Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts was one of his most memorable. It featured a battle at the Ministry of Magic and the death of his beloved Godfather, making it a milestone year in Harry’s life. That being said, despite these two events, Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts is remembered most for the introduction of Dolores Umbridge as the defense against the dark arts teacher.
Umbridge was a cruel woman who refused to teach practical defensive magic to her students, making her class both boring and useless. As a consequence, Harry and his friends formed a secret club named Dumbledore’s Army that allowed students to meet up and teach themselves defensive magic. This article will list the 10 most intelligent members of Dumbledore’s Army.
Cho Chang
Cho Chang was a very capable student who excelled in several areas during her time at Hogwarts. The Ravenclaw was a notable strong flyer, a fantastic practitioner of charms, and a strong user of defense against the dark arts.
Her ability to use charms was most clearly seen in the fact that she could cast a non-corporeal patronus - a very difficult and complex charm. Furthermore, she also survived the Battle of Hogwarts, perfectly showcasing her ability to use defensive magic.
Katie Bell
Katie Bell did not get the attention she deserved in the Harry Potter movies. The character was typically seen in quidditch matches, as she was a chaser for the Hogwarts team. Though her most famous moment in the movies came when she was the victim of Malfoy’s cursed necklace.
Despite her lack of screentime, Katie Bell was shown to be a bright and capable student. She studied transfiguration at NEWT level which means she was very talented in the discipline and she also participated in and survived the Battle of Hogwarts, displaying her talent at defensive magic.
Padma Patil
Padma Patil was one of the most talented witches in Harry’s year at Hogwarts, so it is a shame that the most we saw of her in the movies was her appearance at the Yule Ball.
Padma was exceptionally talented in both defense against the dark arts and potions, taking both subjects at NEWT level. Her capability with defensive magic was seen in her willingness to join Dumbledore’s Army in her fifth year and her ability to survive the Battle of Hogwarts.
Dean Thomas
Dean Thomas was a character who did not get the attention he deserved the movies. While the character was shown to be intelligent and capable in the books, this did not translate to the screen. Instead, his most well-known appearance in the movies was as Ginny Weasley’s boyfriend.
Despite this lack of recognition, Dean was an intelligent student. He not only managed to take both transfiguration and defense against the dark arts at NEWT level, but he was also a very skilled artist. This showed a level of creative intelligence that is almost unique to Dean.
Neville Longbottom
Some may not have expected Neville to make this list, but he certainly deserves to be here. While Longbottom may have gained a reputation for being clumsy and forgetful, he was still a very bright student in areas where he was allowed to thrive; notably in herbology.
His talent for Herbology was so great that Neville even went on to become the Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts after the events of the story. Judging by Neville’s career, he was clearly a very bright and intelligent student who was simply a bit forgetful and clumsy.
Harry Potter
He had to feature somewhere on this list. While Harry was not the most talented wizard in his year, he was a student who excelled in certain areas of magic. His best subject, clearly, was defense against the dark arts. Potter was able to teach the class to other students as leader and co-founder of Dumbledore’s Army.
If his academic ability is not a strong enough indicator of his intelligence, Harry also managed to defeat one of the greatest dark wizards of all time as a teenager and then went on to become an Auror with the Ministry of Magic as an adult.
Luna Lovegood
Luna Lovegood does not get the respect she deserves. While Luna is undeniably a strange and eccentric character, she is also an incredibly talented witch. During the time in which Hogwarts was under the control of Voldemort, Luna co-led Dumbledore’s Army with Neville Longbottom. This showed her to be both brave and intelligent, as it would have been very difficult to reform Dumbledore’s Army in such an environment.
In addition, Luna would go on to survive the Battle of Hogwarts and become a famous magizoologist. She would also discover several new species that had never been encountered before.
Ginny Weasley
Ginny Weasley was one of the brightest and most talented of the Weasley children. She was extremely proficient across several magical disciplines and was capable of producing some of the most difficult charms, such as a corporeal patronus.
Aside from her magical and academic capabilities, Ginny was also a professional quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies. Upon retirement from the sport, she then went on to become the sports editor for the Daily Prophet. She is clearly a talented and intelligent witch.
Fred and George Weasley
It may be unfair to include two separate people as one entry, but the two twins really did accomplish everything together. While you may be forgiven for assuming that the twins were simple class clowns, you would be mistaken. The two Weasley twins were very talented wizards who were proficient in several areas of magic, such as charms and transfiguration.
Despite not even finishing their Hogwarts education, the twins were able to open their own joke shop in Diagon Alley and this required both fine business acumen and fantastic magical ability.
Hermione Granger
Could anyone else have topped this list? Hermione Granger is consistently branded ’the brightest witch of her age’ and for good reason. Hermione excelled at every class she took at Hogwarts (except for Divination).
Aside from being able to produce some incredibly complex magic at an incredibly young age, Hermione was also shown to be very intelligent in non-magical areas too. For instance, during the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione was the only person to actually deduce that the Slytherin’s monster was a basilisk. Hermione is easily and predictably the most intelligent member of Dumbledore’s Army.
