**tldr**; Voldemort is evil and fantastic, but Umbridge is realistic. We could know someone like her in our own lives. She's duplicitous; she hides her anger under smiles, doilies, and pink...everything. Her narcissism and bigotry manifest as casual cruelty throughout her time in the Harry Potter universe. She gaslights and physically harms her way to the top. First, she authorizes Filch to use medieval punishment devices to punish students (hanging them up by their ankles by shackles). Umbridge directly harms Harry when she gives him detention. The quill he uses to write "I Will Not Tell Lies" (about something he isn't lying about) is supplied by blood from his own hand. Then, she constantly gaslights Harry, telling him and everyone around him that he is lying about the events of the triwizard tournament. She turns his classmates against the student body, empowering Malfoy in his hatred of Harry through the inquisitors squad. This behavior turns some of Harry's closest friends against him. Last, her bigotry against muggles and non-human magical creatures causes her to hurt and fire Hagrid. Harry's close association with Hagrid (a half giant), Lupin (a turned werewolf), and Hermione (a muggle-born) is more incentive for Umbridge to essentially torture Harry. These beliefs and behaviors are common ones we see in everyday abusers and abuses. Voldemort is purely evil, obsessed with purity and eternal life, and powerful but he is a fiction. His type of cruelty is not relatable because it is so incredibly rare. Almost everyone has an Umbridge.

I believe that Voldermort was a better and truer villain than Umbridge. Umbridge was like any other villain. If this were a story that did not have a deeper, darker plot, Umbridge would have been perfect. Umbridge is just a mean teacher in a place of witchcraft. Just like a teacher in the muggle world would use harsh words and rulers to punish children, Umbridge uses her blood-sucking pens and intentionally dry coursework. Voldermort is what created the whole Harry Potter legacy. If Harry Potter never lived, there would be no plot. The scar, the Horcruxes, the Order of Phoenix, and Harry’s best friends all wove in together seamlessly because of Voldermort. Voldermort killed Harry’s parents and many other people. Umbridge never killed anybody. She just created a lot of rules with a touch of sadism and discrimination against other magical beings. Voldermort is more of a villain than Umbridge because he did characteristically evil things on a much larger scale. The Death Eaters were eviler and larger in number than the Inquistiroal Squad. Death Eaters had more of an evil-doing capacity. Voldermort used dark magic and was an insanely powerful wizard. Umbridge was indeed more relatable, but Voldermort was the true, all-powerful, and leading villain in Harry Potter. I think if the question were whether Umbridge was more realistic or more relatable, then Umbridge would win. In a setting like Harry Potter and the witchcraft world, however, Voldermort is the better villain.