I just finished reading the Harry Potter series for what feels like the 50th
time (probably closer to 15 or 20), and I really praise JK Rowling on one of
the most captivating and best-selling book series of all time. She did such a great job. But if there's one thing (or several) that I
would change, it would be the logic used by some of the characters, but not
just that: the reason for introducing certain plot devices, characters,
etc. Here are my list of things, by
book, that I felt the series could have done without, or needed some
change. Basically, the Harry Potter
things that made me shake my head:
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- Dumbledore gives Harry to a family that won't love him
Seriously, why would anyone do that to a baby, other than to maybe toughen him up? Dumbledore easily could have given Harry to a wizarding family and had them change his name to protect his identity. Either that or given the family extra protection, such as the fidelius charm. Sure, the Dursley's just happened to be Harry's only living relatives, but I wouldn't have given a child to a family that wouldn't love him. This was later explained because their house contained magical protection (since Harry's mom died to save him--she and Petunia have the same blood), but I still would not have subjected a kid to such torture. I would've had another family adopt him and give him a different name--then when he's old enough tell him the truth.
- Harry is allowed on Quidditch team despite being a first year
This bugs me more than it does other people. The school rules clearly state Quidditch is open to second years and above. And yet Harry is allowed on. To top it off, he got on the team by disobeying a teacher. Realistically, allowing Potter on the team should have made every first year want to be on a Quidditch team. Just isn't fair to the others.
- The trio manage to get through obstacles designed to stop the smartest of wizards.
This wouldn't have bothered me at all if they were near the end of their schooling and ready to become adult wizards. But they were only FIRST YEARS, having only studied magic for a mere 9 months. So the part of this that really bothers me is that is wasn't terribly difficult for first years (none of them died). If it wasn't terribly difficult for them, then the obstacles certainly weren't difficult enough. There should have been some advanced magic that even competitors in the Triwizard Tournament would have trouble with.
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- Dumbledore gives Harry to a family that won't love him
Seriously, why would anyone do that to a baby, other than to maybe toughen him up? Dumbledore easily could have given Harry to a wizarding family and had them change his name to protect his identity. Either that or given the family extra protection, such as the fidelius charm. Sure, the Dursley's just happened to be Harry's only living relatives, but I wouldn't have given a child to a family that wouldn't love him. This was later explained because their house contained magical protection (since Harry's mom died to save him--she and Petunia have the same blood), but I still would not have subjected a kid to such torture. I would've had another family adopt him and give him a different name--then when he's old enough tell him the truth.
- Harry is allowed on Quidditch team despite being a first year
This bugs me more than it does other people. The school rules clearly state Quidditch is open to second years and above. And yet Harry is allowed on. To top it off, he got on the team by disobeying a teacher. Realistically, allowing Potter on the team should have made every first year want to be on a Quidditch team. Just isn't fair to the others.
- The trio manage to get through obstacles designed to stop the smartest of wizards.
This wouldn't have bothered me at all if they were near the end of their schooling and ready to become adult wizards. But they were only FIRST YEARS, having only studied magic for a mere 9 months. So the part of this that really bothers me is that is wasn't terribly difficult for first years (none of them died). If it wasn't terribly difficult for them, then the obstacles certainly weren't difficult enough. There should have been some advanced magic that even competitors in the Triwizard Tournament would have trouble with.
Chamber of Secrets
- Chamber of Secrets never found?
I find it hard to believe that the Chamber of Secrets was never found by someone until Harry and Ron. Professor Binns (McGonagall in the movie) stated that the school had been searched thoroughly many times. Yet somehow, they passed over a mysterious sink in the 2nd floor girl's bathroom which had a snake etched into it. I mean, wouldn't they be looking for a symbol like that, knowing it's SLYTHERIN's chamber they are looking for? This isn't too big of a head scratcher for me, but maybe I overestimate grown wizards.
- Harry survives encounter with basilisk
There were a number of things that bothered me with this. First off, Harry is just 12 here. Just 12. He not only manages to avoid its deadly stare (until Fawkes takes out the basilisk's eyes), but he manages to kill it as well. The basilisk did indeed bite him, and its venom is extremely poisonous, only having one antidote. And guess what? That antidote conveniently happened to appear in the form of Fawkes' tears. Logically speaking, if a 12 year old wizard with a sword and a bird face off against a monstrous basilisk, the basilisk wins every time.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- The Time-Turner
JKR introducing the Time-Turner was probably her biggest mistake as a writer. As soon as she introduced it, Harry Potter (the series, not the character) went from fantasy to a bit science fiction. She strayed away from her book's own genre. Let's not forget the fact that anyone who has a Time-Turner can reverse any bad thing happening. She explains it by having them under strict Ministry of Magic control in the Department of Mysteries. And the fact that they'd trust a 13 year old girl (Honors student or not) with one is astounding.
- Peter Pettigrew is Scabbers... Fred and George didn't see?
So in Book 3 we learned that Ron's pet rat was actually one of Harry's father's old school friends (and the one that betrayed him). That was actually a good plot twist that I did not see coming the first time I read the book. However, also in this book, we learn that Fred and George were in possession of a certain magical map known as the Marauder's Map. This map shows EVERYONE in Hogwarts, whether they are an Animagus like Pettigrew or not. Wouldn't they have seen a "Peter Pettigrew" dot in the boys dormitory, often right next to Ron as he slept? Or how about knowing there is a "Peter Pettigrew" in Gryffindor somewhere but never meeting one with that name? A real head shaker here...
Goblet of Fire
- Harry has to participate in the Triwizard Tournament just because his name came out of the goblet
I find one of the premises in Goblet of Fire to be the most hard to believe. So, someone (Barty Crouch Jr.) put Harry's name into a magical tournament that clearly states you must be 17 to participate. Harry at this time is only 14. His name comes out and all of Europe's brightest wizards conclude he just has to compete. They refer to a "binding magical contract", but where is this contract? And why can't they just reverse it or change it? They know magic, don't they? They have the greatest wizard in Albus Dumbledore presiding over the tournament but not even he can get Harry out of it? So they let a 14 year old (who only was introduced to the magical world three years prior) compete? And they allow one of the three schools to have two competitors? That's like allowing an extra basketball team for the USA in the Olympics. A real head-shaker here.
- Making the Triwizard cup a portkey--why not something easier?
This has been brought up before. Why go through all the hassle of A) Getting Harry into the Triwizard Tournament, B) Making sure he does well enough to win and C) Making a valuable object a portkey and making sure Harry gets to it first, when you could just trick him instead? Seriously. All Moody/Crouch Jr. had to do was get Harry alone on the grounds, give him a portkey disguised as something non-threatening that Harry would grab (A wizard's card, a quaffle?), and boom, Harry gets transported to the graveyard. It just seems weird to go to all that trouble.
Order of the Phoenix
- The Ministry of Magic is mysteriously deserted when Harry and the gang arrive
When Harry and the others (Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna) arrive at the Ministry of Magic to save Sirius, they find it mysteriously deserted. Absolutely no one there. You'd think that in such an important place there'd be at least security guards. This is the equivalent of six American teenagers arriving to the White House and being able to go in and finding absolutely no one inside. I don't think this was ever explained. Obviously, it needed to be empty for the plot to continue as it did, but why was it empty? Why would the Ministry of Magic EVER be empty?
Deathly Hallows
- Voldemort orders Narcissa Malfoy to check if Harry's dead instead of just checking himself
We learned one of two things here. Either Voldemort is the laziest douchebag in the wizarding world or he trusts all his Death Eaters with ANYTHING. Voldemort should remember he's a bad guy with bad guy henchmen, and bad guys tend to betray and lie to one another. Not once did Voldemort check on Harry until Harry finally opened his eyes and began fighting. I find it hard to believe that Voldemort, being a pretty smart guy, would just assume Harry was dead. Or even trust a Death Eater.
- Chamber of Secrets never found?
I find it hard to believe that the Chamber of Secrets was never found by someone until Harry and Ron. Professor Binns (McGonagall in the movie) stated that the school had been searched thoroughly many times. Yet somehow, they passed over a mysterious sink in the 2nd floor girl's bathroom which had a snake etched into it. I mean, wouldn't they be looking for a symbol like that, knowing it's SLYTHERIN's chamber they are looking for? This isn't too big of a head scratcher for me, but maybe I overestimate grown wizards.
- Harry survives encounter with basilisk
There were a number of things that bothered me with this. First off, Harry is just 12 here. Just 12. He not only manages to avoid its deadly stare (until Fawkes takes out the basilisk's eyes), but he manages to kill it as well. The basilisk did indeed bite him, and its venom is extremely poisonous, only having one antidote. And guess what? That antidote conveniently happened to appear in the form of Fawkes' tears. Logically speaking, if a 12 year old wizard with a sword and a bird face off against a monstrous basilisk, the basilisk wins every time.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- The Time-Turner
JKR introducing the Time-Turner was probably her biggest mistake as a writer. As soon as she introduced it, Harry Potter (the series, not the character) went from fantasy to a bit science fiction. She strayed away from her book's own genre. Let's not forget the fact that anyone who has a Time-Turner can reverse any bad thing happening. She explains it by having them under strict Ministry of Magic control in the Department of Mysteries. And the fact that they'd trust a 13 year old girl (Honors student or not) with one is astounding.
- Peter Pettigrew is Scabbers... Fred and George didn't see?
So in Book 3 we learned that Ron's pet rat was actually one of Harry's father's old school friends (and the one that betrayed him). That was actually a good plot twist that I did not see coming the first time I read the book. However, also in this book, we learn that Fred and George were in possession of a certain magical map known as the Marauder's Map. This map shows EVERYONE in Hogwarts, whether they are an Animagus like Pettigrew or not. Wouldn't they have seen a "Peter Pettigrew" dot in the boys dormitory, often right next to Ron as he slept? Or how about knowing there is a "Peter Pettigrew" in Gryffindor somewhere but never meeting one with that name? A real head shaker here...
Goblet of Fire
- Harry has to participate in the Triwizard Tournament just because his name came out of the goblet
I find one of the premises in Goblet of Fire to be the most hard to believe. So, someone (Barty Crouch Jr.) put Harry's name into a magical tournament that clearly states you must be 17 to participate. Harry at this time is only 14. His name comes out and all of Europe's brightest wizards conclude he just has to compete. They refer to a "binding magical contract", but where is this contract? And why can't they just reverse it or change it? They know magic, don't they? They have the greatest wizard in Albus Dumbledore presiding over the tournament but not even he can get Harry out of it? So they let a 14 year old (who only was introduced to the magical world three years prior) compete? And they allow one of the three schools to have two competitors? That's like allowing an extra basketball team for the USA in the Olympics. A real head-shaker here.
- Making the Triwizard cup a portkey--why not something easier?
This has been brought up before. Why go through all the hassle of A) Getting Harry into the Triwizard Tournament, B) Making sure he does well enough to win and C) Making a valuable object a portkey and making sure Harry gets to it first, when you could just trick him instead? Seriously. All Moody/Crouch Jr. had to do was get Harry alone on the grounds, give him a portkey disguised as something non-threatening that Harry would grab (A wizard's card, a quaffle?), and boom, Harry gets transported to the graveyard. It just seems weird to go to all that trouble.
Order of the Phoenix
- The Ministry of Magic is mysteriously deserted when Harry and the gang arrive
When Harry and the others (Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna) arrive at the Ministry of Magic to save Sirius, they find it mysteriously deserted. Absolutely no one there. You'd think that in such an important place there'd be at least security guards. This is the equivalent of six American teenagers arriving to the White House and being able to go in and finding absolutely no one inside. I don't think this was ever explained. Obviously, it needed to be empty for the plot to continue as it did, but why was it empty? Why would the Ministry of Magic EVER be empty?
Deathly Hallows
- Voldemort orders Narcissa Malfoy to check if Harry's dead instead of just checking himself
We learned one of two things here. Either Voldemort is the laziest douchebag in the wizarding world or he trusts all his Death Eaters with ANYTHING. Voldemort should remember he's a bad guy with bad guy henchmen, and bad guys tend to betray and lie to one another. Not once did Voldemort check on Harry until Harry finally opened his eyes and began fighting. I find it hard to believe that Voldemort, being a pretty smart guy, would just assume Harry was dead. Or even trust a Death Eater.
So there you have it. I'd love to be able to ask JK Rowling some of these. Perhaps some of these WERE answered or explained better in the books, but somehow in my 20 readings of them I missed it. If you feel the need to explain anything further, be sure to leave a comment.
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