Harry Potter is a protagonist who goes through a lot of horrible and traumatic things as a boy. His entire life from the ages of one to about eighteen is filled with awful moments and a lot of terrifying encounters with Voldemort and other dark beings. It’s pretty impressive that Harry is able to overcome and cope with these trying moments before he’s ever an adult. From dragons to Voldemort to abusive family, he’s clearly a strong hero and protagonist.
Here are the ten worst things that ever happened to Harry in the Harry Potter series.
BEING TORTURED BY UMBRIDGE
Harry and his classmates have quite a string of awful professors during their time at Hogwarts. From Quirrell to Mad-Eye (who was actually Barty Crouch Jr.) to Snape, there were many who were dark wizards as well as some who were just bullies. But the worst of them all in regards to how they treated Harry was Umbridge, and that is saying a lot. Umbridge had it out for Harry, and the way she used physical torture on him during detentions is absolutely cruel and horrific.
BEING ABUSED AND NEGLECTED BY THE DURSLEYS
One of the saddest things about Harry’s life is how often he is mistreated and let down by the adults in his life who should protect and care for him. While he does find some loving adults who take him under their wing, such as Molly Weasley, others are awful. The Dursleys mistreat Harry, neglecting and abusing him in a variety of ways, from the time he was just a toddler. They kept him in a closet under the stairs, verbally abused him, and generally treated him with disdain. This treatment and how they acted towards him is really appalling.
DUMBLEDORE’S DEATH
Dumbledore is definitely one of the more complex characters in the series. He starts out seeming like a benevolent mentor, but the truth about him is much more complicated. The fact that Dumbledore was using and manipulating Harry all along while not telling him the truth is awful enough. However, Dumbledore’s death was extremely traumatic for Harry because it left him alone on his quest to defeat Voldemort. He had to scramble to connect the dots and figure everything out mostly alone.
THE BURDEN OF BEING THE CHOSEN ONE
Finding out that you’re the “Chosen One” and basically designed to go up against and try to defeat one of the evilest and most powerful wizards of all time would be quite stressful. The fact that Harry Potter discovered this at 15 would have been quite a burden to carry. But even before he knew why, Harry was always being attacked and singled out by Voldemort and his followers. The stress and risks this placed on him were quite high.
BEING CHOSEN FOR THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
When Harry is chosen to be a champion in the Triwizard Tournament, it comes as quite a shock to him. He didn’t enter his name and he was too young to enter. He has to then face a lot of extremely dangerous, mentally and physically taxing challenges even though he hasn’t learned a lot of magic yet. This entire experience would be very stressful and draining, and this is just one other thing on top of all the trauma Harry had already dealt with.
SIRIUS BLACK’S DEATH
Sirius Black is the most concrete example of an adult who acts as a parental figure in Harry’s life. While he has other people like the Weasleys, Sirius was a direct tie to his parents, as his father’s best friend. As Harry’s godfather, Sirius was sometimes like finally having a parent for Harry. So when Sirius died, this was extremely traumatic. It was another horrible loss on top of the ones Harry had already endured. Plus, he had to contend with feeling like he had caused Sirius’ death and the guilt that came along with that.
WITNESSING CEDRIC’S DEATH
While Harry had to witness many traumatic deaths in his life, one of the hardest to deal with was Cedric Diggory’s. For one thing, this was the first death he’d ever witnessed, and for another, it was the death of a classmate. Seeing someone you went to school with die in front of you, and to feel like you should have done more to save them, would be extremely hard to cope with. This death obviously greatly impacted Harry and caused him a lot of trauma.
FACING VOLDEMORT MULTIPLE TIMES
Having to face Voldemort even one time would be more than enough for anyone, but Harry had to do it so many times. There was first the time when he met Quirrell ,who was attached to Voldemort. Then again, in the form of Tom Riddle’s diary. Then, he came face to face with him multiple times when Voldemort came back to power. All of these times Harry had to fight for his life.
THE DEATH OF HIS PARENTS
This is one of the most traumatic things to happen in Harry’s life, even if he doesn’t remember it. The death of his parents left him an orphan and without a family that loved him for his entire childhood. This is a horrible thing to happen to a child. This event also left Harry marked by Voldemort, and it changed his life in many horrible ways.
ALL OF THE DEATHS AT THE BATTLE OF HOGWARTS
When Harry has to face Voldemort for the final time at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he has already seen so much death. And, yet again, he has to contend with the fact that multiple people he cared about die in the battle. From Tonks and Lupin to Fred and more, Harry once again had to deal with the trauma of people dying around him.
