‘People don't give Harry enough credit’: Potterheads Debate on the Most Underrated and Overrated Characters in the Magical Series

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jul 11, 2024 11:30 AM EDT

Let's talk about Harry Potter for a second. Not just the overall series of Harry Potter, but the character itself. 

It's surprising to me that Harry, being the main character and hero of a successful series, is largely overlooked. He is the series, and still, fans choose to disregard him and his talents, and I just find it a bit sad, and completely unfair.

Considering that he had no idea he was a wizard until he was literally thrust into Hogwarts, he managed to overcome so many challenges and struggles that most 11-year-olds would not dream of. He proved he was a talented wizard, brave, determined, quick-witted, and loyal. Not to mention, if you think about the way the wizarding world treated him, he easily could have joined the dark side, but over and over he chose to put himself last in order to save not only his friends but the entire wizarding world. 

There are many other characters in the series that do not get the credit they deserve, and some that get too much credit, and the fans have dived it to that discussion in the Reddit thread down below. Scroll down to read it all. Up next, a magical collection of hilarious Disney memes.

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  • 01
    In terms of magical ability, who was the most overrated and underrated character in the series?
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  • 02
    For Underrated I think it's Harry. The entire fandom seems to have this idea that Harry only knows one spell and the only reason he won against Voldemort was due to plot armour and Hermione, whereas in canon, Harry is by no means a prodigy like
    via u/Cool_Ved
  • 03
    Dumbledore, but he does get suprisingly good grades, given all the that he was going through, was the best in his year at DADA and also knew more spells than "Expelliarmus". I kinda blame the
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  • 04
    movies for this, coz they do take away some of his good moments. I also think Kingsley was highy underrated.
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  • 05
    For overrated, I think it might be Grindelwald. Dumbledore himself calls Voldemort the most dangerous dark wizard the world has ever seen, but many fans just think that Grindelwald was far superior to
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  • 06
    Voldemort. I think that Grindelwald was a better poltical figure than Voldy, but I never got the impression that he was more powerful than Voldemort, whereas most fans think the opposite. What are you guy's overrated/underrated characters?
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  • 07
    TitleTall6338. 22 hr. ago Slytherin The twins are underrated, bros started a w◆pon trade/defense industry staged as a joke shop, where government employees and doth eaters alike used their products in a fight.
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  • 08
    Gallileo1322 19 hr. ago The best feat the twins did was Crack the marauders map. They weren't given the phrase and no other teacher the confiscated it was able to figure it out.
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  • 09
    Ok-Apple-1878 · 18 hr. ago That's true, although you can communicate with the map without it showing its content so I like to think that the twins won over the marauders and that communicative memory somehow saw their match in the twins with them just telling the map all of the they'd done hahah funny
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  • 10
    Title Tall6338 13 hr. ago Slytherin • I thought that was canon from JKR, the map "helped them" figure out how to use it because they vibed
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  • 11
    • Oghamstoner 21 hr. ago Ravenclaw Underrated: Fred & George. Being pranksters and getting hardly any qualifications distracts somewhat from their creativity, flair and achievements. Right out of school they are able to set up a wildly successful business with many groundbreaking products which are both useful and entertaining.
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  • 12
    Overrated: Draco Malfoy. I know Tom Felton is pretty, but that doesn't compensate for his character being a pos and I think it's skewed some people's perception of his actual competence. His magical skills are very ordinary and he basically bottles every challenge. Classic example of a bully that can dish it out but can't take it.
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  • 13
    fullmoonz89 19 hr. ago Tom Felton and Alan Rickman are very good actors who portrayed their characters so well they changed how people see Draco and Severus.
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  • 14
    Longjumping-Hat-7037 21 hr. ago Underrated: Augusta Longbottom. She sent Dawlish to st. Mungo's, when the doth eaters sent someone to catch her to ensure Neville's behavior. She fought in the battle and she survives.
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  • 15
    Overrated: Sirius Black. People tend to believe he was one of the most powerful wizard on the same level as Severus, Tom and Albus. He was great when at school, but he went to Azkaban at age 21. He didn't learn any magic after that. While the others learned magic all their life.
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  • 16
    ClioCalliope 21 hr. ago Tbh most characters in HP are as powerful in any given scene as the plot requires. I don't think there's a lot of clear ranking to be done other than untalented - average - talented (the majority of the main characters) next level (DD/V/GW). So it's hard to say anyone is over or underrated.
    via u/ClioCalliope
  • 17
    • Ok-Apple-1878 · 19 hr. ago I agree with Harry (I'd also throw a couple more into the underrated category), and would add that he picked up spells incredibly quickly (throwing off the imperius curse, patronus, accio etc) and also picked up flying at the drop of a hat
    via u/Ok-Apple-1878
  • 18
    despite having no knowledge of any kind of magic prior. I think he was a wizard who just innately understood magic in feeling rather than words. Hermione was excellent at retaining and using documented knowledge, Harry just kinda went with his gut.
    via u/Ok-Apple-1878
  • 19
    wheebyfs · 14 hr. ago Underrated Hagrid: for being dropped in his 3rd year he still retained some good magical ability and immediately got the hang of the Aguamenti spell in HBP when it was previously described as decently hard
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  • 20
    Sirius: My man took on a random DE, defeated him, then immediately took on Dolohov and then Bellatrix and he was equal to both. That's impressive Crabbe and Goyle: They managed to cast a successful disillusionment
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  • 21
    charm and Crabbe was also able to cast other, though dark, impressive spells Aberforth: Went toe to toe with Grindelwald
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  • 22
    freddieredmayne · 22 hr. ago. edited 22 hr. ago Underrated: McGonagall In the sense that we never get to see her do much aside from being a bad teacher with a sharp tongue. We see her being attacked in the last act of OotP, then joining a party to go against Snape (it
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  • 23
    wasn't one-on-one in the book like it was in the movie, as far as I can remember). Even in the books, we never get to see what she's capable of, yet we know she was Dumbledore's right hand in Hogwarts, and we wonder how she earned this position, and that's all we need to realize she means business.
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  • 24
    I LOVE that she can transfigure herself (she passed her Animagus test, she's Ministry approved!). I LOVE that she went to Privet Drive as soon as she learned the Potters had dod, because she knew Dumbledore would soon be there, and she wouldn't just trust the rumors and get like everyone else in the wizarding community: she's a serious witch, she's looking at the end game.
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  • 25
    I LOVE how Harry briefly sees her in Grimmauld's Place when the Order is restored, yet McGonagall would never entertain teenage nonsense, she doesn't share what she's up to with the trio like Sirius or Lupin, she knows too much, she is a senior agent. I LOVE how she is always left to hold the fort when Dumbledore is compromised (Chamber, Order, even D⚫thly Hallows when those spat
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  • 26
    on her face and she endured it because she was protecting the students, she knew she could finish them off easily, but she had the emotional control of a MI6 agent at this point). She is an icon, she is a legend, she is the moment. Overrated: Sirius Great as a caring figure to Harry (if you have Petunia and Vernon as a reference, there's no way to go but
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  • 27
    up). Yet he was reckless overall, and emotionally unstable (after all the trauma he went through, who could blame him?), and far as magical abilities go, though, he never showed us anything remarkable beyond turning himself into a dog.
    via u/freddieredmayne
  • 28
    Admirable-Tower8017 18 hr. ago Underrated: Barty Crouch Jr. - He got 12 OWLs, fooled Dumbledore for a whole year acting as one of his close friends, led Harry through the Triwizard Tournament without raising suspicion, and was the best DADA teacher Harry ever had imo.
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  • 29
    Weasley Twins: Hermione dismisses their talents as of no real use to anyone but they were inventing stuff right in their schooldays, just like Snape. They played the vital role of providing defensive magical items as well as much needed laughter during times of war. They also made good money.
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  • 30
    Overrated: Snape - Not that the guy isn't a prodigy. Of course, he is! Expert in three subjects: Potions, DADA and Dark Arts! Skilled in Occlumency to fool the best Legilimens in the world! Was inventing spells and improving potions in his schooldays! Could fly unaided! However, I feel that the other Order members such as
    via u/Admirable-Tower8017
  • 31
    McGonagall, Moody and Kingsley, who were also said to be powerful, were underutilized in front of Snape. Lupin - No idea why many fan fictions portray him as bookish and another Hermione. Was it because he was reading a book in SWM? It is clearly stated that Sirius and James were the best in their year and they
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  • 32
    already knew their Transfiguration lessons while Lupin was revising hard. Lupin is a good wizard and teacher but I don't think he was more skilled or powerful than James and Sirius. At the most, he might have surpassed them in his adult years because James died and Sirius was locked up at 21.
    via u/Admirable-Tower8017

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Dobby hedwig Harry Potter hermione granger entertaining Hogwarts discussion magical geek horcrux Ron Weasley owls Reddit voldemort wand reddit thread potterhead hogwarts students
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