Luna. Cute & loopy. And underneath that, pretty smart. If Rowling were to ever write in the Harry universe again, I’d love to see a series of Luna books.
I chose Ron. I liked that he never allowed anyone to bully him. Even when he was outnumbered, or when his wand was broken, or when they were bigger or stronger than him, he always stood up for himself. I think that helped set the tone for how Harry lived in the magical world.
Luna for reasons listed above, plus the parent in me thinks she’d be a delight to have as a kid.
i remember reading book 7 and there was a mention of harry seeing a picture of luna before her mum passed. from what harry said of the picture, her mother did delight in her.
It was really tough, but I finally settled on Neville. I just love how Harry angsts about his situation (which is, to be fair, terrible), but then sees Neville’s parents and feels like total shit.
I also love how Neville developed–from a pudgy, pitiable misfit, to a strong, confident young man. Though even in his pitiable misfit stage, there were hints as to what he would become (for example, his standing up to the trio in the first book when they went to stop “Snape” from finding the philosopher’s stone).
The trio + Neville echo the Marauders, in a way. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are of course like James, Sirius, and Lupin…but Neville is sort of the anti-Peter. He’s what Peter COULD have been had he been a truly loyal friend. While he took the coward’s way out, Neville decided to stand up for what was right.
I like Luna too (not my favorite, but definitely on my list of favorites) but I honestly don’t think she’s the type of character who could carry a book series. Loopy characters quickly become boring when they’re spotlighted as the protagonist (see Ian Malcolm, who was very cool and quirky in *Jurassic Park *and became dull as dishwater in JP II when saddled with a kid, a girlfriend, and leading-man responsibilities).
If Rowling were to feature Luna I would rather see her as a major secondary character (like Ron or Hermione) with someone else (for example, Ginny) as the lead. Hmmm…Ginny, Luna and Neville would make a good trio for another book/series. 
Hell, yes - I’d read that!
I like Luna, Snape and Mad-Eye Moody very much indeed, but voted for Hermione. She’s smart, plucky, exasperating, adorable and strong. And, as played by Emma Watson, more and more beautiful as the movies went on.
Umbridge is the best villain of the books or movies - even more deliciously hissable than Voldemort himself, I think.
I plunked for Snape, not without regret. Luna is lovably batty and all too often right with her cool observations; Hagrid is forthright, instinctively loyal, and an animal lover; and my wife and I spent the entire series rooting for Neville to metamorphose from caterpillar to warrior. It’s a sign of Rowling’s good sense that she didn’t let Neville fall by the wayside.
But for me at least, Snape validates the other characters. By being so un-lovable throughout the series, but still a good guy, he avoids the juvenile trope of “nice people are pretty and good guys, not-nice people are ugly and bad guys.” And throughout the series, Snape alternates between coolly enduring encounters with Voldemort that would induce knee-buckling, robe-wetting terror in the rest of us with scenes of getting no respect from our trio of main characters, albeit less coolly. 
Characters and scenes that would be cloyingly sweet are offset by Snape’s sourness; learning that he’s a tragic hero by the end of the series somehow (for me, anyway) takes away some of that cloyingness and redeems some of those other characters and scenes. For me at least.
“I enjoyed being in the DA. It was almost like having friends.”
Luna. If I was a guy I’d totally hit that. I wanted her for Harry, too.
Fred and George. Whenever they pop up things get fun.
Fred and George. I should probably be going for “other” as a Harry Potter geek, and then referencing some really obscure character, but Fred and George are just all-around awesome. Plus they are hilarious. There’s no reason NOT to like them - well, no reason that I can think of.
Hermione, Luna, and Sirius were close contenders. Sirius was one of the most complex characters in the series, yet he was also a cool, bad-ass guy. Hermione would probably have been my second choice - she’s a nicer person than Sirius (she’s certainly more decent than he was as a kid), and she reminds me of myself in some ways. Luna is fun as well; she really doesn’t care what anyone else says, she just goes on being herself. I wish I could have learned more about her. I guess I just picked the Weasley twins because I get to pick two of my favorite characters rather than just one - I really love all of the characters!
I liked Ginny in the books, and the Bonnie Wright played her well in the movies, but the problem in the movies was that she was too submissive. At one point, she ties Harry’s shoelace for him. In the books, Ginny was very much her own mind (she wouldn’t even let Dean Thomas help her through the portrait hole when they were dating). I guess I just thought that Ginny’s “girl power” was lost in the later movies when she was doing everything for Harry. But that’s just my opinion.
I liked book-Ginny better too. And, if you’ll pardon me for saying so, I thought the actress, unlike Emma Watson as Hermione, got less attractive as she got older. She was cute as a button when she first appeared.
No votes for Lucius Malfoy? Too bad. He was a very interesting character - fascinating to see him go from imperious to near-broken.
No votes for Draco either. But the Bangkok Post reprinted I think it was a British piece on the actor: Growing Up Evil.
He would have been my second choice, behind Snape. I always thought he (and his whole family) got more fascinating as the series went on, going from stock baddies to characters with a lot of depth and motivation.
that is it exactly. i think that harry, ron, and hermione are more nurturing which is why they treat neville as an equal rather than a mascot like james and sirius did.
harry, ron, and hermione have had experience with bullying and extreme teasing, they tended to stick up for or encourage those who were in that situation.
Quoth Anaamika:
I’m a big fan of “eccentric”, too, but personally, I was a Luna/Neville shipper. Neither one of them got nearly the respect they deserved from the other characters.
But my vote’s still for the biggest nerd.
I was strongly tempted to vote for Snape, who is by far the most interesting and, indeed, the most heroic (and perhaps, ultimately, most admirable) character, but he certainly isn’t likeable, which seems to what the OP wants.
I actually voted for Sirius, although both Ron and Lupin run him close for likeability. Rowling really shafted Lupin in Deathly Hallows, just so Harry and Hermione could hog all the limelight.
Yeah. I generally think the trio + Neville were like the Marauders, only nicer. I think the reason for this is that the Marauders were among the more popular kids in school (James and Sirius were, anyway), whereas Harry and his friends are on the lower end of the totem pole.
I confess I can never tell Fred and George apart. To me they’re pretty much interchangeable. Sorry!