Harry Potter Countdown...3: Favorite and least favorite Harry Potter characters

In honor of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part II which comes out on Friday, (I will be at the midnight showing. Of course.) I would like to do a sort of Harry Potter countdown. It is undeniable that this movie brings to pass the end of an era. Without Pottermore coming out in October, it might feel more like the end of the world instead of just the end of an era, but as it is, I don't feel that this event can pass without making a big deal of it here.

So then, here's the schedule for the next 3 days.
#3(Today): Favorite and least favorite Harry Potter characters.
#2(Tomorrow): Writing lessons from the 4 Hogwarts houses.
#1(Friday): Review of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part II.

Sound good? Good.

So. Favorite and least favorite Harry Potter characters. Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time will be extremely unsurprised at my favorite:

Severus Snape, of course! Why? I've said this before but I'll say it again. Snape is complex, layered, and human. He's a very interesting iceberg character, where the viewable tip is rude, unappealing and even, we think, treacherous. Then as time and pages go by, we see more and more of the iceberg, and see that he really isn't treacherous, and is in fact extremely loyal, intelligent, misunderstood, mistreated, and brave. We admire him for that loyalty and bravery, and feel sorry for the misunderstood, beaten little boy he is inside, who just wants to be accepted. That is something we can all relate to, and so he becomes a relatable character too. In my own writing, my goal with characters is to write them as complex and sympathetic as Rowling wrote Snape.

And now, least favorite:
Ok, so maybe saying Harry Potter is my least favorite character in Harry Potter isn't really allowed, and I'm not trying to say I don't like Harry, but let me explain. Of course there are HP characters that I would like much, much less as actual people. Umbridge for instance. Or, you know, Voldemort. Even Snape would probably be a less pleasant friend to have than Harry. But I'm talking character. Of course we all hate Umbridge and Voldemort, but its in a love-to-hate kind of way, isn't it? They're fantastic characters to read. Whereas with Harry, we're supposed to love him the whole way through, and we do, but at least for me, there are moments every once in a while (like book 5) where I feel like he gets annoying, preoccupied and kind of angsty. Almost, dare I say, flat as a character. Really, he isn't a flat character, my point is that all the characters around him are just more...interesting. Complex. Of course you may not agree, but I read Harry Potter more for Dumbledore and Hagrid and Lupin and Ron/Hermione (and of course Snape) then I do for Harry himself. The thing is, it totally works that way. It works for Harry to act as a sort of nucleus that the rest of the characters revolve around. It keeps the story going and cohesive. Those are my thoughts and opinions, anyway.

Now its your turn. Favorite? Least favorite? Why?

Sarah Allen