Harry Potter is anything but perfect. He has made countless mistakes during high pressure situations. These choices can sometimes cost him his friendships and maybe even put those he loves in danger. The golden trio in general, Harry, Hermione and Ron, have all made bad decisions.
Over the course of the seven books, eight films and a play, the trio have done some really terrible things. They've walked head on into danger, put Lockhart in hospital and often given Voldemort the advantage. The list keeps on growing so here are the 10 worst things the golden three have done!
FREEZING NEVILLE
The gang are obsessed with doing the right thing, sometimes at the cost of their friends and the rules. The Philosophers Stone was no exception to this, with the trio having to head into the depths of the castle to protect the stone from Quirrell.
Before they could do this though, they had to incapacitate Neville, who was threatening to report them for leaving the common room after hours. Hermione had no choice but to use petrificus totalus, freezing Neville on the spot. He was awarded for his behaviour with house points but it was pretty unsavoury of his friends to do this to him.
DATING LAVENDER
It's no exaggeration to say that one of the worst things that Ron has ever done is date Lavender. Ron is absolutely the jealous type and has ruined the Yule Ball for Hermione in the past. In Half Blood Prince he wanted to show her what she was missing, coupling up with Lavender to make a statement.
Lavender is almost unbearable though, with the young Gryffindor falling head over heels for her Ron Ron. Her sickly sweet voice and terrible pink clothing drove Hermione to the point of cursing some attack birds and firing them at Ron. He never really even liked Lavender, unfairly leading her on.
FLYING THE FORD ANGLIA
Although they had a good reason for it, Harry and Ron really shouldn't have stolen Arthur Weasley's car. The Ford Anglia is an iconic part of film history now, thanks to the joy ride it was taken on in Chamber of Secrets.
After missing the Hogwarts Express the boys recklessly drive the car through the skies of London, potentially putting all of the wizarding world at danger. What's more they actually did some damage to the Womping Willow, or it certainly did them some damage, resulting in some serious consequences once they finally made it to school.
ARGUING WITH ALBUS
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has continued to flesh out these complex characters. It's provided moments that some fans have felt are inauthentic to the wizards and witches they've grown up reading and watching.
One moment that caused controversy is when Harry and his son, Albus, get into a big argument. The Slytherin child isn't quite what Harry wanted from a child and he goes as far to tell him that, stating that he wishes he wasn't his son. It's an odd thing for Harry to say considering his own history with parental figures and was one of the worst things he could have said.
6. IMPERSONATING MINISTRY WORKERS
Sometimes the trio have to make decisions that are for the greater good. Retrieving the locket from Umbridge in order to destroy it is one of those times where an impossible situation has presented itself. The only way to make it into the ministry was by impersonating some of it's officials.
Not only is this against the law no matter who's in charge, it's also very dangerous for the people they have disguised themselves as. They locked them away in a cupboard and put their lives in danger by impersonating them for a day. Ron even put his pretend wife in danger because of his inability to perform the proper duties. This situation could have had terrible consequences for those involved.
LEAVING HARRY AND HERMIONE
Ron has been known to be hot headed at times. During the Triwizard Tournament he abandoned his best friend because he was jealous of all the attention. As the team started to hunt horcruxes he had a similar overreaction that led to a terrible choice.
Ron decided to leave Harry and Hermione during their world saving journey. Jealous of the connection the two had and badly affected by the locket around his neck, Ron had some choice words for the two before departing. He eventually returned but during his absence there were quite a few situations he could have helped in, especially when Nagini attacked!
FRAMING DUMBLEDORE
Creating the DA was a noble decision to help fight back against both Umbridge and the Death Eaters. Recruiting students from across Hogwarts and training them in the defence against the dark arts was a pretty clever plan.
The flaw was with the naming however. Calling the group Dumbledore's Army put the headmaster at significant risk, especially since the Ministry of Magic were already watching him. This was the straw that broke the camels back leading to the arrest warrant of Dumbledore, causing him to go into hiding. Harry and friends were essentially responsible for this.
PLAYING WITH TIME
Time travel is a risky business. It is generally frowned upon within the magic community. That didn't stop Hermione from using the time turner to attend extra lessons though. When Sirius was given the death kiss and Buckbeak was executed, Harry and Hermione used the time turner again.
This time they used it to reverse events that had already happened though, therefore endangering existence itself. There can be terrible effects when changing history and they really didn't know what the consequences could be. Luckily it all worked out, but the series of events could have gone much differently.
SECTUMSEMPRA
Harry learnt that he should never ever try a spell that he has no knowledge of. Mid duel with Draco during the Half Blood Prince, Harry decided to use sectumsempra, a spell invented by Snape during his own days at the school.
The spell essentially maims an opponent seriously injuring them and potentially killing them. Using this on Draco was one of the worst things Harry has ever done as he seriously endangered the life of another student, because they had a fight over something. While the stakes were much larger it's still no excuse to use such a spell.
ERASING PARENTS MINDS
The worst things can sometimes be the only thing that can be done. Take this example during the quest to destroy all of the horcruxes. In order to protect her family, Hermione had to remove every trace of herself. This meant that she had to use some illegal magic.
She used a spell to completely wipe the minds of her parents, essentially creating a version of reality for them where their daughter never existed. This is an incredibly cruel action and one of the worst things she could have ever done to her own family. But it was also the one way to protect them from being harmed and it worked!