Harry Potter is based on the idea of selfless love for family and friends, and the story starts off with Lily Potter’s sacrifice for her son. Harry and his friends face a lot of hardships that require them to think beyond themselves, and they have many opportunities to display their strength of character. Relatively minor Harry Potter characters like Luna, Neville, and others display such admirable selflessness, too.
1. Alice And Frank Longbottom Refuse To Betray The Order Under Torment
Alice and Frank Longbottom, top-class Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix, are targeted by Bellatrix Lestrange and her cohorts after Voldemort’s disappearance.
Although the Longbottoms have no clue about what happened to Voldemort, they refuse to divulge any of the Order’s secrets out of loyalty to Albus Dumbledore and their allies.
The Longbottoms have a baby boy of their own for whom they could have betrayed the Order, yet they refuse to break under Bellatrix’s intense Cruciatus Curse until they’ve lost their minds. They’re then permanently admitted to St. Mungo’s Hospital without any chance of recovering.
2. Professor McGonagall Defends Hagrid Against Multiple Ministry Wizards
Hagrid is accosted by Ministry wizards on Dolores Umbridge’s orders to drive him out of Hogwarts. This ambush happens without any notice to the Hogwarts staff, and Hagrid is left to fend for himself.
Professor McGonagall witnesses the ambush and arrives to defend Hagrid. She’s up against several highly trained Ministry wizards at the time but has no care for her own safety and stands up for Hagrid.
McGonagall is hit by multiple stunning spells for her intrusion and incapacitated, which angers Hagrid, and he retaliates against the Ministry wizards before fleeing.
3. Rufus Scrimgeour Doesn’t Betray Harry Potter Under The Cruciatus Curse
Harry doesn’t much like Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour due to his shady tactics at the Ministry, but comes to respect him for his final actions. After Voldemort takes over the Ministry of Magic, he confronts Scrimgeour. The latter proves his bravery when he refuses to divulge the location where Harry’s hiding and chooses to perish instead.
Voldemort and his followers subject Scrimgeour to the Cruciatus Curse to force him into betraying Harry, but they’re unable to break him. It’s Scrimgeour’s last act, and his refusal changes Harry’s opinion of him.
4. Hagrid Defends Harry From A Death Eater By Leaping At Him
During the Battle of the Seven Potters, Hagrid nearly loses his life when he tries to protect Harry. When the pair are cornered by Voldemort and his followers just a short distance from safety, they fend off most of their enemies until a Death Eater appears next to Harry and has a clear opportunity to end him.
Hagrid, however, leaps from the safety of the flying motorbike and onto their foe. Hagrid and his foe plummet to the ground as Harry watches with difficulty because it’s so dark.
Hagrid has nothing to save him at this time and cares only for Harry’s safety – he manages to survive on pure luck, because Harry’s Summoning Charm aimed at Hagrid somehow works and he’s pulled into the safety of the Burrow at the last second.
5. Regulus Black Gives His Life To Spare Kreacher And End Voldemort
When Regulus Black learns Voldemort used Kreacher the House-elf to test the defenses of the locket Horcrux he’s hidden in a cave, he realizes just how evil the Dark Lord is. He decides to end Voldemort’s reign by taking the locket, and heads to the cave with Kreacher. Only this time, it’s Kreacher who has to make Regulus drink the poison to get the locket.
Regulus is aware that he won’t be able to evade the Dark Lord after his treachery is exposed, so he orders Kreacher to flee while the Inferi from the lake arrive to drag Regulus to his doom. Nobody ever learns of his heroics – the Wizarding World believes Voldemort ended him for his abandonment rather than for his efforts in claiming the Horcrux. Regulus’s association with Kreacher later helps Harry and his friends take back the locket to get rid of it and complete Regulus’s hopes of bringing Voldemort down.
6. Dobby Rescues Harry’s Friends At The Cost Of His Life
Harry begs for help from the two-way mirror when he and his friends are held at Malfoy Manor. Aberforth Dumbledore, the person on the other side of the mirror, sends Dobby to help them.
The House-elf returns to the manor where he’d been maltreated for many years, putting his own difficulties aside to aid Harry. He willingly enters the place where Voldemort is expected to arrive.
Dobby rescues everyone in Harry’s party, even defying the Malfoys and Bellatrix by saying he’s a free elf and has chosen to be there.
Bellatrix’s dagger pierces him when he disapparates, and he passes in Harry’s arms – at peace rather than afraid of his demise.
7. Luna Lovegood And Neville Longbottom Volunteer To Save Sirius Despite Knowing Nothing About Him
Although Hermione, Ron, and Ginny are very brave to accompany Harry in his rescue mission for Sirius, they are all acquaintances of the latter and have a connection to him.
Luna and Neville have no clue about Sirius’s innocence; their perception is that he’s a dangerous wizard. But the pair still want to be part of Harry’s group that heads to the Department of Mysteries.
For all Luna and Neville know, they’re going to face Voldemort himself to rescue a man who’s supposed to be a criminal. The two end up playing the most important role at the Department of Mysteries when Voldemort’s followers ambush them: Neville prevents them from claiming the prophecy, and Luna saves Ron and Ginny.
Luna and Neville never question Harry and don’t hold it against him when they nearly lose their lives.
8. Neville Longbottom Defies Voldemort To Empower His Allies
After Harry willingly sacrifices himself to Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, the Dark Lord brings his body to Hogwarts to prove that he’s won.
Voldemort lies about the circumstances of Harry’s demise by claiming he was attempting to escape; however, Neville charges at the Dark Lord to slay him. Although Neville is unsuccessful, he brings back the lost spirit from within Harry’s allies.
Despite being restrained, Neville openly defies Voldemort by claiming that he would join him only when “hell freezes over,” which motivates the rest of the resistance to rally together.
Neville is fully aware that Voldemort will try to claim his life for this act of defiance, but seeks to keep the heroes fighting against the dark side. Neville’s actions prompt Harry to stop pretending to be deceased and usher in the final phase of the fight that leads to Voldemort’s defeat.
9. Severus Snape Works As A Double Agent To Protect Harry
Severus Snape takes on the job of being Harry’s protector because he loves Harry’s mom, Lily, which no one knows about except Albus Dumbledore. Snape puts himself in harm’s way against the monster Fluffy to prevent Professor Quirrell from claiming the Sorcerer’s Stone to do away with Harry; he also saves Harry from Quirrell’s curse during the Quidditch game.
Harry and his allies believe Snape is a traitor, and he indeed is not kind to them. But he serves as a double agent by working closely with Voldemort while truly aiding Dumbledore and Harry. Snape is ultimately slain by Voldemort, and his final act is to provide Harry with the memories he needs to learn how to destroy the final Horcrux.
The Wizarding World never gives Snape the respect he deserves for his selfless heroics, and he dies alone.