Ten WTF Moments from the “Harry Potter” Series

J.K. Rowling is known and renowned for her ability to capture and maintain a reader’s attention. She is also very skilled at keeping her readers on their toes! More than a few times I found myself wondering WTF. Here is a list of the top ten WTF moments I had while reading the series.

10. Hedwig’s Death

I refuse to believe that I am the only person who was traumatized by the death of Harry’s beloved owl companion, Hedwig. In Deathly Hallows, she dies helplessly in her cage, which I believe to be an unfitting end for a character who showed strength and sass without a single word throughout the series. The movie depicted her death more heroically, though I cannot exactly call that a comfort.

9. Winky the Alcoholic

Winky had an incredibly hard time accepting her freedom from house-elf life, which is understandable. Not everyone bounces back from dramatic change so quickly. The WTF moment here was that a former house-elf actually became a raging alcoholic in the kitchens of Hogwarts. Perhaps this was an attempt to introduce the problem of alcoholism to the series, perhaps it was for comedic effect; either way, this is something I still wonder about.

8. Veela

The performance of the Veela at the Quidditch World Cup still has me saying WTF. Enchantingly beautiful half-humans with anger issues as cheerleaders for the Bulgarians… I really don’t know what else to say.

7. Peter Pettigrew as Scabbers

While I concede that Peter Pettigrew being disguised as Scabbers for over a decade is an incredibly important plot point, it is something that will always have me saying WTF. A grown man acting as a pet rat… he slept in Ron’s bed quite frequently. Just makes the skin crawl a little.

6. Draco as the Owner of the Elder Wand

Something that should have been blatantly obvious after Draco disarmed but didn’t kill Dumbledore was his rightful possession of the Elder Wand. Of course, I (and I hope I am not alone) was wrapped around the idea that Snape killed Dumbledore, so the wand was his. The revelation at the end of Deathly Hallows that the Elder Wand was basically Harry’s once he stole Draco’s at Malfoy Manor was a big WTF moment for me. Well played, Jo.

5. Mad-Eye’s Demise

The assumed death of one of the strongest characters of the series is a huge WTF moment for me. Partly because the death is never truly confirmed – he was seen falling from his broom, but come on, he’s Mad-Eye! He could’ve survived, right?! – but also because Mad-Eye had the dull sense to trust Mundungus in the first place. Goes to show that even the strongest among us make mistakes, I suppose.

4. Dudley’s Attempt at Feelings

I remember reading the departure of the Dursleys from No. 4 Privet Drive in Deathly Hallows and being in awe. Of all his family, I least expected Dudley to be the one to offer Harry an ounce of affection on his way into peril.

3. Voldemort’s Family Story

The heiress of Slytherin, a borderline Squibb, creates a love spell to enchant a Muggle and conceives a child before he leaves her, and she dies. WTF.

2. Snape the Great

The whole entire time, through mockery and detention and hundreds of points taken from Gryffindor… Snape was watching out for Harry more than anyone else. The greatest double-agent of all fiction as far as I’m concerned.

1. All was Well

After seven years of hell and countless beloved characters lost, once Harry defeated Voldemort, all was well. No followers remained. No evil endured. One man was responsible for all the hate in the wizarding world, and a teenage boy stopped him. Love conquers hate. It all just ended right there.

What were some of your WTF moments?