Harry Potter is a series that still has multitudes of fans. The series and movies may be over, but fans’ love and nostalgia is still going strong. Plus, with the Fantastic Beasts franchise, new generations of fans are being introduced to the world and becoming obsessed. While Harry Potter is definitely a wonderful book series, it’s not always perfect. There are definitely some aspects of the books that don’t make a lot of sense and other things that haven’t aged well at all.
Each book has its strengths and weaknesses. Here are the ten things from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that haven’t aged well.
SIRIUS’ RECKLESSNESS
Sirius Black is a character who has been through a significant amount of trauma. When we see him in Order of the Phoenix, he’s restless and tired of being cooped up in his childhood home, especially since he has such negative memories there. While Sirius’ situation does evoke sympathy, his recklessness does not. It would be one thing if he himself was reckless, but he also encourages Harry to be. He seems to want Harry to be more like James and doesn’t act like a responsible godfather at all.
HOW SNAPE GOADED SIRIUS
The relationship between Sirius and Snape is a fraught one with a lot of history. Neither one of them act very mature towards each other, and both let issues from the past impact them way too much. However, Snape is a character who acts rudely and manipulatively to lots of other people and seems to get away with it. He takes pride in the fact that he goads Sirius and makes fun of him for being stuck at Grimmauld Place.
HOW HARRY TREATED CHO
Harry and Cho are both dealing with a significant amount of trauma in Order of the Phoenix, coping with the death of Cedric. While they might have feelings for each other, it’s clear that they aren’t quite equipped to deal with all of the emotions at hand. Harry definitely doesn’t know how to handle his outward emotions about Cedric, and he acts pretty coldly about the whole thing. The truth is that these two would have been better as friends.
THE WAY DUMBLEDORE LEFT HARRY IN THE DARK
Many fans of the series have some pretty valid and intense criticisms of Dumbledore. It turns out that he isn’t the benevolent mentor he seems to be, but instead has been manipulating Harry towards the end of defeating Voldemort all along. In Order of the Phoenix, his refusal to meet with him and talk to him about what was happening seems especially cruel. The fact he avoids Harry gets Harry into a lot of trouble, contributes to Sirius’ death, and leaves Harry struggling emotionally.
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THE MINISTRY’S ACTIONS
If there’s one organization in this book that is deserving of criticism and loathing, it’s the Ministry of Magic. Under the direction of Cornelius Fudge, the Ministry refuses to believe in Dumbledore’s return. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to smear Harry’s name. This is pretty messed up considering he’s only fifteen years old. The ministry also does a lot of other awful things like placing Umbridge at the school.
SNAPE’S TREATMENT OF HARRY
Unfortunately, this is a recurring element in all the Harry Potter books. Snape continually treats Harry with disdain and bullies him. When he is supposed to be teaching Harry Occlumnecy, Snape resorts to verbal criticisms and is overall just rude. It’s rather pathetic how unable Snape is to let go of his hatred of James. Taking it out on James’ son is immature and petty.
HOW NO ONE GIVES HARRY THE EMOTIONAL HELP HE NEEDS
Harry Potter is a character who has gone through so much. He lost his parents, was basically abused and neglected his entire life, and has an evil wizard trying to kill him. Then, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, he sees Voldemort kill a classmate in front of him. The fact that no adult in his life tries to help him through this rough time is pretty cruel. It seems like there are almost no resources for mental health in the wizarding world.
SNAPE’S BIGOTRY
One thing that doesn’t make sense about the series is how Snape is given a redemption arc. The fact is that so much about Snape’s past and bigotry is excused. In the book, we see Snape’s worst memory where he calls Lily a mudblood. While Snape makes it seem like James and Sirius were horrible for bullying him, the fact is that he was interested in the dark arts and used a slur. It’s no wonder they didn’t like him.
KEEPING HARRY, RON, AND HERMIONE OUT OF THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
This is a point that might not seem like a big deal on face value, but it does lead to a lot of problems. While it’s true that the trio is underage, the fact is that they’ve faced Voldemort and his followers many times. It’s clear that they will continue to come after Harry, so leaving him in the dark when he’s a key player just seems dumb. Leaving Harry, Ron, and Hermione to their own devices did a lot more harm than good.
HOW UMBRIDGE IS ALLOWED TO PHYSICALLY ABUSE CHILDREN
Near the end of the book, Dumbledore has to leave Hogwarts after nearly being forcibly removed. During this time, Umbridge’s reign of terror is allowed to thrive. However, even before this, Umbridge is ordering children to carve words into their hands as punishment. It’s very unlikely that other professors or Dumbledore didn’t know about this or pick up on some of it. The fact that this was allowed to happen is truly astonishing.
