So often, I feel like Harry is underrated in his own series and I want to talk about how much I love Harry James Potter. Harry is my favorite character in the books and I want to showcase some moments of Harry proving the Sorting Hat knew what it was talking about when it comes to Harry possibly doing well in Slytherin and even Ravenclaw.
(I have more moments listed in my notes, and I'm in book 6 in my current reread, so I definitely am not covering everything)
Let's start then with the words of the Sorting Hat itself:
âHmm,â said a small voice in his ear. âDifficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. Thereâs talent, A my goodness, yes â and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now thatâs interestingâŠ.So where shall I put you?â
Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.
âNot Slytherin, eh?â said the small voice. âAre you sure? You could be great, you know, itâs all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that
(Philosopher's Stone, page 88)
The Hat says Harry is brave enough for Gryffindor, clever enough and talented enough for Ravenclaw and has the ambition and thirst to prove himself for Slytherin. And the hat isn't wrong about it's assessment of Harry. Harry is clever and talented and I so often find it underplayed in fics, or ones that do include it, acting like it's fanon characterization when it's really isn't.
Harry Potter is canonically a BAMF.
So, here I'm going to talk about his cleverness and give some moments of Harry being clever from the books.
(I'll have a different post for his magical prowess.)
Harry Has Brilliant Memory
So, Harry James Potter practically has close to an eidetic memory, and no one really seems to mention it.
An eidetic memory is described as an almost perfect recollection of images or events. And Harry actually shows himself as being very capable of it:
Angelina: ââŠHarry, didnât you do something to your glasses to stop the rain fogging them up when we played Hufflepuff in that storm?â
âHermione did it,â said Harry. He pulled out his wand, tapped his glasses and said, âImpervius!â
(Order of the Phoenix, page 379)
In thus scene its raining during a Quidditch match and Angelina asks Harry about a spell he used a year before. Harry remembered that moment, remembered Hermione was actually the one who cast the spell, a spell he himself never cast before this moment, and he then casts it perfectly from memory.
Harry remembers the incantation and wand movement perfectly enough to succeed on his first try.
Actually, almost every time we see him cast spells he gets the wand movement and incantation right on the first try (even his first attempt at a patronus worked, the happy memory just wasn't strong enough)
In general, they moments we see Harry fail at casting spells on the first try is when he overthinks it and fails himself like that.
Harry stared at the letters in brackets. Nvbl . . . that had to mean ânonverbal.â Harry rather doubted he would be able to bring off this particular spell; he was still having difficulty with nonverbal spells, something Snape had been quick to comment on in every D.A.D.A. class. On the other hand, the Prince had proved a much more effective teacher than Snape so far.
Pointing his wand at nothing in particular, he gave it an upward flick and said Levicorpus! inside his head.
âAaaaaaaargh!â
(Half-Blood Prince, page 239)
Harry tends to fail potions, and nonverbal spells when Snape is breathing down on him expecting him to fail, though, in this example, the moment Harry feels he can succeed the spell and isn't overthinking it, he casts it perfectly and nonverbally on the first attempt.
He is the same with potions:
Snape, meanwhile, seemed to have decided to act as though Harry were invisible. Harry was, of course, well used to this tactic, as it was one of Uncle Vernonâs favorites, and on the whole was grateful he had to suffer nothing worse. In fact, compared to what he usually had to endure from Snape in the way of taunts and snide remarks, he found the new approach something of an improvement and was pleased to find that when left well alone, he was able to concoct an Invigoration Draught quite easily. At the end of the lesson he scooped some of the potion into a flask, corked it, and took it up to Snapeâs desk for marking, feeling that he might at last have scraped an E.
(Order of the Phoenix, page 660)
When Snape wasn't breathing down his neck and stressing him, even without the Half-Blood Prince's superior instructions, Harry is good at potions. He accomplishes the potion to a level of Exceeding Expectations easily. The problem is never his skill, memory, or talent; usually, it's stress, being stuck in his own head, or carelessness (did anyone diagnose him with ADHD?)
Another example of his eidetic memory in OOP:
âWell, you know, they do work well on non-magical wounds,â said Hermione fairly. âI suppose something in that snakeâs venom dissolves them or something. . . . I wonder where the tearoom is?â
âFifth floor,â said Harry, remembering the sign over the Welcome Witchâs desk.
(Order of the Phoenix, page 508)
When Harry describes St. Mongos for the first time (about a week before the above scene) he reads a sign that describes what is located in each floor of the hospital.
A week later, without reading that sign again, Harry can recall where the tea room is since he has that sign he read once a week ago, memorized.
Harry is Sneaky
Harry is a proper sneaky slythein and actually has more cunning moments than some slytherins in the books. Here are a few examples I have from my notes:
âShould call Filch, I should, if somethingâs a-creeping around unseen.â
Harry had a sudden idea.
âPeeves,â he said, in a hoarse whisper, âthe Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible.â Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock.
(Philosopher's Stone, page 197)
Harry is a good liar and scared of Peeves like this in his first year.
ââŠHe likes to keep in touch with me, though . . . keep up with my news . . . check if Iâm happy. . . .â
And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernonâs face, Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.
(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 435)
But their attitude had changed since they had found out that Harry had a dangerous murderer for a godfather â for Harry had conveniently forgotten to tell them that Sirius was innocent.
(Goblet of Fire, page 24)
Again, Harry lying and tricking the Dursleys so they won't hurt him. Leveling Sirius as a threat against them.
âNot unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess â I let you pass. Answer wrongly â I attack. Remain silent â I will let you walk away from me unscathed.â
[the riddle and Harry thinking through it]
âSpy . . . er . . . spy . . . er . . .â said Harry, pacing up and down. âA creature I wouldnât want to kiss . . . a spider!â
The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for him to pass.
âThanks!â said Harry, and, amazed at his own brilliance, he dashed forward.
(Goblet of Fire, page 629)
I skipped the sphinx's riddle, now the riddle isn't a hard one, but still, Harry isn't stupid. But he thinks he is. He even tells himself during that scene:
Harryâs stomach slipped several notches. It was Hermione who
was good at this sort of thing, not him. He weighed his chances. If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, get away from the sphinx unharmed, and try and find an alternative route to the center.
(Goblet of Fire, 629)
But it's just Harry and his low self-esteem. He solves the riddle quickly thinking aloud near the Sphinx and he does solve it, and is amazed by it because he doesn't think of himself as smart, even though he is.
Most of the riddles to the Ravenclaw common room are probably along this line of difficulty too. It just goes to show he isn't stupid.
âThere,â she said, handing it to him. âDrink it before it gets cold, wonât you? Well, now, Mr. Potter . . . I thought we ought to have a little chat, after the distressing events of last night.â
He said nothing. She settled herself back into her seat and waited. When several long moments had passed in silence, she said gaily, âYouâre not drinking up!â
He raised the cup to his lips and then, just as suddenly, lowered it. One of the horrible painted kittens behind Umbridge had great round blue eyes just like Mad-Eye Moodyâs magical one, and it had just occurred to Harry what Mad-Eye would say if he ever heard that Harry had drunk anything offered by a known enemy.
âWhatâs the matter?â said Umbridge, who was still watching him. âDo you want sugar?â
âNo,â said Harry. He raised the cup to his lips again and pretended to take a sip, though keeping his mouth tightly closed. Umbridgeâs smile widened.
âGood,â she whispered. âVery good. Now then . . .â She leaned forward a little. âWhere is Albus Dumbledore?â
âNo idea,â said Harry promptly.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 630)
Harry is clever enough to recognize drinking anything Umbridge gives him is a bad idea, so he doesn't. And he does so without her realizing.
âeven if you do cause a diversion, how is Harry supposed to talk to him?â
âUmbridgeâs office,â said Harry quietly.
He had been thinking about it for a fortnight and could think of no alternative; Umbridge herself had told him that the only fire that was not being watched was her own.
âAre â you â insane?â said Hermione in a hushed voice. Ron had lowered his leaflet on jobs in the cultivated fungus trade and was watching the conversation warily.
âI donât think so,â said Harry, shrugging.
âAnd how are you going to get in there in the first place?â
Harry was ready for this question. âSiriusâs knife,â he said.
âExcuse me?â
âChristmas before last Sirius gave me a knife thatâll open any lock,â said Harry. âSo even if sheâs bewitched the door so Alohomora wonât work, which I bet she has ââ
(Order of the Phoenix, page 658)
Harry can and does strategies. He planned how to get into Umbeidge's office. He employed his friends and actually led them. Being a leader and a strategist â rules we see him grow more into later.
Harryâs mind was racing. The Death Eaters wanted this dusty spun-glass sphere. He had no interest in it. He just wanted to get them all out of this alive, make sure that none of his friends paid a terrible price for his stupidity . . . The woman stepped forward, away from her fellows, and pulled off her hood. Azkaban had hollowed Bellatrix Lestrangeâs face, making it gaunt and skull-like, but it was alive with a feverish, fanatical glow.
âYou need more persuasion?â she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. âVery well â take the smallest one,â she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. âLet him watch while we torture the little girl. Iâll do it.â
Harry felt the others close in around Ginny. He stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest.
âYouâll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us,â he told Bellatrix. âI donât think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?â
She did not move; she merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin mouth.
âSo,â said Harry, âwhat kind of prophecy are we talking about anyway?â
He could not think what to do but to keep talking. Nevilleâs arm was pressed against his, and he could feel him shaking. He could feel one of the otherâs quickened breath on the back of his head. He was hoping they were all thinking hard about ways to get out of this, because his mind was blank.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 783)
This is a bit of a long quote, but I really like it. Harry gets the Death Eaters at an impasse because they can't destroy the prophecy. Then, when they threatened Ginny, he changed tactics and got them talking to buy time.
And even when he says his mind is blank:
âWhat?â whispered Hermione more urgently behind him.
âCan this be?â said Malfoy, sounding maliciously delighted; some of the Death Eaters were laughing again, and under cover of their laughter, Harry hissed to Hermione, moving his lips as little as possible, âSmash shelves ââ
...
âNOW!â yelled Harry.
Five different voices behind him bellowed âREDUCTO!â Five
curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit. The towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart
(Order of the Phoenix, pages 785-786 and 787)
He's still the one coming up with plans and pulling them out of there.
And if we look at his grades:
(Half-Blood Prince, page 102)
He is very far from failing academically. Actually considering how little studying Harry actually does, he receives very high grades, even for Hogwarts' abysmal education standards. Harry is naturally smart enough and talented enough that with the bare minimum of effort, he can get almost exclusively Es (his failing being in History, an exam he didn't finish, and Divination, which Harry has only been thought bullshit in).
Makes me wish we saw him put in an active effort. I bet it all would've been Os with his memory.
Even Potions, which Harry is supposedly bad at, he got an E...
I just... Harry is just really smart and it kind of frustrates me how I don't see enough fics that treat Harry being clever and with a cunning streak as if it's canon, even though it very much is.
I don't know, maybe I'm just reading the wrong fics...
crack au where in the beginning of book 3 when sirius comes to see harry in dog form he just...follows him onto the Knight Bus. and Harry's like 'well this is weird' but his life is weird. so whatever. and then the whole rest of the summer the dog just stays with him. since other people can see the dog he figures it's definitely not a Grim. And the dog seems pretty friendly. and well behaved. and he kinda likes. so harry's just shrugs and is like 'well this might as well happen' and when he meets up with his friends he tells them apparently he has a pet dog now.
can't decide if that would mean that book 3 still happens the same way as in canon or if peter takes one look at sirius and ditches and ron's always confused about why Scabbers ran away OR if Sirius eats Scabbers and consequently voldemort doesn't return and Harry has a very chill rest of his time at Hogwarts (except for the bit where he inevitably discovers that his dog is actually not a dog).
@the-forbidden-forest how dare you leave this in the tags:
#yes I want this#also imagine lupinâs face. lmfao#lupin still thinking sirius is a murderer: ah⊠so.. harry. I see you have a.. dog. how long have you had him? oh? thatâs.. okay.#okay yes. interesting timing#um. look. how do I put this Harry#your dogâŠ.is a convicted criminal.#how do I know this? well. you see. ha. funny story#Iâm â a werewolf. and I used to be friends with your parents. yes sorry for not mentioning that sooner#anyway. that dog. is sirius black.#harry: âŠâŠâŠ.
Sirius menaces Scabbers and Scabbers turns into Pettigrew to avoid being hoovered down and Ron thinks maybe that's why Hermione's cat was so keen to eat him, and so Ron and Harry arrange that the dog will be officially Ron's new pet.
Lupin doesn't do a damn thing about the dog for the same reason he doesn't do anything about the secret passageways he knows Sirius Black knows about, telling himself that the dog has had weeks or months now to attack Harry and the fact it hasn't means it definitely isn't Sirius Black.
Snape intensely dislikes getting growled at by another large canine thing with sharp teeth, but he enjoys the fuck out of the uncomfortable look Lupin wears every time the dog is in sight so he deals with it.
Lupin to himself: That is not Sirius Black. That is just a normal dog. You haven't seen him transform in years. You're probably forgetting what he looked like. He's been here for weeks and done nothing. It's fine.
My mom decided to weigh in on this, on the side of the Italian boxer, thinking I'd allow her to repeat bullshit talking points for some reason (never have allowed that shit, especially not from someone who raised me not to tolerate racism or anything that ends with someone being put down)...I made her stay on the line until she admitted she was wrong.
I want to clarify, Angela Carini did not quit because she thought her opponent was trans, nor was she "forced" to quit. She quit because the first punch made her nose bleed and she couldn't breathe. She quit due to fear for bodily safety. She did cry and refuse to shake her opponents hand, but it had nothing to do with her gender, she was just upset she was injured and couldn't continue. She later admitted that she had shown poor sportsmanship in refusing to shake her opponents hand, and apologized to her and to everyone, and clarified it had nothing to do with gender, and if the Olympics said she can compete she can compete. Angela Carini is being used by terfs as a scapegoat and is not at fault for anything more than poor sportsmanship.
I don't see a red heart. I do see this one though (đ) but that's answered in a previous ask so I'll ignore it.
đ€: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?
I'm going to go with Harry Potter. Listen, there is a "Harry Potter is a terrible person" corner of the fandom but I'm not in that corner personally (though I 100% support everyone's right to their own interpretations). I do think though that Harry is a flawed person and also someone who is capable of being very deadly when he has to be and making tough calls. I feel like he often gets flattened into this hyper pure heroic archetype who could never do anything morally grey and just is unrealistically idealistic to a fault. This often goes with characterizing him as really stupid and oblivious which is not supported by canon imho and also is just so much less interesting than the dynamic character that Harry actually is.
I also think it's super interesting because this also happens to Harry in universe too. Lupin chides him over wanting to disarm Stan Shunpike rather than risk killing him and acts as though Harry is being overly squeamish about the realities of warfare and of hurting people due to being so Good and Pure TM. This is not the case. Harry is willing to take great risks to do the right thing and to save others. But he's also capable of being pragmatic. Harry was perfectly willing to shoot stunners at other Death Eaters in that scene even though he believed that could be fatal to them. He wasn't willing to do the same with Stan because he believed (probably wrongly but that's another meta post) that Stan was a victim. It was for that reason that Harry was willing to risk using nonlethal force.
In book 1 he straight up killed Quirrel. In book 2 he forced Lockhart to go into the Chamber first, putting him in a situation where me might be killed by a giant deadly snake. He also was willing to kill Diary!Riddle in self defense and didn't flinch at it. He didn't hold back with the Death Eaters in book 5 and it was Hermione, not Harry, who objected to cursing the one whose head had been de-aged to a baby. In book 7 he goes into a duel with Voldemort with the intent to kill him. He is perfectly capable of being deadly and making tough calls.
He's also perfectly able to go against what is expected of him if he doesn't agree with it. He refused to harm Stan because he believed it was wrong. He seemingly refused to incriminate Draco in book 6 (both when he didn't report him for trying to use an Unforgivable and when he seemingly only testified to MLE about Snape's role in Dumbledore's death) because he felt there were extenuating circumstances (plus he can never make himself hate Draco *cough* drarry *cough*).
He also frequently uses lies and trickery and misdirection to achieve his goals - ranging from escaping life threatening situations to trying to avoid conversations he doesn't want to have.
And that's not even getting into Harry's tendency to make snap, sometimes unfair judgements about people and to ignore the flaws of people he likes (two flaws that he improves during the later books in the series, especially book 7) and his sometimes vicious anger. These are realistic and interesting character flaws. But they are real flaws. And I think a lot of fanon tends to forget about them, which is a shame.
However, this is not to say that Harry is a bad person or incapable of making morally courageous or empathetic decisions. Which leads me to...
đ€: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?
Once again I'm going to go with...Harry Potter. Because on the flip side there's a corner of fandom that I think takes an overly dim view of Harry (though of course, to each their own).
Because yes Harry is absolutely a flawed person. But he's also the person who put his escape at risk in book 7 so he could rescue the Muggleborns who were on trial, who couldn't even properly use the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix right after he'd seen her kill Sirius (which is why I think the cavalier way it's framed when he uses it in book 7 feels super ooc and weird to me - I have sooo many thoughts on that scene but that's another meta), said he wanted to kill Sirius to avenge his parents but then couldn't kill or even hurt him when he had him at his mercy, said he wanted to kill Snape to avenge Dumbledore but then didn't even enjoy watching him die despite all their history, was so horrified by the flayed soul he saw in "King's Cross" that he genuinely made an effort to redeem Voldemort (offering him more compassion after everything he'd done then Dumbledore did at any point, even when Tom was a child - which says a lot about Harry as well as about Dumbledore), who wasn't even friends with Neville in first year but immediately confronted Draco about taking the Remembrall, who noticed right away that Ron was uncomfortable about his financial situation and set him at ease by telling him about always having to wear second hand clothes and then offered to share all the food he'd bought with him, who felt jealous and hurt when Ron was made Prefect instead of him but controlled that feeling and refused to let it rule him or to take it out on Ron, who refused to take the Triwizard Cup for himself because it didn't feel fair (unfortunately not the best call in retrospect), who was disgusted by the bullying tactics of Dudley's gang, who frequently made efforts to bolster Ron's confidence when he could see he was down or feeling insecure, who threw his entire body at a Death Eater to stop him hurting Hermione in book 5, who did everything he could to try to keep Sirius safe and his spirits up in book 5, who always gave his friends really thoughtful gifts that they liked a lot because he was able to pay close attention to their interests even when he didn't share them and so many more moments.
maybe the curse on the DADA job makes you lose the job in such a way that your worst fear comes true
Quirrel - dies a horrible death
Lockhart - loses his identity and forgets his own fame and accomplishments
Lupin - very publicly outed as a werewolf
Barty Jr. - dementor's kiss
Moody - betrayed, imprisoned and replaced while no one notices
Umbridge - carried off by nonhumans
Snape - has to go back to (seemingly) being a death eater and spending all his time with people he hates while everyone whose opinion he values thinks he's a traitor and a coward
I love Hagrid he is a good character a nice man, however I hate that everyone thinks of him is a cuddly giant, who wouldnât hurt a fly.He was an incompetent fool who should never have been given responsibility of students. And couldnât keep a secret to save his life.
If we are going up with the list of Professor Snapeâs sins and calling out bad teacher behavior, then we can for others. This is just Hagrid (and a side of McGonagall.)
âȘŒ Hagrid is someone who assaulted an innocent Muggle minor, Dudley, just dared to be the son of Vernon, the man who dared to insult Dumbledore. Hagrid, in his latent anti-Muggle and fat-phobic mania, in his wish to retaliate against the father, has harmed his son (like a Greyback), trying to Transfigure Dudley into a pig (like a Moody), sending him howling in pain, and when his wand failed him, he blamed it on Dudley being too much of a pig. He had that child so traumatized he couldnât stand being in the same room as Harry for the following month, and would panic each time Harry would utter a strange word.
âȘŒ Because of Hagrid ~ McGonagall punished Harry, Hermione and Neville so badly that the whole school started to insult them, Hermione didnât dare participate in class anymore, Neville sobbed the whole night.
From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him
McGonagall sent 4 first-years in the Forbidden Forest as a punishment, in the hands of someone she was the first one to call unable to take responsibilities. For a single night of infraction, she has sent 11 yoâs in deathâ arms. Mortal endangerment of minors. Harry nearly died. Harry had nightmares of what he saw in his detention for the rest of the year, that only worsened as the year went on.
âȘŒ Hagrid has shouted at Malfoy that writing lines wasnât a good punishment and decided to not only bring the students in the Forest, but to make them search a creature so evil it could drink unicornâs blood, even though he had Neville shaking and on the point of breaking into tears. Then, curiously, he managed to split the group of first-years so he could keep his favourite students near him
All right, Harry, Hermione?â
âI shouldnât be too friendly to them, Hagrid,â said Filch coldly, âtheyâre here to be punished, after all.â
and send Draco (whom he hated)
âIâm not going in that Forest,â he said, [âŠ]
âYeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts,â said Hagrid fiercely. âYehâve done wrong anâ now yehâve got ter pay fer it.â
and Neville (for whom he didnât care)
Hagrid didnt even acknowledge Neville'spresence đ€·ââïž
so far away (with a dog who Hagrid was the first to admit he was a coward so basically useless) itâd take minutes to come to their help. Mortal endangerment of minors. Neville was scared shitless.
âȘŒ Hagrid sent 2 second-years deep into the Forbidden Forest To look for Acromantula, which would have resulted in their deaths, and Ron was so traumatized he threw up. Even he knew that what Hagrid did was mental.
âȘŒ He threatened Draco with what Moody did to him. Draco already traumatised by that experience.
âYehâll do whaâ yer told,â he growled, âor Iâll be takinâ a leaf outta Professor Moodyâs book ⊠I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy.â The Gryffindors roared with laughter. Malfoy flushed with anger, but apparently the memory of Moodyâs punishment was still sufficiently painful to stop him retorting. - just imagine if that were Snape who said that? âYou will do what you are told,â Snape spat, âor I will be taking a leaf out of Professor Moodyâs book ⊠I hear you made a good ferret, Potter.â The Slytherins roared with laughter. Potter flushed with anger, but apparently the memory of Potterâs punishment was still sufficiently painful to stop him retorting.
âȘŒ Hagrid asked three students to look after a 16ft aggressive giant. Hermione, terrified, on the verge of tears, shaking and whimpering. Hagrid saying Grwap wasnât violent just didnât know his own strength đ
âȘŒ Hagrid had a violent temper.
In one swift movement, Hagrid seized the front of Karkaroffâs furs, lifted him into the air, and slammed him against a nearby tree. âApologise!â Hagrid snarled, as Karkaroff gasped for breath, Hagridâs massive fist at his throat, his feet dangling in mid-air.
Hagrid removed the hand pinning Karkaroff to the tree, and Karkaroff slid all the way down the trunk and slumped in a huddle at its roots; a few twigs and leaves showered down upon his head.
âȘŒ In the war he ran off to save the bloody spiders who were about to attack students, calling after not to hurt the spiders! Making him get caught by DE! We know where his priorities hold.
more of the gigantic spiders forced their way into the Entrance Hall. Screams of terror rent the air: the fighters scattered, Death Eaters and Hogwartians alike, and red and green jets of light flew into the midst of the oncoming monsters, which shuddered and reared, more terrifying than ever. [âŠ] Hagrid had come thundering down the stairs, brandishing his flowery pink umbrella. âDonât hurt âem, donât hurt âem!â he yelled.
Snape may have been an arsehole of a teacher. He may have a sharp tongue. But never once did he put a students life in danger. What he did compared to other teachers was nothing.
But because Harry likes Hagrid, people either, donât see the awful things Hagrid did or void it on the basis that Harry likes him so ahhh well, itâs all good đ đ
Oh, and of course, the usuall, Hagrid didnt mean too. He meant no harm, garbage. Which I agree with, but that doesnât make what he did ok.
A lot of text credit goes to @ottogatto : Made for @snapeingturtle
Hagrid was also frequently prone to getting drunk in front of minors at the school. On at least one or two occasions Harry, Hermione, and Ron were responsible for acting as his care-givers and helping him sober up. He was also in company with Trelawney who went through so many cooking sherry bottles she had taken to hiding the empties in the Room of Requirement. She was openly drunk on school grounds more than once.Â
Hogwarts is not your modern Muggle high-school. I work in academia and I am an educator. With the exception of a few teachers who barely get focus in the canon I will tell you here and now that a large majority of Hogwarts staff would have been fired for their conduct. Then again, a school with vanishing stairs and multiple other dangers (one where the ghost of a child who died there haunts a bathroom and is treated like a nuisance) would also have been closed down if we really started analyzing Hogwarts from a modern Muggle lens.Â
Of the teachers at Hogwarts, Snape didnât even scratch top ten in terms of inappropriate or downright negligent conduct in fact. Largely because he was never responsible for gross endangerment of any of the students at Hogwarts. He was a verbally offensive and acerbic teacher who reflected the zeitgeist of a particular era and, in a very odd way, he came closest to seeming most like the sort of teacher a student in the U.K. in Rowlingâs years on into the early 90s might have occasionally encountered. Snapeâs shortcomings and faults as a teacher are basically more realistic and less extreme than professors like Hagrid (who endangers students) or even McGonagall (who is also responsible for such blatant favoritism she bent rules for first years and bought a student in her house a top of the line broom, endangers students, and can be as cutting and acerbic as Snape in criticizing students). Ultimately, before educational standards evolved it wasnât uncommon to have a teacher who insulted you and got away with it solely because everyone accepted it as normal conduct for a teacher. Today our standards for education and educators has improved enough that a teacher could not just publically berate, dress down, or use correction through humiliation tactics to âmotivateâ a student without facing some backlash.Â
When analyzing Harry Potter, one needs to remain conscious of the timeline the books were written (i.e. 90s), the trends (i.e. social, cultural, political, etc.) that may have influenced writers and their fiction (e.g. the Dahlesque style is one such example) during that era, the unusual conditions of Hogwarts as a fictionalized school, and the professional culture (or lack thereof) at Hogwarts among the staff. Notably, there are no mentions in canon of the other teachers confronting Snape or reporting his conduct to Dumbledore because they found something particularly unusual, inappropriate, or concerning. As a point of contrast, we do see Hogwarts teachers in canon strongly object to the actions of teachers like Lockhart, Umbridge, Fake-Eye Moody, etc. who either prove themselves to be incompetent to teach (i.e. Lockhart and often Hagrid, letâs be honest) or too volatile to be trusted  Arguably Snape could be viewed as a byproduct of a much more complicated system of institutional failures. In short, Snape was not the worst teacher at Hogwarts âbut he was in some very good (or ânot-so-goodâ) company.Â
This is very true, not just about school culture in the wizarding world but child abuse and endangerment in general are just not seen as something abhorrent the way we see it. Everyone just kinda accepts it.
Like, Ron mentioned Molly chased Fred and George with a broom, Nevilleâs uncle threw him out a window to force his magic out, and both arenât treated like a problem in the Wizarding World. Humiliating your children as punishment by sending them howlers and airing their misdeeds is also seen as perfectly acceptable parenting.
Something I think adds to that is that wizards (even children) are much more durable and harder to hurt than muggle ones, causing this general lack of care toward endangering them. Additionally, with magical healing, most injuries arenât really seen as anything glaring or harmful since most of them could be fixed overnight. Both these factors probably exasperate the brashness regarding child and student safety in the wizarding world.
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