Highlights
- Only a small number of witches and wizards are skilled duelists in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
- Severus Snape is a competent duelist thanks to his charm competence and talent for Legilimency, allowing him to read opponents’ minds and cast effective counterspells.
- Albus Dumbledore is the undisputed best duelist in the Wizarding World, defeating every opponent he faced with his powerful wand and genius intelligence.
In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, duels can either be a matter of life and death or a simple sparring battle for sport, similar to an activity like fencing in the muggle world. Despite its importance and prevalence in the Wizarding World, only a small number of witches and wizards are well-versed in the arts of dueling since it requires a mastery of both spells and minds alike to read certain situations.
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The gifted duelists of Harry Potter‘s Wizarding World have a rich history of dueling matches that they won the majority of. Therefore, many of these duelists are influential in their respective fields, such as a certain headmaster of a famous wizarding school and the leader of a notorious group of dark wizards.
7 Severus Snape
A Competent Duelist Thanks To Legilimency
- As seen in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows (movie and book)
The Potions Teacher who was Hogwarts’ headmaster for a short period is surprisingly also a good duelist thanks to his charm competence and, most importantly, his talent for the art of Legilimency. By reading his opponents’ minds in duels, he can guess all the incoming spells and cast counterspells accordingly, ensuring a winning duel.
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Moreover, his battle-hardened history also strengthens his position as a duelist. Unfortunately, circumstances during the main story of Harry Potter disallow him to showcase his full dueling prowess, although a glimpse of it is seen when he is dueling Minerva McGonagall at Hogwarts in The Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
6 Alastor Moody
Most Famous Auror Of All Time
- As seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (movie and book)
As the only Auror who managed to fill half of Azkaban with his prisoners, Alastor Moody deserves to be recognized as a competent and skilled duelist. His paranoid and suspicious nature allows him to be extremely careful in all situations, including duels, making him quite difficult to defeat, as he will be sufficiently prepared for every harmful incoming spell.
However, his reputation was also his shortcoming, as he always became concerned about his own safety in his later life. His dueling prowess is also left unused during the last moments of his life, as Voldemort immediately kills him with a Killing Curse.
5 Filius Flitwick
Dueling Champion Of Hogwarts
- As seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (book)
As the designated Charms Master at Hogwarts, Filius Flitwick is naturally gifted at dueling. He is adept at both formally dueling at competitions and informally, when casting a spell slower can mean an instant death. His trained knowledge of charms and various spells gives him an edge to beat his opponents in duels.
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As the former Dueling Champion, Flitwick also has the credentials to back up his prowess as a dueling master with a shelf full of trophies. He managed to help Professor McGonagall chase Severus Snape out of Hogwarts in the books and also defeated the infamous Antonin Dolohov, who managed to murder Remus Lupin in the Battle of Hogwarts.
4 Kingsley Shacklebolt
One Of The Order Of The Phoenix’s Most Powerful Members
- As seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (movie and book)
Although movie watchers might not know his full prowess, devoted fans of the Harry Potter series will know how underrated Kingsley Shacklebolt is. He is one of the most powerful members of the Order of the Phoenix due to his impressive dueling skills, which makes him able to survive the Battle of Hogwarts and become the Acting Minister for Magic.
Shacklebolt’s variety of well-balanced skills proves to be useful in duels, as he can conjure the perfect spells and counterspells when facing Death Eaters. Even Voldemort himself seems to regard Shacklebolt as one of the most powerful wizards during his lifetime.
3 Voldemort
The Notorious Dark Lord Of Death Eaters
- As seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (movie and book)
The notorious Dark Lord, Voldemort, is known to be feared due to his brutality as the leader of the Death Eaters and his respectable skill as a wizard. His cunningness and viciousness allow him to wield a repertoire of dark magic that permits him to cast a variety of Dark Art spells, including the Unforgivable Curses, with great ease and conviction.
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However, this seems to be his undoing as well, since his fear of mortality makes him desperate enough to construct Horcruxes and divide his soul, which makes him vulnerable in his last duel against Harry Potter. One might argue that in his prime, Voldermort could be an equal in a duel against Dumbledore.
2 Gellert Grindelwald
The One And Only Wizard To Match Dumbledore’s Prowess
- As seen in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Devoted fans of the Harry Potter series will be aware of how a duel between Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore shook the Wizarding World as it became the most famous duel in wizarding history, leading to the end of the global wizarding war. The legendary aspect of the duel boils down to the fact that Grindelwald’s skills in dueling are more than enough to give Dumbledore a hard time during the duel.
Grindelwald is also quite proficient in the Dark Arts and uses this expertise to aid him in duels, making any confrontation with him so tricky that a wizard or witch will most likely consider avoiding a battle with him out of fear of defeat. Though Grindelwald is arguably one of the best duelists in the entire Wizarding World, a certain headmaster proved that he wasn’t invincible.
1 Albus Dumbledore
The Undisputed Best Duelist Of The Wizarding World
- As seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (movie and book)
Simply being known as the headmaster of Hogwarts would not do too much justice to Dumbledore’s dueling prowess, as he was able to defeat every opponent he faced in the past. Dumbledore’s spotless dueling history also comes from the fact that he wields the most powerful wand in existence, the Elder Wand, which complements his mastery over a plethora of powerful spells.
His genius intelligence further enhances his dueling ability, as he can outwit his opponents in a duel, which proves to be incredibly useful when he ends the global wizarding war by defeating the infamous Gellert Grindelwald. In The Order of the Phoenix, he proved himself capable during his battle against Voldemort by successfully countering the Dark Lord’s spells at every turn.
