Buzzfeed just wants to burn the damn world down – or at least the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
They recently asked their community to share their most unpopular Harry Potter opinions, and some of these are so reflective that they’ll genuinely make you think twice about how you view the books and films.
Let’s get at it!
1. Severus Snape was a POS
“Snape was a horrible, horrible human being. Just plain awful. I understand that Snape went through a lot of pain when he lost Lily, the love of his life. But everyone goes through hardships — that’s life. Snape didn’t deal with his pain in a healthy way. He was verbally and physically abusive to his students — he was, simply put, a huge bully. There were a lot of people who suffered in this series who didn’t end up awful.” —julez1608
2. Neville should have been the chosen one
“Neville is better than Harry. Neville is more caring, courageous, and dependable. Harry did a lot of the leg work because he was labelled “the chosen one,” but Neville was the one who destroyed the final horcrux in the end, allowing Voldemort to be killed.” —quirkyquarts
3. Hermione should have ended up with Malfoy
“I think that Malfoy and Hermione fought so much because of all the sexual tension between them. Yes, Malfoy said some really mean things to her, but that’s because that’s what his parents told him. You believe what your parents say when you’re young and you don’t really form your own independent opinions until you’re older. Malfoy and Hermione are like-minded people who are intelligent and enjoy the same things. He would’ve appreciated a strong and ambitious woman like Hermione, unlike Ron. I really think that Malfoy and Hermione would’ve been a good fit together.” —vidishamittal22
4. Gryffindor wasn’t the best house. Hufflepuff was.
“Gryffindors can have huge egos and be foolhardy, Ravenclaws can be know-it-all as$holes, and Slytherins can be dishonest and conniving. But the vast majority of Hufflepuffs are kind, smart, and extremely capable — and don’t boast about it at all. They are just low-key great people who, mind you, never swayed to the dark arts. I never understood why everyone thinks so little of them.” —daniellet4a096c9f4
5. Dumbledore was actually a huge d%ck
“Dumbledore was a manipulative as$hole. He didn’t care about ANYONE but himself. He used Harry, and everyone else around him, and didn’t care how he accomplished his goals, because the ends always justified the means — like how he left Harry to suffer with the Dursleys rather than with anyone in the wizarding world, for “the greater good.” He kept very important information from Harry, which left Harry struggling to find out everything on his own after Dumbledore died. He was a j^rkand I hate how people still idolize him.” —amyf25
6. Harry and Ginny’s relationship = No.
“We never got any romantic tension between Harry and Ginny. The movies seemed to rely on the hope that the people who were watching the movies had also read the books and would be able to fill in the gaps themselves.” —jorgeannfayel
7. Hagrid should have been far more appreciated by Harry
“Sirius got all of the credit for being Harry’s only parental figure, when really it was Hagrid who was the only consistent parental figure in his life. The difference was that Sirius acted similarly to how a “stereotypical father figure” would, which earned him all of the credit. Meanwhile, Hagrid took on a more “maternal role,” which got him less credit. Also, Sirius was always very selfishly motivated and very rarely had Harry’s best interests at heart.” —delaneyd46456a22a
8. Voldemort is the most tragic character
“The saddest character in the whole series was Voldemort. After reading The Half-Blood Prince, his backstory broke my heart and I understood his hatred. His actions were inexcusable and heinous, but I think they were rooted in hurt and tragedy more than pure evil.” —alexandriac469fed776
9. Fred and George weren’t all that cool
“I never cared for Fred and George. I know fans loved them for their jokes, tricks, and wittiness, and they were devastated when Fred died, but I just didn’t have any attachment to them.”
10. Harry was a bad character
“As much as I love the series and everybody in it, Harry Potter kinda sucks as a character. He’s selfish, only complains about his own problems, and low-key enjoys feeling like the world is against him to justify being a douche to people who care about him — for example, the majority of the plot of Order of the Phoenix was Harry being awful to his friends when all they were trying to do was help. Yes, I love Harry anyway, but he’s quite annoying if you really think about it.” —jasminel47d55bbe9
11. AND Harry was a bad pet dad
“Harry was an awful pet owner. He kept Hedwig locked up, yelled at her all the time, and tossed her around all the time due to his recklessness. Justice for Hedwig!” —jazzylovely714
12. Draco Malfoy was way more redeemable than Snape
“Malfoy deserved a redemption arc far more than Snape did. Yes, he was a bit of a douche, but that was because he was influenced by his parents, who were terrible. He was forced into joining Voldemort’s side and becoming a Death Eater, along with plenty of other Slytherins. You can see his true nature in the later films — he’s just a scared boy who doesn’t have much say in what he can and cannot do. The only reason Harry and Malfoy hated each other was because of their initial meeting in The Sorcerer’s Stone. Had that not occurred, I believe they could have been pretty good friends.” —stan_nct
13. The movies are better than the books
“I know they removed things that were in the books, changed some plots, blah blah blah. But when you take the books on their own and the movies on their own, the movies are just better.”
So Potter fans, what do you think? Agree with any of these unpopular opinions?
I have to say… that one about Snape seems pretty reasonable to me. And Draco should have had more of a redemption at the end. Is it really a kid’s fault if his parents are evil and try to make him evil too?
Food for thought…