Harry Potter: 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Relatives Of Hogwarts Students
Most of the focus of Harry Potter is on the students at Hogwarts, their professors, and of course, He Who Shall Not Be Named - but what about the families that surround them? Every fan knows that the Dursleys are barely even a family to Harry, and that his parents were killed when he was a baby, but are the Durselys the worst possible relatives in the series?
How do Ron's parents stack up against Hermione's, and which parental figure mentioned in passing had fans up in arms... or wishing that they could have seen more? From the Golden Trios' home lives to the much smaller characters, these are the best and worst families and relatives (of Hogwarts students) that the franchise has to offer.
10 Best: The Grangers
Harry Potter fans don't actually get to know much about the Grangers - Hermione tends to mention them from time to time (they're dentists!), and they come to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies occasionally, but beyond that, they don't seem particularly involved. And in the end, of course, Hermione makes the decision to obliviate them, and send them to the other side of the world for their own protection. Based on what little fans do know about them, though, they seem pretty fantastic. They're supportive, open-minded, and encouraging to Hermione, which is the really important stuff.
9 Worst: The Malfoys
This goes largely without saying, seeing as Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are Death Eaters, but they are definitely among the worst parents at Hogwarts. It's not just their affinity with the Dark Arts that makes them so heinous, either. They encourage Draco to think of himself as above the rules (hence 'my father will hear about this'), they treat Dobby terribly, they attempt to get Dumbledore fired, they look down on any muggle-born witches and wizards, and they pass Voldemort's diary onto the Weasleys with the intent of doing harm. In fact, there's little redeemable about them, except their love for their son.
8 Best: Amos Diggory
While Cedric's father certainly gets more attention in the books than the movies, in both he is an overall decent chap, and extremely proud of Cedric. At times, this may even extend into unreasonable territory, when he 'jokingly' sets up Cedric in competition with Harry, or becomes upset with Harry when he is chosen as a Champion for the Triwizard Tournament. But overall, Amos is friendly, charming, and supportive of his son.
7 Worst: Xenophilius Lovegood
Xenophilius Lovegood is a sympathetic character in a lot of ways - he lost his wife, he is a single father and absolutely devoted to Luna, and he is one of the few people who publicly stand up for Harry Potter from the start.
However, he ends up on the worst side of things because he wanted to betray Harry and his friends to the Death Eaters - his principles didn't stand up to his personal safety, and that of his daughter. Understandable, maybe, but even Luna herself wouldn't have approved.
6 Best: The Longbottoms
The Longbottoms get a mention more for being heroes than for being great parents - because sadly, they are unable to really parent Neville or be a part of his life, as the effects of being tortured left them permanently incapacitated and in St Mungo's. However, fans of the series do know that Alice and Frank were loving parents to Neville as a baby, and that no matter what torture was inflicted on them, they refused to betray their friends or their principles.
5 Worst: Seamus Finnigan's Mother
Seamus's mother doesn't get named in the series, but she does pop up - as someone who reads and believes the Daily Prophet, who thinks that Harry Potter is making up Voldemort's return, and who influences her son to disbelieve Harry Potter as well. This is somewhat understandable, of course, given that most of the wizarding world believed the Ministry and the Daily Prophet for a time, and she did change her mind in the end. But it made for some conflict between Seamus and Harry for a while.
4 Best: Augusta Longbottom
Neville often seems quite afraid of his overbearing Aunt in the early books, but by the end of the series, fans know that Augusta Longbottom is actually a formidable woman - and a good one.
She's strict with Neville, but fiercely proud of his parents, and (once he starts to stand up for himself) of Neville, too. She was able to fight off Death Eaters and go on the run, and is one of the few parents who joined in at the Battle of Hogwarts itself.
3 Worst: Sirius Black
Sirius Black is not a parent, but a godparent - but as such a major character in the series, he definitely counts! However, as much as fans love him, he's actually not a great parental figure. A lot of this is because he doesn't get the chance to be - being imprisoned, on the run, and then unable to leave Grimmauld Place makes that difficult! However, when he does get a chance to interact with Harry, he is reckless, encourages his godson to take huge risks, and seems to view putting them in danger as a bit of fun. He definitely struggles with finding the line between being a friend and not treating Harry like his father, James, and while a lot of Sirius's worst traits may be because of the trauma of Azkaban and its effects on him, it's still something that makes him a less-than-ideal parental figure.
2 Best: The Weasleys
Every Harry Potter fan wishes that they had parents like the Weasleys - Molly and Arthur are incredibly kind, caring, positive, and devoted to the family. They also understand the line to be drawn between setting rules and boundaries and being understanding and indulgent. Molly, in particular, keeps her children (and any stray children that happen to be around!) safe, and would do anything to protect them (including taking down Bellatrix Lestrange!), but she's also not afraid to lay down the law, and doesn't forget that she's a parent, not a friend.
1 Worst: The Dursleys
This should be somewhat obvious - as the Dursleys are clearly terrible parents to their own son, as well as being abusive parental figures to Harry. When it comes to Dudley, Petunia and Vernon have no sense of boundaries or the need to teach their son anything or discipline him at all. He is utterly spoiled, and allowed to bully other kids, break his toys, throw screaming tantrums until he gets his way, and have anything he might like. Harry, on the other hand, is half-starved, yelled at, severely punished for even the smallest misdemeanor, locked in his room later in the series, and used as a servant in the house. All in all, these two have no redeeming qualities as parents.
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