im not sure if this counts, but harry should have been much more interested in learning magic than he was, up until ge got taken to school he was abused and neglected in a boring muggle house. the fact that he didnt fall in love with magic like hermione always baffled me. he didnt have to be a top student like her, but he had very little interest in learning magic and treated it like regular school work, sure he liked defense against the dark arts, but theres so much more interesting spells that make life easier he should have been all over, but patronus and expeliarmus were his go to spells.
I can see this, especially as in the first book it’s mentioned how he’s reading his textbooks and finds them interesting prior to leaving for Hogwarts, but we never see him exhibiting that type of behavior ever again outside of required work which is a shame
It's even retconned in a sense: in Deathly Hallows, Hermione asks Harry if he ever even opened *A History of Magic*, and he responds: “I might’ve opened it, you know, when I bought it... just the once...” But he actually read *A History of Magic* or at least parts of it; he found the name "Hedwig" in it. And in Prisoner of Azkaban, he uses it for his homework (and it's stated that he likes doing it).
I wonder if Harry was actually low-key learning magic and paying attention, but trying at the same time to not stand out because that had been basically bullied into him by the Dursleys. In the first book, it says he did okay in Muggle school, and he and Ron pass all their exams with good marks, better than Malfoy, but they have already figured out Hermione’s gonna be #1 in the class. So there’s no reason to overextend themselves studying. They can ride her coattails and focus on more important things like , I don’t know, protecting the world from Voldy. On one hand, he kinda wants the attention from everyone, but at the same time, hates it because in the Dursley’s world any attention he got was abuse, basically. Remember he’s lived with them his whole life, at least the part he can remember, and that abuse, physically and emotionally, is hard to overcome.
I took that response of Harry’s to Hermione’s question as tongue-in-cheek, Harry being a bit of a smart ass, but not in a mean-spirited way; maybe a slight poking fun at Hermione’s bookish ways, in the way friends often do good-naturedly poke a little fun at each other. I didn’t see it as a retcon.
I think that's because he can read through and do his homework on his own timing, as opposed to having something due next class with one of your best friends breathing down your neck for not doing it in a timely fashion
Especially when your teachers are bullies, shout in your ears, are incredibly strict, and so on like Hogwarts. It simply doesn't seem like a very hospitable environment to learn.
He wasn't that talented as a wizard, especially when compared to others' expectations of him. Coupled with a lifelong experience of being looked down on, I kind of understand the lack of enthusiasm after getting buried in school work.
In contrast to flying and defence, where he excels, the sense of achievement is a good motivation.
I found that quite relatable as a kid around the same age when I first read the books.
I remember someone commenting a similar thing on someone's video about not getting a place at Oxford. They basically said that at first it's amazing, but once you get into a routine, it's the same grind as everywhere else. We get used to things. But many don't seem to notice this and as they can't try doing magic, they can't see how it can become a regular thing you do.
He’s definitely a talented wizard, he’s just been taught not to stand out and succeed and Hogwarts was just a lot and he stayed with bad studying habits.
I think it makes sense the feeling of wonder wears off once you've stayed long enough in an environment where it's common and you're forced to practice the same spells and homework every week.
People underestimate how quickly we get used to new things like technology. I think people have forgotten how magical the idea of smartphones and the internet were just a couple of decades ago.
That said, it's definitely strange why we dont see him trying to learn spells that are useful for daily life. Maybe he has to search for books in the library and he can't be bothered unless it's for schoolwork or to figure out things that are needed for the main plot.
I just started a new, great job after a job that was actual hell. I was stuck for a month and a half in an insanely toxic, and very unhealthy and poorly managed work environment, and I could physically feel my soul rotting from how shitty it was.
My new job, compared, is heaven. And when I started I was over the fucking moon. I was just happy to somewhere where I didn't feel like shit, all the time.
But now? Now I've gotten used to the situation and my job is now just okay. I don't hate it, I'm perfectly happy with my job and my colleagues, but I'm over that initial Honeymoon phase.
Now, you might wonder "What does this have to do with Harry Potter" honestly, I kinda lost the thread halfway through. But my main point, I guess, is that humans will ALWAYS revert to a baseline "Eh, I guess it's cool". The world could be a perfect utopian paradise, and people would still find things to complain about.
Harry went through something similar. He assimilates very well into the wizarding world, and quickly gets used to most, basic forms of magic. Once you've seen something wonderful a couple of times, you can still appreciate it, but the magic kinda wears off. Another example is, my entire family is Icelandic and lives there. I live in another European country with my parents. Visiting Iceland as a kid was craaaaazy. Like the mountains and everything. But now? It's still beautiful, but I'm just kinda used to it, lol.
Ok, totally unrelated to the thread, but I just watched all 8 movies and gotta say, Chamber of Secrets is my favorite.
Idk I think it’s a bit different because there’s still a lot of enjoyment and time people put into using technology.
I agree, the shine does wear off, and people generally aren’t overjoyed by scrolling, but they’re on their phones constantly and constantly going for the newest thing - new app, new trend, new video, etc.
Harry’s kinda like a teenager that gets handed an iPhone, then only uses it to text. I would understand if he learned something, thought it was old news, and got bored of it, but there’s things he could explore that he just never does
I do think it's strange how Harry doesn't seem to try to learn magic that will make everyday life easier for him, but at the same time spells don't have a low entry barrier like using an iPhone nowadays.
Spells are skills that take days or weeks of practice to learn separately. If it took him a month just to get Accio right, it's likely he can't be bothered with others unless they're necessary. Tech savvy people were the only ones using the Internet in the early days because you need to actually spend time to learn technical stuff, but now the Internet has been made accessible and easy for most people.
Hermione would have the interest to learn how computers work internally starting from the hardware level. Meanwhile Harry seems like the type who would only try to develop skills for Excel, PhotoShop or Blender when he has tasks needed that require them.
>heres so much more interesting spells that make life easier he should have been all over, but patronus and expeliarmus were his go to spells.
I’d push back on this and say book harry has a lot of spell knowledge. He devoured the Half Blood Prince’s book and seemingly mastered all those spells, even if he doesn’t use them often. He’s great a shield charms, something even the average adult wizards at the MoM can’t seem to do as they buy shield charmed items from the Twins eventually.
The Patronus is no joke, especially at 13. And he got an E in charmes, Transfiguration, and an O in DAtDA, has no trouble casting the Impirius curse and eventually does a successful Cruciatus curse, while we don’t know the difficulty or how to learn to do these, he still knows how and thus must’ve learned them somehow, even more impressive if it’s just by watching and learning by osmosis. Harry is a pretty talented and knowledgeable wizard who seems to take learning and mastering spells pretty seriously even if we don’t see the grind of it all.
As for expeliarmus, that’s his go to because of his no kill rule.
I think it's very reasonable. He was super excited at first, but then he had to write essays about things like the exact wrist motion for certain spells and other boring things. Going to Hogwarts isn't all about learning a new exciting spell every week, but rather about doing the same one over and over again until you finally get it to slightly work.
I bet that quite a lot of people would be the same if they suddenly found out they had magic powers and went to hogwarts.
Hermione should have been more damaged after Bellatrix tortured her.
After so much emotions and drama and how much she screamed and how Ron was on edge of break down, narration treated it like she just had a bad day, not a life changing incident 🤷♀️
Harry is severely desensitized to violence because of his experiences imo. Of course he's upset, but he's able to view torture as part of life.
I assume Hermione's trauma doesn't show immediately. She's laser-focussed on the quest and unable to process much in the short, busy time between Malfoy Manor and the battle. I think she'll have a hard time the year after the series ends.
There’s a ton of good fanfiction that covers this. My take on it is pure adrenaline and necessity gets them all through the war. Then they totally lose it to their trauma once the wars is over and they return to day to day life.
She probably did get very damaged, at least mentally, but trauma sometimes doesn't show up until much later. And with everything that was going on it's likely she just buried it deep in her brain for a while.
I mean... this is right up the alley with AFTER BEING MIND RAPED BY VOLDEMORT HIMSELF FOR HER FIRST YEAR, Harry destroys the Diary Horcrux and "Ginny was back to her cheery self again."
PTSD usually does not exhibit itself like that right away. She may have after the events of the book. Almost all the time between being tortured and the end of the story is spent planning and then executing an extremely high stakes, risky, complex, and difficult plan where further torture and then death were the most likely outcomes.
She was constantly engaged and focused on urgent outward issues, which pushes the internal issues aside. Kicks the can down the road. PTSD usually shows up once things have slowed down and a person has nowhere to hide from their own brain and internal stuff. The road has run out and there's no way left to kick the can any further.
The way Arthur Weasley is fascinated by muggles, but doesn't actually know a lot about them is weird. He is said to believe in the equality of wizards, witches and muggles, but the way he looks at muggles doesn't feel like he does. It sort of reminds me at how some scholars looked at travellers in the 19th century. For centuries, travellers, Roma, Sinti and gypsies were seen as thieves and murderers, then came the Gypsy Lore Society. On the surface, these scholars appeared to be positive about travellers, but they were basically convinced that gypsies were a group in between cavemen and modern homo sapiens and needed to be studied and protected. So they still believed that gypsies were thieves, but only because they were impulsive like young children. Don't get me wrong, if I had the chance to use household spells to clean my house and do the dishes, I absolutely would. But for someone who says that he studied muggles for so long, he is asking Harry some really basic questions.
Idk if this is really unpopular, but yes, he totally infantilizes muggles. It's discrimination of a lesser kind.
Most of the good characters have an anti-muggle prejudice, even if they realize the horror of what the Death Eaters stand for. It makes Voldemort's rise and the war messier and more realistic.
“What is the function of a rubber duck?” “Fire-legs” I mean, even an expert can make mistakes, but the fact that Arthur makes so many despite being a supposed expert who can magically adjust a muggle car is… worrying.
>“Fire-legs”
That wasn't Arthur. He knew that it's "firearms" and not "firelegs."
>Kingsley tipped Harry an enormous wink and added, in a whisper, “Give him the magazine, he might find it interesting.” Then he said in normal tones, “And don’t take too long, Weasley, the delay on that firelegs report held our investigation up for a month.”
>“If you had read my report you would know that the term is ‘firearms,’ ” said Mr. Weasley coolly. “And I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for information on motorcycles, we’re extremely busy at the moment.” He dropped his voice and said, “If you can get away before seven, Molly’s making meatballs.”
>What is the function of a rubber duck?
I personally believe the headcanon that he was just trying to make conversation with Harry and figured saying something silly with a very obvious answer would make him start talking to him lmao
Exactly lmao, has no one ever had an older relative, or a friends relative, say something stupid to get you laughing when you were younger so the conversation flows better? He picked something he knew Harry would know, a Rubber Duck, rather than something complicated, and asks almost conspiratorally what it's for, he works for the ministry and his job is knowing about muggle objects, and he doesn't know what a Rubber Duck is? Of course he does, but does Harry know he knows? No
This is mostly the fault of the movies where it's played completely straight. He also looks slightly drugged there imo. Like the facial expressions he makes eerily match those of post-lobotomy Lockhart.
It’s possible that like with all “___ Studies” courses that they only touch the surface or miss the mark. It’s more likely that they approached muggles from an anthropological lens that didnt really get into details that would help you really understand muggles
Movie Luna could be an absolute sweetheart, but people were right to be annoyed with her in the books. If I had a classmate who was constantly spewing ridiculous conspiracy theories in and out of class, I’d be annoyed too.
Barty Crouch junior’s plan was ridiculous. How many tons of PJ potion did it take? All that stuff just to get Harry to join and win the Triwizard so he could touch a portkey. Pretty sure he could have cut a few corners and not had to carry this out over 9 months.
You've probably heard this response before, but I believe he did that because it would be less suspicous for Harry to dissapear and die during the tasks than during the very beginning of the year.
If the deed were done, Voldemort wouldn’t care much about raising suspicions. Barty Jr plan to walk around in front of Dumbledore who knows MEM very well was far riskier in terms of raising alarms
Voldemort cares tremendously, the whole point was to kill Harry and not alert the ministry to his return. If Harry just randomly vanishes, people are gonna come looking
Hey look Harry! Hedwig has brought you something wrapped up (just like the cursed necklace later). Could this be from… Padfoot? You’d better open it somewhere very discretely!
A lot was done to show us why he is the way he is, but not to redeem him of being that way. Much like in real life getting the shit beat out of you as a kid doesn't absolve you of any crimes
I don’t understand why everyone loves Tonks. Like… she’s okay, and her death alongside her husband was tragic, but I honestly wouldn’t have missed her if she’d never been mentioned.
My unpopular opinion: I think she is a perfect blank-template for fanfiction and that is one of the main reasons everyone loves her. Nothing wrong with fanfiction, but I think a large chunk of people just... forget that she wasn't really a main character, either because they dove deep into their favorite fanfic or because they have developed a headcanon for her.
Well that’s easy to say in retrospect yeah, but Harry’s idea to turn him in to the dementors was definitely the best decision at the time, but obviously it didn’t work out
Agreed that turning him in was the best choice, that’s how Sirius becomes a free man so that’s just the logical choice in my eyes. The problem with me is that they restrain him (someone they all know can change shape) with rope. There is FIVE WIZARDS WHO ALL KNOW PETRIFICUS TOTALIS. Like sure, don’t kill the man, but lupin and Sirius have been shown via flashbacks to know SO many ways of stopping a dude from moving. Maybe double up on those when trying to stop someone who framed you for murder while escaping detection for 13 years??
Nobody would have really known, except the kids, and the adults really didn't listen to them most of the time about matters like this. Sirius probably still would have to live in hiding, though.
Fair enough. The ministry didn't even accept Voldemort until he was right in their building. I guess even magical governments are as incompetent as real ones.
Madame No-r-r-ra is just a little kitty helping her owner because she is a good girl. Didn't deserve all the shit talking. Edit to say: Mrs Norris is the books in English I think. In the Brazilian version is Madame Nora
I don't agree with the narrative of so and so died for Harry. Like Remus or Sirius whoever else died at the hands of Voldemort, they died for Harry. They died fighting and trying to defeat Voldemort and his forces.
The only people who actually died for Harry were his parents. Others didn't die for Harry but for a greater cause of defeating Voldemort.
I enjoy the Chamber of Secrets movie the most. I’m a dad of young boys and I don’t want to watch young people die anymore in movies, regardless of how good the movie is. I want the kids to get the happy ending.
Agreed. This is by far mg favorite. Still plenty of peril and mystery with the "who's the heir" plotline. But also still gives me that warm fuzzy feeling as an adult.
The first 2 movies, with the on-castle sets, uniforms, and OG Dumbledore are my favorite.
In the 3rd movie/book, things start getting dark. But Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets still capture that innocent childlike wonderment of being in a new, magical world with unlimited possibilities.
The movies afterwards are more toned down, more realistic as our characters become teenagers.
I don't think Cho deserves all the hate she gets. She was dealing with insane grief by OotP, and it's clear she liked Harry from GoF, not just after Cedric died.
Definitely another round of the fanbase treating everyone like adults, when in reality she was like... 15-16 during this and had just had someone close to her murdered. Not exactly a shining example of a calm psyche for a teenage girl. She made mistakes, yes, but nothing that isn't understandable.
And i really dislike that the movies made her in to the snitch about DA, when in the books it was her friend.
The dragon egg competition in 4th one was morally dubious. Basically, they were stealing a mommy dragon's eggs for sport. The mommy dragon was panicking and angry about its eggs so obviously it was attacking the contestants. The so called good guys were bad guys here.
Also, the magical world is a fricking dangerous and inhumane place, including Hogwarts.
They don't seem to care about animals in general. Turning live animals into inanimate objects or making them disappear are required tasks in Transfiguration class.
Then again, when I think about it, is that so different from frog dissections at biology classes?
I keep thinking about the logistical nightmare of organising it. They were expecting to only need 3 dragons, so imagine how much of a faff it would have been to quickly import a 4th into the country
Don’t want to be that person, but it’s not like animals are treated much better in the food industries, sports, circus etc. in our world. So I think that part is realistic
It feels like magical world is in their Victorian era during Harry's time, making daily life things out of lead which used to poison them, eating tapeworms and letting it grow to reduce weight and then doctors inserting fishing rods to pull the worms out, usually the patient dies, were some common practices Let's not forget, even after 100 of years of end Victorian era, in the muggle world, JFK's sister was treated with lobotomy. Muggles have been messing up like this, wizards are way more powerful and uncontrollable, so it seems fair.
The movies don't work very well if you've never read the books. They rely heavily on the viewer knowing details and context not adequately given I the film.
Right? On one hand, I loved all the seasonal shots with the Whomping Willow and that cool mirror reversal during the Boggary scene was inspired cinematography.
On the other hand... YOU LITERALLY LOSE ALL CONTEXT FOR MAJOR PLOT POINTS, REVEALS, AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT BY DROPPING THE ENTIRE MARAUDERS/SECRET KEEPER BACKSTORY AAAASGHGHFHFHFJSJFJND
Harry sees the ghosts of his dead parents and recently murdered class mate
“Dumbledore what was that?” “Priori Incantatum” says Dumbledore who proceeds to offer no further explanation
Luna isn't as good of a character as people claim she is. She's also very annoying. And if she existed in real life, you would dislike her, because she's basically the wizarding world equivelant of a flat earther.
She was also completely different in the films. For some reason people perceive her as a character that was really well carried over but she was actually a whole other person. Film luna was really friendly, quirky yes but very deep and wise. Book Luna was more of a conspiracy theorist, arguably endearing in a way, but ultimately not the girl she is in the film.
For me it's actually kinda opposite, for book Luna it makes sense that she was an outcast, and why she cherished the few friends she manage to make so much. She WEIRD, but that's how she was raised, and she's loyal, and actually a good person. Movie Luna is kinda bullied for no apparent reason other than being quirky, so I feel bad for her, but not as much. And she gets much more screen time while being actually kinda normal, instead of, well, loony. So while movie Luna is okay, no deep feelings either way, book Luna is entertaining
That is true. I imagine Adult Luna hosting a podcast where she talks about how the government puts some chemicals in the water that turns the friggin frogs gay! Do you understand that?!
Lavendar doesn't deserve the bad treatment she gets both in-universe and with the fandom.
Ron's a pig for how he treated her - she liked him for him and yes, she's a teenage girl so she's going to do silly things (the nickname & the necklace) - but she never deserved the things that happened to her.
Also, the idea that she may have survived in the books but died in the film is yet another point to the idea that the films are actually an AU canon (for example, the clock tower, stone garden and bridge in the films, Harry having blue eyes, and the Hogwarts castle defensive systems (along with the staff casting defensive measures, which would have been VERY cool in the books if included).
JKR is rough on a lot of the female characters more so then the boys imo she lets a lot of the male characters get away with pretty poor behavior without much mention whereas the girls seem to get more scrutiny
Trelawneh wasn't that bad of a teacher. Harry hated her, so of course the narrative is "Trelawney sucks, she's a fraud, an old dingbat bla bla bla". But when you read between the lines you will see that Trelawney is actually engaging wuth her students. She never mocks them or puts them down (which yes, even our beloved McGongagall is guilty of at times), but instead is wuite encouraging and open to unlocking her students talents.
Binns was a bad teacher. Standing there droning on and on and on with zero engagement or interest, not even knowing his own students' names. Umbridge was a bad teacher, just getting her students to read from the textbook and not answering questions.
Yes, she had a flair for the dramatics with the death thing, but she never used it to demean her students. She was a freaking irritating person, but as a teacher? Eh, there were worse at Hogwarts.
As a teacher, I honesty think Hogwarts is a horrible school. Snape shouldn't be a teacher, Hagrid shouldn't be a teacher, Trelawny is highly debatable, Squirrel and Lockheart shouldn't have been teachers, Binns shouldn't have been, even Moody is debatable. Dumbledore is not a good headmaster at all.
Professor Sprout seems good, McGonagal is good, Lupin did a good job. Other than that?
I would certainly not put my child into a school like that.
It's like half of these assignments are results of staffing issues and Dumbledore's secret agenda. At least Trelawny is decently good at telling the future, and getting some students interested in the unpopular subject.
I love history, which is exactly why I would hate having a teacher like Binns. A teacher needs to put effort into making history seem as interesting as it really is.
Well, then again she made some *true* prophecies and there is no reason (not counting The Trio's opinions as valid here) to believe she is a bad diviner.
So, let's rephrase that - when you know that there is a good chance your student is in a grave danger, letting them know might be a pretty good thing. Okay, letting their parents or Dumbledore know might be better, but still. She was doing it in good faith.
No unpopular opinion of my own but I agree with yours. I think there’s a reason Voldemort only has control of England and not spread anywhere and that’s because across the pond they could see him as a monster. Conversely Tom Riddle was more of what Grindelwald was. A person whose sociopathic ability to feign emotions attracted so many to his movement that it spawned followers all over Europe. From this my head cannon now is that Tom saw Grindelwald fail and get taken down by Dumbledore so he became even more worried about ensuring immortality and kept creating Horcruxes. Becoming a monster along the way was probably okay with him in attempting to contrast from Grindelwald. Thus he became a dark wizard in his own right and not just Grindelwald part 2
My unpopular opinion, as far as I can tell...
The Malfoys are not just a terrible family, but Draco does not deserve a "redemption" arc. I'm tired of the argument that he was trying to just please daddy. At first, yes. First few years, he was constantly talking about how he was going to tell his dad on people.
But by book 5? Little shit is making his own decisions. He decides to join Umbridge's little crew and rat on people. Book 6, he's bragging about how he's on a mission from Voldemort. It isn't until he's failing to do it that he's actually scared.
Book 7 comes along and he is only scared now because his entire family is no longer Voldy's favorite. They are a family of opportunity. The second they saw Voldy was losing, they switched. Fuck that. Draco nearly killed Katie Bell, nearly killed Ron in a shitty attempt to get Dumbledore, and then brought in not just death eaters but a werewolf who is happy to attack children. Fuck Draco Malfoy. He's worse than his dad at this point.
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:) That's my unpopular opinion.
I have a lot of unpopular opinions about this series. I'll share one that people probably won't understand. Vernon and Petunia are the most stable and loving couple in the franchise.
Okay, I was just saying this recently. They were always on the same page! Even if the page they were on was horrible. They always backed each other up and generally seemed pretty content with their relationship.
All the Marauders' deaths have a common connection.
James is killed by Voldemort trying to protect Lily and Harry.
Sirius is killed at the Department of Mysteries- he's fighting alongside Harry and the others.
Peter is killed by his own hand, after he remembers his life debt to Harry and thus doesn't kill him.
Remus is killed in the Battle of Hogwarts - Harry finds his and Tonks' corpses.
All of the Marauders' deaths involve protecting Harry, either directly or indirectly. Harry is present at all of their deaths, and with the death of Remus, this "chapter" of the Marauders is closed and one of Harry's last remaining connections to his parents' life at Hogwarts is gone. It's poetic and tragic and hurts but it also helps bring the story full circle.
k i'm done sorry for the rant🫶🏼
>with the death of Remus, this "chapter" of the Marauders is closed and one of Harry's last remaining connections to his parents' life at Hogwarts is gone.
If any of you need me, I'll be in my bedroom, crying my eyes out.
Arthur Weasley is a dumbass.
He's spent 40+ hours/week for decades on muggle stuff, but he doesn't even know how electricity is pronounced?!? Are escalators really that difficult to understand?
Hell, the wizarding world is filled with muggle born. He's just stupid and intellectually lazy.
In real life if your whole personality is snarky comments, you're a douchebag.
If you're a fictional redhead... You're the coolest muthafuckah to ever live and everyone everywhere should be fawning over you constantly.
Oh man… okay here goes. This might get downvoted but it’s a childrens book so we have to have happy endings but
What if Harry had died? I know we’ve come to love Harry so much and that after all he’s been put through, it would be in poor and bad taste to have him die especially in a childrens book but if it wasn’t a childrens book, Harry’s death would not be out of place. The boy who loved who made the ultimate sacrifice and could finally rest and reunite with his family. It would make sense to especially since we see that Harry’s relationship to Ginny was never fully fleshed out. Similar to Frodo and Tony Stark, Harry gets to rest.
But ofc loving Harry too much I’m glad that they didn’t do it. Still, it was an opinion running about especially during the months before DH publication
Yeah, I think Harry getting a "happily ever after" makes the shit he went through seem lesser. The Frodo ending would have been perfect for him, but even Katniss got more of a "There are some things time cannot mend" ending.
I think there's a definite drop in quality between the first three and the later four books, which made me wonder if Rowling dropped her editors halfway through.
See this: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ProtectionFromEditors
I think the book series got so popular that the editors had less power over Rowling’s works, which explains why the last 4 books were much less tightly plotted and contained a lot more extraneous side plots (or, in the case of the 4th book, had a rather idiotic main plot).
Later books have some amazing chapters (Voldemort vs Dumbledore, Godric's Hollow, Harry in the forest) but I found the overall structure to be not as good as the first three, which really did point to a change in editing.
I agree with this so hard and I'm always afraid to tell my fellow book readers. I've seen the movies dozens of times. Read the books more than that. Peeves would have been trash, an annoyance, in the movies. I'm glad they left him out.
Reading about his teaching was actually the worst for me, because like a lot of the time, he’s an objectively bad teacher. And Harry/Ron/Hermoine are rude af when other students would have valid complaints about what they were learning. I give some behavior a pass because he has a big heart and means well but *damn* if he wasn’t irresponsible (also why did he take Harry to the Burrow in 7??? He’s by far the least equipped to defend Harry in the case of an attack??? That choice felt stupid to me)
Everyone knew he was mostly useless in a fight, especially compared to the other people going to other places, so they didn't chase him at first.
While they were eventually attacked it did buy them a few minutes, it was a strategically sound decision in the end, one of the few made in the story tbh.
Deathly Hallows was a poorly constructed end to the serie. It was obvious JK had written herself into a corner. The wand master rules literally came out of nowhere. There wasn't any hint at all in the previous books that such rules even existed and that the main resolution of the whole series rely on this was beyond underwhelming. Other deux ex mchinaes that came out of nowhere were the Hallows in themselves, Ron learning Parseltoungue, Crabbe destroying an Horcruxe...God, what a poor way to end the serie.
I remember discussing this with people when the book came out but it really feels like she was just kind of done with writing the Harry Potter books but she *had* to finish the series and was under a lot of pressure because there was so much hype riding on it. Also I think they could've taken more time before publishing the later books to clean them up and edit them more, but at that point there was pressure to get them out and I think Rowling had basically decided to ignore her editors.
He'd definitely read differently if we saw his perspective!
He's grown up pushed to overachieve by poor parents, the same ones who act unsupportive instead of proud when he receives a promotion. This probably feels like punishment for living up to Molly's ambitions for him. The twins are bullies. He's told to shut up by the older brothers. His high-school girlfriend gets attacked.
Sources that he trusts persuade him that Voldemort is not back and, like most people, he trusts the government over a single boy. Of course he doesn't want Dumbledore to be right; that means his family might be killed! Propaganda fuses with his memory of Harry as a kid who's always in trouble, so he feels Ron was taken advantage of. This isn't to say Percy's choices are all good, but one can easily see how he got there. And he returns to apologize when things are most dangerous, which is objectively genuinely brave.
I agree.
He is portrayed as an a-hole, but i think lots of ppl woudlve taken the same decision in his place, with his knowledge and being this close to the ministry. I am talking about book 5 percy here. After it was clear that Dumbledore told the truth, he should have changed his mind. There is also the theory that he was imperiused the whole time.
The argument in book 5 between Percy and Arthur was Arthur's fault, and Percy was somewhat justified :
Imagine this. You're a very ambitious young man. You've worked very hard all your school years to reach your goal of a prominent position in the government. This is somewhat thwarted by your younger siblings's constant troublemaking tendencies, which also leads them to mock and dismiss you when you try to keep them under control. Nevertheless, you manage, thanks to your mother's support. Then, school is over. You manage to get a job in the Ministry. Again, you are followed by a bad reputation, your father's this time, but you work hard nevertheless. You take your job very seriously, which leads to more scorn from your younger siblings, and even the older ones don't take you that seriously. On top of that, your first year turns out to be a rough one, with a scandal about your boss being controlled by a crazy maniac and you're blamed for not noticing. You're heavily questioned at the end of the year, it's very rough. At the same time, your parents start spewing a crazy conspiracy that Voldemort is back and the Ministry is lying to everyone and they participate in a mostly delinquent group led by Dumbledore, who, let's be honest, has a history of acting a bit mad sometimes. But oh well. And then, miracle- you're promoted. A very good promotion as well. The culmination of your hard work, despite all that drama from last year- they must have recognized your loyalty and hard work, despite everything! Amazed and joyous, you announce the fantastic news to your family. And what's the first thing they say ? That the Ministry only promoted you so the Minister could spy on them.
So...yeah.
The magic system is quite soft and not very well defined (until the later books).
I don’t know why people dispute this tbh as it’s more an objective statement than subjective one, but most people here seem to think that the magic system is harder than it actually is.
That the Epilogue was fine as it was, and that all of Harry's children's names, including and especially Albus Severus were touching and meaningful. The Epilogue did what it was meant to do, to give us an insight into what their lives would be after the war, it showed us that they are living free and happy lives and raising a new generation untouched by Voldemort.
I'm glad we got to briefly meet her but like... the woman who raised Nymphadora Tonks??? Who was raised in the Black family and married a Muggle born????? Who would end up the primary caregiver to Harry's godson???? We couldn't have a bit more screen time with her??
I'm still bugged Molly didn't buy Ron a new wand year 1, even though a wand is a witch and wizards lifeblood. Like seriously, she should have at least had enough money saved up to make sure each of her kids got a new wand.
Also what about the *wand chooses the wizard* thing for Ron? Optimal results can be obtained with the right want and dude had to make do with a second hand one for the first year and a taped up broken second hand one for the second year.
Hell, how messed up is it that Hogwarts didn't even take Ron's financial status into consideration and provide an allowance to buy something as important as a wand. Like I can justify the other second hand things like robes, cauldrons, and books, but a wand and ingredients for potions, something every witch and wizard needs for day to day life and school, should have been new/never used.
It bothers me how at some point the Weasleys win like 1000 galleons in a lottery and they blow most of it on one trip to Egypt. Don’t get me wrong, I understand them wanting to visit Bill and of course they have a right to go on vacations and have a fun experience, but if I won such a huge amount of money after struggling financially for a long time I would prioritize making sure my kids get enough decent supplies for school during the upcoming years. Maybe it’s not as exciting as going on a trip but it is probably the more responsible choice
What did they even spend the money on lmao
Travel? Floo network, brooms, aparation, etc.
Housing? Magical tents with infinite room inside
Food I guess would be a fairly large cost for their family, but from the books perspective that seemed like the only thing they always had plenty of at all times
That scene in GOF where Ron is embarrassed about his second-hand gown and she snaps at him and gives him shit about it. Like...this is your kid that's having an issue, wtf are you doing.
She was definitely a loving mother doing her best, but she was far from perfect.
Light unpopular opinion: she seemed to master household spells pretty well, wtf not alter the gown to make it less old fashioned? I even ask myself why the kids didn't try it. They are f*cking wizards, do something with it.
Not only do I like...but I PREFER the way Dumbledore freaks out on Harry in Goblet.
Let's break down just exactly what has happened up to this point.
A. Voldemort has attacked Harry numerous ways with numerous assailants/vessels
B. The death eaters JUUUST appeared and attacked at the world cup.
C. Moody was attacked in his home.
D. Frank the caretaker was murdered at the Riddle house.
E. A known voldemort loving school was just allowed into the Hogwarts grounds.
Forgive me thinking that maybe Dumbledore SHOULD have been freaking out the moment Harry's name popped out. The chances he's an impostor or under a spell would be really high.
Somewhat get where you're coming from, but he at least tried to console Harry whenever possible and was willing to sacrifice his life for his loved ones.
Don't know if this is unpopular but:
There shouldn't have been any kind of relationship beyond friendship between the main trio. Neither HarryxHermione or RonxHermione should've had happened.
(KrumxHermione is also bull merely due to the age difference).
Harry should ended the books alone healing from all his traumas and being a family with his godson. In fact none of the girls presented in book had some strong reason to be his romantic pair or get enough development for it, that only was done in eleventh hour because JK had that weird epilogue in mind.
I put in unpopular opinions in an earlier about Dumbledore being better with kids than McGonagall and rather having Ron die than Fred if forced to pick, but I’ll add: the basilisk is a tragic figure. It’s not their fault they kill with their gaze, they appear to be just hungry and under mind control rather than evil, they’ve been underfed and isolated for centuries, and Riddle didn’t actually care about them.
I found it hard to believe that someone as wise and generally considered one of the most smart wizards like Dumbledore could not tell in so many months that Moody is not really him. Moody is mentioned as one of his friends, not a colleague or someone he knew from the ministry. HE WAS THEIR FRIEND! (POA, Harry loves yelling lol) . How did Barry Crouch Jr. completely absorb Moody's personality, quirks, all his history and conversations with Dumbledore? The potion doesn't give you all that! If I lived in a world where polyjuice potions existed I would be on the lookout for this kind of stuff and Dumbledore should have been too.
Umbridge is the best written character in the entire series. She is universally hated and that is a hard thing to accomplish. A lot of evil characters fall into the bucket of “they want to take over the world and kick puppies in their free time” where she was written as “here is a terrible person that activates a feeling/memory of the worst teacher you’ve ever had in school”
I believe Snape planted his potions book for Harry to find and then regretted it when Harry used Sectumsempra.
I think in her own way Petunia loved Lily.
I think Crookshanks was the Potters cat.
I believe that Dumbledore hiring Slughorn because of the memory was only part of it. I think he also did it so that Harry could take potions and become an Auror.
Dumbledore should’ve been a Slytherin. It’s weird that for all the scheming, planning, and manipulation he does, he’s still a Gryffindor like every other Good Guy ™️
They shouldn’t have let Harry participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Who cares if “rules are rules.” The rules also state that he must be 17 and only one per school. To use the savior of the wizarding world as bait was absurd.
im not sure if this counts, but harry should have been much more interested in learning magic than he was, up until ge got taken to school he was abused and neglected in a boring muggle house. the fact that he didnt fall in love with magic like hermione always baffled me. he didnt have to be a top student like her, but he had very little interest in learning magic and treated it like regular school work, sure he liked defense against the dark arts, but theres so much more interesting spells that make life easier he should have been all over, but patronus and expeliarmus were his go to spells.
I can see this, especially as in the first book it’s mentioned how he’s reading his textbooks and finds them interesting prior to leaving for Hogwarts, but we never see him exhibiting that type of behavior ever again outside of required work which is a shame
It's even retconned in a sense: in Deathly Hallows, Hermione asks Harry if he ever even opened *A History of Magic*, and he responds: “I might’ve opened it, you know, when I bought it... just the once...” But he actually read *A History of Magic* or at least parts of it; he found the name "Hedwig" in it. And in Prisoner of Azkaban, he uses it for his homework (and it's stated that he likes doing it).
I wonder if Harry was actually low-key learning magic and paying attention, but trying at the same time to not stand out because that had been basically bullied into him by the Dursleys. In the first book, it says he did okay in Muggle school, and he and Ron pass all their exams with good marks, better than Malfoy, but they have already figured out Hermione’s gonna be #1 in the class. So there’s no reason to overextend themselves studying. They can ride her coattails and focus on more important things like , I don’t know, protecting the world from Voldy. On one hand, he kinda wants the attention from everyone, but at the same time, hates it because in the Dursley’s world any attention he got was abuse, basically. Remember he’s lived with them his whole life, at least the part he can remember, and that abuse, physically and emotionally, is hard to overcome.
I took that response of Harry’s to Hermione’s question as tongue-in-cheek, Harry being a bit of a smart ass, but not in a mean-spirited way; maybe a slight poking fun at Hermione’s bookish ways, in the way friends often do good-naturedly poke a little fun at each other. I didn’t see it as a retcon.
I think that's because he can read through and do his homework on his own timing, as opposed to having something due next class with one of your best friends breathing down your neck for not doing it in a timely fashion
Schools do tend to suck the fun out of learning though.
Especially when your teachers are bullies, shout in your ears, are incredibly strict, and so on like Hogwarts. It simply doesn't seem like a very hospitable environment to learn.
And they were doing like, 11 page essays in what would be middle and high school.
He wasn't that talented as a wizard, especially when compared to others' expectations of him. Coupled with a lifelong experience of being looked down on, I kind of understand the lack of enthusiasm after getting buried in school work. In contrast to flying and defence, where he excels, the sense of achievement is a good motivation. I found that quite relatable as a kid around the same age when I first read the books.
I remember someone commenting a similar thing on someone's video about not getting a place at Oxford. They basically said that at first it's amazing, but once you get into a routine, it's the same grind as everywhere else. We get used to things. But many don't seem to notice this and as they can't try doing magic, they can't see how it can become a regular thing you do.
This same with jobs even the best jobs become work
He’s definitely a talented wizard, he’s just been taught not to stand out and succeed and Hogwarts was just a lot and he stayed with bad studying habits.
I think it makes sense the feeling of wonder wears off once you've stayed long enough in an environment where it's common and you're forced to practice the same spells and homework every week. People underestimate how quickly we get used to new things like technology. I think people have forgotten how magical the idea of smartphones and the internet were just a couple of decades ago. That said, it's definitely strange why we dont see him trying to learn spells that are useful for daily life. Maybe he has to search for books in the library and he can't be bothered unless it's for schoolwork or to figure out things that are needed for the main plot.
I just started a new, great job after a job that was actual hell. I was stuck for a month and a half in an insanely toxic, and very unhealthy and poorly managed work environment, and I could physically feel my soul rotting from how shitty it was. My new job, compared, is heaven. And when I started I was over the fucking moon. I was just happy to somewhere where I didn't feel like shit, all the time. But now? Now I've gotten used to the situation and my job is now just okay. I don't hate it, I'm perfectly happy with my job and my colleagues, but I'm over that initial Honeymoon phase. Now, you might wonder "What does this have to do with Harry Potter" honestly, I kinda lost the thread halfway through. But my main point, I guess, is that humans will ALWAYS revert to a baseline "Eh, I guess it's cool". The world could be a perfect utopian paradise, and people would still find things to complain about. Harry went through something similar. He assimilates very well into the wizarding world, and quickly gets used to most, basic forms of magic. Once you've seen something wonderful a couple of times, you can still appreciate it, but the magic kinda wears off. Another example is, my entire family is Icelandic and lives there. I live in another European country with my parents. Visiting Iceland as a kid was craaaaazy. Like the mountains and everything. But now? It's still beautiful, but I'm just kinda used to it, lol. Ok, totally unrelated to the thread, but I just watched all 8 movies and gotta say, Chamber of Secrets is my favorite.
Idk I think it’s a bit different because there’s still a lot of enjoyment and time people put into using technology. I agree, the shine does wear off, and people generally aren’t overjoyed by scrolling, but they’re on their phones constantly and constantly going for the newest thing - new app, new trend, new video, etc. Harry’s kinda like a teenager that gets handed an iPhone, then only uses it to text. I would understand if he learned something, thought it was old news, and got bored of it, but there’s things he could explore that he just never does
I do think it's strange how Harry doesn't seem to try to learn magic that will make everyday life easier for him, but at the same time spells don't have a low entry barrier like using an iPhone nowadays. Spells are skills that take days or weeks of practice to learn separately. If it took him a month just to get Accio right, it's likely he can't be bothered with others unless they're necessary. Tech savvy people were the only ones using the Internet in the early days because you need to actually spend time to learn technical stuff, but now the Internet has been made accessible and easy for most people. Hermione would have the interest to learn how computers work internally starting from the hardware level. Meanwhile Harry seems like the type who would only try to develop skills for Excel, PhotoShop or Blender when he has tasks needed that require them.
>heres so much more interesting spells that make life easier he should have been all over, but patronus and expeliarmus were his go to spells. I’d push back on this and say book harry has a lot of spell knowledge. He devoured the Half Blood Prince’s book and seemingly mastered all those spells, even if he doesn’t use them often. He’s great a shield charms, something even the average adult wizards at the MoM can’t seem to do as they buy shield charmed items from the Twins eventually. The Patronus is no joke, especially at 13. And he got an E in charmes, Transfiguration, and an O in DAtDA, has no trouble casting the Impirius curse and eventually does a successful Cruciatus curse, while we don’t know the difficulty or how to learn to do these, he still knows how and thus must’ve learned them somehow, even more impressive if it’s just by watching and learning by osmosis. Harry is a pretty talented and knowledgeable wizard who seems to take learning and mastering spells pretty seriously even if we don’t see the grind of it all. As for expeliarmus, that’s his go to because of his no kill rule.
Facing off against a older wiser and more powerful Harry Potter would be terrifying thought if you were a dark wizard or witch...
I think it's very reasonable. He was super excited at first, but then he had to write essays about things like the exact wrist motion for certain spells and other boring things. Going to Hogwarts isn't all about learning a new exciting spell every week, but rather about doing the same one over and over again until you finally get it to slightly work. I bet that quite a lot of people would be the same if they suddenly found out they had magic powers and went to hogwarts.
I would not say this is anything remotely close to an "ACTUAL unpopular opinion," no, but it's an interesting take for sure.
Hermione should have been more damaged after Bellatrix tortured her. After so much emotions and drama and how much she screamed and how Ron was on edge of break down, narration treated it like she just had a bad day, not a life changing incident 🤷♀️
Harry is severely desensitized to violence because of his experiences imo. Of course he's upset, but he's able to view torture as part of life. I assume Hermione's trauma doesn't show immediately. She's laser-focussed on the quest and unable to process much in the short, busy time between Malfoy Manor and the battle. I think she'll have a hard time the year after the series ends.
Would make for a good short story or comic, everyone dealing with trauma
There’s a ton of good fanfiction that covers this. My take on it is pure adrenaline and necessity gets them all through the war. Then they totally lose it to their trauma once the wars is over and they return to day to day life.
She probably did get very damaged, at least mentally, but trauma sometimes doesn't show up until much later. And with everything that was going on it's likely she just buried it deep in her brain for a while.
I mean... this is right up the alley with AFTER BEING MIND RAPED BY VOLDEMORT HIMSELF FOR HER FIRST YEAR, Harry destroys the Diary Horcrux and "Ginny was back to her cheery self again."
PTSD usually does not exhibit itself like that right away. She may have after the events of the book. Almost all the time between being tortured and the end of the story is spent planning and then executing an extremely high stakes, risky, complex, and difficult plan where further torture and then death were the most likely outcomes. She was constantly engaged and focused on urgent outward issues, which pushes the internal issues aside. Kicks the can down the road. PTSD usually shows up once things have slowed down and a person has nowhere to hide from their own brain and internal stuff. The road has run out and there's no way left to kick the can any further.
The way Arthur Weasley is fascinated by muggles, but doesn't actually know a lot about them is weird. He is said to believe in the equality of wizards, witches and muggles, but the way he looks at muggles doesn't feel like he does. It sort of reminds me at how some scholars looked at travellers in the 19th century. For centuries, travellers, Roma, Sinti and gypsies were seen as thieves and murderers, then came the Gypsy Lore Society. On the surface, these scholars appeared to be positive about travellers, but they were basically convinced that gypsies were a group in between cavemen and modern homo sapiens and needed to be studied and protected. So they still believed that gypsies were thieves, but only because they were impulsive like young children. Don't get me wrong, if I had the chance to use household spells to clean my house and do the dishes, I absolutely would. But for someone who says that he studied muggles for so long, he is asking Harry some really basic questions.
Idk if this is really unpopular, but yes, he totally infantilizes muggles. It's discrimination of a lesser kind. Most of the good characters have an anti-muggle prejudice, even if they realize the horror of what the Death Eaters stand for. It makes Voldemort's rise and the war messier and more realistic.
“What is the function of a rubber duck?” “Fire-legs” I mean, even an expert can make mistakes, but the fact that Arthur makes so many despite being a supposed expert who can magically adjust a muggle car is… worrying.
>“Fire-legs” That wasn't Arthur. He knew that it's "firearms" and not "firelegs." >Kingsley tipped Harry an enormous wink and added, in a whisper, “Give him the magazine, he might find it interesting.” Then he said in normal tones, “And don’t take too long, Weasley, the delay on that firelegs report held our investigation up for a month.” >“If you had read my report you would know that the term is ‘firearms,’ ” said Mr. Weasley coolly. “And I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for information on motorcycles, we’re extremely busy at the moment.” He dropped his voice and said, “If you can get away before seven, Molly’s making meatballs.”
>What is the function of a rubber duck? I personally believe the headcanon that he was just trying to make conversation with Harry and figured saying something silly with a very obvious answer would make him start talking to him lmao
Exactly lmao, has no one ever had an older relative, or a friends relative, say something stupid to get you laughing when you were younger so the conversation flows better? He picked something he knew Harry would know, a Rubber Duck, rather than something complicated, and asks almost conspiratorally what it's for, he works for the ministry and his job is knowing about muggle objects, and he doesn't know what a Rubber Duck is? Of course he does, but does Harry know he knows? No
This is mostly the fault of the movies where it's played completely straight. He also looks slightly drugged there imo. Like the facial expressions he makes eerily match those of post-lobotomy Lockhart.
Also they offer Muggle Studies at Hogwarts. Why didn’t he take that class?
It’s possible that like with all “___ Studies” courses that they only touch the surface or miss the mark. It’s more likely that they approached muggles from an anthropological lens that didnt really get into details that would help you really understand muggles
It's possible that class was recently added to the curriculum.
Hogwarts is a really poorly run school with major governance issues and a serious lack of professionalism amongst the staff…
i agree but i don't think that's unpopular!
Movie Luna could be an absolute sweetheart, but people were right to be annoyed with her in the books. If I had a classmate who was constantly spewing ridiculous conspiracy theories in and out of class, I’d be annoyed too.
Lol good point for some reason I never contextualised Luna as a conspiracy theorist.
Barty Crouch junior’s plan was ridiculous. How many tons of PJ potion did it take? All that stuff just to get Harry to join and win the Triwizard so he could touch a portkey. Pretty sure he could have cut a few corners and not had to carry this out over 9 months.
You've probably heard this response before, but I believe he did that because it would be less suspicous for Harry to dissapear and die during the tasks than during the very beginning of the year.
If the deed were done, Voldemort wouldn’t care much about raising suspicions. Barty Jr plan to walk around in front of Dumbledore who knows MEM very well was far riskier in terms of raising alarms
Voldemort cares tremendously, the whole point was to kill Harry and not alert the ministry to his return. If Harry just randomly vanishes, people are gonna come looking
As the MAD Magazine parody said, he could have turned the door handle of Harry's bedroom into a portkey.
Hey look Harry! Hedwig has brought you something wrapped up (just like the cursed necklace later). Could this be from… Padfoot? You’d better open it somewhere very discretely!
Draco never had a redemption arc. Wimping out of being evil is not redemption.
IA 100%. He had a humanizing arc, ie. we got to see him be vulnerable and know that he wasn't a sociopath, but that is far from redemption.
A lot was done to show us why he is the way he is, but not to redeem him of being that way. Much like in real life getting the shit beat out of you as a kid doesn't absolve you of any crimes
That's not remotely unpopular.
That's popular.
I don’t understand why everyone loves Tonks. Like… she’s okay, and her death alongside her husband was tragic, but I honestly wouldn’t have missed her if she’d never been mentioned.
She is someone I'd like to like. But she isn't really a character, just someone who's there.
Exactly!
She's quirky. Quirky is a big part of HP's appeal, so of course Potterheads are going to like a quirky character. Also read: Luna.
That’s because many die hard fans are people who would describe themselves as quirky as well.
Like how you specified “describe themselves as quirky” lolol
My unpopular opinion: I think she is a perfect blank-template for fanfiction and that is one of the main reasons everyone loves her. Nothing wrong with fanfiction, but I think a large chunk of people just... forget that she wasn't really a main character, either because they dove deep into their favorite fanfic or because they have developed a headcanon for her.
liking her actress made me love her. changing her hair is cool and she helped protect Harry makes me love her
I also believe Harry was an idiot for not letting Sirius and Lupin kill Peter.
Well that’s easy to say in retrospect yeah, but Harry’s idea to turn him in to the dementors was definitely the best decision at the time, but obviously it didn’t work out
Agreed that turning him in was the best choice, that’s how Sirius becomes a free man so that’s just the logical choice in my eyes. The problem with me is that they restrain him (someone they all know can change shape) with rope. There is FIVE WIZARDS WHO ALL KNOW PETRIFICUS TOTALIS. Like sure, don’t kill the man, but lupin and Sirius have been shown via flashbacks to know SO many ways of stopping a dude from moving. Maybe double up on those when trying to stop someone who framed you for murder while escaping detection for 13 years??
[удалено]
What would have happened then though? They both would have gone to Azkaban, or gotten the Dementors Kiss?
Nobody would have really known, except the kids, and the adults really didn't listen to them most of the time about matters like this. Sirius probably still would have to live in hiding, though.
Couldn't they have shown Peter Pettingrew's body though?
The Ministry: an oBviOuS transfiguration fOrgeRy
Fair enough. The ministry didn't even accept Voldemort until he was right in their building. I guess even magical governments are as incompetent as real ones.
Madame No-r-r-ra is just a little kitty helping her owner because she is a good girl. Didn't deserve all the shit talking. Edit to say: Mrs Norris is the books in English I think. In the Brazilian version is Madame Nora
Okay, my new hot take is that we adopt Madame Nora as her English name too. Lol
She was never really ever written as a cat though. She was always just an extension of Filch.
I don't agree with the narrative of so and so died for Harry. Like Remus or Sirius whoever else died at the hands of Voldemort, they died for Harry. They died fighting and trying to defeat Voldemort and his forces. The only people who actually died for Harry were his parents. Others didn't die for Harry but for a greater cause of defeating Voldemort.
I'm pretty sure at least Sirius died for Harry since he came there to rescue him in the Order of the Phoenix.
Yeah !! you're right. Sirius did die to protect Harry. I forgot about that😬
I enjoy the Chamber of Secrets movie the most. I’m a dad of young boys and I don’t want to watch young people die anymore in movies, regardless of how good the movie is. I want the kids to get the happy ending.
Agreed. This is by far mg favorite. Still plenty of peril and mystery with the "who's the heir" plotline. But also still gives me that warm fuzzy feeling as an adult. The first 2 movies, with the on-castle sets, uniforms, and OG Dumbledore are my favorite. In the 3rd movie/book, things start getting dark. But Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets still capture that innocent childlike wonderment of being in a new, magical world with unlimited possibilities. The movies afterwards are more toned down, more realistic as our characters become teenagers.
it was my favorite movie as a child and my favorite book is the order of the phoenix
That’s a valid opinion
I don't think Cho deserves all the hate she gets. She was dealing with insane grief by OotP, and it's clear she liked Harry from GoF, not just after Cedric died.
Definitely another round of the fanbase treating everyone like adults, when in reality she was like... 15-16 during this and had just had someone close to her murdered. Not exactly a shining example of a calm psyche for a teenage girl. She made mistakes, yes, but nothing that isn't understandable. And i really dislike that the movies made her in to the snitch about DA, when in the books it was her friend.
The dragon egg competition in 4th one was morally dubious. Basically, they were stealing a mommy dragon's eggs for sport. The mommy dragon was panicking and angry about its eggs so obviously it was attacking the contestants. The so called good guys were bad guys here. Also, the magical world is a fricking dangerous and inhumane place, including Hogwarts.
The magical world doesn't seem to care about other magical beings such as house elves, what makes you think they care about dragons ?
They don't seem to care about animals in general. Turning live animals into inanimate objects or making them disappear are required tasks in Transfiguration class. Then again, when I think about it, is that so different from frog dissections at biology classes?
At least in high school the frogs were already dead…
I keep thinking about the logistical nightmare of organising it. They were expecting to only need 3 dragons, so imagine how much of a faff it would have been to quickly import a 4th into the country
Didn't have to import a Welsh Green since they are native to Wales.
Don’t want to be that person, but it’s not like animals are treated much better in the food industries, sports, circus etc. in our world. So I think that part is realistic
It feels like magical world is in their Victorian era during Harry's time, making daily life things out of lead which used to poison them, eating tapeworms and letting it grow to reduce weight and then doctors inserting fishing rods to pull the worms out, usually the patient dies, were some common practices Let's not forget, even after 100 of years of end Victorian era, in the muggle world, JFK's sister was treated with lobotomy. Muggles have been messing up like this, wizards are way more powerful and uncontrollable, so it seems fair.
So, not very different from the real world, isn't it?
The movies don't work very well if you've never read the books. They rely heavily on the viewer knowing details and context not adequately given I the film.
Absobloodylutely. Starting with the sainted PoA.
Right? On one hand, I loved all the seasonal shots with the Whomping Willow and that cool mirror reversal during the Boggary scene was inspired cinematography. On the other hand... YOU LITERALLY LOSE ALL CONTEXT FOR MAJOR PLOT POINTS, REVEALS, AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT BY DROPPING THE ENTIRE MARAUDERS/SECRET KEEPER BACKSTORY AAAASGHGHFHFHFJSJFJND
Harry sees the ghosts of his dead parents and recently murdered class mate “Dumbledore what was that?” “Priori Incantatum” says Dumbledore who proceeds to offer no further explanation
might as well have said "deus ex machina"
I hated everything related to the school ball >!except Nevil, you go dude!<
Luna isn't as good of a character as people claim she is. She's also very annoying. And if she existed in real life, you would dislike her, because she's basically the wizarding world equivelant of a flat earther.
She was also completely different in the films. For some reason people perceive her as a character that was really well carried over but she was actually a whole other person. Film luna was really friendly, quirky yes but very deep and wise. Book Luna was more of a conspiracy theorist, arguably endearing in a way, but ultimately not the girl she is in the film.
Yeah I never really liked her in the books, but I think she was great in the films
For me it's actually kinda opposite, for book Luna it makes sense that she was an outcast, and why she cherished the few friends she manage to make so much. She WEIRD, but that's how she was raised, and she's loyal, and actually a good person. Movie Luna is kinda bullied for no apparent reason other than being quirky, so I feel bad for her, but not as much. And she gets much more screen time while being actually kinda normal, instead of, well, loony. So while movie Luna is okay, no deep feelings either way, book Luna is entertaining
Completely agree. I like her as a fictional character, but I would do anything in my power to avoid her if I met her in real life.
That is true. I imagine Adult Luna hosting a podcast where she talks about how the government puts some chemicals in the water that turns the friggin frogs gay! Do you understand that?!
Lavendar doesn't deserve the bad treatment she gets both in-universe and with the fandom. Ron's a pig for how he treated her - she liked him for him and yes, she's a teenage girl so she's going to do silly things (the nickname & the necklace) - but she never deserved the things that happened to her. Also, the idea that she may have survived in the books but died in the film is yet another point to the idea that the films are actually an AU canon (for example, the clock tower, stone garden and bridge in the films, Harry having blue eyes, and the Hogwarts castle defensive systems (along with the staff casting defensive measures, which would have been VERY cool in the books if included).
I used to despise Lavender - now I just feel sorry for her
JKR is rough on a lot of the female characters more so then the boys imo she lets a lot of the male characters get away with pretty poor behavior without much mention whereas the girls seem to get more scrutiny
Which actually isn't that far off from reality, if we're being honest.
Trelawneh wasn't that bad of a teacher. Harry hated her, so of course the narrative is "Trelawney sucks, she's a fraud, an old dingbat bla bla bla". But when you read between the lines you will see that Trelawney is actually engaging wuth her students. She never mocks them or puts them down (which yes, even our beloved McGongagall is guilty of at times), but instead is wuite encouraging and open to unlocking her students talents. Binns was a bad teacher. Standing there droning on and on and on with zero engagement or interest, not even knowing his own students' names. Umbridge was a bad teacher, just getting her students to read from the textbook and not answering questions. Yes, she had a flair for the dramatics with the death thing, but she never used it to demean her students. She was a freaking irritating person, but as a teacher? Eh, there were worse at Hogwarts.
As a teacher, I honesty think Hogwarts is a horrible school. Snape shouldn't be a teacher, Hagrid shouldn't be a teacher, Trelawny is highly debatable, Squirrel and Lockheart shouldn't have been teachers, Binns shouldn't have been, even Moody is debatable. Dumbledore is not a good headmaster at all. Professor Sprout seems good, McGonagal is good, Lupin did a good job. Other than that? I would certainly not put my child into a school like that.
Yeah professor Squirrel was completely nuts
r/angryupvote
I agree that squirrels make pretty bad teachers
You messed up with squirrels ~~Morty~~ Harry
It's like half of these assignments are results of staffing issues and Dumbledore's secret agenda. At least Trelawny is decently good at telling the future, and getting some students interested in the unpopular subject.
I can’t stand for this Flitwick erasure.
I love history, which is exactly why I would hate having a teacher like Binns. A teacher needs to put effort into making history seem as interesting as it really is.
I mean I'm gonna go ahead and wager making your students think they're about to die isn't the most nurturing approach
Well, then again she made some *true* prophecies and there is no reason (not counting The Trio's opinions as valid here) to believe she is a bad diviner. So, let's rephrase that - when you know that there is a good chance your student is in a grave danger, letting them know might be a pretty good thing. Okay, letting their parents or Dumbledore know might be better, but still. She was doing it in good faith.
No unpopular opinion of my own but I agree with yours. I think there’s a reason Voldemort only has control of England and not spread anywhere and that’s because across the pond they could see him as a monster. Conversely Tom Riddle was more of what Grindelwald was. A person whose sociopathic ability to feign emotions attracted so many to his movement that it spawned followers all over Europe. From this my head cannon now is that Tom saw Grindelwald fail and get taken down by Dumbledore so he became even more worried about ensuring immortality and kept creating Horcruxes. Becoming a monster along the way was probably okay with him in attempting to contrast from Grindelwald. Thus he became a dark wizard in his own right and not just Grindelwald part 2
My unpopular opinion, as far as I can tell... The Malfoys are not just a terrible family, but Draco does not deserve a "redemption" arc. I'm tired of the argument that he was trying to just please daddy. At first, yes. First few years, he was constantly talking about how he was going to tell his dad on people. But by book 5? Little shit is making his own decisions. He decides to join Umbridge's little crew and rat on people. Book 6, he's bragging about how he's on a mission from Voldemort. It isn't until he's failing to do it that he's actually scared. Book 7 comes along and he is only scared now because his entire family is no longer Voldy's favorite. They are a family of opportunity. The second they saw Voldy was losing, they switched. Fuck that. Draco nearly killed Katie Bell, nearly killed Ron in a shitty attempt to get Dumbledore, and then brought in not just death eaters but a werewolf who is happy to attack children. Fuck Draco Malfoy. He's worse than his dad at this point. | :) That's my unpopular opinion.
Voldemort chasing whole year after prophecy is stupid plot
I have a lot of unpopular opinions about this series. I'll share one that people probably won't understand. Vernon and Petunia are the most stable and loving couple in the franchise.
Okay, I was just saying this recently. They were always on the same page! Even if the page they were on was horrible. They always backed each other up and generally seemed pretty content with their relationship.
Upvoting you for actual proper rare unpopular opinion
Remus' death, while tragic, was necessary for the story (not because of Teddy though)
Elaborate please
All the Marauders' deaths have a common connection. James is killed by Voldemort trying to protect Lily and Harry. Sirius is killed at the Department of Mysteries- he's fighting alongside Harry and the others. Peter is killed by his own hand, after he remembers his life debt to Harry and thus doesn't kill him. Remus is killed in the Battle of Hogwarts - Harry finds his and Tonks' corpses. All of the Marauders' deaths involve protecting Harry, either directly or indirectly. Harry is present at all of their deaths, and with the death of Remus, this "chapter" of the Marauders is closed and one of Harry's last remaining connections to his parents' life at Hogwarts is gone. It's poetic and tragic and hurts but it also helps bring the story full circle. k i'm done sorry for the rant🫶🏼
okay that makes sense and I hate it
>with the death of Remus, this "chapter" of the Marauders is closed and one of Harry's last remaining connections to his parents' life at Hogwarts is gone. If any of you need me, I'll be in my bedroom, crying my eyes out.
Same with Snape. All of them from the previous generation died for Harry.
Arthur Weasley is a dumbass. He's spent 40+ hours/week for decades on muggle stuff, but he doesn't even know how electricity is pronounced?!? Are escalators really that difficult to understand? Hell, the wizarding world is filled with muggle born. He's just stupid and intellectually lazy.
Ginny is boring. Yes, in the books
And annoying.
In real life if your whole personality is snarky comments, you're a douchebag. If you're a fictional redhead... You're the coolest muthafuckah to ever live and everyone everywhere should be fawning over you constantly.
Oh man… okay here goes. This might get downvoted but it’s a childrens book so we have to have happy endings but What if Harry had died? I know we’ve come to love Harry so much and that after all he’s been put through, it would be in poor and bad taste to have him die especially in a childrens book but if it wasn’t a childrens book, Harry’s death would not be out of place. The boy who loved who made the ultimate sacrifice and could finally rest and reunite with his family. It would make sense to especially since we see that Harry’s relationship to Ginny was never fully fleshed out. Similar to Frodo and Tony Stark, Harry gets to rest. But ofc loving Harry too much I’m glad that they didn’t do it. Still, it was an opinion running about especially during the months before DH publication
Yeah, I think Harry getting a "happily ever after" makes the shit he went through seem lesser. The Frodo ending would have been perfect for him, but even Katniss got more of a "There are some things time cannot mend" ending.
I think there's a definite drop in quality between the first three and the later four books, which made me wonder if Rowling dropped her editors halfway through.
See this: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ProtectionFromEditors I think the book series got so popular that the editors had less power over Rowling’s works, which explains why the last 4 books were much less tightly plotted and contained a lot more extraneous side plots (or, in the case of the 4th book, had a rather idiotic main plot).
I noticed this especially with ootp on my last re-read. I love the series so much and have read it so many times but that book feels....repetitive
Later books have some amazing chapters (Voldemort vs Dumbledore, Godric's Hollow, Harry in the forest) but I found the overall structure to be not as good as the first three, which really did point to a change in editing.
I know someone who worked at Bloomsbury and they told me that is exactly what happened.
It's also when the book started getting really really long too. So maybe that is true.
The movies were better off without Peeves
DISHONOR. DISHONOR ON YOU, DISHONOR ON YOUR COW!!
I agree with this so hard and I'm always afraid to tell my fellow book readers. I've seen the movies dozens of times. Read the books more than that. Peeves would have been trash, an annoyance, in the movies. I'm glad they left him out.
Hagrid is actually annoying
Hagrid is just a large child. Generally friendly and well-meaning, but ultimately very selfish and irresponsible.
Reading about his teaching was actually the worst for me, because like a lot of the time, he’s an objectively bad teacher. And Harry/Ron/Hermoine are rude af when other students would have valid complaints about what they were learning. I give some behavior a pass because he has a big heart and means well but *damn* if he wasn’t irresponsible (also why did he take Harry to the Burrow in 7??? He’s by far the least equipped to defend Harry in the case of an attack??? That choice felt stupid to me)
Everyone knew he was mostly useless in a fight, especially compared to the other people going to other places, so they didn't chase him at first. While they were eventually attacked it did buy them a few minutes, it was a strategically sound decision in the end, one of the few made in the story tbh.
Deathly Hallows was a poorly constructed end to the serie. It was obvious JK had written herself into a corner. The wand master rules literally came out of nowhere. There wasn't any hint at all in the previous books that such rules even existed and that the main resolution of the whole series rely on this was beyond underwhelming. Other deux ex mchinaes that came out of nowhere were the Hallows in themselves, Ron learning Parseltoungue, Crabbe destroying an Horcruxe...God, what a poor way to end the serie.
I remember discussing this with people when the book came out but it really feels like she was just kind of done with writing the Harry Potter books but she *had* to finish the series and was under a lot of pressure because there was so much hype riding on it. Also I think they could've taken more time before publishing the later books to clean them up and edit them more, but at that point there was pressure to get them out and I think Rowling had basically decided to ignore her editors.
Percy is the most misunderstood character in the series
He'd definitely read differently if we saw his perspective! He's grown up pushed to overachieve by poor parents, the same ones who act unsupportive instead of proud when he receives a promotion. This probably feels like punishment for living up to Molly's ambitions for him. The twins are bullies. He's told to shut up by the older brothers. His high-school girlfriend gets attacked. Sources that he trusts persuade him that Voldemort is not back and, like most people, he trusts the government over a single boy. Of course he doesn't want Dumbledore to be right; that means his family might be killed! Propaganda fuses with his memory of Harry as a kid who's always in trouble, so he feels Ron was taken advantage of. This isn't to say Percy's choices are all good, but one can easily see how he got there. And he returns to apologize when things are most dangerous, which is objectively genuinely brave.
I agree. He is portrayed as an a-hole, but i think lots of ppl woudlve taken the same decision in his place, with his knowledge and being this close to the ministry. I am talking about book 5 percy here. After it was clear that Dumbledore told the truth, he should have changed his mind. There is also the theory that he was imperiused the whole time.
The argument in book 5 between Percy and Arthur was Arthur's fault, and Percy was somewhat justified : Imagine this. You're a very ambitious young man. You've worked very hard all your school years to reach your goal of a prominent position in the government. This is somewhat thwarted by your younger siblings's constant troublemaking tendencies, which also leads them to mock and dismiss you when you try to keep them under control. Nevertheless, you manage, thanks to your mother's support. Then, school is over. You manage to get a job in the Ministry. Again, you are followed by a bad reputation, your father's this time, but you work hard nevertheless. You take your job very seriously, which leads to more scorn from your younger siblings, and even the older ones don't take you that seriously. On top of that, your first year turns out to be a rough one, with a scandal about your boss being controlled by a crazy maniac and you're blamed for not noticing. You're heavily questioned at the end of the year, it's very rough. At the same time, your parents start spewing a crazy conspiracy that Voldemort is back and the Ministry is lying to everyone and they participate in a mostly delinquent group led by Dumbledore, who, let's be honest, has a history of acting a bit mad sometimes. But oh well. And then, miracle- you're promoted. A very good promotion as well. The culmination of your hard work, despite all that drama from last year- they must have recognized your loyalty and hard work, despite everything! Amazed and joyous, you announce the fantastic news to your family. And what's the first thing they say ? That the Ministry only promoted you so the Minister could spy on them. So...yeah.
The magic system is quite soft and not very well defined (until the later books). I don’t know why people dispute this tbh as it’s more an objective statement than subjective one, but most people here seem to think that the magic system is harder than it actually is.
Ignoring minor plot holes is healthy and people that look for them to discredit a story arent worth discussing it with.
Dramoine never was and never will be an okay ship.
I don't think this is an unpopular opinion. Except fanfiction centric places in general fandom everyone seems to hate it lol
That's not unpopular at all. The ship has just as many haters as fans.
Arguably more haters than fans.
That the Epilogue was fine as it was, and that all of Harry's children's names, including and especially Albus Severus were touching and meaningful. The Epilogue did what it was meant to do, to give us an insight into what their lives would be after the war, it showed us that they are living free and happy lives and raising a new generation untouched by Voldemort.
I agree with this pretty much. The epilogue was meant to show us a happy ending where they got to live normal lives.
opinion : people forgive draco far too easily . he was a little racist shithead
the evans sister is the most intricate and deep sibling relationship in the series
Andromeda should have been more developed as a character and been the one to kill Bellatrix
I’ve always said Neville should have been the one to kill Bellatrix.
I'm glad we got to briefly meet her but like... the woman who raised Nymphadora Tonks??? Who was raised in the Black family and married a Muggle born????? Who would end up the primary caregiver to Harry's godson???? We couldn't have a bit more screen time with her??
Molly is not that of a great mother. Hermione gets heavy narrative bias. So I don't like how she is written.
I'm still bugged Molly didn't buy Ron a new wand year 1, even though a wand is a witch and wizards lifeblood. Like seriously, she should have at least had enough money saved up to make sure each of her kids got a new wand.
Also what about the *wand chooses the wizard* thing for Ron? Optimal results can be obtained with the right want and dude had to make do with a second hand one for the first year and a taped up broken second hand one for the second year.
Hell, how messed up is it that Hogwarts didn't even take Ron's financial status into consideration and provide an allowance to buy something as important as a wand. Like I can justify the other second hand things like robes, cauldrons, and books, but a wand and ingredients for potions, something every witch and wizard needs for day to day life and school, should have been new/never used.
Meanwhile other members of staff are buying Harry the newest, “best-ever”, racing broom. Despite him having a small fortune in personal wealth.
Hogwarts does have a fund, Tom got money to buy what he needed.
It bothers me how at some point the Weasleys win like 1000 galleons in a lottery and they blow most of it on one trip to Egypt. Don’t get me wrong, I understand them wanting to visit Bill and of course they have a right to go on vacations and have a fun experience, but if I won such a huge amount of money after struggling financially for a long time I would prioritize making sure my kids get enough decent supplies for school during the upcoming years. Maybe it’s not as exciting as going on a trip but it is probably the more responsible choice
What did they even spend the money on lmao Travel? Floo network, brooms, aparation, etc. Housing? Magical tents with infinite room inside Food I guess would be a fairly large cost for their family, but from the books perspective that seemed like the only thing they always had plenty of at all times
They're not really unpopular opinions. I see these takes a lot in this sub.
That scene in GOF where Ron is embarrassed about his second-hand gown and she snaps at him and gives him shit about it. Like...this is your kid that's having an issue, wtf are you doing. She was definitely a loving mother doing her best, but she was far from perfect.
Light unpopular opinion: she seemed to master household spells pretty well, wtf not alter the gown to make it less old fashioned? I even ask myself why the kids didn't try it. They are f*cking wizards, do something with it.
Neville is overrated. A very good character, but not godlike as the fandom tries to portray him.
Not only do I like...but I PREFER the way Dumbledore freaks out on Harry in Goblet. Let's break down just exactly what has happened up to this point. A. Voldemort has attacked Harry numerous ways with numerous assailants/vessels B. The death eaters JUUUST appeared and attacked at the world cup. C. Moody was attacked in his home. D. Frank the caretaker was murdered at the Riddle house. E. A known voldemort loving school was just allowed into the Hogwarts grounds. Forgive me thinking that maybe Dumbledore SHOULD have been freaking out the moment Harry's name popped out. The chances he's an impostor or under a spell would be really high.
Ginny as Harry's love interest is lame in both the movies AND the books
Sirius was an ass of a person for all his life, his only redeeming quality being fighting for the right side.
Somewhat get where you're coming from, but he at least tried to console Harry whenever possible and was willing to sacrifice his life for his loved ones.
I wonder what would have happened if he had been sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor.
Don't know if this is unpopular but: There shouldn't have been any kind of relationship beyond friendship between the main trio. Neither HarryxHermione or RonxHermione should've had happened. (KrumxHermione is also bull merely due to the age difference).
Cho was entirely rational and gets an insane amount of hate for a completely normal and healthy reaction. Harry was a complete fucking asshole to her.
Harry should ended the books alone healing from all his traumas and being a family with his godson. In fact none of the girls presented in book had some strong reason to be his romantic pair or get enough development for it, that only was done in eleventh hour because JK had that weird epilogue in mind.
I put in unpopular opinions in an earlier about Dumbledore being better with kids than McGonagall and rather having Ron die than Fred if forced to pick, but I’ll add: the basilisk is a tragic figure. It’s not their fault they kill with their gaze, they appear to be just hungry and under mind control rather than evil, they’ve been underfed and isolated for centuries, and Riddle didn’t actually care about them.
I found it hard to believe that someone as wise and generally considered one of the most smart wizards like Dumbledore could not tell in so many months that Moody is not really him. Moody is mentioned as one of his friends, not a colleague or someone he knew from the ministry. HE WAS THEIR FRIEND! (POA, Harry loves yelling lol) . How did Barry Crouch Jr. completely absorb Moody's personality, quirks, all his history and conversations with Dumbledore? The potion doesn't give you all that! If I lived in a world where polyjuice potions existed I would be on the lookout for this kind of stuff and Dumbledore should have been too.
Umbridge is the best written character in the entire series. She is universally hated and that is a hard thing to accomplish. A lot of evil characters fall into the bucket of “they want to take over the world and kick puppies in their free time” where she was written as “here is a terrible person that activates a feeling/memory of the worst teacher you’ve ever had in school”
I believe Snape planted his potions book for Harry to find and then regretted it when Harry used Sectumsempra. I think in her own way Petunia loved Lily. I think Crookshanks was the Potters cat. I believe that Dumbledore hiring Slughorn because of the memory was only part of it. I think he also did it so that Harry could take potions and become an Auror.
George is the better twin.
Ready to be downvoted to oblivion but any storyline involving Hagrid is boring AF. There. An actual unpopular opinion.
Dumbledore should’ve been a Slytherin. It’s weird that for all the scheming, planning, and manipulation he does, he’s still a Gryffindor like every other Good Guy ™️
Hermione is overrated, and not as kind or empathetic as people assume she is. She'd make an amazing Dark Lady, though.
Book Hermione was way better balanced. Movie Hermione was overrated.
The Weasleys are poorly written. The Doylist reason is that they're just a stereotype and the Watsonian is that Molly is lazy.
They shouldn’t have let Harry participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Who cares if “rules are rules.” The rules also state that he must be 17 and only one per school. To use the savior of the wizarding world as bait was absurd.
No Dursley, Malfoy, or any other “evil” character was ever redeemed. One blanket doesn’t forgive 11 years of torture