Harry Potter’s Wizarding World is a beautiful realm filled with immense potential, magical creatures, and fascinating spells. But it can also be very dangerous, and no character knows that better than the Chosen One himself. Raised in the Muggle world, Harry Potter is immediately drawn in by the unique charm of Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and all the magic they represent.
It doesn’t take Harry long to realize that his magical ancestry comes at a price, one he has been paying since before he was old enough to walk. Worse still, as the nemesis of Lord Voldemort, he keeps being drawn into dangerous situations that should have been handled by adults.
10 His Parents Are Killed By Lord Voldemort When He Is A Baby
Harry’s misfortunes start when he is only a baby. After Sybill Trelawney prophesizes the birth of a child with the power to defeat the Dark Lord, Harry and his parents become Voldemort’s target. James and Lily attempt to take shelter under the Fidelius charm but they are betrayed by Peter Pettigrew. Voldemort attacks the Potters, killing Harry’s parents.
He gives Lily the chance to live, but she refuses, pleading for mercy for Harry instead. Her love enacts a powerful form of protection around Harry, saving him from the Dark Lord’s Avada Kedavra. But as the Dark Lord is defeated by his own power, his darkness lingers and Harry becomes his living Horcrux.
9 He Is Raised By The Abusive Dursleys With No Help From The Wizarding World
Lily’s death places a strong blood ward around Harry, one that can keep him safe from Voldemort’s remaining Death Eaters. Sadly, it relies on Lily’s bloodline. Noting this, Albus Dumbledore decides to home baby Harry with Lily’s Muggle sister Petunia.
He is aware that Petunia and her family will treat him poorly but considers it a necessary sacrifice. Harry is raised beaten, starved, and abused, with his bedroom being the boot cupboard. The cruelest reality is that with a simple spell, any witch or wizard could have made the Dursleys treat Harry better. But Albus Dumbledore didn’t care about Harry’s happiness—only his survival.
8 He Has To Kill Quirinus Quirrell When He Is Only Eleven
Harry’s arrival at Hogwarts doesn’t really change his luck. He is sorted into Gryffindor and makes friends in Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. But he doesn’t get the chance to enjoy his new bonds properly. Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirinus Quirrell is possessed by Voldemort and keeps trying to kill Harry.
At the end of the year, Quirrell and Harry face off while Harry attempts to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone. A first-year is no match for a fully-grown wizard, but Lily’s protection helps Harry out again. Quirinus ends up burning alive when coming into contact with Harry. While convenient, this means Harry has to kill a man at eleven, with his bare hands no less.
7 He Is Bitten By A Basilisk In The Chamber Of Secrets
Harry’s second year comes with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. Slytherin’s monster causes a wave of terrifying petrifications. Harry is blamed for it after the school learns he is a Parseltongue. Worse still, Hermione is among those petrified, and Ron’s sister Ginny is taken into the Chamber.
There, Harry has to face the shade of Tom Riddle who, unbeknownst to anyone, had possessed Ginny. Tom Riddle orders Slytherin’s basilisk to attack Harry. The monster is terrifying, and while Harry manages to defeat it with the Sword of Gryffindor, he is still bitten by the creature. He would have undoubtedly died had the phoenix Fawkes not cried on his wound.
6 He Has To Face His Own Worst Fears Whenever Dementors Come Near
Harry’s third year is the only one when he doesn’t have Voldemort to worry about. It may have come as a relief had he not had to face something even worse. After Sirius Black’s escape from Azkaban, the Ministry stations Dementors around Hogwarts.
The horrible creatures feed on positive emotions and have a particularly nasty effect on Harry. They swarm him on more than one occasion, and Dementors actually become Harry’s worst fear.
5 He Witnesses Cedric’s Death And Voldemort’s Resurrection
As difficult as Harry’s first three years are, it is his fourth that signals a huge downturn in his life. Forcibly selected as a contestant in the Triwizard Tournament, he has to handle a competition meant for more experienced students. But the worst thing comes at the very end when Harry reaches the Triwizard Cup.
Both he and fellow champion Cedric Diggory are transported to the cemetery in Little Haggleton. Cedric dies at Peter Pettigrew’s hand, and Harry is used in Voldemort’s resurrection. Now back, Voldemort takes advantage of the opportunity to torture Harry. Harry manages to make his escape but Cedric’s death marks the real beginning of the Second Wizarding War.
4 He Is Hunted Down, Reviled, And Tortured By Dolores Umbridge
Harry may be the Chosen One, but it’s not unusual for the Wizarding World to turn against him. His fifth year is the worst case, as the Ministry starts a smear campaign meant to discredit him and his claims that Voldemort is back. Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge even sends Dementors after him. When he manages to chase them off with a Patronus Charm, he is submitted to a full trial in front of a Wizengamot like some kind of criminal.
His acquittal doesn’t earn him any reprieve, as Umbridge later becomes his DADA teacher and spends the whole year making Harry’s life a living hell. He receives constant detentions during which she tortures him with a Blood Quill. Toward the end of the school year, Dolores runs afoul of the centaurs, but she is only truly punished for her actions after the war.
3 He Loses Sirius After The Battle Of The Department Of Mysteries
After Voldemort’s resurrection, the Dark Lord uses the connection between him and Harry to torture him and send him visions. His attempts to learn Occlumency are sabotaged by the fact that his instructor is Professor Snape, a man who hates him just for his parentage. Things escalate as Harry receives a vision of Sirius being tortured. In a panic, Harry braves the Department of Mysteries, risking everything to save his godfather.
He falls straight into Voldemort’s trap in the process. Harry and his friends receive reinforcements from the Order of the Phoenix just in time. But the whole episode costs Harry dearly. In the chaotic battle that ensues, Bellatrix Lestrange kills Sirius. The scream Harry releases upon seeing Sirius die is so heart-wrenching it was excluded from the film.
2 He Has To Accept That He Needs To Die For The Sake Of The World
Toward the end of the series, Harry and his friends face the arduous task of having to hunt down and destroy’s Voldemort’s Horcruxes. It’s a torturous experience and it puts a lot of strain on the friendship of the Golden Trio.
Ron reaches his breaking point and leaves Harry and Hermione, though he does return. Their effort pays off, and one by one the Horcruxes are destroyed—only for Harry to learn that he is a Horcrux too. All his life, he has been raised to die by his mentor. Seeing no other solution, Harry accepts that he needs to die and surrenders to Voldemort.
1 The Victory Over Voldemort Comes At A Very High Cost
Voldemort destroys his own Horcrux and Harry eventually prevails over the Dark Lord. But this triumph comes with a price. The Second Wizarding War claims many victims. After Cedric and Sirius, Harry loses his beloved owl Hedwig, as well as Auror Mad-Eye Moody in the Battle of the Seven Potters. The already dying Albus Dumbledore is killed by Severus Snape while Snape himself is killed by Voldemort.
Dobby the House-Elf dies while helping Harry and his friends escape Malfoy Manor, also a victim of Bellatrix. The Battle of Hogwarts also kills numerous victims, with notable examples including Lavender Brown, Fred Weasley, and Remus and Nymphadora Lupin. It’s incredibly painful for Harry to know that despite his best efforts, he isn’t able to save his loved ones.
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