Who's your favourite Harry Potter character?

[Myriad]

Snape was my favorite even before book 6 started dropping anvil-clues that he was really a good guy. About his only actions I would find unacceptable is if he really was unfairly grading his classes or otherwise teaching poorly, but though that's suggested in students' complaints (and by e.g. Harry not getting the top grade on his potions OWL) it's not clearly shown that he was.

His blatant favoritism toward House Slytherin students appeared no worse than other faculty members' blatant favoritism for other Houses.

Around mid-series I hoped he'd finally be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in the final year, but the plot went elsewhere. (Too bad -- Snape might have been the only wizard in the history of the wizarding world smart enough to realize that the best and most-often-used defense against curses, especially avada kedavra, is to dodge. His DAtDA classes could have looked like gym classes, with dodge-bludger games every day.) Mostly, I liked Harry but Snape was always spot on about Harry's bad points so liking Harry only made me like Snape more.

In retrospect, I wonder if Snape's dislike for Harry was more due to an instinctive reaction to Harry's hidden 12.5% Voldemort content. Snape knew and hated Voldemort more than anyone; I think that could have counted for more than his childhood beef with Harry's father.

Respectfully,
Myriad

 

[RemieV]

Sabrina - There are lots of other examples, of Harry being an arrogant pain.

He cheated at potions, got Hermione to give him answers, snuck around after lights-out (even when the goal wasn't some noble cause), snooped in other people's personal things, etc, etc.

Oh, and in whichever book it was when Umbridge was introduced, he became the most annoying creature ever.

But the worst one for me was - he could just NEVER shut up about Snape. It didn't matter how often Snape was proven to be innocent, or how many times he actually saved the day (for instance, when Snape was trying to save Harry during the Quidditch match when Quirrell was trying to off him) - all that he could focus on was that Snape didn't like his father, and therefore must've been pure evil.

And then when it was discovered that Snape was a Death Eater, well, forget it. The theme was redemption - and Harry absolutely refused to allow Snape to be redeemed.

 

[Sabrina]

He was a kid; what, you expect him to be perfect? You lose your father at a young age and are forced to grow up with abusive guardians who lavish love on your cousin and treat you like dirt; of course you're going to idolize the people who actually brought you into this world, especially after the first things you hear about them are how great and wonderful they are! Hagrid didn't tell Harry his dad could be a prat or that his mom had a temper; he praised them to the skies! The only person whom Harry is hearing from that his parents weren't perfect is the very person treating him like a festering ooze; you honestly think he's going to give ANYTHING Snape says any credence at that age?

I'm not saying Harry was a perfect kid; far from it. He broke rules right and left (albeit oftentimes at the implicit encouragement of Dumbledore; can we say "give a tool by which an immature boy can sneak around undetected to an eleven-year-old"? I'm shocked Harry didn't use it to sneak into the girls showers or something), and he could nurse a grudge with the best of them (see Goblet of Fire when he kept refusing to speak to Ron until Ron made the first move), but he was a CHILD first and foremost. The entire series is about how Harry comes to learn that actions have consequences even after the person who made them is gone, and in the end he clearly comes to realize his mistakes where Snape is concerned, or he wouldn't have made the effort to name his son after him, or tell his son that no matter what house he got into, that house will have gained by it; had he not learned his lesson where Snape was concerned, he would probably have been telling his son to wish for Gryffindor with all his might so as to avoid Slytherin, but he didn't.

And as for Umbridge; I'm sorry, but when a person whose responsibility it is to teach and nurture young minds does everything possible to stultify them, and uses what can only be described as an instrument of TORTURE to punish them for merely having the audacity to question her (a quill that uses the person's own blood to write does not inspire an image of a harmless person in my mind), they lose all sympathy in my book.

Again, Harry was a child; Snape was, ostensibly, an adult, who for the first six books appeared to loathe Harry for his very existence. I don't think either of them could really be said to be reacting in ways they should, but their backgrounds tended to preclude that. Harry should have learned to seek out help more, and not keep grudges, and realize that while the prophecy may have named him, it didn't preclude him from getting assistance from people, and any one of a number of different things; Snape, meanwhile, should have learned to recognize that Harry was not his father, that what happened to Snape was not Harry's fault, that what happened to LILY was not Harry's fault, and should have been the ADULT in the equation and at the very least not singled Harry out at every opportunity to belittle and torment him. Snape is far from perfect. Harry is far from perfect. This is why I would have trouble choosing a favorite character in the series; nearly every character has flaws or things I dislike about them at various points in time. Hermione bugged the crap out of me at first with the whole bookworm, rigid adherence to the rules thing, but once we got a bit more in depth with her character, I learned to love her. Ron could be the worst clueless dunce you ever saw, and there were times I seriously wished I could reach into the novel and just smack some sense into him, but every time he rose to the occasion with his loyalty and bravery I grew to love him more as well. I honestly love every character Rowling spent any decent amount of time on for one reason or another; I couldn't pick a favorite if I tried. Snape is in that list too, trust me; just because I'm pointing out the flaws in his character doesn't make me like the character any less.

 

[RemieV]

Sabrina, I'm not saying anyone else should think as I do. I am just answering the question, and explaining my reasoning. I know the books well. There's nothing convincing to be said, here. And it doesn't really matter, either. It's a matter of preference - that's all. Harry annoyed me. Nothing will change that. We can hash out all the reasons and I can point to every line that bugged me, but it won't make a difference. At the end of the day, he's still gonna annoy me.

And I didn't say that I took Umbridge's side or liked her or anything, either. What I said was that Harry's REACTION to Umbridge was, in my opinion, ALSO annoying. Umbridge has no sympathy from me.

There are other characters I care nothing for as well, of course. Sirius, for example. And Dobby. I'm sure they have their own fanbases, and that their fans can defend them and say how great they are. I just never saw it.

 

[Cayvmann]

My fave is Hermione, who never feels like she has to "play dumb" so that the boys will like her. A close second is Hagrid, the tough guy with the soft heart.

Hagrid was my favorite, cause I like big, dumb things. Good heart, well meaning, and good comedic relief.

Favorite "serious", not Sirius, well, actually was Sirius. Hard to put into words, but it probably has to do with me wishing I was an orphan, with an "uncle" I gave a crap about... ( more for the psychiatrist to go through, I guess )

 

[Sabrina]

Sabrina, I'm not saying anyone else should think as I do. I am just answering the question, and explaining my reasoning. I know the books well. There's nothing convincing to be said, here. And it doesn't really matter, either. It's a matter of preference - that's all. Harry annoyed me. Nothing will change that. We can hash out all the reasons and I can point to every line that bugged me, but it won't make a difference. At the end of the day, he's still gonna annoy me.

And I didn't say that I took Umbridge's side or liked her or anything, either. What I said was that Harry's REACTION to Umbridge was, in my opinion, ALSO annoying. Umbridge has no sympathy from me.

There are other characters I care nothing for as well, of course. Sirius, for example. And Dobby. I'm sure they have their own fanbases, and that their fans can defend them and say how great they are. I just never saw it.

*LOL* I'm not trying to convince you of anything either; I'm just explaining what I see as the reasons for Harry's behavior. It doesn't excuse a lot of it, but I think it does mitigate it. Same could be said for Snape; there's a lot of his behavior I find inexcusable, but knowing the circumstances behind why he acted the way he did goes a long way toward making me at least understand the reasons. Ultimately they both have their flaws, and their redeeming qualities, in my opinion, that make them both great characters; again, which is why I have such a hard time choosing a favorite. To me, the best characters are flawed or broken in some way (i.e. Snape via the torment he endured from James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter and his family background of leaning toward dark magic, or Harry via the torment he endured while growing up with his aunt and uncle and then suddenly finding out at the ripe young age of eleven that there's an evil madman out to get him for what, at the time, seemed like no good reason); both Harry and Snape fill that role. I will admit to having a teeny bit more of a soft spot for Harry than I do Snape; again because I tend to expect adults to react to adversity with a bit more aplomb and equanimity than Snape seems to demonstrate and view Harry as an immature boy who still has a lot of growing to do before he learns valuable life lessons, but I still love both characters and couldn't choose between them if I tried.

 

[The Shrike]

"I killed Sirius Black!" I love Bellatrix as a dark character, and I thought HBC did a fine job of bringing her to life onscreen. (I suppose make-up and wardrobe folks helped with that.)

Luna - wonderful, loopy character filled with a clarity of thought you don't see until later.

My favorite, though? I think Remus. He was tormented, yet courageous, and he really provided stability and a thread of continuity to Harry's parents.

 

[AmandaM]

For me, it's hard to separate Book-Snape (who has few if any redeeming qualities until the last book) and Alan-Rickman-Snape (who is like chocolate sex on a stick).

Even Rowling admitted she changed the character's speech when she saw the Rickman-Snape on screen. And she's been quoted as saying she didn't understand the whole "sex appeal" of Snape (in fan faction) but totally understood it for Alan.

Yes, book Snape is interesting. But he's far outshined by Rickman-Snape -- I'll bet even for people who don't have a particular schoolgirl fantasy of being ... "given detention" with Rickman. sigh.


My fave by far was always Neville. I actually thought he was going to be the "one" rather than Harry. There was a whole story angle revolving around Neville that I thought book 7 would take, but didn't.

 

[Tracy Dalziel]

I've always liked baddies in films. My favourite was probably Umbridge, I thought it was quite amusing that she would administer very cruel punishment but still offer a cup of tea. I also loved her outdated sense of decor with all the pink and the floral patterns and plates featuring all kinds of cats. Imelda Staunton had a great voice for it too. I think I usually just sympathise with evil old women with an ostentatious love of felines - I felt sorry to see Mrs Deagle die in the Gremlins as well and wondered if the cats were orphaned.

I just never took to Harry and would agree with others who found him to be full of himself, in fact, I think Daniel Radcliffe might have taken on this aspect of the character - I hear he did a nude film a few years back and like him as an actor or not, that IS a disturbing thought. The actor who portrayed the young Voldemort on the other hand ...

 

[fuelair]

Mrs. Weasley. Deathly Good. though they messed up her big one in the last movie.

 

[Brown]

Mrs. Weasley. Deathly Good. though they messed up her big one in the last movie.

Mrs. Weasley, despite her missteps, is the closest thing in the series to a saint.

 

[Sabrina]

I've always liked baddies in films. My favourite was probably Umbridge, I thought it was quite amusing that she would administer very cruel punishment but still offer a cup of tea. I also loved her outdated sense of decor with all the pink and the floral patterns and plates featuring all kinds of cats. Imelda Staunton had a great voice for it too. I think I usually just sympathise with evil old women with an ostentatious love of felines - I felt sorry to see Mrs Deagle die in the Gremlins as well and wondered if the cats were orphaned.

I just never took to Harry and would agree with others who found him to be full of himself, in fact, I think Daniel Radcliffe might have taken on this aspect of the character - I hear he did a nude film a few years back and like him as an actor or not, that IS a disturbing thought. The actor who portrayed the young Voldemort on the other hand ...

Wasn't a nude film; he was in a stage production of a play called Equus in which he portrayed a mentally ill stagehand who... *ahem* ill-used the horses in various ways. And it did include him getting naked. Which is a total departure from the character of Harry Potter, and one I applaud him for; it's important as an actor to not get stereotyped as one character if you want to keep working in film or stage.

Has anyone seen the trailer for the new movie he's going to be in? If not, go to Youtube and look up The Woman In Black; I seriously want to see that movie. Not alone... but I want to see it!

 

[fuelair]

Wasn't a nude film; he was in a stage production of a play called Equus in which he portrayed a mentally ill stagehand who... *ahem* ill-used the horses in various ways. And it did include him getting naked. Which is a total departure from the character of Harry Potter, and one I applaud him for; it's important as an actor to not get stereotyped as one character if you want to keep working in film or stage.

Has anyone seen the trailer for the new movie he's going to be in? If not, go to Youtube and look up The Woman In Black; I seriously want to see that movie. Not alone... but I want to see it!

Also.. really looks good!!! Check it out further on IMDB!! Want to see the older version too.

 

[Tony]

Dumbledore - a wise, smart, seemingly benevolent old mentor who turns out to have a complicated, slightly dark past.

Aurthur Weasly - Innocently curious about a radically different culture who others tend to view as inferior or unimportant.

 

[Mark6]

IMO, Arthur Weasely and his stumbluing about Muggleworld are a joke that got out of hand. Arthur Weasely is not just ignorant about Muggles -- he is more ignorant than almost every other wizard we meet, and he is supposed to be working with Muggles! I got tired of his absurdities by about book 3.

 

[Gr8wight]

For me it was George... or was that Fred? No, wait, George! Or, maybe...

Oh, bollocks!

 

[Marduk]

the great grumbleduke, he was my favourite

 

[Leif Roar]

IMO, Arthur Weasely and his stumbluing about Muggleworld are a joke that got out of hand. Arthur Weasely is not just ignorant about Muggles -- he is more ignorant than almost every other wizard we meet, and he is supposed to be working with Muggles! I got tired of his absurdities by about book 3.

The ways and degree the wizarding world interacts with the muggle world is really one the larger flaws in Rowling's world building altogether. It's not just inconsistent, it's consistently inconsistent, sometimes seeming to change not just between scenes but even between sentences.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Hermione would have been my favorite if JK hadn't writen her off as in love with Ron. That just did not work. And honestly, Ginny was such a small character, how she can be anyone's favorite is beyond me.

So I'd have to say Fred and George Weasley were my favorites.

 

[Orphia Nay]

The ways and degree the wizarding world interacts with the muggle world is really one the larger flaws in Rowling's world building altogether. It's not just inconsistent, it's consistently inconsistent, sometimes seeming to change not just between scenes but even between sentences.

Or, you could say, the series and its characters are not predictable.