Did Umbridge have a point? Dumbledore's Giant Mistake

Today, we're happy to bring you the first section of what promises to be a very interesting series of editorials from MuggleNet writer hpboy13.

The theme of his series? That Umbridge may have had a point!

Harry is faced with an interesting conundrum in Order of the Phoenix: Snape and Umbridge, the two teachers he hated most … it was hard to decide which he wanted to triumph over the other.” (OP362) Even I, with my professed dislike for Snape, was rooting for him to triumph over Umbridge – the vilest character in the series. However, I found myself in a similar quandary to Harry’s when Umbridge went after Hagrid. Because while I love to hate Umbridge, I just really dislike Hagrid, and think he is an appalling teacher, who has no place teaching at Hogwarts.

The truth is that Hagrid is reckless, thoughtless, and downright stupid at times - and this therefore makes him dangerous. He has a fascination with powerful and deadly creatures, yet deems it perfectly acceptable to bring children in contact with these creatures. He therefore does a disservice to both the creatures and the students. And frankly, Dumbledore should never have hired him as a teacher.

We fans of the series are not oblivious to Hagrid's recklessness... but is it possible that Dumbledore was? Have a read of the article and if you'd like to comment on it, you can meet the author himself in The Three Broomsticks section to contribute to this character discussion.