Harry Potter has always been a name that brightens the faces of fantasy fans. The majestic world that has captured the fantasy lovers’ eyes also has some failings in its world build-up. Many controversial Harry Potter opinions have kept the fans worked up in heated arguments. Many believe these arguments are helping the series to keep up its flare in the air for a longer time as these arguments keep bringing up the series over and over again. I think it is a positive side that fans are still discussing over the series keeping it alive from generation to generation. Sometimes, it feels like a dream that my childhood novel, which has kept me enthusiastic about the world, is still going on as a bright leader of the fantasy world. I was always doubtful about what the world really exists and we don’t know about it at all. So when some topic or controversial Harry Potter opinions arise I find myself getting into the core of it. Many are not supported by many fans, but to me, some of the controversial opinions make more sense than the actual storyline. Also, some were never discussed in detail in the series, which can lower the controversy. Many questions are lurking around such as “Is Voldemort a villain? Doesn’t Draco Malfoy deserve a redemption arc? Was Hermione and Ron meant to be together?” and many more.
Voldemort Wasn’t as Evil as He Seemed
Voldemort was pictured as the most evil character in the Harry Potter series. He was feared by all and his extreme level of brutality made him a ferocious figure to all. But what if I say his brutality came from his childhood trauma and insecurity? Would you feel sympathetic towards the most feared villain?
His childhood and upbringing played a huge role in his choices:
Salazar Slytherin was Voldemort’s ancestor who was one of the founders of Hogwarts. His mother was from the Slytherin bloodline. Her father and brother were abusive towards her because her magical ability was not revealed even at the time. Her mother was taken away by a muggle handsome boy named Tom Riddle. She was attracted to him so she gave him a love potion and got married. While taking the love potion she conceived a child who was later known as the Dark Lord Voldemort. Because he was a result of the love potion he was never able to feel or express love in his entire life. His mother thought that she and his father lived for a long time together and now the muggle would love her without any love potion, but lor,d, she was so wrong. The moment she stopped giving him the love potion, Tom got out of the spell and went away from Voldemort’s mother. She was left heartbroken and took little Voldemort to an orphanage gate and left him there with a letter where she requested to name the little boy after his father Tom, the middle name of his grandfather Marvelo and the title of Riddle. Tom Marvelo Riddle grew up at the orphanage without any love and care. He was the spitting image of his muggle handsome father. He was powerful from his childhood. As a result, he used his power in the wrong way and became a bully. He would bully other children, kill their pets, and many more brutal activities in his daily life. At that time, he didn’t know he possessed magical powers, but his abilities with them were very developed for his age. He was aware of his ability as he knew he could speak to the snakes, an ability he inherited from his ancestor Salazar Slytherin. When Tom was 11 years old, he got to see his first ever visitor in the orphanage, and it was Professor Dumbledor. Dumbledor was there to tell him what he was and what he could do, and on the knowledge of Tom being a mage, his reaction was quite amusing. His response was,” It’s magic. What can I do? I knew I was different, I knew I was special.”. Then he was taken to Hogwarts, and even at that time, he was different, separated from others, and notorious. He didn’t like his name, “Tom,” so later on, he changed his name to Lord Voldemort. As later on he found his back story he despised his filthy Muggle father to the core. He also hated his mother as she had taken a part in the human weakness of death. From here, we learn that he wants to escape death and see his name, Voldemort, which comes from Latin and means “Flight From Death”. He killed his father and uncle out of rage. He was never able to make any friends which also continued to remain unchangeable even at his older age. From the beginning, he was a loner, and his traumas took a toll on him.
Was he simply a product of his environment?
Looking back to Voldemort’s past we can see that his past life has affected many of his activities. Him being not attached to others because he is the child that has been conceived while taking the love potion. His abusive grandfather and uncle have made him cruel, but was it necessary for him to become what he is today? Is his choice really justified? If we look at Harry Potter’s story, it is quite similar to Voldemort’s, yet Harry is the opposite of Voldemort’s. Harry was an orphan who had an abusive uncle and aunt. Harry was called to Hogwarts at the age of 11; he can talk to the snakes, and he has amazing abilities that he wasn’t aware of. On top of that, he was also oblivious about him being a wizard, just like Voldemort. If Harry wanted, he could have become evil, just like Voldemort. He could have been paired up together and be more powerful and rule the world, but he didn’t choose to stay on the side of humanity, justice, and humbleness. So to conclude, in the end, it’s always your choice what you want to be. Which way do you want to be remembered, Good or bad? If you want to become evil or good, it’s always your choice. No one is evil from the beginning, it depends on what they choose to be.
Draco Malfoy Deserved a Redemption Arc
Draco Malfoy is a character that is negative though every single fan is bound to feel pity towards him. He was a child born with a golden spoon in his mouth though he had his struggles to fight with in his life. His character has more sides that remain covered, and honestly, I want to know more about the boy who was a puppet of his own family.
He was never truly evil but was trapped in a toxic family dynamic:
Draco was a child who was spoiled by his father and expected to take responsibility all of a sudden at a certain age. It was his father who was always there to clean up his messed-up trash and make him a useless person forever. But when the Malfoy family needed to save their own lives and protect themselves from the Dark Lord, they just pushed Draco right into the lion’s den (becoming a Death Eater to avenge his father’s failures under the command of Voldemort). In the book “ Order of the Phoenix” Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco Malfoy was asked to retrieve the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries by Voldemort. As he failed at the task, he was imprisoned in Azkaban, and to regain favor with the Dark Lord, this family decided to make a 16-year-old boy become a Death Eater. Draco was lost and blinded by revenge and couldn’t identify what was right and what was wrong. But what could you expect from a boy who was brainwashed from childhood about “him” being a pureblood makes him glorified in the wizarding world, half-bloods are muggles, and they don’t deserve to be one of them. He was a ruin because of his family. He was a product of an ill-minded family that did not believe in equality. This family follows Voldemort without questioning any of his activities. At some points, we find Draco in a dilemma, but he is mentally forced to become evil. He was forced to play the role of a bad guy and had to pretend to be as if he enjoys it, but in reality, they are all just covers created by the Malfoy family to protect themselves from the wrath of Voldemort.
His character had room to grow beyond what was shown:
Draco Malfoy had more stories to show more feelings of his own to express. He had been living the life of his father since childhood. Never got to know how it feels to live a life of his own. Never was able to do as his heart desires. To me, he wasn’t a villain; he was just a trapped human in an evil society. He is only shown as a spoiled rich boy who is impressively jealous of Harry Potter and always tries to be on the toes of the trio. He was shown as an immature one from the beginning, and later, the situation turned him into a Death Eater. Draco never wished to become the person who would kill for someone else’s gain. He has left many things to express his real identity left uncovered. There is more to Draco than just a bully boy of the Harry Potter series. His character has many fans who demand his point-of-view stories as they can feel his innocence behind the mask of a hand-made artificial villain. We would love to get a story of the struggles Draco had to face in his Hogwarts life alongside the journey of Harry Potter.
Hermione and Ron Shouldn’t Have Ended Up Together
Hermione and Ron are the two main characters of the Harry Potter series. Two hands of Harry Potter. Harry’s partner in crime. Even the masters of Hogwarts are so tired of them that in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Professor Minerva McGonagall asks, “Why is it when something happens, it is always you three?”. It was a hilarious moment for the fans. Hermione and Ron, two of the trio, fell in love with each other while experiencing the adventure of their student life. But many fans have different feelings about them being together. Let me break it to you in detail.
Many fans feel they were incompatible:
Hermione and Ron had feelings for each other as teenagers. However, their bond somewhere felt like they just came across and fell for each other, and also, it kind of seemed forced. Their relationship looked incompatible. The bond Harry and Hermione hold makes them a better couple than Ron and Hermione. Ron was not an understanding person toward Hermione, and they were always pulling each other’s legs, but suddenly, when they got feelings and how their love built up, it was a kind of mystery to the fans. There are some holes left in their love life in the novel. In the beginning, many fans thought that Hermione would build her feelings for Harry, but Hermione and Ron as a couple was a surprise for us. As a fan, I honestly wanted Harry and Hermione to end up together. Just think how amazing their child would do in Hogwarts!
Even J.K. Rowling admitted she had doubts:
J.K. Rowling herself felt conflicted and commented on the topic of Hermione and Ron ending up together at the end in a 2014 interview with Wonderland magazine. She said that she wanted to cling to the original plot of her imagination, but she felt as if it would have been better if Harry and Hermione had got married. She even depicted that there would be so many furious fans, but she humbly apologizes to the fans, replying she has to follow her plotline and there’s nothing she can do to satisfy the fans on this exact topic. Rowling’s comment caused outrage among the fans. Many fans have created many memes saying sarcastically, “Wasn’t it you who wrote it ? So, why couldn’t you bring Harry and Hermione together?”. Fans’ reaction was both understanding and furious on this topic, but in the end, they had to accept the fact that the writer couldn’t but follow the original plot that she had imagined.
The Wizarding World’s Government Is Worse Than Voldemort
The Government of the wizarding world is the head of all problems as it has many flaws within its works. The way they function shows the indifference of their treatment among the magical creatures. Fans become upset by their actions. Some even claim that the government may be helping the Dark Lord from the beginning. On the other hand, some believe that the government of the wizarding world is much worse than Voldemort.
Corruption, classism, and systemic oppression even before Voldemort was born:
The Ministry has repeatedly demonstrated that it prioritizes power and control over justice and truth. Before Voldemort’s return, it denied evidence of his resurrection, smeared Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, and allowed Dolores Umbridge to impose authoritarian rule at Hogwarts. Even after Voldemort’s defeat, there is no guarantee that real systemic reform took place. The actions Dolores Umbridge took made her the most hated villain of the series. She even left behind the most feared villain of the series Voldemort. These actions make the fans think that Voldemort is much better than the government. The wizarding prison, Azkaban, is one of the most horrifying aspects of the Ministry’s rule. Dementors, creatures that drain happiness and sanity, serve as jailers. Wrongful imprisonments, such as Sirius Black’s, highlight how the Ministry cares little for actual justice. Even when Voldemort wasn’t in power, Azkaban remained a place of cruelty.
Did Voldemort simply expose existing flaws?
Rather than dismantling the wizarding world’s unjust systems, Voldemort manipulated them for his benefit. He took advantage of the Ministry’s existing classist structure, twisting it into an even more extreme version of what had already been in place. The Ministry’s willingness to fall under his control so quickly proves that it was never a beacon of fairness to begin with.
In the end, Voldemort’s tyranny was horrifying; but what’s even more terrifying is that the wizarding world’s government, without him, still allows injustice and oppression to persist.
Harry Potter is a series that has been holding many fans’ liking from the beginning till this date. This series is still as popular as it was in the beginning. Each fan has many favorite topics to discuss with each other. They love each scene of the stories, but just like the coin has two sides, fans disagree with the series’s endings. However, these disagreements make the series more interesting in the eyes of the new fans who see fans craze over the series. Controversial Harry Potter opinions have made it richer and more flourishing for the fans.
