Galadriel (El) Higgins 

The sixteen-year-old protagonist. A junior at the Scholomance, El is a powerful witch who fights against her natural affinity for spells of mass destruction. Her grim and sarcastic demeanor contributes to her social isolation. Although she is a strict mana witch, using only her own efforts to power her magic, many at the school suspect she is a maleficer. 

Orion Lake

A sixteen-year-old junior from the New York enclave. Orion has an affinity for killing mals and has saved the lives of around 600 Scholomance students. He is admired and popular but rarely makes personal connections with others. 

Gwen Higgins

El’s mother. Gwen is a spiritual healer and powerful witch who lives among non-magic people in a hippy commune in Wales. She is patient and deeply principled, replying only on mana for her magic and giving away her spells for free. 

Aadhya

A junior artificer from New Jersey. Pragmatic and fair-minded, Aadhya is highly skilled at making magical objects. Like El, Aadhya is an independent who did not grow up in an enclave. 

Yi Liu

A junior with an affinity for animals who begins as a maleficer but turns to mana after El’s spell reverses the damage that malia has done to her body. Liu’s family is almost powerful enough to form an enclave, and they depend on her to support their work and her younger cousins. 

Chloe Rasmussen

A junior from the New York enclave. Chloe has a strong sense of entitlement and is willing to lie to keep Orion in the New York enclave. 

Magnus Tebow

A socially powerful junior from the New York enclave. Magnus is selfish and does not mind endangering El to keep Orion in the New York encalve. 

Jack Westing

A popular junior and secret maleficer who has killed other students. 

 

Luisa

A junior who came to the Scholomance with no knowledge of the magical world. She is killed by Jack after seeking his protection. 

Clarita Acevedo-Cruz

The senior valedictorian, an independent from Argentina. Clarita is a highly intelligent leader with the self-control to hide her strategies from other students in order to achieve her goals. 

Nkoyo 

A junior from Africa who takes many language classes with El and is friendly to her.

Jowani and Cora

Nkoyo’s best friends, also from Africa.

Ibrahim 

A junior artificer and Arabic speaker who is infatuated with Orion. 

Yaakov

The best friend of Ibrahim. 

Todd Quayle

A senior from the New York enclave who forces Mika into the void to take his room. 

Mika

A socially isolated senior who is pushed into the void by Todd.

Arjun

El’s father, an Indian wizard who died on graduation day while saving Gwen from a maw-mouth.