Nerd Movie Reviews

Harry Potter Characters MBTI

Harry: INFP
Here we have the main character, the one most frequently seen on Harry Potter movie t shirts. A member of House Gryffindor. While it’s not always the case that the main character is the author, and while not all books are autobiographies, it’s still true that the main character frequently has a piece of the author inside of them. JK Rowling is typically typed as INFP or INFJ by the fandom, so it’s no surprise that Harry is an INFP. Harry worries about his competence, reflecting inferior extraverted thinking. He also is a little fussy about having things just right, but is overall disorganized, reflecting tertiary introverted sensing and his overall Perceiving nature. He makes decisions by following his heart and has a frowzy, disheveled appearance, reflecting dominant introverted feeling and secondary extraverted intuition.

Hermione: ISTJ
A lot of people are tempted to type Hermione as INTP or INTJ, but I’m going to dispute that. First of all, Hermione is far too organized and by the book to really be an INTP, because INTPs are famously oddballs. INTJs are organized, but they’re also unconventional and typically do not memorize their sources or internalize concrete information precisely, preferring abstraction. Her preference for concrete, memorized information speaks to dominant introverted sensing. Additionally, Hermione’s organization and excellence in a conventional setting speaks to an SJ with Te. So Hermione is ISTJ.

Luna Lovegood: INTP

INTPs are known for being the single weirdest type. Luna’s spaciness and absent-minded nature fit perfectly with the traits of the INTP. She is also very unconventional, and spends her time on hobbies that are strange and esoteric even by wizarding standards. Another factor that clues us into her type is her role in the story. Like many INTP characters, she plays a peripheral role in the story. Her position as a “side” character is one of the biggest clues that she is INTP, because INTPs in fiction are almost never main characters.

Remus Lupin: INFJ

At first blush, one is tempted to type Lupin as INTJ. He’s mysterious, intelligent, and a loner. One knows almost nothing about him. In the books, he presents as an oracular presence, an unknown quantity. Additionally, he teaches a self-defense class (Defense Against The Dark Arts) which seems like a very INTJ thing to do. However, Lupin is simply too soft to be an INTJ. And when we have someone who looks and acts like an INTJ but just doesn’t appear cold and hard enough, then we know that we have to change that third letter: INFJ.

Severus Snape: INTP

This one may come as a surprise. Because of his hardness, many people type Snape as INTJ. However, when we get a glimpse into his past, we see something shocking: he was bullies when he was younger. INTJs are rarely the sort of people to have been bullied in their pasts. So while Snape has all the hallmarks of an INTx character, that fourth letter can be difficult because those two types often appear so similar from the outside. The decision on how we resolve his final letter is made by noticing his past.