Fans know a lot when it comes to the students of the Hogwarts wizarding academy, and the top students from that school remain some of the most powerful and accomplished wizards in history. When names like Harry Potter rank low on the list of the best students at Hogwarts, it is clear that there have been some tremendous wizards and witches that walked through its halls. Just looking at names like Dumbledore and Voldemort proves that the school has delivered the most powerful men and women in the realm of the Harry Potter world. However, Hogwarts is just one school that exists in this fictional world.
There are a total of eight schools in the world of Harry Potter. While Hogwarts is located in Scotland, there are also schools in France, Brazil, North America, Japan, Uganda, Russia, and Northern Europe. During the story told in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, fans met students of two other schools in Brauxbatons and Durmstrang, as they sent competitors to compete for the Goblet of Fire. When Fantastic Beasts came along, the North American school gained some prominence. With each of the schools, there were some powerful characters introduced in the extended universe. Here is a look at the 20 most powerful non-Hogwarts students that is known in the Harry Potter world.
POLIAKOFF
Poliakoff arrived at the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire alongside Viktor Krum, representing Durmstrang Institute. However, while Krum was the wizard involved in the competition, Poliakoff was really seen as nothing more than a joke – even by his own headmaster from Durmstrang, Igor Karkaroff.
While Krum was shown to be a legitimately powerful wizard based on his success in the competition, Poliakoff was shown to be much less. Karkaroff called him a “disgusting boy,” pointing out that he was a slob. He entered his name for the competition but was shown no respect by Karkaroff. He also was very awkward, pointing at Harry’s scar on his head without understanding.
GABRIELLE DELACOUR
There isn’t too much known about Gabrielle Delacour, but her one major appearance in the Harry Potter franchise made her nothing more than a child needing to be saved. Gabrielle is a Beauxbatons Academy of Magic student and was the younger sister of Fleur Delacour, who competed in the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
While Fleur was in the competition, one of the events saw someone close to each competitor taken and held captive in the Black Lake. Since Gabrielle was treasured by Fleur over anyone else, she was taken. Her sister was unable to save her and Harry Potter rescued her instead. On her own talents, she was only eight and had her own wand, making her the level of a fourth year Hogwarts student.
VINCENT DUC DE TREFLE-PICQUES
Vincent Duc de Trefle-Picques was a student at the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France. He was one of three extremely noteworthy students of the school from its past. Created as a school in 1290, Beauxbatons had one student that created the Philosopher’s Stone and another who was a villain that poisoned Muggles.
However, when it comes to Vincent Duc de Trefle-Picques, he was known for an underwhelming – but an ingenious – reason. During the Terror in the French Revolution in 1794, when enemies were executed regularly, he was able to keep his head by casting a Concealment Charm on his own neck to pretend that he was already decapitated. His magical powers were enough to keep him alive until the danger passed.
LUC MILLEFEUILLE
One of the most despicable former students of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France was a wizard by the name of Luc Millefeuille. While there were notorious rumors of certain Dark Wizards such as Gellert Grindelwald who would set out to eliminate Muggles by any means necessary, Millefeuille did the same thing in a cowardly and underhanded manner.
Millefeuille used his magical skills to become a pâtissier, otherwise known as a maker of pastries and cakes, and he sold his pastries to Muggles. Sadly for all his customers, he also used his magical skills to poison the pastries, which took the life of many Muggles through the years. It is unknown if Millefeuille was a pureblood or hated Muggles based on a relative being one.
MAHOUTOKORO POTIONS CHAMPION
When someone doesn’t even have a name, they can’t be considered that powerful. However, when it comes to the Mahoutokoro potions champion, a case can be made for their consideration. For those unfamiliar with the school, the Mahoutokoro School of Magic is located in Japan on the top of the volcanic island of Minami Iwo Jima. It is also one of the oldest wizarding schools in existence.
The Mahoutokoro potions champion, in this particular case, has an interesting story. He was a very skilled potioneer by the time he turned 17 and was competing for the golden cauldron at the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship. He tried to get an early lead and faced off with a River Troll. He incapacitated the troll with a Shrinking Solution, proving himself a formidable wizard.
JOAO COELHO
Joao Coelho attended the Castelobruxo Brazilian wizarding school, which included students from all over South America. The school is as old as Hogwarts and, just like the Scottish school, looks like ruins when Muggles see it. There are three known students from this school, one of which was just known as a pen pal to William Weasley.
However, the lesser of the other two more powerful students of Castelobruxo was Joao Coelho. There is not too much known about him outside of the fact that he was a skilled Quidditch player and the captain of the world-renowned Quidditch organization located in Peru, the Tarapoto Tree-Skimmers, of which he served as the team captain.
OLYMPE MAXIME
When someone can stand next to Rubeus Hagrid and make him look small in comparison, it causes people to take notice. Olympe Maxime was the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France and showed up for the first time when she brought her students to the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She stood over 11.5 feet tall.
Maxime’s parents were a magical parent and a giant, meaning she was a half-giantess. While her education was never spoken of, the fact she became Headmistress at Beauxbatons insinuates that she was also a student there in the past. Hagrid said that she cast a Conjunctivitis Curse to save him when he was ambushed by giants, so she is an accomplished duelist. She can also resist many spells as a half-giantess.
FLEUR DELACOUR
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hogwarts had two major competitors at the Triwizard Tournament as Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory took on Viktor Krum from Durmstrang and Fleur Delacour from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. While Fleur was a strong competitor, the tournament ended badly with the return of Voldemort and the passing of Diggory.
However, that was not the end of Delacour’s story. She went on to take a job at the Gringotts Wizarding Bank and ended up marrying none other than Bill Weasley. Now a close ally to the Weasley family, Delacour was one of the witches who fought in the Battle of Hogwarts against Voldemort and the Death Eaters, for which she received medals of bravery.
VIKTOR KRUM
Viktor Krum showed up at the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as the representative for Durmstrang Institute. While his school had a bad reputation for their past affiliation with pureblood zealots like Gellert Grindelwald, Krum wasn’t actually that bad of a guy. He even won over Hermione, who he took to the Yule Ball and developed a lifetime friendship with.
Later in his life, Krum represented Bulgaria in Quidditch matches until 2002. He returned in 2014 at the age of 38 and helped Bulgaria win the World Cup Final, proving his mastery of the game. As a wizard, he was a skilled flyer, had success with transfiguration, and was an accomplished duelist. He also learned how to use the Dark Arts, although he never was a Dark Wizard.
QUEENIE GOLDSTEIN
Possibly the most tragic character from the first two Fantastic Beasts movies is Queenie Goldstein. Before the events of the movies, Queenie was a student at the Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America, along with her sister Tina. Her biggest strength as a witch was Legilimens, which is the ability to capture the feelings and memories from someone else.
This allowed her to not only fall in love with a Muggle named Jacob Kowalski but also manipulate his emotions in the second movie to keep him with her despite their problems as a couple. Sadly, as powerful as Queenie was, she was also easily manipulated and fell under the charms of Gellert Grindelwald, betraying her friends and family and joining his cause under false pretenses of it being a way for Muggles and magical beings to live together in peace.
IGOR KARKAROFF
Igor Karkaroff made his first appearance in the world of Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He was the Headmaster at the Durmstrang Institute and accompanied Viktor Krum for the Triwizard Tournament. What is most interesting is that before he was the Headmaster at the school, he was actually one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War.
Karkaroff avoided punishment for his crimes by turning over the names of other Death Eaters for a pardon. Not only was he pardoned, but he was then tasked with teaching young wizards at his own school. In order to be a Death Eater, a wizard must possess immense powers, so it is clear that Karkaroff is a strong magical user. However, he paid for betraying the Death Eaters when they hunted him and cut him down after Voldemort returned.
WEBSTER BOOT
While Webster Boot was actually homeschooled, he was still an accomplished wizard. His school, located in Massachusetts, was created by Webster’s parents as a way to train their two sons, with the goal of giving them a similar education from a school like Hogwarts.
Webster received great training and was so accomplished by the age of 11 that others began to come to his parents to learn and that eventually grew into the Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America. Webster then grew into a powerful wizard and began to work as an Auror for hire, proving his skills in combat. He eventually moved to England and married a Scottish witch. While he was educated by his parents, he sent his own children and their descendants to Hogwarts.
TINA GOLDSTEIN
Tina Goldstein is pretty much the co-lead in the Fantastic Beasts movies, sharing the role with former Hogwarts student Newt Scamander. Goldstein got her education at the Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America, along with her sister Queenie. A half-blood, she was an Auror after graduating for the Magical Congress in America, but was fired when she assaulted a woman for beating her child. She got her job back after helping arrest Gellert Grindelwald.
Tina is a powerful witch, which she had to be in order to be accepted into Auror training. She is a great duelist and is skilled at charms, transfiguration, divination, defense against the Dark Arts, apparition, and nonverbal magic. She also has an indomitable will, which makes her an extremely powerful opponent, even resisting Gellert Grindelwald while her sister fell to his charms.
CHADWICK BOOT
Chadwick Boot was trained as a child by his parents, homeschooled with his brother Webster Boot. Their education was strong and both became accomplished wizards. It was so impressive that others began to come for training and it ended up developing into the Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America, a school based on the methods of teaching of Hogwarts in Scotland.
While Webster went on and became an Auror for hire, Chadwick was more skilled in technical magical skills and was a master at Charms. As a matter of fact, Chadwick was so brilliant in this area that he published his own seven-volume book called Chadwick’s Charms, which is used at Ilvermony to teach wizards those skills. He was also a powerful duelist and teamed with his brother to beat a Dark Witch named Gormalaith Gaunt when he was only 16.
RIONACH STEWARD
Rionach Steward was a half-blood American witch whose parents helped found the Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While Chadwick and Webster Boot were adopted sons of Isolt Sayre and James Steward, Rionach was a birth daughter to the two people who built the institution from a homeschool into a preeminent wizardry academy. As a baby, it was her cries that saved her parents from the Dark Witch Gormalaith Gaunt thanks to the power of a child’s love.
Rionach chose never to marry and never had any children, and there were strong rumors it was because she could speak Parseltongue and chose not to pass on the Slytherin ancestry to another generation – at least in her lineage. She was so steadfast that she developed strong skills in defense against the Dark Arts and became the first instructor for that course at Ilvermony.
BABAJIDE AKINGBADE
Not much is known about Babajide Akingbade outside of the fact that he was, in fact, a very powerful wizard. He was born in Africa and attended the Uagadou School of Magic in Uganda and graduated from there around the year 1995. That school was located in the Mountains of the Moon in western Uganda and is the largest of all wizarding schools, accepting students from all over Africa.
The students in this school mastered astronomy, alchemy, and self-transfiguration. One advantage that students here have over those at Hogwarts is that they don’t need wands and can point their fingers to cast spells. Akingbade took over the role of the Supreme Mugwump when Dumbledore was voted out after announcing Voldemort’s return.
SERAPHINA PICQUERY
Seraphina Picquery first showed up in the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and it was obvious from the start that she was a powerful witch. This is because she was the President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America for eight years and was a strong leader.
She was a student at the Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, starting there at the age of 11. She was so talented that she was offered her choice of any of the four houses at her sorting ceremony, something that was extremely rare. She was also chosen by a very powerful wand known as the Violetta Beauvais wand, which was easily susceptible to Dark Magic but never corrupted her.
LIBATIUS BORAGE
Libatius Borage was a South American wizard who was known for his potions, called by many the world’s most famous potioneer. As a child, he attended the Castelobruxo wizarding school in Brazil. There are only three known students that have been introduced in the world of Harry Potter from this school, and Borage was clearly the most distinguished.
Borage wrote the books Advanced Potion-Making and Asiatic Anti-Venoms – both books taught in the N.E.W.T.-level classes at Hogwarts, and assumedly other wizardry schools around the world. They are also used for O.W.L.-level classes as well, proving that Borage was a master at potions. Interestingly, as great and masterful as Borage was, it is often believed that Severus Snape was actually more skilled at potions and often improved the originals.
NICOLAS FLAMEL
Nicolas Flamel showed up most recently in the movie Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. However, with that said, he was mentioned quite a bit in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, as he played a very important role in that story. Flamel was a student at Beauxbatons, attending the school in the early 14th century. It is said that he funded the chateau and grounds after he enjoyed success as an adult.
He was a brilliant alchemist and it was Flamel that created the Philosopher’s Stone. He also created the Elixir of Life, which he used to live for a very long time. He was over 600 years old when he met Newt Scamander and Jacob, and helped them in their battle with Grindelwald. He eventually sacrificed his and his wife’s lives by destroying the stone and using up the rest of his Elixir.
GELLERT GRINDELWALD
When talking about the most powerful non-Hogwarts students in the world of Harry Potter, sadly the man who sits at the top of this list is one of the vilest villains in the entire universe – Gellert Grindelwald. While there were Hogwarts students more powerful than him, specifically Dumbledore and Voldemort, Grindelwald is possibly the third most powerful wizard in existence.
He went to the Durmstrang Institute, and while that school seemed to have no problems with wizards pushing the limits of decency, they wouldn’t even stand for Grindelwald using dark experiments on fellow students. He soon developed a huge cult following and started an internal war in the magical community, one that only Dumbledore could eventually end. Only Dumbledore could beat him and only Voldemort could end him.
