Why Harry Potter is my Favorite Harry Potter Character

Let me preface this by saying that I am talking about the books and the books only. As an OG (and pretty hardcore) fan of the books, the movies have never been my favorite. After the first four, watching any of the movies with me is basically a test of my friends’ patience as I systematically and passionately critique every inconsistency and change in detail when compared to the flawless brilliance of the books (in my opinion of course, and keeping any JK Rowling controversies aside). But I digress; my love for the series is a whole other article, maybe even multiple ones. This one is all about the most underrated protagonist, and why he will always remain my favorite character from the books.

I’ve always been into the true blue, self-sacrificial, brave, noble hero type. (which is why Captain America over Iron Man, always). Maybe because I could never imagine being that way myself (I’m a Slytherin; that’s enough to know bravery and nobility are not my strong suits), but there is something so inspiring about a protagonist truly only doing what he does for the good of others. Which also may be why Cedric Diggory’s death had a huge impact on me, now that I think about it. Book Harry is the quintessential hero in that sense; famous for something he had no actual role in but living up to it from a very young age, all the while hating said limelight. The way the Dursleys raised him could have resulted in an embittered young boy only caring about his own successes after 11 years of being neglected and yet, we get a respectful, caring young man, albeit a sometimes clueless one. I think my favorite thing about him (besides the sass and sarcasm that the movies for whatever reason failed to show: how brilliant is the “No need to call me Sir, Professor” line?!) is just how average he is. He is not the strongest or smartest by any means, which makes him so incredibly relatable in my opinion. He does have his moments of brilliance of course; people always say he and Ron were idiots who would have never survived without Hermione. She should have been the main character. I have always strongly disagreed. Yes, she has helped him and even saved him many times, but she would never have been able to do what Harry did and come out victorious over Voldemort. I actually don’t understand that opinion at all; JK Rowling was pretty clear in pointing out that Harry had more street smarts and better defense abilities as compared to Hermione, proven by him beating her in every Defense Against the Dark Arts exam set by a competent teacher, including their OWLS.

There have definitely been many moments in the series where I thought Harry majorly messed up, resulting in some disastrous consequences. I will always maintain that he was responsible for Sirius Black’s death (along with Sirius’ own superior attitude towards house elves), and that his nobility actually resulted in Cedric Diggory’s death as well, since he chose to win the Triwizard Tournament with him rather than just pick up the cup. But people often tend to forget that he was literally a kid. The books span from the ages of 11 to 17 for our main trio. How many of us lived perfect, mistake-free lives in our teen years? But he has always fought on, has truly gotten into the mind of his nemesis, made some really smart calls (especially in the last book) and has turned around the meaning of the greater good by truly believing in it and essentially sacrificing himself for it.

I can go on and on about this and provide many, many more detailed examples of why he deserves more credit and deserves to be more people’s favorite. I appreciate a whole host of characters, flaws and all, and can completely see why some of the others can be the favorites. Well, except Snape, he was an awful person who did one brave thing that was born out of a one-sided obsession for an old friend and no one can convince me otherwise (still a brilliant character, extremely well-written). But Harry Potter will always have my heart.