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7 Most Idiotic Decisions By Harry Potter Characters, Ranked
Poor choices often lead to good storytelling, but some of the dumbest decisions made by Harry Potter characters are just too frustrating to overlook. Throughout the fantasy franchise, there are numerous examples of characters making bad decisions. Sometimes, these feel in line with their personalities. However, on occasion, they’re idiotic — even taking the characters’ flaws and external circumstances into account. They may make the plot possible, but they’ll leave even the most patient fan grinding their teeth.
There are a lot of decisions like this throughout Harry Potter, though the worst offenders are victims of poor reasoning, the characters acting irrationally, or both. From one of the Weasleys choosing the wrong people to associate with to Voldemort laying the groundwork for his own defeat, these will never be less frustrating.
7) Percy Aligning Himself With Fudge
This storyline is cut from the Harry Potter movies, but Percy Weasley aligning himself with Fudge is definitely one of the most idiotic decisions of the franchise — even if it’s easy to see how it happens. Percy is written as an ambitious character, and considering that the Weasleys grew up in poverty, perhaps it’s not so surprising he’d sell out his family in the hopes of finding success. Even so, the Ministry of Magic is so clearly in the wrong in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that it’s hard to accept Percy’s willingness to turn on his parents, siblings, and friends.
The fact that he continues avoiding them into Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is also mind-boggling, as he has proof that Fudge was in the wrong. Percy’s choice to back the Ministry of Magic is frustrating, but it lands lower on the list of Harry Potter characters’ dumbest decisions. After all, it’s believable for someone as young and impressionable as Percy to do something like this — and he does at least come around and redeem himself in The Deathly Hallows.
6) Fudge Refusing to Acknowledge Voldemort’s Return
The Ministry of Magic makes no shortage of bad decisions throughout Harry Potter, but Cornelius Fudge refusing to acknowledge Voldemort’s return has to be the worst of them. We’re told that Fudge is in denial and allowing fear to control him, but that doesn’t hold up as well as it should. It makes sense as a kneejerk reaction; I could see Fudge being reluctant to accept Harry’s story when he first returns from Little Hangleton in Goblet of Fire. However, any rational person must know that the truth will come out eventually — and we’re led to believe that, deep down, Fudge does indeed realize that Voldemort’s back.
With that in mind, it seems risky to the point of stupidity that Fudge is willing to put his entire career — and the Wizarding World at large — on the line for short-lived comfort. It makes him and the Ministry of Magic convenient obstacles for Harry throughout Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but it still leaves me scratching my head. I’m not sure what Fudge hoped to accomplish by burying Voldemort’s comeback. He’s not on the villain’s side, which means he’s only making the situation worse when he is finally forced to accept it. It’s silly, even with the explanation we’re given, though the thought process here is still more reasonable than what goes into other bad choices in the series.
5) Harry Rushing to the Ministry to Save Sirius
Harry’s impulsive choices get him in trouble on multiple occasions, and there’s no sadder example than Harry rushing to the Ministry of Magic to save Sirius Black — a decision that ultimately leads to his godfather’s death. Perhaps it’s harsh to lay the blame for this at Harry’s feet, but going to the Department of Mysteries without thinking it through is so clearly a terrible idea. It’s made worse by the revelation that Harry already has a way to contact Sirius: the mirror he receives from him. Sure, Harry doesn’t open the gift until it’s too late, but Sirius flat-out tells him it’s a means of contacting him. You’d think this would come to mind as he’s panicking over his godfather’s fate.
It’s not just this detail that makes Harry’s decision exasperating. After taking care of Umbridge, there are a number of things the Golden Trio could have done to contact Sirius or another trusted member of the Order. Instead, they take matters into their own hands, despite every sign pointing to this being a bad idea. To be fair, they’re not the only ones that make silly decisions here; Sirius doesn’t remind Harry about the mirror the first time he fails to use it, and Dumbledore never warns Harry about the possibility of Voldemort exploiting their connection. Regardless, Harry rushing into danger is not a smart move. It’s only the fact that he’s panicking and not thinking straight that prevents this from ranking higher.
4) The Potters Choosing Wormtail as Their Secret Keeper
Harry Potter’s entire story hinges on the Potters being located and killed by Voldemort, but tragically, this could have been avoided. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, we learn that James and Lily hid from the villain using Fidelius Charm, which allowed only one person to know their whereabouts. Although everyone believed their Secret Keeper to be Sirius Black, it’s revealed that they tried to trick Voldemort by picking Wormtail instead. It’s a choice that ends up directly playing into the villain’s hand, as he betrays them.
It’s also one that’s completely mind-boggling. Perhaps hindsight is 20/20, but it’s so clear that Wormtail is the worst person for the job that it’s hard to get past James, Lily, and Sirius all being on board with this plan. The excuse is that the group believes Remus is the traitor, which is already a weird turn for characters whose fatal flaw is being too trusting of their friends. However, even if they didn’t want Remus involved, they could have asked Dumbledore or even been their own Secret Keeper (something The Deathly Hallows reveals is an option). Taking these things into account, it really is absurd that they went with a character known for being a coward and pushover instead.
3) Letting Wormtail Escape in Prisoner of Azkaban
Speaking of Peter Pettigrew, Wormtail’s escape in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is among the most frustrating twists of the entire series. And there are multiple idiotic mistakes that lead to this outcome, starting with the fact that the group underestimates the traitor’s ability to slip through the cracks again. Chaining him to two people shows some caution on their part, but knowing that he’s an Animagus, they could have tried harder to secure him and prevent an escape. They also could have tied him to someone who isn’t a werewolf, and thus, at risk of transforming and ruining the entire plan.
And this leads to the bigger problem with this development: that Remus conveniently forgets to take his potion and doesn’t realize it until it’s too late. The man has been dealing with werewolf transformations for years, so it feels like a stretch for him to make this error. What’s worse is that Snape brings it up when he confronts the Marauders in the Shrieking Shack, so it should be front of mind. It’s a silly mistake that has terrible consequences. All in all, the choices made after the group learns of Sirius’ innocence are silly — but they’re needed for the story to go the way it does. There are only two more idiotic choices in the series, and they both perplex me every time.
2) Harry and Ron Flying the Ford Anglia to Hogwarts
For the life of me, I’ll never understand Harry and Ron’s decision to fly Arthur Weasley’s enchanted Ford Anglia to Hogwarts at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It’s the most impulsive thing they could possibly do, and the urgency surrounding this choice seems so unbelievable. Yes, they’re both worried about missing the Hogwarts Express, but couldn’t they just wait for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to return and send word to the school? There’s no reason for them to panic about getting there to this extent. With some help from the adults, they would have found another way to Hogwarts eventually.
Instead, the pair decides to steal a car, risk exposing the magical world, and put themselves in danger. They then seem genuinely surprised that everyone’s so angry when they get to school. I’m still not sure what they thought would happen; we knew they weren’t going to fly in gloriously like they imagined, and it’s ludicrous that they even consider it a possibility. The only thing more outlandish is a choice from Voldemort. While flying the Ford Anglia is ridiculous, it’s relatively low stakes. By contrast, Voldemort’s decision leads to a lot of stress for him, and ultimately, his downfall.
1) Voldemort Not Letting Anyone Kill Harry for Him
Voldemort is insistent on killing Harry himself throughout Harry Potter. And look, I get that pride is supposed to be the villain’s fatal flaw — but he loses to Harry too many times for his choices to be reasonable. His return would be even more secretive and dangerous after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire if he let the Death Eaters intervene in his fight with Harry rather than allowing the boy to escape. And he’d never have lost in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if he’d let someone else do his dirty work for him.
Instead, Voldemort remains predictable until the very end, ensuring that Harry beats him again and again. It’s idiotic that he’s more concerned about how someone else killing Harry will look than with getting the job done. However, it works out for Harry at least.
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