The Gryffindor House has the richest history in the Harry Potter series, being the House that had almost all the main heroes from the series, which easily makes it the best House to be. Since there were so many fabulous witches from Gryffindor, it would be a disservice to potentially leave out the likes of Lily, Hermione, and Molly if they were considered for this list.
So, we’ve only considered males for our evaluation over the 5 best wizards that were sorted into Gryffindor House and the 5 who weren’t good. It’s essential to remember that “worst” in this scenario is strictly based on magical skill and not on personality. Also, bear in mind that being book smart isn’t a strong point either.
Worst: Cormac McLaggen
This guy had absolutely no qualities worth mentioning, and the only thing we can say about McLaggen is that he represents the boneheaded mentality Gryffindors are stereotyped with.
Even in Quidditch, which was meant to be his main forte, McLaggen showed that he was too brash for his own good. In the one match we saw him play, McLaggen assumed the role of a Beater (even though he was playing as a Keeper) and knocked out Harry instead. The movies painted him as an even bigger knucklehead, where he tried to stand up to Death Eaters and was shut up promptly.
Powerful: Sirius Black
James and Sirius were said to be the best wizards in their year in school, but it’s clear Sirius surpassed his best friend. James always needed his gang to antagonize Snape, while Sirius was shown to be openly confrontational of him with no fear.
Despite not having fought for over a decade, Sirius easily beat every Death Eater in the Department of Mysteries and was having an easy time against Bellatrix too, until his own cockiness came back to haunt him. In school, Sirius was seen acing his O.W.L. and was even goofing around in the exam because he finished too soon.
Worst: Sir Nicholas
By all accounts, Sir Nicholas seems to have been a lousy wizard who was surprisingly sorted into Gryffindor given how cowardly he seemed. The reason for his execution was because he could not fix the teeth of Lady Grieve; he ended up growing tusks in her face instead.
Nicholas also admitted he was bad at Transfiguration and there’s nothing to suggest he ever excelled in anything. Unlike a standard Gryffindor, Nicholas didn’t display courage or bravery either, as he was shown to be openly fearful of the Bloody Baron and only became a ghost because he was afraid to die.
Powerful: Fred Weasley
No, George doesn’t get to join his brother on this list because Fred proved himself to be more skilled and mainly had a ruthless personality. It was Fred who turned Ron’s teddy bear into a spider when he was only five; he also had knowledge of the effects of Acid Pops back then and knew how to make an Unbreakable Vow at age seven!
Unlike George, Fred was extremely daring; he was the one who blackmailed Ludo Bagman, gave Dudley an enlarged tongue, and forced Montague into the Vanishing Cabinet. During the Battle of the Seven Potters, George was the one who got critically injured while Fred was unscratched. Fred only died because he was blindsided, not because he was defeated.
Worst: Rubeus Hagrid
Look, we all love Hagrid just as much as the fandom does, but the fact of the matter is he was terrible at performing magic. Even when he wasn’t expelled from school, Hagrid never had any skill with a wand and was more interested in the monsters the school housed.
As an adult, Hagrid carried a concealed wand, but would always mess up his spells. He could only give Dudley a pig’s tail rather than turn him into a pig as he intended, and every other time he tried conjuring spells they would result in explosions more often than not. Hagrid wouldn’t duel, instead, he would use his fists to punch his opponents out cold.
Powerful: Harry Potter
A lot of people like to give Harry flak for being a relatively mediocre student and relying on dumb luck to beat Voldemort, but these people overlook how focused Harry really was. In times of danger, Harry is your man to lead.
He can easily beat Hermione when it comes to offensive magic, and there’s no student in the school who could have defeated Harry after he was a fifth-year. In the Department of Mysteries, Harry was the only one left standing against the Death Eaters and was never beaten; he also has the distinction of being the sole person (other than Albus and a super-charged Molly) to beat Bellatrix.
Worst: Colin Creevey
All we can say about Colin is that he was a good kid who was in way over his head. Colin never outgrew his excitement of becoming a wizard, and this led to him underestimating the dangers before him.
In the Dumbledore’s Army meetings, Colin was never shown to excel at any kind of spells that Harry taught, and he was one of the first to be evacuated from the Battle of Hogwarts for being too young; the over-enthusiastic young man met his death because he sneaked back in, believing he could contribute when he clearly had nothing to offer.
Powerful: Albus Dumbledore
What is the point of listing down Albus’ feats when we all know he was unquestionably the greatest wizard that ever lived? When he was still in school, he was tipped to become the next Minister and even those who were far more experienced marveled at what he was able to achieve through magic.
Despite not being a Parselmouth, Dumbledore was somehow fluent in Parseltongue. He never learned any kind of dark magic, yet was able to beat every dark magic move made against him by Voldemort. Finally, the biggest feat any wizard in history ever made was achieved by Albus when he beat the unbeatable Elder Wand used by his counterpart in power, Grindelwald.
Worst: Neville Longbottom (Years 1-4)
You should take this as a compliment toward the Neville we saw from Year Five and onwards because the initial years of this boy comprised truly some of the worst skills we’ve ever seen in the Harry Potter series.
Neville could never do one thing right, and he was seen embarrassing himself on a daily basis because he was inept. He only excelled in Herbology, which let’s face it doesn’t really require wandwork. The easiest evidence for his incompetence was seen in the first book where he tried to physically fight Hermione, who had a wand. Not to mention how he kept messing up spells in Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and especially Potions.
Powerful: Peter Pettigrew
That’s right - the ultimate coward from Gryffindor was easily one of the topmost wizards in terms of strength there ever was. For all the ridicule Peter gets for being weak, he was in fact extremely skilled.
While being a teenager, he became an animagus and somehow mapped out all of Hogwarts. As an adult, he had the power to blow up an entire street by having a wand hidden behind his back. Peter also beat both Ron and Harry at the same time, along with defeating and torturing the Ministry official Bertha Jorkins. Basically, his cowardice enabled him to become an extraordinary wizard; it’s a shame he never saw the best in himself.
