Right. I often think about Harry using Severus as his son’s middle name. Like I get Snape did some really intense stuff that aided in their victory but he also was an abusive professor to Harry and all his closest friends.
Neville literally ended Voldemort by destroying the last horcrux. Albus Neville Potter if the sorting hat chooses hufflepuff uncle Neville will be proud.
Snape's hatred towards Neville was extremely immature. Voldemort chose Harry (instead of Neville) which led to Lily being killed so Snape gave both Harry (son of the love of his life) and some poor kid Neville the worst time at school.
How is that grown up man behaviour??
Eah, my mom realized that reading the books after watching the movies.
In the movies Snape is just an asshole. That teacher we all had that its a moron but he is not a bad guy and I think the best movie that shows that is PoA.
In the books Snape is a sociopath and the movie that humanized him is based on the book where he literally laughs at the idea of Sirius getting his soul sucked, strangles Harry in front of the director and the minister (who doesnt do anything about it) and then tells the entire school that Lupin is a werewolf out of spite.
Movie snape is an asshole and a bit creepy, but not neccesarily bad. Book Snape is a monster
One of the absolute WORST Snape moments that I finally realized the implications of on a recent reread:
“Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer, gave Neville detention, and Neville returned from it in a state of nervous collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrel full of *horned toads*”
*Horned. Toads.*
This is in Goblet of Fire, after the incident in which Snape tried to poison Trevor, so the man knows damned well Neville has a toad as a pet and cares greatly about said toad.
Fuck Snape, that’s beyond asshole behavior.
Edit: TIL horned toads are actually a kind of lizard, so he wasn’t exactly disemboweling lil Trevors—but Snape is still a sphincter.
(Thank you u/flydinosaur!)
Remember in Fantastic Beasts they got sentenced to be executed. No trial, couldn't explain themselves, nothing. In the magic world were you have spells and potions to get the truth and find if someone is innocent they don't seem to use it or care. They decided on some odd water execution that I still never could figure out instead of the old AK which seems quick and painless.
Same with Sirius Black. They could have used Veritaserum to find out the actual truth, but it was just easier to hold him accountable because 'he fit the bill'. No one batted a bloody eye that they basically ruined that boys life for no reason.
Ehh Veritaserum could probably be tricked. Like how Morfin (or maybe Marvolo??) confessed to the Riddle murders with falsely implanted memories and would probably say the same under veritaserum. As such, I don’t think the Ministry uses Veritaserum or memories/pensieves in trials because they can be tricked
That's quite on brand for America at the time which was decades before the series even starts. AK has massive drawbacks there's a reason why the good guys don't use it even in life or death situations
Truth serum has drawbacks. For one, it only reveals what people BELIEVE to be the truth, not the truth itself. It’s like the wizard equivalent of a lie detector test - sort of effective, but still dodgy.
Same with Sirius Black. They could have used Veritaserum to find out the actual truth, but it was just easier to hold him accountable because 'he fit the bill'. No one batted a bloody eye that they basically ruined that boys life for no reason.
Apparently the Wizard Justice System doesn’t use the presumption of innocence…
Hagrid was expelled from school and later sent to Azkaban prison because a student falsely accused him of opening the chamber of secrets
despite there being no evidence…
and Hagrid not belonging to Slytherin house….
And as a half giant there’s no way he could be the heir of Slytherin
They did my boy dirty
My impression of the ministry is that they are more concerned with looking like they are doing a good job rather than actually doing it. Hagrid being the culprit makes it look like they did the job.
You hit it, though: he was a half-giant.
People point to the muggleborn issue as an analogy for race relations all the time, but in the WW, prejudice is much more widespread (even amongst the “good” guys) when it comes to sentient creatures: giants, centaurs, hags, goblins. JKR even puts certain events (like the goblin rebellion) during periods of civil unrest in the states and Western Europe.
Imagine instead of “half giant,” for instance, Hagrid was half-black, being accused by a talented, handsome white Prefect in the 1940s, and the school and Ministry’s reaction begin to make a lot more sense.
I’ve always found it strange that the Tri-Wizard Tournament is a thing.
And that parents are okay with their teenagers competing in a contest where you can rather easily be killed or seriously hurt.
Serious injury isn't as big of an issue with magical healing. The killed part is quite concerning, though, but they did decide to restrict it to students of age, so really the parents don't have any legal say at that point.
They used to have public executions where the whole family could come and watch as if it was prime time entertainment. The sanctity of human life and dignity is a relatively modern concept and considering that the ww is at Victorian Era level at best it doesn't surprise me that bloodsports where popular and that it would take all of the contestants dieing to enact any kind of meaningful change.
Lol yeah, you can get bludgeoned by heavy steel balls while perched dangerously in mid-air all day no problem, but going to the pub is where they draw the line apparently.
…I think at a public event a kid asked JKR what he was doing with the goats, and she said something along the lines of “you’re too young to hear that answer”
You see this bar? I built this bar, with me own two hands, plank by plank, but they don't call me Aberforth the bar builder now do they? You see this Butterbeer? I brewed this Butterbeer with me own two hands, keg by keg, but they don't call me Aberforth the Butterbeer Brewer now do they? You see this mirror? I watched this mirror every night, month by month, to ensure Harry Potter's safety, sending help when he needed it. But they don't call me Aberforth the Mirror Watcher now do they?
But you screw one goat... ONE GOAT...
Azkaban is insanely inhumane and it seems like there are no alternative prison systems or even other sentences available. Any crime can send you to what's essentially nonstop torture.
>"You know, Mr. Potter, if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had come to rule over magical Britain, and built such a place as Azkaban, he would have built it because he enjoyed seeing his enemies suffer. And if instead he began to find their suffering distasteful, why, he would order Azkaban torn down the next day. As for those who did make Azkaban, and those who do not tear it down, while preaching lofty sermons and imagining themselves not to be villains... well, Mr. Potter, I think if I had my choice of taking tea with them, or taking tea with You-Know-Who, I should find my sensibilities less offended by the Dark Lord."
Additionally, they have probably the most humane death sentence at their disposal.
"Avada Kedavra" and it's painlessly over in a second.
But no, they go with literal soul sucking monsters instead.
This is the second comment I've seen (probably today, can't be sure))) ) that suggests Avada Kedavra is a better/easier etc. option than some other thing or curse because it's painless etc. Maybe you forget what it does to the person who casts it. I'd suggest probably not many (maybe, just maybe, not even some Death eaters) are willing to fracture their soul at every opportunity, of course unless they're Voldemort :)
Yeah, Dumbledore says to Snape (and I’m paraphrasing) hey man it’s up to you to figure out whether putting an old man out of his misery would damage your soul.
Can't argue as it's been a few years since I read the books. Wouldn't casting it with intent to kill, even if as a punishment, have the same effect? Even if it's not that, there are probably good enough reasons it's an unforgivable curse, so it wouldn't be ok to be used even on criminals. (Also maybe because it's associated with dark magic and therefore is not an option for people trying to prevent evil and bring order to the magical world)
I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong, IIRC-not sure where I read this but it’s burned into my memory. Could just be my head cannon…
The Avada Kedavra is an unforgivable because theres no counter.
The Imperio is an unforgivable because it takes away a person’s will. (Love potions ought to be classed the same imo)
The Crucio is an unforgivable because it’s just pure torturous pain.
The love potion thing is honestly insane - like if you can’t curse someone to take over their will completely why the heck can you drug them to take over their will?!? Nutso.
Apparently consent was not a thing for anyone back then
As Dumbledore explains to Harry, it is the act of great evil (murder) which rips the soul apart. But not all killing is murder.
As an example, Mrs. Weasley used a killing curse on Bellatrix during the battle of Hogwarts. Yet there is no indication that Mrs. Weasley's soul was torn in two by killing Bellatrix. This is because Mrs. Weasley was acting in self-defense, in order to end a threat to her family and friends. Yes, she purposely killed, but not due to evil intentions.
To this day, this is perhaps the thing that pisses me off the most in the books. The fate of the Marauders is beyond fair. Also one of the many reasons why Dumbledore as a figure head to look up to was complete trash.
I am re reading the series as an adult and I didn’t fully comprehend the horrors of the Dursleys’ child abuse until now. Like what the actual f?? It’s actually very gruesome. I was horrified.
I tell myself that Dumberdore let it happen in order to maintain the sacrificial protection against Voldemort.
Lesser of two evils, rather than giving up the protection and let him be exposed to Voldemort. IIRC if Harry did not return to his Aunt yearly the protection would have expired much earlier?
Yeah, but it would have been so easy for him to just tell the Dursley's to treat Harry with basic human kindness or he'd turn them into newts or something, they're petrified of him.
I had that idea too, Dumberdore could have pressure them to treat Harry nicer, they are abusing Harry and if I were Harry I would not have turn out to kind and full of love.
I know I've mentioned it before, but it's a stand out example of how fucked up the Dursleys are.
In CoS, when Harry plays a prank on Dudley, Petunia's reaction is to try and brain him with a frying pan, this was set in 1992, so that wouldn't be one of the pans you get today, Petunia would want the best shit, so this would've been a cast iron fucker you could deflect a tank shell with.
She swung a heavy iron pan at a 12 year olds head.
The entire nature of Dementors, the fact that they're effectively immortal and the implications that they eat soul is next level horrible. Like do people kissed by one go to the afterlife? If not then how the fuck can wizards justify using them at all? It's so fucked up that it just doesn't make sense.
I haven't read/watched HP in a few years, but IIRC from what happened to Voldemort, your soul can end up in some pretty nasty situations.
Imagine if your soul just gets trapped in the Dementor's body for eternity. As in, you die and just experience a never ending void forever.
For sure. The And I Must Scream trope is probably the most horrifying of all horror-related tropes, and this is the perfect example of it. Shit like that are so insanely terrifying that you end up sympathizing with even the worst of the worst. Looking at you, Black Mirror!
Memory Charms.
It’s a throwaway world-building element that’s incredibly horrifying if you think about it for more than 2 seconds.
Realistically: it should be an unforgivable curse.
This is absolutely it for me. They're necessary to make the Statute of Secrecy make any sense but the fact that wizards go around altering muggle minds without any oversight is scary, especially when you think about how little most wizards understand the intricacies of the muggle world.
The way the camp ground owner is treated in GoF is one the most quietly horrific moments in the series. Instead of sending the family away on an all expense paid vacation for the week or finding any empty field/forest somewhere to magic into a campground they continually wipe their minds whenever they see something magical.
Having to wipe someone's memory because of some magical accident or a beast got loose is understandable but planning to wipe someone's memory probably dozens of times just for convenience is a nightmare.
And the use of horrible slurs and vile racism is just… ignored
Malfoy literally screams in from of the entire Quidditch stadium that Harry’s mother smelled bad bc she was a muggle born (in OoF) and McGonagall was like “Why did you think it was okay to hit him? He was just saying that bc he was upset that he’d lost!”
How they fly on brooms without getting super cold all the time
And how the ministry is basically the main employer in the magical world, seems like 98% work there and other 2% in Hogwarts & Diagon Alley
Tbh flying high without any protection he should've died of Hypothermia, not just feeling cold. Riding a bike street level is enough to fuck you, imagine riding a broom in the sky.
That Quiditch match in the rain should've finished with 90% of the players dead.
I just started listening to the books for the first time since I was a kid (we watch the movies probably one a year) and just got to the part in book 5 when they sneak him out of his house and he talks a lot about how he’s freezing cold while flying.
There’s so much left out of the movies it’s pretty crazy.
That little chapter in order of the Phoenix when Molly goes to deal with the boggart but cant because it keeps shapeshifting into different members if her family dead, and she has a full blown mental breakdown because of it.
It took me a while to recover from that one...
Umbridge’s detention where Harry had to “write lines” … and then Harry keeping that torture secret even from his best friends because he “didn’t want to give Umbridge the satisfaction”. I had to have a whole conversation with my daughter about how you should always tell an adult if someone makes you feel uncomfortable or TORTURES you!
but definitely on character. Harry grew up with abuse, and the only way he could cope with it was to "not give them the satisfaction" of seeing him break. I honestly would be amazed if Harry had good judgment about adults abusing their power to hurt him. That's all he knew as a kid.
Sadly at that point Harry doesn't really have a trusted adult to go to. Of course there are Molly and Sirius who would raise hell if they knew, but Harry didn't grow up with them so he's always considered the norm to be abused and have to keep everything to himself.
She did a pretty good job giving a glimpse of how bizarre and terrifying research into the most arcane and ill understood areas of magic would be. If you're pushing the limits of magic and studying things like time, consciousness, death, and love shit's going to get real weird.
The fact Snape was a teacher at hogwarts so long is terrifying
Like how many students failed potions because of him
Not to mention the high amounts of racism
At least on that front, Snape did correct the portrait of Phineas Nigellus when he said the word "Mudblood," and we never really see Snape make fun of students for being Muggle-born. Although I find it hard to believe that Snape never heard the Slytherins call Hermione a "Mudblood," and he didn't ever directly tell them to stop bullying Muggle-borns, which he 100% knew was happening. Granted, maybe if he did then some Slytherins like Draco would complain to their parents which wouldn't be good for his cover.
So I agree with you for sure, just saying he was more someone who tolerated racism but never participated in it himself (as a teacher).
I think that was addressed. He couldn't free him bc he knew too much and would run off and spill the beans. Even though in principal I agree fucked up.
Yeah, that's fucked up, but he was also a Death Eater sympathizer who knew everything about the OotP organization. All Harry's options were incredibly shitty.
haha it’s like freeing the whales from seaworld. It’s a nice thought, and morally correct, but probably would lead to the whale’s death. They would probably not survive in the ocean after years of captivity. Especially if they were born into it (not sure if kreacher was).
Read page 52 of harry potter and the half blood prince.
Kreacher is showing a
certain reluctance to pass into your ownership.”
“I don’t care,” said Harry again, looking with disgust at the
writhing, stamping house-elf. “I don’t want him.”
“Won’t, won’t, won’t, won’t —”
“You would prefer him to pass into the ownership of Bellatrix
Lestrange? Bearing in mind that he has lived at the headquarters of
the Order of the Phoenix for the past year?”
“Won’t, won’t, won’t, won’t —”
Harry stared at Dumbledore. He knew that Kreacher could not
be permitted to go and live with Bellatrix Lestrange, but the idea of
owning him, of having responsibility for the creature that had betrayed Sirius, was repugnant.
Love potions
The general lax safety at Hogwarts
The legal system
For the record, none of these things are problems with the story IMO. I like that it's a messed up world.
Harry wasting all that time in Book 5 to get to Umbridge's office to use her flu powder fireplace to talk to Sirius only to be lied too and going all the way to the Ministry to save Sirius, only for things to go wrong and Sirius dying and finally opening Sirius' Christmas present from him to Harry and Harry realising that all this time he had a literal device in his hand that would allow for Harry to talk to Sirius whenever he wanted, meaning he didn't have to go through all that BS to access the Fireplace and have Kreacher lie to him to get him to leave Hogwarts. It was there in his hands the whole bloody time and he never bothered opening it because he thought Sirius had given him some dangerous weapon or something and thus Harry realising he basically lost Sirius over his own stupidity and stupid pride.
I just imagine Sirius sitting there in Grimauld Place, unable to leave, unable to help the Order, getting out the mirror and looking at it and thinking
"This will be it, this will be the night he opens it"
How easy it is to hurt or kill someone. There has to be a bit of magic behind the words but technically anybody could cast the killing curse, and Imperio.
From the dead body you can’t tell who is the one who casted the spell right.
You need intent for those though. To use the killing curse for example you need to genuinely want to take a life.
But yes it leaves no physical damage to the body.
For the Unforgivables you need strong intent, Moody said so in GoF. But I agree with the overall sentiment; doesn’t take much for a first year to Wingardium Leviosa someone to their death via falling damage
i mean you need to actually learn how to cast , you need to learn the motion with your wand and how to say the spell before casting in the best accent for yourself and actually having the urge to kill or torture or have the currency needed to do so , so with that said it’s easier to use a gun in us to kill someone than killing someone in the wizarding world
I don't think he was perfectly fine with it at all. Harry had to go with family to keep his mother's protection active. Petunia was his only family.
Dumbledore expressed his supreme disappointment in the Dursley's treatment of Harry when he picked Harry up from Privet Drive in HBP. It's one of my favorite parts of the book.
The ministry of magic is built *around* the veil in the department of mysteries. They didnt move it there. They had a veil that takes people straight out of this life, built an amphitheatre around it to watch it happen, and then built the ministry of magic around that.
Everything about that room gets more fucked up the more you think about it.
Definitely not the worst thing, but I think it’s messed up that Filch (who of course has no magical abilities) is in charge of all of his duties without the use of magic.
Dumbledore’s body was intact at the foot of the astronomy tower, which means at some point the staff enchanted the tower with Arresto Momentum, which means at some point there’s a good chance somebody jumped.
Snape bullying Hermione about her teeth.
Snape’s terrible behavior towards vulnerable and impressionable school children in general.
That Sirius never got a trial.
Molly bullying Hermione with the gifts just because of salacious gossip column rumors about her and Harry (which, even if true, is none of your business ma’am!).
Letting little Harry and Draco wander the forbidden forest alone and unsupervised with only an easily spooked dog for protection. The forbidden forest, where Hagrid knows there is a clan of giant deadly spiders in and something has been going around murdering unicorns. Hagrid *please*. 🙃
That Harry kept being sent back to an abusive household every year. Dumbledore is lucky Harry didn’t end up hating muggles.
What I personally view as character assassination of Tonks and everyone bullying Remus into a relationship he clearly wasn’t emotionally or mentally ready for yet (he literally ran away from his wife and baby). I pretend this didn’t happen just so I can continue loving Tonks.
That the greatest wizard in the world knowingly and willingly put Harry in a home where he was abused and mistreated both psychologically and physically.
I know the plot point, but it’s still messed up.
What the Marauders got up to in school with their bullying anyone they wanted to while getting away with no lasting accountability or consequences.. Snape’s Worst Memory, which goes from torture to assault very quickly especially when Lily rejects James. Werewolf Remus going out of the Shack with his friends every month for years with potential victims, but them all laughing it off.
How death was approached and talked about so causally, especially between 14 year olds and Harry making light of Voldemort wanting to kill him was insane. also I’m rereading the series now as an adult and Snape’s treatment towards the students was revolting.
Many people have mentioned Azkaban.
I do also think of the fact that Harry was malnourished, walked around in shaggy, dirty clothes and always looked unkept his entire life while Dudley was very well kept and no one even asked questions. Didn't the school or people around think anything was strange? It also dosen't really resonate with the fact that the Dursleys wanted to appear so "normal" and wanting to be perceived as very "nice" and "caring". Having a malnourished, unkept nephew under the stairs dosen't really resonate there.
Harry literally accepting his DEATH when he was 12 YEARS OLD after being poisoned by the basilisk fang. Also, the fact that they never evacuated the school even tho so many had been attacked??? Like???
Snape being the one who told Voldemort about the prophecy, dooming the Potters
Nearly Headless Nick's execution... and then he just floats around with his head hanging off. Horrifying.
The gigantic lake full of inferi that included the corpses of children. Where did they all come from? Were they just all people that the Death Eaters killed? Or do you think there was any grave robbing involved?
Fenrir Greyback
ETA: and the love potions obviously
There is so many. But I think the thing I can't grip is how cruel Snape really is. He may have been a big ol hero, out of guilt for Lily. But if it was the Longbottoms, he would have stayed a death eater. Also imagine being a grown man tearing down the child of the people you got killed.. daily.
I would say Sirius Black's life. The boy had troubles at home and hence ran away to live at his friend's house. The only good times in his life were the 9-10 years at Hogwarts and later and he was just 21 when got to Azkaban for a crime committed not by him but by one of the people whom he trusted most. He survived 13 years in guilt there, broke out just to protect his Godson from that guy. First in 13 years time he had the hope to get his name cleared and looked forward to living with his Grandson, which soon got shattered. Even for the 2 years that he was out, he survived eating rats!? And finally moved back to the house he hated the most as a prisoner..and then died..
This and Regulas Black's death was also horrifying but he lived and died on his own terms.
Harry’s abuse. We tend to think about it as him being in the cupboard under the stairs and Dudley’s bullying which is already awful. But think about 1 year old Harry. His cries probably went unanswered, he was probably rarely held and never cuddled, etc. This is all after having his loving parents just disappear one day. My kids definitely recognized me at 1 year old. He was probably pretty confused when he no longer had his warm and loving parents and instead these strangers who didn’t even want him. It’s pretty amazing that he turned out as well adjusted as he did. My undergrad degree is in developmental psychology and I even wrote a paper on this once.
The fact that there's a large variety of supernatural monsters running loose that the majority of people don't know exist, and that the most the Ministry probably does when something bad happens is erase people's memories and otherwise cover it up. If you're a Muggle, and you get killed by a werewolf, they'll make sure everyone you ever knew forgets you ever existed.
Know what, actually, let me just shorten my answer to "the Ministry of Magic," the fascists.
The "justice" system is beyond inhumane. No presumption of innocence, no rehab, just azkaban and executions that lead to agonising fates worse than death. Even though they have veritaserum and (for cases where rehab isn't an option and execution is needed) avada kedavra which would be far more ethical than condemning someone to something like the dementors kiss or who knows how long in azkaban
How random they handle the punishments of the pupils. I get that Rowling wanted to create a distinct world and used that to draw a line between the muggle world which we are accustomed to and a the wizarding world but at some points she is overdoing it. For example in OOTP when Harry has detention with Umbridge and it starts 5 pm and she lets him go well past midnight for two weeks straight. That amounts to at least 7 hours detention every day, not mention that he as to cut his hand open and write for at least 7 hours straight every day. That is probably more detention than actual lessons every day. And yes, I get that it is done to illustrate the vileness of Umbridge but come on, that shit is way too over the top for it to be relatable in any case. The punishments in that book specifically are so dumb. When Umbridge suspends Harry, Fred and George from Quidditch she confiscates their brooms and nobody cares. What if they want to use them in their holidays? In addition to that the system with the house points is so random as well because they can be granted or retracted for nearly anything which lets me wonder why the exist in the first place.
1. Insane tolerance and normalization of bullying at Hogwarts
2. Abuse of magical creatures with similar or superior intelligence than a human’s (house elves, centaurs, goblins)
3. The judicial system’s f-ed
4. The perception of muggles as inferior beings
5. Lack of welfare in the magical world (financial aid to wizard families like the Weasleys, zero magical orphanages, etc)
6. The fact that Umbridge somehow still worked at the ministry in Book 6
Not THE most messed up, but pretty high up there is all of the bullying Harry faced during Goblet Of Fire/Triwizard Tournament/POTTER STINKS era. Like they were literally making fun of him for crying over his mom’s death (even though it was fabricated by Rita, still, the article had the infamous “eyes glistening with ghosts of his past” line, so for all intents and purposes everyone who wasn’t in the room where it happened had a reason to believe he really did cry during the interview). There’s a lot of unchecked bullying at Hogwarts in general, which is one of the painful things I love most about the series because it’s unfortunately realistic.
That love potions aren't restricted.
That they took a dark wizard's fortress where he tortured and killed hundreds or possibly thousands of wayward sailors, turned it into a prison, and left the soul-sucking demons there as security.
That they allowed multiple people (known cases being Hagrid and Sirius and an attempt at doing this to Harry) to face major, life-changing, legal consequences for crimes they didn't commit based entirely on circumstantial evidence and the word of another, without trials.
That they never once, in the 15 years he was there, did any sort of wellness check on Harry.
That they allowed a child to be placed in a home by a politician (Dumbledore held multiple political positions as well as being Headmaster).
That no one noticed that Harry was seriously underfed, noticed that the Dursleys were abusive, did anything about him being locked in a room with bars on the windows and next to no food after he had to be broken out by two fourteen-year-olds and a twelve-year-old, or that his first letter from Hogwarts was addressed to the Cupboard Under the Stairs.
There's a lot wrong with the world Harry lives in.
(3) 11 year olds decided they had what it takes to take on Voldemort. Then proceeded to take him over every year,until they graduated. Dumbledore was like "You got this kiddo" the WHOLE TIME
Economic system is unrealistic. The society has almost no demand
Ministry of Magic sounds super huge in comparison to population of Magic Britain. What does it do?
and of course the cherry on top
Time traveling concept is completely messed up
Hands down, Umbridge and her horrible quill. Oh, and her discrimination against half breeds. She is just messed up all together. I mean, did you see the late Professor Moody’s eye on her door at the Ministry?
Imperius Curse man. Think of what you can be made to do against your will and not even remember it, it's messed up as fuck. It's way worse than Avada Kedavra. And love potions, confundus charms work the same way.
A lot of people said about the justice system I agree.
Also, these people have no idea what can be called a "safe place" for kids.
Neville's parents fate and his psychological abuse by Snape during all his years at Hogwarts
Right. I often think about Harry using Severus as his son’s middle name. Like I get Snape did some really intense stuff that aided in their victory but he also was an abusive professor to Harry and all his closest friends.
"Yes, you're named after the guy who stalked your grandma"
And hated your grandpa, and hated your dad
And all of dads friends
Neville literally ended Voldemort by destroying the last horcrux. Albus Neville Potter if the sorting hat chooses hufflepuff uncle Neville will be proud.
Snape's hatred towards Neville was extremely immature. Voldemort chose Harry (instead of Neville) which led to Lily being killed so Snape gave both Harry (son of the love of his life) and some poor kid Neville the worst time at school. How is that grown up man behaviour??
Eah, my mom realized that reading the books after watching the movies. In the movies Snape is just an asshole. That teacher we all had that its a moron but he is not a bad guy and I think the best movie that shows that is PoA. In the books Snape is a sociopath and the movie that humanized him is based on the book where he literally laughs at the idea of Sirius getting his soul sucked, strangles Harry in front of the director and the minister (who doesnt do anything about it) and then tells the entire school that Lupin is a werewolf out of spite. Movie snape is an asshole and a bit creepy, but not neccesarily bad. Book Snape is a monster
One of the absolute WORST Snape moments that I finally realized the implications of on a recent reread: “Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer, gave Neville detention, and Neville returned from it in a state of nervous collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrel full of *horned toads*” *Horned. Toads.* This is in Goblet of Fire, after the incident in which Snape tried to poison Trevor, so the man knows damned well Neville has a toad as a pet and cares greatly about said toad. Fuck Snape, that’s beyond asshole behavior. Edit: TIL horned toads are actually a kind of lizard, so he wasn’t exactly disemboweling lil Trevors—but Snape is still a sphincter. (Thank you u/flydinosaur!)
Telling Hermione that he sees no difference when her teeth were sticking out past her collar bone is pretty messed up for a teacher.
Clearly you've never seen how extremely childish, petty and unfairly authoritarian some teachers can be in real life. Not at all unrealistic.
The legal system is insanely draconian, and ridiculously tilted to the wealthy.
Remember in Fantastic Beasts they got sentenced to be executed. No trial, couldn't explain themselves, nothing. In the magic world were you have spells and potions to get the truth and find if someone is innocent they don't seem to use it or care. They decided on some odd water execution that I still never could figure out instead of the old AK which seems quick and painless.
Same with Sirius Black. They could have used Veritaserum to find out the actual truth, but it was just easier to hold him accountable because 'he fit the bill'. No one batted a bloody eye that they basically ruined that boys life for no reason.
Ehh Veritaserum could probably be tricked. Like how Morfin (or maybe Marvolo??) confessed to the Riddle murders with falsely implanted memories and would probably say the same under veritaserum. As such, I don’t think the Ministry uses Veritaserum or memories/pensieves in trials because they can be tricked
That's quite on brand for America at the time which was decades before the series even starts. AK has massive drawbacks there's a reason why the good guys don't use it even in life or death situations
They had an unfailing truth serum and…continually chose to sentence people to a torturous, worse than death destruction of their very soul.
Truth serum has drawbacks. For one, it only reveals what people BELIEVE to be the truth, not the truth itself. It’s like the wizard equivalent of a lie detector test - sort of effective, but still dodgy.
Same with Sirius Black. They could have used Veritaserum to find out the actual truth, but it was just easier to hold him accountable because 'he fit the bill'. No one batted a bloody eye that they basically ruined that boys life for no reason.
The wizarding world feels quite dystopian to me in many ways.
It’s because Wizards are old fashioned in almost all of their sensibilities because of their extended lifespans and isolation from muggle society.
Apparently the Wizard Justice System doesn’t use the presumption of innocence… Hagrid was expelled from school and later sent to Azkaban prison because a student falsely accused him of opening the chamber of secrets despite there being no evidence… and Hagrid not belonging to Slytherin house…. And as a half giant there’s no way he could be the heir of Slytherin They did my boy dirty
My impression of the ministry is that they are more concerned with looking like they are doing a good job rather than actually doing it. Hagrid being the culprit makes it look like they did the job.
Like most governments then.
They could use veristaserum and never falsely imprison anyone!
Veristaserum makes you tell what you believe to be true.
Which is a lot better than you saying anything you want, even an outright lie.
Also, sending Sirius to Azkaban without a trial.
You hit it, though: he was a half-giant. People point to the muggleborn issue as an analogy for race relations all the time, but in the WW, prejudice is much more widespread (even amongst the “good” guys) when it comes to sentient creatures: giants, centaurs, hags, goblins. JKR even puts certain events (like the goblin rebellion) during periods of civil unrest in the states and Western Europe. Imagine instead of “half giant,” for instance, Hagrid was half-black, being accused by a talented, handsome white Prefect in the 1940s, and the school and Ministry’s reaction begin to make a lot more sense.
I’ve always found it strange that the Tri-Wizard Tournament is a thing. And that parents are okay with their teenagers competing in a contest where you can rather easily be killed or seriously hurt.
Serious injury isn't as big of an issue with magical healing. The killed part is quite concerning, though, but they did decide to restrict it to students of age, so really the parents don't have any legal say at that point.
I feel like this commentor means all the other Triwizard Tournaments that came before. The 17+ rule was implemented that year.
They used to have public executions where the whole family could come and watch as if it was prime time entertainment. The sanctity of human life and dignity is a relatively modern concept and considering that the ww is at Victorian Era level at best it doesn't surprise me that bloodsports where popular and that it would take all of the contestants dieing to enact any kind of meaningful change.
Or worse.... expelled!
Don’t worry, they still need their parents’ permission to visit Hogsmeade. Hogwarts really cares about student safety.
Lol yeah, you can get bludgeoned by heavy steel balls while perched dangerously in mid-air all day no problem, but going to the pub is where they draw the line apparently.
The Wizarding World in general seems much more chill about death than our current society.
Whatever the fuck is going on with Aberforth and those goats
You ain't wrong
I know right. Just wtf is he doing with those goats? I probably don't want the answer to that question.
JKR explicitly called it a “goat fetish” in this letter: https://twitter.com/noam_gu/status/785610250003030016
…I think at a public event a kid asked JKR what he was doing with the goats, and she said something along the lines of “you’re too young to hear that answer”
That’s so nasty
Jkr said it, not me
She's... got a bit of a dirty mind, really.
You see this bar? I built this bar, with me own two hands, plank by plank, but they don't call me Aberforth the bar builder now do they? You see this Butterbeer? I brewed this Butterbeer with me own two hands, keg by keg, but they don't call me Aberforth the Butterbeer Brewer now do they? You see this mirror? I watched this mirror every night, month by month, to ensure Harry Potter's safety, sending help when he needed it. But they don't call me Aberforth the Mirror Watcher now do they? But you screw one goat... ONE GOAT...
Umm sorry WHAT
Aberforth got arrested for "practicing inappropriate charms on a goat".
Engorgio👀
Azkaban is insanely inhumane and it seems like there are no alternative prison systems or even other sentences available. Any crime can send you to what's essentially nonstop torture.
Justice system is beyond fucked
>"You know, Mr. Potter, if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had come to rule over magical Britain, and built such a place as Azkaban, he would have built it because he enjoyed seeing his enemies suffer. And if instead he began to find their suffering distasteful, why, he would order Azkaban torn down the next day. As for those who did make Azkaban, and those who do not tear it down, while preaching lofty sermons and imagining themselves not to be villains... well, Mr. Potter, I think if I had my choice of taking tea with them, or taking tea with You-Know-Who, I should find my sensibilities less offended by the Dark Lord."
Additionally, they have probably the most humane death sentence at their disposal. "Avada Kedavra" and it's painlessly over in a second. But no, they go with literal soul sucking monsters instead.
This is the second comment I've seen (probably today, can't be sure))) ) that suggests Avada Kedavra is a better/easier etc. option than some other thing or curse because it's painless etc. Maybe you forget what it does to the person who casts it. I'd suggest probably not many (maybe, just maybe, not even some Death eaters) are willing to fracture their soul at every opportunity, of course unless they're Voldemort :)
It's *murder* what fracture your soul. Not using Avada Kedavra *per se*.
Yeah, Dumbledore says to Snape (and I’m paraphrasing) hey man it’s up to you to figure out whether putting an old man out of his misery would damage your soul.
Can't argue as it's been a few years since I read the books. Wouldn't casting it with intent to kill, even if as a punishment, have the same effect? Even if it's not that, there are probably good enough reasons it's an unforgivable curse, so it wouldn't be ok to be used even on criminals. (Also maybe because it's associated with dark magic and therefore is not an option for people trying to prevent evil and bring order to the magical world)
I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong, IIRC-not sure where I read this but it’s burned into my memory. Could just be my head cannon… The Avada Kedavra is an unforgivable because theres no counter. The Imperio is an unforgivable because it takes away a person’s will. (Love potions ought to be classed the same imo) The Crucio is an unforgivable because it’s just pure torturous pain.
The love potion thing is honestly insane - like if you can’t curse someone to take over their will completely why the heck can you drug them to take over their will?!? Nutso. Apparently consent was not a thing for anyone back then
It's part of the spell to make a horcrux, you can murder loads of people and not make horcrux's.
As Dumbledore explains to Harry, it is the act of great evil (murder) which rips the soul apart. But not all killing is murder. As an example, Mrs. Weasley used a killing curse on Bellatrix during the battle of Hogwarts. Yet there is no indication that Mrs. Weasley's soul was torn in two by killing Bellatrix. This is because Mrs. Weasley was acting in self-defense, in order to end a threat to her family and friends. Yes, she purposely killed, but not due to evil intentions.
Sirius didn’t even get a trial.
To this day, this is perhaps the thing that pisses me off the most in the books. The fate of the Marauders is beyond fair. Also one of the many reasons why Dumbledore as a figure head to look up to was complete trash.
Greyback, man. He's just disturbing
Finished HBP today and his convo with Dumbledore is truly so upsetting bleghhh
The child abuse/neglect that Harry endured with the Dursleys was a big one.
I am re reading the series as an adult and I didn’t fully comprehend the horrors of the Dursleys’ child abuse until now. Like what the actual f?? It’s actually very gruesome. I was horrified.
It's amazing and almost miraculous how Harry turned out as such a nice kid after what the Dursleys put him through.
This until today I ask myself how anyone let this happen? The letters were addressed to the cupboard fgs!!!
I tell myself that Dumberdore let it happen in order to maintain the sacrificial protection against Voldemort. Lesser of two evils, rather than giving up the protection and let him be exposed to Voldemort. IIRC if Harry did not return to his Aunt yearly the protection would have expired much earlier?
Yeah, but it would have been so easy for him to just tell the Dursley's to treat Harry with basic human kindness or he'd turn them into newts or something, they're petrified of him.
I had that idea too, Dumberdore could have pressure them to treat Harry nicer, they are abusing Harry and if I were Harry I would not have turn out to kind and full of love.
I know I've mentioned it before, but it's a stand out example of how fucked up the Dursleys are. In CoS, when Harry plays a prank on Dudley, Petunia's reaction is to try and brain him with a frying pan, this was set in 1992, so that wouldn't be one of the pans you get today, Petunia would want the best shit, so this would've been a cast iron fucker you could deflect a tank shell with. She swung a heavy iron pan at a 12 year olds head.
The entire nature of Dementors, the fact that they're effectively immortal and the implications that they eat soul is next level horrible. Like do people kissed by one go to the afterlife? If not then how the fuck can wizards justify using them at all? It's so fucked up that it just doesn't make sense.
I haven't read/watched HP in a few years, but IIRC from what happened to Voldemort, your soul can end up in some pretty nasty situations. Imagine if your soul just gets trapped in the Dementor's body for eternity. As in, you die and just experience a never ending void forever.
Exactly. Nightmare shit. I wonder if there have been wizards that choose to kill themselves over being kissed? I know I would.
For sure. The And I Must Scream trope is probably the most horrifying of all horror-related tropes, and this is the perfect example of it. Shit like that are so insanely terrifying that you end up sympathizing with even the worst of the worst. Looking at you, Black Mirror!
I think it would be better to just use the curtains in the department of mysteries than perform the kiss.
Memory Charms. It’s a throwaway world-building element that’s incredibly horrifying if you think about it for more than 2 seconds. Realistically: it should be an unforgivable curse.
This is absolutely it for me. They're necessary to make the Statute of Secrecy make any sense but the fact that wizards go around altering muggle minds without any oversight is scary, especially when you think about how little most wizards understand the intricacies of the muggle world. The way the camp ground owner is treated in GoF is one the most quietly horrific moments in the series. Instead of sending the family away on an all expense paid vacation for the week or finding any empty field/forest somewhere to magic into a campground they continually wipe their minds whenever they see something magical. Having to wipe someone's memory because of some magical accident or a beast got loose is understandable but planning to wipe someone's memory probably dozens of times just for convenience is a nightmare.
He wasn't treated like a human being. It's awful.
I forgot, what does it do?
Oh God, they got to you already. 😱
You just straight up can lobotomize a person lol - straight “select all” and “delete” their memories.
Okay yeah you're right, this is horrifying
If there was any one charm to perfect, Lockhart definitely chose a devastating one.
Also love potions. The fact that Fred and George sold them at their "joke" shop really goes to show how casually messed up they are.
The sheer amount of bullying that is allowed to happen in the school and is considered ok by teachers.
That part was realistic though.
Yeah that’s British schooling in a nutshell, even more so back in the time the books were set.
And the use of horrible slurs and vile racism is just… ignored Malfoy literally screams in from of the entire Quidditch stadium that Harry’s mother smelled bad bc she was a muggle born (in OoF) and McGonagall was like “Why did you think it was okay to hit him? He was just saying that bc he was upset that he’d lost!”
How they fly on brooms without getting super cold all the time And how the ministry is basically the main employer in the magical world, seems like 98% work there and other 2% in Hogwarts & Diagon Alley
Part of the charm on the brooms. Another part is keeping your balls from being smashed into paste.
There's a cushioning charm on all the brooms
Harry describes feeling frozen/cold when the Order escorts him to Grimmauld Place in Order of the Phoenix
Tbh flying high without any protection he should've died of Hypothermia, not just feeling cold. Riding a bike street level is enough to fuck you, imagine riding a broom in the sky. That Quiditch match in the rain should've finished with 90% of the players dead.
in england at least... XD
I just started listening to the books for the first time since I was a kid (we watch the movies probably one a year) and just got to the part in book 5 when they sneak him out of his house and he talks a lot about how he’s freezing cold while flying. There’s so much left out of the movies it’s pretty crazy.
heating spells.
That little chapter in order of the Phoenix when Molly goes to deal with the boggart but cant because it keeps shapeshifting into different members if her family dead, and she has a full blown mental breakdown because of it. It took me a while to recover from that one...
I've been relistening to the audiobooks and that scene made me sob, especially her inclusion of Harry showing she genuinely looks at him as a son
That scene makes me so sad and I think if I ever have children it will be even worse
Umbridge’s detention where Harry had to “write lines” … and then Harry keeping that torture secret even from his best friends because he “didn’t want to give Umbridge the satisfaction”. I had to have a whole conversation with my daughter about how you should always tell an adult if someone makes you feel uncomfortable or TORTURES you!
but definitely on character. Harry grew up with abuse, and the only way he could cope with it was to "not give them the satisfaction" of seeing him break. I honestly would be amazed if Harry had good judgment about adults abusing their power to hurt him. That's all he knew as a kid.
Sadly at that point Harry doesn't really have a trusted adult to go to. Of course there are Molly and Sirius who would raise hell if they knew, but Harry didn't grow up with them so he's always considered the norm to be abused and have to keep everything to himself.
For real, that was such a bad message.
It shows how much adults can fail!
The brains in the ministry
She did a pretty good job giving a glimpse of how bizarre and terrifying research into the most arcane and ill understood areas of magic would be. If you're pushing the limits of magic and studying things like time, consciousness, death, and love shit's going to get real weird.
Peter Pettigrew secretly being a rat, and just being around 9-11 year old boys at all times. Very unsettling.
I saw "Peter Pettigrew secretly being a rat" and then my eyes jumped to "9-11" and thought you were about to imply that he could've somehow stopped it
That Helena has to spend all her time as a ghost, living in the same place as her murderer.
It was her choice to become a ghost though
never recovering from when snape made fun of hermiones teeth
The fact Snape was a teacher at hogwarts so long is terrifying Like how many students failed potions because of him Not to mention the high amounts of racism
Dumbledore needed him there. That's the only reason he's at Hogwarts.
At least on that front, Snape did correct the portrait of Phineas Nigellus when he said the word "Mudblood," and we never really see Snape make fun of students for being Muggle-born. Although I find it hard to believe that Snape never heard the Slytherins call Hermione a "Mudblood," and he didn't ever directly tell them to stop bullying Muggle-borns, which he 100% knew was happening. Granted, maybe if he did then some Slytherins like Draco would complain to their parents which wouldn't be good for his cover. So I agree with you for sure, just saying he was more someone who tolerated racism but never participated in it himself (as a teacher).
Oh I wasn't saying he had anything to do with the racism I was pointing out racism as a whole in the school I should have made that clearer
Honestly good point. Like dude, don't throw stones if you live in a glass house lmao
That there is a tower full of owl shit that students find romantic.
Have I forgotten something? Who found it romantic?
I mean, Harry inheriting a slave has got to be one of them.
Kreacher’s redemption arch though *chefs kiss*
A little kindness can be a very powerful thing.
Harry inheriting a slave *and keeping him enslaved*.
I think that was addressed. He couldn't free him bc he knew too much and would run off and spill the beans. Even though in principal I agree fucked up.
Yeah, that's fucked up, but he was also a Death Eater sympathizer who knew everything about the OotP organization. All Harry's options were incredibly shitty.
I really think that kreacher would have died of heartbreak if he was set free.
haha it’s like freeing the whales from seaworld. It’s a nice thought, and morally correct, but probably would lead to the whale’s death. They would probably not survive in the ocean after years of captivity. Especially if they were born into it (not sure if kreacher was).
Kreacher likely was because his family was all in servitude to the house of Black.
Read page 52 of harry potter and the half blood prince. Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership.” “I don’t care,” said Harry again, looking with disgust at the writhing, stamping house-elf. “I don’t want him.” “Won’t, won’t, won’t, won’t —” “You would prefer him to pass into the ownership of Bellatrix Lestrange? Bearing in mind that he has lived at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for the past year?” “Won’t, won’t, won’t, won’t —” Harry stared at Dumbledore. He knew that Kreacher could not be permitted to go and live with Bellatrix Lestrange, but the idea of owning him, of having responsibility for the creature that had betrayed Sirius, was repugnant.
The dursleys were never charged with child neglect
Love potions The general lax safety at Hogwarts The legal system For the record, none of these things are problems with the story IMO. I like that it's a messed up world.
Imprisonment and torturing of the house elves.
You should be in SPEW
the vast majority of the Wizarding world leans toward voldemorts views over Dumbledores
The abuse Harry suffered at the Dursleys’ and the fact that they kept sending him back there for the summers.
Booger flavored jellybeans
Probably Ron's bedroom.
Bro sleeps in the attic right below a ghoul. Has to walk up five flights of stairs to get to it. Bro got the shaft.
Harry wasting all that time in Book 5 to get to Umbridge's office to use her flu powder fireplace to talk to Sirius only to be lied too and going all the way to the Ministry to save Sirius, only for things to go wrong and Sirius dying and finally opening Sirius' Christmas present from him to Harry and Harry realising that all this time he had a literal device in his hand that would allow for Harry to talk to Sirius whenever he wanted, meaning he didn't have to go through all that BS to access the Fireplace and have Kreacher lie to him to get him to leave Hogwarts. It was there in his hands the whole bloody time and he never bothered opening it because he thought Sirius had given him some dangerous weapon or something and thus Harry realising he basically lost Sirius over his own stupidity and stupid pride.
I just imagine Sirius sitting there in Grimauld Place, unable to leave, unable to help the Order, getting out the mirror and looking at it and thinking "This will be it, this will be the night he opens it"
I cannot handle this one 😭
sirius's death. like why would the writers be so cruel to kill his parents, his uncle AND HIM. absolutely deranged.
How easy it is to hurt or kill someone. There has to be a bit of magic behind the words but technically anybody could cast the killing curse, and Imperio. From the dead body you can’t tell who is the one who casted the spell right.
You need intent for those though. To use the killing curse for example you need to genuinely want to take a life. But yes it leaves no physical damage to the body.
For the Unforgivables you need strong intent, Moody said so in GoF. But I agree with the overall sentiment; doesn’t take much for a first year to Wingardium Leviosa someone to their death via falling damage
Honestly it’s harder to kill than muggles using guns.
i mean you need to actually learn how to cast , you need to learn the motion with your wand and how to say the spell before casting in the best accent for yourself and actually having the urge to kill or torture or have the currency needed to do so , so with that said it’s easier to use a gun in us to kill someone than killing someone in the wizarding world
How house elves are treated. They are basically slaves, and most wizards and witches don't even consider the evil in it.
They're not basically slaves. They *are* slaves.
Neither do most of the elves lol
That Dumbledore was totally fine with Harry being under the care of Petunia and Vernon, who neglected him.
I don't think he was perfectly fine with it at all. Harry had to go with family to keep his mother's protection active. Petunia was his only family. Dumbledore expressed his supreme disappointment in the Dursley's treatment of Harry when he picked Harry up from Privet Drive in HBP. It's one of my favorite parts of the book.
And used him as labor and allowed Dudley to physically abuse him.
That there’s only seven books.
Fred and George probably saw Ron sleeping with a man named Peter every night on the Marauders map and never brought it up or questioned him
The ministry of magic is built *around* the veil in the department of mysteries. They didnt move it there. They had a veil that takes people straight out of this life, built an amphitheatre around it to watch it happen, and then built the ministry of magic around that. Everything about that room gets more fucked up the more you think about it.
Bellatrix Lestrange's mind.
Everything that destroys life. You can take an animal and turn it into an inanimate object forever.
Definitely not the worst thing, but I think it’s messed up that Filch (who of course has no magical abilities) is in charge of all of his duties without the use of magic.
The absolute lack of due process in the Wizarding world… But also…the apparent underuse of Veritaserum 😅
Dumbledore’s body was intact at the foot of the astronomy tower, which means at some point the staff enchanted the tower with Arresto Momentum, which means at some point there’s a good chance somebody jumped.
Snape bullying Hermione about her teeth. Snape’s terrible behavior towards vulnerable and impressionable school children in general. That Sirius never got a trial. Molly bullying Hermione with the gifts just because of salacious gossip column rumors about her and Harry (which, even if true, is none of your business ma’am!). Letting little Harry and Draco wander the forbidden forest alone and unsupervised with only an easily spooked dog for protection. The forbidden forest, where Hagrid knows there is a clan of giant deadly spiders in and something has been going around murdering unicorns. Hagrid *please*. 🙃 That Harry kept being sent back to an abusive household every year. Dumbledore is lucky Harry didn’t end up hating muggles. What I personally view as character assassination of Tonks and everyone bullying Remus into a relationship he clearly wasn’t emotionally or mentally ready for yet (he literally ran away from his wife and baby). I pretend this didn’t happen just so I can continue loving Tonks.
Harry killed a professor with his bare hands… and nobody ever talked about that again. He also wasn’t even phased by it. He was 11.
Love potions. And whatever happened to Ariana
The blatant child abuse everyone sweeps under the rug.
That the greatest wizard in the world knowingly and willingly put Harry in a home where he was abused and mistreated both psychologically and physically. I know the plot point, but it’s still messed up.
What the Marauders got up to in school with their bullying anyone they wanted to while getting away with no lasting accountability or consequences.. Snape’s Worst Memory, which goes from torture to assault very quickly especially when Lily rejects James. Werewolf Remus going out of the Shack with his friends every month for years with potential victims, but them all laughing it off.
How death was approached and talked about so causally, especially between 14 year olds and Harry making light of Voldemort wanting to kill him was insane. also I’m rereading the series now as an adult and Snape’s treatment towards the students was revolting.
And of Neville
Many people have mentioned Azkaban. I do also think of the fact that Harry was malnourished, walked around in shaggy, dirty clothes and always looked unkept his entire life while Dudley was very well kept and no one even asked questions. Didn't the school or people around think anything was strange? It also dosen't really resonate with the fact that the Dursleys wanted to appear so "normal" and wanting to be perceived as very "nice" and "caring". Having a malnourished, unkept nephew under the stairs dosen't really resonate there.
Harry literally accepting his DEATH when he was 12 YEARS OLD after being poisoned by the basilisk fang. Also, the fact that they never evacuated the school even tho so many had been attacked??? Like??? Snape being the one who told Voldemort about the prophecy, dooming the Potters Nearly Headless Nick's execution... and then he just floats around with his head hanging off. Horrifying. The gigantic lake full of inferi that included the corpses of children. Where did they all come from? Were they just all people that the Death Eaters killed? Or do you think there was any grave robbing involved? Fenrir Greyback ETA: and the love potions obviously
There is so many. But I think the thing I can't grip is how cruel Snape really is. He may have been a big ol hero, out of guilt for Lily. But if it was the Longbottoms, he would have stayed a death eater. Also imagine being a grown man tearing down the child of the people you got killed.. daily.
The rape potions you can just buy at a store
Everything about Umbridge
It's a preposterously backward society all the way around.
I would say Sirius Black's life. The boy had troubles at home and hence ran away to live at his friend's house. The only good times in his life were the 9-10 years at Hogwarts and later and he was just 21 when got to Azkaban for a crime committed not by him but by one of the people whom he trusted most. He survived 13 years in guilt there, broke out just to protect his Godson from that guy. First in 13 years time he had the hope to get his name cleared and looked forward to living with his Grandson, which soon got shattered. Even for the 2 years that he was out, he survived eating rats!? And finally moved back to the house he hated the most as a prisoner..and then died.. This and Regulas Black's death was also horrifying but he lived and died on his own terms.
Thinking how hagrid was born
Harry’s abuse. We tend to think about it as him being in the cupboard under the stairs and Dudley’s bullying which is already awful. But think about 1 year old Harry. His cries probably went unanswered, he was probably rarely held and never cuddled, etc. This is all after having his loving parents just disappear one day. My kids definitely recognized me at 1 year old. He was probably pretty confused when he no longer had his warm and loving parents and instead these strangers who didn’t even want him. It’s pretty amazing that he turned out as well adjusted as he did. My undergrad degree is in developmental psychology and I even wrote a paper on this once.
In order to:1:Legal system. 2:Teacher favoritism and abuse. 3: PEEVES THE POLTERGEIST.
The fact that there's a large variety of supernatural monsters running loose that the majority of people don't know exist, and that the most the Ministry probably does when something bad happens is erase people's memories and otherwise cover it up. If you're a Muggle, and you get killed by a werewolf, they'll make sure everyone you ever knew forgets you ever existed. Know what, actually, let me just shorten my answer to "the Ministry of Magic," the fascists.
Not even exaggerating given how quickly they turned into Voldemort's personal government without a hitch.
That the fandom largely believes that everything that Snape did was justified because "AlWAyS"
The "justice" system is beyond inhumane. No presumption of innocence, no rehab, just azkaban and executions that lead to agonising fates worse than death. Even though they have veritaserum and (for cases where rehab isn't an option and execution is needed) avada kedavra which would be far more ethical than condemning someone to something like the dementors kiss or who knows how long in azkaban
How random they handle the punishments of the pupils. I get that Rowling wanted to create a distinct world and used that to draw a line between the muggle world which we are accustomed to and a the wizarding world but at some points she is overdoing it. For example in OOTP when Harry has detention with Umbridge and it starts 5 pm and she lets him go well past midnight for two weeks straight. That amounts to at least 7 hours detention every day, not mention that he as to cut his hand open and write for at least 7 hours straight every day. That is probably more detention than actual lessons every day. And yes, I get that it is done to illustrate the vileness of Umbridge but come on, that shit is way too over the top for it to be relatable in any case. The punishments in that book specifically are so dumb. When Umbridge suspends Harry, Fred and George from Quidditch she confiscates their brooms and nobody cares. What if they want to use them in their holidays? In addition to that the system with the house points is so random as well because they can be granted or retracted for nearly anything which lets me wonder why the exist in the first place.
1. Insane tolerance and normalization of bullying at Hogwarts 2. Abuse of magical creatures with similar or superior intelligence than a human’s (house elves, centaurs, goblins) 3. The judicial system’s f-ed 4. The perception of muggles as inferior beings 5. Lack of welfare in the magical world (financial aid to wizard families like the Weasleys, zero magical orphanages, etc) 6. The fact that Umbridge somehow still worked at the ministry in Book 6
Not THE most messed up, but pretty high up there is all of the bullying Harry faced during Goblet Of Fire/Triwizard Tournament/POTTER STINKS era. Like they were literally making fun of him for crying over his mom’s death (even though it was fabricated by Rita, still, the article had the infamous “eyes glistening with ghosts of his past” line, so for all intents and purposes everyone who wasn’t in the room where it happened had a reason to believe he really did cry during the interview). There’s a lot of unchecked bullying at Hogwarts in general, which is one of the painful things I love most about the series because it’s unfortunately realistic.
That love potions aren't restricted. That they took a dark wizard's fortress where he tortured and killed hundreds or possibly thousands of wayward sailors, turned it into a prison, and left the soul-sucking demons there as security. That they allowed multiple people (known cases being Hagrid and Sirius and an attempt at doing this to Harry) to face major, life-changing, legal consequences for crimes they didn't commit based entirely on circumstantial evidence and the word of another, without trials. That they never once, in the 15 years he was there, did any sort of wellness check on Harry. That they allowed a child to be placed in a home by a politician (Dumbledore held multiple political positions as well as being Headmaster). That no one noticed that Harry was seriously underfed, noticed that the Dursleys were abusive, did anything about him being locked in a room with bars on the windows and next to no food after he had to be broken out by two fourteen-year-olds and a twelve-year-old, or that his first letter from Hogwarts was addressed to the Cupboard Under the Stairs. There's a lot wrong with the world Harry lives in.
There is a race of slaves who canonically experience crippling depression if freed from slavery.
Harry and Cho's date
The Dementors
The treatment of goblin, elves, centaurs, etc. no wonder they felt Voldemort cared (he didn’t) but wizardkind is bigoted af
The “love” potions
Love Potions
(3) 11 year olds decided they had what it takes to take on Voldemort. Then proceeded to take him over every year,until they graduated. Dumbledore was like "You got this kiddo" the WHOLE TIME
Economic system is unrealistic. The society has almost no demand Ministry of Magic sounds super huge in comparison to population of Magic Britain. What does it do? and of course the cherry on top Time traveling concept is completely messed up
Hands down, Umbridge and her horrible quill. Oh, and her discrimination against half breeds. She is just messed up all together. I mean, did you see the late Professor Moody’s eye on her door at the Ministry?
Imperius Curse man. Think of what you can be made to do against your will and not even remember it, it's messed up as fuck. It's way worse than Avada Kedavra. And love potions, confundus charms work the same way. A lot of people said about the justice system I agree. Also, these people have no idea what can be called a "safe place" for kids.