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People underestimate just how powerful Horace Slughorn actually was.
He wasn’t just a Potions professor hiding from Voldemort. He was skilled enough to stand alongside McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt and duel Voldemort himself.
So what made Slughorn such a formidable wizard, and why do fans rarely give him credit for it?
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If Dumbledore was the greatest wizard who ever lived, why on earth wasn’t he an Animagus? He taught McGonagall how to become one, after all. Was there something he knew that the Marauders didn’t?
The more interesting question is not whether he could become one, but why he would ever bother.
He mastered some of the most complicated branches of magic and was arguably the greatest wizard of his age. But becoming an Animagus permanently locks you into ONE animal form, and you have no control over what that form will be. For someone who could already use Transfiguration to change his appearance into virtually anything, why accept such a limitation? Dumbledore probably didn’t lack the ability. He simply had very little reason to want it.
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Ron.
Just Ron in general.
He’s the quintessential example of the unappreciated character. We acknowledge that he is undervalued, and remind ourselves of his humor and loyalty, we remind ourselves he was the perfect sidekick.
But we forget that Ron was brave and kind and generous. We fall in love with his quippy comebacks, but forget his courage and selflessness. He chose Harry over his own spotlight, because he would rather be outshined by him than not be his friend at all.
This is the child who
1. Offered up his food to a stranger on the train.
2. At eleven, sacrificed himself for the greater good, for Harry, for Hermione, because he thought they were more worth saving.
3. Spent his Christmas with Harry instead of his own family, because Harry needed him more.
4. Was described time and time again as poor, but invited Harry to his already cramped home and gave him a family of freckled red haired brothers and sister.
5. Ran from Hogsmeade and found where Harry was so he could offer an excuse, an alibi, even if it incriminated himself.
6. Stood on broken bones, aged thirteen, and told a man who was thought to be a sadistic murderer, that if he wanted to get to Harry, he would have to go through him first.
7. Gave Dobby, without a second thought, his own clothes, because he knew how much it would’ve mattered to him.
8. In the midst of a battle remembered to save the house elves when everyone else had forgotten.
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I'm assuming that you are talking about the popular book series and not the character.
Harry Potter is not popular because it's the best book. There are some plot holes mixed in, and some flaws. That's not why it's special.
But what makes Harry Potter stand out from a crowd of so many fantasy books is it's desirable world.
Everybody has something in their life that they want to escape from. Everybody has a Dursley in their life, whether it be a person or thing.
Everyone longs for a Hagrid to whisk them away to a place where everyone loves them unless that individual is bad. A place where they are special.
People love the adventure of Harry Potter. The lighthearted fun in the first book draws you in. The stakes are risen later on, but in the first book they are just enough to be exciting.
Everyone wants a long lasting and strong friendship like Harry has with Ron and Hermione.
It's popular because it's a fun world to explore, that can be enjoyable for children as well as adults.
Many book series get left in the dust. But Harry Potter had just enough luck mixed with a fun and relatable world to succeed.
Why does Harry Potter deserve to be one of the most popular fictional stories ever created?
Is it because of the magical world, the unforgettable characters, or the way Hogwarts feels like a second home to millions of fans?
Harry Potter isn't just about spells, wands, and defeating Voldemort. It's a story about friendship, love, loss, sacrifice, and growing up in a world that isn't always fair.
We watched Harry go from a lonely boy living under the stairs to someone willing to sacrifice his own life to save others.
We grew attached to characters like Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Dumbledore, Snape, and the Weasleys, each bringing something unforgettable to the story.
And perhaps that's what makes Harry Potter special. Even after knowing how the story ends, people still return to Hogwarts and discover something new.
But do you think Harry Potter genuinely deserves its worldwide popularity, or is nostalgia doing most of the work?
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Unpopular opinion: Garrick Ollivander wasn't a legendary wand genius. He was just a mass-producer.
We have been conditioned to think his 'Supreme Cores' were the peak of magic, but the lore proves he just took the easy way out while actual specialists did the real work.
Here is the brutal reality of wandmaking:
Why are there only three wand cores that
Garrick Ollivander recommends?
Maybe because Rowling had already written this whole extensive background, including histories, about wand… woods… and she probably looked at the subject of wand cores and thought to herself… “God, do I really need to do this again for the damn cores? Forget it. They’re going to
get… three…”
And, voila…
Oh, you mean in-universe…
Apparently Ollivander felt that dragon-heart string, phoenix feather, and unicorn hair cores were the only really stable cores.
Which just sounds like Ollivander was more of a mass-producer of wands, rather than a specialist, like Antioch Peverell, who constructed the Elder Wand with a Thestral-tail hair as its core.
Ollivander obviously knew his clientele. He was selling to children whose parents were sending them off to Hogwarts with their first wands, so it made no sense for Ollivander to use cores that might cause unexpected results.
Ollivander was kind like the Ford or Toyota or Honda maker of wands.
Antioch Peverell was more like the Enzo Ferrari or Carroll Shelby of wand makers.
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The dumbest decisions Voldemort ever made.
Number 10. To get around Lily's blood protection, he used Harry's blood to resurrect himself.
Number 9. He ordered Draco to assassinate Dumbledore. He completely overestimated Draco's ability to handle the psychological pressure. This forced Snape to step in and deliver the final blow. It also caused the ownership of the Elder Wand to take an unexpected turn.
Number 8. He used meaningful objects to create all his horcruxes. This made them easier for Harry to track down and identify.
Number 7. During the final battle, he brought Nagini onto the battlefield. She was his last remaining Horcrux, yet he carelessly exposed his own weakness without any protection. This gave Neville the chance to kill Nagini.
Number 6. He failed to make sure Snape was dead. This allowed Snape to pass on his final message, revealing the whole truth to Harry.
Number 5. He underestimated the house elves' determination to get revenge. This completely exposed the secret of his horcruxes.
Number 4. He used violence and death threats to recruit Death Eaters. As a result, many Death Eaters turned against him or fled during the final battle.
Number 3. He was terrified of the prophecy coming true, yet he kept getting close to Harry, giving the prophecy even more chances to become reality.
Number 2. In Sorcerer's Stone, he was so obsessed with getting the Philosopher's Stone that he missed the perfect opportunity to kill Harry.
Number 1. He never even considered using a non-magical way to kill Harry. If I were Voldemort, that night at Harry's house, I would have simply sat on baby Harry Potter and crushed him to death.
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I've always been convinced that muggles can somewhat get used to magic through exposure, which would allow them to see things that they normally couldn't see like Dementors or Hogwarts. And the only thing that sets Squibs apart from them is that they are used by default
That also somewhat explains why Jacob Kowalski and muggle parents could see and interact with Hogwarts. Jacob has spent a good while being around a lot of magic, and parents would be raising a kid who, especially after starting school, will be exposing them to magical objects every break. Though to be fair it could also be that they were magically granted an exemption to the charms barring them from these things.
Dudley didn't see the Dementor because, aside from the occasional accidental spell, Harry was actively trying to avoid doing anything magical to avoid punishment. It would also make Fudge's skepticism at the convenience of Harry's defense of the patronus a bit more justifiable, Dudley was around Harry long enough that it seems unlikely he is still unused to magic to anyone that doesn't know about the Dursley's abuse.
This would also mean that Petunia would have seen the Dementor if she was present, funnily enough. Because Lily (and Snape) did not need to suppress their powers around the Evans family so Petunia grew up with the exposure his son never got
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Rewatching Goblet of Fire and I can’t stop laughing.
Beauxbatons’ entrance: Releases magical butterflies and has half the men in the room questioning their loyalty.
Durmstrang’s entrance: Fire, dramatic choreography, acrobatics and Viktor Krum walking in like an international celebrity.
Hogwarts’ entrance: “Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, teach us something, please!”
Everyone came prepared to make an impression, and Hogwarts decided to turn the opening ceremony into a school assembly.
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I just thought of something. Do wizards have a way of making cashless transactions in the Wizarding World?
Imagine buying something at a shop, realising you don’t have enough Galleons on you, and simply muttering a spell that transfers the money from your Gringotts account straight to the seller’s account.
No carrying coins, no counting Sickles and Knuts, no running back to Gringotts. Just a magical version of a bank transfer or contactless payment.
Surely, with all the magic available to them, somebody must have thought of a more convenient way to pay for things. Or are wizards still strictly a cash-only society?
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Why did the Resurrection Stone work so differently for Harry compared to the second brother in The Tale of the Three Brothers?
Cadmus Peverell used the stone to bring back the woman he loved, but the version of her that returned wasn’t truly alive. She was merely an echo of the person he had lost, and she couldn’t exist comfortably in the world of the living. Eventually, overwhelmed by grief, Cadmus took his own life to join her.
Harry, on the other hand, used the stone to summon his parents, Sirius and Lupin before walking into what he believed was certain death. They didn’t return to life either, but their presence comforted him and gave him the courage to face Voldemort.
So what made the difference? Was it their intentions, their understanding of death, or simply the fact that Harry wasn’t trying to bring his loved ones back permanently?
Perhaps the Resurrection Stone was never meant to reverse death. It could only bring back shadows of those who had passed, and how people responded to those shadows depended on their ability to accept loss.
Cadmus wanted to escape death through the people he had lost. Harry used the stone to find the strength to embrace it.
And that distinction makes their stories even more tragic and beautiful.
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What if Snape was actually Harry’s biological father?
Think about how much this would change the entire story. Snape’s role as a double agent was one of the most important parts of Voldemort’s downfall. He managed to deceive Voldemort for years, convincing him of his loyalty while secretly working with Dumbledore.
Now imagine if Voldemort discovered that Snape was Harry’s biological father. It would immediately expose Snape’s true allegiance and put both his life and Harry’s in danger.
Could Lily have deliberately concealed Harry’s true parentage, allowing everyone, including Voldemort, to believe James was his father? Perhaps Harry’s resemblance to James was more than coincidence in this hypothetical version of events.
It would also add another layer to Snape’s complicated relationship with Harry. His hostility, resentment, protectiveness and eventual sacrifice would become even more complicated if he were secretly protecting his own son.
Imagine Snape watching Harry grow up, knowing the truth but being unable to acknowledge him because doing so would jeopardise everything.
It’s not canon, of course, but as a fan-fiction theory, it opens up some fascinating possibilities. What if Snape wasn’t just protecting Lily’s son, but his own?
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What is one of the darkest elements of the Harry Potter story that rarely gets discussed?
The almost unquestioning faith the wizarding world placed in Albus Dumbledore, despite the fact that Voldemort remained a threat for decades and Dumbledore seemingly had no clear solution to stopping him.
Consider Remus Lupin’s words:
“It’s Dumbledore’s business. Dumbledore trusts Severus, and that ought to be good enough for all of us.”
And when Harry questions whether Dumbledore could be wrong about Snape, Lupin responds:
“People have said it, many times. It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore’s judgment. I do; therefore, I trust Severus.”
What makes this unsettling is that Dumbledore’s judgment had become enough of a guarantee for people to suspend their own doubts. His word carried so much weight that questioning his decisions almost seemed unreasonable.
It is somewhat haunting, and more than a little frightening, when you consider how rarely anyone who spent years around him seemed willing to challenge him. When does trust in a person’s wisdom become blind faith?
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Quite frankly, for three great qualities.
Many people can point out flaws in the Harry Potter series, but there are three massive qualities that more than compensate for them.
First: the writing feels light and vivid. You simply can't stop reading.
Hell, I was 13 when I started reading it, and I barely had any experience reading books longer than 50 pages. Yet I finished the first book in one Saturday. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
How many fictional books can boast the same?
But being easy to read means little if the story isn't interesting. Which brings us to the second quality.
Second: the characterization is simple, yet effective.
Harry is our gateway into the magical world. The Dursleys are the boring family trying to drag him down. Hagrid is the rugged gentle giant. Draco is the bully. Ron is the new friend. Hermione is the bossy, nerdy girl. Dumbledore is the wise mentor. And so on.
Third: as Harry grows older, the story progresses and the tone shifts.
It would get boring very quickly if Harry kept solving problems through convenient plot devices and sheer luck, as he does in PS and CoS. In PoA, he has to learn the Patronus Charm. In GoF, he spends days in the library looking for new spells and learning them.
Harry goes from being a kid with a wand to an admirable wizard capable of handling a wide range of problems. The happy-go-lucky tone of the first books gradually gives way to something more nuanced and slightly grittier. The threats to the Wizarding World become increasingly serious and imminent.
The Harry Potter books are light, quick on their feet, and still pack a powerful punch when they want to. No wonder the series became the Muhammad Ali of the fantasy genre.
Why does Harry Potter deserve to be one of the most popular fictional stories ever created?
Is it because of the magical world, the unforgettable characters, or the way Hogwarts feels like a second home to millions of fans?
Harry Potter isn't just about spells, wands, and defeating Voldemort. It's a story about friendship, love, loss, sacrifice, and growing up in a world that isn't always fair.
We watched Harry go from a lonely boy living under the stairs to someone willing to sacrifice his own life to save others.
We grew attached to characters like Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Dumbledore, Snape, and the Weasleys, each bringing something unforgettable to the story.
And perhaps that's what makes Harry Potter special. Even after knowing how the story ends, people still return to Hogwarts and discover something new.
But do you think Harry Potter genuinely deserves its worldwide popularity, or is nostalgia doing most of the work?
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There are many reasons he couldn't do this.
First of all he didn't want to die. Which is what would have happened if he hadn't competed. The book makes it clear, you don't compete you die.
And the whole he could show up and not do anything is bonk as well. Magic has rules. This spell is a competition. The rules say if you don't compete, not just show up, you die.
We see plenty of examples of this, one is Fred and George's aging potion. The spell knew they were too young and kicked them out.
Second Harry represented not only Hogwarts but Gryffindor. Those who say he shouldn't care have never been in a position where other people's honor depends on you. It would not have mattered if he didn't put his name in the cup but now that it came out he sure had better compete or show himself without honor.
Third he wanted to impress Cho. Beautiful, athletic, fearless Cho. Enough said
And fourth, he had a reputation. A reputation of rule breaking and always taking the harder path. That mind of reputation is not something to easily walk away from.
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In the storyline of Harry Potter, People misunderstood the Fact that Snape’s Worst Memory is not all about Lily Evans.
It’s not even mostly about Lily.
…Snape was… …hanging upside down in the air.
“Who wants to see me take off Snivelly’s pants?” (James Potter)
But whether James really did take off Snape’s pants, Harry never found out. A hand had closed tight over his upper arm… Wincing, Harry… …saw… …a fully grown, adult-sized Snape standing right beside him, white with rage…
… “Amusing man, your father, wasn’t he?” said Snape...
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
Most people think Snape’s Worst Memory is about calling Lily a Mudblood, leading to their breakup and her romance with James.
But, Snape’s Worst Memory doesn’t include the scene where Lily completely breaks it off with Snape outside Gryffindor Tower and that’s what should have been the worse part, Lily actually ending things… Or even seeing Lily become romantic with James, come to think of it. That would be worse, too. But Lily didn't become romantic with James until two years later, after Snape had accepted the breakup. So, just calling Lily, “Mudblood,” couldn’t be the worst possible memory in Severus’ life. That’s not why it’s called, Snape’s Worst Memory.
It’s called Snape’s Worst Memory because the worst thing imaginable happened short of death; James exposed Snape in front of the entire student body.
We never see the actual transgression but remember – none of the faculty or teachers ever reference any of this when reminiscing about James years later, indicating no adult was there to witness or stop James. Snape simply interrupts the scene, pulling Harry from the Pensieve in a rage. Most people dismiss Snape’s anger as just more petty vindictiveness. But Harry outright and intentionally invaded Snape’s privacy in an appalling fashion. Professor Snape was justified to be so angry. So, we’re fooling ourselves, aren’t we?
We spend four books wondering why Snape is such an asshole, but when the explanation appears, we are so emotionally invested in despising him, we refuse to admit he had understandable reasons for his hostility. That’s what a good author does; she paints the scene and then cuts to twenty years later, when Snape is suddenly petty, cruel and vindictive towards James’ son. Honestly, for all the criticism Rowling gets for plot holes and continuity issues, what she did with Snape’s Worst Memory, she did masterfully.
I mean, of course, Snape was such a jackass; he’d been emasculated by his worst enemy and James had never been held accountable; instead, James was lauded as this almost saint-like wizard. Who wouldn’t be bitter, cruel and vindictive later in life having to live with that?
Calling Lily a “Mudblood,” would be very, very secondary.
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Just how powerful a wizard was the out-of-retirement Potions Master, Horace Slughorn?
Powerful enough that the second greatest Legilimens ever, Albus Dumbledore, couldn’t get Slughorn’s memory from him, instead having to pass on to Harry Potter what the Hogwarts Headmaster couldn’t accomplish on his own.
«“What gave it away?” he (Slughorn) grunted…»
«…”if the Death Eaters really had come to call, the Dark Mark would have been set over the house.” (Dumbledore)»
«…“The Dark Mark,” he (Slughorn) muttered. “Knew there was something ... ah well. Wouldn’t have had time anyway, I’d only just put the finishing touches to my upholstery when you entered the room.”…»
«…Would you like my assistance clearing up?” asked Dumbledore...»
«“Please,” said the other.»
«They stood back to back, the tall thin wizard and the short round one, and waved their wands in one identical sweeping motion.»
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
In our first introduction to Professor Slughorn, it’s implied that Horace could never pull a fast one over on Professor Dumbledore, but what gets missed is… well… Horace already had pulled a fast one on Dumbledore.
Because Dumbledore had obtained a memory that he must have believed at some point proved Tom Riddle, Jr. learned about Horcruxes from Horace, only to learn later the memory was a false one. And the way Slughorn reacted to Harry later when he comes to ask about Horcruxes, well, it also seems like Dumbledore tried to obtain that memory through nefarious means.
And apparently Dumbledore had run out of tricks to get Slughorn’s memory from that point on, because suddenly the only person who could obtain the memory was Harry Potter.
As for how strong a wizard Professor Slughorn was, he kind of reminds of Matthew Quigley from the movie, Quigley Down Under.
Spoiler Alert: for those of you who saw that very fun Western starring Tom Selleck, which is set in the beautiful landscapes of wild Australia, you might recall throughout the movie different people asked Quigley, a long-distance rifle sharpshooter, if he wanted to use a six-gun revolver as a defensive weapon.
Quigley kept responding that he’d never really had much use for a revolver. And, indeed, we see Quigley do all his damage using his 1874 modified Sharps Rifle.
But, in the end, the evil rancher makes Quigley face him in an old-fashioned quick-draw gunfight. Thinking he is making it impossible for Quigley to win, the evil rancher, Elliot Marsten, forces Quigley to use a revolver instead of Quigley’s favored Sharps rifle.
Of course, Quigley outdraws Marsten and shoots him dead. Quigley’s last line to the dying Marsten was something like this:
«“Said I never had much use for one. Never said I didn’t know how to use it.” (Matthew Quigley to Elliott Marsten)»
Quigley Down Under (1990)
Which meant that Quigley was as good with a six-shooter as he was with his Sharps Rifle. He just never bragged about it. And that was always how I saw Professor Slughorn; good at any magic, but not really ever advertising it.
Particularly in the Harry Potter movie, but also a bit in the story, we’re led to believe that Horace is a little bit of a bumbler; great at potions, but somewhat imperfect as a wizard, like Cornelius Fudge or Bob Ogden. Capable, but mistake prone.
But Horace was really always quite excellent at any type of magic. He clearly knew the value of Venomous Tentacula and Acromantula Venom. And not unlike Albus Dumbledore, Professor Slughorn was cautious about his use of magic, typically a sign of a powerful wizard.
We should also remember, Slughorn battled Lord Voldemort alongside Kingsley Shacklebolt and Minerva McGonagall. While on the surface, that doesn’t seem like much a feat, it’s still an indication of how strong a wizard Horace was that he participated in the Battle of Hogwarts and came out alive.
People underestimate just how powerful Horace Slughorn actually was.
He wasn’t just a Potions professor hiding from Voldemort. He was skilled enough to stand alongside McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt and duel Voldemort himself.
So what made Slughorn such a formidable wizard, and why do fans rarely give him credit for it?
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Be kind to people always. It’s very important
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