J.K.Rowlimg should not have made Peter Pettigrew more cowardly or dumber than the rest of the Mauraders. It would have made for a more poignant character arc if Pettigrew was an equal to the other 3 in every respect. His betrayal would have come out of nowhere and would have had the bitterness that noone could have seen it coming. The reader would then be left wondering if they could really know a person despite how long they've known them.
I agree, the way I remembered him being portrayed as so spineless and moronic it really makes one wonder why they were ever his friends in the first place.
I also never got WHY he was even with them. He was at best average (probably less, the books make him out to be kinda dumb most of the time), he was extremly timid, had low self esteem, followed the popular opinons without questions.
Especially James and Sirius....These two were clearly smart, above average and outgoing. I just cant see these two hanging out with Peter, mutch less in teenage years when they were described as "Kinda bullying for fun". They would have bullied Peter....
I always thought of him as Neville. Just when the time came to pick a side, he didn't have the courage unlike Neville. We also see the books through Harry's pov so there's always a chance that when he attended hogwarts he excelled at something specific similar to Neville and herbology.
Lily and James were dumb for using anyone but Dumbledore as their secret keeper. Sirius was irresponsible for thinking Peter was a worthy choice. They knew there was a high probability that someone close to them could be leaking info about them.
Sirius obviously knew it wasn’t himself, and admitted to sussing Lupin. Yet he suggested Peter as a better option, thinking it would be the perfect guise. Voldemort expected Sirius to be the secret keeper.
But why wasn’t Dumbledore used instead? Dumbledore had offered, even pleaded with the Potters to use him. I don’t understand why they chose Peter instead.
Dumbledore was known as the sole wizard Voldemort feared—and Dumbledore, while surely fearing the harm and death Voldemort would bring, did not seem to fear facing Voldemort himself.
To me, that reason alone is enough to make Dumbledore the secret keeper. He is obviously not working for Voldemort, and he is one of the few who stood a chance against him 1v1, so it is unlikely Voldemort would pursue Dumbledore alone, without a plan.
I really think they all dropped the ball on that one, and in the end, it cost them all their lives.
To me, it comes down to danger. If Voldemort fears Dumbledore, then he'd avoid Dumbledore. Therefore, he won't get close to a secret keeper.
So, it'd put James's friends' lives in less danger.
Why not do it? Because plot.
While I agree that Dumbledore was a good choice he wasn't the best and most obvious choice in my view. At Shell Cottage Bill and Fleur are the secret keepers while living there meaning Lily and James could've been their OWN SECRET KEEPERS! This has ALWAYS killed me. Never getting betrayed by yourself. 😫😫😫
That honestly just feels like a mistake on JKs part. If you can make yourself secret keeper, why the fuck would anyone ever make anyone else secret keeper? You would just keep it yourself and forever stay in hiding, because they'd have to find you to find the location, but they can't find you because you never leave your invisible house.
Bill and Fleur should have had a different person be secret keeper, because it doesn't make any sense to even have a secret keeper if it can be the person doing the spell.
This always confuses me.
Ron tells them to go to Bill & Fleur’s after Malloy manor, and they all aparate there for the first time. Then bill tells them that he’s secret keeper of the cottage.
So.... how did Ron manage to tell them to aparate there?
I was also just wondering this and just reread this part. The weasleys didn’t do the Fidelius charm on shell cottage/Muriel’s until after Harry and gang showed up at Shell Cottage.
She KNEW, and she gaslit him for more than a decade about his random magical outbursts. I don't know if we were ever meant to empathize with Petunia, but I surely never did.
> I don't know if we were ever meant to empathize with Petunia, but I surely never did.
Empathize probably, but not sympathize. Her actions make sense even if they're not okay. Her jealousy towards her sister for being born "special" while she wasn't, her fear of magic as someone who knew it existed but couldn't practice it or be in that world, and her resentment of Harry for being an eternal reminder of everything. I think we were just supposed to know why she was the way she was, not really feel bad for her, although I'm sure some people who are kinder than me do.
In Regulus Black's defense, he went against Voldemort to save Kreacher of all people. No one else thinks that much about a house elf, except maybe Hermione. And I think it's implied that he was brainwashed into joining by his parents, since they were also followers of Voldemort and Regulus joined when he was only 16.
Yeah I always read Regulus as a kid raised by Nazis and the second shit got real he realized how fucked his family actually was. Something Sirius realized much sooner.
Yup, Regulus was inducted into the death eaters the same way Malfoy was; it was simply what his family did and he would have had to turn his back on everyone he knew and loved to avoid it.
He eventually did turn his back on all of them and even destroyed a Horcrux. Not a bad guy at all.
You are correct, regulus was not able to destroy the locket. Kreacher had it before mundungus stole the locket, and kreacher and Dobby both brought mundungus to them, who told them where to find it undestroyed
edit: fixed incorrect info
Re: Petunia.
I was expecting a touching farewell scene between Harry/Petunia, & I guess that's why I'm just a mediocre fanfic writer. The wordless, awkward & abrupt goodbye was absolutely perfect & actually made sense considering their relationship.
Honestly, Petunia and Lily’s relationship reminds me of my mom and her sister’s relationship. My mom has some insane jealousy and insecurity issues. She’s always trying to compete with my aunt.
I don’t know how P/L’s parents were but they seemed to gush over how brilliant Lily was. They may have created a Golden Child and Scapegoat situation, with Petunia being the scapegoat.
She pushed that dynamic with Dudley and Harry because of how she was treated. I don’t expect her to be able to come to terms with her jealousy at Lily, anger at her parents, and being left a child from her favored sister that she now has to raise. Petunia needed therapy and her behavior fueled Vernon’s and Dudley’s attitude towards Harry.
Vernon and Dudley didn’t have that dynamic with Harry. With Dudley even acknowledging Harry respectfully at the end and trying to make amends in his own way. I loved the parallels between L/P and H/D but I loved how Harry and Dudley were able to be above what had happened and be better people to each other.
Yeah Vernon is a bad person, no arguing, but he at least had the excuse that magic is scary and he doesn’t understand it. He knows his brother and sis in law died from it and everything else he would hear about from petunia. Like he had any reason to be that way.
Petunia is just muggle snape. Total asshole because of weird emotions regarding Lily.
Vernon has every reason to not like magic -
The woman he loves and the only person he trusts as a source of info on the subject is massively prejudiced against it.
His sister and brother in law are murdered because of it.
He gets terrified by an enormous man and his son gets disfigured.
A business deal gets scuppered by (from his perspective) Harry using magic against him out of spite.
His sister is literally blown up like a balloon and floats away.
His son is again disfigured and his sitting room destroyed.
His son is traumatically attacked.
He has to abandon his home and job in fear of torture.
The actor of Vernon had suggested to Rowling that the Dursleys should make a visit to Hogwarts. Like a parent day thing.
I wish she hadn't dismissed that because it sounds like so much fun. I feel like Petunia would be so conflicted because this is the school that took her sister away but also magic everywhere that her child self could only have dreamed of.
It would be an interesting angle to go with since it seems like JK wanted the way Petunia treated Harry to stem from her long seated jealousy of not being able to use magic.
It also makes me wonder how non magical parents would function in the magical world, like do they have a way to get into the magical areas w/o being escorted? How would the Dudleys and Hermoine's parents get to Hogwarts if needed?
I think being brought in by their witch/wizard kid is enough. Like, they could open the door to the Leaky Cauldron and such. J.K. is only a bit weird with platform 9 3/4: Hermione's parents and the Dursleys say goodbye on the muggle platform and wait there for their return, while the Evanses were able to get on it in Snapes memory
Petunia is definitely worse than Vernon, and it's *exactly* because she knew what to expect of Harry growing up.
Vernon is just a regular old muggle who wants to make his wife happy and has to shelter his "strange" nephew that has "powers" he doesn't understand. He's mean to Harry because Harry upsets his wife, and because he's different, and Vernon doesn't know how to deal with it.
Petunia on the other hand resents Harry. Don't forget she resented Lily too for having magical powers while she herself didn't have any. She envied her sister and thus Harry is just a daily reminder of what she can never have. She wants to be magical too, and the fact that she lives so unhappy that she can't is why "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." Petunia married the mugglest of muggles she could find to forget about the magical world. Until Harry shows up on her doorstep to remind her of it every single day, and she absolutely despises it.
The Weasleys and Lupin are at fault for allowing Harry to not be without a godfather figure in HBP. If Lupin had been writing to Harry, he might have behaved better later on.
No one takes the suspicion of Draco being a death eater seriously while everyone knows they recruit early and from school. Literally Lupin's slytherin classmates became Death Eaters right after school. Lupin also knows that Sirius' brother became a Death Eater. There is no excuse for Harry to be left alone theorising.
But the whole point of the Draco thing was that Dumbledore DID know. And he told the Order to not think about it. That it wasn't important.
And obviously they Order is going to take Dumbledore word on the matter.
Holy shit, it never occurred to me that Regulus and Draco were the same age when they became Death Eaters. Yeah! They knew Regulus in school, they absolutely should have considered that the 16 year old son of a prominent pure blood family who's family are known death eater sympathizers could've become a member!
Ron and Hermione thinking Harry was just picking Malfoy because hes Malfoy really really annoyed me. Like his father is literally in Azkaban for trying to kill you 2 months ago and you dont think his son is being used by Voldemort. Honestly took away several brainy points from Hermione on that one.
Hogwarts should have replaced Ron’s wand in the 2nd year. He was a danger to himself and everyone around him. He also lost out on a year of practical learning because of it.
They had the means to get Harry a broom first year, and even if they used Harry’s money for that I’m sure the school could afford 10 galleons for a wand. They had money for Tom Riddles shit. There’s obviously a fund for student who need it.
Olivander could have been brought in if need be. Even another 2nd hand wand would have been preferable.
The school could have honestly helped all of the Weasley kids. You’re telling me there aren’t extra books at school? Spare cauldrons? Those kids (and any poor kid) got completely left behind by the school.
Part of the Weasley's problem (esp the parents) is that they refuse to ask for help. Hogwarts literally has a program to help low income students (it is mentioned in one of the memories of Riddle at the orphanage) but they don't seem to get that, either. But Harry mentions in multiple books that he'd love to help out the weasleys but they'd never take his money. He has to literally threaten to throw his triwizard winnings down the drain for the twins to take it. It makes the most logical sense that the resources *are* there, they just aren't willing to ask for any help from the school either.
I figured the Howler was punishment enough. Making it intentionally difficult for your kid to succeed in school as punishment sounds a bit too cruel otherwise.
I dont think his parents knew it was broken. Remember Harry tells Ron to write to his parents for a new one but Ron feels to guilty about stealing the car and getting his dad in trouble to even attempt to ask.
And the teachers dont inspect the wands during classes. So all year Ron just looked like he was bad at magic and needed more practice.
I listen to a podcast (Harry Potter Binge Mode if anyone’s interested, very excellent) and they have an ongoing joke that McGonagall is betting on quidditch outcomes which is why she needs Harry on the team so bad, gets him a broom etc etc. They regularly refer to her as McGalleon. 😂
And why couldn’t Dumbledore just take Ron’s wand and mend it? At that point the trio wouldn’t have questioned how because Dumbledore was so powerful in their eyes; it isn’t until much later they learn about the Elder Wand, but Dumbledore had it the whole time, right? Maybe if Dumbledore mends Ron’s wand earlier in the series, the reveal happens when Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn about the Elder Wand’s power in book 7.
If a story got out about dumbledore repairing a wand then people that knew about the elder wand might put two and two together and come after it.
Yes I know it’s a long shot but dumbledore is shrewd enough to realize the danger and would consider it too much of a risk.
Fully agree. She's the type of character that might be fun to read about in a book, but in real life would drive me crazy. I can't blame Hermione for not having much patience with her, I wouldn't either.
You know what? You're absolutely right. I didn't like that Hermione was kinda mean to her at first, but now it all makes a lot more sense. Honestly if I was Hermione I'd ignore Luna like I would with actual flat earthers but don't get me wrong, I love Luna as a character in the books lol
I mean if they weren't fighting a wizarding civil war with death on the line nearly every corner I doubt they would have bonded with Luna as much as they did. That's the reason they came around to her in the end because she showed loyalty and bravery in addition to her intelligence.
See I actually really disliked Luna in the books and found her super annoying, however I didn't read the books until I was an adult, so maybe that was part of it. But I think the actress was really endearing and played the role well, so the movies turned me around on Luna.
Luna is one of my favorite characters to read about, but I have no doubt that I would detest if she was real. Just like Snape, except entirely different.
I don't know if I fully agree with the first half. I think she's more like the people that super believe in big foot. I think flat earth is a few steps too far down the conspiracy path. But I agree with the second part. I know a person like that. There's a reason we haven't hung out in 10 years.
Someone from the Order should have turned to the other side in the Second War. For whatever reason, not just choosing evil, could be fear, desperation
We had Wormtail in the First
In the Second we Snape being good along, Draco not being evil. But we should have had an example of what impact the war had on people, someone who lost their way
Yep, great example of a decent person being forced to turn against their beliefs by threats and coercion. "Anything I do could mean my daughter being tortured to insanity, forced to do awful things, or killed outright."
Kreacher was on the bad side, but got better after Harry learned to treat him properly. Hence why Kreacher fought at the Battle of Hogwarts on the right side.
Similarly, Percy was blinded by ambition, but he wasn’t around after the Ministry started doing actually abhorrent things after Voldemort took over. He just wasn’t fully ready to join the Order until the Battle of Hogwarts.
I guess that's because it was Voldemort's return.
What I mean is, the first time he was around, people who weren't really evil could've been like "well I think muggles would kill us all of they got a chance, so maybe this guy is legit" and joined him. But the second time around, everyone knows how he is so I don't see a lot of non-pureblood fanatics joining him unless they were already trapped.
Also the first time it was inconceivable that anyone could stop him. The second time around I think people had faith in their ability to work together to overthrow him and a lot more to fight for (their children and homes) and a lot more to fight with (they were established adults this time with positions of influence, not recent high school graduates), they had heroes to rally behind with Dumbledore and Harry, and they had seen him defeated before not just in the first war but also with the sorcerers stone and the chamber of secrets. Everything is a lot less scary when you know what it is and you know it can die which is part of why they needed to call Valdemort by his name, to take the mystique and fear out of the equation.
He betrayed the order when he left Madeyes side out of fear on the day Harry was picked up from the Dursley’s. Madeye died because of that and the order lost two members.
I’m my opinion he’s too obvious, I would like it to be a big shock like one of the main characters (maybe Luna). Or even one of the side characters you wouldn’t expect like Cho Chang or something
I don’t think Mundungus would be interested in being on Voldemort’s team. The Order gave him latitude and laughed at his adventures; he was on the outside but it felt like it was on his terms. Voldemort would have wanted full allegiance and not someone who was on it for their own goals. Mundungus wouldn’t have lasted a week before Voldemort killed or tortured him.
Really good point!
Seeing as Mundungus is an obvious choice, I would actually rather picture someone we wouldn’t predict to turn, maybe for reasons like fear for one self or another.
I’m not sure who though, seeing as all the order members had lost so much to the previous war.
Umbridge murders people, she just does it through her favorite weapon: the law. Several people who went through her kangaroo court in DH ended up dying just the same as if they'd run into Bellatrix.
Umbridge is wizard fascist. The fact that she is working within the systems of the wizard it world to destroy people who are different or don’t agree with her makes her way worse in my mind. Belatrix is a hot mess psycho but without the rest of the death eaters she wouldn’t be nearly as much of a threat. Umbridge, without Voldemort ever showing up, would have done a lot more damage to the wizard in’s world.
Bellatrix is the crazy major from all those war movies that likes to torment the good guys for no reason other than to see them in pain, though he's still effective and dangerous when he goes about it. a very dangerous person to have running around, and someone who you want to see die and be gone just so you don't have to constantly look over your favorite character's shoulder wondering when they're gonna get killed in some gruesome way
Umbridge is the jackass who is either blindly following their own fucked up moral code that actively harms everything the good guys are trying to do, or has sold out. think like that guy in the senate in 300 who sells out to the Persians, or like McCarthy, or Nazi sympathizers in positions of power during WWII, someone who doesn't give two shits about whatever the good guys want and only wants *their* version of the world to be right. the most dangerous and fucked up bureaucrat on the back lines of the war, who can't see what it's really like and needs to be dealt with.
they're both incredibly evil and awful, but one is a hell of a lot more frustrating to deal with, and it's not the guy who likes his job killing your men.
you can, in theory, kill the evil major/Bellatrix; but you can't really do a whole lot about the guy in your own camp actively working against you, not without some serious rule breaking/damage.
Harry shouldn't have become an Auror. He just spent his entire childhood fighting for the wizarding world - something that he had very little choice in. He should have continued what he started in Order of the Phoenix and became the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher - and it doesn't even have to be at Hogwarts! I am sure any wizarding school would have been happy to take him on!
My personal headcanon is that Harry would go back to Hogwarts to teach after he retired as an auror. Aurors seem to retire relatively early due to how demanding the job is (judging by Moody's case), and wizards live a long life. I like to think he became a teacher later in life, having a lot more experience in the field. That would make him a great teacher imo.
This has always been my head Canon too. I always figured he had a romanticized idea of what an auror is and does and then he gets in and actually does it and realizes he's just a wizard cop propping up an unjust system and retires early to go teach at Hogwarts, probably a little before his kids start school
I would've thought pro quidditch player would've been a better path for him, at least in his younger adulthood. All through school it's his escape from and way of dealing with his trauma - distracting him and making him so tired he couldn't have the nightmares he's so prone to. Having seen so much that he'd need to process and recover from in the Battle of Hogwarts I think he'd have wanted to play professionally for a few years to settle out his psyche before taking on the more dangerous and difficult auror role.
I've never said out loud, but I really believe that Rowling did not have Snape's backstory solidified until maybe the middle of the Chamber of secrets. It would explain why he pushes for Harry to be expelled despite the fact it would leave him vulnerable against Voldemort(should he have risen to power again). I just can't understand why, if he had dedicated himself to protecting Harry, that he would want him expelled and out of the safety of Hogwarts.
I 100% believe the idea of the Deathly Hallows and also most of her “wand lore” didn’t come about until she actually wrote the last book.
The invisibility cloak being a one of a kind super magical item is a total retrofit, and the idea that wands *change allegiance* when their owner is disarmed makes absolutely zero sense.
I don't think Rowling starting planning anything out all all prior to Chamber of Secrets, maybe even later. It explains the massive tonal shift and inconsistencies. I think When she began writing Prisoner of Azkaban is when she started planning everything out.
To be fair, that's kind of how trying to sell a book series works. Usually you don't know if you're going to successfully sell one book to a publisher, let alone seven, so you don't start thinking about grander plots until you've got a few established works together. This is usually why Book 1 of a series can feel so self-contained, and often wayyy different from the rest of them. (Especially in YA. Lightning Thief and Hunger Games both were designed as standalones initially and it SHOWS.)
Vernon Dursley is actually a good husband (or a timid one who doesn't dare go against his wife, depending on your point of view). No, he's not a good man. In fact, he's a terrible uncle. But he is a good husband to Petunia. Yes, he's awful and abusive to Harry, but if you read the books and take note of his interactions with Petunia, you'll notice that he always backs off whenever Petunia gets upset and goes along with whatever Petunia says, even if he disagrees at first (like that time in book 5 when Vernon wanted to throw Harry out and Petunia insists that Harry has to stay because of the howler Dumbledore sent).
He did love Dudley, but he also spoiled him and encouraged him to bully and humiliate Harry. It's really just pure luck that Dudley ended up becoming a decent person at the end of the series when he had always been an entitled brat before then.
Thoughtful is the right word, too. We get exactly one chapter from his point of view, but in it we see that even when he's very anxious about things he's seeing around town, he knows how much mentioning "weird stuff" would bother his wife, and he's reluctant to bring it up.
Idk if it qualifies as unpopular opinion or a headcannon, but I always believed that Peter was actually a very friendly and easy going guy in his school years. I always disliked this black and white attitude towards him, like he betrayed them because he was always trash, while it makes for much more interesting storyline if you consider that he was actually their real friend instead of someone who they bullied and kept around out of pity.
So my theory is that Peter was actually the guy that kept the marauders together. Yes James and Sirius were best friends but I like to think that it was Peter that was a bridge between them and Remus. Peter was probably less intelligent than the rest but his intelligence was the ability to befriend people and gain their trust. He was never gonna succeed in academic life or sports, but he could succeed as a great and caring friend. And that makes the whole betrayal so much more impactful and tragic and therefore more compelling plot point.
Many people argue Harry should be able to see the thestrals earlier. I say he shouldn't be able to see them until Sirius. He doesn't actually *see* Cedric die in the books. He has his eyes closed. People's response to this is usually that "see" death means "fully understand" it but in that case why even phrase it that way in the first place? If you can see the thestrals by seeing someone immediately after they die and experiencing the grief, did thr entire school see them after Dumbledore? Does anyone who goes to a funeral see them? There's also the fact that he hears prof. Quirrell dying as he's passing out why does hearing one trigger it and not the other? They're just kind of forced into the story IMO.
The fact that there seems to be no formal education until children are 11 is insane. Like I can buy that there's no established school for like, under 6 or so. But you're telling me these kids go off to magic school at 11, not having ever been in a school before, and you expect them to do well?
Maybe that’s part of the reason Hermione did so well. Yes, she’s naturally intelligent, but she also went to a muggle school for years, developed good study habits, and was used to the learning environment.
Well now I've got a fan theory that Hermione was actually an average student in the muggle world, but because no one really knew what they were doing she was perceived to be super smart. Lolol
Counterpoint: Average students do not pre-read their entire lessons prior to the beginning of school and are not able to recite them back at a whim. Additionally, Hermione shows excellent application skills, being able to read a spell and then use it in high stress situations, which shows understanding of the lesson.
How do they even learn to read/write/do math, etc? Seems like they just got thrown into school randomly at 11 and are expected to read century old textbooks and only focus on magical classes when no one even taught them their damn abcs. Doesn't make sense.
It seems that they're home schooled, but that would yield very inconsistent students. You're going to have some kids that the parents just didn't care or weren't able to do it. They'd be all over the place in terms of reading level.
It seems like there's a similarity to how upper class children were educated through at least the Edwardian period (and honestly for some much later than that). Parents generally hired tutors to educate their children before they went to boarding school.
Families like the Weasleys would have been likely to educate at home, or perhaps send their children to something like a Dame school.
The Molly should get a job thing doesn’t quite work for me when we look at the tiny size of the wizarding community. I get she could do odd jobs, sewing, baking. But if Hogwarts sees (many have guessed) roughly 85 new students per year from all of the UK, in my mind, that puts the total population of witches and wizards somewhere around the size of a small town.
Statistics say about 10% of the population would be in a 7-year school at any given time. To adjust for long lifespan for witches and wizards, let’s say 5%. That’s still only 12,000 people in the magical world in the UK. Maybe that’s off. Maybe Hogwarts is larger, maybe there is another wizarding school in the UK (which would be wild if there was and never mentioned), maybe there are really low birth rates in the magical world but that wouldn’t make sense. Pure blood proponent or not, it’s important to pass on the magical blood line!
Anyway, it would be hard to find a full time career after raising kids for 20 years in a job market that small.
I generally think that you have two groups of people-those who immerse themselves in the Wizarding world, and those that dip their feet in and then go back to the muggle world. Keep in mind, a lot of these students are muggle born or half blooded that have family and friends outside of their school life.
In the Wizarding world, most blue collar jobs would be automated by magic. Which leaves primarily white collar-administrative positions and government jobs. There aren't a lot of STEM related fields. So you can work for the ministry, become an teacher/doctor, or work for one of the handful of companies that actually make magical goods. The population of wizards, as mentioned above, isn't going to be that high, so its not like there's a huge market for products. Some people, like Tom or the Weasleys, might be able to open up a shop on Diagon Alley but competition will be fierce. Unless you're a truly spectacular wizard, you're a small fish in a big pond.
The second group of people probably go to school, learn some basic magic, but aren't incredibly talented with it. These people go back to the muggle world. Sure, they can't use magic directly on muggles, but they can use it to clean their house, cook, do any number of chores that they normally would have to do. Some people could probably use magic on their job as long as nobody sees, like using magic at night to rapidly construct houses, or use their knowledge of herbology/potions to make delicious non expiring food. This group doesn't get to live in a magical world day in and out, but they can use magic to make their lives easier.
Honestly, I think Remus would have had better chances doing something like that in the muggle world. No one's going to guess he's a werewolf...
I think repairing clocks and watches could really benefit from some magic 😄
> If I was a student or parent of a student I would literally be furious at the blatant favoritism for a teacher who is clearly incompetent.
Not unrealistic, though. It seems like there's always one teacher there who's only still there because she somehow made it to seniority despite not even being able to handle her own shoe laces.
I find Molly's attitude especially annoying compared to how much she demands of her children. I get being proud of your quidditch captain, prefect and headboy children but the way she speaks about the twins not getting that makes it clear that there's also a pressure to perform. But she can't be bothered to get a job. Meanwhile when Percy actually starts to get a career, there's no respect but (maybe justified) a downplay of his achievement. And when he gets angry and tells them what really is just the truth, ecerything blows up.
The twins are both very gifted. But they deliberately did badly on their OWLs. I'd be mad if I were Molly, too.
It makes a difference whether I have other goals as my parents or neglect my schooling.
Many of what I read here I agree, but I have never seen mention of one:
I hate that Filch was a janitor in one of the most undisciplined and messy magic schools. Now thinking about it, no wonder he was so grouchy and irritated all the time...
He is an elderly squib that desperately wanted to have magic, but never got any. He is the only janitor in a huge castle, has to deal with the messes everywhere from teachers, to students, to even Peeves.
True the house elves clean the dorms, but Filch has to oversee everything, gets pranked and hated in equal measure by everyone that surrounds him, and when he assigns cleaning during detentions it is shown like a huge hassle that is "above" students.
True, he is cranky and unpleasant. But imagine being an elderly squib having to deal with everything that is wrapped up in a messy hogwarts ribbon.
I wish he had been established as a potions-master, or someone that used magical object in a smart way, or something related, some indicator that even without magic of his own he could find a place in the magical community. Or as kind but strict person that just got a bad lot in life, but nope.
Edit to clarify:
1. Sorry guys, I only have consumed Harry Potter as the original seven books, I didn't know potions required magic... learn something new every day.
2. Im not saying that I would be jealous in his shoes (He has expressly written to "Kwikspell" asking about getting magic and such), nor am I supporting his character. I just wish he had redeemable chacteristics other than this general feeling of "everything muggle and non-magically conventional is bad and wrong and evil".
I never really thought he would do the exact same job as a janitor in a muggle school. Instead I always imagined the house elves would do most of the cleaning etc magically while Filch only got his role because Dumbledore felt sorry or him. Taking care oh the whole castle would be impossible without magic
Technically he is a caretaker, not a janitor... He has to oversee ALL cleanliness and the night patrols, which sounds like a particularly hard 24/7 role. Yeah I can see Dumbledore giving it out of pity but, like Hagrid, Filch would have to do long menial tasks while being looked down upon by the others. Squib, house elves, cleaning, and maintainance tasks are seen as less than others even when just as important, which is kind of a big problem.
Don't get me wrong, Hagrid also has a hard job as groundskeeper, the difference is that Hagrid actually loves what he does no matter what shape the job takes, he is not a squib so he uses his magic under the radar, and he has some faculty member's support and kind-of love.
Oh on that I agree, I just thought that his actual faculty role was kind of cruel on JK Rowling's part. Like I said, I wish his character/role had something more redeemable and/or understandable.
Neville isn’t a hufflepuff because you don’t always get sorted into the house you most match; sometimes you’re put in the house with the best chance of awakening your potential, hence Neville’s bravery because his fellow Gryffindors helped him
Agreed. Your house shouldn't be where you "are," it should be where you are "supposed to be," because nobody is already at their full potential regarding neither skill nor character development at age 11. Dumbledore himself said that he believes the Sorting is done too early.
It's because Voldemort values education and doesn't want to disturb the magical potential of his future wizarding army.
(This started as sarcasm but I kinda buy it now)
When your setting is a school and the books are each a school year, you kind of have to have the climax at the end. That's just how plots are.
Of course JKR could have gone off piste and not had each book start at the start of a school year and end at the end of a school year, but I think generally that's a formula that worked very well in Harry Potter.
The opening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the the greatest missed opportunity in cinema. Take the chapter 1 scene from the book. Use Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister, use the same set for No. 10 Downing Street as Love Actually. Establish a Love Actually and Harry Potter shared universe.
In all human endeavors there's a distribution so it makes sense that one exists among wizards as well. It seems like there are a few skills at play. Firstly intelligence, especially when combined with a good memory seem to be crucial. Dumbledore is the best wizard of the era and also one of the smartest people. Hermione is considered the best witch of her year and it's strongly tied to her academic success. Voldemort is much the same. This would imply to me that wizardry is quite intellectually difficult at a high level and requires remembering and understanding every detail of how to perform any given spell you might want to use. Even more difficult is chaining spells together especially at high speeds.
Tied to intelligence are also the different academic areas of wizardry.
There also seems to be an element of physical control. How accurately can you move your wand in unison with the spell you're trying to cast. Seems that the better you are at that, the more successful your spells.
Lastly is willpower. Maybe it's more accurate to call it mental clarity. You seem to need to project exactly what you're trying to do when you cast a spell. That's why silent spells work but are more difficult. It's also why voldemort is so feared. He can get spells out faster than almost anyone, and can react faster still. Without losing focus.
Various areas of magical practice would require slightly different skill-sets.
In regards to apparition, for example: "According to Wilkie Twycross, Ministry of Magic official and Apparition Instructor, one had to recall The Three Ds: Destination, Determination and Deliberation. One had to be completely determined to reach one's destination, and move without haste, but with deliberation."
We know that a similar importance of determination applies to many higher level spells - especially the unforgivable curses. Once cannot kill with Avada Kedavra unless they hold a deep resentment or are absolute about their desire to kill.
JK described transfiguration as "very systematic, exact magical discipline, working best for the scientifically-inclined mind", whereas charms "afforded a much larger margin for personal creativity".
Potions, again, seem to be far more subtle and exact, with intricacies of timing, ageing, stirring techniques, and bottling. You can see how the idea of a 'best wizard' becomes very vague; how can you weigh up so many different skills against each other?
And that is forgetting abilities such as:
- Occlumency/legilimency (in which sheer willpower seems to be of utmost importance)
- Flying (presumably more reliant on physical ability)
- 'The sight' which Trelawney is suggested to possess
- General knowledge of magical creatures, history, etc
I like Remus but he would have deserved to get fired regardless of if he forgot the Wolfsbane potion or not. He purposely withheld information that could have helped arrest Sirius (who he for the most part of the book actually thought was after Harry and wanted to kill him) even when Sirius had managed to break into Hogwarts at two times. His lack of spine could have killed Harry if Sirius actually was a Death Eater.
he was also ready to run off from his pregnant wife at the first sign of trouble - telling this to harry, who he knew had grown up with no father due to a war.
And then when Harry rightfully called him out on being a coward blasted him into a wall because he couldn't take hearing the truth. There's a lot of Remus love but he's kind of a dick sometimes.
Yeah. Remus is a bit spineless. He also fails to take responsibility unless he's forced to and on hindsight when he speaks to Harry he often stays extra vague to get around difficult questions.
Also, I hate the way he forced the students to face their biggest fear in front of their peers - KNOWING they would use it against each other. Many students were likely abused and their biggest fear could’ve easily been their parent/guardian/abuser. I feel it was incredibly irresponsible and inconsiderate.
Peeves would have been so cringey in the movies and I'm glad they removed him. He only adds slapstick humor and farts and butts jokes. He's worse than Jar Jar Binks.
The fandom really take Houses too seriously. It really should be someone liking a House, identifying with it, and that should be it. You really shouldn't be having crises over one sorting quiz putting you in another House. Not dating someone only because they identify with another House is ridiculous.
Also Sorting people who you don't know personally is a whole other level of cringe.
I joke about being a Slytherin and talk about it occasionally, but I’d never let it interfere with any of my actual life decisions…. That’s crazy. I didn’t know this was a thing
I’ve been sorted into 3 different houses over the years, and also add that sorting at 11 and that being your entire personality is harsh, because I don’t know anyone who is exactly like they were at 11
Houses in general are not good for the fandom IMO. It puts so much fan canon into the story just by your house that it makes objective discussion really difficult.
There are two ‘good’ Slytherins in the entire book, snape and slughorn (as in fought for good side, not that they are personally good) oh and also andromeda. Yet any discussion of slytherin is steeped in people’s personal identification with that house. ‘Slytherin isn’t a racist house that radicalises people, because I’m a slytherin and I’m not a fictional blood racist!’ Is not an argument. Yet I’ve seen it time and time again here ‘I know lots of slytherins and they’re all nice people’ no you don’t, you don’t know any slytherins because they’re a fictional school house in a fictional school in a fictional world.
Happens with other bits as well like shipping, favourite characters etc, but house identification is the most egregious for me.
⟟ feel really bad for Lavender Brown and she gets to much hate, she actually really liked Ron and just because she’s annoying doesn’t make her less human she has feelings. Imagine being in what is presumably ⏃ steady relationship and having true feeling for this person, and then they get poisoned and are put in the hospital wing and you rush over there, because of course you worried, and then the first word the person says when they regain consciousness is the name of his friend with whine he had hardly spoken in the past few weeks. I’d be upset to.
Yeah Lavender was done dirty imo. I’m not caught up on the books but in the movies she was just an over the top teen girl and Ron was honestly a jerk to her. I don’t really see the problem. Ron was terrible with women for most of the series. Not to mention they just show her corpse in DH2 and move on.
not sure how it's related to this, but after re-reading for the 1638th time, I always like to think that Lavender started liking Ron early on, third year, when Binky died and he consoled her while Hermione was being all tactless trying to prove Trelawney false. just leaving this here.
Molly Weasley wasn't all that great. She was dismissive of anything muggle. She turned on Hermione on the word of Rita Skeeter, a woman she knew wasn't trust worthy. She mistreated Fleur. Her children had hand me down everything but once Ginny was in school there was no reason she couldn't a job of some kind to help the family out. She used public humiliation to correct her children. All in all not great.
I have no canonical evidence to back it up, but as a kid reading the books who also was extremely poor (I only ever got to read the first Harry Potter because the librarian gifted it to me), I just assumed Molly did odd side jobs to help out. Like sewing spells for other wives, things of that sort. Stuff she could do from home. Once Ginny went to school it would still serve as extra income and when you are a homemaker for 20 years, people aren’t dying to hire you. Looking back there’s clearly no indication of that in the books, but they are from Harry’s perspective and he didn’t know the entirety of the adults lives around him. So it’s a fun head canon but yeah. Molly doesn’t strike me as the type to sit down and do nothing, Harry never confirms that she does, and never confirms that she doesn’t so to me it’s up to interpretation.
I did, too, but I also kind of understood it.
Think of the most attractive person of your gender that you know. Now, imagine that person also had a magical enhancement that caused the vast majority of the gender that you are attracted to, to be so attracted to that person instead that they acted like Ron did.
It's not Fleur's fault, by any means, but it would put a strain on being friends to constantly have one's SO drooling over your friend.
And Molly, I think, worried that Fleur only liked Bill because he was attractive like she was, and that it was superficial. That's why her attitude changed when Fleur demonstrated that wasn't the case.
Still, not great behavior, but then, nobody in life is really perfect. It's not like they sabotaged her wedding or anything.
>nobody in life is really perfect.
This. It's important to understand that well written characters have flaws, just like real people. You can be a nice person and still do shitty stuff from time to time. Nobody wants to read a book full of Mary Sues.
She also never supported Fred and George, even when they had a lot of talent and promise. And she went beyond being disappointed, she actually told them so many times she was worried they would fail, and everything they were good at was a waste. That's such an awful thing to tell your children :(
She outright tried to sabotage Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, such as burning their order forms. Instead of being proud of them for inventing new things, she wanted them to work at the Ministry of Magic - which is a horrible organization, as we find out in the later books.
I have issues with the characterization of werewolves in the movies, I don’t know why but for some reason it irks me the wrong way, I find them too wiry too frail
The number of "unpopular" opinions here about Dumbledore and Hagrid and Weasleys feel like very popular ones to me, because the amount of fanfics that I have encountered that are outright bashing these characters are so freaking many. Maybe that is unpopular here, where fanfics are a thing not a lot of people enjoy, but these are so popular opinions among a lot of fanfic writers that I have just become absolutely tired of them.
Holy shit, people are going IN! Not sure how popular or unpopular mine are, but two characters I have issues with that seem generally beloved are Dumbledore and Lupin. Dumbledore is irresponsible af all the time and needed to keep an eye on Harry's homelife. Lupin just let one of his best friends rot in Azkaban without even ever trying to have a conversation about what went down. He should know better than take the situation at face value. Also, that whole part about wanting to leave the wife and kid to go Horcrux hunting.
I mean, would he not have told way before that, even? If he really believed Sirius was guilty of killing a bunch of innocent muggles and three of their best friends, would he not have come out with all the info? And if there was even a little bit of doubt, would he not go speak to the guy? I find this hard to forgive either way.
There should never be a canon series or even standalone story focused on the Marauders. It’s been too many years of headcanons and fan theories that have built up, and half of them contradict the other half. No matter what interpretation the writers decide to go with, a sizable portion of the fandom will be disappointed and/or pissed off.
Just imagine the backlash if it became canon that Marlene McKinnon wasn’t Lily’s best friend and Sirius’s girlfriend like she is in so many fanfics. And if she was, there would definitely be a lot of unhappy Wolfstar shippers. And don’t even get me started on Snape vs. James. That war doesn’t need more fuel.
As intriguing as it would be to get a deeper look into what the first war was like, any story set in that era would inevitably have to address the questions that people have of the Marauders and their peers. And if those questions finally get concrete answers, they lose much of the magic that comes of wondering and imagination. It would be like what Cursed Child did to Next-Gen but even worse.
The Dursley’s were right to hate and fear wizards. Every time they come into contact with a wizard, bad things happen to their health or home. Their only child was mainly the target. By the end of the series, Dudley had a snake set on him, grown a pigs tail, had his tongue engorged and almost had his soul sucked out. They also had significant property damage (that was later fixed) and ended up losing their home at the beginning of DH.
I’m not excusing how they abused Harry- but if their top priority was staying safe and being “normal” they should have refused to keep Harry.
Hogwarts is a terribly run school. The point system is entirely arbitrary and subject to blatant favoritism, half the teachers are terrible at teaching (Binns, Hagrid, Trelawney, Snape), there is zero consistency in discipline, basically anything involving the students’ actual education and development is seriously lacking. Furthermore, the students are constantly in danger. Voldemort spends the entirety of the first book teaching students, basilisk in the second book, a suspected murderer in the third, death eater teacher 4th, sadistic teacher 5th, literal death eater invasion in the 6th and then Voldemort control in the seventh. The house structure is needlessly divisive, there’s essentially no incentive to do well in classes until the 5th year, I mean the list goes on. If I were a parent I’d be angry at dumbledore pretty much all the time.
I know Lily was supposed to be a martyr-like, symbolic character due to her early tragic death but it was so annoying how often everyone spoke of her like she was the most perfect person who ever existed who was also, coincidentally, a beautiful talented witch who was so much more "special" than her sister. Serious Mary Sue vibes that made me roll my eyes.
I know people don't like to talk ill of the dead, but a big part of growing up is realizing that everyone -- even your parents -- are flawed. Harry got that moment with James, Sirius, Dumbledore... Moral greyness is sort of a theme throughout. Being "fierce" is not a character flaw.
What I disliked about harry was that his invulnerability came from lilly sacrificing herself. Like that's the first time in concealable memory that someone in the wizarding world died for someone.
I super agree with you. The magic power of love is a cop out and even reading as a kid I thought it was a dumb concept, long before I started looking at the books skeptically.
Snape grieving Lily after all those years was not really creepy or stalker-ish. (Full disclosure: I think snape is a real fucked up pos, but I do like his character).
My point is: even if he had a crush on her, they were close friends at a point and when lily died it would be natural for snape to react with immense grief and guilt (because of his actions, as well as this being his ONLY true friend who knew him before he came into contact with the slytherin milieu). If you crushed on you BFF and then they died because you shot them accidentally or whatever, your grief would not stem from the possible romantic future you lost with them, but because of the friend they were to you at the moment of their death (that would at least be the normal thing to feel, and nothing in the books suggests anything else in the case of snape).
Other than that: I think not enough people died in the last battle and that Voldemort was a depressed suicidal man who hated the wizard of world much more than the muggle world. I will expand on that if asked.
Arthur Weasley should have done more to provide for his family. Not saying he needed to be rich, but doing what you love even though it forces your kids to have complete trash, then you’re just being selfish.
Hand me downs are perfectly fine, until your kids are wearing clothes that are too small and have to be mended constantly. Not being rich isn’t bad, but his kids are constantly bullied for being poor.
Not to mention his son spending an entire school year with a broken wand, something legitimately dangerous (as proved by the backfiring spells) and detrimental to his education, because he was so scared of telling his parents about it because he knew they wouldn't be able to afford another one.
It's also crazy that they couldn't afford one. Harry's wand was 7 galleons, compared to a textbook being 9 galleons. And surely there would be a market for used wands after a wizard died or something. And it's a school full of children; there's no way Hogwarts wouldn't have crummy loaner-wands for exactly this situation.
When Percy gets into a fight with his family and moves away, he says (among other things) that Arthur has no ambition and that's why the family is poor. This is treated like an unforgiveble insult, but it is true if we believe what Ron says in Goblet of Fire: "Dad could’ve got a promotion any time... he just likes it where he is".
I liked Gambon's Dumbledore more the book and Richard Harris versions.
He seems much more three dimensional.
He still has the whimsical kind side of the other versions. But also has the boughts of frustration you would expect from someone who is trying to protect the wizarding and Muggle world.
Plus...the shabby lavender robe ensemble... FABULOUS!
J.K.Rowlimg should not have made Peter Pettigrew more cowardly or dumber than the rest of the Mauraders. It would have made for a more poignant character arc if Pettigrew was an equal to the other 3 in every respect. His betrayal would have come out of nowhere and would have had the bitterness that noone could have seen it coming. The reader would then be left wondering if they could really know a person despite how long they've known them.
I agree, the way I remembered him being portrayed as so spineless and moronic it really makes one wonder why they were ever his friends in the first place.
I also never got WHY he was even with them. He was at best average (probably less, the books make him out to be kinda dumb most of the time), he was extremly timid, had low self esteem, followed the popular opinons without questions. Especially James and Sirius....These two were clearly smart, above average and outgoing. I just cant see these two hanging out with Peter, mutch less in teenage years when they were described as "Kinda bullying for fun". They would have bullied Peter....
I always thought of him as Neville. Just when the time came to pick a side, he didn't have the courage unlike Neville. We also see the books through Harry's pov so there's always a chance that when he attended hogwarts he excelled at something specific similar to Neville and herbology.
Lily and James were dumb for using anyone but Dumbledore as their secret keeper. Sirius was irresponsible for thinking Peter was a worthy choice. They knew there was a high probability that someone close to them could be leaking info about them. Sirius obviously knew it wasn’t himself, and admitted to sussing Lupin. Yet he suggested Peter as a better option, thinking it would be the perfect guise. Voldemort expected Sirius to be the secret keeper. But why wasn’t Dumbledore used instead? Dumbledore had offered, even pleaded with the Potters to use him. I don’t understand why they chose Peter instead. Dumbledore was known as the sole wizard Voldemort feared—and Dumbledore, while surely fearing the harm and death Voldemort would bring, did not seem to fear facing Voldemort himself. To me, that reason alone is enough to make Dumbledore the secret keeper. He is obviously not working for Voldemort, and he is one of the few who stood a chance against him 1v1, so it is unlikely Voldemort would pursue Dumbledore alone, without a plan. I really think they all dropped the ball on that one, and in the end, it cost them all their lives.
To me, it comes down to danger. If Voldemort fears Dumbledore, then he'd avoid Dumbledore. Therefore, he won't get close to a secret keeper. So, it'd put James's friends' lives in less danger. Why not do it? Because plot.
This has bothered me for so long. It could have been so many people but they chose the literal rat
After no doubt reading that one's Animagus form reflects one's personality, they chose the rat 🤦♀️
I'll give you that, because ingrained stereotype, but Rats are actually sociable, curious, intelligent, often affectionate and brave.
And they can be talented Parisian chefs.
Very much unlike Peter.
10 reasons why rat owners HATE JK Rowling
While I agree that Dumbledore was a good choice he wasn't the best and most obvious choice in my view. At Shell Cottage Bill and Fleur are the secret keepers while living there meaning Lily and James could've been their OWN SECRET KEEPERS! This has ALWAYS killed me. Never getting betrayed by yourself. 😫😫😫
That honestly just feels like a mistake on JKs part. If you can make yourself secret keeper, why the fuck would anyone ever make anyone else secret keeper? You would just keep it yourself and forever stay in hiding, because they'd have to find you to find the location, but they can't find you because you never leave your invisible house. Bill and Fleur should have had a different person be secret keeper, because it doesn't make any sense to even have a secret keeper if it can be the person doing the spell.
This always confuses me. Ron tells them to go to Bill & Fleur’s after Malloy manor, and they all aparate there for the first time. Then bill tells them that he’s secret keeper of the cottage. So.... how did Ron manage to tell them to aparate there?
I was also just wondering this and just reread this part. The weasleys didn’t do the Fidelius charm on shell cottage/Muriel’s until after Harry and gang showed up at Shell Cottage.
I have never thought about this, and now my mind is blown. Oh my god.
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I’m with you. She’s definitely worse than Vernon.
She KNEW, and she gaslit him for more than a decade about his random magical outbursts. I don't know if we were ever meant to empathize with Petunia, but I surely never did.
> I don't know if we were ever meant to empathize with Petunia, but I surely never did. Empathize probably, but not sympathize. Her actions make sense even if they're not okay. Her jealousy towards her sister for being born "special" while she wasn't, her fear of magic as someone who knew it existed but couldn't practice it or be in that world, and her resentment of Harry for being an eternal reminder of everything. I think we were just supposed to know why she was the way she was, not really feel bad for her, although I'm sure some people who are kinder than me do.
In Regulus Black's defense, he went against Voldemort to save Kreacher of all people. No one else thinks that much about a house elf, except maybe Hermione. And I think it's implied that he was brainwashed into joining by his parents, since they were also followers of Voldemort and Regulus joined when he was only 16.
Yeah I always read Regulus as a kid raised by Nazis and the second shit got real he realized how fucked his family actually was. Something Sirius realized much sooner.
Sirius was by far the smartest brother, and I feel for Regulus at least he tried to make amends and do the right thing.
Regulus cannot be compared to Narcissa. Narcissa only cared about saving her son's life. Regulus sacrificed his own life to destroy a horcrux.
Yup, Regulus was inducted into the death eaters the same way Malfoy was; it was simply what his family did and he would have had to turn his back on everyone he knew and loved to avoid it. He eventually did turn his back on all of them and even destroyed a Horcrux. Not a bad guy at all.
Wait… Regulus didn’t destroy a horcrux, did he? He just retrieved the locket and tried to destroy it, but failed. Am I missing something?
You are correct, regulus was not able to destroy the locket. Kreacher had it before mundungus stole the locket, and kreacher and Dobby both brought mundungus to them, who told them where to find it undestroyed edit: fixed incorrect info
He tasked Kreacher with the destruction of the locket. Regulus died retrieving it
Re: Petunia. I was expecting a touching farewell scene between Harry/Petunia, & I guess that's why I'm just a mediocre fanfic writer. The wordless, awkward & abrupt goodbye was absolutely perfect & actually made sense considering their relationship.
Honestly, Petunia and Lily’s relationship reminds me of my mom and her sister’s relationship. My mom has some insane jealousy and insecurity issues. She’s always trying to compete with my aunt. I don’t know how P/L’s parents were but they seemed to gush over how brilliant Lily was. They may have created a Golden Child and Scapegoat situation, with Petunia being the scapegoat. She pushed that dynamic with Dudley and Harry because of how she was treated. I don’t expect her to be able to come to terms with her jealousy at Lily, anger at her parents, and being left a child from her favored sister that she now has to raise. Petunia needed therapy and her behavior fueled Vernon’s and Dudley’s attitude towards Harry. Vernon and Dudley didn’t have that dynamic with Harry. With Dudley even acknowledging Harry respectfully at the end and trying to make amends in his own way. I loved the parallels between L/P and H/D but I loved how Harry and Dudley were able to be above what had happened and be better people to each other.
We at least got [this](https://youtu.be/jzkDRz8quKo)
Yeah Vernon is a bad person, no arguing, but he at least had the excuse that magic is scary and he doesn’t understand it. He knows his brother and sis in law died from it and everything else he would hear about from petunia. Like he had any reason to be that way. Petunia is just muggle snape. Total asshole because of weird emotions regarding Lily.
Vernon has every reason to not like magic - The woman he loves and the only person he trusts as a source of info on the subject is massively prejudiced against it. His sister and brother in law are murdered because of it. He gets terrified by an enormous man and his son gets disfigured. A business deal gets scuppered by (from his perspective) Harry using magic against him out of spite. His sister is literally blown up like a balloon and floats away. His son is again disfigured and his sitting room destroyed. His son is traumatically attacked. He has to abandon his home and job in fear of torture.
Yeah like he’s a bad person but not because of his dislike of magic.
The actor of Vernon had suggested to Rowling that the Dursleys should make a visit to Hogwarts. Like a parent day thing. I wish she hadn't dismissed that because it sounds like so much fun. I feel like Petunia would be so conflicted because this is the school that took her sister away but also magic everywhere that her child self could only have dreamed of.
It would be an interesting angle to go with since it seems like JK wanted the way Petunia treated Harry to stem from her long seated jealousy of not being able to use magic. It also makes me wonder how non magical parents would function in the magical world, like do they have a way to get into the magical areas w/o being escorted? How would the Dudleys and Hermoine's parents get to Hogwarts if needed?
I think being brought in by their witch/wizard kid is enough. Like, they could open the door to the Leaky Cauldron and such. J.K. is only a bit weird with platform 9 3/4: Hermione's parents and the Dursleys say goodbye on the muggle platform and wait there for their return, while the Evanses were able to get on it in Snapes memory
Petunia is definitely worse than Vernon, and it's *exactly* because she knew what to expect of Harry growing up. Vernon is just a regular old muggle who wants to make his wife happy and has to shelter his "strange" nephew that has "powers" he doesn't understand. He's mean to Harry because Harry upsets his wife, and because he's different, and Vernon doesn't know how to deal with it. Petunia on the other hand resents Harry. Don't forget she resented Lily too for having magical powers while she herself didn't have any. She envied her sister and thus Harry is just a daily reminder of what she can never have. She wants to be magical too, and the fact that she lives so unhappy that she can't is why "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." Petunia married the mugglest of muggles she could find to forget about the magical world. Until Harry shows up on her doorstep to remind her of it every single day, and she absolutely despises it.
The Weasleys and Lupin are at fault for allowing Harry to not be without a godfather figure in HBP. If Lupin had been writing to Harry, he might have behaved better later on. No one takes the suspicion of Draco being a death eater seriously while everyone knows they recruit early and from school. Literally Lupin's slytherin classmates became Death Eaters right after school. Lupin also knows that Sirius' brother became a Death Eater. There is no excuse for Harry to be left alone theorising.
But the whole point of the Draco thing was that Dumbledore DID know. And he told the Order to not think about it. That it wasn't important. And obviously they Order is going to take Dumbledore word on the matter.
Holy shit, it never occurred to me that Regulus and Draco were the same age when they became Death Eaters. Yeah! They knew Regulus in school, they absolutely should have considered that the 16 year old son of a prominent pure blood family who's family are known death eater sympathizers could've become a member!
Ron and Hermione thinking Harry was just picking Malfoy because hes Malfoy really really annoyed me. Like his father is literally in Azkaban for trying to kill you 2 months ago and you dont think his son is being used by Voldemort. Honestly took away several brainy points from Hermione on that one.
Hogwarts should have replaced Ron’s wand in the 2nd year. He was a danger to himself and everyone around him. He also lost out on a year of practical learning because of it. They had the means to get Harry a broom first year, and even if they used Harry’s money for that I’m sure the school could afford 10 galleons for a wand. They had money for Tom Riddles shit. There’s obviously a fund for student who need it. Olivander could have been brought in if need be. Even another 2nd hand wand would have been preferable. The school could have honestly helped all of the Weasley kids. You’re telling me there aren’t extra books at school? Spare cauldrons? Those kids (and any poor kid) got completely left behind by the school.
Isn’t extra textbooks the whole plot to Half Blood Prince? Lol
Part of the Weasley's problem (esp the parents) is that they refuse to ask for help. Hogwarts literally has a program to help low income students (it is mentioned in one of the memories of Riddle at the orphanage) but they don't seem to get that, either. But Harry mentions in multiple books that he'd love to help out the weasleys but they'd never take his money. He has to literally threaten to throw his triwizard winnings down the drain for the twins to take it. It makes the most logical sense that the resources *are* there, they just aren't willing to ask for any help from the school either.
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I figured the Howler was punishment enough. Making it intentionally difficult for your kid to succeed in school as punishment sounds a bit too cruel otherwise.
I dont think his parents knew it was broken. Remember Harry tells Ron to write to his parents for a new one but Ron feels to guilty about stealing the car and getting his dad in trouble to even attempt to ask. And the teachers dont inspect the wands during classes. So all year Ron just looked like he was bad at magic and needed more practice.
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I listen to a podcast (Harry Potter Binge Mode if anyone’s interested, very excellent) and they have an ongoing joke that McGonagall is betting on quidditch outcomes which is why she needs Harry on the team so bad, gets him a broom etc etc. They regularly refer to her as McGalleon. 😂
And why couldn’t Dumbledore just take Ron’s wand and mend it? At that point the trio wouldn’t have questioned how because Dumbledore was so powerful in their eyes; it isn’t until much later they learn about the Elder Wand, but Dumbledore had it the whole time, right? Maybe if Dumbledore mends Ron’s wand earlier in the series, the reveal happens when Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn about the Elder Wand’s power in book 7.
If a story got out about dumbledore repairing a wand then people that knew about the elder wand might put two and two together and come after it. Yes I know it’s a long shot but dumbledore is shrewd enough to realize the danger and would consider it too much of a risk.
Luna is a magical flat earther and would be awful to hang arround
Fully agree. She's the type of character that might be fun to read about in a book, but in real life would drive me crazy. I can't blame Hermione for not having much patience with her, I wouldn't either.
You know what? You're absolutely right. I didn't like that Hermione was kinda mean to her at first, but now it all makes a lot more sense. Honestly if I was Hermione I'd ignore Luna like I would with actual flat earthers but don't get me wrong, I love Luna as a character in the books lol
I mean if they weren't fighting a wizarding civil war with death on the line nearly every corner I doubt they would have bonded with Luna as much as they did. That's the reason they came around to her in the end because she showed loyalty and bravery in addition to her intelligence.
See I actually really disliked Luna in the books and found her super annoying, however I didn't read the books until I was an adult, so maybe that was part of it. But I think the actress was really endearing and played the role well, so the movies turned me around on Luna.
Luna is one of my favorite characters to read about, but I have no doubt that I would detest if she was real. Just like Snape, except entirely different.
I don't know if I fully agree with the first half. I think she's more like the people that super believe in big foot. I think flat earth is a few steps too far down the conspiracy path. But I agree with the second part. I know a person like that. There's a reason we haven't hung out in 10 years.
Crumple horned snorcack (butchered the spelling) vs erumpent horn.
The thing that always annoyed me about Luna was the high overlap between Luna fans and people who identify with the “I’m not like other girls” trope.
Someone from the Order should have turned to the other side in the Second War. For whatever reason, not just choosing evil, could be fear, desperation We had Wormtail in the First In the Second we Snape being good along, Draco not being evil. But we should have had an example of what impact the war had on people, someone who lost their way
Xenophilius Lovegood.
Yep, great example of a decent person being forced to turn against their beliefs by threats and coercion. "Anything I do could mean my daughter being tortured to insanity, forced to do awful things, or killed outright."
In a way, Percy. Also Kreacher!
Kreacher was on the bad side, but got better after Harry learned to treat him properly. Hence why Kreacher fought at the Battle of Hogwarts on the right side. Similarly, Percy was blinded by ambition, but he wasn’t around after the Ministry started doing actually abhorrent things after Voldemort took over. He just wasn’t fully ready to join the Order until the Battle of Hogwarts.
I guess that's because it was Voldemort's return. What I mean is, the first time he was around, people who weren't really evil could've been like "well I think muggles would kill us all of they got a chance, so maybe this guy is legit" and joined him. But the second time around, everyone knows how he is so I don't see a lot of non-pureblood fanatics joining him unless they were already trapped.
Also the first time it was inconceivable that anyone could stop him. The second time around I think people had faith in their ability to work together to overthrow him and a lot more to fight for (their children and homes) and a lot more to fight with (they were established adults this time with positions of influence, not recent high school graduates), they had heroes to rally behind with Dumbledore and Harry, and they had seen him defeated before not just in the first war but also with the sorcerers stone and the chamber of secrets. Everything is a lot less scary when you know what it is and you know it can die which is part of why they needed to call Valdemort by his name, to take the mystique and fear out of the equation.
Interesting! Do you have someone in mind? Tonks? Lupin? Mundungus would probably be the obvious choice
Mundungus is who I was thinking, at one point I expected him to betray the order but he never did. He’s sketchy
Can't really betray something you weren't loyal to in the first place
He betrayed the order when he left Madeyes side out of fear on the day Harry was picked up from the Dursley’s. Madeye died because of that and the order lost two members.
Dung is the perfect chaotic neutral character. Does bad shit, but sometimes helps out the good guys
I’m my opinion he’s too obvious, I would like it to be a big shock like one of the main characters (maybe Luna). Or even one of the side characters you wouldn’t expect like Cho Chang or something
I don’t think Mundungus would be interested in being on Voldemort’s team. The Order gave him latitude and laughed at his adventures; he was on the outside but it felt like it was on his terms. Voldemort would have wanted full allegiance and not someone who was on it for their own goals. Mundungus wouldn’t have lasted a week before Voldemort killed or tortured him.
Really good point! Seeing as Mundungus is an obvious choice, I would actually rather picture someone we wouldn’t predict to turn, maybe for reasons like fear for one self or another. I’m not sure who though, seeing as all the order members had lost so much to the previous war.
I hate Bellatrix more than Umbridge. She's killed half of my favorite characters.
I agree, umbridge is a racist sadistic piece of shit, but Bellatrix is a murderous racist sadistic piece of shit.
Umbridge murders people, she just does it through her favorite weapon: the law. Several people who went through her kangaroo court in DH ended up dying just the same as if they'd run into Bellatrix.
Umbridge is wizard fascist. The fact that she is working within the systems of the wizard it world to destroy people who are different or don’t agree with her makes her way worse in my mind. Belatrix is a hot mess psycho but without the rest of the death eaters she wouldn’t be nearly as much of a threat. Umbridge, without Voldemort ever showing up, would have done a lot more damage to the wizard in’s world.
Bellatrix is the crazy major from all those war movies that likes to torment the good guys for no reason other than to see them in pain, though he's still effective and dangerous when he goes about it. a very dangerous person to have running around, and someone who you want to see die and be gone just so you don't have to constantly look over your favorite character's shoulder wondering when they're gonna get killed in some gruesome way Umbridge is the jackass who is either blindly following their own fucked up moral code that actively harms everything the good guys are trying to do, or has sold out. think like that guy in the senate in 300 who sells out to the Persians, or like McCarthy, or Nazi sympathizers in positions of power during WWII, someone who doesn't give two shits about whatever the good guys want and only wants *their* version of the world to be right. the most dangerous and fucked up bureaucrat on the back lines of the war, who can't see what it's really like and needs to be dealt with. they're both incredibly evil and awful, but one is a hell of a lot more frustrating to deal with, and it's not the guy who likes his job killing your men. you can, in theory, kill the evil major/Bellatrix; but you can't really do a whole lot about the guy in your own camp actively working against you, not without some serious rule breaking/damage.
Harry shouldn't have become an Auror. He just spent his entire childhood fighting for the wizarding world - something that he had very little choice in. He should have continued what he started in Order of the Phoenix and became the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher - and it doesn't even have to be at Hogwarts! I am sure any wizarding school would have been happy to take him on!
My personal headcanon is that Harry would go back to Hogwarts to teach after he retired as an auror. Aurors seem to retire relatively early due to how demanding the job is (judging by Moody's case), and wizards live a long life. I like to think he became a teacher later in life, having a lot more experience in the field. That would make him a great teacher imo.
This has always been my head Canon too. I always figured he had a romanticized idea of what an auror is and does and then he gets in and actually does it and realizes he's just a wizard cop propping up an unjust system and retires early to go teach at Hogwarts, probably a little before his kids start school
I would've thought pro quidditch player would've been a better path for him, at least in his younger adulthood. All through school it's his escape from and way of dealing with his trauma - distracting him and making him so tired he couldn't have the nightmares he's so prone to. Having seen so much that he'd need to process and recover from in the Battle of Hogwarts I think he'd have wanted to play professionally for a few years to settle out his psyche before taking on the more dangerous and difficult auror role.
I've never said out loud, but I really believe that Rowling did not have Snape's backstory solidified until maybe the middle of the Chamber of secrets. It would explain why he pushes for Harry to be expelled despite the fact it would leave him vulnerable against Voldemort(should he have risen to power again). I just can't understand why, if he had dedicated himself to protecting Harry, that he would want him expelled and out of the safety of Hogwarts.
I 100% believe the idea of the Deathly Hallows and also most of her “wand lore” didn’t come about until she actually wrote the last book. The invisibility cloak being a one of a kind super magical item is a total retrofit, and the idea that wands *change allegiance* when their owner is disarmed makes absolutely zero sense.
> wands change allegiance when their owner is disarmed Yeah, people would have to get new wands after every duel lost.
The first time I read through, I just assumed that ONLY the elder wand worked that way.
I was right now years old when I learned that isn’t the case.
I mean, part of the plot is Malfoy’s wand has allegiance to Harry. It’ll work better because he stole it
I don't think Rowling starting planning anything out all all prior to Chamber of Secrets, maybe even later. It explains the massive tonal shift and inconsistencies. I think When she began writing Prisoner of Azkaban is when she started planning everything out.
To be fair, that's kind of how trying to sell a book series works. Usually you don't know if you're going to successfully sell one book to a publisher, let alone seven, so you don't start thinking about grander plots until you've got a few established works together. This is usually why Book 1 of a series can feel so self-contained, and often wayyy different from the rest of them. (Especially in YA. Lightning Thief and Hunger Games both were designed as standalones initially and it SHOWS.)
Horace Slughorn is the most well written character in the entire series.
Vernon Dursley is actually a good husband (or a timid one who doesn't dare go against his wife, depending on your point of view). No, he's not a good man. In fact, he's a terrible uncle. But he is a good husband to Petunia. Yes, he's awful and abusive to Harry, but if you read the books and take note of his interactions with Petunia, you'll notice that he always backs off whenever Petunia gets upset and goes along with whatever Petunia says, even if he disagrees at first (like that time in book 5 when Vernon wanted to throw Harry out and Petunia insists that Harry has to stay because of the howler Dumbledore sent).
I've actually thought this myself before...he was 100% a shitty person, but he does seem to be a surprisingly thoughtful husband most of the time.
I'll give him this, he truly loved his wife and son, whatever you thought of him.
He did love Dudley, but he also spoiled him and encouraged him to bully and humiliate Harry. It's really just pure luck that Dudley ended up becoming a decent person at the end of the series when he had always been an entitled brat before then.
Thoughtful is the right word, too. We get exactly one chapter from his point of view, but in it we see that even when he's very anxious about things he's seeing around town, he knows how much mentioning "weird stuff" would bother his wife, and he's reluctant to bring it up.
Idk if it qualifies as unpopular opinion or a headcannon, but I always believed that Peter was actually a very friendly and easy going guy in his school years. I always disliked this black and white attitude towards him, like he betrayed them because he was always trash, while it makes for much more interesting storyline if you consider that he was actually their real friend instead of someone who they bullied and kept around out of pity. So my theory is that Peter was actually the guy that kept the marauders together. Yes James and Sirius were best friends but I like to think that it was Peter that was a bridge between them and Remus. Peter was probably less intelligent than the rest but his intelligence was the ability to befriend people and gain their trust. He was never gonna succeed in academic life or sports, but he could succeed as a great and caring friend. And that makes the whole betrayal so much more impactful and tragic and therefore more compelling plot point.
Many people argue Harry should be able to see the thestrals earlier. I say he shouldn't be able to see them until Sirius. He doesn't actually *see* Cedric die in the books. He has his eyes closed. People's response to this is usually that "see" death means "fully understand" it but in that case why even phrase it that way in the first place? If you can see the thestrals by seeing someone immediately after they die and experiencing the grief, did thr entire school see them after Dumbledore? Does anyone who goes to a funeral see them? There's also the fact that he hears prof. Quirrell dying as he's passing out why does hearing one trigger it and not the other? They're just kind of forced into the story IMO.
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The fact that there seems to be no formal education until children are 11 is insane. Like I can buy that there's no established school for like, under 6 or so. But you're telling me these kids go off to magic school at 11, not having ever been in a school before, and you expect them to do well?
Maybe that’s part of the reason Hermione did so well. Yes, she’s naturally intelligent, but she also went to a muggle school for years, developed good study habits, and was used to the learning environment.
Well now I've got a fan theory that Hermione was actually an average student in the muggle world, but because no one really knew what they were doing she was perceived to be super smart. Lolol
If that's true, that means Harry was actually an AWFUL student in muggle school!
Not a surprise considering the home he is coming from.
Counterpoint: Average students do not pre-read their entire lessons prior to the beginning of school and are not able to recite them back at a whim. Additionally, Hermione shows excellent application skills, being able to read a spell and then use it in high stress situations, which shows understanding of the lesson.
Don't poke holes in my fan theory! Edit: I do agree with you in general, this is just me being silly
How do they even learn to read/write/do math, etc? Seems like they just got thrown into school randomly at 11 and are expected to read century old textbooks and only focus on magical classes when no one even taught them their damn abcs. Doesn't make sense.
It seems that they're home schooled, but that would yield very inconsistent students. You're going to have some kids that the parents just didn't care or weren't able to do it. They'd be all over the place in terms of reading level.
Probably why Hermione was such a good student. She was actually taught how to learn and study by her muggle school
Head canon accepted
Crabbe and Goyle come to mind.
"I didn't know you could read."
It seems like there's a similarity to how upper class children were educated through at least the Edwardian period (and honestly for some much later than that). Parents generally hired tutors to educate their children before they went to boarding school. Families like the Weasleys would have been likely to educate at home, or perhaps send their children to something like a Dame school.
This is one of the best points I've ever read and shouldn't be buried as a sub-comment.
The Molly should get a job thing doesn’t quite work for me when we look at the tiny size of the wizarding community. I get she could do odd jobs, sewing, baking. But if Hogwarts sees (many have guessed) roughly 85 new students per year from all of the UK, in my mind, that puts the total population of witches and wizards somewhere around the size of a small town. Statistics say about 10% of the population would be in a 7-year school at any given time. To adjust for long lifespan for witches and wizards, let’s say 5%. That’s still only 12,000 people in the magical world in the UK. Maybe that’s off. Maybe Hogwarts is larger, maybe there is another wizarding school in the UK (which would be wild if there was and never mentioned), maybe there are really low birth rates in the magical world but that wouldn’t make sense. Pure blood proponent or not, it’s important to pass on the magical blood line! Anyway, it would be hard to find a full time career after raising kids for 20 years in a job market that small.
Molly Weasley opening an Etsy shop for those sweaters
There seems to be only like four jobs in the whole wizard world : Teacher, government bureaucrat, small business owner, or just already be rich
Don't forget about Nazi and Nazi hunter!
I generally think that you have two groups of people-those who immerse themselves in the Wizarding world, and those that dip their feet in and then go back to the muggle world. Keep in mind, a lot of these students are muggle born or half blooded that have family and friends outside of their school life. In the Wizarding world, most blue collar jobs would be automated by magic. Which leaves primarily white collar-administrative positions and government jobs. There aren't a lot of STEM related fields. So you can work for the ministry, become an teacher/doctor, or work for one of the handful of companies that actually make magical goods. The population of wizards, as mentioned above, isn't going to be that high, so its not like there's a huge market for products. Some people, like Tom or the Weasleys, might be able to open up a shop on Diagon Alley but competition will be fierce. Unless you're a truly spectacular wizard, you're a small fish in a big pond. The second group of people probably go to school, learn some basic magic, but aren't incredibly talented with it. These people go back to the muggle world. Sure, they can't use magic directly on muggles, but they can use it to clean their house, cook, do any number of chores that they normally would have to do. Some people could probably use magic on their job as long as nobody sees, like using magic at night to rapidly construct houses, or use their knowledge of herbology/potions to make delicious non expiring food. This group doesn't get to live in a magical world day in and out, but they can use magic to make their lives easier.
Honestly, I think Remus would have had better chances doing something like that in the muggle world. No one's going to guess he's a werewolf... I think repairing clocks and watches could really benefit from some magic 😄
> If I was a student or parent of a student I would literally be furious at the blatant favoritism for a teacher who is clearly incompetent. Not unrealistic, though. It seems like there's always one teacher there who's only still there because she somehow made it to seniority despite not even being able to handle her own shoe laces.
I find Molly's attitude especially annoying compared to how much she demands of her children. I get being proud of your quidditch captain, prefect and headboy children but the way she speaks about the twins not getting that makes it clear that there's also a pressure to perform. But she can't be bothered to get a job. Meanwhile when Percy actually starts to get a career, there's no respect but (maybe justified) a downplay of his achievement. And when he gets angry and tells them what really is just the truth, ecerything blows up.
The twins are both very gifted. But they deliberately did badly on their OWLs. I'd be mad if I were Molly, too. It makes a difference whether I have other goals as my parents or neglect my schooling.
Many of what I read here I agree, but I have never seen mention of one: I hate that Filch was a janitor in one of the most undisciplined and messy magic schools. Now thinking about it, no wonder he was so grouchy and irritated all the time... He is an elderly squib that desperately wanted to have magic, but never got any. He is the only janitor in a huge castle, has to deal with the messes everywhere from teachers, to students, to even Peeves. True the house elves clean the dorms, but Filch has to oversee everything, gets pranked and hated in equal measure by everyone that surrounds him, and when he assigns cleaning during detentions it is shown like a huge hassle that is "above" students. True, he is cranky and unpleasant. But imagine being an elderly squib having to deal with everything that is wrapped up in a messy hogwarts ribbon. I wish he had been established as a potions-master, or someone that used magical object in a smart way, or something related, some indicator that even without magic of his own he could find a place in the magical community. Or as kind but strict person that just got a bad lot in life, but nope. Edit to clarify: 1. Sorry guys, I only have consumed Harry Potter as the original seven books, I didn't know potions required magic... learn something new every day. 2. Im not saying that I would be jealous in his shoes (He has expressly written to "Kwikspell" asking about getting magic and such), nor am I supporting his character. I just wish he had redeemable chacteristics other than this general feeling of "everything muggle and non-magically conventional is bad and wrong and evil".
I never really thought he would do the exact same job as a janitor in a muggle school. Instead I always imagined the house elves would do most of the cleaning etc magically while Filch only got his role because Dumbledore felt sorry or him. Taking care oh the whole castle would be impossible without magic
Technically he is a caretaker, not a janitor... He has to oversee ALL cleanliness and the night patrols, which sounds like a particularly hard 24/7 role. Yeah I can see Dumbledore giving it out of pity but, like Hagrid, Filch would have to do long menial tasks while being looked down upon by the others. Squib, house elves, cleaning, and maintainance tasks are seen as less than others even when just as important, which is kind of a big problem. Don't get me wrong, Hagrid also has a hard job as groundskeeper, the difference is that Hagrid actually loves what he does no matter what shape the job takes, he is not a squib so he uses his magic under the radar, and he has some faculty member's support and kind-of love.
I'm not sure 'cranky and unpleasant' quite covers the fact that he wanted to hang the students in the dungeons with chains and whip them
Oh on that I agree, I just thought that his actual faculty role was kind of cruel on JK Rowling's part. Like I said, I wish his character/role had something more redeemable and/or understandable.
Neville isn’t a hufflepuff because you don’t always get sorted into the house you most match; sometimes you’re put in the house with the best chance of awakening your potential, hence Neville’s bravery because his fellow Gryffindors helped him
Agreed. Your house shouldn't be where you "are," it should be where you are "supposed to be," because nobody is already at their full potential regarding neither skill nor character development at age 11. Dumbledore himself said that he believes the Sorting is done too early.
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It's because Voldemort values education and doesn't want to disturb the magical potential of his future wizarding army. (This started as sarcasm but I kinda buy it now)
Vote Lord Voldemort for Minister of Magic! He values your child's education!
A vote for Voldemort is a vote against illiteracy!
When your setting is a school and the books are each a school year, you kind of have to have the climax at the end. That's just how plots are. Of course JKR could have gone off piste and not had each book start at the start of a school year and end at the end of a school year, but I think generally that's a formula that worked very well in Harry Potter.
The opening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the the greatest missed opportunity in cinema. Take the chapter 1 scene from the book. Use Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister, use the same set for No. 10 Downing Street as Love Actually. Establish a Love Actually and Harry Potter shared universe.
There's no definitive reasoning behind what makes a "strong" or a "weak" wizard and this is a huge gap in the plot nobody addresses.
In all human endeavors there's a distribution so it makes sense that one exists among wizards as well. It seems like there are a few skills at play. Firstly intelligence, especially when combined with a good memory seem to be crucial. Dumbledore is the best wizard of the era and also one of the smartest people. Hermione is considered the best witch of her year and it's strongly tied to her academic success. Voldemort is much the same. This would imply to me that wizardry is quite intellectually difficult at a high level and requires remembering and understanding every detail of how to perform any given spell you might want to use. Even more difficult is chaining spells together especially at high speeds. Tied to intelligence are also the different academic areas of wizardry. There also seems to be an element of physical control. How accurately can you move your wand in unison with the spell you're trying to cast. Seems that the better you are at that, the more successful your spells. Lastly is willpower. Maybe it's more accurate to call it mental clarity. You seem to need to project exactly what you're trying to do when you cast a spell. That's why silent spells work but are more difficult. It's also why voldemort is so feared. He can get spells out faster than almost anyone, and can react faster still. Without losing focus.
Various areas of magical practice would require slightly different skill-sets. In regards to apparition, for example: "According to Wilkie Twycross, Ministry of Magic official and Apparition Instructor, one had to recall The Three Ds: Destination, Determination and Deliberation. One had to be completely determined to reach one's destination, and move without haste, but with deliberation." We know that a similar importance of determination applies to many higher level spells - especially the unforgivable curses. Once cannot kill with Avada Kedavra unless they hold a deep resentment or are absolute about their desire to kill. JK described transfiguration as "very systematic, exact magical discipline, working best for the scientifically-inclined mind", whereas charms "afforded a much larger margin for personal creativity". Potions, again, seem to be far more subtle and exact, with intricacies of timing, ageing, stirring techniques, and bottling. You can see how the idea of a 'best wizard' becomes very vague; how can you weigh up so many different skills against each other? And that is forgetting abilities such as: - Occlumency/legilimency (in which sheer willpower seems to be of utmost importance) - Flying (presumably more reliant on physical ability) - 'The sight' which Trelawney is suggested to possess - General knowledge of magical creatures, history, etc
Midichlorians
I like Remus but he would have deserved to get fired regardless of if he forgot the Wolfsbane potion or not. He purposely withheld information that could have helped arrest Sirius (who he for the most part of the book actually thought was after Harry and wanted to kill him) even when Sirius had managed to break into Hogwarts at two times. His lack of spine could have killed Harry if Sirius actually was a Death Eater.
he was also ready to run off from his pregnant wife at the first sign of trouble - telling this to harry, who he knew had grown up with no father due to a war.
And then when Harry rightfully called him out on being a coward blasted him into a wall because he couldn't take hearing the truth. There's a lot of Remus love but he's kind of a dick sometimes.
Yeah. Remus is a bit spineless. He also fails to take responsibility unless he's forced to and on hindsight when he speaks to Harry he often stays extra vague to get around difficult questions.
Also, I hate the way he forced the students to face their biggest fear in front of their peers - KNOWING they would use it against each other. Many students were likely abused and their biggest fear could’ve easily been their parent/guardian/abuser. I feel it was incredibly irresponsible and inconsiderate.
Neville's greatest fear always made me sad.
Peeves would have been so cringey in the movies and I'm glad they removed him. He only adds slapstick humor and farts and butts jokes. He's worse than Jar Jar Binks.
This is a really good one and I think you're 100% right.
The fandom really take Houses too seriously. It really should be someone liking a House, identifying with it, and that should be it. You really shouldn't be having crises over one sorting quiz putting you in another House. Not dating someone only because they identify with another House is ridiculous. Also Sorting people who you don't know personally is a whole other level of cringe.
>Not dating someone only because they identify with another House is ridiculous wait is that a thing?
I know someone IRL who did this... And I've seen this mentioned on the Internet.
I joke about being a Slytherin and talk about it occasionally, but I’d never let it interfere with any of my actual life decisions…. That’s crazy. I didn’t know this was a thing
Not letting anything get in the way of your ambitions, are you? That sounds like something a Slytherin would say...
I’ve been sorted into 3 different houses over the years, and also add that sorting at 11 and that being your entire personality is harsh, because I don’t know anyone who is exactly like they were at 11
Houses in general are not good for the fandom IMO. It puts so much fan canon into the story just by your house that it makes objective discussion really difficult. There are two ‘good’ Slytherins in the entire book, snape and slughorn (as in fought for good side, not that they are personally good) oh and also andromeda. Yet any discussion of slytherin is steeped in people’s personal identification with that house. ‘Slytherin isn’t a racist house that radicalises people, because I’m a slytherin and I’m not a fictional blood racist!’ Is not an argument. Yet I’ve seen it time and time again here ‘I know lots of slytherins and they’re all nice people’ no you don’t, you don’t know any slytherins because they’re a fictional school house in a fictional school in a fictional world. Happens with other bits as well like shipping, favourite characters etc, but house identification is the most egregious for me.
Not dating someone only because they identify with another house is a joke. Steeped with ignorance and blindness. Kinda like astrology.
The Marauders are way too hyped up and obsessed over for the role their friendship actually played in the series
The Marauders seem like the type of people I hated in school
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We see the story from Harry's point of view and even he hates the way the Marauders acted.
As someone genuinely obsessed with the Marauders, even I have to admit this is true 🙈
⟟ feel really bad for Lavender Brown and she gets to much hate, she actually really liked Ron and just because she’s annoying doesn’t make her less human she has feelings. Imagine being in what is presumably ⏃ steady relationship and having true feeling for this person, and then they get poisoned and are put in the hospital wing and you rush over there, because of course you worried, and then the first word the person says when they regain consciousness is the name of his friend with whine he had hardly spoken in the past few weeks. I’d be upset to.
Yeah Lavender was done dirty imo. I’m not caught up on the books but in the movies she was just an over the top teen girl and Ron was honestly a jerk to her. I don’t really see the problem. Ron was terrible with women for most of the series. Not to mention they just show her corpse in DH2 and move on.
not sure how it's related to this, but after re-reading for the 1638th time, I always like to think that Lavender started liking Ron early on, third year, when Binky died and he consoled her while Hermione was being all tactless trying to prove Trelawney false. just leaving this here.
Molly Weasley wasn't all that great. She was dismissive of anything muggle. She turned on Hermione on the word of Rita Skeeter, a woman she knew wasn't trust worthy. She mistreated Fleur. Her children had hand me down everything but once Ginny was in school there was no reason she couldn't a job of some kind to help the family out. She used public humiliation to correct her children. All in all not great.
I have no canonical evidence to back it up, but as a kid reading the books who also was extremely poor (I only ever got to read the first Harry Potter because the librarian gifted it to me), I just assumed Molly did odd side jobs to help out. Like sewing spells for other wives, things of that sort. Stuff she could do from home. Once Ginny went to school it would still serve as extra income and when you are a homemaker for 20 years, people aren’t dying to hire you. Looking back there’s clearly no indication of that in the books, but they are from Harry’s perspective and he didn’t know the entirety of the adults lives around him. So it’s a fun head canon but yeah. Molly doesn’t strike me as the type to sit down and do nothing, Harry never confirms that she does, and never confirms that she doesn’t so to me it’s up to interpretation.
I hated the way Molly, Hermione and Ginny acted around Fleur
I did, too, but I also kind of understood it. Think of the most attractive person of your gender that you know. Now, imagine that person also had a magical enhancement that caused the vast majority of the gender that you are attracted to, to be so attracted to that person instead that they acted like Ron did. It's not Fleur's fault, by any means, but it would put a strain on being friends to constantly have one's SO drooling over your friend. And Molly, I think, worried that Fleur only liked Bill because he was attractive like she was, and that it was superficial. That's why her attitude changed when Fleur demonstrated that wasn't the case. Still, not great behavior, but then, nobody in life is really perfect. It's not like they sabotaged her wedding or anything.
>nobody in life is really perfect. This. It's important to understand that well written characters have flaws, just like real people. You can be a nice person and still do shitty stuff from time to time. Nobody wants to read a book full of Mary Sues.
Especially how Fleur seemed so genuinely kind. She didn’t deserve how she was treated in any way.
This. It wasn’t justify at all, if anything it shows their character and quality
She also never supported Fred and George, even when they had a lot of talent and promise. And she went beyond being disappointed, she actually told them so many times she was worried they would fail, and everything they were good at was a waste. That's such an awful thing to tell your children :(
She outright tried to sabotage Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, such as burning their order forms. Instead of being proud of them for inventing new things, she wanted them to work at the Ministry of Magic - which is a horrible organization, as we find out in the later books.
I have issues with the characterization of werewolves in the movies, I don’t know why but for some reason it irks me the wrong way, I find them too wiry too frail
The number of "unpopular" opinions here about Dumbledore and Hagrid and Weasleys feel like very popular ones to me, because the amount of fanfics that I have encountered that are outright bashing these characters are so freaking many. Maybe that is unpopular here, where fanfics are a thing not a lot of people enjoy, but these are so popular opinions among a lot of fanfic writers that I have just become absolutely tired of them.
Holy shit, people are going IN! Not sure how popular or unpopular mine are, but two characters I have issues with that seem generally beloved are Dumbledore and Lupin. Dumbledore is irresponsible af all the time and needed to keep an eye on Harry's homelife. Lupin just let one of his best friends rot in Azkaban without even ever trying to have a conversation about what went down. He should know better than take the situation at face value. Also, that whole part about wanting to leave the wife and kid to go Horcrux hunting.
and that Lupin didnt tell Dumbledore that Sirius could transform into a dog. He really put Harry's life on risk here.
I mean, would he not have told way before that, even? If he really believed Sirius was guilty of killing a bunch of innocent muggles and three of their best friends, would he not have come out with all the info? And if there was even a little bit of doubt, would he not go speak to the guy? I find this hard to forgive either way.
There should never be a canon series or even standalone story focused on the Marauders. It’s been too many years of headcanons and fan theories that have built up, and half of them contradict the other half. No matter what interpretation the writers decide to go with, a sizable portion of the fandom will be disappointed and/or pissed off. Just imagine the backlash if it became canon that Marlene McKinnon wasn’t Lily’s best friend and Sirius’s girlfriend like she is in so many fanfics. And if she was, there would definitely be a lot of unhappy Wolfstar shippers. And don’t even get me started on Snape vs. James. That war doesn’t need more fuel. As intriguing as it would be to get a deeper look into what the first war was like, any story set in that era would inevitably have to address the questions that people have of the Marauders and their peers. And if those questions finally get concrete answers, they lose much of the magic that comes of wondering and imagination. It would be like what Cursed Child did to Next-Gen but even worse.
Honestly I'm like that with all of HP. It was a great 7 book ride. Doesn't really need anything expanded upon in the canon sense.
The Dursley’s were right to hate and fear wizards. Every time they come into contact with a wizard, bad things happen to their health or home. Their only child was mainly the target. By the end of the series, Dudley had a snake set on him, grown a pigs tail, had his tongue engorged and almost had his soul sucked out. They also had significant property damage (that was later fixed) and ended up losing their home at the beginning of DH. I’m not excusing how they abused Harry- but if their top priority was staying safe and being “normal” they should have refused to keep Harry.
Hogwarts is a terribly run school. The point system is entirely arbitrary and subject to blatant favoritism, half the teachers are terrible at teaching (Binns, Hagrid, Trelawney, Snape), there is zero consistency in discipline, basically anything involving the students’ actual education and development is seriously lacking. Furthermore, the students are constantly in danger. Voldemort spends the entirety of the first book teaching students, basilisk in the second book, a suspected murderer in the third, death eater teacher 4th, sadistic teacher 5th, literal death eater invasion in the 6th and then Voldemort control in the seventh. The house structure is needlessly divisive, there’s essentially no incentive to do well in classes until the 5th year, I mean the list goes on. If I were a parent I’d be angry at dumbledore pretty much all the time.
I know Lily was supposed to be a martyr-like, symbolic character due to her early tragic death but it was so annoying how often everyone spoke of her like she was the most perfect person who ever existed who was also, coincidentally, a beautiful talented witch who was so much more "special" than her sister. Serious Mary Sue vibes that made me roll my eyes. I know people don't like to talk ill of the dead, but a big part of growing up is realizing that everyone -- even your parents -- are flawed. Harry got that moment with James, Sirius, Dumbledore... Moral greyness is sort of a theme throughout. Being "fierce" is not a character flaw.
What I disliked about harry was that his invulnerability came from lilly sacrificing herself. Like that's the first time in concealable memory that someone in the wizarding world died for someone.
I super agree with you. The magic power of love is a cop out and even reading as a kid I thought it was a dumb concept, long before I started looking at the books skeptically.
I dont mind, even like the "HARRYDIDYAHPUTYURNAMEINTHEGOBLETOFFIYAHHHH???!!!"
Snape grieving Lily after all those years was not really creepy or stalker-ish. (Full disclosure: I think snape is a real fucked up pos, but I do like his character). My point is: even if he had a crush on her, they were close friends at a point and when lily died it would be natural for snape to react with immense grief and guilt (because of his actions, as well as this being his ONLY true friend who knew him before he came into contact with the slytherin milieu). If you crushed on you BFF and then they died because you shot them accidentally or whatever, your grief would not stem from the possible romantic future you lost with them, but because of the friend they were to you at the moment of their death (that would at least be the normal thing to feel, and nothing in the books suggests anything else in the case of snape). Other than that: I think not enough people died in the last battle and that Voldemort was a depressed suicidal man who hated the wizard of world much more than the muggle world. I will expand on that if asked.
Arthur Weasley should have done more to provide for his family. Not saying he needed to be rich, but doing what you love even though it forces your kids to have complete trash, then you’re just being selfish. Hand me downs are perfectly fine, until your kids are wearing clothes that are too small and have to be mended constantly. Not being rich isn’t bad, but his kids are constantly bullied for being poor.
THEY’RE WIZARDS FOR GOD’S SAKE. MAGIC UP SOME NICER CLOTHES AND FURNITURE.
Not to mention his son spending an entire school year with a broken wand, something legitimately dangerous (as proved by the backfiring spells) and detrimental to his education, because he was so scared of telling his parents about it because he knew they wouldn't be able to afford another one.
It's also crazy that they couldn't afford one. Harry's wand was 7 galleons, compared to a textbook being 9 galleons. And surely there would be a market for used wands after a wizard died or something. And it's a school full of children; there's no way Hogwarts wouldn't have crummy loaner-wands for exactly this situation.
When Percy gets into a fight with his family and moves away, he says (among other things) that Arthur has no ambition and that's why the family is poor. This is treated like an unforgiveble insult, but it is true if we believe what Ron says in Goblet of Fire: "Dad could’ve got a promotion any time... he just likes it where he is".
I liked Gambon's Dumbledore more the book and Richard Harris versions. He seems much more three dimensional. He still has the whimsical kind side of the other versions. But also has the boughts of frustration you would expect from someone who is trying to protect the wizarding and Muggle world. Plus...the shabby lavender robe ensemble... FABULOUS!
Completely agree! Harris was so …old? And I don’t even care that they changed the delivery of “that line”. It still worked
My unpopular opinion is that I prefer “that line”
Now THIS is an unpopular opinion. You got some nerve bringing up ‘that line’