From afar, and without hesitation: Tom Riddle Senior, Lord Voldemort’s father.
Source: Google Images
Let’s recap. He was a wealthy and charming Muggle who lived near the Gaunts’ house and often rode by their house—sometimes with his fiancee, Cecilia. Merope Gaunt, a witch by profession, fell in love with him — despite the bullying and humiliation of her father and brother, who hated the idea that a Pureblood like Merope could fall in love with a Muggle. When her family reunited in Azkaban, Merope found herself alone and independent, and made Tom – thirsty after a cavalcade – drink a drink in which she had poured a love potion. Tom falls madly in love with her; several months later, they marry; and again a little later, Merope becomes pregnant. Thinking that pregnancy would ensure that Tom would stay with her, Merope stopped administering the potion.
Tom wakes up, and immediately leaves Merope, returning to his native village of Great Hangleton, explaining that he has been manipulated and bewitched. Alone and on the street – because she was unable to return home, where the villagers took Tom’s side – Merope ended up dying giving birth to Tom Junior aka Voldemort. Fifteen years later, Tom returns to Great Hangleton, where he finds his grandparents and Tom (without a wife or children, it should be noted) and murders them, framing his uncle Morfin Gaunt (because Voldemort is nice like that). where the villagers took Tom’s side — Merope ends up dying giving birth to Tom Junior aka Voldemort. Fifteen years later, Tom returns to Great Hangleton, where he finds his grandparents and Tom (without a wife or children, it should be noted) and murders them, framing his uncle Morfin Gaunt (because Voldemort is nice like that). where the villagers took Tom’s side — Merope ends up dying giving birth to Tom Junior aka Voldemort. Fifteen years later, Tom returns to Great Hangleton, where he finds his grandparents and Tom (without a wife or children, it should be noted) and murders them, framing his uncle Morfin Gaunt (because Voldemort is nice like that).
What many people don’t understand about Tom Senior?
It’s that he was raped.
Because yes, a man can be raped. A woman can rape a man.
And that’s what Merope did.
Merope gave Tom drugs that made him lose his common sense and manipulated his mind into believing he was hopelessly in love with Merope—he didn’t love her, never would have loved her. When Tom had sex with Merope, he did not consent. She had drugged him so that he would systematically say “yes”. None of these “yes” were true. Tom did not consent.
Tom woke up a few months later, after months of manipulation, to discover not only that he had been raped but that his rapist was pregnant by him. What did he do ? He left. He ran away.
And, it will be noted in passing, he never remarried — no matter Cecilia, no matter how attractive he is. No, Tom stayed with his parents. Because Tom was so traumatized.
If you look at the Quora across the way, it’s amazing how many questions there are to accuse Tom. “Shouldn’t he have stayed with Merope?”, “Why did he abandon his child?”, “If Tom Sr had raised Tom Jr himself, wouldn’t that have stopped Lord Voldemort surfaces?”, “Why did Tom Sr abandon his wife and baby?”, “Would things have been different if Tom had stayed with Merope?”, etc., etc..
Source: Google Images
Let’s reverse roles for two minutes, shall we? Marvin Gaunt, a wizard by profession, falls madly in love with the beautiful Muggle Tamara Riddle. But Tamara doesn’t love her — so Marvin makes her drink a magic potion that fakes the feeling of love and poof! Marvin and Tamara are getting married. Tamara wakes up a few months later. Under the influence of the potion, she had sex with Marvin even though she didn’t want to have it. And now she’s pregnant.
Let’s put things into perspective again by saying that Marvin is just as Muggle as Tamara. During a party, he gives her GHB, has sex with her, and Tamara becomes pregnant.
In these scenarios, everyone (or almost) would agree that Marvin is a monster of the worst kind. He used substances (potions or drugs, it’s the same thing, except with the potion it lasts longer) to rape her. Tamara is a victim. No one would blame Tamara if she decided to have an abortion or leave her child at the orphanage, with a couple who wanted to adopt or with social services. Everyone would agree that this is the right thing to do. And if Marvin, unhappy because he no longer had his Tamara, let himself die, no one would care—except perhaps to lament that he hadn’t been condemned by justice.
By reversing the roles, the situation becomes very clear.
We tend to despise fathers who abandon their pregnant girlfriend and never care about their child — and rightly so. Except that Tom Senior’s situation has nothing to do with it. He didn’t gleefully take advantage of his relationship with Merope until, oops, a liability he doesn’t want appeared. It’s not the classic “I’m getting my girl pregnant but I don’t want this kid so I’m leaving” stunt, because Tom was never willing and willing in this relationship. Tom was the victim.
And once he woke up, he did what any victim would do: he ran as far away as he could.
What responsibility did he have towards this child? This baby had been conceived by violating her consent and her person. No one in their right mind would ask a raped woman to assume her “responsibilities” towards the fetus growing in her womb; Tom didn’t have to either. What Tom had to do was get to safety and heal from his trauma.
Many cite Voldemort’s words in Book 2 to support their opinion that Tom should have raised this child — and who cares if that meant staying with his rapist, of course. Voldemort insults at leisure his “Muggle father” who abandoned him and his mother. What few people seem to grasp is that Voldemort’s little number isn’t a cry for help — “yeah yeah, my daddy left me, I’m so sad.” No way.
Source: Google Images
Voldemort is a misogynistic man if there ever was one (didn’t anyone notice that there were a whopping total of two women among his Death Eaters? One of whom is the wife of a Death Eater and the other the sister of a Death Eater?). He always thought that his mother must have had no magical powers, because she died giving birth to him, and that he must therefore have got his talents as a sorcerer from his father – he explains this in volume 6, in the memories of Dumbledore. He sees his father as a powerful man.
-Was my father a wizard? I was told that his name was also Tom Riddle.”I’m afraid I don’t know,” Dumbledore replied softly.”Surely my mother didn’t have magical powers, otherwise she wouldn’t have died,” Riddle said, more to himself than to Dumbledore. It was probably him, the wizard. And once I’ve bought my things, when will I go to Hogwarts?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Chapter 13, “Riddle’s Secret”
If he’s looking everywhere for a “Riddle”, it’s not to find his dad (Voldy doesn’t care about his family; he has his uncle Morfin condemned without the slightest qualm, just to get rid of from him), but to prove that he comes from a witch lineage, if possible pure. He does not murder his father to take revenge for this abandonment (which no doubt suits him very well; he did not seek to know Morfin before having him condemned) but because he wants to get rid of the proof that his blood is not pure. His resentment comes not from the fact that his father abandoned him, but from the fact that his father was not a wizard; because it was his mother the witch, this mother so weak and contemptible that she died giving birth to him.
-You see ? he [Voldemort] whispered. It’s a name I already used at Hogwarts, for my closest friends. So you think I was going to accept the “game of fate” that had given me this filthy name of “Riddle”, bequeathed by my Muggle father? Me, my mother’s heir to the blood of Salazar Slytherin running through my veins? Me, keeping the despicable name of a miserable Muggle who abandoned me before I was even born, the day he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry, I made myself a new name, and I knew the time would come when other wizards would be afraid to say that name, when I had become the greatest wizard in the world!
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Chapter 17, “The Heir of Slytherin”
Look at the way Voldemort frames his accusations. He rejects his father because he is Muggle, he who only wants to accept the “pure” and glorious part of his origins. He condemns his father because he abandoned him—certainly—but because he abandoned him when he discovered that his wife was a witch. This isn’t exactly the truth, but it fits into Voldemort’s general discourse: “Muggles are inferior. They hate us and because of their hatred we are forced to live in the shadows, while our magic keeps us automatically makes us superior to them. We must dominate them.” In short, Voldemort’s speech never says that he is unhappy because he did not have a father. The supposed abandonment is simply another way for Voldemort toto reject their domination of society.
Unfortunately, few people understand this, and everyone is quick to take Merope’s side, including Dumbledore who encourages Harry to have “compassion” for her, when Harry is indignant that she did not even have the will to live for his son. Dumbledore who paints a compassionate picture of Merope — who, certainly, deserved compassion for the miserable life she had led, much less for having drugged Tom — and who explains that Tom left her “without bothering to know what what had become of his son.
Tom Senior is not only misunderstood by quite a few fans, he is also sadly misunderstood by Dumbledore himself — who, by the way, was born in the Victorian era, and who himself suffered deeply from ” the abandonment” of his father (by abandonment I mean that Percival Dumbledore went to Azkaban after molesting Muggles who themselves molested his daughter Ariana).
Maybe JK Rowling wanted to show us the tragic story of Tom Senior. Maybe she didn’t realize all the horror he went through. I don’t know.
But Tom Senior makes me sad. Drug. Manipulated. Violated. The target of village gossip and rumors. Traumatized. Murdered — by his son moreover. Dragged through the mud fifty years after his death as if he had abandoned his wife and child when he fled his rapist.
The moral of his story? Men can be raped too. Do not forget it. Don’t make fun. Take this very seriously. Because there are men in this world who suffer from the same wounds and trauma as Tom Senior, and at present, our society prefers to ignore them or make fun of them rather than help them.
Unpopular opinions about Harry Potter
Many things are actually said about the Harry Potter saga, by some, with which it is impossible to agree. Especially since these opinions are solely due to the film adaptation.
Indeed, certain changes were made so subtly in the films that they changed some people’s perceptions of the characters.
In fact, some believe, for example, that Harry and Ginny were not a good couple at all.
The films are entirely responsible for this opinion for the simple reason that the character of Ginny Weasley was completely massacred in them. Indeed, bland and non-existent on screen, his relationship with Harry even immediately created great unease. His character was completely undeveloped, very poorly developed, and therefore seemed to come out of nowhere.
In reality, Ginny was a very dynamic young girl in the books. She was intelligent, courageous, attractive, funny and had a lot of character. As a result, Harry logically fell in love with her.
They both understood each other perfectly. Ginny never hesitated to speak her mind and stood up to him. They were very honest with each other and trusted each other. Both had the same values and had the same vision of the world around them. Of course, they also shared the same unconditional love for Quidditch and, most importantly, they had the same sense of humor. Ginny made him laugh, she was a source of perpetual joy for him, and that’s what Harry needed most. So, he logically felt good with her.
Clearly, we can easily say that they had the healthiest relationship in the entire saga.
The same thing happened with Ron and Hermione’s relationship. From some people’s point of view, they shouldn’t have ended up together.
Again, this is entirely due to the movies. Indeed, Hermione’s character was so praised and Ron’s was so demeaned that some people, wrongly, did not understand the point of their relationship.
Obviously, everything is very different in the books.
These two complemented each other through their differences and helped each other evolve. Besides, they weren’t that different. After all, they weren’t friends for no reason. Ron brought the little dose of humor that Hermione lacked and she brought a little hint of intelligence to the lessons.
Hermione was logically attracted to the mysterious Ron, because the latter possessed this nonchalance that she would never have. As for him, he was the only one who could stand up to Hermione. She loved it and above all, she really needed it.
Why wouldn’t he deserve it? There’s no good reason, and the fact that she worked more than him wasn’t one of them.
Thus, as a direct consequence of the previous fact, some still believe that Harry and Hermione should have ended up together. Indeed, Ron having been demeaned, why doesn’t Hermione choose Harry the hero, instead of Ron the simpleton. Except these two could never have formed a harmonious couple.
In fact, it must be understood that Ron was Harry’s true right-hand man. Of course, the latter adored Hermione, like a sister, but he logically preferred having fun with Ron rather than spending his time in the library with Hermione.
Besides, Harry wasn’t sexually attracted to Hermione at all . The latter was sorely lacking in humor, a characteristic that Harry particularly liked. A polite silence had settled between them over time. Harry never stood up to Hermione. They sometimes even had difficulty communicating. When she irritated him, he let her talk or let Ron argue with her. When Ron took Hermione’s side, Harry often became very cold towards her.
Obviously, Harry and Hermione adored each other. However, there was no chemistry or attraction between them. Behaving like brother and sister, it is clear that their relationship could never have worked.
Other direct consequences of the previous facts, certain people who obviously do not know what it is concretely to experience racism, saw Draco Malfoy as someone good and believed that he could have formed a beautiful couple with Hermione.
Once again, the films are responsible for this idea since they showed Draco Malfoy much less evil and vicious than in the novels.
Indeed, throughout their schooling, Malfoy will act like a spoiled bastard . He shared his father’s racism, humiliated Ron because of his poverty, wished Hermione dead, corrupted her house to play Quidditch, lied to get his teachers fired, made fun of Cedric Diggory’s death, collaborated with Rita Skeeter and Dolores Umbridge, knocked Harry to the ground and even attempted to torture him, plotted against Albus Dumbledore, and then ultimately put lives in danger by bringing Death Eaters into Hogwarts.
To take revenge for his father’s failure, Lord Voldemort gave him a mission of which he would be very proud. He also bragged about it to his friends. It will only be when he fails that he realizes that there was nothing nice about being a Death Eater. However, he remained no less detestable.
Certainly, he will not kill Albus Dumbledore and will hesitate to denounce the trio in Malfoy Manor. But it was only out of cowardice and opportunism. The Malfoys were defined by these characteristics. Indeed, Draco will not be able to kill Dumbledore out of cowardice and fear for his mother. He hesitated to denounce the trio, because he especially did not want Lord Voldemort to come to the manor.
Why would Draco end up with Hermione? It’s not an impossible love like Romeo and Juliet, in truth, they hated each other more than anything . Draco even wished him dead several times. Certainly, the amalgamation is quickly made with the very likeable and attractive Tom Felton, but let’s not confuse everything. Moreover, the very idea of this couple is problematic and greatly demeans Hermione’s intelligence.
Let’s talk about this character. Many believe, wrongly, that Hermione Granger was the true heroine of the saga. This is false of course. It is certain that Harry was the true hero of the saga, and for many reasons.
In reality, most people don’t understand the meaning of the term “hero.” In literature, we distinguish several types. The one who is born with powers, but who is aware of them, the one who acquires this status thanks to his heroic acts, or the hero who has always been destined for great things, but who is unaware of it. Generally, this hero is the chosen one in a prophecy called to become the one who will defeat evil. It is the latter that interests us here.
It goes without saying, Harry is the real hero of the saga, because it is about his own quest, his initiatory journey, and not Hermione’s. However, it is true that a hero needs to be surrounded.
Once again, the films made Hermione a perfect daughter. The one who saved everyone and never lost her cool. In truth, this wasn’t always the case.
Sure, she was great, but not perfect. Certainly, Harry could never have succeeded without Hermione, but he could never have succeeded without Ron either, and without so many others. Conversely, it is clear that Hermione would never have been able to move forward without Harry and Ron.
Often we hear that “without Hermione, Harry would have died in the first book” . Actually, yes and no. Of course, she will manage to pass the potions test, but without Ron, they would never have been able to pass the chess test to get to potions, without Harry, they would not have passed the keys test, without Hagrid , they would have been killed by Touffu. Likewise, if we follow this logic, without Ron, Hermione would have been killed from the start by the troll.
In truth, the trio worked perfectly well, because they all brought something to the group. Their union was their strength. Hermione couldn’t be the real hero, because she couldn’t do it alone. She needed to be part of a team. Indeed, logic and reason work very well, but it is essential to have intuition and a sixth sense in crucial moments. What she didn’t have.
An opinion that also seems rather popular is that Hufflepuff house only welcomes losers. Obviously, this is one hundred percent false.
In truth, Hufflepuffs were the most loyal friends a person could find. They were also loyal to their house and did not hesitate to defend it. They were the most hardworking wizards in the magical world, always doing their best in everything they did and were often rewarded for it .
Having a strong desire to always tell the truth, they behaved honestly in everything they did. Besides, that’s why they were so close to the Gryffindors. Additionally, unlike the other three houses, Hufflepuffs never displayed arrogance. They were modest and humble and wanted to stay away from anyone who was not that way.
Of course, they could be naive and easily deceived and exploited. Very modest, they could sometimes not see themselves at their true value. Certainly, because of their humility, and therefore sometimes their lack of confidence, they were seen as worthless by some.
Finally, what clearly differentiates Hufflepuff house from other houses is that their faults only influence themselves and not others. Which was absolutely not the case for Ravenclaw house, Gryffindor and even less Slytherin. Which therefore makes it the most morally pure house.
Add to this that it is the least discriminating house of the four. Indeed, Helga Hufflepuff didn’t care about lineage or blood purity. She didn’t want to know if the wizard was brave or intelligent and felt that everyone deserved an education and the chance to learn, regardless of their weaknesses. Moreover, for all these reasons, no famous Death Eater seems to have left this house.
In addition, this house welcomed more than emblematic students.
Indeed, Cedric Diggory, loyal and brilliant, was still the representative of Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament. Hengist of Woodroft was the founder of Hogsmeade. Nymphadora Tonks was one of the best Aurors and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. The famous Norbert Dragoneau wrote the no less famous collection Fantastic Beasts. Finally, Pomona Sprout, the botany professor, will be the one who saved the victims of the Basilisk with her Mandrake filter.
The Hufflepuffs’ contribution was undeniable and students such as Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie MacMillan were among the first to show their loyalty and unwavering support for Harry. Clearly, they weren’t dummies.
Other persistent prejudices about one of the houses of Hogwarts, some only see Slytherin students as bad guys. As with Hufflepuff house, some make generalizations .
Certainly, the Slytherin house was represented rather negatively by JK Rowling. In fact, all the big bad guys in the saga come from it, not to mention Lord Voldemort, who is its heir. However, this will not prevent some people from fighting against their bad reputation, which could sometimes be unjustified.
Slytherins were very ambitious and wanted to be the best, the smartest and the most popular. So they often became powerful in the wizarding world. They were very intelligent, but not in the same way as Ravenclaws. In fact, they did not seek to expand their knowledge, but rather to use it to their advantage. Their cunning aided them in their quest for glory and power, and their ingenuity made them capable of making the best of any situation, even the worst. Like Hufflepuffs, they were very determined, but in a more self-centered way.
Certainly, they could be Machiavellian quite quickly. They did not hesitate to do morally ambiguous things to achieve their goals. This can be positive, but unfortunately it could also make them appear calculating.
However, humans are much more complex than simply ambitious or cunning. Certainly, a house that accepts the most ambitious has a better chance of welcoming future dark mages into its midst. However, that’s not why they all became so. The fact that Slytherin was racist means that many in his house share his ideas by inheritance. The more entrenched the inheritance, the more it persists. Except that no one is born racist, we become them.
Clearly, Severus Snape was not a healthy person, but he knew how to show a certain form of courage. Regulus Black, too. Horace Slughorn was pretty special, but he was still a good man. Add to this that the great Merlin himself was in Slytherin.
The moral is there. Harry himself will understand at the end of the story that it is always our choices that define us, and not the house to which wizards are sent.
Some also see Ron as a backward simpleton. Once again, let’s thank the films that made Ron this slightly stupid being. In these, we laugh at Ron and not with Ron. Which is not the same thing.
In truth, Ron was far from stupid. Like Harry, he was lazy in class, but intelligent. Funny doesn’t mean stupid. Which obviously the films did not understand. Ron was the one who brought knowledge of the magical world, humor and above all common sense in difficult times. Which Harry, but especially Hermione, was incapable of.
Ron was brave and very loyal to those he loved. Clearly, he was the glue of the trio, without him, there was no joy between Harry and Hermione. In fact, she lacked humor and Harry could quickly fall into melancholy. They knew full well that without Ron, they were nothing.
Many also believe that Severus Snape was a good person.
Yes and no. Severus Snape is the antihero of the saga. The grayest character. Truly, he was a bad guy on the side of the good guys, and a good guy on the side of the bad guys.
Certainly, he proved his courage by being a double agent in the service of good. He participated in a sense in protecting Harry, to fulfill his life debt to his mother whom he loved. However, it is only because of this life debt that he will act this way, and not for the common good. He didn’t care about Harry. Snape will not evolve because of his love for Lily, but because of her death. Which is very different.
In addition, let’s not forget that he deliberately and without reason persecuted Harry and his classmates throughout their schooling. Clearly, he was far from obligated to be vile and unfair to innocent students like Neville Longbottom. It is therefore certain that Severus Snape was not a good person strictly speaking.
Same thing with the illustrious headmaster of Hogwarts. Some see him as an evil manipulator. What is wrong.
Certainly, Harry doubted Albus Dumbledore during his quest for the hallows, given that the latter had told him little. Not only about the quest, but also about his life. However, he will do it for the sole purpose of protecting Harry and leading him to his destiny in the best possible way.
Was he right to do this and leave Harry in the dark? Maybe not. However, to err is human and some people don’t understand that. So, they are unable to see beyond that.
The wizard had guessed that Harry would have to sacrifice himself. Besides, let us understand that the latter would never have lived with the soul of Lord Voldemort in him anyway. In fact, Albus would tell him at the last moment, because he didn’t want Harry to panic. In the end, he helped him until the end, by allowing him to be with those he loves, thanks to the resurrection stone, because he knew well that Harry’s strength was his ability to to like.
So all will be forgiven when they reunite at King Cross. Harry will understand that a man has difficult choices to make in life. He will also understand that Dumbledore loved him, even though he believed the opposite. He will forgive him, and even name one of his sons in his honor. Absolutely, Albus Dumbledore was complex, just like Severus Snape and that’s why we love these characters.
So let’s continue with the misunderstood characters by addressing the character of James Potter. Some see him as the worst tyrant. Once again, this is absurd. Those who think this are often the same ones who worship Severus Snape.
In truth, James was not a tyrant. Certainly, he did some big stupid things in the company of his group of friends when he was young. However, we see too little to judge.
Furthermore, their hatred was completely mutual. Besides, Severus Snape was not a paragon of virtue either. The latter was part of a group that persecuted muggle children such as the woman he loved. Certainly, James had a somewhat questionable adolescence, but in the end, not as much as Snape. Plus, everyone spoke of James to Harry as being a great wizard, a loyal friend, and a devoted father, which was clearly not without reason.
Let’s finally end with this common idea that Lavender Brown and Cho Chang are stupid girls. Many think so, but it is incorrect.
In truth, they are mainly teenagers to whom JK Rowling did not do any favors. It is clear that the canon couples are the best. However, that didn’t mean Cho and Lavender were stupid.
Cho would not be suitable for Harry, because he badly needed humor and joy in his life, while Cho cried all the time, because of his sadness related to Cedric’s death. However, we can understand it. Besides, Harry will handle her very badly. In short, it was not a good time for them at all.
As for Lavender, it’s the same thing.
The film adaptation made her a crazy girl, but in the books her behavior towards Ron was completely understandable. The young boy will say that she was crazy to stick him, so he completely ignored her. Clearly, Lavender had reason to be upset. They were still dating at the time, and Ron treated her like nothing.
Honestly, she didn’t deserve it. Just like the hatred that some people have for him.
What are the most horrible innuendoes about the Harry Potter universe?
The most horrible implication of the Harry Potter saga, in my opinion, is that, when it has been established for too long in a society, slavery is very complicated to eradicate, even by those who are held in slavery. At least, that is JK Rowling’s message.
Indeed, in the wizarding world, the slavery of house elves is so entrenched in mentalities that wizards themselves think that these creatures exist only to serve them and like nothing else. Which unfortunately became true since his creatures’ brainwashing led them to think so.
Servitude? Slavery? Complicated to really sort things out. Hermione Granger is one of the only ones to show real anger at the condition of these creatures.
Ultimately, we even come to wonder if these do not actually exist for the sole purpose of serving sorcerers. After all why not, they are imaginary creatures, they could be naturally conditioned to serve.
However, Dobby did not seem to be conditioned by this, since he did not like and wanted to get out of this condition. We can therefore assume that they are indeed slaves. Even if we will never have a concrete answer.
House elves are clearly inspired by the Scottish legend of the Brownies. These hardworking creatures, carrying out the household chores of the family in which they are installed. Moreover, Brownies were easily banished from the home if the inhabitants offered them food or clothing. So the inspiration was real.
However, it would be far too simple if it was just an inspiration. JK Rowling likes to convey messages through her works. She, who worked for Amnesty International , certainly evokes her commitment through Hermione’s passionate defense of oppressed elves and her Society to Aid the Liberation of House Elves (SALE) . Moreover, the author emphasized that Hermione’s political consciousness was quite autobiographical.
The slavery of house elves therefore most certainly denounces the enslavement of peoples.
Moreover, this denunciation allows us to ask ourselves a simple question. Is slavery still problematic when slaves are happy to be slaves?
Obviously, no one is happy to be born a slave. Even house elves. The latter may think they are, because they were raised like that, then indoctrinated to satisfy a collective need, but they have no choice and will in any case be excluded if they escape their condition.
We witness this with Dobby, who, wishing to be paid after his release, will no longer find work with wizards. Certainly, he will ultimately be taken in at Hogwarts, thanks to the kindness of Dumbledore. The latter will even grant him a salary and days off. However, this treatment will be considered exaggerated for Dobby who will wish to reduce his salary, thus proving that even after his release, he was far too indoctrinated to completely escape his condition.
Slavery is depicted in a very interesting way in the saga. Through the elves, JK Rowling deals with slavery which for many centuries was considered normal by everyone. Which is obviously still the case among wizards.
Not only are the elves unaware of their condition, because they are in unfailing servitude. We see this very well with elves like Winky and Kreacher. But neither do wizards. Hermione is one of the only ones to claim this injustice. Certainly, not in the best way, but that’s part of his character. Dumbledore seems to be aware of this too. Regulus Black too in a sense. And certainly others that we don’t see.
Obviously, Hermione came from a world outside of the wizarding world. Harry too. He himself was aware of the problem. Plus, he really liked Dobby. However, he did not have Hermione’s passion and did not wish to participate in a fight that seemed lost in advance. Even our favorite gamekeeper, Hagrid, who never failed to help animals and even seemed to love the most repulsive creatures, refused to join and help the SALE.
“It wouldn’t be a good thing for them, Hermione,” Hagrid said seriously. It is in their nature to serve humans. That’s what they like, you know? You would make them unhappy if you took away their jobs and it would be insulting for them to try to pay them. » — Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Certainly, Hagrid was right in one sense. During revolutions, there is always damage. We know what we are leaving, but we never know what we will find. However, it is not by leaving things as they are, out of fear, that the world evolves.
Their comrades were also very reluctant to join his association. Ron too. He grew up in the wizarding world, was raised in this society, just like the elves. He therefore initially had no conscience and found this treatment normal. Why would he doubt it since it seems normal?
Obviously, Ron thought this out of inheritance and not out of real conviction. Like many families who had stops in the United States, back in the day, before the end of slavery. Although unacceptable, a large number of Americans owned slaves through inheritance and not out of real belief. It was like this and not otherwise. Here, there is that. The aim is above all to raise awareness, especially among the youngest.
Even if we will never know if the elves are like this because that is the sole purpose of their existence, or if they are really slaves, it will still have helped to awaken some conscience.
Starting with Ron, who will end up showing a keen interest in the safety of these creatures, during the Battle of Hogwarts. Besides, Hermione will not recover and we will witness their first kiss. Then, the house elves will participate in the battle, making an essential contribution to the final defeat of Voldemort and even saving the lives of the main protagonists.
Sirius, who however did not show much respect to Kreacher and will pay the price for it, said;
“If you want to know what a man is worth, look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” — Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The term slavery comes up repeatedly in the saga. That of the elves, but also the idea of being a slave to your fear and your cowardice. As Dumbledore says;
“You have to choose between good and easy.” — Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Thus, we understand that our freedom is as volatile as it is precious, but above all, never acquired.
Which Harry Potter character didn’t get the ending he deserved?
The character in the Harry Potter saga who did not get the ending he deserved, to his advantage, is undoubtedly Lucius Malfoy. By extension, we could say that his son and his wife, Draco and Narcissa were also to be put in the same basket. However, the father clearly stands out.
Remember who Lucius Malfoy really was and all the misdeeds he knowingly committed?
It is certain that this character was one of those who reinforced the idea that Slytherin house was full of vile and evil beings. Which of course wasn’t entirely true. For every Lucius, Voldemort or Lestrange, there was a Merlin, a Slughorn, a Regulus and an Andromeda Black.
Certainly, the members of this house were known for their cunning and ambition, but these qualities alone are not a bad thing. It is what we choose to do with it that determines the path we will take. This is what makes it the least morally pure Hogwarts house, unlike Hufflepuff whose traits were not ambiguous.
“It’s not our abilities that determine who we are, Harry, it’s our choices!” » – Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Obviously, Lucius Malfoy exploited these different characteristics in the worst possible way and deliberately chose to take the wrong path. His great devotion to the cause of Lord Voldemort and his mania for pure blood is clearly no longer in doubt.
Indeed, Lucius was a fully committed supporter of pure-blood supremacy. He despised muggles and muggle-borns, those he considered blood traitors, and instilled these values in his family, as his family had instilled them in him before, without ever any introspection.
Clearly, his beliefs fed his ego. In fact, he believed himself superior to those who did not share his opinions. Certainly, they were already odious, but he went beyond his ideas by directly joining Lord Voldemort’s close circle and consciously helping him in his quest to purify the wizarding world. He was also at his side during the two wizarding wars and played a more than decisive role.
Lucius’s aspirations focused primarily on power and influence in the wizarding world.
In truth, Lucius, Narcissa and Draco were the characters in the Harry Potter saga who were created to symbolize cowardice and opportunism. Each of them is defined by this characteristic. They have always known how to place their pawns, since the beginning of history. Never, in seven volumes, did they think of anything other than themselves or their interests.
In fact, Lucius had never done anything that wasn’t personally beneficial to him.
He worked his way into Cornelius Fudge’s good graces to ensure he could influence the decisions of the Ministry. He knowingly slipped Riddle’s diary into a child’s cauldron, intending to harm the Weasley family for personal satisfaction. He secured a place on the Hogwarts board of trustees to try to maintain control of the school and get rid of those he didn’t like. Not to mention attempted murder and other torture, among other things.
Ultimately, Lucius was an incredibly cowardly being, who possessed an immense talent for self-preservation. After all, he was one of Voldemort’s loyal disciples when the latter was still in power, but did not hesitate for a single moment to deny all allegiance to the Death Eaters during the dark wizard’s first fall. Cowardly asserting to the Ministry of Magic that he was forced by the Imperium Curse.
Finally, he subsequently repeated his behavior towards his master and crawled back into his ranks, even though he had betrayed him. Although his beliefs were nauseating, his willingness to abandon them whenever it was beneficial was pure cowardice .
In short, his ambition fueled his rigid nature and he clearly didn’t care who he hurt to get what he wanted. He was a completely despicable and uninteresting wizard, both cowardly and fundamentally opportunistic.
“He walked down the aisle between the tables and saw the three Malfoys, huddled together, as if they weren’t sure if they belonged here, but no one was paying them any attention. » – Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Therefore, needless to say, he deserved the worst. Few villains in the Harry Potter saga deserved a life sentence in Azkaban more than him.
However, do you know what happened to Lucius Malfoy after the Battle of Hogwarts, in which he cheekily joined the victors, in the company of his family? Was he sent to prison to pay for all the war crimes he had committed? Nope.
After the final battle, he was forgiven of his crimes, as he had abandoned Voldemort, although again, out of expediency. Deep down, his ideas had not changed, but no longer in the odor of holiness with his master, it no longer brought him anything to be a Death Eater, so he deserted. Moreover, it is clear that he had felt that the tide was turning for Voldemort, and therefore, that the latter was going to lose.
Thus, his crimes, and those of his son at the same time, were forgiven due to the fact that they had, it seems, abandoned the cause of Voldemort, for… what? A few hours ? And of course, because of Narcissa’s lie to the latter, who saved Harry’s life, in the Forbidden Forest.
Obviously, these actions were once again done out of pure cowardice and opportunism on their part. The interest in abandoning Voldemort, when the tide began to turn for him, and lying to him for the sole purpose of finding their son, was only out of personal interest.
“Were Lucius Malfoy and the other Death Eaters who escaped sent back to Azkaban?” JK Rowling: No, the Malfoys managed to get away with it (once again), using the fact that they had helped Harry (albeit selfishly) at the end of the battle. » — Cat by JK Rowling: the translation! — The Daily Prophet
Certainly it served good, but it was beneficial for them. Let’s not forget that as a good Slytherin, they were intelligent and cunning.
Ultimately, none of them served time in Azkaban. Sure, Draco was young, although an adult, and Narcissa had helped Harry in a way, but Lucius had done nothing.
In fact, it was thanks to the information he provided on the Death Eaters and his help in capturing Voldemort’s many fugitive disciplines that he was not locked up in prison for the rest of his life. In addition to being a coward, he was a snitch. Are we surprised?
Even though the revelation of their loyalty to Lord Voldemort had destroyed their precious reputation and few wizards forgot the Malfoy family’s loyalty to the forces of evil, Lucius’ punishment was not enough. Especially since it is certain that if Voldemort could have returned a third time, he would surely have crawled into his ranks again.
Why was he allowed to walk free for all the same, the second time, when his only action was to turn away from Voldemort at the very last second and hand over his colleagues?
Plus, we know for a fact that he hadn’t changed one bit after the final battle. His ideas remained exactly the same.
Indeed, from the marriage of his son Drago to Astoria Greengrass, his only grandson Scorpius will be born. It appears that due to Astoria’s change in views on blood purity after the war, Lucius and Narcissa felt that she was a disappointing daughter-in-law, despite her pureblood heritage. Thus proving that he had not changed his opinion that the purity of blood.
“Draco married the younger sister of one of his classmates. Astoria, who had acquired a more tolerant view of the pureblood, was a beautiful girl full of disappointment for Narcissa and Lucius. They had high hopes for the girl whose family was on the list of the “Sacred Twenty-Eight”, but as Astoria refused to raise their grandson Scorpius believing that muggles were months of nothing, the meetings of family were often full of tension” – Draco Malfoy | Wizarding World
Additionally, it was proven that Lucius still enjoyed collecting dark magic artifacts years later. No surprise.
“Lucius still enjoyed collecting dark magic artifacts, especially those that no one else had. Theodore Nott
worked for him and together they created a prototype Time Turner, having decided that those created by the Ministry were not suitable and, having been destroyed, were unavailable. » – Lucius Malfoy
Finally, we see that after the final battle, Lucius Malfoy once again used others, to his advantage, as he had always done. His opportunism helped the cause of our heroes so much that they very naively forgave him. Once again, the Malfoys succeeded in making the wizarding world believe that they were much more innocent than some might believe.
Obviously, Lucius did not evolve after the Battle of Hogwarts. The Malfoys were certainly shocked to have fallen off their pedestal so stupidly. Above all, they realized that their opportunistic attitude, which worked so well throughout their lives, was simply not always effective. However, she was enough to avoid the maximum penalty, namely prison.
It’s difficult to accept that Lucius escaped in the end without receiving his sentence and returning to Azkaban. The fact that he ended up living the rest of his life in peace without ever being punished is a great allegory for how corrupt the wizarding legal system was. JK Rowling proved it very well here.
The fact that Lucius could have been forgiven by magical justice, simply because he had denounced his comrades, left a bitter taste. Even though it is obvious that his misdeeds must have been significant, given that he used his position within the Ministry to leak information to Voldemort.
Lucius deserved life in prison and Draco should have been sent to Azkaban for a time for trying to assassinate Albus Dumbledore and almost murdering Ron and Katie Bell.
Unfortunately, this kind of practice also happens in real life. Justice is often blind when criminals can offer valuable information about others. Thus, Lucius’s information was clearly more useful to the Ministry of Magic than his imprisonment.
In the end, it had always worked that way. Even after Voldemort’s first defeat, when Harry was a baby, many should have been locked up, but remained free, because they knew the right people.
Thus, we bitterly note that the magical world was also very fallible. But after all, just because they were wizards didn’t mean they weren’t human. Humans are clearly fallible.
Ultimately, not having the satisfaction of seeing Lucius Malfoy punished for his actions amounts to preparing the young reader for the reality of life, and the fact that even those who most deserve to be punished by justice, are simply not often.
What are the criticisms that can be made of Harry Potter? (books)
The books can be criticized for the lack of realism in certain aspects of the story, such as the fact that “everyone is equal” while the Slytherin house is widely hated and not worked at all, or the lack of logic of Voldemort (Why didn’t he kill Harry in volume 4???)
We can also wonder why and how Harry manages to succeed at everything all the time (a broom prodigy in his FIRST lesson, he beats a troll in first year, calmly kills a basilisk in volume 2, wins the goblet of fire we don’t really know how, stands up to Voldemort with EXPELLIARMUS, and so on)
The character of Dumbledore too, who doesn’t really make sense throughout the saga but it would really take a long time to explain.
We can also talk about certain fairly unrealistic characters who are too exaggerated, like Rita Skeeter, Dolores Umbridge, and Xenophilius Lovegood, but in themselves, these characters do not bring anything bad to the plot and are even quite good Thus.
There are quite a few other small contradictory details, but overall, there would currently be more criticism to be made of JK Rowling than of her books 😉