Eyebrows

In the narrative of the Harry Potter series, eyebrows serve as a significant and frequently mentioned physical feature. While often a minor detail, they are used by the author to add depth to a character's physical description, convey personality traits, and signal non-verbal emotional cues such as surprise, skepticism, or anger. The appearance of a character's eyebrows can reflect their nature—from wise and eccentric to menacing and stern—while their magical alteration highlights the more whimsical or malicious aspects of the wizarding world.

Certain characters are defined, in part, by their distinctive eyebrows.

• Albus Dumbledore: While his most prominent features are his long silver hair, beard, and half-moon spectacles, Dumbledore's silver eyebrows are noted for their expressiveness. They frequently arch, rise, or contract to convey his thoughts, ranging from mild amusement to deep concern.
• Horace Slughorn: Professor Slughorn's eyebrows are one of his most memorable features. They are described as “enormous” and “bristling,” matching his immense, walrus-like mustache. This contributes to his overall image as a larger-than-life, somewhat pompous individual.
• Rufus Scrimgeour: The former Head of the Auror Office and later Minister for Magic is described as resembling an old lion. This comparison is supported by his “mane of tawny hair” and his “bushy eyebrows,” which give him a grizzled and tough appearance befitting his personality and profession.
• Viktor Krum: The Durmstrang Institute champion is characterized by his surly and brooding demeanor. His physical description supports this, noting his “thick, black eyebrows” which add to his intense and imposing presence.
• Draco Malfoy: While the physical appearance of his eyebrows is not detailed, Draco Malfoy's use of them is a signature part of his character. He is frequently described as raising a single pale eyebrow in a gesture of scorn, disbelief, or arrogance when dealing with Harry Potter and his friends.

Eyebrows are not immune to the effects of magic, and several instances show them being altered by spells and potions.

• Hexes and Jinxes: In her fifth year, Gryffindor Chaser Alicia Spinnet fell victim to a hex, likely cast by a Slytherin student. The hex caused her eyebrows to grow so thick and fast that they completely covered her eyes, blinding her until the curse could be lifted.
• Potions: The Polyjuice Potion is a powerful transformation elixir that changes a person's entire physical form to that of another, which inherently includes the shape, color, and thickness of their eyebrows. When Hermione Granger mistakenly used a cat hair in her potion, she sprouted fur all over her face, a dramatic and related example of potion-induced facial hair alteration.

• In the film adaptations of the series, the expressiveness of characters' eyebrows became a key tool for the actors. The subtle arch of an eyebrow by Alan Rickman as Severus Snape could convey immense disdain, while Daniel Radcliffe's furrowed brows often signaled Harry Potter's worry or concentration. (film)