#harry haters

[twopoppies]

Heyy,

I know you’ve been a Harry fan since the 1D days, so I wanted to ask—did you ever feel kind of "disconnected" from him because of the whole mega star image his team started pushing after 1D?

I’m sure he’s still the goofy, kind (sometimes a bit grumpy) and private Harry, but I just don’t feel as close to him anymore. Now he seems like another unreachable, privileged white celebrity (and I feel like that’s how the general public sees him too).

They may have been pushing it, but that’s not how I see him. And no, I don’t feel disconnected from him. I think he says a lot in his interviews, music, music videos, and when he’s on stage that make me feel connected. I find him really inspirational/aspirational. I don’t need to feel like he’s my next door neighbor or my buddy at the bar. I like his esoteric interests and quirky behavior.

I think people who find him elitist or fake or only interested in money and fame are missing out. I don’t get that vibe. But you’re entitled to get a different vibe and to not feel connected to him. I love Louis, but I don’t feel particularly connected to him or his brand. But that’s okay. He’s still a lovely person. What I don’t get is why people are so nasty about Harry when they feel a disconnect. It’s just weird.

[swatchitt]

beating the 'sirius is a twink' allegations

new watermark because im insecure

[starrylayle]

To all those shippers that depict Sirius as a self-absorbed, short, fem twink with a flare for dramatics -- and Remus as a tall, angry, buff, dom werewolf daddy -- go ahead, it's a fully rounded dynamic! You're actually shipping Gilderoy Lockhart x Fenrir Greyback though! Remember to tag correctly folks! Hope this helps 🥰 🥰 

[derangedbookworm]

"you can't defend regulus and not defend snape"

actually, yes, i can. watch me.

snape was a child abuser, who regularly insulted, embarrassed and physically injured his students on a daily basis. he only was part of the order bc he had an unhealthy obsession with his childhood bestfriend, who he called a slur on several occasions. who he, on top of trying to kill her husband, didn't care about her child or family until her life was in danger. he only became "good" when the woman who had rejected him several times might have been injured. he was such a terrible teacher and human being, that one of his student's BIGGEST FEAR was him. he was racist and a blood supremecist, even though he was a half a blood himself. he was not "morally gray", he was a horrible person.

regulus black was forced to become a death eater by his family, and in the end, betrayed voldemort and gave up his life to try to end the war. he loved his house elf, and did everything to make sure kreacher made it out alive. he was not an abuser, he was the abused.

so, yes, i can defend regulus and not defend snape.

[severussnapemylove]

Haters be like “Snape was just as bad, worse even than James, because he bullied students.”

Honestly, Snape’s behaviour gets blown so out of proportion. Because other than verbal barbs and once threatening a toad, Snape didn’t really do anything. He didn’t put students in deliberate danger, didn’t hex students, didn’t assault anyone. Snape gives students detention and they have to clean. McGonagall gives students detention and they wind up in the Forbidden Forest!

One time, he threw a jar at Harry after Harry *checks notes* oh yeah, looked into Snape’s memories without permission and witnessed his worst memory of being assaulted.

So no, I don’t want to hear the “he bullied students” argument. When in context, he was no worse than any other teacher and far worse had been done to him.

[aithusarosekiller]

Regulus would've been so good with kids

Whether he's Luna's godfather or Draco's favourite uncle, or Tonks' favourite person to mess with, or if he has his own little kid, (we all know I'm a sucker for jegulily as parents, especially with Lily swearing to him he'll be a great father after he doubts himself) he would be the best. Also Jegulus girl dads is so insanely perfect.

I don't trust anyone who says he'd be awful with kids. I just get a strong feeling from him.

[redhoodie1723]

“Harry, however, had never been less interested in Quidditch; he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy.”

I just KNOW HBP Ron was SICK and TIRED of Harry

[iwonaprizeforbeingthebesthater]

EVERYONE PLEASE ITS THE RED MIRAGE THERES STILL HOPE

[moonlightdancer26]

"He hated my dad like he hated Sirius! Haven't you noticed, Professor, how the people Snape hates tend to end up dead?"

All Harry did was prove that Snape is so iconic that those who did him wrong are automatically guaranteed to die.

[delineate-creates]

Day 15: Guidebook

[that-bitch-kat3]

lily: i’m bisexual

anyone: how is that possible? you’ve only dated james?

lily: that doesn’t mean i’m not bisexual.

remus: yeah it means she’s stupid

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina, I’m Clare - the ‘do I think Harry owes me anything’ anon from last month.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I was wrong about Harry. There are many reasons for this, which I won’t bore you with, but here are some:

I had an abusive childhood, which turned me into a people pleaser. Basically I fit in with whoever is closest just to get a sense of security.

It so happened that the people ‘closest’ to me in the fandom were people who disliked H and rooted for Louis. I went along with them and it sunk in.

I was too afraid to disagree - even though i felt they were wrong - because I didn’t want to ‘raise my voice’. Speaking up has never gone well for me.

After talking to you I spent some time researching H and his attitudes to 1D, the fans and the queer community (I work from home for only a few hours a day so have the time). Again, I soon found that I was wrong about him.

I have found as an adult the coping mechanisms I developed as a child haven’t gone away, and I need to accept that they continue to affect my view on the world and people in general. I guess this is the way I am. I have two degrees, a job and a home and dogs and horses but that little girl who would go along with anything just to be liked is still there, desperate for attention.

It is quite refreshing though to ‘find’ Harry again, and in a way I think I have found myself.

So thank you Gina. I was wrong about Harry, and I hope in a parallel dimension he knows and forgives me.

Oh, darling. I just want to give you a big hug. I understand where you're coming from more than you'd think. Going against what seems to be the consensus of everyone around you isn't easy. I do think it's a bit like building up muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets. I've had to do a ton of work on myself to be comfortable using my voice, and I still find times when I just let something happen because I didn't want to assert myself. That little girl is still there, but you can heal her. I promise.

And Harry would absolutely understand and forgive you. ❤️

In reference to this and this.

[nonbinoclard]

harry with a tramp stamp has just been simmering on my brain’s back burner for weeks thank you @httpsawesome for the wonderful concept

[fleurbies]

how it feels watching all the jace anons going crazy in my fav fanfic authors anons,,like bro just enjoy the content nd stop debating if he’s better as a virgin or not 😭😭

[ssshiversss]

Tenth time’s the charm, right?

[blorger]

I call this meeting of the Hagrid Haters Society to order. I move that, as part of today's agenda, we discuss just how much he sucks. In order to facilitate this, I have prepared the following

ULTIMATE ANTI-HAGRID MANIFESTO

HAGRID AS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOKS

Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts and also occasional Care of Magical Creatures teacher, is introduced to us thusly:

Hagrid's character is mostly a beat-by-beat rehash of the "gentle giant" archetype; as per TV Tropes :

He's big, muscular, and angry-looking. He might even be an actual monster. People are often fearful of him. But he's got a heart of gold. He loves children and puppies and frequently abhors unnecessary violence. He is often rather intelligent, level-headed, and analytical, a voice of reason in the group. He probably has a few unexpected hobbies. He's the Gentle Giant. However, when push comes to shove, he's great to have on your side in battle.

Hagrid appears beastly but also IS beastly, both literally (he is a half-giant) and figuratively: He lives in a wooden hut* at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, his possessions are "very dirty", his best suit is hairy and brown. The things he builds are ragged and haphazardly put together (he makes himself a mourning armband for Aragog's funeral that is just "a rag dipped in boot polish", the flute he gifts to Harry in PS is "roughly cut" and "obviously" hand made) and, similarly, Hagrid's food is dubious at best: his beef casserole has a large talon in it, his rock cakes are notoriously inedible and his toffee needs to be softened by an open fire in order for it to be edible.

Interestingly, though jkr goes to great lengths to point out that Hagrid is a giant with a heart of gold, she still wants us to know that he's capable of great violence:

(from OoTP)

Hagrid is resisting an unjust arrest here and is responding in kind to his dog Fang being Stunned and still jkr goes out of her way to show that his friends are scared of him (because Hagrid is only likeable for his half-human part).

Another facet of the Gentle Giant that Hagrid embodies is the lack of smarts for Hagrid is also a kindhearted simpleton: he is never shown speaking standard english (which, in jkr's world, is a shorthand for dumb/uneducated), he cannot spell "Voldemort", he's routinely outwitted by literal children and he is remarkably gullible.

In keeping with jkr's theme wherein a man cannot express sadness via crying unless in moments of great loss and the characters who do cry are described mockingly, Hagrid is also a big fat overemotional crier. Hagrid and his tablecloth-sized handkerchief make multiple appearances throughout the books, often to comedic effect.

Another thing of note, albeit one I don't quite know how to interpret, is the use of Hagrid's name. His friends (Harry&co), his acquaintances (like Arthur Weasley) and even his colleagues at Hogwarts (who, by the way, call each other by their first names) all call him exclusively by his last name, Hagrid. The only times his full name is mentioned are:

when he introduces himself to Harry

when Ollivander recognizes him as he takes Harry to get his wand

when Dumbledore officially announces he's been made professor

in Rita Skeeter's hit piece on him (the fittingly titled Dumbledore's giant mistake)

when his escape from arrest is mentioned in Potterwatch

Harry mentions is full name only once (when introducing him at the beginning of HBP) but there is only one person in all of the books who ever addresses Hagrid by his first name only and it's not him: it's 16 year old Voldemort (in the memory Harry sees of Hagrid bring framed for Myrtle's death in CoS).

*= Hagrid's house is mostly described as a hut and occasionally as a cabin by the narration/Harry. Hagrid calls it a hut in PS and a house in CoS (when trying to chase Lucius Malfoy out of it) and Dumbledore also calls it a house the only time he refers to it (in GoF, when he's instructing McGonagall to go fetch Fang) but Harry only does so during exceptional times (when it gets burned down by death eaters immediately after Dumbledore's death in HBP, during Buckbeak's rescue in PoA and when it sits empty and sad after Hagrid's been taken to Azkaban in CoS).

2. REASONS NOT TO HATE HAGRID

I would like to take this moment to point out that all the shitty descriptors and stereotypes jkr uses for Hagrid are not actually why the Hagrid Haters Society finds him to be unlikeable.

Similarly, his half-giant status is a non-issue, though the same cannot be said for how the in-universe characters view him after his origins are revealed (most notably Ron). Hagrid himself seems to have a somewhat low opinion of them and even Hermione (our moral compass) can't come up with anything better to defend giants than "they can't all be horrible".

Still: Hagrid is not a full giant and the only full giant we do meet (his half-brother Grawp) is not described like what Ron tells us is a typical giant, namely:

Sure, Grawp is violent but not maliciously so (though he does behave rather King Kong-like with Hermione, which isn't great) and even if the books are judgy towards giants, there's no reason for us -the readers- to be (and for us to judge Hagrid unfairly by extension).

Another very bad reason to dislike Hagrid is his simple mindedness. jkr does seem to associate low intelligence with unlikeability/evil (see: Crabbe and Goyle) but she appears to make a not like other girls-style exception with Hagrid; regardless, I'd like to think we can all agree that jkr's shitty worldview is shitty.

3.HAGRID IS SOMETIMES OK

I'd be remiss not to mention that Hagrid is a generally helpful and friendly character who is well-liked by all Good People. One of his most admirable traits is definitely his loyalty, something which both Harry and Dumbledore are shown to believe unquestionably in and value immensely.

(from PS, Dumbledore entrusted Hagrid with the newly orphaned Harry)

(from DH, Harry suspects Hagrid may have let some information slip but is immediately prepared to forgive him)

Unlike Dumbledore, (whose motives I question, there's a great meta I currently can't find about Dumbledore's tendency to collect misfits, if you can link me to it please do) Harry genuinely loves and cares for Hagrid, which in my opinion goes a long way in rising his likability.

(from PoA, Harry recalls Hagrid's Azkaban stay)

Hagrid even gets the Ultimate Seal of Approval by being deemed brave, something both Harry and jkr value tremendously (in jkr's books brave=Good and coward=Evil).

Something that is perhaps more universally praise-worthy is Hagrid's steadfast faith in Harry

An especially notable instance comes from GoF, where he is shown to believe Harry unquestioningly when even Ron doesn't ( a big reason for his certainty seems to be his blind devotion to Dumbledore but I'll let that slide for now).

4. ULTIMATELY, THOUGH, HAGRID SUCKS

Why does the Hagrid Haters Society dislike Hagrid then?

Hagrid is surprisingly prejudiced

(to Vernon in PS)

(to Magorian the centaur in OotP)

(to Filch in HBP)

When it comes to humans (and human-like creatures), Hagrid does not seem nearly as open minded as he is with venomous beasts. Let's not forget that Hagrid is the one who introduces Harry to the all slytherins are evil concept

(from PS, Harry is introduced to the concept of the four houses)

This, while very much in line with jkr's views, is not a particularly popular opinion within the fandom on account of its black and white nature so I'm counting it against him.

Hagrid consistently shows disregard for his students' safety

Hagrid's love of dangerous beasts is described as a charming quirk in the books but it must be noted that, as an unnaturally big strong and burly man, he does not have much of a reason to fear them himself. The same cannot be said for his underage students, who are thoughtlessly put into harm's way time and time again (yes, this is when I bring up the Buckbeak Incident).

(from PoA)

Draco is undoubtedly in the wrong in this situation as he wilfully disregarded the instructions given to him but he is also behaving very much like your average shitty kid, something even a mildly competent teacher might expect (and, ideally, adjust their lesson accordingly). Draco's wound gets downplayed in all its following mentions and it's all but outright stated that Draco is playing up his injury in the weeks that follow but this doesn't make what happened to him right (even if in jkr's world bad things are only bad when they happen to good people).

(from GoF)

Here we have an injury not five minutes into the very first lesson on blast ended skrewts. Oh and by the way, those skewts? They are a delightfully illegal Hagrid's Original:

(also from GoF, Rita's hit piece is quite illuminating)

They are literally so dangerous that they're used as an obstacle in the Triwizard Tournament's third task.

(from GoF, Hagrid did not think about possibly making a group of children light-headed when deciding where to store the horses' whisky)

Hagrid repeatedly shows poor decision-making where the safety of his students is concerned; in a further show of less than stellar risk assessment, Hagrid assigns a biting, somewhat cannibalistic book to his 13 year old students (they are shown fighting each other viciously in their natural environment, a bookshop). Not a single one of his students (not even Hermione) figured out that they needed to be stroked in order to be opened; to quote Voice of Reason Draco Malfoy:

(from PoA, Hagrid's first ever lesson does not start well)

As an aside, though we're not supposed to agree with him, Draco is consistently the only person shown having reasonable reactions to Hagrid's classes. Even Hermione secretly agrees with him when it comes to the dangers posed by Hagrid's beasts:

(from GoF, Hermione literally made some shit up in order to defend Hagrid, blast ended skrewts are functionally useless)

This allows me to segue into the next section, aptly titled

the Malfoy section

Building on this theme, wherein Draco is an unrecognized truth teller à la Cassandra, I present to you a compilation of his greatest Care of Magical Creatures hits:

(from GoF, spoiler alert: there's no point to the skrewts)

(form GoF, Draco is reasonably risk-averse)

(from GoF, the inevitable conclusion to the skrewt saga)

Draco is vilified for hiding from a group of rampaging beasts (again, because coward=evil even when it's reasonable) even though he's not the only one who hides away (most of the class does) and it is generally implied by the narrative that Draco only criticises Hagrid because he's evil (because villains aren't allowed to be reasonable, even when they're right).

At this point I'd be remiss not to mention that, while Draco has some perfectly valid opinions regarding Hagrid's teaching skills, he at the same time also holds some truly shitty opinions on Hagrid as a person, some of which are no doubt courtesy of his father:

(from PS, Draco is speedrunning all the ways to get Harry to hate him on their first meeting)

Draco constantly refers to Hagrid as an oaf, like only evil people the likes of Filch, Riddle and Umbridge (and Phineas Nigellus's portrait, whose alignment is neutral evil at best) do.

(Interestingly, Hagrid is also the only person in the books to get the oaf moniker but that is neither here nor there.)

Of further note is the fact that Draco's relatively neutral opinion of Hagrid changes once Harry decides not to befriend him so some of his attitude could very well be caused by pettiness in a very "how dare you choose Ron Weasley over me" kind of way. Hagrid, after all, even gets a special mention in Draco's very first villain monologue

(from PS, Draco's very reasonable reaction to Harry's handshake snub)

Interestingly, Draco's opinion of Hagrid's half-giant status mirrors Ron's quite closely:

RON'S

DRACO'S

Ron doesn't seem to have terribly flattering views of magical beasts in general (in keeping with his everyman status, his opinions often mirror the general public's) but I still find it interesting. Also, note how ambivalent Draco seems to be about Hagrid's possibly dangerous nature, choosing to focus on likely reactions from the parents rather than on his own feelings.

In conclusion, Draco contains multitudes: he is often right when discussing Hagrid's teaching methods but he is also a dick and that lowers his general credibility. Speaking of teaching:

Hagrid is a terrible teacher

Non-Draco Malfoy people think Hagrid is a terrible teacher as well, though they are quickly shut down by Harry & co, (loyal to a fault even if they secretly agree) whenever this is mentioned:

(from GoF)

(also from GoF, though it's a sentiment Hermione expresses several times)

(from OotP)

Remember how I said that Harry and Ron themselves dislike Hagrid's classes? They (+ less unexpectedly Hermione) end up dropping the class as soon as they're able to, as apparently does the rest of their year:

(from HBP)

Hagrid, it seems, is such a bad teacher that he scared all the students from Harry's cohort off of the subject.

Hagrid can be surprisingly mean spirited

EXHIBIT A:

(from PS, during the Forbidden Forest scene)

Hagrid here is demonstrating a delightful melange of the reasons the Society dislikes him:

by choosing to take a bunch of ickle fristies to the Forbidden Forest with him (a forest he himself has called dangerous before, a forest he also described chasing Ron's siblings off of) Hagrid is showing his terrible risk assessment skills, which end up putting Harry (and Draco but mostly just Harry) in danger; Hagrid may not have known that Voldemort-as-Quirrell was gallivanting about the forest killing unicorns but he definitely knew someone was.

by behaving antagonistically towards Draco, an 11 y.o. he just met, Hagrid (the adult in a position of authority) is showing his tendency to see things in black and white. Draco is a Slytherin ( = evil) and also Lucius Malfoy's son (double evil), nevermind that Draco is actually in detention despite having followed the rules (in that he reported someone for having an illegal Dragon).

Speaking of, Hagrid knows there really was a dragon on Hogwarts grounds on account of he's the reason it came to be at Hogwarts in the first place. Harry & co. got in trouble for helping to rectify his mistake (and, in Neville's case, for trying to do Harry a solid) yet somehow he has the gall to say "yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it". I immensely dislike this, even if this is directed solely towards Draco, whom we're not supposed to like.

EXHIBIT B:

Speaking of incredible feats of inappropriate behaviour from Hagrid (an authority figure) towards Draco (his shitty student), here's this gem:

(from GoF, Hagrid's very reasonable response to Draco's understandable hesitance to spend his leisure time attending to the dreaded skrewts)

I know that Hogwarts teachers in general are not exactly known to be beacons of professionalism but that doesn't make Hagrid's threat un-shitty, it just puts him on the same level as noted bully Severus Snape (and also Fake Moody but at least he's got the Death Eater excuse).

5. CONCLUSION

A big reason why I find myself disliking Hagrid is that he's a perfect exemplification of jkr's shitty worldviews. As an author, she does this awful thing wherein a character's actions are only ever truly reprehensible if they're committed by a Bad Guy and I hate it in every single instance: Snape's treatment of Neville is just as bad as his grandma's, Dumbledore's shitty handing of Harry is not excused by his noble big-picture intentions, bullying is bad even when it's people you like that do it and femininity doesn't cease being problematic (jkr's worldview, not mine) when it's the not like other girls who practice it.

Ultimately, while I do acknowledge that there's nothing truly awful about Hagrid's character I still find myself disliking him, be it from irrational reasons (he's a Dumbledore fanboy) or from the reasons listed above. Still, I can't be the only one, right?

right?