10 Times Everyone Should Have Just Listened To Harry
Jessica Cortez Despite being the titular character of the Harry Potter series, Harry's opinions are often disregarded by others, even when he's right.
In every Harry Potter book or movie, Harry and his friends must get to the bottom of a difficult mystery and act with bravery to prevent evil from prevailing. As an intuitive character, Harry is naturally adept at solving mysteries that leave even the adults around him stumped.
However, no matter how often he proves that his instincts tend to be accurate, Harry's friends, teachers, mentors, and enemies continue to disregard almost everything he has to say. This bad habit of those around him has created a lot of situations and conflicts that could have easily been avoided if anyone had just listened to Harry in the first place.
When He Knew The Sorcerer's Stone Was In Danger
Harry started his bad habit of putting himself in business that he probably shouldn't in his first year at Hogwarts. He, Hermione, and Ron relentlessly investigated the Sorcerer's Stone and came to the conclusion that it was at Hogwart's and under immediate threat.
Harry may have been wrong about who was after the stone, but when he brought his information to Professor McGonagall, he was disregarded. McGonagall was sure that the defenses surrounding the stone were impenetrable, so Harry put himself in mortal danger to protect it himself.
When He Didn't Put His Name In The Goblet Of Fire
The movie version of Dumbledore was infamously aggressive in his interrogation of Harry, which was one of the audiences' least favorite changes the Harry Potter movies made, but he nonetheless believed him when Harry claimed that he had not put his own name into the Goblet of Fire. The headmasters of the competing schools doubted him, but that was nothing compared to the ridicule Harry received from his classmates, including Ron.
Ron's motivation for his doubt was largely based on jealousy. However, his opinion was still the one that affected Harry the most. Ron never doubted Harry's honesty again in the series, but the first task would have been much easier for Harry if his best friend had been on board.
When He Said Voldemort Had Returned
Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts was the most frustrating for audiences, as they had to watch the people around him treat him like an attention-seeking lunatic. From the Minister for Magic himself, all the way down to his fellow Gryffindors, Harry was forced to face ridicule for his adamant report that Lord Voldemort had really returned to power.
Of course, audiences knew that Harry was telling the truth, making the whole situation all the more frustrating to observe. When everyone was finally forced to accept that Harry was telling the truth, Cornelius Fudge lost his position as Minister for Magic, something that would have never happened if he had only listened to Harry, to begin with.
When He Believed Malfoy Was A Death Eater
As his years went on at Hogwarts, Harry's peers finally started to stop doubting his honesty. His friends, however, never seemed to stop doubting his intuition.
When Harry overheard Malfoy bragging to his friends, he came to the conclusion that Malfoy had been inducted into the ranks of the Death Eaters. Hermione and Ron were much less sure. Not only did they voice to Harry that his suspicions were unfounded, they often shared critical looks behind his back, much to Harry's frustration.
When He Believed Malfoy Was Planning Something
After coming to the conclusion that Malfoy was a Death Eater, Harry became obsessed with keeping an eye on him. Malfoy would frequently disappear from the Marauder's Map entirely, much to Harry's confusion. Despite his strange disappearances, Ron and Hermione refused to take Malfoy's actions seriously.
Harry eventually brought his worries to Dumbledore, who also insisted that Harry let the situation go. While audiences ended up learning later that Dumbledore had been aware of Malfoy's efforts, he chose to leave Harry out of the loop. This created great frustration in Harry, as well as in audiences, as his instincts were once again ignored.
When He Yelled At Lupin
In a book scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that was not adapted to film, Harry and Lupin are at odds after Lupin confesses that he wants to leave his pregnant wife to help Harry on his quest. Harry ends up calling Lupin a coward, stating his disappointment that he would willingly leave his unborn child behind.
After Lupin leaves in a rage, Hermione ridicules Harry's treatment of their old professor. However, Harry, while saddened by the fight, remains adamant that the words he said to Lupin were worth it as long as Lupin stayed with his family. In the end, Lupin recognizes that Harry was right, even making him Teddy's godfather. However, Hermione never admits that she had been wrong.
When He Had Doubts About Dumbledore
After Dumbledore's death, Harry struggled with his idea of who Dumbledore had been. Up to that point, Harry saw his headmaster as a wise, gentle, and worthy role model. As information about Dumbledore became known to the public, however, he began to doubt the man that he had known.
Through all of his doubts, Hermione continued to encourage Harry to disregard this new information, defending their Headmaster's past prejudiced actions, which were some of the most shocking revelations of the Harry Potter series. However, Harry remained adamant that the mistakes Dumbledore had made were inexcusable. Later, he was able to realize that Dumbledore was a great, but still very flawed, man, and develop a healthier and more realistic perspective of who he had been, something that would not have been possible if he had disregarded the truth.
When He Believed A Horcrux Was At Hogwarts
During their search for the Horcruxes, Harry and his friends became increasingly desperate and frustrated as they had very few leads about where to start. A detail from the Harry Potter books that everyone often forgets is that Harry repeatedly shared his suspicions that there was a Horcrux hidden inside Hogwarts castle, but Hermione was determined that this could not be possible.
Even though they had no other credible options. Hermione refused to trust Harry's intuition, so instead of trying, the group did virtually nothing for months. Of course, Harry's suspicions were correct, but Hermione never so much as apologized for doubting her friend.
When He Figured Out The Deathly Hallows
Hermione was the first to discover the symbol of the Deathly Hallows and the first to insist that they make attempts to discover its meaning. Harry was originally reluctant, but after hearing the tale of the three magical objects, he began to put the pieces together. He realized his own cloak was the one from the tale, that Dumbledore had owned the Elder Wand, and the resurrection stone was hidden in his first golden snitch.
Hermione blatantly scoffed at these conclusions, however, claiming that the objects could not possibly exist. She became frustrated with Harry's conviction about the Hallows, refusing to give in to his interest. While her reservations gave Harry the time to search for Horcruxes instead of throwing his time away on Hallows, her close-mindedness was still a major frustration to Harry.
When He Told Voldemort The Elder Wand Was Never Snape's
After Voldemort claimed Dumbledore's wand, he quickly began to realize that it was not working for him the way that it should. He correctly came to the conclusion that he had not properly earned the wand, but incorrectly determined that Snape had won it by killing Dumbledore.
Harry had realized that the wand was loyal to him since he had wrestled a different wand away from the person that had disarmed Dumbledore before his death: Malfoy. In the book, Harry gave Voldemort a chance to avoid the fatal mistake of attacking Harry with the Eldar wand, explaining that he still did not hold its allegiance. However, Voldemort did not listen, ultimately resulting in his own end.
