It’s no secret that we love Harry Potter (both the character and the series). We love him for his bravery, loyalty, and perseverance.
We also love him despite his faults, of which there are quite a few. Hey, he’s human after all.
Nobody’s perfect. We know this, and Harry’s an excellent example given his status as “The Chosen One.” In addition to his heroic and triumphant moments, he has his fair share of not-so-good moments.
With all instances of pure love (like we have for Harry and his friends), you have to take the good with the bad. Love people for their strengths and despite their shortcomings.
In honor of Harry Potter’s birthday, here are 14 times that he was kinda horrible but we still love him anyway (in both the books and the movies).
Related: 13 reasons why we love Ron Weasley no matter what anybody says
The time where Harry ignored Parvati Patil at the Yule Ball
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We totally get the fact that he was pining over Cho when he asked Parvati to the Yule Ball, but he didn’t have to be a jerk about it! He could have at least talked to the girl, gotten her a drink, or complimented her more than he did other girls. It’s a good thing that Harry’s swag game eventually picked up later in life.
The time where Harry was a bit full of himself (x4985703986)
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Tone it down a few notches there, slugger.
The time where Harry put off preparing for a Triwizard task (x3)
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Because it’s not like the tasks were life-threatening or called for a level of magic that Harry hadn’t yet reached, right? Obviously paying more attention to his normal coursework was more important. Oh wait.
The time Harry wanted to meet up with Hermione in the middle of a date with Cho
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Bro. Bad idea. It’s a terrible thing to consider in the first place, but after finding out exactly how unstable Cho was about Cedric’s death you’d think our boy Harry would have more sense than that. This was just one of those moments where we wanted to shake Harry and then spill the sugar bowl into his lap.
The time where Harry didn’t even try to get a memory from Slughorn and then pouted when Dumbledore lectured him
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If Dumbledore tells you to do something, you do it. No questions asked. Especially when you want some information from him in return. It was just flat out painful to witness the little fit that Harry had when Dumbledore lectured him about his lack of effort in retrieving Slughorn’s memory. He had one job!
The time when Harry didn’t help with Buckbeak’s appeal
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Your friend’s animal friend (you know, the one who let you ride him) is being executed and yet all you can think about is a tiff that you’re having with your best friend (who you know you’ll make up with). Come on Harry. Hagrid would drop everything to help Harry and Harry couldn’t even help Hermione with the appeal for Buckbeak. It’s a good thing Harry made up for it later by rescuing Buckbeak!
The time when Harry gets angry at Hermione for her worrying about his Firebolt
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We understand that he was excited about this shiny new broomstick, but, considering the fact that he thought Sirius Black was out to murder him, you’d think he’d be a little more cautious. Plus, accepting magical gifts is a terrible idea in the first place. There are so many things that could’ve been wrong with that broomstick. Above all though, you always trust what Hermione says. She’s logical and usually right.
The time where Harry kept trying to throw Malfoy under the bus for their entire 6th year
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In all honesty, we were so disappointed that, even though he had no proof of Draco’s wrongdoing, Harry turned out to be right. How great would it have been if he was wrong?
The times where Harry yelled at Kreacher (even though Kreacher was being a jerk)
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Ugh, so cringe-worthy. No, Kreacher wasn’t being pleasant but we still expected more of Harry because he’s Harry. BUT it made Harry’s growth in respect towards Kreacher that much better, so there’s that!
The time where Harry abandons his watch post to follow a deer apparition into the darkened woods
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Because that sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? You have a friend counting on you to keep you safe, but you see a pretty silver doe in the woods and say “Screw it”? There were people out there trying to catch Harry and turn him over to the Death Eaters. Why didn’t you consider the risks, Harry? Why?
(On the upside, at least the adventure ended with Ron’s return!)
The time where Harry used the Imperius curse on a goblin
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Harry’s casting of the Imperius curse was questionable at best, especially since he didn’t seem to show any sort of remorse over it. Yes, he’s at war and he’s trying to protect his friends as best he can. That’s great. But he could have shown a twinge of remorse for using an Unforgivable Curse, right?
The time where Harry was in ‘The Order of the Phoenix’
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While The Order of the Phoenix is one of our favorite entries in the series, it’s a bit difficult to ignore the fact that Harry left his caps lock on for the entire book (and movie). He totally gets a pass from us because it was a very puberty-heavy and intense time in his life, but we’re still allowed to cringe right?
The time where Harry took his anger out on his friends
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Hey, we get it. Life can be rough, especially for the chosen one. While we definitely cringed when he took his anger out on his friends, at least he only did it once, right?
The time where Harry took his anger out on his friends (again)
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Dang it. Oh well, we still love him!