From Background to Backbone: Every Harry Potter Muggle Ranked

For a series built on wand waving and Latin-adjacent spells, a lot of the heavy lifting in Harry Potter comes from the folks who never cast a thing. The Muggles are often treated like set dressing, but they actually shape tone, backstory, and a few crucial turning points. Here are the non-magic MVPs who matter most to the plot, from small ripples to seismic impact.

1. 9. Piers Polkiss

   Dudley Dursley’s skinny, sharp-faced sidekick does not change the course of history, but he’s part of the early proof that Harry’s pre-Hogwarts life is a slog. In Philosopher’s Stone, he tags along to the zoo, witnesses the boa constrictor incident, and later snitches that the snake 'winked' at Harry. Minor character, memorable vibe. He’s here to set the tone of Privet Drive misery, and he does it well.

2. 8. Marge Dursley

   Prisoner of Azkaban gives us Aunt Marge: bulldogs, bad opinions, and a talent for saying the most hurtful thing possible about Harry’s parents. She pushes too far, Harry loses control, and she inflates like a parade balloon. That meltdown sends Harry running from Privet Drive, which triggers the Knight Bus detour and drops him into the Leaky Cauldron. One chaotic visit, big domino effect for Book 3.

3. 7. Hermione’s parents

   They barely appear (Muggle dentists, polite, bewildered by quills), but their importance is baked into Hermione herself. They support a world they can’t see and a daughter who repeatedly chooses danger for the greater good. In Deathly Hallows, Hermione erases their memories to keep them safe. They don’t move the plot directly, but they deepen the cost of the war and the weight on one of the series’ core heroes.

4. 6. The Muggle Prime Minister

   Half-Blood Prince cracks open a corner of the world you do not expect in a kids’ fantasy: the British PM gets briefed on magic the day he takes office. His meetings with Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour quietly map how Voldemort’s return turns into unexplained disasters, public anxiety, and extra security in the non-magical world. He doesn’t affect Harry’s choices, but he expands the scale in a way that makes the war feel national, not niche.

5. 5. Mrs. Cole

   The no-nonsense head of Wool’s Orphanage shows up in Dumbledore’s Pensieve in Half-Blood Prince and proceeds to hand us a chilling character study. Her accounts of young Tom Riddle’s manipulation, casual cruelty, and unnerving charm make it clear: the darkness didn’t start with spells. Mrs. Cole is one of the very few Muggles tethered directly to Voldemort’s past, and her testimony helps Dumbledore (and us) understand what he’s up against.

6. 4. Frank Bryce

   Goblet of Fire opens like a horror one-shot: Frank, the aging caretaker of the Riddle House, has been wrongly blamed for the Riddle murders for years. He investigates a light in the old manor, finds Voldemort and Wormtail, and becomes the Dark Lord’s first on-page victim of the modern era. His death is the series hitting the gas pedal. Tone shift achieved.

7. 3. Tom Riddle Sr.

   Never alive in the main timeline, yet everywhere. Voldemort’s Muggle father is at the center of one of the story’s bleakest backstories: seduced under a love potion by Merope Gaunt, he bolts when it wears off, and later he’s murdered by his teenage son. That killing becomes one of Voldemort’s earliest Horcrux moments and hardens his hatred of Muggles and himself. He’s a ghost that defines a villain.

8. 2. Vernon Dursley

   Harry’s uncle is the brick wall of suburban denial: loud, stubborn, and allergic to anything unusual. He locks Harry in a cupboard, tries to squash his letters, and drags the family to a shack on a rock to outrun a school acceptance. Vernon doesn’t just make Harry miserable; he accidentally shapes Harry’s resilience and his craving for a place that feels like home. Long-term antagonist, long-term impact.

9. 1. Dudley Dursley

   The character who actually grows. Dudley starts as a tantrum machine and a petty tyrant, then gets rattled by the Dementor attack in Order of the Phoenix. By Deathly Hallows, he manages a clumsy but sincere goodbye, capped by that handshake-or-near-handshake (depending on your version). He matters because his change matters to Harry. In a story drenched in magic, a normal kid becoming a better person lands the most quietly powerful punch.

Quick context pass for the newcomers: Harry Potter is a fantasy/coming-of-age franchise created by J.K. Rowling. It spans 7 main novels (1997–2007) and 8 films (2001–2011), with the movies grossing over $7.7 billion worldwide.

If you want to revisit the whole saga, all the Harry Potter films are streaming on Peacock.

Think someone should be higher (or much lower)? Drop your ranking in the comments — I’m ready for the chaos.