Quote from Salvyus on August 1, 2023, 3:32 am

I've just gaslit myself into believing characters like Molly, the twins, Hagrid, McGonagall are good people despite knowing full well that some of the stuff they do is so irresponsible that it borders on (and sometimes is) abuse.

Weird opinion: For some reason I'm convinced that certain characters were meant to be good and JKR just failed to present them as such by making them do things that look good through Harry's eyes, not bothering to see if they were the right thing to do objectively. So I see their flaws as JKR's mistakes, not their own lol

Quote from Naaga on August 1, 2023, 4:10 am

Quote from Salvyus on August 1, 2023, 3:32 am

Weird opinion: For some reason I'm convinced that certain characters were meant to be good and JKR just failed to present them as such by making them do things that look good through Harry's eyes, not bothering to see if they were the right thing to do objectively. So I see their flaws as JKR's mistakes, not their own lol

I feel it's not failure of JKR to present those characters that way, rather she actually created flawed characters because no human being is perfect and I like it that way. People like Hagrid, Weasley twins, McGonagall, Molly etc. were not meant to be paragons of all good and well in the world, Harry liked them because they treated him well, that's the reason.

Whole books were about Harry's POV and he liked those characters who were nice to him and demonised those he hated. We often saw awful acts of beloved characters but since Harry liked them, he didn't think much about it. Contrasting his narration of every bad thing of characters he hated which included comments on their behaviour, uglifying their features and thinking worse of them, it was Harry's opinion readers were being fed and readers have to objectively analyse good and bad based on their own perception.

I confess I didn't hate characters much after reading the books, my hate actually started after interaction with fandom especially Snaters. They gave free pass to worst behaviour of other characters while hating or even inventing worse headcanons about Snape like nazi, incel, obsessed, creep, child abuser etc, which led to my hate for seemingly good characters. I'm not denying they were good, I'm denying that they were really and perfectly good.

Quote from Heatherlly on August 1, 2023, 6:14 am

Quote from Naaga on August 1, 2023, 4:10 am

I feel it's not failure of JKR to present those characters that way, rather she actually created flawed characters because no human being is perfect and I like it that way. People like Hagrid, Weasley twins, McGonagall, Molly etc. were not meant to be paragons of all good and well in the world, Harry liked them because they treated him well, that's the reason.

Whole books were about Harry's POV and he liked those characters who were nice to him and demonised those he hated. We often saw awful acts of beloved characters but since Harry liked them, he didn't think much about it. Contrasting his narration of every bad thing of characters he hated which included comments on their behaviour, uglifying their features and thinking worse of them, it was Harry's opinion readers were being fed and readers have to objectively analyse good and bad based on their own perception.

Beautifully articulated, and I 100% agree. One of the best things about this series is that (other than the occasional true baddie), every single character has flaws and virtues. That includes Harry, who (like any other human) has his own biases and can sometimes be petty and/or self-serving. We can't expect his point of view on other characters to always be fair or unbiased… as @naaga suggests, it's important to read between the lines.

That said, the double standards that Harry (and many fans) have can be frustrating at times. One of the biggest examples is how Snape is compared to the other teachers, especially McGonagall. We know she treated certain students far worse than he ever did… it's just terribly hypocritical when non-Snape fans call him a bully while treating her like some paragon of virtue.

Quote from Krystal on August 23, 2023, 2:32 pm

I don't like Dobby, despite the fandom's obsession with him. He obstructed Harry and even nearly killed him in CoS.

He did have a good friend arc later, and his sacrifice saved Harry and friends, but his death never hit me hard, and I don't get the reasons for his popularity. I like Kreacher more because his behavior and motivation feel better than Dobby's.

Quote from IFFIN on June 27, 2026, 3:10 pm

Quote from SanctuaryAngel on July 31, 2023, 10:36 am

Oooh, boy haha

In no particular order (and no, this isn't the most hated, but is pretty high up on my personal list) -

1. Hermione Granger - She's mostly always been just tolerable for me (She is my absolute opposite), and never one I ever considered her a 'role-model' in my youth, but in the last 7-9 months, my dislike of her has skyrocketed to an almost intolerable point. I won't go into details otherwise this will end up in character-bashing territory, but I blame fanon and fanfiction's portrayal of something she isn't in canon, and people changing her morals/personality, completely trashing the character we know. I avoid most fics with her in it.
2. Hagrid - Again, I won't go too much into this, but I never liked him. He's far too incompetent, definitely not fit to teach children in a safe way, does not think before speaking thus spilling things he shouldn't, playing favorites, and just comes off as an uncle rather than a member of staff.
3. Dobby - I always found him annoying, and he just grinds my gears. I guess because he was written to be more annoying in CoS, it kind of stuck. I definitely didn't get teary over his death.

Hermione- I have been listening to Audible's full cast Harry Potter and I am finding Hermione so annoying, because she nags and nags. She is an example of how the "good guys" don't do good things. I agree with Cho that the students should have known about the jinx when signing up for the DA. And then what she did to her parents.

Hagrid- I agree that he comes off as an uncle and that he shouldn't have been in charge of children: the spiders, his brother, other dangerous creatures. I do blame Dumbledore for this.

Doby- I definitely didn't get teary over his death.  Neither did I. But for some reason when I saw DH in the theater I started laughing when he died. I don't know why. Maybe because I knew it was a moment I was suppose to be heartbroken. I didn't want to be laughing and thing others thought I was crying.

Quote from IFFIN on June 27, 2026, 3:18 pm

Quote from Dark Angel on July 31, 2023, 11:00 am

@interwovenmadness17 and @sanctuaryangel

Poor Hagrid😭

(am I the only one who wants to know how exactly he was conceived?).

No. I have come to the conclusion that there is a spell or potions that can change a person's size for those interment moments. Kind of like Alice in Wonderland.

Quote from IFFIN on June 27, 2026, 3:33 pm

I also

Quote from Naaga on July 31, 2023, 11:27 am

Quote from SanctuaryAngel on July 31, 2023, 11:24 am

Side note, as someone in the medical field, I don't agree with the medical analogies like Lupin = AIDS. There is no comparison. Two very different conditions, in two very different worlds. Both are terrible in their own way, but still not enough to connect them both.

Yeah I agree, I also being in medical field dislike this synonymity of AIDS with Lycanthropy. This comparison was made by JKR, who in my opinion doesn't know or understand the stigma and suffering associated with AIDS. I also dislike any comparison of fiction with real life things like between death eaters and Nazis, blood purify with racism, etc.

I also dislike those comparisons.

Quote from IFFIN on June 27, 2026, 3:39 pm

Quote from Salvyus on July 31, 2023, 11:53 am

Ooh, I like this thread. I can't say I hate any character that wasn't purposefully intended to be hated, but I do find some of them to be annoying...

I'd start with Cedric and Luna, which I'm sure is a pretty irrational opinion as I can't pinpoint what exactly it is that annoys me about them... Might be too many fanfics rhapsodising them. Definitely also agree with @sanctuaryangel on Dobby. Everything he did in CoS was so maddening it almost made me hit my own head against the wall lol.

And Lily... I don't dislike her, but I definitely don't agree with the way she's often portrayed in fanon. We saw too little of her in canon and most of it was flattering, but she had her flaws.

I haven't read much fanfiction with Cedric or even thought of him that much in the books, but I can understand Luna. I don't mind her now, but I didn't understand all the love she got. She just reminded me of a stoned hippy chick.

Quote from IFFIN on June 27, 2026, 4:11 pm

Quote from Heatherlly on July 31, 2023, 1:25 pm

Lily is my second favorite character. I love her almost as much as Severus, so I'd prefer to keep any Lily bashing out of regular threads. Not saying any of you have done that here – I just wanted to get ahead of it in case it starts going in that direction, especially since we have other members who love her as well.

---

I was actually coming in here to say Hagrid. Glad I'm not alone with that one! 😂 I dislike him for reasons already mentioned here, especially his childishness and reckless behavior. He comes off as incredibly self-centered in a lot of situations, and the Dudley thing in particular ticks me off. Also, let's not forget that he went out of his way to poison Harry against Slytherin. I don't know about you, but I can't help but wonder how differently the series might've played out if he hadn't done that.

Second, here's a potentially less popular opinion…

I dislike all the Weasleys except for Bill and Charlie.

Arthur: I don't hate him, but I can't find much to like about him either. My opinion on him would be neutral/slightly annoying.

Molly: Good god, where do I start? I dislike her most out of all the Weasleys for multiple reasons. To me, she comes off as overbearing, and I think she was more interested in Harry's celebrity status than Harry himself. I was also really bothered by the way she treated Sirius in OotP… regardless how I feel about him, he was Harry's godfather, the person that Harry's own parents entrusted with his care. She had no right to interfere with that, yet she steamrolled over him like his opinions didn't matter.

Also, the way she treated Hermione in GoF was despicable. Again, she had no authority over Harry OR Hermione, yet she took it upon herself to slut shame and humiliate (in other words, punish) a 14-year-old girl. The fact that she did this over a tabloid article makes it even worse, but even if Hermione had dumped Harry for Viktor, what business was it of hers?

Of course, there was also the way she shit all over Fleur for the crime of *checks notes*… being attractive? Between that and Hermione, she comes off as very sexist toward other women. I have no tolerance for that shit.

Percy: I don't like suck ups, especially boring ones. Moving on…

The Twins: Self-centered, reckless, entitled… need I go on?

Ron: While I can sympathize with him in certain respects, he definitely has his asshole moments. I also don't think he was interesting or remarkable enough to be part of the Golden Trio… I would've much preferred to see Luna or even Neville in that role.

 

I agree with what you have said about the characters. I don't mind most of them, because I like that they are not perfect characters. Granted I feel it is the author's intent that some of the dangerous stuff they do is okay as long as it is not "dark magic". I think love Potions are pretty dark. Taking away free will and making people do what they don't want to do.
Ginny: I see no chemistry or foundation for her relationship with Harry, but it isn't just that. She has a nasty streak that reminds me of her mother, and as a whole, I just don't find her to be an interesting, well-developed, or compelling character.

I agree. Ginny is one of the characters I dislike. I hate reading or listening to scenes she is in. She is everything that you wrote. She is also portrayed as  great at sports, casting spells, popular and so attractive. I know I missed something.