10 Strongest Harry Potter Wizards From Slytherin, Ranked (2025)

Slytherin House may not be considered the most trustworthy group of people to ever come from Hogwarts, but there is no denying that when one combs through their roster, a surprising number of powerful and talented witches and wizards can be found. Salazar Slytherin did in fact wish for his students to come from the most ambitious and cunning of the Hogwarts students. This creates a recipe for pupils with a hunger for knowledge and advancement, eventually transforming most of them into powerful figures within their communities. The great tragedy, of course, is that many of these powerful witches and wizards ended up wasting their talents in service of evil throughout the course of the Harry Potter franchise.

This often leads fans to remember their worst deeds instead of the quite frankly astonishing things they managed to accomplish. Even some of their most hated foes had to respect their talent and power. After all, these villains would not have gotten half as far had they not been competent in their respective fields. Then comes the tricky part: figuring out who among them was the most powerful.

10 Draco Malfoy Wasn't Powerful, But He Was Cunning

Draco Managed to Sneak Deatheaters Into Hogwarts

Draco Malfoy may not have been the most prodigious wizard of his time, but when compared to the Slytherins of his generation, he actually stands head and shoulders above the rest of them. Not because he had wealth or social influence due to his family's status, but because he actually embodied the Slytherin trait of cunning better than his classmates ever did. Sure, it manifested at first as attempts to bully Harry Potter and his friends, potentially even getting them expelled at times, but once he was put into a more serious situation, his intelligence was on full display.

When he was first recruited to assassinate Albus Dumbledore, a mission during which Voldemort fully expected Draco to fail, Draco actually did something that no one, not even Voldemort himself, can lay claim to: He found a way to break the death eaters into Hogwarts undetected. He did this by piecing together clues connecting two magical wardrobes through a pocket dimension, thus finding a flaw in Hogwarts' magical security and allowing it to be breached for perhaps the first time in its history. That's an accomplishment of a truly ingenious wizard. It's just a shame that Draco was so overwhelmed by stress and despair that he couldn't take a moment to appreciate the achievement.

9 Lucius Malfoy Helped Rebuild the Death Eaters

He Also Fooled the Ministry of Magic for an Entire Year

Lucius Malfoy may not be powerful magically, but he is highly intelligent in both magic and politics. As a high-ranking Death Eater, he possesses advanced knowledge of dark magic, is able to identify the signs of curses on sight, and was even entrusted with safeguarding one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Though he didn't know what it was at the time, he likely knew it was a powerful dark artifact that was not to be taken lightly. Building upon this, Lucius also had a collection of dark artifacts, showing a knowledge and appreciation of their power.

In his professional life, Lucius was a gifted actor and politician. He managed to maintain the illusion of a model student while attending Hogwarts and later in life wormed his way into the upper echelons of the Ministry of Magic and even became the leader of Hogwarts' governors. All the while, no one suspected that he was actually a Death Eater manipulating the situation to serve his true master. It isn't an exaggeration to say that without Lucius' influence and misdirection of the ministry, Voldemort's second rise to power would have been discovered much earlier.

8 Regulus Black Managed to Earn Voldemort's Trust

He Later Betrayed Voldemort With Him Knowing

Regulus Black may never have been seen onscreen or in the books, but his legacy helped enable Harry Potter to finally destroy Voldemort years after Regulus' death. The brother of Sirius Black, Regulus was more of a believer in his family's pureblood supremacy ideals and thus joined the death eaters at the first opportunity. He became very knowledgeable about the Dark Arts and even learned about the existence of Horcruxes, something that most Death Eaters were unaware of, showing how resourceful he was from a young age.

As time passed, he grew disillusioned with Voldemort and later turned against him. In doing so, he managed to sneak past the many defenses that Voldemort had placed over one of his Horcruxes and even helped fight off waves of Inferi, corpses reanimated by dark magic, all to buy time for Kreacher the House-Elf to get away in time. Regulus may have died in his attempt to right his wrongs, but his actions would later help save the wizarding world from Voldemort's return.

7 Antonin Dolohov Was One of the Most Dangerous Deatheaters

He Dueled Three Wizards At Once While Under a Silencing Spell

While most people remember Bellatrix Lestrange as the most sadistic Death Eater of them all, Antonin Dolohov was close to her in terms of power and ruthlessness. Considered by many to be one of Voldemort's most aggressive Death Eaters, Dolohov had a comprehensive knowledge of dark magic, and more than that, was one of the most skilled duelists serving under Lord Voldemort. He has been known to take on three opponents at once, all the while managing to handle the situation ably. Granted, these were students in both scenarios, but it should be noted that Dolohov was dueling them while his abilities were limited. The first time, he was under a silencing spell, forcing him to use nonverbal magic, a skill only highly talented wizards can master, and the second time, he was under orders to hold back so as not to kill Harry Potter.

His greatest claim to fame, though, is that Dolohov was the man who killed Remus Lupin. Lupin was highly skilled in battling the dark arts and his death was a major blow to his side, both emotionally and militarily. It should be noted, though, that Lupin had been lax in his training due to caring for his then-pregnant wife. Still, Dolohov managed to leave several scars behind in the aftermath of the Second Wizarding War.

6 Gormlaith Gaunt Almost Destroyed Ilvernmorny Before It Began

She Was a Master of the Dark Arts

It's no exaggeration to say that Gormlaith Gaunt, one of Voldemort's distant ancestors, may very well have been the dark lord of her time had it not been for her isolationist practices. Gormlaith was an extraordinarily gifted witch. Being a Gaunt meant that she likely had immersed herself in the dark arts from a young age, being proficient with numerous curses. Some fans even suspect that the fire she set to murder Isolt Sayre's parents was fiendfyre, a highly dangerous form of dark magic that is difficult to control once utilized. If so, then this is further proof of Gormlaith's shocking talents.

At the end of her life, Gormlaith displayed prodigious dueling skills as well. She entered a duel with Chadwick and Webster Boot. Though both brothers were still underage, their twin cores increased their power tenfold and Gormlaith still had them on the backfoot in their duel. Even when their adoptive mother, Isolt, arrived to help, Gormlaith backed them into a corner. To take on three talented opponents, two of whom had their power bolstered and still come out on top indicates that, had Gormlaith decided not to hide away from the world, she might have accomplished much more.

5 Bellatrix Was Voldemort's Most Trusted Deatheater

Even Harry Potter Respected Her Power

Bellatrix Lestrange was unhinged and cruel beyond reckoning, but there was no denying that she was a prodigiously gifted witch. Even Harry Potter himself noted that she was powerful, and her utter lack of restraint or mercy only heightened her magic. Bellatrix was one of the most dangerous inmates at Azkaban, and Voldemort made sure to release her first when he was rebuilding his numbers. Her zealous obedience of him, as well as her power made her his most trusted servant.

It should be noted that Bellatrix also has the distinction of being the only witch Voldemort considered worthy of continuing the line of Slytherin with. Bellatrix is the mother of Voldemort's daughter, Delphini, and while it is doubtful that Voldemort could ever feel love for her, she was likely the person Voldemort was closest to, as he displayed rage when she was killed. Everything Bellatrix did was for her dark lord, all that magical talent put to waste torturing innocents, claiming the lives of enemies and family alike, and ultimately, helping to continue a dark legacy.

4 Snape Was One of the Most Talented Wizards of His Era

He Even Fooled Lord Voldemort for Years

Severus Snape may very well have been the most powerful deatheater of them all. From a young age, he displayed incredible proficiency in all forms of magic, and even had the ingenuity to make up spells of his own, a feat that many witches and wizards could devote a lifetime to achieving with no real results. In short, Snape was a prodigy of his time, a master potioneer and gifted duelist, as well as a master of the dark arts. His skill was so great that he was the only person Albus Dumbledore trusted to deceive Voldemort for their long-term plans.

This leads to Snape's most impressive trait of all: his capacity for love. Snape may have been attracted to the dark arts all his life, but his love for Lily Potter overrode all of that. It empowered him to not only bear the weight of being the viewed as a villain by his actual allies, but also to withstand the scrutiny of Voldemort for an entire year. Even when Voldemort killed him, he never suspected that Snape had been working against him, a fact made all the more impressive when one recalls that Voldemort could read minds, meaning Snape's ability to shield his thoughts was greater than Voldemort's power.

3 Merlin Was a Student of Slytherin House

He Is One of the Most Famous Wizards in History

Considered the most famous wizard in history, though the timeline of his attending Hogwarts does not match up with real world mythology, Merlin is considered one of history's most powerful wizards, and likely the greatest one of his age. A student of Slytherin, Merlin likely mastered all forms of magic that he came across and had a keen interest in the ways of ancient magic, likely being intimately familiar with the many magical secrets of Hogwarts.

Some scholars in the world even state that Merlin was gifted at spell creation, with some claiming he invented the disarming charm, which would become Harry Potter's signature spell, though this is disputed by other scholars who claim the spell was invented by someone else. He was also the sworn enemy of the dark witch, Morgan le Fay, and the two had a famous duel that has been preserved in stained glass in one of Hogwarts' windows, showcasing that Merlin was likely a formidable duelist in his day as well.

2 Salazar Slytherin Founded the Entire House

He Was a Master of the Dark Arts

Though Salazar Slytherin's legacy is one that brings shame and darkness to the wizarding world, he was still one of history's most powerful and knowledgeable wizards. He helped with the ancient magic that was used to construct Hogwarts and even assisted in charming the Sorting Hat into existence. Beyond that, Slytherin also had proficiency in more esoteric areas of magic, such as legilimency and even wandcrafting, having made his own wand out of snakewood and basilisk horn.

This brings up his most famous trait: his ability to speak Parseltongue. It is unknown if he developed this skill over time or if he was born with it, but Slytherin is one of the earliest recorded Parselmouths in the world. Of course, he was also one of the most gifted dark wizards of his time, and he even built the Chamber of Secrets to potentially teach his students such magic before he left the school in anger. This, in turn, brought up another hidden talent: the ability to breed basilisks, which Slytherin would enchant into stasis until summoned by one of his descendants. Slytherin was an amazing wizard, it's just a shame he wasted that talent on foolish ideals.

1 Voldemort Was the Greatest Dark Wizard in History

Only Dumbledore Was His Superior

At the top of the list is Voldemort himself. As the greatest dark wizard to ever live, Voldemort has achieved terrible — but great things — over the course of his life. He experimented with dark magic to degrees unheard of as of this point, altering himself physically and mentally in preparation for his ascension as the dark lord. His most notable, and horrific, act was the creation of multiple Horcruxes, mutilating his soul multiple times in an attempt to achieve true immortality.

Beyond that, Voldemort was a master of all forms of magic. His knowledge and power made him the most dangerous man alive, with only Albus Dumbledore being considered his superior in terms of power. As a result, Voldemort shies away from a direct confrontation with him, but once Dumbledore is dead, Voldemort officially achieves the title of the world's most powerful wizard. One can't help but wonder about what he might have accomplished had his heart not been so dark.

Harry Potter

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