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Throughout Harry Potter, audiences meet many Hogwarts students, some of whom Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) considers friends, and others he doesn’t. Yet only a select few have memorable roles. Of course, Hermoine (Emma Watson), Ron (Rupert Grint), and most of the other students have their moments on screen, but one unlucky student gets passed over in almost every scene they appear in.

No, not Neville (Matthew Lewis), who has his own unlucky streak, but Katie Bell (Georgina Leonidas). Though she appears in most films, Katie doesn’t get the recognition that many do. A Gryffindor in the year above Harry and a talented Quidditch player, most of Katie’s scenes involve her getting beat up, and the moments cut from the films only build on that. Katie quietly has the worst luck, yet it doesn’t deter her from taking risks, proving she is in the right house.

Katie Bell Suffers in Her Biggest Harry Potter Scene

Of course, her most memorable scene is in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when she is accidentally cursed by a necklace meant for Dumbledore. Katie has the misfortune of running into Draco (Tom Felton) alone, so he uses her for his plan. Not only is Katie put under the Imperius Curse, which is one of the three Unforgivable Curses, but accidental contact with the necklace sends her into the air. Fortunately, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are there to see and get her help, but it is still an unlucky coincidence that she got the necklace in the first place and that the package opened enough for her to touch it. While this is the worst thing that happened to her, Katie’s bad luck has been proven long before.

Katie Bell Has Several Quidditch Injuries

For much of the series, Katie is best known as Harry’s Quidditch teammate. While Harry is the youngest Hogwarts Quidditch player, Katie is close, being on Gryffindor’s team in her second year, playing her first match alongside Harry. As a chaser, part of her position on the team is getting hit with bludgers, and she does many times. Though the films cut several of the games and the ones they keep focus on Harry’s search for the snitch, the books detail what his teammates experience, and, in Katie’s case, it’s not pretty. A bludger collides with Katie’s head in her first match, but she keeps playing. Because they are made of black iron, bludgers pose a major threat in Quidditch. So, although this incident did not cause Katie serious damage, it had to hurt her.

However, Katie keeps coming back to the pitch, allowing her bad luck to continue. In an especially brutal match against Slytherin cut from the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film, one opponent pulls her back by her hair and sends her flipping through the air. Katie manages to stay on her broom and is awarded a penalty shot that earns Gryffindor points. In Quidditch, Katie shows impressive resilience, but she certainly goes through a lot.

Bad Luck Follows Katie, But She Doesn’t Let It Stop Her

In addition to her Quidditch injuries, Katie has other unfortunate experiences. The films cut one of Hogwarts’ biggest hazards: Peeves. The poltergeist often pranks the students, including Katie, who once got an entire ink bottle poured over her head, thanks to Peeves. She is also the victim of one of the Weasley twins’ pranks…though not on purpose. In Book 5, Ron hits Katie in the face with a quaffle during Quidditch practice, giving her a nosebleed. If that isn’t unlucky enough, Fred (James Phelps) and George (Oliver Phelps) offer to help by giving her an invention of theirs – a piece of candy meant to stop nosebleeds. Unfortunately, the twins gave her the wrong invention. Katie actually ate a Blood Blisterpod, also called a Nosebleed Nougat, which enhanced her nosebleed, sending her to the infirmary. Though an accident, it is another example of the bad luck that seems to follow Katie.

Yet her constant misfortune never deterred her, and Katie was among those fighting in the battle of Hogwarts despite having already graduated. In a surprising twist, she even survived the bloody fight, turning her luck around. Despite everything, Katie never gave up, facing the bludgers, death eaters, and other dangers while knowing the risks she took and earning her place in Gryffindor. Though Katie’s role is small, she has a big impact as a teammate and supporter of Harry’s, yet she is really only remembered for the one dramatic curse scene.