The Harry Potter universe is filled with many complex characters. While there are many heroes in the series, there are also a lot of compelling villains. Though Harry might be the main protagonist, there are many other characters that are central to the story. Whether these characters are the heroes or the villains, they all have times where they do things that aren’t so admirable. Even Harry has moments where he crosses lines or does something wrong.
Here are the worst things that each main character from the Harry Potter series has done.
SNAPE: BECOMING A DEATH EATER
Snape is definitely one of the most complex characters from the series, and his redemption arc is rather controversial. He’s a character that’s hard to pin down as either good or bad, as he does a lot of good things and a lot of awful ones. While some consider him a good guy, others don’t really view him that way. However, probably the worst thing he ever did was to become a Death Eater in the first place. Even if he might end up on the good side, joining Voldemort is a hard thing to forgive.
NEVILLE: NOT BELIEVING IN HIMSELF
Neville is a character that is hard to fault. In many ways, he always does the right thing, and he is often the one who is being picked on and bullied. It’s clear that he has a hard time believing in himself. So, the worst thing Neville has ever done is to not trust himself more and have more self-confidence. But even though he struggles with these things, he ends up growing into himself and becoming extremely brave and heroic.
SIRIUS: PULLING THAT PRANK ON SNAPE
Sirius is a character from Harry Potter who is a fan favorite, and it’s easy to see why. He has a somewhat tortured past and he is framed for an awful crime that he didn’t commit. While he wasn’t present or alive in very many of the books, the time he was there made a huge impact. The worst thing Sirius ever did was to play a prank on Snape that could have gotten him killed. While it might be difficult to feel too bad for Snape, going as far as to put his life in danger wasn’t a good thing to do on Sirius’ part.
HAGRID: ARAGOG
Hagrid is another character who is overall good. His biggest flaw comes down to his love of dangerous creatures and seeing them as much more harmless than they are. His love of these magical beasts puts others around him at risk multiple times in the series. For instance, when he breeds Blast-Ended Skrewts and has his class take care of them. However, the worst instance of this is letting Aragog live in the Forbidden Forest and grow a family. He brings Aragog a mate so that a whole brood of murderous giant spiders can live there.
DUMBLEDORE: GRINDELWALD AND HOW HE TREATED HARRY
Dumbledore is a character that seems to be purely good at the start of the series, but by the end, it’s clear that he’s much more complicated than this. There are quite a few things he’s done that would count him as more of a dark wizard than a good one. The worst thing he has done is a tie. His first crime is when he joined up with Grindelwald with the intention to bring wizarding rule to Muggles. The other horrible thing he did was lie to Harry over the years and basically lead him to the slaughter in order to defeat Voldemort.
VOLDEMORT: HIS IDEOLOGY
Obviously, Voldemort is the antagonist of the series, and he is as bad as it gets. There isn’t anything about him that is really redeemable as he is a dark, powerful wizard. His entire goal is to get rid of Muggles and Muggle-borns and to live forever as a ruler of the wizarding world. It’s hard to nail down just one awful thing he’s done, as he’s murdered and tortured so many people. So, his worst offense comes down to his entire ideology.
DRACO: JOINING UP WITH UMBRIDGE
Draco is another character who has a rather complicated history. As the child of Death Eaters, he is taught the dark beliefs of his parents, and even believes them himself. He is also just an overall bully and cruel person. However, in the end, Draco seems to distance himself from these beliefs when he’s an adult. Also, the fact that he became a Death Eater is hard to count as he didn’t have much choice in the matter. So, one of the worst things he ever did was to join up with Umbridge for her Inquisitorial Squad. This is an encompassing example of the ways he tried to hurt his fellow students.
HERMIONE: ATTACKING RON
Hermione is a person who tries to do the right thing. She is definitely interested in things like activism and the rights of all living creatures. While she might break some rules here and there to try to help people, she has good intentions in doing so. Even when she breaks laws, such as stealing food, she tries to mitigate the damage by leaving money. One of the worst things she does is when she casts the attacking bird spell on Ron out of jealousy, as this wasn’t the way to handle that situation.
RON: ABANDONING HARRY AND HERMIONE
Ron is a character who is good, but he doesn’t always have the highest moral code. He can sometimes be rude or uncaring towards other people. At the same time, he’s quite loyal and is willing to sacrifice himself to do the right thing. The worst thing he does is when he abandons Harry And Hermione on their quest to destroy the Horcruxes. This is definitely his lowest moment.
HARRY: USING UNFORGIVABLE CURSES
As the protagonist of the story, Harry is a hero in many ways. He has a strong desire to protect people and be good. But he also has some flaws, including the fact that he can be a little hot-headed and doesn’t always think things through. One of the worst things he does is to use the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse. While using the Imperius Curse might be somewhat understandable, using a torture curse, even on Amycus Carrow who probably deserved it, is hard to understand.
