Harry Potter and Tom Riddle are two sides of the same coin, equals in every sense of the word.
I often see Harry depicted as a stuttering mess, a bad lier, an open book, timid, but that is not Harry James Potter.
Harry Potter brought the second Wizarding war to an end almost single handedly, he is a child soldier, a fighter. Harry lead the resistance against Voldemort, not Dumbledore, Harry.
This boy, since his first year was observant enough to figure out every mystery thrown at him, successfully surviving each danger he met. His gut was almost right every single time, and he had impeccable instincts.
Harry Potter is not dumb, he is not clueless and he is not oblivious. Sure, Harry was not the top of his classes, but he passed almost all of his OWLs, only failing in the subject that I’m sure almost everyone did (History of Magic). He was the one who caught Draco was up to something immediately in HBP, already guessing he was a Death Eater. He was the one who filed away every small, minuscule observation, which helped him solve so many things thrown at him. He was the one who figured out the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, who repeatedly took note of the random black dog wandering Hogwarts, who knew something was wrong when Dumbledore wouldn’t look at him, knew Draco was doing something under Voldemorts orders and who was able to figure out the whereabouts of the Diadem and thought to ask Ravenclaws ghost.
Yes, he had his moments of stupidity, but he was under tremendous stress and often was sleep deprived. He may have chased after Sirius like a brash Gryffindor, but he was extremely sleep deprived, nobody would tell him shit, and Sirius was his only family left.
No, Harry Potter was not an open book or a horrible lier. He survived an abusive household for ten years straight, that boy knew how to lie to survive. In the Philosophers Stone I know Quirrell wouldn’t have known Harry was lying about what he saw in the mirror had he not had the Dark Lord on the back of his head who can literally read minds. It was said in the books that Harry was seen as cold, unapproachable, it wasn’t known what he was thinking till he blew up. He was hard to get a read on because he knew how to hide his emotions after years of abuse.
Yes, Harry had his moments where he lost control over his emotions, like with Umbridge, Dumbledore, his friends, but only while he was under pressure and hit his breaking point. His whole life he had been called a lier, and suddenly a woman he doesn’t know accuses him of lying about how a student he watched die died. Dumbledore had been keeping secrets from Harry all year in OotP, fled the school and it ultimately led to Harry losing his last piece of family. His friends were constantly bickering while Harry was suffering, truthfully, I would’ve lost it on them too.
Harry Potter was not a stuttering, awkward mess. He was a leader, he was the one who called the shots, who took down Voldemort. When there needed to be someone in charge, Harry took the mantle even though he hated the attention because he knew he could handle it. He taught the DA with such ease because he could command a room, put on a confident front so others could rely on him. Never during the GoF did he stutter with fear when faced with challenges, he faced them head on. He wasn’t awkward when he met Ron or anyone else, truthfully, he just seemed to want most people to stay away.
There’s not even a single time I can remember him being awkward except with Cho crying and suddenly kissing him. Anyone would feel awkward as hell if that happened, but imagine being an abused orphan who wasn’t allowed to be upset? Exactly, Harry doesn’t understand emotions as well as others because he had to push them down. Also, she literally kissed him while crying about her dead boyfriend he witnessed die.
Harry Potter was not weak mentally or physically. He played Quidditch religiously, was forced to run from his cousin if he didn’t want to get hurt and fought tooth and nail in every fight to survive. There is no way in hell he didn’t have some muscle, and I will admit he may have lost it often during the summer or the year he was on the run, but for the majority of his school years he was athletic. Not burly, but definitely had lean muscle. Harry also survived through all that shit and never forget what he was fighting for, not once wavering on his path. He knew what he wanted, and was willing to do anything to achieve a means to an end, even if it meant dying by the hand of the one man he swore to defeat.
As stated above, I know he was often starved/malnourished, so there definitely were times he was physically weak. However, for the majority of the time he was not just thin. Also, it’s said he was the same height as his dad, who was described as being tall. Prolonged malnourishment can definitely stunt growth though, so I don’t really care for this point as much.
Harry James Potter and Tom Marvolo Riddle were prophesied enemies for a reason. Harry may have been a bit of a brash and reckless Gryffindor, but in the end he was a force to be reckoned with.
Both Tom and Harry were orphans who grew up in harsh environments, learning how to manipulate people to survive. (And don’t say Harry didn’t manipulate, he was able to get Vernon off his back for a summer by using Sirius)
They both were war survivors, Tom surviving a Muggle war and Harry surviving a Wizarding war.
Harry and Tom were both antisocial to an extent, the difference being Harry was able to gain a close knit group of friends.
They were magically powerful, but Tom was more controlled magic and Harry was wild magic that he willed to do as he said.
They were distrustful of adults, almost never turning to an adult unless they had to.
There’s so many more, but I can’t name them all.
Overall, it is an insult to Harry’s character (in my opinion) to water him down to someone so far away from who he truly is. He is Tom Riddles equal, he is not just a lucky boy who somehow survived. This boy was never dumb, awkward, loud or timid, and anyone who says he was has forgotten who canon Harry truly is.
I will not lie and say I do not love some of these traits when paired with his true personality, but I will never like a timid, awkward, stupid Harry. That is not the person Voldemort marked as an equal.
