15 underappreciated ladies of Harry Potter

Parvati Patil

Parvati Patil has an identical twin named Padma, and both of them are frankly underutilized in the Potter-verse. Despite being identical twins, the Sorting Hat puts them in different houses. Parvati goes to Gryffindor, where she becomes best friends with Lavender Brown. The two of them share a love for Divination and are apparently as boy crazy as each other, something Hermione often notes with disdain.

In general, Parvati seems unconcerned with the opinions of others, but she does stand up against bullies like Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson regularly. Her voice is one of reason and fairness; when she raises it, it’s to call out situations where people are being unnecessarily terrible to others, which is a cool way to manifest the bravery that sorted her into Gryffindor.

Parvati joins Dumbledore’s Army in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and later assists with the resistance movement when Lord Voldemort turns Hogwarts into a Dark Arts school. She fights in the final battle, but it’s unclear if she survived — her name is not on the list of casualties, so we can assume she did.

As one of the only named characters of color in the Potter-verse who has actual dialogue, Parvati carries a lot of weight with her. The inclusion of her and her twin sister is important, especially because neither of them is willing to take anyone’s guff. When Harry is rude to her at the Yule Ball, Parvati lets him hear it. Then she ends the night with another boy, whom she ends up dating for a while after. Honestly? Good for her.