes a perverse delight in the damage he causes. The only reason he showed up at the Battle of Hogwarts was to engage in raping and eating children, after all.

{{Complete Monster}}s from the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' franchise.

[[AC:[[Literature/HarryPotter The Books]]]]
* [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]]. His defining characteristic is [[TheSociopath being a sociopath who cannot understand love]] and has no remorse for any of his actions. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is killing two young wizarding parents and [[MoralEventHorizon his attempted murder of their one-year-old]]. He started two genocidal wars against Muggle-born wizards, Muggles, and their supporters alike, out of a Nazi-esque desire to create the "perfect" wizarding world. Most heinously, he is well aware that using the spell to murder other humans will split his soul irrevocably, because of how evil the spell is - and uses this knowledge to create immortality for himself. He gets even ''worse'' in the later books, as his magical transformations and soul-mutilations have [[VillainousBreakdown taken a toll on his mind]], driving him pretty much completely AxCrazy. The sixth and seventh books explain [[FreudianExcuse his transformation into a monster]], but serve more as a cautionary tale than a true FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:his mother basically enchanted and raped his father, and when his father was freed of the enchantment, he bolted, and his mother died of despair. This led to him growing up without any idea of love or what it entailed.]]
* Dolores Umbridge is a [[TyrantTakesTheHelm domineering and abusive matron figure]] and a bureaucrat whose pettiness and personal failings cause catastrophic harm to those under her control, all while maintaining a [[StepfordSmiler kind grandmotherly]] [[FauxAffablyEvil veneer]]. In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', she becomes a teacher at Hogwarts and forces students who speak up against the Ministry of Magic to mutilate their own skin to the point of permanent scarring. At one point she threatens to use [[AgonyBeam the Cruciatus curse]], which has been shown to cause unimaginable pain. In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', she willingly supports the Death Eater-controlled Ministry, and holds [[KangarooCourt hastily rushed and sadistic trials against Muggle-borns]], where she accuses them of stealing magic and gleefully sentences them to the Potter-verse's FateWorseThanDeath, the Dementor's Kiss. She is shown to greatly enjoy psychologically torturing her victims, and delights in her new post.
* Bellatrix Lestrange, a psychopathic female Death Eater who seems to be motivated primarily by [[PsychoForHire her desire to inflict as much pain on as many people as possible]] in the name of Voldemort's cause. Bellatrix's insanity makes her an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]] case of TheFundamentalist, and while Voldemort is a cold and unfeeling murderer, Bellatrix is gleeful cruelty incarnate. She has a special fondness for torturing people with the Cruciatus curse, and tortured Neville Longbottom's parents to the point where they exist in near-comas, and will never recognize their own son again. She is also an accomplished arsonist, burning down multiple residences basically just for the sake of it. She's the cause of death for half of her non-Death-Eater family members, including [[spoiler:fan favorites Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks]], and delights in the torment these deaths cause. Common readings of her also note that she is obsessed with Voldemort, and relishes his cause more than any other Death Eater in the series. She receives a KarmicDeath at the hands of [[spoiler:[[MamaBear Molly Weasley]]]] when she threatens Ginny during the assault on Hogwarts.
* Fenrir Greyback. It's one thing for a werewolf to go helplessly violent in wolf form; it's another to bite people in human form just for the pleasure of ruining their lives. His actions are all-but-explicitly stated to be [[PaedoHunt pedophilic in nature]], based on what Fenrir did to Lupin and his desire to rape Hermione after [[spoiler:Bellatrix tortures her]], and to top it all off, he's a cannibal. [[spoiler:While this is merely implied in the books, it's flat-out shown in [[TheFilmOfTheBook Deathly Hallows Part Two]].]] He shows absolutely no remorse for doing any of these things, and takes a perverse delight in the damage he causes. The only reason he showed up at the Battle of Hogwarts was to engage in raping and eating children, after all.

[[AC:[[Film/HarryPotter The Film Series]]]]
* While he has a FreudianExcuse in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire the book]], that of a WellDoneSonGuy who found approval in Lord Voldemort, and seemed pitiable in the face of his [[AbusiveParents abusive father]], [[spoiler:[[ManipulativeBastard Barty Crouch Jr.]]]] is this in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''. [[spoiler:He disguises himself as professor Alastor Moody, locks the ''actual'' Alastor Moody in a large safe, and then enters Harry into a life-endangering contest Harry was underage for under this guise, making it appear that Harry has a severe hero complex/ego in the process.]] The death of [[SacrificialLion the innocent, well-liked Cedric Diggory]] also falls on his hands, but the man views it as little more than collateral damage. While all of this occurs in the book as well, he's presented without any sympathetic traits here, and even his motive has seemingly become ForTheEvulz.

{Complete Monster}}s from the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' franchise.

[[AC:The Books]]

[[AC:The Film Series]]
* While he has a FreudianExcuse in the book, that of a WellDoneSonGuy who found approval in Lord Voldemort, and seemed pitiable in the face of his [[AbusiveParents abusive father]], [[spoiler:[[ManipulativeBastard Barty Crouch Jr.]]]] is this in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''. [[spoiler:He disguises himself as professor Alastor Moody, locks the ''actual'' Alastor Moody in a large safe, and then enters Harry into a life-endangering contest Harry was underage for under this guise, making it appear that Harry has a severe hero complex/ego in the process.]] The death of [[SacrificialLion the innocent, well-liked Cedric Diggory]] also falls on his hands, but the man views it as little more than collateral damage. While all of this occurs in the book as well, he's presented without any sympathetic traits here, and even his motive has seemingly become ForTheEvulz.

* While he has a FreudianExcuse in the book, that of a WellDoneSonGuy who found approval in Lord Voldemort, and seemed pitiable in the face of his [[AbusiveParents abusive father]], [[spoiler:[[ManipulativeBastard Barty Crouch Jr.]]]] is this in the film version of ''HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''. [[spoiler:He disguises himself as professor Alastor Moody, locks the ''actual'' Alastor Moody in a large safe, and then enters Harry into a life-endangering contest Harry was underage for under this guise, making it appear that Harry has a severe hero complex/ego in the process.]] The death of [[SacrificialLion the innocent, well-liked Cedric Diggory]] also falls on his hands, but the man views it as little more than collateral damage. While all of this occurs in the book as well, he's presented without any sympathetic traits here, and even his motive has seemingly become ForTheEvulz.

* [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]]. His defining characteristic is [[TheSociopath being a sociopath who cannot understand love]]. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is killing two young wizarding parents and [[MoralEventHorizon his attempted murder of their one-year-old]]. He started two genocidal wars against Muggle-born wizards, Muggles, and their supporters alike, out of a Nazi-esque desire to create the "perfect" wizarding world. Most heinously, he is well aware that using the spell to murder other humans will split his soul irrevocably, because of how evil the spell is - and uses this knowledge to create immortality for himself. He gets even ''worse'' in the later books, as his magical transformations and soul-mutilations have [[VillainousBreakdown taken a toll on his mind]], driving him pretty much completely AxCrazy. The sixth and seventh books explain [[FreudianExcuse his transformation into a monster]], but serve more as a cautionary tale than a true FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:his mother basically enchanted and raped his father, and when his father was freed of the enchantment, he bolted, and his mother died of despair. This led to him growing up without any idea of love or what it entailed.]] Voldemort never shows remorse for any of his actions, and [[spoiler:is depicted, in death, as a bloody fetus with no hope of survival near good.]]

* Bellatrix Lestrange, a psychopathic female Death Eater who seems to be motivated primarily by [[PsychoForHire her desire to inflict as much pain on as many people as possible]] in the name of Voldemort's cause. Bellatrix's insanity makes her an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]] case of TheFundamentalist, and while Voldemort is a cold and unfeeling murderer, Bellatrix is gleeful cruelty incarnate. She has a special fondness for torturing people with the Cruciatus curse, and tortured Neville Longbottom's parents to the point where they exist in near-comas, and will never recognize their own son again. She is also an accomplished arsonist, burning down multiple residences basically just for the sake of it. She's the cause of death for half of her non-Death-Eater family members, including [[spoiler:fan favorites Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks]], and delights in the torment these deaths cause. Common readings of her also note that she is obsessed with Voldemort, and relishes his cause more than any other Death Eater in the series. Her KarmicDeath at the hands of [[spoiler:[[MamaBear Molly Weasley]]]] was probably the most satisfying moment in the series.
* Fenrir Greyback. It's one thing for a werewolf to go helplessly violent in wolf form; it's another to bite people in human form just for the pleasure of ruining their lives. His actions are all-but-explicitly stated to be [[PaedoHunt pedophilic in nature]], based on what Fenrir did to Lupin and his desire to rape Hermione after [[spoiler:Bellatrix tortures her]], and to top it all off, he's a cannibal. [[spoiler:While this is merely implied in the books, it's flat-out shown in [[TheFilmOfTheBook Deathly Hallows Part Two]].]] [[Series/{{Firefly}} He'll kill you, rape you, and eat you. And if you're ''really'' lucky, he'll do it in THAT order.]] Again, he shows absolutely no remorse for doing any of these things, and takes a perverse delight in the damage he causes. The only reason he showed up at the Battle of Hogwarts was to engage in raping and eating children, after all.