A “Harry Potter” Horror Movie

Horror movies are a lot of fun, but sometimes it’s easy to predict which characters will fill certain roles, such as who will be the first to die and who will be the last one standing. I thought it would fun to see which tropes some of the Harry Potter characters would fall into if they ended up in a generic horror movie.

1. Ron – The First to Die

The first character to die in any horror movie is the one who separates from the group due to some mundane reason, such as going to get food, needing to use the bathroom, etc. I chose Ron for this role because he does seem like the kind of person who would split off from the group. Additionally, he’s canonically been the first one to fall several times in the books. This includes the time when he got taken out by the chess board, as well as when he got dragged off by Sirius. Therefore, in this horror movie, Ron is the first death.

2. Harry – I’ll Go Look for Him

Usually, horror movie characters notice that something’s up after their friend doesn’t come back, but at this point, they rarely realize the true magnitude of the danger they’re in. As such, this is the point where it’s not uncommon for members of their group to split up and go look for their friend. And Harry would absolutely be the type of person to go off alone to search for his best friend. After all, there’s no way he’d leave Ron behind, and it’s not like he has the best sense of caution. So the Boy-Who-Lived becomes the second to die.

3. Hermione – Figured It Out Too Late

At some point, the horror movie characters have to realize what they’re up against. Whether it’s an unstoppable killer or some kind of monster, the movie would be pretty dull if the characters remained in the dark. So someone needs to figure it out. And out of all the Harry Potter characters, Hermione would definitely be the one to do that. She’s smart, observant, and good at putting together clues. Of course, the movie can’t end just yet, so despite almost making it back to the other three, she gets caught, likely within sight of them. Sadly, any knowledge she had dies with her.

4. Neville – Heroic Last Stand

By now, the characters have caught a glimpse of what’s hunting them and realized that their other friends are probably dead too. It’s time to get out. But luck isn’t going to be on their side. As they’re running, someone’s going to trip on a tree root, have their foot go through a rotten floorboard, etc. And let’s face it: That person would be Neville. But Neville is more than just his bad luck. When faced with the realization that he’s slowing the girls down, Neville is brave enough to tell them to go on without him and that he’ll try to hold it off. Of course, Neville won’t make it out of that confrontation alive, but he might be able to get a good shot it.

5. Ginny – Final Jump Scare

This is the part where the characters think it’s over, that they’ve made it to safety. This could be because they think their killer has been taken out or that they managed to get far enough away that it doesn’t matter. The audience knows better, but the characters start to relax and let their guard down. And that’s when the killer swoops in for one last kill, in this case taking out Ginny. I gave Ginny this role for two reasons. First, Ginny is brave and protective of her friends and therefore would be likely to put herself between the killer and Luna, sadly to her own detriment. And second, this puts Luna in the perfect role.

6. Luna – Last Girl Standing

As the last girl standing, Luna actually gets to defeat, although not necessarily kill, the villain and make it out alive. Luna fits this role perfectly since she’s creative enough that she could probably create a plan on the fly. Furthermore, if the killer or monster has any unusual fears or weaknesses, Luna carries around enough strange things that there’s a decent chance she’d have whatever she needs to take advantage of that on her. Essentially, if any character can pull a deus ex machina out of their pockets, it would be her. Furthermore, Luna also fits the role well, because if she tries to tell anyone what happens after she staggers back to civilization, no one will believe her. After all, she’s just Loony Lovegood. And so the threat remains.