The Dresden Files characters

The Dresden Files series features a diverse cast of complicated characters.

Main Characters

Harry Dresden

Species: Human (Wizard)

Occupation: Private investigator/Warden, Regional Commander of eastern parts of North America

Main article: Harry Dresden

Karrin Murphy

Species: Human

Occupation: Sergent in the Chicago PD assigned to Special Investigations

Main article: Karrin Murphy

"Bob"

Species: Air elemental (spirit of intellect)

Occupation: Wizard's assistant

Bob is an air spirit of intellect who resides in a human skull owned by Harry. Before him, Bob was owned by Justin DuMorne, and before DuMorne, a powerful necromancer by the name of Heinrich Kemmler. According to Jim Butcher, "Etienne the Enchanter picked it (Bob's skull) up on the cheap, back in medieval France, and skulls weren't exactly uncommon. Etienne himself probably had it for the reason that so many writers and sages had skulls hanging around--to make their office look cooler. Etienne, though, is the one who originally laid out the enchantment on the skull to enable it to be a little home-away-from-home for Bob, and he's been passed down, wizard-to-wizard, ever since."

Bob is a massive repository of magical knowledge, in to which he allows Harry to tap between wisecracks and attempts to be allowed out of his skull. Because of Harry's inability to use modern electronic information storage devices and his limited helpful contacts with supernatural knowledge, Bob is an invaluable asset to Harry. At some point he had gained the disfavor of Queen Mab, an event he constantly refers to when dragged into the Nevernever. Part of his personality and memory inherited from Kemmler (mostly dealing with necromancy) has been locked away to keep Bob benign. Harry apparently gave him the name Bob; what name he might have possessed prior to that, if any, is unknown.

According to Luccio, in Small Favor, it is stated that Bob was a "Mini-Archive," but the wardens had destroyed him, when Kemmler was destroyed. In actuality, DuMorne—a Warden at the time, but already at least planning to turn traitor—did not destroy Bob and took the skull into his possession, whence it then passed to Harry after the two dueled. While Harry did not seem to know how dangerous the White Council considered Bob, he has not revealed his possession of the air spirit to many people, and then only out of absolute necessity without going into detail what he is.

Bob's personality seems to change depending on who has possession of his physical skull. With Harry he is somewhat lazy, wise-cracking, and more than a little lecherous. When allowed to remember being kept by Kemmler, he became out-right murderous and spiteful, nearly killing Harry but for limitations Bob begged Harry to make before ordering him to remember. When stolen by a necromancer, Bob became largely cold and business-like, simply giving information as needed, but returning to his personality under Dresden upon being dropped. Changes in his personality are accompanied by a change in his eye color, such as being orange when owned by Dresden but red when remembering Kemmler, or blue when he was in the hands of a necromancer. Moreover, when wounded (probably by colliding with a ward) his eyes turned purple.

When allowed out of his skull, Bob is susceptible to attack and will be harmed by sunlight. He can also possess living beings, often riding within Harry's cat, Mister, as both a protection from daylight and to be less obvious than an orange cloud of lights.

In the TV adaptation, Bob is the ghost of a damned warlock, rather than a spirit of intellect, and appears in human form, played by Terrence Mann. For details of this character, see Bob (Dresden Files).

Molly Carpenter

Species: Human (Wizard)

Occupation: High-school student, oldest child of Michael and Charity Carpenter, and as of Proven Guilty, apprentice to Harry Dresden.

Initially a rebel teen daughter of Michael and his wife Charity, Molly soon becomes a more central character during the events of Proven Guilty.

Margaret "Molly" Katherine Amanda Carpenter, during the events of Proven Guilty, seeks out the help of Dresden when her boyfriend is arrested as a suspect in an assault. As Harry investigates the case, he discovers that Molly has manifested as a wizard and has been unwittingly using dark magic in an attempt to help two friends shake off their drug addictions. Realizing that she has broken one of the Laws of Magic by her well-intentioned interference, Molly agrees to accept the consequences of her actions and face the judgment of the White Council.

By outmaneuvering the Merlin at Molly's trial, Dresden stalled the trial long enough for Ebenezar McCoy, Martha Liberty, and Injun Joe to show up, along with Molly's father, Michael Carpenter. With their help, Dresden managed to keep Molly from the Council's death penalty. Instead, the Doom of Damocles (an equivalent to probation) was placed on her. Because Harry has vouched for her, if Molly violates any of the Seven Laws again, he will also share the death penalty with her, making this the second time he's been under the Doom of Damocles.

In order to guide Molly's magical development and ensure that she doesn't violate the laws again, Harry agrees to accept Molly as his apprentice. This circumstance is similar to his own past, when he was apprenticed to Ebenezer McCoy after killing Justin Dumorne. Harry's willingness to place his life in jeopardy to ensure Molly's safety finally gains him Charity Carpenter's acceptance.

Molly exhibits markedly different types of magical talent than Harry. While Harry is more of a “magical thug”, with a lot of raw power but comparatively little fine control, Molly has been described as “sensitive”. This talent allowed her to use dangerous, complicated mind manipulation magic without any training, and it likely plays a role in her being able to create even better veils than Harry himself (as well as a few of the Wardens), though it has a downside. Her ability to work sensitive magic also makes her sensitive to other magic being used around her. As such she would be rather ineffective during combat.

She has been a positive influence for Harry as well. As he trains her, he also has relearned and practiced some of the basics of concentration so that now some spells/rituals that took him an hour to prepare now take only 15 or so minutes.

As well as being his apprentice, Molly has long carried romantic interest in Harry, possibly starting as a childish crush during her early teens, during the events of Summer Knight and Death Masks, as Harry resembles her father, performs duties similar to Michael's (although with different motives) and through other factors would have appeared as a very interesting person. On top of that, since Charity has vehemently been disapproving of him, Harry admits that that factor alone would have made him interesting to the rebellious teenaged girl. During the events of Proven Guilty, this becomes apparent when Molly turns up in his hotel room, and Lasciel comments that Nelson, Molly's boyfriend at the time, carried a striking resemblance to Harry.

Adding to that is the uncomfortable pausing while she has conversations with him, and the fact that her developing relationship with Harry seems to parallel that of her own parents: Michael saved Charity from a dragon. Harry rescues Molly from Arctis Tor, the Winter Fae capital. He also saves her from execution by the White Council, and takes her in as his apprentice. This all leads to Molly falling for Harry by the end of Proven Guilty, and offering him her virginity. He refuses by pouring a jug of ice-water on her, presumably to cool her desires, and warning her that she was on thin ice with the Council, and that their relationship would be a teacher-student one. After all, she was a child, and on top of that, his friend's daughter. He then paternally hugged her to make sure his actions didn't just devastate her outright.

By the time of White Night, Molly was working with Harry all the time. However, she was rebelling against Harry indicating that everything was unfair. Harry finally gets Molly to understand why things are so dangerous and this helps her learn from him better.

Small Favor shows that Molly is starting to develop in more than one way. She is starting to better magic talents, especially with veils. She is also showing that she has wisdom to know her boundaries though Harry keeps making comments on how a wizard is supposed to act. Even then, Harry shows the "grasshopper", as he fondly calls her, that he is proud of her.

Between the two short stories, "Harry's Day Off" and "The Warrior", Molly shows massive progress. In "Harry's day Off" Molly goes into Harry's lab and through a number of alchemal problems, Molly nearly destroys Harry's lab as well as herself. However, in "The Warrior" Molly shows she is ready to start working in the field and her knowledge of magic is starting to become impressive.

As of Turn Coat, Molly is definitely becoming a strong woman, but not without problems. She shows in one instance that she can, not only, defend others with the magic she has but has also started to become aware of herself sexually by seducing an investigator with a tank top and a cold beer. She does demonstrate that she still might be teetering on the edge of black magic, but is still trying for the best intentions.

Recurring Characters

The Archive (Ivy)

Species: Human

Occupation: Repository of all human knowledge and wisdom

The Archive is a position passed down a magical family line from mother to daughter over the past five thousand years. Each Archive possesses the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of humankind. The role passes to a new Archive at the time chosen by the previous Archive. According to the Archive the passing of knowledge leaves the previous Archive in a permanent vegetative state, as all the previous Archives' accumulated knowledge is passed to her daughter. Possessing power greater than the strongest wizards, the Archive is capable of wielding powerful magic (although she claims to prefer calculus), and is an individual signatory to the Unseelie Accords. Access to other-worldly materials is apparent.

The current Archive is, as of Death Masks, a seven-year-old girl (paperback, pg. 108). She has no given name other than "The Archive", but Harry nicknamed her Ivy, something she seemed to appreciate, when she served as an arbiter over a duel between Harry and Don Paolo Ortega during Death Masks and she appears to have taken that name. Generally formal and somewhat aloof, Ivy occasionally shows traits of a more child-like nature, such as her great pleasure in watching sea otters playing, petting Harry's cat, Mister, as well as rendering official documents in crayon.

The mercenary Kincaid is in her employ. While her magical abilities would seem to preclude the need for a bodyguard, Ivy explained that she needed his services because her seven-year-old form was incapable of driving,("my feet don't reach the pedals"). The events in Small Favor also demonstrated a situation in which she required protection. Kincaid shows genuine concern about the girl and she shows an attachment to him, going so far as to put herself in harm's way to protect him.

Ivy is a phenomenally powerful magical being. During an attack on her person during the events in Small Favor, the eleven year old Archive (Ivy) was able to combat eight Denarians at once and match each of them spell for spell, even with limited spell energy at the time. Captain Luccio stated that the White Council's file on the Archive placed her on par with the youngest Queens of the Sidhe, and Harry commented that the file underestimated her.

During events in Small Favor, Luccio gave Harry information that the Archives do not automatically become this being at birth and in fact usually inherit this power in their mid-thirties, after having their own children and learning how to handle the daily pains and emotions of life. Ivy's ascension to power came as an infant when her grandmother was killed young and her own mother, a seventeen year-old, could not handle the Archive and committed suicide, thereby causing the power of the Archive to become Ivy's.

William Borden

Species: Werewolf

Occupation: Engineer, formerly a university student; Current leader of the Alphas

Billy was introduced in Fool Moon as a young and rather naive man trying to do the right thing. He and a group of his friends (the "Alphas") used magic to transform into large wolves. They patrol their neighborhood in wolf form, vigilantly keeping out vampires and other creatures. His wolf form has transformed Billy's human body from husky to athletic and muscular, attributed to the wolfen personality he has adopted. He married longtime girlfriend Georgia (also an Alpha), whom he met before the events of Fool Moon. He often serves as a friend to Harry, inviting him to games of Arcanos, similar to Dungeons & Dragons. Billy worries about Harry, and he is often too passionate about helping him, even when Harry is facing enemies far too powerful for Billy or the other Alphas.

As of Turn Coat, Harry no longer calls him Billy; he sees the mistake he made in intentionally keeping the younger man ignorant of most of the supernatural world.

Michael Carpenter

Species: Human

Occupation: Carpenter, Former Knight of the Cross (sometimes called by others, Knight of the Sword).

Michael Joseph Patrick Carpenter is married to Charity Carpenter and father of Molly, Daniel, Matthew, Alicia, Amanda, Hope, and Harry (named for Harry Dresden after the events of Grave Peril). Michael is a Knight of the Cross, an ancient order dedicated to bearing and using the three Swords of the Cross: Amoracchius (Love), Fidelacchius (Faith), and Esperacchius (Hope). Michael is the most recent bearer of Amoracchius, which in Proven Guilty is hinted at being the legendary Sword in the Stone, having once been kept by the original wizard Merlin and arranged to fall into the right hands. However, at the end of Small Favor, Michael entrusts Harry with the keeping of the sword until (presumably) a new bearer can be found for it.

He is also a close friend of Harry's, frequently serving as a voice of morality and adherence to Christianity- often to Harry's chagrin. Each sword has one of the nails from Christ's crucifixion embedded inside, endowing it with a wide array of supernatural powers. Such swords can cut through almost anything, including metal. The swords can also sense evil, which causes them to glow and to let out a buzzing warning. Using the sword, Michael can kill all sorts of otherwise immortal creatures including demons, fallen angels, and, in one case, the dragon Siriothrax, that had captured Charity. The truest basis of the Three Swords is that they seem to reduce and eliminate any and all supernatural power used against them, turning a lopsided fight into one dependent upon skill and willpower...and often a great surprise to many extremely powerful supernatural beings.

He and his fellow knights fight against the evils of the world in the name of God. However, it is not necessary for the Knights themselves to be Christians, or even traditionally religious at all; in fact, one known Knight was a Shinto Buddhist, a current one is a self-described agnostic, and a previous knight either a Muslim or of ancient Egyptian worship. All Knights of the Cross who have appeared so far have been descendents of a king or ruler - Michael is a direct descendant of Charlemagne - although it is not known if this is a requirement for the job or only coincidence. Michael is an expert tactician and hand-to-hand fighter, and he also possesses some spiritual power of his own;this power was directly shown during Small Favor when he restores Harry's memories after a brief prayer, and in Grave Peril when he used some kind of pressure shockwave to knock vampires off him. An aura of faith also surrounds him, protecting him from the touch of beings like vampires while his touch can burn their flesh. Dresden can feel the power of his faith like an immovable mountain, and finds it terribly impressive, even intimidating. The Knights do, after all, have God on their side.

He is a devoutly faithful man, praying frequently. He sometimes gets visions from angels telling him what he is to do or where he is needed, but sometimes this guidance is a subtle skewing of chance ensuring Michael is at the right place at the right time that his aid is needed. This divine favor was exemplified in an instance when as leaving Michael's house to fight evil, Harry questioned Michael about leaving his children alone. In response, Michael simply opened the front door to find Father Forthill, the parish priest of the local church, standing outside because his car broke down. He is an experienced carpenter and construction worker, constantly improving on his house to hold his growing family.

As of Proven Guilty Michael has admitted to Harry that he feels his time as a Knight of the Cross is coming to an end, meaning that his death may be at hand. Most recently in Small Favor he was badly injured while rescuing the Archive from the Order of the Blackened Denarius, with a shattered pelvis, damaged spine, collapsed lung, and destroyed kidney among his injuries. He has apparently retired from his duties as a knight due to those injuries.

As of the short story "The Warrior" (released in the anthology Mean Streets), Michael is starting to function better, despite his newly acquired limp and impaired vision in one eye. Harry tried to convince Michael of taking up the sword again but Michael has decided to never pick it up again and made Harry understand. Michael now is finally back to running his construction company and is coaching Alisha's softball team. Despite the fact that he no longer wields one of the swords, Harry was assured by Uriel that Michael is still doing good work.

Charity Carpenter

Species: Human

Occupation: Full time homemaker, amateur blacksmith and swordswoman

Charity Carpenter is the wife of Michael Joseph Patrick Carpenter and mother of Molly, Daniel, Matthew, Alicia, Amanda, Hope, and Harry (named for Harry Dresden after the events of Grave Peril). Her other living relations include at least one sister, as revealed to Grave Peril. Whether her parents are alive during the course of the novels is uncertain. (Due to the events described in Death Masks, it can reasonably be assumed that at least her mother is alive.) What is known is that Charity was, estranged from them for a period during her childhood during which she ran away from home.

While little is known about Charity, it is clear that she is a devoted mother, an excellent cook, a master swordsman, an amateur blacksmith, and a former magic practitioner. Her attitude towards Dresden in Grave Peril is notably chilly, and she repeatedly makes it clear she wants Harry nowhere near her husband. The dislike seems initially linked to his tendency to get her husband into trouble and the fact that Michael often returns from his missions involving Dresden injured. However, following Dresden's rescue of Molly in Proven Guilty, her attitude takes a dramatic change for the better. Eventually, Charity confides in Dresden about her past, and it becomes clear that her earlier distrust of him stemmed from her negative associations with magic in her youth.

Charity was a fledgling practitioner of magic from the age of sixteen, parental neglect leading her to become involved in a group led by a man named Gregor. The group's activities quickly came to the attention of the White Council, who sent a Warden to investigate and inform them of the Seven Laws and the penalty for breaking them. Gregor resented this interference and apparently began to sacrifice members of the group to increase his own personal power. When Charity realized this, she became the next on his list; she fought, but was unable to defeat him, ending up being offered as a sacrifice to the dragon Siriothrax. She was saved, and Siriothrax slain, when Michael interceded, saving her life. Charity immediately swore to give up her power, seeing where it had so nearly led her. Michael remained close and the two began a relationship, marrying within a short time, and starting a family. Over time, her magical ability has waned with disuse.

It is later revealed that she worries about his effect on her children, should they inherit her own magical capability. While she herself chose to reject her magical heritage, she came to the conclusion that seeing Dresden use his abilities to save others, to fight against evil, would only lead her children to embrace their own magical ability. When her oldest daughter manifests as a wizard, this does indeed occur, leading to a rift between mother and daughter.

When Molly is subsequently kidnapped, with Michael absent, Charity enters the fray alongside Dresden, providing the assault team with suitable armor and weaponry, then proving herself to be an able combatant. With that experience behind them, plus Dresden accepting responsibility for training her daughter in the magical arts, Charity appears to have finally accepted his presence in her family's life. In Small Favor while Michael is in surgery, Harry attempts to leave the hospital, as this is a family matter. Charity disagrees and tells Harry to stay, indicating that Charity now regards Harry as family. It should also be noted that Charity does not hold Harry responsible for Michael's injuries as she has in the past.

Jared Kincaid (The Hellhound)

Species: Half-human, half-demon scion

Occupation: Mercenary, Guardian of the Archive

Jared Kincaid is his modern name, but the Hellhound was the name given this half-human killer by Drakul himself, centuries before. He appears to be a handsome man in his thirties, but to a wizard's Sight, he appears as an enormous horned, bat-winged entity carrying a corpse (his appearance on the outside) chained to him. He is a killer of incredible ability, who doesn't miss what he shoots at, tremendous (although concealed) strength, speed, and recuperative ability. He seems skilled in all the possible black op and special forces tricks and tactics one could ask for, from commenting how he'd snipe Harry down from a thousand yards away if Harry cheats him, to being able to take out two Denarians with one shot while suspended in a rope cradle from a ceiling.

His combat experience is immense and not restricted to firearms. Brought down by several vampiric hounds and boosted zombies, he not only lives through the fight, he kills all his enemies. In Small Favor he is responsible for the deaths of at least five, possibly six Denarians, and is only brought down when he actually shows himself in a last-ditch effort to save Ivy. He is extremely inventive about the appropriate equipment he brings to a fight (proper costumes and identification, sawed off shotguns, boar-spears with explosive caps, paint guns shooting holy water balls, and so forth.) His recuperative abilities are immense, he can generally recover from any attack using only duct tape to hold himself together long enough. Despite what seems an extraordinary amount of fighting experience, he actually has little experience with direct magical combat and wizardry (although he is VERY well versed on all the magical tricks/effects non-spellcasters can use), confessing that he'd never seen a wizard 'let go' like Harry did in Blood Rites. He is also a consumate actor, showing the ability to switch accents easily, and playing the part of an emergency worker as easily as that of a cop. He has a visual range that extends at least into the infrared, a sense of smell at least as sharp as a dog, and presumably superb hearing and touch to go with it.

Although possessed of a shady past, Kincaid is scrupulous about honoring his contracts, despite his own misgivings, even if it causes personal injury to himself. He has crossed paths with and shares a mutual emnity with Harry's mentor Ebenezar "Blackstaff" McCoy; the precise reason for the feud is unclear, although it dates to an incident in Istanbul about a century before the time frame of the books. All that McCoy would say on the subject was that there were certain boundaries between those in their profession based on professional courtesy and respect, and that Kincaid had crossed them.

Kincaid is currently under a continuing long-term contract to The Archive. This latter service of guarding a terribly powerful young girl seems to have softened him somewhat, as his loyalty and affection to her seem to go far above and beyond what a mere contract would require, and he seems to see himself and Harry as the only thing that Ivy has as far as family goes after she is kidnapped in Small Favor. He also worked for Ivy's grandmother when she was the Archive, and was a friend of Ivy's angry, tragic mother.

Kincaid also has a purely sexual "friendship" with Karrin Murphy, although she confesses in Small Favor that she has romantic feelings for him as well. Whether these are reciprocated is unknown, though she has stated he gave her chocolates and a gun with "we'll always have Hawai'i" written on it, something Murphy refuses to comment on. Murphy also revealed his first name to Dresden in Small Favor.

Anastasia Luccio

Species: Human

Occupation: Captain of the Wardens of the White Council

Anastasia is a highly talented wizard and Warden who is the former Captain of the Wardens. She was born sometime in the 1800s, in Italy. In Turn Coat, it is insinuated that she was rather promiscuous in her younger days, and often modeled in the nude. Captain Luccio is a powerful wizard with considerable influence in the White Council. She is the only known maker of the enchantment breaking swords the Wardens carry.

She was forced to cede active control of the Wardens when her soul was switched with the then-current body of "Capiorcorpus" or "The Corpsetaker" during the events of Dead Beat. Because of the switching of bodies, she had to allow Morgan to take command of all forces while she recovered. Her new body, that of a young brunette woman, lacks many of the strengths of her original body. Specifically, she can no longer make the Wardens' swords. Whether this is due to a lack of physical strength or magical strength or both is unclear. It is because of this that Harry has not been given one of these swords (rather than the assumed reason, lack of trust).

During her recovery, she started up a Warden boot camp, and later, other training facilities for new Wardens such as the one in New Mexico. Captain Luccio is a calm and level headed woman who understands situations from a very logical perspective, doing things that the Council does not normally approve of. She appears to prefer fire magic similar to Harry's, though with a more graceful air and control about it. During the events of Small Favor, and due to her effective second youth (and consequent sex drive) she exchanges flirtations with Harry, even so far as going on a date with him and sleeping with him.

As of "Harry's Day Off", a short story printed in an anthology titled "Blood Lite", she and Harry seem to have an ongoing relationship, though the overtones are still flirtatious and casual.

By the time of Turn Coat, she and Harry have a rather intense (and sexual) relationship, with Harry referring to "wild monkey sex." It turns out that her new body has lessened her psychic defenses, and that she is one of the Wardens being controlled by the traitor. She "sleep-murdered" LaFortier without remembering it, and Morgan covered for her. The situation it causes makes waves for her and Harry. She later realizes she was pushed towards Harry so she could unconsciously keep tabs on Harry for the traitor. She breaks up with him tearfully, though she admits she's still fond of him (and liked the sex).

Ebenezar McCoy

Species: Human

Occupation: Blackstaff (Council's Enforcer/Assassin), Senior Council member, former mentor to Dresden, author of the magical ethics text Elemental Magic.

An extremely powerful wizard, McCoy is Scottish, by way of Missouri, and has been active in North America since the French and Indian War. In addition to his duties as a member of the Senior Council, McCoy also serves covertly as the Council's Blackstaff, giving him the authority to break any of the wizarding laws as he deems necessary without consulting the council. He has served as the Blackstaff for at least two hundred years, claiming responsibility for, among other things, the New Madrid earthquake of 1812, the Krakatoa eruptions of 1883 and the Tunguska Event of 1908. During the events of Death Masks, McCoy pulled a satellite out of orbit to destroy the stronghold of a Red Court Duke.

Ebenezar was Harry's mentor for a long period of time after Justin DuMorne (although it was later revealed that Harry was originally placed with McCoy so that the older man could deal with him permanently should it become necessary), and often serves as Harry's translator during Council meetings (which are conducted in Latin). He refused a position on the Senior Council on several occasions, but finally agreed in order to help thwart a plot against Harry. Ebenezar often offers Harry his help, in one case even offering sanctuary at his farm in Hog Hollow, Missouri. The revelation of his status as the Blackstaff caused a temporary rift between Harry and Ebenezar, but this was ultimately mended after the events of Proven Guilty.

He has a long-standing unspecified disagreement with the Merlin, which has not been explored deeply within the series, though it is revealed in Turn Coat that they have know each other since the McCoy was sixteen.

It has been revealed that he mentored Harry's mother as well, and feels considerable guilt for having pushed her too hard and losing her to the other side.

At the end of the events of Turn Coat, it is revealed Ebenezar has formed a conspiracy circle of his own to unmask the so-called Black Council traitors, recruiting Harry and a number of others to his cause. He also is revealed to be nominating Harry for an important position, although that position is as yet unknown.

"Gentleman" Johnny Marcone

Species: Human

Occupation: Businessman, mob boss, Free Lord of the Unseelie Accords.

John Marcone is a powerful crime boss who is an antagonist of Dresden's, though the two have worked together far more often than they have opposed each other. This has largely been due to some supernatural predator or villain causing collateral damage to Marcone's industry and him relying on Dresden to deal with the problem, but Harry has asked for Marcone's help at least twice. Marcone controls the majority of organized crime in Chicago and has developed considerable knowledge of the supernatural aspects of the city. His past and motives are, for the most part, a mystery.

During the events of Death Masks, Marcone planned to steal the Shroud of Turin, in order to use its legendary healing powers on a young Jane Doe he has sequestered in a hospital care facility in Wisconsin. Marcone's relationship to the girl is unknown, as is whether his use of the Shroud led to any change in her condition. In White Night the comatose girl is revealed as being the daughter of Helen Beckitt (from Storm Front). Marcone feels responsible for the girl as her condition is due to her taking a bullet meant for him in a drive-by shooting.

Due to his assistance and role in the events of White Night, Marcone has become one of the few free lords of the Unseelie Accords that partially govern the magical world, and the only non-magical mortal to take such a position. He is styled "Baron Marcone" in the tradition of Life Peers in the British Peerage system.

In Small Favor, he is kidnapped and tortured by the Denarians. As a result of this, Marcone has lost part of his ear. Harry also learns that the madam of his brothel has been leaking information to Marcone's main rival.

Although ruthless in most ways, Marcone seems to have a strong personal code of honor and a soft spot when it comes to children, as witnessed both his trying to help Jane Doe and his putting the well-being of the Archive above his own during the rescue in Small Favor. Harry believes that Marcone genuinely cares about the welfare of innocents, though he still sees Marcone as a villain.

Donald Morgan

Species: Human Wizard (deceased)

Occupation: Field Commander, Warden of the White Council

Morgan was a very intense and powerful man with a talent for evocation spells, specifically those using Earth magic. He was a stickler for rules and had been a Warden for over a century, a job that he took very seriously. He had an innate distrust of Dresden, which often led him to conclude that Harry was at fault for certain situations. Morgan's sword is able to cut through magical shields, something which has nearly led to Dresden's wrongful death at least once. He often gloated when Harry was in trouble, anticipating the opportunity to execute what he saw as justice for the self-defense killing Harry did as a teenager.

Though Harry and Morgan did not get along, since Dead Beat they developed a mutual respect for each other. Harry has come to realize Morgan's hostility likely comes from the battle-scarred veteran's frustration at fighting black magic for over a century. Morgan was, in effect, like a burned out cop. And Morgan grudgingly admitted that he no longer sees Harry as evil or willfully destructive, and that he believes Harry tries to do the right thing, even if it keeps blowing up in their faces.

It's possible that Morgan's hatred and distrust of Harry had relaxed even further. During the events of Proven Guilty, Morgan very visibly seems to take Harry's side with regard to Molly Carpenter's fate, yet he doesn't appear ready to act on his instincts. At the conclusion of Proven Guilty, Harry refuses to consider Morgan as the potential traitor on the White Council; instead, Harry believes, while the two men rarely see eye-to-eye, Morgan is fundamentally an honest man.

Morgan had long grey hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a craggy face with a perpetually grim, often sour expression. He was apparently Germanic in origin.

As the central conflict of Turn Coat, Morgan is accused of treason when he's found over the body of LaFortier, and subsequently escapes his prison to seek sanctuary with Harry. He is badly injured when escaping and becomes seriously ill while staying with Harry, yet is still vigilant enough to critique Harry's behavior. He turns himself in for the murder to save the person he thinks committed the crime. Harry reveals the true culprit and is almost killed, but Morgan intervenes, pushing his injured body past the breaking point. Morgan and Dresden make their peace moments before Morgan dies of his injuries.

In the TV adaptation, Conrad Coates portrays Morgan. He is quite different from the book Morgan: Coates is an African American with short hair, and a business suit rather than a grey cloak. Additionally, the TV Morgan is more willing to work alongside Harry and give him information, and rarely taunts or snipes at Harry.

Mouse

Species: Caucasian Shepherd Dog or Tibetan Mastiff, a descendant of a divine guardian spirit and a mortal canine. Mouse is a temple dog, also called a Foo dog, but Harry calls him a cross between a chow and a woolly mammoth, and a "West Highland Dogosaurus."

Mouse was introduced in the novel Blood Rites as a small furry puppy rescued from a group of demons. A Tibetan monk employed Harry to recover a stolen litter of puppies believed to be a reincarnation of an ancient Foo spirit. This meant they were supernatural and special, both qualities that Mouse has shown as he has attained his massive mature size. While Harry returned all the Foo puppies he could find, one particularly scrappy pup hid under his car seat and he was unable to return it.

In Proven Guilty Mouse was hit by a car and survived, and he went on to take down supernatural enemies while emitting a faint glow. Mouse has shown an aptitude for detecting dark energies and presences, and he has a strong empathy for humans who display no such dark traces. He also shows intelligence greater than that of any other dog, and seems able to plan, anticipate and comprehend abstract concepts, as well as speech. In addition, in White Night when Harry begins to play the guitar (poorly) as part of therapy for his hand, Mouse gets up off the living room floor and goes into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. In Turn Coat Mouse intercedes in several violent situations in Harry's apartment while he is away, defusing them with both his strength and intelligence. He even feigns extreme pain after being injured without prompting by Harry to teach Molly an important lesson.

After Mouse exhibits some puzzling but heroic behaviors in White Night, Bob describes additional powers the dog has, such as a warning bark that awoke an entire building full of people during a fire when the actual alarm could not be activated. This bark can also apparently scare away some supernatural, incorporeal beings. If that doesn't work, Mouse can actually physically damage a supernatural enemy, usually with his teeth, as has happened with fatal effects during two battles. Also in White Night, Elaine claims that Mouse is a Temple Dog and is stunned he belongs to Harry. Oddly, in Proven Guilty Madrigal Raith exclaims with apprehension that Mouse is "not a dog". In Small Favor, Nicodemus shows a genuine uneasiness about Mouse's presence in his meeting with Harry, asking Harry "What is that?" and making sure to keep his shadow in between himself and Mouse.

Despite growing to massive size, Mouse still defers to Mister, allowing the cat to eat before he does and appearing nervous after Harry tells him to take away Mister's catnip before he gets ill.

The guardian statues that the White Council uses to guard meeting entrances are modeled after dogs like Mouse. In Turn Coat Ancient Mai is horrified that Harry has a Foo dog (exclaiming "Why are you allowed to keep it?"), apparently not taking Mouse's wishes into account, yet she and several other wizards confirm Mouse's dependability as an eye witness.

In Small Favor, it is indicated that Mouse, in addition to comprehending speech, can show emotion on a level with humans - when told to "take the catnip away" if it makes Mister sick, he seems to indicate doubt; when Thomas claims that what he said earlier about Harry was a joke, Mouse merely flicks his ears and turns away. Also, when Harry jokes about shaking himself dry like Mouse in Michael Carpenter's home, Michael responds that "Mouse would be too polite to do that in his house", which Mouse later proves.

Lara Raith

Species: White Court Vampire

Occupation: The true leader of the White Court, former porn star.

Lara is perhaps the most dangerous of the White Court, a master manipulator, conspirator and seductress. Above all else her word is always honest; being given safe passage by Lara always ensures she will go to extreme lengths to preserve her word. Since secretly taking over from her father she has ended all threats to his position of power, removing the leaders of the other two houses and beefing up security. She is currently pushing a peace effort between the Red Court and White Council for unknown reasons, but due to the White Court's nature to be backstabbing schemers and traitors, this is unlikely to be for the benefit of either the Council or the Red Court.

After the events of Blood Rites, Harry and Lara are currently locked in a stalemate as Harry knows the White King has become a mere figurehead and Lara knows Thomas is Harry's half-brother. Despite the growing hostility between them, there appears to be a great deal of respect as well, in particular from Lara for Dresden's own skills at manipulation and deduction.

In White Night Lara offers Harry a chance to work for her, and Harry once again turns her down. There she also shows the capabilities she has in a fight where her and Thomas single handedly stop cold a group of charging uber-ghouls. She repeats the offer for Harry to join her in Turn Coat and when faced with death from the Council Harry seems to actually consider it.

Thomas Raith

Main article: Thomas Raith

Species: Vampire (White Court)

Occupation: Former Salon Owner and Hairstylist

Harry's half-brother through their shared mother, and, for a while, his roommate. The only living son of Lord Raith (who usually killed his sons because he wasn't willing to feed on them to force them into submission like he did his daughters and feared them attempting to take over), Thomas is incredibly good looking and oozes sexual appeal to the point that he has difficulty turning it off. In fact, Harry has described Thomas as the Lost Greek God of Body Cologne or the High Priest of Bowflex. Part of Thomas's appeal is due to being a vampire of the White Court which feeds off the life forces of its victims. After almost being killed himself, Thomas's vampiric thirst led to the near death of his girlfriend and lover, Justine, who willingly gave herself to save him. After the events of Blood Rites, Thomas is cut off from his family in the House of Raith, and, until recently, nearly penniless after paying off Harry's debt to the mercenary Kincaid in Blood Rites. Thomas is a caring individual who will often go out of his way to help Harry, even if it means putting himself in mortal danger. In the events of Proven Guilty, Thomas moves out of Harry's basement apartment to his own home, paid for with money received from his mystery job. Thomas also reveals to Harry that he has been feeding since the events in Dead Beat, in which he joined the Wild Hunt. At the end of White Night it is revealed that Thomas's method of feeding safely (by taking little "sips" from his clients) and making a comfortable living (including a very upscale apartment) is through a hair salon/coffee shop he now owns and operates after secretly putting himself through cosmetology school while living with Dresden. During the novelette Backup, Thomas reveals that he and his sister Lara are both members of the Venatori.

As of the novel Turn Coat, Thomas is tortured for a few days by the skinwalker. By the end, he has had a relapse and returned to the Raith household, calling himself stupid for trying to live without sexual feeding and referring to humans as "kine." However his love for Justine is intact and he still shares a grin with Harry, indicating that hope is not lost.

Carlos Ramirez

Species: Human

Occupation: Warden, Regional Commander of western parts of North America

Stationed in Los Angeles, Ramirez is the youngest wizard of the White Council to ever be promoted to regional commander, given the job due to the severe casualties of war with the Red Court. While still young by wizarding standards, Ramirez possesses formidable combat skills honed during the war, which compensates for a relative lack of raw power compared to some of his compatriots. Generally displaying a cocky and confident demeanor, Ramirez is, at heart, deeply courageous and loyal to his friends. While smooth-talking and popular with women, it was rather ironically revealed during the events of White Night that Ramirez is still a virgin.

In battle he heavily favors water magic and conventional weaponry; he has on more than one occasion used grenades and firearms instead of his magic in order to conserve his strength. His principal magical weapon is the use of a type of emerald green energy which seems to break down materials into more component pieces, although on organic matter it seems to work as a desiccant, removing all traces of moisture from the area it hits, turning it into a form of sand. His defensive magic is a wall of jelly-like energy which forces all kinetic energy in on itself, using physics to break down and redirect energy instead of stop it cold as Harry's barrier does.

Like Harry, Ramirez has guessed at the existence of the Black Council. He and Harry consider each other to be good friends and hold each other in considerable respect. Ramirez regards Harry's power level with some awe and has often later referred to some impressive feat of magic that Harry performed with great admiration.

Susan Rodriguez

Species: Half-Human Vampire (Red Court)

Occupation: Former reporter for The Arcane, Dresden's ex-girlfriend, agent for the Fellowship of Saint Giles

Susan was a reporter who covered supernatural events for The Midwestern Arcane tabloid newspaper. She began soliciting Harry for information on wizards and odd occurrences in Chicago. The two began a romantic relationship in Fool Moon that unofficially ended when Susan was bitten by Bianca in the third book Grave Peril. Susan is now a half-vampire (and will remain so until she feeds on a human), with enhanced strength, speed, recovery abilities, and narcotic saliva (a Red Court vampire's self-titled 'Kiss').

Harry had been having trouble saying "I love you" to Susan, and only blurted it out when she went into vampiric bloodlust. Susan recovered somewhat after hearing that. She was captured by Bianca and used as a hostage, but was rescued by Harry. She leaves Chicago, and is asked by Harry to marry him. She refuses due to the dangers of her half-vampiric nature, although she still loves him.

She joined the Fellowship of Saint Giles, an organization for those who have been harmed by vampires, who carved a magical binding/tattoo into her skin. The binding warns her by changing colors when she reaches the limits of her control. Harry and Susan officially parted ways after the events of Death Masks. As of White Night, Susan is still in South America working against the Red Court as a member of the Fellowship. Lara Raith is astonished that Harry's true love for her is still active enough to make him toxic to White Court vampires.

Susan will return in the twelfth book, where she claims to have given birth to Harry's daughter Since it is true the daughter would be approximately six years old, based on how long it's been since they've last seen each other.

Susan is only present in one episode of the television series adaptation of the books, the episode "Storm Front." She is portrayed by Rebecca McFarland and is somewhat different from the Susan of the novels. She is blonde, rather than Mediterranean in appearance, and is a reporter for a mainstream publication. She is shocked to discover magic and demons are real, rather than trying to uncover their existence as part of her job.

Sanya

Species: Human

Occupation: Knight of the Cross

Once a member of the Order of the Blackened Denarius, Sanya renounced his allegiance to the Fallen. He claims that shortly afterward he was approached by the Archangel Michael to take up service for God. Sanya is a Russian of African royal descent who, despite dealing with angels and demons on a constant basis, claims to be agnostic. He wields the sabre Esperacchius which is one of the three holy swords that incorporate a nail from Jesus' cross into their blades. He has in the past been lover the the Denarian Rosanna, Tessa's lieutenant. As of "Small Favor", Sanya is the only working Knight of the Cross, Shiro being killed, and Michael incapacitated. He admits to Dresden that bearers for the other swords must be found before he is overwhelmed.

The Senior Council

The seven wizards who act as the leaders of the White Council. In addition to Ebenezar McCoy, the Senior Council currently consists of:

Arthur Langtry (the Merlin)

Langtry is a powerful wizard of British origin. According to Jim Butcher, Arthur was brought up during the time of the British Empire and is old enough to remember when the United States were colonies, although in the strictest sense that would be pre-Empire. In addition to being a master of wards (defensive magic), he also has centuries of experience in the political arena that make him a formidable opponent both in and out of Council session. He is generally a fair and competent leader, but he does not take kindly to being crossed or thwarted, especially by those he considers his juniors (which, given his age and position, includes almost everyone).

He is much like Morgan in personality, as he believes that one mistake tarnishes a person forever, and that a violation of the Seven Laws of Magic even in self-defense should be punishable by instant death. He hopes that Harry Dresden will slip up so that he will be subject to punishment from the Council, which often means execution. His personal hatred of Harry leads him to stretch the rights of wizards, in hopes of ending the conflict with the Red Court.

In the events of Turn Coat, his dislike of Harry has even led to him developing nervous tics when Harry jokes around. However, he will side with Harry when matters are important enough to him. Also, Harry finally sees a demonstration of the Merlin's abilities when he simultaneously calms down a room of choas while engaging and coordinating the containment of a dangerous mistfiend.

Ancient Mai

An elderly Asian woman. She appears to handle contact with other supernatural powers for the Council, having sent emissaries to both Sidhe courts at the start of Summer Knight. She, along with the Merlin, is suspected of being the traitor among the council, as her whereabouts during many of the attacks are unaccounted for.

She does not trust Harry, citing his dangerous attitude, and she voted against him when the Council deliberated on whether to give him to the Red Court. In "Turn Coat" she tries to have him arrested repeatedly ( for the crime of harboring a fugitive, of which he was guilty) and is angered when Ebenezer and Injun Joe refuse. She is described as being of unclear age, with granite colored hair, "rheumy" eyes and being very creepy and scary.

In the television adaptation, Ancient Mai has mostly been portrayed by Elizabeth Thai for the majority of the character's appearance, although she was not the performer in the character's original appearance. She is much younger appearing than in the books and seems to have the hostility towards Harry that Morgan does in the books It is implied in the episode "Things that Go Bump" that the television version of Ancient Mai is really a renegade dragon who, for yet unrevealed reasons, has abandoned or been forced out of her race's realm, and "she" forms or at least monitors the magical beings in the Chicago area as the de facto leading member of the High Council. It has not been revealed, in the reality of the television series, if Mai is actually the leader of the High Council or if she is merely implied to be the leader from what Harry has been told and allowed to learn about her, nor have her reasons for being part of the High Council been revealed. Due to the cancellation of the television series, they likely never will.

Rashid, the Gatekeeper

A tall, mysterious individual who typically dresses in a full head-to-toe cloak with a hood that shadows his face. Described as being Middle Eastern, but with elements of a British accent, suggesting he was either an Arab immigrant to England, or lived during the British control of Iraq and Palestine under their League mandate. Not much is known about the Gatekeeper other than his name, which is rarely used, with his title generally being used in its stead. It is strongly suggested in Proven Guilty that he has the capability to view future events in some manner; however, he can only reveal this to others in the vaguest terms, to prevent any possible violation of the Sixth Law of Magic. He is a Muslim, has more of a sense of humour than some of his contemporaries on the Senior Council, and appears willing to go behind their backs to some extent if he feels it necessary. Queen Mab refers to Rashid as "that old desert fox", suggesting a previous encounter that left her with a degree of respect for the Gatekeeper.

Harry gets a closer look at the Gatekeeper in "Turn Coat" establishing that he has a horrible burn down the side of his face, and a metallic eye that apparently can see a person's future. He hints that Harry has some important future events to shape. However he is not able to see only one future, but several. Also, while the events on Demonreach unfold, Rashid reveals that he and the island's entity have a long standing argument, indicated by Rashid saying, "Because this place holds a grudge."

Ar-Rashid is one of the 99 names of Allah, translated - The Guide, Infallible Teacher and Knower.

Martha Liberty

An African-American wizard, and another relatively minor character as of Proven Guilty. She is an extremely tall, black woman with grey hair and a stern manner, who dislikes being addressed as "Matty," and tends to address others very formally. Her age is unknown, and she apparently lives with some of her descendants (who know about her being a wizard) whom she vets for wizard potential.

Initially she is against Harry, calling him "arrogant, dangerous" and citing his lack of respect for the White Council. But after hearing Ebenezar's defense, and noting that Harry has his mother's eyes, she agrees to support him with her vote.

Joseph Listens-to-Wind (AKA "Injun Joe")

While not a Native American shaman, he is the only "real American" on the council (he refers to McCoy and Liberty as "a bunch of Johnny-come-latelies"). He is often accompanied by his familiar, a raccoon named Little Brother, and seems to be in communication with other animals, since he is acquainted with Tera West, the wolf-woman introduced in Fool Moon. Little Brother seems to get along with Harry after he gave the familiar a Snickers candy bar he found in his pocket. He is known to be the best at healing ways in the entirety of the Council even keeping up on modern medicine by going to college every once in a while to brush up.

Listens-to-Wind is a kind, gentle man with a generous outlook, and apparently likes Harry's spirit and sharp tongue, and takes his nickname, bestowed by McCoy, with good humor ("Ignorant redneck hillbilly doesn't read and doesn't know he can't call me that. Now I'm Native American Joe.") When the Council is voting whether to hand Harry over to the Red Court, he votes in Harry's favor.

Later, in Turn Coat, he takes charge during the investigation of LaFortier's murder and refuses to help Harry, saying that a death is needed, even if it is the death of an innocent, good, and valuable man like Morgan. He tells Harry that his tribe was wiped out because he refused to break Council Law and become involved. As the Council members come from so many different nationalities, that there will always be Wizards on both sides of any issue. The Council frowns on political involvement, as it would tear them apart. It is possible that his less then ethical view of sacrificing Morgan could have been due to Peabody's influence. His regret for having to sentence Morgan to death knowing his innocence was certainly great.

It's also revealed during a fight with the skinwalker that Listens-to-Wind can smoothly and very quickly transform into a variety of animals, including a bear, a raven, a turtle and a bobcat. He also demonstrates a large amount of countermagic to the offensives of the skinwalker.

Gregori Cristos

Has never been seen in the series, only discussed between Harry and McCoy towards the end of Turn Coat. A man of Greek origin who has spent most of the last couple centuries in Asia, appointed to the council after LaFortier's death. Described by McCoy as "an unpleasant bastard", he was still LaFortier's protegé. He was not next in line for the position but received it by threatening to secede from the Council. Harry and McCoy believe that he is a prominent figure of the Black Council and that LaFortier was murdered to allow Cristos to get on the Senior Council, though there are other options.

Former Senior Council Members

Simon Petrovich

A Russian who was only mentioned in Summer Knight. He was described as an expert upon vampires and sort of an emissary to them. It was also stated that the vampires trusted him. Simon was killed in the Red Court assault upon Archangel. Supposedly his death curse destroyed what remained of the vampire forces and he was apparently quite powerful. He was the mentor of Harry's first teacher, Justin DuMorne.

Aleron LaFortier

A French wizard and, a minor character in the series. He is described as skull-faced and skeletally thin. LaFortier gets his political clout from the less well represented countries on the Council. His supporters come from small countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. They believe that it is only LaFortier that listens to them. LaFortier did vote against Harry when the White Council wanted to give him to the Red Court, and has shown a certain antipathy to Harry. As of Turn Coat LaFortier is dead and Morgan is accused of his death. He is replaced by his protege, Cristos.

Faerie Courts

Mother Winter and Mother Summer

Species: Faerie Queen

The oldest of the Faerie Queens, they are understood to be easily the two most powerful living Faeries. Elaine states that "they can kill with just a stray thought" They reside together in a small hidden cabin somewhere in the hills of the Nevernever. The events in Summer Knight led Harry to their house in order for him to talk to them.

Depending upon the season, one of the two is active and the other is inactive. When Harry arrived, at the last day of Summer's power, Mother Winter sat in a rocking chair, unmoving, and Mother Summer was up, bustling about.

The Mothers are actually the birth-mothers of the two Queens - Mother Winter is Mab's mother and Mother Summer is Titania's mother.

The two mothers, along with angels and other powerful beings, are supposed to have 'intellectus'; a being with intellectus merely has to consider a question to know the answer.

Winter Court

Mab

Species: High Sidhe
Occupation: Queen of the Winter Sidhe

She is the Monarch of Air and Darkness. She is easily among the most powerful beings that are encountered in the books. She has shown her power by performing great feats of magic with hardly any effort and in her ways of punishing those who have dishonored her. First introduced in Summer Knight, she has purchased the use of Harry's services since his godmother the Leanansidhe sold the debts Harry owed her. When Leanansidhe came back to the Winter Court with a powerful athame, Mab forced her to sell Harry's debt to her to keep the balance in the court.

She is Maeve's mother.

In Dead Beat Mab was shown to have the athame from Leanansidhe on her hip. She possessed it because she locked the Leanansidhe away for a time until she could be shown to have respect again to the queen.

As of Proven Guilty, both Lily and Maeve have expressed a concern that she is going insane. In Small Favor she does not speak for herself during most of the book but instead uses the Grimalkin, a huge cat-like creature of the Fae, as her "voice". When she does speak, it is described as razor sharp and shakes the area where Harry is, making his nose and ears bleed. Harry's conclusion for this condition is her fury because of the attack on Arctis Tor in Proven Guilty.

Maeve

Species: Faerie
Occupation: Lady of the Winter Sidhe

She is the youngest of the Winter Queens. She was first introduced in Summer Knight as a conceited, wanton, capricious girl who is manipulative, much like the rest of the Winter Court. However, Lily, the Summer Lady says that this playgirl persona is a ruse, with a much more calculating, serious personality underneath.

She is described as an attractive "young" woman. Her most striking feature-besides those normal to the Fae-is her hair: dreadlocks dyed in different shades of pale blue, green, and purple to imitate the colors found in a glacier.

The Leanansidhe

Species: High Sidhe
Occupation: Noble, Winter Court of the Sidhe

The Leanansidhe, or Lea, is Dresden's faerie godmother. He was under her debt before she sold his debt to Queen Mab. She often aids Harry and keeps him alive in exchange for future favors. She is currently a captive of Queen Mab, having been sentenced to spend an indefinite amount of time at the heart of Arctis Tor frozen as a statue until she has been "humbled", having returned to the court with too much power and trying to overthrow Mab. From her last appearance it seems that she is possessed by something, as her character rapidly changes during her conversation with Harry, though it could also simply be the same murderous rage that every Winter fae suddenly had for Harry after he introduced Summer fire to the Winter wellspring.

Although warped by human standards, she seems truly to care about Harry, even if her thoughts on "caring" for him happened to concern Harry spending time as one of her hounds (her reasoning being that, as a hound, Harry would be safe and happy in her care). She has also made references to a deal made between her and Harry's mother which may be the reason she looks out for Harry.

Lloyd Slate

Species: Human
Occupation: Winter Knight (incapacitated)

Slate was hired to the Winter Court by Maeve, Winter Lady. He despised her because of her dominating, cruel attitude. He was a heroin addict, rapist, and murderer. His weapon was a Japanese-style sword whose tang is not quite that of a genuine katana.

Lloyd is one of the main antagonists in Summer Knight. He was a traitor to the Winter Court and tried to help Lady Aurora kill Lily. He was carried away by Maeve, Mab, and Mother Winter, screaming for help. As of Proven Guilty, he is imprisoned in Arctis Tor, Mab's fortress in the heart of Winter, suspended on an icy tree in a crucifixion state by thick sheets of ice. Lea tells Harry that he nears the brink of death due to starvation and frostbite, but Mab "tortures him with kindness" by healing his wounds, restoring his sight, feeding him, and allowing him to sleep in her bed (sex is also implied.) When he next wakes up, he is once again hanging on the tree, blinded. Lea believes that when his mind is broken down enough to look forward to returning to the tree, thus restarting the cycle of Mab taking care of him, Mab will discard him, stating that "he only lives so long as he resists." In Small Favor Mab tells Harry that he will only be freed, to die, when he is replaced.

Jenny Greenteeth

Species:Fae (deceased) Occupation: Servant to Maeve

Jenny Greenteeth was a Faerie of the winter court with a knack for tempting weak minded men. She served as an agent to Maeve. In Summer Knight Maeve offers her to Harry insisting the price of information from her be to impregnate Jenny. Harry seriously considered it until his brain kicked in and he dumped cold ice water down his pants. After the water had its intended effect Harry raised his voice to Maeve and denied her the desired payment. This angered Jenny, and she retaliated against Harry in the short story Something Borrowed by kidnapping Georgia so that she could marry and kill Billy, who she remembered from when he accompanied Harry to his meeting with Maeve. She put Georgia in a comatose state in Undertown and surrounded with her crab-like servants, the Shellycobs. Harry and Murphy managed to save Georgia before Jenny could marry Billy. The spell that she placed on Georgia could only be broken by true love's kiss, which was supplied by Billy during Harry's distraction. Once Georgia was freed, she and Billy transformed and brutally mauled Jenny. She could take many forms but her preferred glamour was that of a very attractive slender young girl with emerald green hair and metallic green teeth, which is where she got her name.

Summer Court

Queen Titania

Species: Faerie
Occupation: Queen of the Summer Sidhe

She is the Queen of Summer, daughter of Mother Summer. She is Aurora's mother.

Titania is never actually met, appearing only once at the end of Summer Knight, being that Harry has more interaction with the Winter Sidhe. She is Mab's equal for the most part, the only difference in their power being who has control of the Stone Table at the time and who utilizes its power. It is reasonable to assume that Titania is the Queen of Earth and Light, opposites of Mab's power. Also, it is probable that she has control of fire as well, much like other beings from Summer.

Aurora

Species: Faerie (deceased)
Occupation: Lady of the Summer Sidhe

She is the Summer Lady, daughter of Titania. First appearing in Summer Knight, she takes Elaine after she is "wounded" by Lloyd Slate, the Winter Knight. She took care of Elaine, and sat to talk to Harry. He noted her kindness and her gentleness.

However, at a later time in the book, it is discovered that she is the one who kidnapped Lily, encasing her in stone. She steals the Unraveling Harry obtained from Mother Winter, and started the War at the Table. She planned to shift the power of the old Summer Knight Ronald Reuel, which had been transferred to Lily, to Winter by killing her on the Table. The power of the Summer Knight (and thus the Monarch of Summer) would be added to Winter, grossly outbalancing the two Fae Courts. Harry killed her by unleashing pixies, led by Toot-Toot, armed with plastic - coated box-cutters. Her mother, Titania, carried her away from the Valley of the Table.

Lily

Species: Faerie (Former Changeling)
Occupation: Lady of the Summer Sidhe

Originally not encountered until the end of Summer Knight, Lily was held captive by Lady Aurora, imprisoned in stone. When Aurora was killed, the power of the Summer Lady was supposed to flow into the nearest Vessel of Summer, which was Lily due to the fact that Aurora designated her as the Summer Knight. She has befriended Harry. However, despite their long time friendship, she is still bound by the rules of the Fae and Harry struggles to get her to do things for him or give him information often against the best interests of the Fae. Her first loyalty will be to her court, and she is unlikely to betray them.

Ronald Reuel

Species: Human (deceased)
Occupation: Summer Knight/ Artist

Ronald Reuel was the Summer Knight at the beginning of Summer Knight. He was already murdered at the beginning of the story by Aurora. He was an artist local to Chicago.

It's almost certain that Reuel's name is a homage to J.R.R. Tolkien, whose middle names were "Ronald Reuel." This is emphasized by his job description being "creator of worlds."

Fix

Species: Human (former Changeling)
Occupation: Summer Knight (current)

He is one of the young changelings (along with close friend Meryl, who was killed during the events of Summer Knight) who hired Harry Dresden to find his friend Lily, who had gone missing. When first introduced into the series he was described as being scrawny and nervous looking with spiky hair. As it turned out, she was imprisoned by Lady Aurora at the Stone Table. He went with Dresden and the Alphas to find Lily, stop Aurora and the war at the Table. During the ensuing struggle he fought and defeated Loyd Slate with a monkey wrench. Lily then made him the Summer Knight. Since then, he has become a strong individual, helping Harry whenever asked despite what the Courts dictate. Harry and Fix have not always seen eye-to-eye exactly, but Fix always gives aid to Harry in the end. As of Small Favor their friendship has become strained after Fix was sent on behalf of the summer court to tell Harry to give up on his mission for Mab. Fix, fearful of Harry's much stronger magic and uncertain temper, took a gun with him when they talked.

Minor characters

Georgia Borden

Species: Werewolf

Occupation: Graduate student, Member of the Alphas

Georgia is Billy Borden's girlfriend (later wife) and a capable member of the Alphas. She is a studious psychology student and a steady presence when Billy or the Alphas appear in the series. She is often the voice of reason and a grounding influence for Billy, who is inclined to put himself in situations where he is beyond his limits or useful abilities when he wants to help Harry. Georgia is one of the first to notice Harry's erratic behavior after he acquired Lasciel's Blackened Denarius. A friend to Harry, she worries about his mental health, and she shares her concerns with Billy before he confronts Harry. In the short story "Something Borrowed," just before her wedding, she was kidnapped by the Faerie Jenny Greenteeth, who assumed her appearance. Harry and Murphy found her in Undertown in a comatose state guarded by shellycobs. Harry got her out of there and to the wedding just in time to ruin Jenny Greenteeth's plan to marry Billy and kill him. Like Sleeping Beauty's predicament, only true love's kiss could wake her. Billy provided that kiss, and they then transformed and brutally mauled Jenny as the wedding guests.

Waldo Butters

Species: Human

Occupation: Assistant Medical Examiner for Chicago

A brilliant but often cowardly medical examiner, Butters spent ninety days in a mental institution after doing autopsies on vampires, categorizing them as "humanoid but not human". He was allowed to return to his job, albeit after being demoted, and now helps Harry and the SI department with the corpses of paranormal creatures. In Dead Beat, he informed Harry that, as a wizard, Harry has uncharted regenerative capabilities and should one day recover the use of his hand. He is also a one-man polka band. Despite considering himself a coward, Butters saved Harry's life during the events of Dead Beat, then accompanied him into battle against a zombie army raised by necromancers when he realized that Harry's plan required a drummer. Despite his fear, he retained enough presence of mind during the battle to successfully raise a magical circle to protect himself. He also used his medical skills to save Captain Luccio of the Wardens from what would have been a fatal wound without immediate care, and to patch up Morgan from less serious injuries. As of the end of Turn Coat Butters is taking over as the "Game Master" for the role playing Alphas due to Kirby's death. Harry introduces him to the remaining Alphas saying, "This is Waldo Butters, and his geek penis is longer and harder than all of ours put together." Despite Butter's apparent "geekiness" and love of all things polka, Harry holds him in high regard and treats him like a family member.

Ron Carmichael

Species: Human (Deceased, killed by a loup-garou during the events of Fool Moon)

Occupation: Police Officer (Detective), Murphy's former partner.

Carmichael was very skeptical of Harry's magical powers and usually did his best to mock Harry's abilities by explaining them away or else by calling them nonsense. He was, according to Murphy and Harry both, a good cop who just did not believe and therefore looked for rational, logical explanations for everything he came across.

In the television series, the character of Det. Sid Kirmani, portrayed by Raoul Bhaneja, appeared to have been based at least in part on Carmichael. He, like Carmichael, is highly skeptical of Harry's intentions and rejects the idea of magic out of hand. However, he is much younger, thinner and more dapper, and some episodes imply that he is a sloppier detective than his novel counterpart.

"Darth Wannabe"

Species: Human

Occupation: Incompetent magician, snotty little punk

In the short story Harry's Day Off, Harry Dresden is threatened by an amateur magician with delusions of grandeur, whom Harry labels "Darth Wannabe" and "the Dim Lord." Darth Wannabe and his minions flee the confrontation after Harry threatens them with a gun (instead threatening to use magic, indicating how small of a threat Harry considers him). Later in the story, he throws a smoke bomb into Harry's apartment, which Harry initially mistakes for a pipe bomb.

Demonreach

Species: Nature Spirit

Occupation: Mysterious Lake Michigan Island with murky history.

Demonreach is a shadowy island in Lake Michigan, many miles offshore from Chicago. It sits atop one of the strongest Ley Line confluences in the region, strong enough to empower a Binding Circle mighty enough to constrain even the Archive from escape. It first appeared in Small Favor, as the site of the climactic battle to retrieve the Archive and Crimelord Marcone from the Denarians.

Demonreach's history is veiled in its hostility for human life. The magic that empowers it wards away mortal minds, and it is not found on official maps of the region. The two attempts to settle it for use as fishing or furring camps, both ended in death and disaster covered up by history.

Demonreach has two rotting piers and tumbling settlements as tributes to these attempts, but the largest reminder of habitation is the tower at its highest point, half-tumbled, yet still adorned with extremely potent protective sigils and effects. This latter point is where the final battle in Small Favor occurs. The rest of the island is thickly covered in trees and with a moderate amount of animal life. Stone reefs around the island make it dangerous to approach for boats.

In Turn Coat Harry returns to Demonreach to prepare himself for a dangerous battle with the Skinwalker. He bravely forges a pact with the powerful and unfriendly spirit of the island, giving him access to the spirit's Intellectus, its total awareness of all that occurs or influences the island. Effectively, the island has become Harry's Sanctum.

It is noted that Demonreach is hostile to human life, and sits atop a source of great and powerful magic, the spirit operating as protector of the island. The spirit is exceptionally hostile to the Gatekeeper, who will not even set foot upon it. There is a pathway to the Nevernever that open up on the island, though Harry doesn't know it. The spirit is also extremely hostile to the prescence of the Skinwalker upon it and can ward it from the tower at the height of the place.

Writings from Ebenezar hint that Demonreach may play a powerful role in later books as Harry advances further.

Malcolm Dresden

Species: Human (Deceased)

Occupation: Stage Illusionist

He is Harry Dresden's father. He died of an apparent aneurysm leaving Harry orphaned at the age of 6. The demon Chaunzaggorath shed doubt on this, however. Malcolm has visited his son in Harry's dreams at odd intervals, at one point to warn Harry about Lasciel and provide some comfort. Malcolm was apparently kept from doing these visits until certain conditions had been met by others.

He is described as looking and talking somewhat like his son, although he seems to have been a little less cynical and jaded.

Margaret Gwendolyn LeFay Dresden

Species: Human (Deceased)

Margaret Dresden is Harry Dresden and Thomas Raith's mother, having been supposedly enslaved to Lord Raith and given birth to his son, only to meet Malcolm Dresden, fallen in love, and run away to marry him. She reportedly died during Harry's childbirth. She was in fact killed by Lord Raith (whom her death curse made impotent and unable to feed).

It is revealed in "Turn Coat" that the reason the Council considered her dangerous was because she wanted to revamp the Laws of Magic to embrace concepts of justice, rather than simply limiting the use of power. She was well-known to the Wardens as someone who made a point of getting as close as possible to breaking the Laws as she could without actually committing a transgression. She was also described as being "brilliant, erratic, passionate, committed, idealistic, talented, charming, insulting, bold, incautious, arrogant... and short-sighted". It is also hinted that she had a habit of mouthing off, even when it put her in danger. In this she is not unlike her son, although Margaret seems to have been more reckless in her approach.

Some of her abilities are also detailed; Captain Anastasia Luccio states that Margaret knew more Ways through the Nevernever than anyone she had ever met, before or since, and that her many contacts in Faerie were the reason everyone called her "le Fay", which signifies "the faerie".

Justin DuMorne

Species: Human (Deceased, killed in self-defense by Dresden)

Occupation: ex-Warden, Master to Dresden and Elaine, Black Mage, Warlock

Justin adopted both Harry and Elaine when their magic began to manifest. Though his teaching style was often harsh (his method of teaching Harry, at the age of 13, how to create physical shields involved throwing baseballs at him), both Harry and Elaine were trained very well. Though once part of the White Council and a Warden, Justin became a black wizard and tried to mentally take control of his apprentices. Elaine was enthralled by Justin; Dresden, however, resisted Justin and ran away. DuMorne then sent a demon, an Outsider, to kill Dresden but Harry defeated it. He later went back and defeated DuMorne with a fire spell. He was subsequently put on trial for breaking the First Law of Magic, but escaped execution because it was self-defense. This led to Harry being placed under the Doom of Damocles, the situation in which we find him at the start of the book series.

In the TV adaptation, the character (renamed Justin Morningway) is played by Daniel Kash and is introduced as Harry's uncle (his mother's brother).

Ferrovax

Species: Dragon

Occupation: Independent Signatory of the Unseelie Accords

Dragons are semi-divine beings of immense power. Little is known of Ferrovax, the oldest and most powerful of his kind. He was present at Bianca's gathering in Grave Peril where his immense power was demonstrated by his saying aloud a mere portion of Harry's name (using True Name magic). He has not been seen since; however, Jim Butcher has confirmed that he will return in a later novel.

Father Anthony Forthill

Species: Human

Occupation: Priest, Pastor of St. Mary of the Angels, lawyer when needed

Father Forthill is one of a few members of the Catholic clergy with any knowledge of the supernatural. When he was younger, he and a few other priests helped to kill a vampire. They swore an oath to protect people from the dangers of the supernatural, and he technically continues this oath by blessing holy water for Dresden. Currently, he helps Michael Carpenter whenever he is needed. Before he became a priest, Father Forthill completed law school and passed the bar examination; he does pro bono legal work for members of his congregation.

He is a very kindly, paternal old priest with a generally positive, but realistic outlook, and a generous spirit. He seems extremely fond of Harry, despite Harry's discomfort with religion, and looks on Harry as a slightly warped but essentially good man, whom God looks favorably on. Harry doesn't share his confidence. It is revealed that he has a tattoo called the Eye of Thoth on his arm, due to his aforementioned vampire hunting.

As of the Events of the short story Warrior, Father Forthill is revealed to be a member of the Ordo Malleus, the Inquisition of the Catholic Church, a straight descendent of the historical movement, which has shed it's historical overt influence and moved now to be an organization solely devoted to aiding and abetting the Knights of the Cross, of which Michael Carpenter is one.

Ms. Gard

Species: Valkyrie

Occupation: employee of Monoc Securities (an individual signatory to the Unseelie Accords), supernatural consultant

A member of Monoc Securities, on hire to Johnny Marcone. She is blonde, over six feet tall, and has shown mastery with axes, swords, flails, and other medieval weaponry. During White Night Harry refers to Ms. Gard as Amazon Gard, likely referring to her stature, not implying that she is a Greek Amazon. Monoc Securities is based in Norway; the company name is consistent with a reference to Odin ("mon" meaning one, "oc" referring to ocular, Odin having only one eye) in Norse mythology, as is the name of the CEO, Donar Vadderung (given name Thor, surname "Father of the Gods"). Together with Ms. Gard's reference to both Harry and Marcone as "mortals" during the alley-fight and knowledge of runes in Dead Beat, her appearance, affiliation, and combat prowess, implied she is one of the Valkyries. This is confirmed in the short story "Heorot," published in the compilation My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, where Ms. Gard acknowledges that she is the Valkyrie Sigrun, though noting some of the legends are substantively accurate.

She briefly teams up with Harry to rescue Marcone in Small Favor and even gives Harry her dangerous collection of hair and blood samples (exacting a very restrictive oath from Harry) so he can find her boss. She is disemboweled at one point, and nauseates Harry by repairing her injuries right in front of him. As a Valkyrie she appears to have the ability to know when someone is close to death. Harry confirms that she is a Valkyrie, calling her a "Chooser of the Slain", a title used for one of the Valkyrie.

Hendricks

Species: Human

Occupation: Mob enforcer,

Hendricks is Marcone's bodyguard, and apparently most trusted lieutenant. Often stoic, Hendricks is very protective of his boss and seems to show a grudging respect of Harry, though still willing to pit himself against the wizard at very little provocation. Harry calls him Cujo in Storm Front and, at least in Harry's mind, the nickname stuck.

Hendricks is a very large man, his physique oftentimes compared to that of a linebacker and his size makes most of the weapons he use look as if toys in his hands. Despite the antagonistic tone of his relationship with Harry, Hendricks has at times sided with Harry over others of Marcone's organization, such as in Small Favor. Hendricks has proven to be capably intelligent, and has played football in the past. It is also likely that Hendricks has a romantic relationship with Ms Gard.

Justine

Species: Human

Occupation: Ex-girlfriend of Thomas Raith, hostage of the White Court, current assistant to Lara Raith.

Justine's exact origins are unknown, but it is known that Bianca once wanted her as one of her prostitutes, but that Thomas saved her from such a fate. She became his lover and food source, regularly having sex to sustain him at the cost of her own life force. This was especially necessary since Justine lacks the emotional and mental control that most humans have, and experiences wild manic mood swings when Thomas is not nearby to sap away those emotions.

When Thomas suffered a near-fatal injury, Justine chose to risk her own life to feed his incubus hunger, giving him the nourishment he needed to heal. She appeared to be dead afterwards, but they both pulled back in time to keep her from being killed. However, she lapsed into a catatonic state for a time, remained extremely weak, and her hair went white. Because of her true love for Thomas and his for her, her touch became toxic to him.

Thomas was exiled from the White Court shortly afterwards, and Lara promised to keep Justine safe from all the other vampires. In White Night it is revealed that Justine has been providing Thomas inside information pertaining to the White Court's dealings. She and Thomas are briefly reunited, and have apparently had non-physical contact since then. She also crochets as evidenced by her gift to Thomas in Small Favor .

Justine is injured by the skinwalker in "Turn Coat" when it invades the Raith mansion. It is hinted at the end that she and Thomas may have become estranged because of his return to the White Court way of life and sexual feedings, but their mutual love is undimmed.

Lasciel

Species: Fallen Angel (although sometimes referred to as a demon)

One of thirty fallen angels that comprise the Order of the Blackened Denarius, Lasciel and her brethren are demon spirits that are contained within thirty silver coins, each bearing the particular sigil representing the entombed demon's name. Lasciel's coin was offered to Harry Dresden as a "gift" by the co-leader of the Order, Nicodemus. Harry wisely refused the coin and the immense but evil powers brought with it. Later, Harry picked up the coin to prevent the baby Harry Carpenter from touching it. In doing so, Harry "allowed" Lasciel to exert a small measure of influence on his emotions, creating a copy or "shadow" of Lasciel to live in his mind (see Lash below) as well as give him the ability to use Hellfire. Harry buried the coin underneath his laboratory, but the sigil remained on the palm of his hand, and even protected that part of his hand when the rest of it was burned and blackened by flames while facing Mavra. After the events of White Night, the coin was removed and turned over to the Church. However, Jim Butcher has stated that "Lasciel’s story is not over. And keep in mind what’s said about ‘a woman scorned.’"

Lash

Species: Shadow of the Fallen Angel Lasciel (only exists in Harry's mind)

As of Dead Beat, Lash has begun to contact Harry directly in his mind, although earlier she appeared as the illusionary woman 'Shiela' who helped Harry find the book he was looking for in an occult bookstore. She also gave him more information on the book later on in Dead Beat. However, she can only appear to Harry, as when Butters barged in on their meeting and didn't see Shiela/Lash. She claims to be but a shadow of the Fallen in the coin, and seeks to help him more out of self preservation than a desire to corrupt. Harry has since found that he is tempted to utilize her knowledge to help in difficult situations. She can use her knowledge to translate languages for Dresden, including German, ghoul (Ancient Sumerian), and ancient Etruscan. Lasciel also speeds up his mind's reaction time (albeit only for a short while to avoid damage) so they have enough time to talk in a pitched battle.

In White Night, Dresden gives her the name Lash and convinces her to strive for her freedom since she, as a shadow of the true Lasciel, is actually an independent entity; the true Lasciel still resides in the coin. He insists, repeatedly, that he will not take up the coin; the three years Dresden has "hosted" Lash is the longest period by far anyone has resisted Lasciel's temptation, which apparently also influences Lash.

As Bob later explains, by giving Lash her own name Harry caused her to realize she had this degree of freedom. Lash aids Harry significantly in the final battle of White Night, but when he regains consciousness he finds Lash apparently gone and (as Bob put it) deconstructed. Her final act was to commit a sort of suicide by directing a mental assault on the otherwise unused areas of Harry's brain/subconscious where she resided. As a consequence, Harry became apparently free of Lash/Lasciel's influence; the sigil on his hand faded, and he dug up the coin (which still contains the true Lasciel) and turned it over to Father Forthill for disposal. He has, however, mourned her 'passing' by shedding tears, stating that 'she chose to be free'. This was noticed only by Bob, who was present as Harry realized Lash's disappearance.

The only apparent lingering effect of Lash's tenure in Harry's mind is a profound boost in his skill at the guitar; prior to Lash's independence and suicide, he played at a beginner level unless she was actively manipulating him. After the event his skill is shown to be much greater. The loss of Lash also means Harry has also lost the ability to amplify his spells with Hellfire.

Mortimer Lindquist

Species: Human

Occupation: Psychic Consultant, Ectomancer

Twenty years prior to the books, Lindquist was considered a gifted investigator, with a high sensitivity to spiritual energies and apparitions; he was even the author of three books on the subject. By the time of the books, however, his abilities appear to have severely atrophied, leaving him trying to earn money as a medium, although his sensitivity is now sufficiently low that in most cases he fails to contact any spirit and must resort to playacting in order to satisfy his clients, essentially a con-artist. He retains some degree of integrity however; Harry attributes his loss of ability to the fact that he privately hates what he does. He does retain some degree of contact with the spirit world, however, and his knowledge of such matters is considerable; he is able to provide Harry with some useful insights into the situation when Harry approaches him during the events of Grave Peril.

By the events of Death Masks, Lindquist has apparently changed his ways to some degree and his abilities are returning.

During the events of Dead Beat, Mortimer has become a true ectomancer with the ability to communicate freely with spirits, even though he still cons his customers by only pretending to tell them what they want to hear about their dead relatives and friends. Strangely enough, Lindquist, who has since been perceived by Harry as a selfish, arrogant and all around despicable human being, actually stands up to Harry when he demands his help and the help of the dead against the necromancer threat. Lindquist responds by saying "The dead are terrified of whatever is moving around out there." and that "They may be dead, but that doesn't mean they can't get hurt. I won't risk that for Council infighting." Harry notes that while Mortimer may never lift a finger to help his fellow man, he would stand against a powerful wizard and wizard council to protect the dead. They are the only beings other than himself he seems to really care about.

Mac/McAnally

Species: Unknown, presumably Human

Occupation: Pub owner

McAnally, better known as Mac, owns and runs McAnally's, a pub frequented by the magical fraternity, which is intentionally laid out in such a manner to disrupt the flow of magical energies, with the aim of preventing any unexpected manifestations that might be caused by a large assemblage of potentially drunk wizards. It is also noticeably lacking in items of technology that might be found in an ordinary pub, due to the negative effects on technology caused by the presence of a wizard. Tall and of indeterminate age, McAnally gives off a sense of strength and wisdom that commands the respect of his clientele. Generally taciturn, when he does choose to voice an opinion, Harry generally considers that opinion to be worth listening to. McAnally makes his own dark microbrew beer and fantastic steak sandwiches, which he cooks on a wood-burning stove.

McAnally appears to be regarded with some degree of respect by other supernatural groups; his pub is considered neutral ground for all signatories of the Accords. This makes his pub a common meeting place for parties who are warring and want to discuss things. It also means that it is possible to run into some less than desirable creatures inside the pub. In Small Favor, he develops some degree of respect for Karrin when she defends Harry from a Gruff, and brings out three bottles of a particularly good brew afterward.

Elaine Mallory

Species: Human

Occupation: Wizard, Dresden's ex-girlfriend

Elaine was an apprentice of Justin DuMorne, taken in by him along with Harry when they were both children. As teenagers, she began a romantic relationship with Harry until Justin showed his darker nature: he enthralled Elaine and attempted to enthrall Harry so he could perform greater black magic. After his death, Elaine faked her own death and fled to the realms of the Summer Faeries in the Nevernever where she entered into a contract with the Summer Lady Aurora.

In White Night, she is operating as a wizard-for-hire in California, although she is hiding her true power level from the White Council. She still struggles with nightmares and phobias stemming from her enslavement by DuMorne, and feels that only by going out and doing her work can she overcome her fears.

She has taken a page from Dresden's book in setting up her new life in Los Angeles, telling him as much and saying that she's in the phone book, under 'Wizards', just like him. Elaine's new career is similar to his, involving consulting work for police and private investigation, specializing in finding lost children.

She initially seemed interested in rekindling the relationship between them, especially since Harry still has feelings for her. But she saw Susan Rodriguez's photo and engagement ring on a mantle, and realized that Harry had loved too deeply and too recently for her to reenter his life as a lover. However, Harry's lingering feelings mean that a romantic reunion is possible.

According to "Turn Coat," she is running the Paranet of minor psychics and magic users.

Sandra Marling

Species: Human

Occupation: Convention coordinator

Sandra coordinated the horror convention named SplatterCon!!! in Proven Guilty.

Mavra

Species: Vampire (Black Court)

Occupation: Manipulator. Prominent member of Black Court vampires.

She is one of the few surviving members of the Black Court and, therefore, one of the most powerful and fearsome creatures in the vampire community. In addition to her supernatural powers as a vampire, she is as skilled in the use of magic as a full-fledged wizard and has been a threat to Dresden a few times throughout the novels since her introduction in Grave Peril. Mavra was apparently destroyed by Dresden in Blood Rites, but actually survived—what Harry killed was one of her underlings, which she used as a decoy. More recently in Dead Beat, she acquired the Word of Kemmler, receiving it from Harry as payment for blackmail photos of Karrin Murphy shooting one of Mavra's human servants with a shotgun. What Mavra intends to do with this tome is yet to be revealed. When she was last seen, Dresden threatened to use everything at his disposal, referring to the offer of Knighthood from the Winter Court, his contact with the fallen angel Lasciel, and the Darkhallow to kill her if she attempted to harm or blackmail Murphy again.

Mister

Species: Domestic cat

Mister is an exceptionally large gray tomcat who lives with Harry. In Storm Front, Harry says he found Mister as a small kitten in a trash can, about three years earlier. His tail was torn off by a dog or a car; he hates both. Mister weighs over thirty pounds. Harry sometime states that Mister's father "was a wild cat or a lynx or something," but more likely Mister is a Maine Coon. Mac, the owner of MacAnally’s, will make up the occasional doggy bag for Mister.

Mister is also occasionally used by Bob, who possesses Mister in order to move around town during the day without being exposed to sunlight.

Nicodemus

Species: Possessed human/Fallen Angel (status unknown)

Occupation: Leader of the Order of the Blackened Denarius

Also known as "Nicodemus Archleone," a reference to 1 Peter 5:8. Described by Harry as the most dangerous man he's ever met, Nicodemus is every bit the threat he appears: while most evil characters manage to appear in a somewhat gray area at times, Nicodemus is as bad as it gets. This could be attributed to the fact that the only characters who have described him in the books are all Catholic clergy. The oldest and most powerful of the Denarians, he is possessed by the fallen angel Anduriel, one of Lucifer's captains. He is a liar, murderer, torturer, slaver, thief and traitor, it is his wish to rush the world into apocalypse. In the Dresdenverse the End of Days is not the will of God, as stated in the Bible, but the wish of the other side. Unlike some among his order, he is in full collaboration with his demon; he often appears to be more in control of his actions and comes off as civil and reasonable, a trait he shares with the more powerful mortals amongst the Black knights, like Rosanna and Tessa. He often looks at long term planning, and his schemes are often elaborate and multi-purposeful. It's stated he has murdered more than a hundred Knights of the Cross, more than a thousand priests, nuns, monks, and three thousand men, women and children directly, and is responsible for the Black Plague and many other acts of chaos and destruction. His past is often clouded and his age is indeterminable, with it being a possibility that he walked the earth when Christ did. The reason for this is that he wisely makes it a point to destroy the Church's records on him every other century.

Nicodemus is married to Tessa/Imariel, the second oldest of the order; the Archive states that Nicodemus rescued Tessa from a life in the temple of Isis, to whom her parents had sold her at a very young age. They usually do not cooperate, with Nicodemus preferring long-term plans, and Tessa tending more towards the short-term. They have a daughter, Deirdre, who also belongs to the order and appears more loyal to her father than mother.

He rarely appears disconcerted, afraid or panicked, but did seem afraid of Shiro (one of only two knights to face him and survive, and whom he often referred to mockingly as "Japan") during Death Masks and tries to push Harry to join his order throughout his appearances, seeing him as a worthy recruit, but also may be afraid of Harry. In Small Favor Harry notes he is probably the only person to truly terrify him after discovering his weakness (see below).

Often his powers seem not to be shape-shifting, as is the norm among the fallen, but his shadow is alive and has substance. Whispering can be heard from it and it is assumed the shadow is actually Anduriel acting independently of himself; like all his order, however, he possesses super human strength and a great deal of magical knowledge. One of the more terrifying possessions he holds is the rope Judas Iscariot used to hang himself after the crucifixion - while wearing the slender rope as a tie Nicodemus is invulnerable to attack even by Denarian standards, utterly immune to all methods of death except strangulation with the rope itself. In Death Masks Harry's realization of this allows him to survive, and in Small Favor Harry chokes him into unconsciousness and continues to hold on, intending to kill Nicodemus, but is interrupted before he can be sure of success. Harry then throws him over the side of a boat and into a lake, where he is swiftly retrieved by his daughter Deirdre. His condition remains unclear. We know that Nicodemus is also opposed by the "Black Council". It is possible that Rosanna, Tessa, or both are BC members. Of course, that too may be a ruse.

At a book signing in Houston, Butcher claimed that in writing Nicodemus, he simply created someone that would be "the flipside of Michael Carpenter."

Polonius Lartessa

Species: Possessed human/Fallen Angel (deceased(?))

Occupation: Member of the Order of the Blackened Denarius

More commonly referred to as "Tessa", she is also a leader for the Denarians. As Nicodemus' wife, she and her Denarian, Imariel, are stated as the second-eldest of the Denarians. Generally, she is a rival to her husband, though they do work together to accomplish a similar goal- the last time they were said to have worked together, the Black Plague spread across Europe. She chooses bearers for coins based upon willingness to take a coin, not talent. Michael said that Fallen who serve Imariel (and Tessa) go through bearers quickly. Tessa is concerned with short-term views, while Nicodemus is focused with the bigger picture and long-term issues.

Tessa is also shown to be an exceedingly capable sorceress. She was able to constantly throw lightning around during the ambush with the Archive at the Oceanarium, when most magic was cut off. Harry notes that she is a "big-leaguer" and "White Council material herself".

Lartessa was born In Thessalonica. Her father, greatly in debt because of his failing business, sold her to the temple of Isis. She was there from a young age until when Nicodemus found her and offered her a coin, and eventually married her.

At the end of the book, on the island in the middle of Lake Michigan, Tessa and Rosanna had done a major portion of the greater circle to imprison the Archive. Enraged after Michael was shot, Harry sent a "bar of blue-white fire so dense that it was nearly a solid object" straight through Tessa's chest. It is unknown if she survived the potentially fatal jet of flame.

Don Paolo Ortega

Species: Red Court Vampire (deceased)

Occupation: Duke & war leader of the Red Court; "Renowned researcher and debunker of paranormal phenomena."

Ortega was a senior member of the Red Court and acted as a commander in time of war. Outwardly of average appearance, he was a professor specializing in research into paranormal phenomena at the University of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro; a debunker of the paranormal, who "proved" that folklore such as vampires do not exist. He was a formidable and cunning warrior. During the events of Death Masks, he arrived in Chicago to challenge Dresden to a duel, the idea being that, with the instigator of the war between the Red Court and the White Council dead, an end to the conflict would become considerably more likely. If Harry had won, Ortega would have offered to make Chicago neutral ground in the fighting, with Harry and his friends being protected from reprisals as long as they stayed within the city. Harry accepted the deal and the duel, to be moderated by the Archive and based on the respective willpower of the participants, took place at Wrigley Field.

During the duel, Ortega had Harry at a major disadvantage, telling him that he should simply surrender and that, if Harry ultimately defeated him, his vassals would track down and eliminate everybody that Harry cared about, in a blatant infringement of the original deal. This angered Harry, reinforcing his will, giving him the advantage. Ortega pulled a gun and was about to shoot Harry when he was shot himself, leading to the duel falling apart and a short conflict erupting within the stadium. As Harry was winning, and thus had little reason to cheat, he was judged the winner. Ortega escaped, assisted by two of his vassals, retreating to his stronghold in Honduras.

His escape was, however, short-lived. Duke Ortega was eliminated, along with the vast majority of his vassals, by Ebenezar McCoy in his covert role as the Blackstaff; McCoy pulled a deactivated Soviet communications satellite out of orbit, causing it to impact directly on Ortega's mansion.

Samuel Peabody

Race: Human/ Wizard (Deceased) Occupation: Record Keeper for the White Council

Wizard Samuel Peabody was first introduced in Summer Knight as the bookkeeper for the Senior Council. He is also the wizard who compiled the book Die Lied der Erlking, which included the spell needed to call up the Erlking and the Wild Hunt, in Dead Beat (probably a tipoff for the wary). As of Turn Coat, he is shown as a studious record manager, having his personal study at Edinburgh described as a "bastion of order", and having a personal dislike of Harry, who seldom visits Edinburgh (and thus can't be influenced like the other Wardens) and who is also very disorganized, almost a personal insult to the man. At the end of Turn Coat, it is discovered that he had been subtly altering the minds of the Senior Council and the Wardens to affect change. He is named as a traitor having given secrets to the alleged "Black Council." He is killed by Donald Morgan after his escape from the Trial accusing Warden Morgan of the murder of Aleron LaFortier. He had controlled Warden Luccio to commit the murder in a "sleepwalking trance". He is shown to have competent ability at defensive magic (shown when he stopped both a firebolt and a kinetic strike from Harry Dresden in his escape), alchemy and potions (brewing the inks that affected the minds of the wizards), and at close-quarters combat (when he used a knife to subdue Harry).

At the battle of Demonreach in Turn Coat, it is told that he was not alone, pointing at another high-placed traitor, or perhaps another appearance by the mysterious "Cowl".

Inari Raith

Species: Human (formerly Vampire (White Court))

One of the youngest members of the Raith family, an almost-succubus who, as the Raith rules goes, was not given any knowledge of her powers and desire. She was introduced to Harry in the novel Blood Rites while he was investigating magical assault on a porno set where she was working as a production assistant. While Harry was at the Raith estate, she was sent to the room Harry was staying in to indulge in her first feeding of life force, which is always fatal to the victim in question. When she advanced to kiss Harry, the lingering aura of true love radiating from Harry's body (left over from the last time Harry was with his ex Susan) burned her and she fled, confused as to what she was doing and why she was burned. After the happenings at the set are settled, Inari and her fiance, Bobby, get out of the pornography industry and relocate to California to start a feng shui business. Since she found true love before she ever fed on human lust, she will never become a White Court vampire like the rest of her family. This means that she is free of the curse, but also that she is denied the substantial benefits, like immortality. It is unclear if her offspring are in danger of becoming incubi/succubi.

Henry Rawlins

Species: Human

Occupation: Police Officer

One of the Chicago PD's "old hands", Rawlins is a cop who gets the job done and has little patience for politics. He has been demoted from detective twice. After he was saved from an unknown creature by Murphy's father, he has kept an open mind about the supernatural. He has been moved to the SI department and been assigned as Murphy's partner. As of Turn Coat, Rawlins is spending ample time at SI "giving the wife ammunition for when she divorces me." He doesn't care if Murphy and Harry rough up a rotten suspect. During Binder's questioning, Rawlins came over the intercom telling Murphy and Harry to move Binder a tad to the left so he could see the full beating on camera. He said he was "making popcorn" at the time. At the end of the rough questioning, Rawlins piped through with the dry comment "I love this channel!"

Rudolph

Species: Human

Occupation: Police Officer (Internal Affairs)

Before moving to Internal Affairs, Rudolph was a young, inexperienced member of the SI department, under Murphy's command. His placement there was the result of a relationship with a high-ranking city official's daughter. After his transfer to Internal Affairs, he seems to feel nothing but contempt for Murphy and Dresden and as of Small Favors seems to be stirring up whatever trouble he can for SI and rising in rank.

The Skinwalker

Species: Skinwalker, Native American Semi-Divine creature

Occupation: None

The Skinwalker is a Native American creature, one of those who displeased the Great Spirit and was exiled to Earth. It is vulnerable to the holy chants of the ancient shamans as might demons be to prayers offered to God. When viewed through Wizard Sight, the pure Evil that the spirit embodies is enough to drive Harry almost mad with terror that such a creature could even exist.

The Skinwalker is an ally or member of the Black Council, and comes in on their behalf. It is capable of shapechanging into an almost unlimited number of forms, including being able to mimic others with near perfect accuracy. It is also possessed of superhuman strength and speed, equal to or exceeding a White Court Vampire, with incredible resiliency and regenerative powers as well. On top of all this, it is stated by Donald Morgan in Turn Coat that when a skinwalker kills a spellcaster, it consumes the victim's magic and adds that power to its own.

Even taking precautions and setting up the field of battle, the Skinwalker is able to overcome Harry and the forces of the White Court at their home estate, kill one of the Alpha Werewolves and maim another, and also beat Harry again at the Battle of Demonreach Island. Only Injun Joe, though not a holy shaman, is able to avoid the power of its magic, and then in a duel of shapechanging, defeat it and send it running, hurt but not destroyed.

Another Skinwalker was revealed to have been destroyed by Warden Morgan in the 1950s, who lured it into the blast area of a nuclear bomb test before escaping into the Nevernever. The Skinwalker is probably the most formidable enemy Harry has had to contend with in all his novels.

The Skinwalker captures and tortures Thomas, forcing him to use his White Court powers repeatedly to survive, an extremely traumatic event that sends Thomas back into the arms of the White Court.

John Stallings

Species: Human

Occupation: Police Officer (formerly "Detective Sergeant", now Lieutenant and Head of Special Investigations)

Introduced in Proven Guilty, John Stallings is an older black man who knew Murphy's father well, and has the temerity to address her by nicknames! He is williing to suspend all disbelief of the supernatural to get the job done. He has been shot in the foot and kidnapped with Dresden, and was appointed to Head of Special Investigations after Murphy was demoted during the events of Proven Guilty.

Bianca St. Claire

Species: Vampire (Red Court) (deceased).

Occupation: Madam of an escort service (The Velvet Room), Margravine and, prior to her destruction, Baroness of the Red Court.

Bianca, like all her kind, is actually a repulsive monster inside the flesh of a beautiful woman. Harry earned her wrath by coming armed into her house during the investigation of one of her prostitutes' deaths, which climaxed with him attacking her with a handkerchief filled with sunshine. This injured her so that she needed to feed, and she fed too deeply on her favorite servant and killed her. She hated him for that, and blamed him for the death of her friend.

Bianca returns in Grave Peril, where she conspires with the Leanansidhe and Black Court vampires. She holds a masquerade ball and invites Harry with the intention of goading him into a fight, thus allowing her to kill him and possibly sparking off a war with the wizards. When that attempt fails and he ends up burning and killing many of the vampires, Bianca turns Harry's girlfriend Susan into a half-vampire, and says that she will forgive him all his past actions, but will keep Susan for herself. She is killed when Harry summons up the ghosts of all the vampires' victims.

The TV version of Bianca is very different from the book version. Bianca is a far more innocuous character, who takes in Harry while he's on the run, and even arranges safe passage elsewhere with little apparent intention of using it against him. She is a club owner and not a madam, and she becomes sexually involved with Harry. To date, she has not been killed.

Toot-Toot

Species: Dew Drop Fairy

First seen in Storm Front, Toot Toot is one of the "Little Folk" of the realm of Faerie and bound to the Summer Court, but during Dresden's first encounter, Toot threatens to tell the Queen Titania the wizard had bound him into a circle, implying that he did belong to one of the courts. However, it is possible that he may be a Wyldfae and is only called to a court during times of war. He is a tiny pale lavender creature surrounded by a silver nimbus of light with silver dragonfly wings and a shaggy mane of pale magenta hair (later described as lavender in Small Favor). In Storm Front, he is first estimated to be about six inches in height.

By Small Favor Toot has doubled in size and is in command of the "Za Lord's" guard, protecting the brownies (Harry has as a faerie cleaning service) from "the dread beast Mister" and acting as a pest exterminator for Harry's apartment. The little folk get past Harry's threshold, the protective barrier around his home that repels supernatural beings. Harry has stated that the little folk are everywhere anyhow, and anywhere they are not they can get to. So it seems that most measures to keep out magic and mundane creatures are not effective against pixies. The Za Lord's guard consists of a number of little folk Harry freed during White Night. This increase in power may have resulted in Toot Toot's larger size.

In Summer Knight, he, along with other pixies, surprised and killed Aurora (the Summer Lady), with steel box cutters (iron being a bane to fae.) The pixies were able to wield the box cutters due to their plastic handles.

Toot Toot is intelligent but often behaves innocent of danger and tends to act very childish even while being serious, such as writing "pizza or death" on his box knife and imitating Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket. Toot, like all little folk has a relatively short term memory, watches a great deal of events concerning mortals as entertainment, is insane about pizza, as are all pixies, and has a higher emotional state due to his size. Harry's relationship with him has changed since Storm Front: where once Harry would have trapped Toot and bribed him with pizza until he did what he wanted, now he treats Toot with far more respect, and only has to call for him and offer payment. Toot is very loyal to Harry. In the novel "Turn Coat" Toot attacked a very large and powerful entity called a Skinwalker to protect Harry.

By the novel Turn Coat Toot has amassed quite an army under the "Za Lord" and is noted by Harry to be the tallest Dewdrop fairy he has ever met (standing a full 12 inches tall) However this may be building into something more grand as in the world of the Fae, belief and followers equal power and if Toot continues to recruit more into the "Za Lord's Army" he may become an unattached Faerie with quite a lot of power.

He Who Walks Behind

Species: Outsider (a being from beyond the Outer Gates)

First summoned by Harry's former mentor and dark wizard Justin DuMorne to capture or kill Harry. Dresden somehow managed to escape He Who Walks Behind and kill Justin when the Outsider was dismissed. Resummoned in the novel Blood Rites, He Who Walks Behind is described as a dark presence, a terrifying shadow or mist that creeps upon you unseen and undetected, possibly indicating where it gets its name. He Who Walks Behind states that it has not forgotten Harry and was not officially dismissed at the end of the novel, leaving many to believe that Harry will someday have to confront the Outsider yet again. Harry carries a mark on his soul, visible to the Wizard's Sight, from his encounter with He Who Walks Behind; its effects, if any, are unknown.

Uriel

Species: Archangel

Main article: Uriel

In Small Favor, Harry inexplicably finds himself able to use Soulfire, the Heavenly equivalent to Hellfire. After Michael Carpenter is near-fatally injured, and Harry heads to a hospital chapel to rant at God. An elderly janitor comes by to talk to him about God's true nature and suggests that an archangel was helping in their work, then vanishes, leaving behind a copy of Tolkien's "The Two Towers" with the line "The burned hand teaches best" underlined. Mab hints to Harry that the janitor he met really was "The Watchman", whom she later identifies as Uriel, although she orders Harry not to say his name lightly.

He later learns that his Soulfire is likely a gift from the archangel Uriel, who seems to have taken an interest in him. Mab states that "Of the archangels, I like him the most. He is the quiet one. The subtle one. The one least known. And by far the most dangerous." Most of his actions are either unknown or conjecture. He is, according to Bob, the angel responsible for the deaths of the firstborn of Egypt.

Harry also learns that he can not use the Soulfire too much, as it is fueled with his soul. However, in time, souls regenerate through having a good time and doing things that "uplift the human spirit".

In the short story, "Warrior" published in the anthology Mean Streets (January 2009), Uriel appears as "Jake" to Dresden in the final scene. Dresden believes he may be having a hallucination due to head trauma or the scotch he is drinking. Nevertheless, Dresden carries on a discussion with Uriel in the balcony of St. Mary of the Angels Church. Uriel appears in response to Harry's musing over the argument Michael has with the fallen priest, Father Douglas. Uriel admits " I don't exactly make it a habit to do this, but if you've got questions, ask them". Harry and Uriel then have a conversation and Uriel explains to Harry that his actions often have "metaphorical" outcomes. He then explains how Harry often does good by his interactions with people separate from his magical actions. He then points to acts of kindness done this very day that have long term positive outcomes on the people Dresden has interacted with. Uriel tell Harry that God while allowing free will and choice often places people into the "right" situations. Uriel tells Harry that he has often been manipulated by God into such situations. He also discusses Harry's actions at the end of Small Favor which resulted in Michael near death. Dresden jokes that "You dragged me into this mess. You can pay me, same as any other client.." Uriel expresses disbelief "you're trying to bill the Lord God Almighty?" and then Uriel disappears leaving Harry alone to ponder what he has just learned.