Most Hated Moments in Canon (or Why, Rowling,Why?)

[Aldraia Dragonsong]

I look on Hagrid as being reasonably intelligent but not very clever. Hagrid is very straightforward and unsubtle, easily tricked because he has trouble understanding the concept of trickery. However, he is shown to have a reasonable understanding of what goes on around him, and although he has trouble understanding the concept, he is aware of it. More than anything else, Hagrid is simply not at all manipulative and thus not familiar with the signs of manipulation, and uneducated to an unusual degree. This last more than anything else is what makes him look less intelligent compared to those around him.

[Farmer_10]

Probably my biggest gripe now that I think about it: That cave full of zombies in book 6. Voldemort has an army of the undead. How did that not become an issue?! I was actually starting to take Voldemort seriously after that. They never come up again. Not even a token mention in the next book. What the hell?!

[BobVosh]

There are a ton that just flat out bother me, but the biggest is the fact you can be entered into a magically binding contract with strong penalties should you break it. Without your knowledge or consent. Why not do this to criminals? Even if it is just the Goblet of Fire that can do it, set up a triward competition. Put in two random criminals who needed to be killed anyway. Or hell, had life in Azkaban. Lose your magic, get released from Azkaban! I would sign up for that, to get away from there.

Then put Tom's name into the cup, with the two volunteers(or random lifers). Set the tasks to "Walking through the Veil of Death, Kissing a Dementor, and swim across the volcano." That would solve your Dark Lord problem pretty quick. Poor Sirius when he escapes, but still.

Also why have a prison with torture being the method of dealing with criminals? Surly unbreakable vows of obeying all laws, and making soup on Sunday for those you have harmed from your actions would be better.

I mean those may be morally questionable, but if we are getting into the morals of the wizarding world we are going to need an even bigger thread.

Oh, and one thing I never understood, what did splitting your soul into 7 delicious bite size chunks do for you? It didn't seem to affect him at all the short period of time he succeed in his goal.

[PeachWookiee]

Probably my biggest gripe now that I think about it: That cave full of zombies in book 6. Voldemort has an army of the undead. How did that not become an issue?! I was actually starting to take Voldemort seriously after that. They never come up again. Not even a token mention in the next book. What the hell?!

Perhaps it was a big-lipped alligator moment... or that there's a real downside to using an army of the living impaired. If they eat brains, then they'd go after Death Nibblers too, right?

[gman391]

Or that large scale fire use on the undead is something an OWL Wizard/witch could do.

[OldLibrarian]

Apologies: It's been a while since I've read the stories, so bear with me if I make any mistakes. Also, I may ramble on a bit, so apologies for that as well...

Last part of BobVosh's question first ('Cause I'm one of those sinister left handers): Tactically, it makes sense to have multiple phylacteries/Horcruxes. Anyone who's fought a lich can tell you that finding its phylactery can be a quest in itself. Splitting it multiple ways makes it harder to find and destroy the lich in question, especially if the Horcruxes are destructable by relatively easy means. Also a good reason to keep them where servants of Voldsmobile can easily keep track of them, as opposed to inaccessible places like the bottom of the Marianas Trench, or in a Muggle satellite...

First part: It’s hard to answer that without 'meta-gaming' it, pulling in a lot more fantasy RPG and fiction from completely unrelated stories. I'd guess that, in story, there'd be a limit on the enchantment (According to the wiki writeup, the Goblet is an artifact, which pretty much screams McGuffin in my mind) that the challenges would have to have some chance of survival. Plus, if it only lights up under certain circumstances and for certain conditions, then its use as a punitive device drops considerably. Plus the Goblet itself was open to tampering, as shown in the book.

[RavynousHunter]

Second post is going to be a rant, this has to be some sort of record, for me. Apologies if any of these have been stated before, but these are my personal peeves with canon HP:

1) The relationships in the end. They're too...cliche and "perfect." Ron and Hermione are too different for their relationship to last very long, if you ask me. If it weren't for her pushing him, he'd probably be your typical D student, C at best; Ron's not an academic or a scholar, but Hermione is and a difference that fundamental would likely lead to rather serious strain in a proper relationship. Harry and Ginny just don't make sense, but that seems to be more a case of things being pulled out of arses at the list minute.

2) Why would Nicholas Flamel let the Philosopher's Stone be sealed away in a vault controlled by Hogwarts, and later in the school itself? I get that he likes and trusts Dumbledore, but its mentioned that its something that keeps him alive. I just can't wrap my mind around the idea of keeping your source of Life Juice anywhere but in your own home.

3) Related to #2, did the Ministry just not know about someone creating the closest thing to immortality this side of Dark Magic? Did they just not care? Such an incredible discovery and creation would warrant some kind of scrutiny and would probably have been taken away for research and careful guarding because, should it fall into the hands of any Dark Wizard, not just Wizard Hitler, Jr., it could turn them into a very powerful, very destructive GOD?

4) How bloody backwards the entirety of Wizarding society seems to be. A "Minister" that's more along the lines of an autocrat, a legal system that's a complete joke by any reasonable standard, not to mention how painfully backwards they are technologically. Its just...painful to read about, in canon, because its pretty much never addressed. Nobody notices. The Mubble-born mages have nothing to say about it.

I have more, but I'll save 'em for later. I got things that need tending to!

[ETA]

Okay, time for a little more!

5) The events surrounding Moody's death. I'm sorry, but Alastor Moody is a grizzled war veteran; he might be a tad unstable, but he is not a fool. Anyone who has even cursory knowledge of Mundungus Fletcher would know that he's two very critically bad things: unreliable, and cowardly. Moody knew war was on, he knew it was at least possible that Voldemort and his cronies would ambush them while transporting Harry, why the hell did he bring in the extremely flighty retard of the group for such a critical, sensitive operation? Why not Charlie Weasley? Maybe contact Viktor Krum, he seemed to be a decent chap. There was absolutely zero reason for Mundungus to be there.

6) I understand that Hagrid wanted to help with the plan and all, but the flying motorbike is extremely out of place, and very easily-spotted. Its too out-of-place, too obvious, and it couldn't blend in for shit. Even without Harry disarming Shunpike, it wouldn't have taken much more than a few seconds to consider that the one unique mode of transport would be housing the real Harry. That's saying nothing of the connection Voldemort, by this time, knows exists between himself and Harry. Just send a stab of his mind thru the link, and if the Harry he's at doesn't react, move on.

7) I get that the goblin that helped Harry and the others into Gringott's to get the cup was a greedy asshole, but wouldn't it have served him better to warn them about the waterfall that washes away all glamours and such? Wouldn't getting them there without raising the alarm have been preferable to having to fight their way thru half the bank, instead? Surely he isn't that stupid.

I may have more again, at some later point, but the events surrounding Moody's death are an especially sore point for me because Rowling threw the idiot ball to the one man that'd never have anything to do with it, in a bloody rational universe.

[jgkitarel]

For the first point you raised, Rowling is aware that she railroaded the relationships, but you also have to keep in mind that between the last chapter and the epilogue, nineteen years passed, so there's a lot of context that is being missed. As it was, by the last chapter, Rowling admitted that Harry and Hermione were more reasonable as a relationship idea than what the epilogue was, but again, there were several years between the last chapter and the birth of the first children for either Harry/Ginny or Ron/Hermione.

As for the second one, we have no real answers, but by that point, both Nicholas and Pernelle Flamel had been alive for over six centuries. Even with magic and pensives to keep things sorted, people are not meant to live that long and there are likely some serious consequences to it. By the first book, it is likely that they were seriously considering dying in the first place and the destruction of the stone ensured it. From Rowling, they died somewhere between Harry's fifth and sixth year, so if they wanted to, they probably could have made another stone.

#3: Oh, they almost certainly knew, but Nicholas and Pernelle were French, not English. The only government they would have had to answer to would have been the French Ministry and since what happened in the rest of Europe was not important to the plot, we have no way of knowing how that was handled. You're overthinking the matter.

#4: The portrayal of the Ministry was more of a satire on Rowling's part, based heavily on her own experiences dealing with the British Government. As to how it was run, that is more in line with how the actual British Government was run during the 19th Century until significant civil service reforms were enacted toward the end of the 19th Century and the early 20th Century. The corruption, influence peddling and general incompetence were not unique to the British, either.

#5: Moody probably went with Fletcher because he knew Fletcher was unreliable, as anyone else being sent with him would have been a guaranteed death sentence. Moody can hold his own in a fight, but it was his misfortune to run into Voldemort. It's a situation where they had someone they knew to be unreliable. In that case, you either send someone who you don't care if they get killed, or you send someone who is good enough to stand a chance at surviving if things go wrong. They had to work with what they had, otherwise, Dung would have been either left behind, or sacrificed as bait.

[RavynousHunter]

#5: Moody probably went with Fletcher because he knew Fletcher was unreliable, as anyone else being sent with him would have been a guaranteed death sentence. Moody can hold his own in a fight, but it was his misfortune to run into Voldemort. It's a situation where they had someone they knew to be unreliable. In that case, you either send someone who you don't care if they get killed, or you send someone who is good enough to stand a chance at surviving if things go wrong. They had to work with what they had, otherwise, Dung would have been either left behind, or sacrificed as bait.

Nonono, you're missing my point. My point isn't that Moody went with Dung, its that Dung was brought in the first place. There were plenty of other choices, and plenty of time to handle most logistical problems like getting people that are currently abroad to the right place at the right time. Once again, everyone knows Dung is an unreliable, flighty criminal. I don't know how well-contained individual members of the Order were, but it seems likely to me that everyone knows that Dung bailed on Harry's protection detail before the kid's 5th year to go do some shady dealings with cauldrons or somesuch, and nearly got the kid and his cousin killed by dementors in the process.

Dung has a history, and none of it is good. He's only in the Order in the first place because he's a good spy to have in the criminal underground. It makes zero sense to have someone with a rap sheet as long as his and a blindingly shitty history on an operation of critical importance to the war.

Personally, I think the Moody we saw was a fake. He was actually Deadlus Diggle, who'd done a Polyjuice-based body swap with the real Moody. The real Moody took care of Harry's aunt's family, and swore Hestia Jones to secrecy on the whole deal should Deadlus survive and they'd secretly swap places when they got the chance. Except, Deadlus Moody died in combat, and thus, the real Moody couldn't come out of hiding to help with the rest of the war because of his current assignment taking priority over his own desires. After the war, Moody quietly moved away to the continent under an assumed name to live out the rest of his days in peace. Or as a vigilante.

[rbear1231]

my most hated


WHY THE HELL WAS UMBRIDGE NOT IN JAIL!!!!!!!

[viridian]

my most hated


WHY THE HELL WAS UMBRIDGE NOT IN JAIL!!!!!!!

She probably had enough dirt on Scrimgeour to save her job.

[rbear1231]

my most hated


WHY THE HELL WAS UMBRIDGE NOT IN JAIL!!!!!!!

She probably had enough dirt on Scrimgeour to save her job.

should have let the centures have her

[RavynousHunter]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not in this thread, and I'm feeling a bit lazy, but I read thru Faery Heroes (Lunar Harmony fic with a fair amount of Dumbles/Snape/Weasley bashing) and, while it brought up several good questions, I think one amongst them stands out the most, for me?

WHY THE HELL ARE LOVE POTIONS LEGAL?

They are amongst the scariest damned things next to Obliviate and the Imperius Curse. Why? Because they're basically magical date rape drugs. Think about it: what happens in a person's (between the ages of, like, 12 and 50) mind the most when they have obsessive infatuation with a person? They want to screw them, and they want to screw a lot. Dose a person with Amortentia, and you can screw your brains out, but that person is being forcibly coerced (via ingestion of mind-altering substances) into the act, thus making it rape. Its little different from dosing a person with Rohypnol. I get that the magical world is full of Victorian throwbacks that don't know the purpose of effing bath toys, but how and why are magical date rape drugs legal to buy, sell, and manufacture by literally anyone with the ingredients, time, and know-how?

[viridian]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not in this thread, and I'm feeling a bit lazy, but I read thru Faery Heroes (Lunar Harmony fic with a fair amount of Dumbles/Snape/Weasley bashing) and, while it brought up several good questions, I think one amongst them stands out the most, for me?

WHY THE HELL ARE LOVE POTIONS LEGAL?

They are amongst the scariest damned things next to Obliviate and the Imperius Curse. Why? Because they're basically magical date rape drugs. Think about it: what happens in a person's (between the ages of, like, 12 and 50) mind the most when they have obsessive infatuation with a person? They want to screw them, and they want to screw a lot. Dose a person with Amortentia, and you can screw your brains out, but that person is being forcibly coerced (via ingestion of mind-altering substances) into the act, thus making it rape. Its little different from dosing a person with Rohypnol. I get that the magical world is full of Victorian throwbacks that don't know the purpose of effing bath toys, but how and why are magical date rape drugs legal to buy, sell, and manufacture by literally anyone with the ingredients, time, and know-how?

Hmmm... maybe the entrenched pureblood upper class is somewhat to blame? They can afford both the potions and whatever countermeasures are available. Maybe they find them useful for cementing dynastic marriages of convenience. Maybe it's one more thing Mudbloods don't know enough about ahead of time, so even ugly pureblood sons can still sow their wild oats and unattractive pureblood girls can snare a husband. Not to mention the muggle-abusing possibilities.

Yeah, this is kind of depressing, no?

[RavynousHunter]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not in this thread, and I'm feeling a bit lazy, but I read thru Faery Heroes (Lunar Harmony fic with a fair amount of Dumbles/Snape/Weasley bashing) and, while it brought up several good questions, I think one amongst them stands out the most, for me?

WHY THE HELL ARE LOVE POTIONS LEGAL?

They are amongst the scariest damned things next to Obliviate and the Imperius Curse. Why? Because they're basically magical date rape drugs. Think about it: what happens in a person's (between the ages of, like, 12 and 50) mind the most when they have obsessive infatuation with a person? They want to screw them, and they want to screw a lot. Dose a person with Amortentia, and you can screw your brains out, but that person is being forcibly coerced (via ingestion of mind-altering substances) into the act, thus making it rape. Its little different from dosing a person with Rohypnol. I get that the magical world is full of Victorian throwbacks that don't know the purpose of effing bath toys, but how and why are magical date rape drugs legal to buy, sell, and manufacture by literally anyone with the ingredients, time, and know-how?

Hmmm... maybe the entrenched pureblood upper class is somewhat to blame? They can afford both the potions and whatever countermeasures are available. Maybe they find them useful for cementing dynastic marriages of convenience. Maybe it's one more thing Mudbloods don't know enough about ahead of time, so even ugly pureblood sons can still sow their wild oats and unattractive pureblood girls can snare a husband. Not to mention the muggle-abusing possibilities.

Yeah, this is kind of depressing, no?

That makes far too much sense and is also absolutely horrifying. Its odd, the more you actually think about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the more and more disturbing it becomes.

[jgkitarel]

Which actually fits the Black and Grey Morality of the series. By CoS, Rowling throws away any pretense of it being a children's series, though the darker morality takes time and develops as the characters do.

The mindset of the Wizarding world, as I mentioned, is more based on late 19th and early 20th Century sensibilities, with all of the contradictions and double standards that such sensibilities entail. Also, you don't see much evidence of them being used outside of Hogwarts, so there is probably a strong social stigma against using them to begin with, which actually works better than making them illegal in some respects, considering how status and image conscious many in the Wizarding world seem to be.

Also, making it legal also shows the general disregard their culture has of many things that we take for granted.