misconception; that harry's dumb/not clever
misconceptions. accepting – @badfaiiith
THIS IS MY LEAST FAVORITE MISCONCEPTION IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. IT’S SO WRONG, LEMME TELL YOU WHY!!! so yeah, harry isn’t always the best student as far as always wanting to get his homework done, go to class, excited about double potions, etc etc. but lemme stress this – that doesn’t equal being clever/not clever.
harry is extremely intuitive. he notices things others don’t and, when something is important to him, he sets his mind to it so much. think of draco malfoy during sixth year… like harry is the only one who really thinks draco is up to something and… hey, look at that, he’s right! he’s got these keen sense of knowing.
harry also has an open mind, which is something someone like hermione (brightest witch of their age!) struggles with. it’s mentioned several times, which is why spells like the patronus charm - which are all about feeling and emotion - are hard for her. that, by the way, it something grown ass wizards and witches have trouble with and little thirteen year old harry manages to cast a corporeal one. pretty impressive and not dumb at all!
anyway, harry’s open mind allows him to think outside the box. he grabs his broom during the first task of the triwizard tournament. he uses expelliarmus in the final battle because he knows he doesn’t have to use the killing curse. he believes in the deathly hallows when everyone else is like we need to focus on the horcruxes!
harry also knows the art of subtly to help him succeed. like this ability to bend things to get the results he needs. calling voldemort “tom” in the battle, pretending to put felix in ron’s pumpkin juice before the quidditch try outs, acting like runcorn in the ministry of magic to bellow out that the muggleborn’s blood is pure and letting them free. he has this sense of just understanding what needs to be done and small little ways to get it done. he doesn’t panic, even when he’s fucking scared (because he’s a teenager and he’s afraid throughout it all, but doesn’t let that control him).
he also knows he needs to sacrifice himself and does it willingly. he realizes the true meaning of the prophecy. that’s not exactly clever, but it’s accepting and incredibly brave.
i could go on and on… but, in the end, i’ll leave you with: harry potter has a lot of flaws. but being stupid isn’t one of them. books and cleverness! there are more important things - friendship and bravery! so, no, harry isn’t dumb. he’s not top of the class, but he doesn’t need to be. he shows his smarts in ways no one else in the series does.





