The very first thing we learn about Harry Potter himself is that his parents are dead. James and Lily died at the hands of Voldemort, and he went on to live with his abusive aunt, uncle and cousin. Over the course of the Harry Potter franchise, we learn more about the of his (mostly dead) family, and by the end of the series, we see that an adult Harry has gone on to have a family of his own.
They certainly aren’t the perfect family, though, so we’ve figured out the worst thing about each member.
Lily (Mother) Gave In To James’ Annoying Advances
When we start to see what James and Lily Potter’s early lives were like, we were introduced to a nice, timid girl who was good friends with Severus Snape. James Potter was a heartless bully who pretty much followed Lily around until she relented.
In the process, she abandoned her best friend and turned him towards a life of resentment and evil. Imagine how different things could have been if she hadn’t given in to his annoying advances.
James (Father) Was A Bully
Speaking of James Potter, there was one element of his personality that was certainly the worst thing about him. He was literally a bully.
He knew that his friends idolized him, so he spent a lot of time bullying Snape, who at the time, was just trying to get on with his life. He made up cruel nicknames and even physically abused him, which hopefully allowed Harry to see that his father wasn’t a nice man and the hero he once hoped he had been.
Sirius (Godfather) Made Himself Seem Evil For Some Reason
Sirius might not be related to Harry by blood, but after his return to the wizarding world in the third film/book, he becomes Harry’s closest thing to a family that he actually wants to be a part of.
Despite being innocent and Harry’s godfather, he spends a strangely long period of time making himself seem evil, with the reveal that he actually isn’t being doused in confusing mixed messages that didn’t need to be there at all.
Dudley (Cousin) Was Mean To Harry
One of the first things we ever see in Harry Potter is Dudley jumping on Harry’s stairs so that dust rains down onto him. He then brags about all of his presents and is used as Harry’s outlet for abuse.
Eventually, in a scene that was for some reason deleted from the film, he semi-apologizes for his actions and we are able to forgive him.
Vernon (Uncle) Was Abusive To Harry
Sure, he might have taken Harry into his home and raised him for ten years in order to stop his wife’s sister’s child from certain death, but that doesn’t exactly make Vernon Dursley a hero.
He forced Harry to live in a tiny cupboard under the stairs, didn’t allow him anything fun, forced him to cook for them. The list goes on.
Petunia (Aunt) Was Also Abusive To Harry
The list of things Petunia did wrong is basically the exact same as that of Vernon but could be considered even worse because she is actually related to him by blood.
The idea that she and Vernon were going to keep any knowledge of magic away from Harry seems truly demonic, but also quite a weird decision: sending him to Hogwarts would get him out of their hair, so why should they care?
Ginny (Wife) Was Quite Boring
As many people would agree, it seems that Harry had a more interesting relationship with both Hermione and Luna than Ginny.
Even so, Harry and Ginny got married and spent the rest of their lives together. Ginny was nice enough, but we never really saw them have a meaningful conversation or even share a laugh. What did they talk about?
Albus (Son) Nearly Destroyed The World
In The Cursed Child we were introduced to Harry’s youngest son, Albus, for the first time in detail. He was sorted into Slytherin house, became best friends with Draco’s son and got hold of a time turner.
They then created a variety of alternate timelines, befriended Voldemort’s daughter (!!!) and almost destroyed the entire wizarding world with their interference.
James (Son) Was A Troublemaker
We didn’t see a lot of James Potter in the flash-forward at the end of The Deathly Hallows and he isn’t particularly important in the Cursed Child either, but apparently he is a bit of a troublemaker like Fred and George.
We’re sure that’ll get him into trouble one day.
Lily (Daughter) Didn’t Do Anything, Really
There isn’t a whole lot to be said about Lily Potter. She is too young to go to Hogwarts yet and, in a way not dissimilar to Ginny when we first saw her, doesn’t really speak.
