Harry Potter, the famous boy wizard, has his first kiss during his time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But who gives Harry his first magical kiss?
Cho Chang
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Cho Chang is the first person to kiss Harry Potter on the lips. Cho is a student one year above Harry at Hogwarts and plays Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Harry has had a crush on Cho since his third year at Hogwarts when he first saw her play Quidditch.
Their first kiss happens during a Dumbledore’s Army meeting in the Room of Requirement. Under the mistletoe, Cho makes the first move and kisses Harry. Here is a description of the kiss from the book:
“Under the mistletoe,” said Cho quietly.
“Yeah,” said Harry.
Their gaze met for a moment. Harry felt a horrible, plummeting sensation in his stomach.
Then she was kissing him, and everything else faded away, the room, the snow, his misgivings about her motivations, everything.
So Cho Chang gives Harry his first romantic kiss under the mistletoe during Christmas break of his fifth year. However, technically she is not the very first person to kiss Harry Potter.
Aunt Petunia
When Harry was a baby, his aunt Petunia Dursley gave him a small kiss on the cheek. This kiss from his aunt when he was an infant is likely the very first kiss Harry ever received.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there are flashback scenes to the night Harry’s parents were killed and he was delivered to the Dursley’s as a baby. Petunia gives infant Harry a quick kiss after taking him in:
Mrs. Dursley came hurrying into the living room carrying a small bundle of blankets. Her face was full of barely concealed curiosity. The wizard took the bundle from her and set it gently on the doorstep. Through the blankets Harry could see a baby’s face, under a tuft of jet-black hair. The baby boy was fast asleep. Inside, he was all that was left of the best witch and wizard of their age.
Mrs. Dursley composed herself, marched across the front garden, retrieved the little bundle, and hurried back inside, closing the door sharply behind her. The baby didn’t wake up. He could see her marching through the living room, laying him tenderly on the sofa. She still had the blankets he was wrapped in. He clutched them tightly in his tiny fist while Mrs. Dursley unwrapped the top layer carefully. He caught a brief glimpse of a curiously shaped cut on his forehead before she hurriedly covered it with a clean nappy.
“You poor thing,” Mrs. Dursley murmured, carefully smoothing back the fine black hair from the lightning scar and planting a kiss on the baby’s forehead.
So while Aunt Petunia’s kiss was just a quick peck on baby Harry’s head, she was technically the first person to plant one on the future wizard. This familial kiss from his aunt occurs before he receives any romantic kisses later in life at Hogwarts.
Hermione Granger
While not a romantic kiss, Harry’s friend Hermione Granger kisses him on the cheek in three separate books – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows.
In Order of the Phoenix, Hermione gives Harry a kiss on the cheek after Harry tells her and Ron about the prophecy concerning him and Voldemort. The kiss is meant to provide comfort and support to her friend:
“We’ll be there, Harry,” said Ron.
“What?”
“At your aunt and uncle’s house,” said Ron. “And then we’ll go with you wherever you’re going.”
“No —” said Harry quickly; he had not counted on this, he had meant them to understand that he was undertaking this most dangerous journey alone.
“You said to us once before,” said Hermione quietly, “that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We’ve had time, haven’t we?”
“We’re with you whatever happens,” said Ron. “But, mate, you’re going to have to come round my mum and dad’s house before we do anything else, even Godric’s Hollow.”
“Why?”
“Bill and Fleur’s wedding, remember?”
Harry looked at him, startled; the idea that anything as normal as a wedding could still exist seemed incredible and yet wonderful.
“Yeah, we shouldn’t miss that,” he said finally.
Hermione glanced around at the sound and the vacant stretch of pavement, and then she smiled and pulled Harry into a fierce hug that took his breath away. “Hermione!” “We’ll be there, Harry,” she said.
Then, still beaming, she kissed him on the cheek, turned, and followed Ron and Ginny back into the Great Hall.
In Half-Blood Prince, Hermione again gives Harry a kiss on the cheek after he tells her that he has inherited all of Sirius Black’s possessions:
He pulled open the tapestry curtains and climbed through the portrait hole, giving the Fat Lady an extra-loud “Happy Christmas!” as he passed.
“You look happy, Harry!” called Hermione, also rather giddy on Butterbeer as he joined her and Ron.
“Merry Christmas!” said Ron, beaming at Harry. “Have a present!”
“And you too!” said Hermione delightedly, forced a present into his hands.
“I got you something nice too, Harry,” said Ginny eagerly, pushing a neatly wrapped present into his hands.
“Sirius would have liked to see you happy,” Luna said.
“Yeah, I think he would,” said Harry, suddenly solemn.
Hermione kissed him on the cheek. “To Sirius,” she said raising her glass.
“To Sirius,” they all repeated.
And in Deathly Hallows when Harry returns after the Battle of Hogwarts, he finds Ron and Hermione in the Headmaster’s office:
Harry sprinted up the marble staircase and hurtled along the corridors so fast the portraits he passed muttered reproaches in his wake. He skidded to a halt beside the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster’s office, gave the password, and sprang up the moving spiral stairs three at a time.
There was no need to knock. No sooner had he reached the door than it flew open and there stood Professor McGonagall. She drew him inside without a word and walked him over the threshold.
Ron and Hermione stood shoulder to shoulder, beaming at him. And then there were shouts and squeals of delight; Ron’s mother was sobbing noisily on his shoulder; Ron was pounded on the back by what looked like more than four pairs of hands—
In the confusion, Harry found himself being hugged and kissed by Hermione.
So Hermione gives Harry several friendly kisses on the cheek to show affection and support for her best friend throughout their adventures together. They are not romantic kisses, but they demonstrate the strong bond between the two characters.
Ginny Weasley
Harry’s future wife Ginny Weasley first kisses him at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince after Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup match against Ravenclaw.
Harry and Ginny developed a bit of a romance throughout Half-Blood Prince, but this kiss seals their new relationship. Harry describes the kiss like this:
And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.
After several long moments—or it might have been half an hour—or possibly several sunlit days—they broke apart. The room had gone very quiet. Then several people wolf-whistled and there was an outbreak of nervous giggling. Harry looked over the top of Ginny’s head to see Dean Thomas holding a shattered glass in his hand, and Romilda Vane looking as though she might throw something. Hermione was beaming, but Harry’s eyes sought Ron. At last he found him, still clutching the Cup and wearing an expression appropriate to having been clubbed over the head. For a fraction of a second they looked at each other, then Ron gave a tiny jerk of the head that Harry understood to mean, Well—if you must.
So Ginny Weasley gives Harry his first long, passionate kiss as his new girlfriend at the end of Half-Blood Prince. Their relationship continues, and Ginny eventually becomes Harry Potter’s wife and the mother of his children.
Conclusion
To summarize the key first kisses for Harry Potter:
- Aunt Petunia – A quick peck on infant Harry’s cheek when she takes him in as a baby
- Cho Chang – Harry’s first romantic kiss under the mistletoe during Christmas break of 5th year
- Hermione Granger – Multiple kisses on the cheek throughout the books to comfort her best friend
- Ginny Weasley – Harry’s first passionate kiss as his new girlfriend after winning a Quidditch match in 6th year
So while Cho Chang gives Harry his first romantic kiss, Aunt Petunia was technically the very first person to plant one on Harry Potter as a baby. And Ginny Weasley becomes his main love interest and eventual wife. The kisses from Hermione demonstrate the close, non-romantic friendship between two of the main characters.
Harry’s first kisses range from familial affection to romantic passion. They mark important emotional moments in his journey from orphaned infant to heroic teenager finding love. The kisses show different forms of affection Harry experiences from the most important women in his life.
Who kisses Harry Potter first? In chronological order, his aunt Petunia Dursley. But in terms of romantic significance, that first kiss from Cho Chang under the mistletoe signals Harry’s awakening interest in girls and dating during his adolescence. And his kiss with Ginny at the end of Half-Blood Prince kickstarts a lifelong romance with the woman who will become his wife.
Harry’s first kisses with Cho Chang and Ginny Weasley demonstrate him experiencing new feelings of physical intimacy and romance as he goes through the awkward but exciting transition from child to young adult. These magical moments help define Harry Potter as a literary character, showing realistic emotional growth and self-discovery that countless readers have deeply connected with over the years.
When Harry finally kisses Ginny at the end of Half-Blood Prince, it’s a culmination of six books worth of building friendship and chemistry between the two characters. This first kiss plants the seeds for them to eventually fall in love, get married, and start a family together after defeating Voldemort. It’s a beautiful payoff after following Harry’s full journey.
Ultimately, each first kiss Harry experiences progresses his maturity and self-awareness. They allow him to develop meaningful relationships that shape the rest of his life path. From the motherly kiss of his aunt Petunia to his first intimate kiss with Ginny, Harry’s first kisses represent pivotal stepping stones toward finding love and confidence as a young man.
Who kisses Harry Potter first? The answer takes us through his growth into adulthood and reminds us why we fell in love with the Harry Potter story in the first place. Harry’s journey resonates with so many because it reflects the universal experience of growing up and discovering romance. And it all started with a little kiss on the cheek from Aunt Petunia.