Harry Potter: Each Main Character’s Worst Decision

There are few fantasy movie series quite as influential and popular as Harry Potter, which continues to be a pop culture powerhouse. While the series is full of great characters who do the best that they can against the forces of evil, viewers have to admit that some of the people in the Wizarding World make some pretty terrible decisions over the course of the series. While some of these decisions come from good intentions, it doesn’t negate how badly they turned out, having some serious consequences to the Wizarding World at large.

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Even the main characters of the series are not immune from making some really terrible decisions, which led to a lot of the most tragic and heartbreaking moments in the storied series.

Harry – Not Taking Occlumency Seriously

Throughout his time at Hogwarts, Harry shows that he’s the type of person who doesn’t always have the most respect for the established rules. In particular, he makes it clear that, like his father, he refuses to get over his dislike of Snape. As a result, he refuses to take their Occlumency lessons seriously.

While he doesn’t want to accept that this can have serious consequences, it leaves him open to the influence of Voldemort, with consequences that are very destructive and almost catastrophic. In part, his inability to properly shield his mind led to the death of his beloved godfather, Sirius Black.

Hermione – Using The Time-Turner

There are few Harry Potter characters smarter than Hermione, whose cleverness is so key to the success of the group as a whole. However, it also has to be said that her relentless drive to be better than everyone else and to do as much as possible leads her to make some less than ideal decisions, including using the Time-Turner.

It’s one of those moments where her ambitions got ahead of her abilities, and it very nearly led to her having a nervous breakdown.

Ron – Storming Off During Deathly Hallows

Ron Weasley is one of the most likable characters in the Harry Potter universe, and for most of the books, he was a charismatic and friendly person, one of Harry’s most stalwart allies. However, once they embark on the quest for the Horcruxes, he shows a different and far less nice version of himself, and this leads him to storm off during their quest.

While some of this was a result of the influence of the Horcrux, it was also in part a manifestation of his internal bitterness, and it shows a significant lack of judgment on his part.

Dumbledore – Leaving Harry With The Dursleys

There is no question that Dumbledore is one of the most powerful characters in Harry Potter, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t capable of making bad decisions. Of all of the choices that he makes throughout the series, however, the worst would have to be leaving Harry in the Dursleys’ care.

While this must have made sense to him at the time, he should at least have done a little research into this family in order to make sure that Harry wouldn’t endure years of torture.

Snape – Never Giving Up His Hatred Of James

Snape, like Dumbledore, is one of the most complicated and important characters in the series, and he has a similarly complex relationship with Harry. This is largely due to his hatred of Harry’s father, James, and his absolute refusal to give up on that bitterness is arguably his worst decision.

It became one of the key elements of his personality, which led to his deep-seated bitterness and callousness. This caused a great deal of harm not just to himself–turning in upon himself and opening his heart to darkness–but also allowed him to be downright cruel to Harry.

Draco – Never Leaving The Death Eaters Despite Obviously Not Allying With Them

One of the best things about the Harry Potter universe is that it doesn’t always deal in moral absolutes, and Draco Malfoy is a great example of this dynamic. While he could have been a straight-up villain, time and again he shows that he doesn’t really have what it takes to be a Death Eater.

Thus, his worst decision as a character is refusing to accept the fact that he doesn’t have the same drive toward ambition and evil as his father and the rest of his family.

Sirius – Thinking He Could Defeat Bellatrix

Sirius is an important character for many reasons, not the least of which is that he is one of the few people that Harry considers family. Unfortunately, he isn’t always capable of making good or wise decisions, as he makes clear when he engages Bellatrix in a duel.

While it makes sense that he would think that he could defeat her, in truth it’s a terrible decision, not just because his cousin is a formidable dueler, but also because she’s ruthless enough to kill him without a second thought.

Voldemort – Creating Horcruxes

There are few fantasy characters more evil or powerful than Voldemort, who will let nothing stand in the way of his ruthless and relentless pursuit of power. However, he shows time and again that he is capable of making some bad decisions, most notably in splitting his soul and creating Horcruxes.

This might have made sense for him at the time, given that he yearned for immortality, but it also created the very circumstances that would ultimately lead to his defeat at the hands of his enemies.

Ginny – Writing In Tom Riddle’s Diary

Ginny Weasley, like all of the other members of her family, is a very likable character and thus a fan favorite. However, also like the other members of her family, she’s quite capable of making foolish decisions. Nothing that she does is as foolish, however, as writing in Tom Riddle’s diary.

While she might be excused on the basis that she is a child, it’s still hard not to think that she should have realized quickly that what she was doing was very dangerous (especially as she was raised among wizards). As her father told her in the books, Ginny never should trust a magical item where she couldn’t see its brain.

McGonagall – Chasing Snape From Hogwarts

Minerva McGonagall is one of Maggie Smith’s best roles, and she is arguably one of the best professors at Hogwarts. However, like others, she is capable of making some bad decisions, even though she thinks she is doing the right thing. Most notably, she chases Snape from Hogwarts, believing him to have fallen completely under the sway of Voldemort.

Though she had no way of knowing that he was really defending the students of the school, that doesn’t change the fact that her decision isn’t a good one. After she chased Snape from the school, it allowed him to be caught and killed by Voldemort.

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