Harry Potter spent his entire life surrounded by people who sought to take advantage of his power and status as “The Boy Who Lived”. While a handful of people tried to betray Harry, there were some genuinely good people who wanted the best for the kid who was thrust into a position in life that he never asked for. Who remained loyal towards Harry? Who turned their backs on him? Read on to find out!
10. BARTY CROUCH JUNIOR - BETRAYED HARRY
The first person who comes to mind when we consider who betrayed Harry Potter would be Barty Crouch Junior. Admittedly, the way he deceived the famous boy wizard was pretty imaginative and creative considering he disguised himself into a trustworthy Auror better known as Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody.
Mad-Eye Moody had earned the trust and respect from the likes of Albus Dumbledore, so no one would have ever suspected it was all one big ruse to lead Harry into the hands of Lord Voldemort. You know it’s a good trick when even Dumbledore is convinced by your disguise and doesn’t suspect a thing from you! The worst part is, Harry looked up to Barty Crouch (who he thought was Moody) for guidance during the Triwizard Tournament.
9. HERMIONE GRANGER - STUCK BY HIS SIDE
Hermione Granger is one of the very few characters in the Potter series to actually stick by Harry’s side throughout all of their years at Hogwarts. The brightest witch of her age is often perceived as a bossy know-it-all, but once you really get to know the character, you realize how gentle and kind she is.
Hermione never doubts Harry even when he makes statements that sound rather impossible to believe. She trusts him and understands all of the hardships that he goes through so she will do pretty much whatever it takes to make sure her friend is in good hands. We’d be lucky to have a friend like Hermione by our side and Harry sure is grateful.
8. RON WEASLEY- BETRAYED HARRY
This one is the biggest bummer out of all the people who had betrayed the boy who lived because Ron Weasley is supposed to be his best friend. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the goblet had been tampered with and someone put Harry’s name into the cup in order to get him to compete in the tournament. Harry was only fourteen at the time, and you have to be at least seventeen in order to enter into the dangerous tournament. Although Harry certainly did not put his name into the goblet (why would he?) this didn’t stop Ron from assuming the worst from his closest friend. Ron was fully convinced that Harry had put his name into the goblet as an act of arrogance and entitlement. Even though Harry spent the whole year trying to convince Ron he would never do such a thing, Ron ultimately betrayed Harry by assuming the worst in him.
Ultimately, they were able to work things out and Ron spent the rest of his years at Hogwarts making his jealous behavior up to Harry by being loyal and sticking by his side. We all make mistakes and Harry forgives Ron, so we should too.
7. LUNA LOVEGOOD - STUCK BY HIS SIDE
Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts was rather unfortunate. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, everyone and their mother decided to turn their backs on Harry due to his insistence that Voldemort was back. Because no one wanted to believe that the darkest wizard of all time was back in action, the student body was in complete denial and they just assumed Harry was seeking attention in order to seem brave. A very small handful of students actually believed the boy who lived, even though they wished it wasn’t true. One of the students that trusted Harry’s word was Luna Lovegood. She did a great job comforting him with words of wisdom during that troublesome period in his life, and not a moment went by where she ever doubted him.
6. PETER PETTIGREW - BETRAYED HARRY
If you look up the word “traitor” in the dictionary, Peter Pettigrew’s face will most likely appear right next to it. This man is known for his cowardly actions considering he betrayed Harry Potter not once, but several times throughout his life. He basically made it his entire career to screw over the poor kid along with his entire family. Wormtail was the one who told Lord Voldemort where the Potter’s were staying so if it wasn’t for his actions, Harry wouldn’t have grown up as an orphan. He also betrayed Harry by spying on him for years, pretending to be Ron Weasley’s pet rat Scabbers. Now that’s just plain weird if you ask us, but if you think about it, a rat would be the perfect animal to portray what he does best: ratting people out.
5. SIRIUS BLACK - STUCK BY HIS SIDE
Sirius Black was like a breath of fresh air for Harry. The poor kid never grew up with a parental figure who actually cared for him so after thirteen years of utter neglect, fans of JK Rowling’s series were thrilled to watch the relationship between Sirius and Harry unfold. It was heartwarming to witness, and luckily for Harry, Padfoot stayed loyal to him until the very end.
It was nice how Sirius treated Harry like his equal despite their differences in age. While most adults would try to “baby” Harry, Sirius understood that he wasn’t like most teenagers and after everything Potter went through, he deserved the same respect and consideration as most people would only reserve for adults.
4. CHO CHANG - BETRAYED HARRY
We can’t blame Cho too much because under the circumstances we too would be terrified of Professor Umbridge’s interrogation, but ultimately, Harry’s ex-girlfriend did turn her back on Harry and the rest of Dumbledore’s Army. When Umbridge questioned all of the students who were a part of Harry’s secret organization, Ms. Chang was the one to admit the truth of their club to Dolores Umbridge. Although the cat-loving professor is undoubtedly terrifying, it still would have been nobler for Cho to have kept her mouth shut about the whole thing. Later on in the series, she seemed to have redeemed herself by helping Harry out in The Deathly Hallows, but it was a moment of weakness that ruined Dumbledore’s Army.
3. GINNY WEASLEY - STUCK BY HIS SIDE
Harry’s future wife was loyal to him since the very beginning. At first, Ginny’s feelings for Harry were nothing but a school-girl crush, but as the years went by and she started to get to know him more as a person, her bashful puppy love turned into genuine feelings of affection.
We are so happy these two were able to make it work in the end and we are even more pleased by the fact that Ginny never turned her back on Harry. She always chose to believe him and never once doubted the boy who lived.
2. SEAMUS FINNIGAN - BETRAYED HARRY
It’s always the worst when a friend turns their back on you. This is what happens in Harry’s fifth year and Seamus is insistent on the fact that Harry is a liar. When Harry tries to warn everyone that Voldemort is back, Seamus tries to shut him down by insisting Harry is just “mad”. Seamus is, unfortunately, getting his news from The Daily Prophet which is a pretty unreliable media source to begin with. He believes in all of the “rubbish” that the papers are saying about Harry, and he trusts those words more than he trusts his own friend.
1. DOBBY - STUCK BY HIS SIDE
Out of all the characters in the entire series, Dobby the house-elf is easily the most loyal to Harry of all. This beautiful soul will gladly risk his life in order to protect our favorite boy wizard with the lightning bolt on his forehead. We can all learn something from his compassion and faithfulness and his character will always be remembered for his selfless actions for the sake of his friend, Harry Potter.
