15 years ago today, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets hit theaters. Fans had already spent a handful of years exploring the wizarding world in J.K. Rowling’s books, but on November 15, 2002, we got to see Harry’s adventures unfold on the big screen for the second time. From there, the Potter films only got better (last year, we revisited and ranked all eight movies).

In honor of Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry finding the Chamber of Secrets and destroying Tom Riddle’s diary 15 years ago, the ScreenCrush team ranked the very best characters of the franchise — and before you start asking questions, we’re only talking the movie versions here, not the books. As our rather idiosyncratic list proves, every Potter fan has their personal favorites. Our ranking may spark debates as fiery as Hagrid’s dragon’s breath, but that just shows how dynamic of a world Rowling created, full of characters made up of varying shades of good and evil, all worthy of acclaim.

Without further ado, the 25 best Harry Potter movie characters.

More From Y105