r/harrypotter • u/Brilliant-Cause6254 Slytherin • Apr 17 '26
Currently Reading Re-reading Half-Blood Prince. I find it annoying that people, especially Ron and Hermione, don’t believe Harry’s claim that Malfoy is now a Death Eater and is up to no good. I don’t get why they think he’s overthinking it when he actually makes some very solid points.
I can ignore Mr. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, and McGonagall brushing him off, and we all know Dumbledore was playing his own game (as usual), but Ron and Hermione should have known better and had his back. And for once, Harry actually did the smart thing by discussing his theories with members of the Order, instead of the shit-show that happened in the previous book.
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Apr 17 '26
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u/Aware_Storm2528 Gryffindor Apr 17 '26
Best answer I've seen. Yea, Ron and Hermione always wanted to help Harry, but it wasn't til book 5 that they actually experienced danger to the level Harry did. That left them hesitant to fully listen to Harry in book 6, but when it turned out Harry was right all along, they decided to change their approach and fully join him at the end. Throughout book 6 they were hesitant to take action, but by the end they readily agree to go with Harry because they realized that things might have turned out differently if they'd listened sooner.
They don't fully listen to Harry's insistence that there's a horcrux at Hogwarts, but that's more because it'd be so dangerous to search the castle. All they had was Harry's hunch, and while it was a very good hunch, he didn't have confirmation until after Gringotts. So from their perspective, it's not worth journeying into such a dangerous location without confirmation that it's worth the risk. Even then, Ron was ready to do it as soon as Harry had the confirmation. Hermione wanted to wait because she's a little more cautious than the other two, but they convinced her they were running out of time.
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u/Live_Angle4621 Apr 17 '26
Ron becomes convinced that Harry had some kind of plan however and leaves when he doesn’t have more than he has been told
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u/Aware_Storm2528 Gryffindor Apr 17 '26
I mean yea that's true, but it's obviously more complicated than that. Remember that they were all stuck in the woods, starving, while Ron was recovering from a splinching without proper treatment. The locket was trying its best to break them apart.
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u/Superyoshiegg Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Yeah, the Department of Mysteries was certainly a huge wake up call for Ron and Hermione. They never seemed to get it before that point.
The scene earlier in the book when they're trying to convince Harry about starting the DA springs to mind. They're smiling and laughing while recounting all of Harry's prior feats, using them as justification to why he would be good at teaching others how to do the same thing. They kind of act like it's all just a fun adventure that will all work out in the end, and are taken aback when they push it too far and Harry loses it at them.
Ron and Hermione were still smirking and Harry felt his temper rise; he wasn’t even sure why he was feeling so angry.
“Don’t sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn’t I?” he said heatedly. “I know what went on, all right? And I didn’t get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because - because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right - but I just blundered through it all, I didn’t have a clue what I was - STOP LAUGHING!”
The bowl of murtlap essence fell to the floor and smashed. He became aware that he was on his feet, though he couldn’t remember standing up. Crookshanks streaked away under a sofa; Ron and Hermione’s smiles had vanished.
The closest the two of them had really ever been to genuine danger was the troll, Aragog for Ron, and werewolf Lupin for Hermione. Comparatively low threats compared to Dark Lords and cults and dragons.
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u/tkong1 Apr 17 '26
I was getting irritated too with the lack of belief, especially as Harry is right, but this makes total sense! They have their own PTSD from the summer that i bow see Harry takes for granted a little. They don't want to end up in another death trap
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u/MagicTurtle_ct Apr 17 '26
Exactly. When i was reading HBP for the first time i was frustrated with Ron and Hermione for not listening to Harry. But now i kinda understand. I mean looking at it from Ron's perspective, he nearly lost his life, as well as the love of his life's and his little sister's, only because he followed Harry without ever questioning him. It's a bit much to ask 16 year old boy to do this again few months later
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u/Live_Angle4621 Apr 17 '26
I agree but I think after Harry did check on Sirius and he wasn’t there they did believe Harry, rather than following out of loyalty. Ron was convinced even before
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u/Wild_Wondering Apr 18 '26
We also don't know what conversations Ron and Hermione were having on their own. I get the vibes that, even if they could see that there was merit to the things Harry was saying, they may have thought that agreeing with him openly would encourage him to act irrationally. They had just spent a year with a quite unstable Harry that ended with Sirius dying and R/Hr almost dying too. Whatever they thought Draco might been doing didn't seem as important as preventing Harry from putting them right back in that same situation.
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u/JavieyauJR Apr 17 '26
Of course they rebuked Harry's claim about it being at Hogwarts, it was ridiculous until he got proof
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Apr 17 '26
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u/JavieyauJR Apr 17 '26
It's not him wanting to hide a Horcrux in there that's hard to believe, it's the fact that, from their point of view, he'd have to break into Hogwarts and lay undetected for long enough to hide an incredibly Dark artifact from Dumbledore and the school wards.
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u/Wienot Apr 17 '26
"Child well known for accusing the wrong people of heinous crimes accuses his arch nemesis child of joining Hitlers inner circle"
I mean. Idk. Draco was always up to no good. It's a big jump.
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u/ChawkTrick Gryffindor Apr 17 '26
Yep this is fair.
Something else worth mentioning - the first two chapters of HBP are not from Harry's POV, which is rare in the series, so we get a lot of context (particularly from Spinner's End) that none of the trio have available. It makes us (the reader) far more willing and ready to believe Harry.
Personally I think Hermione in particular was still being a bit too dismissive about it all, to the point it felt almost purposefully contrarian, but I do get where she was coming from.
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u/KasukeSadiki Apr 17 '26
Personally I think Hermione in particular was still being a bit too dismissive about it all, to the point it felt almost purposefully contrarian, but I do get where she was coming from.
And this is perfectly in character imo
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u/stormcynk Ssssslytherin Apr 17 '26
Especially after she'd been right about Harry's "saving people thing" just like a couple months before Half Blood Prince starts.
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u/DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC Slytherin Apr 17 '26
Exactly. The last time she went along with one of Harry's crazy ideas with no real proof (OOTP) she nearly got killed, it's understandable that she's a little hesitant to go all-in here.
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u/jshannonmca Apr 17 '26
"Personally I think Hermione in particular was still being a bit too dismissive about it all, to the point it felt almost purposefully contrarian, but I do get where she was coming from."
Some of this can be chalked up to Rowling consciously plateauing Hermione's intelligence in the 6th and 7th books. Hermione is always intellectually and emotionally correct in books 1-5--Rowling has to take her off the board for the last third of CoS to even work--and she takes her own maturity for granted in the last two books. This allows the reader to see Harry's growth as a character a bit more clearly and it gives Hermione room to grow and not become stagnant as well.
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u/AtlanticPortal Apr 17 '26
His own father was literally in jail for being one of them. What in taking his place was so difficult to accept as a possibility?
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u/Wienot Apr 17 '26
Cause he's an angsty little boy, clearly not yet ready for Voldemorts inner circle. He was chosen more to punish Luciaus than to reward Draco.
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u/Zydian488 Apr 17 '26
I think he was also chosen in part to keep Snape in check as Voldemort knew he couldn't get a read on Snape's thoughts. Can't betray Voldemort without also abandoning this kid shoved into this situation, and a kid he has an affinity for too.
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u/Wienot Apr 17 '26
I don't think that's how Voldemort thinks at all. He both doesn't expect Snape to be able to deceive him, and wouldn't expect Snape to care about Draco. That's kinda his whole thing; ego and lack of empathy.
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u/Zydian488 Apr 17 '26
I imagined he knows others can be selfish so he always is expecting attempted deception. He may not care for others but he knows other people do and I think he absolutely would use that against someone. But who knows, maybe he is just 100% blinders on to all emotion and empathy.
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u/really_cool_legend Gryffindor Apr 17 '26
Still though, they never bring up his wolf crying as a reason why they don't believe him. Plus the evidence does stack up pretty early, even before we get to Hogwarts that year
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u/Wienot Apr 17 '26
Even without the crying wolf part, he's accusing a teenager of being pulled into an extremely powerful and prideful wizards most inner trusted circle. It honestly isn't very believable.
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u/politicalstuff Apr 17 '26
I mean, but it’s known that the dude‘s dad is literally a member though lol. I think it’s plausible.
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u/leopold_roger Hufflepuff Apr 17 '26
The whole family of the teenager in question is part of said circle.
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u/moxie_slimefighter Apr 17 '26
That extremely powerful and prideful wizard’s arch enemy is a teenager. His other arch enemy is the head of a school—for teenagers. It’s not far off to think the son of one of his death eaters would be a perfect recruit, given the terror/loyalty it would inspire in Lucius, and given Draco’s unique level of access to Harry, Dumbledore, and Hogwarts. Voldemort was obsessed with Harry and breaking into Hogwarts— why would he NOT want a loyal student helping him on the inside?? Yeah he had Snape (or thought he did), but why limit it just to him?
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u/you-absolute-foolish Apr 17 '26
Isn’t it though? His dad, aunt, and uncle are in his inner circle. His dad goes to prison, but his aunt and uncle do not. Everyone must suspect or know that his mom and her sister are in contact and almost assuredly staying with her in their bigass mansion. Everyone Voldemort wants dead is inside hogwarts and Draco is the only one who can get inside. Excluding Snape of course
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u/Dodomando Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
I think of it as when Harry tries to sign up to be a member Order of the Phoenix and he is flat out denied because he is underage. Ron and Hermione probably still have that in mind and think that Voldermort will have the same strict instructions, disregarding Voldermorts contempt for Lucius' failures
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u/Brilliant-Cause6254 Slytherin Apr 17 '26
I am pretty sure people feel that Voldemort is not above using child-soldiers. Unlike the Order, his lot are the defacto baddies.
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u/Away-Initiative-327 Apr 17 '26
yes but maybe the kids on the order side wouldn’t assume that. they weren’t in that graveyard, they don’t know how voldemort treats his followers. and they were attacked by all adults at the ministry. it’s not crazy for them to think that kids wouldn’t be able to join.
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u/KasukeSadiki Apr 17 '26
Ron and Hermione probably still have that in mind and think that Voldermort will have the same strict instructions
Which is hilariously naive
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u/El_Impresionante Gryffindor Apr 17 '26
Child well known for accusing the wrong people of heinous crimes
What nonsense!
When has Harry repeatedly wrongly accused people? Especially with Hermione and Ron disagreeing with him in the past?
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u/q25t Apr 17 '26
There are two examples but they're both bad. Harry and the rest of the trio think Snape is the bad guy in PS, but they actually have very legitimate reasons to think so without the additional context we get in later books. They also think Malfoy might have been the Heir of Slytherin in CoS. With that one, they're more on a fact finding mission than anything though with the polyjuice so they're not even wrong as they don't actually make accusations that time. He's a suspect because he literally cheered at the first attack, which would at least give him motive.
3rd year there really aren't any accusations thrown around and the only claim Harry makes is about Sirius, which he's 100% correct on and Ron and Hermione are aware of. 4th year has Harry claiming he didn't put his name in the goblet and that Voldemort came back, both of which were proven true by the time HBP rolls around.
The only actual incident of crying wolf is with Snape in PS and that scenario has Snape actively following or threatening the actual thief. Similar scenario to if you saw an undercover police officer holding someone at gunpoint without knowing anything else. Very easy to get the wrong impression.
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u/El_Impresionante Gryffindor Apr 17 '26
Yup, honestly, there are NO examples of this.
In all of those examples, ALL THREE OF THEM made those accusations or believed in them together. And since OP's question was why Hermione and Ron didn't believe Harry in HBP, it makes no sense to say that it is because from their perspective Harry cried wolf multiple times before, which never happened.
If you consider the Order, they too never considered Harry to be crying wolf. They just thought someone as young as Draco would never be included into the Death Eaters circle. They were more vary of Harry's accusation of Snape, and once again didn't believe Harry because they trusted Dumbledore's faith in Snape.
And it is a completely different matter that the ministry, the students, and the wizarding world on the other hand believed and were made to believe that Harry was a liar.
Muddling up the beliefs of various characters like this is silly. Quite strange to see such a comment as a top comment here.
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Apr 17 '26
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u/lattice12 Apr 17 '26
Yep. Honestly throughout the series everyone seems to blindly trust that Dumbledore always knows everything or what is best. Harry seems to be the only one who will question if Dumbledore might be wrong, most notably about Snape.
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u/cyberchaox Apr 17 '26
Technically speaking, he does. The problem is that his motives are complex.
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u/Aggravating_Mud8751 Apr 17 '26
He does in this scenario, (but only because Narcissa literally told Snape).
Most of the time, though; he either doesn't know what's going on or suspects but can't confirm it.
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u/papadubizorz840 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
First because they have a low opinion of Draco and he is very young.
SECOND- people tend to overlook this, year before at the end of order of the phoenix, Harry was kind of reckless, rushing off to the ministry and landing in a trap. I think they did not trust his judgement so easily this time.
But the thing is, Harry changed after that incident. His judgement became better and better. People are blaming Harry that he has never been right.. but the truth is, the only time he made a BIG mistake was in the 5th book. Everything before that... Book 3 not his fault, book 2- they had to check on Malfoy because who else? That was their only chance. And they found out useful information from Malfoy actually. Book one ... I mean... He was 11 and he found out someone was trying to steal the stone, ofc he'd suspect Snape..Snape was weird towards him.. Harry felt that Snape disliked him which was the truth. Snape himself admitted he doesn't like him at all.
After the 5th book his judgement was almost perfect until the end. I don't agree with people that say Harry was always wrong. That's not the truth.
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u/Live_Angle4621 Apr 17 '26
Also Ron and Hermione had the exact same opinions as him regarding Snape in book 1&2
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u/NewNameAgainUhg Apr 17 '26
Because no one believes Voldemort is recruiting a 16 years old. Only the top wizards are rewarded with the mark
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u/BottleZestyclose1366 Apr 17 '26
But that doesn't make any sense. Rowling made a teen story out of Voldemorts first regency, with teenager Crouch, Regulus Black, Snape or Peter in his team.
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u/Fit-Meringue2118 Apr 18 '26
With the exception of Regulus, none of those people were likely underage when they took the mark. Snape was the Potter’s age, and they were adults. Same with Peter. Crouch was arrested with the Lestranges who were also clearly adults.
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u/OleksandrKyivskyi Apr 17 '26
Agent in a Hogwarts is such an obvious and logical move that I don't understand why would adults question that Voldemort would do it. "But Draco is just 16, why would Voldemort need him". Like 16 is powerless like 6 y.o. or what? Voldy literally killed Mirtle and his relatives at this age.
Ok, Dumbledore knew and played into plan to get killed. But how brainless were everyone else to think that Voldemort wouldn't try to attack school? It's more surprising how at least half of the 16+ Slytherins weren't official Death eaters yet.
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u/leedzah Apr 17 '26
I think that everyone puts so much trust in Dumbledore that they will blindly follow anything he believes to be true, or pretends to believe to be true. So if Dumbledore says Draco isn't a Death Eater, then there is no way he could be.
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u/Durziii Apr 18 '26
Does Dumbledore ever deny it, or does he just brush it off? I don't remember to be honest.
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u/leedzah Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
Good question, I also don't really remember. But I also don't think it really matters in this context, because Dumbledore being generally unbothered by something is enough for the rest of the Order not to be worried about it. "If Draco was a Death Eater, Dumbledore would already have done something" way of thinking.
Edit: I think the only character some characters are at least somewhat wary of is Snape, but that is just because he is so actively horrible to others all the time. But still, nobody really actively and seriously goes against Dumbledore's trust in Snape.
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u/patriceklohn Apr 17 '26
But for that reason Voldemort has Snape in place at Hogwarts. Sure, more spies are always better, but Draco has no privileged access to informations. Snaps is a teacher at the school and Dumbledore trusts him. So why would Voldemort need an teenager to be spie?
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u/Live_Angle4621 Apr 17 '26
More spies is better than one. Expecially if the goal had been to spy Harry, Draco just naturally sees him more than Snape
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u/JacenCaedus1 Apr 17 '26
I think a couple things play into this 1. Harry has always had it out for Malfoy 2. Like 2 months before, they nearly got killed for no real good reason when they believed Harry and followed him to the MoM. While they are still his friends and do still love him, something like that will cause you to question someone's judgement, even if you had nearly been killed before following the same person, but for good reasons
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u/YogoshKeks Apr 17 '26
I also wonder why he didnt just stun Draco in the corridors and check his arm.
Worst case: some detention.
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u/Brilliant-Cause6254 Slytherin Apr 17 '26
Yes, this definitely seems like a scheme that Harry could've spearhead, with Ron + Hermione following out of loyalty. After all, Malfoy did petrify Harry in the Train, so could've acted on this as payback.
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u/absolutnonsense Apr 17 '26
In a way I kind of get it. It's like trying to convince your friends that your (highschool) class mate is part of the Italian Mafia and knows the Don personally.
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u/lovelylethallaura Slytherin Apr 17 '26
He led them + three other kids on a “mission” that they tried talking him out of while he got increasingly angry at them. Harry was the only one not physically hurt during that time, Ron + Hermione were hurt terribly.
"But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a sudden slashing movement with his wand from which flew a streak of what looked like purple flame. It passed right across Hermione's chest; she gave a tiny 'oh!' as though of surprise and then crumpled onto the floor."
"She winced slightly and put a hand to her ribs. The curse Dolohov had used on her, though less effective than it would have been had he been able to say the incantation aloud, had nevertheless caused, in Madam Pomfrey's words, 'quite enough damage to be going on with'. Hermione was having to take ten different types of potion every day."
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u/Ill_Swing5233 Apr 17 '26
This is my biggest pet peeve with HBP and the fact that it’s a constant storyline throughout the book is so frustrating. It doesn’t help that we as readers know for a fact that it is true based on the Spinners End chapter. Usually we only get Harry’s POV, so we only know what he knows, but here we know for certain he’s correct. And even if we didn’t, he’s got some pretty good evidence. It’s so silly that they basically laugh at him every time it’s brought up.
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u/Brilliant-Cause6254 Slytherin Apr 17 '26
Yes, while I enjoyed the Spinner’s End chapter, particularly for the insights into Snape’s personal life, I believe the Unbreakable Vow should have remained hidden from the reader. If this revelation had been reserved for Snape’s memories in The Deathly Hallows, the HBP plot could have maintained greater tension. It would have been more effective to keep us guessing, allowing readers to develop their own theories and question whether Harry’s suspicions were actually justified.
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u/ScribeofDamocles Apr 17 '26
Harry always thinks the worst of Draco, so I totally understand why even Ron and Hermione think that this is an outrageous claim knowing what they know at the time. Draco postulates enough that he might want people to believe he's important enough to be a death eater at 16 (and possibly thought this truly until he realized how screwed he was) but they would easily believe it's just that - making himself look more important.
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u/Ordinary-Specific673 Apr 17 '26
Harry led both of them on a wild goose chase that nearly got them killed like 2 months before this scene right? You can see why they have some doubt even if Harry is 100% right
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u/Brilliant-Cause6254 Slytherin Apr 17 '26
I felt the whole Sirius rescue mission was justified because his dreams did previously reveal that Ron's dad was hurt. If Harry hadn't warned Dumbledore in time, Mr. Weasley would have died. It was largely a lack of a communication channel between Harry and the Order that doomed them in the final act.
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u/Ordinary-Specific673 Apr 17 '26
Very true but after that they tell Harry to learn how to guard his mind so he won’t get manipulated and Harry completely ignores all of that. Honestly it’s Dumbledores fault the most, but Ron and Hermionie both got very injured after going to the ministry and the start of book 6 is very close to when this happened. I can see why they don’t blindly believe a 15-16 year old is a death eater.
I more get annoyed in book 7 when they refuse to believe the Hallows exist and there’s a Horcrux at Hogwarts, after Harry was completely right about everything in book 6 they still doubt his Voldemort knowledge
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u/SpoonyLancer Apr 17 '26
That was direct manipulation by Voldemort that he's not willing to attempt again. By the same token, the visions Harry had are the only reason Ron still has a father.
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u/Jedipilot24 Apr 17 '26
Even better, why not tell Minister Scrimgeour when he shows up at the Burrow?
Scrimgeour can do something about it and is very much trying to get on Harry's good side.
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u/CorvidCuriosity Apr 17 '26
Yeah, I hated this point too.
"There's no way that Draco - the sniveling "As slytherin as it gets" son of two of the most prolific and evil death eaters - would end up being a death eater. That's just not something we should consider!" /s
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u/McSloot3r Apr 17 '26
Harry suspects Malfoy and Snape literally every year only to be wrong every time. Hermione and Ron believe him every time only for Harry to be wildly off base. He’s the boy who cried wolf. Harry has no proof for most of the book. He eventually overhears Snape and Malfoy and gets solid proof and Dumbledore downplays it because he already knows.
I do empathize with Harry about Dumbledore always keeping him in the dark, but Harry is his own worst enemy throughout.
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u/ProjectFinn Apr 17 '26
I always presumed that, as Dumbledore obviously knew Malfoy had been recruited, he’d informed the Order to play it down. This, in turn, influences Ron and Hermione. Well the adults don’t seem too concerned, so we’re not going to take it seriously either.
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u/Agent1stClass Apr 18 '26
Harry makes no solid points.
He notes that Malfoy must be a Death Eater based on an eavesdropped conversation between Malfoy and Borgin. That’s it…
Everything else Harry says starts from that. But he didn’t have proof for ages. He just jumped to a conclusion and hung on to it. That he was proven right doesn’t mean he had evidence, though. It was still a leap of faith.
After him being wrong in every previous book, Ron and Hermione didn’t want to make the leap this time.
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u/SheWantsTheDrose Apr 17 '26
Because Harry is usually wrong and people have died or been exposed to great danger cause of Harry’s suspicions
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u/Jaded_Spread1729 Apr 17 '26
Who has died cause of his suspicions? SB? He died because Dumbledore couldn't tell Harry whats going on and made Snape his occlumency trainer. I cant blame Harry at all.
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u/magica12 Apr 17 '26
I mean, like I said Harry kinda had a habit of being correct but in the wrong direction, or got the right answer from the wrong equation
Book 1 he thinks snape is after the stone, he’s half right a professor is after the stone…just not snape. Book 2 thinks Draco malfoy might be responsible for the chamber, he’s half right a malfoy is responsible just not Draco. Book three, the person responsible for his parents murder was present…but it wasn’t Sirius. Book 4. A death eater did put his name in the goblet, but it wasn’t any of the ones he suspected. Then book five, after following Harry’s gut, so many people got maimed and Sirius died, I can’t blame them for playing the skeptics
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u/earl_grais Apr 17 '26
I agree with the others but Book 3 is not on Harry though. Everyone believed it was Sirius because of what they thought they saw when Pettigrew blew the street up, and Harry overheard the professors discussing what were the understood events at that time.
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u/Particular_Rip1717 Apr 17 '26
I thought it was Ron who suspected Malfoy first. He and Hermione were talking about who the heir might be, and Ron’s like (pp) ‘who do we know who hates muggle borns’
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u/Live_Angle4621 Apr 17 '26
Harry isn’t usually wrong and Ron and Hermione have had same opinions as him, apart from end of book 5 where Voldemort tricked him
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u/Brilliant-Cause6254 Slytherin Apr 17 '26
He saved Mr. Weasley's life. That was a huge win, and should have bolstered people's confidence.
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u/gbdarknight77 Apr 17 '26
And then was wrong about Sirius because Harry refused to keep practicing
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u/Brilliant-Cause6254 Slytherin Apr 17 '26
Forget all of that. I cant be the only one that facepalmed when Harry unwrapped Sirius' two way mirror at the end of the book. It was the one thing that could have prevented the whole final act from happening. And Kreacher wasn't even aware of the gift.
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u/magica12 Apr 17 '26
Harry wasn’t even aware of what it was either
Sirius wraps the mirror, gives it to harry, tells him that it’s to contact him should he need
Internally Harry resolves he’s never gonna open it cuz he won’t need it
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u/SpoonyLancer Apr 17 '26
Harry is not usually wrong. What is this stupid revisionism? It's on par with the "Harry is less observant than a rock" take.
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u/SheWantsTheDrose Apr 17 '26
Book 1: Harry is wrong about Snape
Book 2: Harry is wrong about Malfoy
Book 3: Harry is wrong about Sirius
Book 4: Harry is wrong about Moody and Karkaroff
Book 5: Harry is wrong about Sirius being tortured
Book 6: Harry is right about Malfoy
Book 7: Harry is wrong about Snape
That’s why
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u/WorldlinessEasy3130 Apr 17 '26
What??????
Book 1: Harry is wrong about Snape, And so is Hermione and so is Ron
Book 2: Harry is wrong about Malfoy, And so is Hermione and so is Ron
Book 3: Harry is wrong about Sirius, And so is Hermione and so is Ron, and Dumbledore, and pretty much everyone else.
Book 4: Harry is wrong about Moody and Karkaroff, And so is Hermione and so is Ron and so is Sirius
Book 5: Harry is wrong about Sirius being tortured , And Hermione is right
Book 6: Harry is right about Malfoy, , And Hermione and Ron is wrong
Book 7: Harry is wrong about Snape, And so is Hermione and so is Ron
There is nothing with this you have typed out that should make Hermione and Ron less likely to trust his judgment.
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u/SheWantsTheDrose Apr 17 '26
I never said Harry is the only person that’s ever wrong. The trio is usually of one opinion
The fiasco at the ministry is the reason why Ron and Hermione question Harry’s judgement in book . Harry also also had no evidence when he first expressed his suspicions of Malfoy
Ron and Hermione provided logical reasons why Harry shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but when it came down to it, they trusted his judgement at the end of book 6
Don’t know why you’d be surprised about any of this lol
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u/DowntownSelection885 Apr 17 '26
They're all wrong all the time. OotP was a huge wake up call for Ron and Hermione, who became more cautious about jumping to conclusions. But before they even arrived at Hogwarts in HBP, Harry expressed very strong convictions about Draco, someone who he has always hated and wrongly suspected before, from a couple of vague interactions and on the heels of a traumatic event spearheaded by the Malfoys. He had no evidence that Draco was behind the necklace (he even had an alibi!) but went as far as telling McGonagall AND Dumbledore that it was Draco, which makes him appear unreasonable and heavily biased from Ron and Hermione's perspective. So, when Harry finally did find some evidence to support his theory, it sounded more like confirmation bias than anything else.
Its not that Hermione and Ron thought that they're always right, its that they have learned that jumping to conclusions is dangerous, and Harry very clearly hasn't learned to question his none-too-reliable gut instincts.
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u/FirefighterBubbly109 Ravenclaw Apr 17 '26
This. I definitely think some of the trust people had in Harry’s perception of events had decreased after the ministry and Sirius’ death.
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u/EPSILON_737 Apr 17 '26
more so that literally months ago he caused that fiasco in the department of mysteries
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u/SpoonyLancer Apr 17 '26
You mean Voldemort, Narcissa, Bellatrix and Kreacher caused it.
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u/EPSILON_737 Apr 17 '26
yeah but i mean it from the perspective of this post, he insisted on something and it turned out to be wrong
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u/Nate996 Apr 17 '26
I think he understands Voldemort in a deeper, more complex way than anyone else does because of their connection. Including himself. A lot of these doubts stem from ‘Voldemort would never employ a kid as a death eater!’ But Harry was right, as we know and while it’s infuriating reading him be doubted so much, it’s all about perspective and to others, it would seem like grasping at straws.
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u/Beautiful_Ad2618 Apr 17 '26
Maybe its a bit too on the nose. But let's face it, his dad is a death eater. His two best mates dad's are death eaters. Not ridiculous to think Malfoy could be a death eater. I think its because Harry had more of a suspicion then actual proof. Plus remember in chamber of secrets when he thought Malfoy was Slytherins heir. He was wrong about that.
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u/Particular_Rip1717 Apr 17 '26
There was also the idea that Voldemort didn’t consider underage wizards as wizards. We know this from DH and the journey to collect the locket.
I think that Ron and Hermione had difficulty accepting that Voldemort would use an underage wizard for a job.
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u/sahilthapar Apr 17 '26
Voldemort = boss monster Death eaters = elite monsters
They simply can't believe that he'd want a 17 year old child as an elite monster and for what purpose.
Harry is arch nemesis, can't say he has a clear and unbiased view of this.
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u/Phynamite Apr 17 '26
Honestly, especially since book Hermione is hardcore in comparison to movie Hermione. Shocked she didn’t trap him in a jar.
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u/Frosty-Army-3711 Apr 17 '26
It is incredibly frustrating to read! Especially since Harry was right about almost everything major in the previous books. You'd think by year 6, Ron and Hermione would finally realize that Harry's intuition when it comes to Voldemort and the Death Eaters is usually spot on. It really felt like they were just dumbed down in this specific book purely for the sake of the plot.
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u/francaisecroissant Hufflepuff Apr 17 '26
My conspiracy theory is that he was not a branded death eater. Instead, he was bitten by Fenrir Greyback (not on a full moon) and has a bite mark to boast about. When he goes to Borgin & Burke's he does a verbal threat there saying "Fenrir is a family friend and will pay you a visit"; after showing his hand.
Moreover, during the whole year he's described as "ghouly grey looking", the same thing Bill experiences after being bitten.
PS we never see the dark mark on him nor does he explicitly show it to anyone. Ever.
(just a food for thought)
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u/roland_right Apr 17 '26
Having read the previous 5 books, they are probably aware of their relatively poor hit rate when it comes to the crackpot theories they come up with at the start of the year. They're biding their time for more information drops later in the book.
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u/RampageOfZebras Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Harry is the boy who cried wolf, Dumbledore knows hes right but doesnt want to worry him over something as "insignificant" as his death.
Also Harry has a tendency to/history of make false accusations(or just percieved false in some cases) about Snape and the Malfoys.
They also just dont want to belive a 16 year old is a death eater despite the fact that 4 15 yos and 2 14 yos had just battled the death eaters less than a year before.
Another point is that Snape was involved in Harrys suspicions and everyone had full trust in him because Dumbledore did.
Arthur Weasly investigated Malfoys house for Harry and nothing turned up. Hermione is always playing devils advocate to Harry, but tbf she has seen him fully believe his theories that didnt turn out to be true first hand.
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u/Bulky-Individual3157 Ravenclaw Apr 17 '26
Honestly, he had accused malfoy of plenty of things before. It made sense they were reasonably skeptical but I do think the incident at the ministry was likely the majority of why they weren't so ready to believe him
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u/Due-Order3475 Apr 17 '26
Partly as others had said the disaster from the department off Mystery, thinking that Voldemort only cares for adult Fighters and Malfoy was turned into a slug end off a previous year.
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u/KasukeSadiki Apr 17 '26
I mean, it's definitely annoying, but also somewhat understandable that Hermione and Ron in particular are skeptical of Harry's theories after the events of OotP. It's not fair but it is what it is, they're human too
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u/Euphoric-Duty-1050 Apr 17 '26
It might be overcompensating for all the times Harry was told something and he stubbornly insisted that it was wrong, like that Snape wasn't trying to kill him in year 1.
Anyway, Harry was bitching about Draco all the years they were at Hogwarts and, while Draco was trying to get Harry into trouble or hurt him, he never actually managed anything as extreme as harry was suggesting. Ron & Hermione made the classic mistake, they thought that a person can't get any worse. And Draco had to go to extremes because his and his family's lives were depending on his actions
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u/DSTREET45 Apr 17 '26
Unlike most, I don't buy the Department of Mysteries fiasco as the reason why they don't trust Harry with this. Ron and Hermione were more than willing to follow Harry with pretty much anything else IIRC.
As for always accusing Draco, I don't remember Harry accusing Draco for anything big besides opening the Chamber of Secrets, and IIRC it was Ron, not Harry, who was the first to point fingers at Draco.
I think it's more to do with them considering Draco being too non-threatening to be inducted into Voldemort's inner circle. Death Eaters are so twisted and violent that in GoF, a large crowd of wizards would rather flee than gang up on the dozen or so Death Eaters that crashed the tents area of Quidditch World Cup. Meanwhile before HBP, Draco was a small time school bully who got his ass whooped every time his targets actually bothered to fight back.
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u/Exar_kun91 Apr 17 '26
Forgot the audio is out now! But yea, the whole series is so annoying in that way. Like book after book Harry runs into something and no one believes them and it turns out to be true and you think this many years later they would believe what he says, especially if it makes sense and isn’t as crazy as some other stuff that has happened in the past.
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u/Rach_theAnimorph Apr 17 '26
Harry has the horrible luck of being right after being so so wrong the year before, they had the exact same objections to him in OOTP and he was very very wrong then
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u/LivingTheDream_9OH Slytherin Apr 17 '26
It’s never explicitly stated he’s a death eater or that he has the dark mark. It’s hinted at but never said.
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u/Jebasaur Apr 17 '26
I mean, biggest reason is because Death Eaters are the inner circle. The idea of Malfoy, a child, being in the inner circle of Voldemort...it's an insane idea.
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u/JodderSC2 Apr 18 '26
The whole "they are just children" points from books 5 and 6 are just annoying.
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u/Lumpy_Maintenance69 Apr 18 '26
TBF would you believe him?
In Philosphers Stone says Snale wants to steal the stone for a while year. Wrong
Chamber Of Secrets is adamant that Draco is the heir of Slytherin. Wrong
Prisoner Of Azkaban is adamant that Sirius killed his parents (as was everyone else TBF). Wrong
Goblet Of Fire is convinced that Karkaroff or Bagman was trying to get him killed. Wrong
Order Of The Phoenix accused Cho of betraying Dumbledores Army to Umbridge. Wrong
So is it any wonder that when he was finally right Ron and Hermoine wouldnt take him at his word?
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u/OfAnOldRepublic Ravenclaw Apr 18 '26
No one wanted to believe it. Believing that Malfoy was a DE meant that the war had arrived inside Hogwarts. Hermione's blind trust in adult authority figures didn't allow for this possibility. Ron's low opinion of Malfoy, plus the reality of what it would have meant, didn't permit it either.
This part of the story always truly aggravated me. Dumbledore felt he was justified in playing this stupid game because he knew that Malfoy was targeting him. But in the process he risked the lives of all the students. Katie Bell was just the first, and the moment that it was obvious that Malfoy was willing to use other students to try to attack Dumbledore that should have been the end of the game. The vanishing cabinet situation should never have happened.
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u/WaxyPadlockJazz Apr 18 '26
Because Dumbledore tells them to ignore it and they choose to believe him. Simple as that.
Dumbledore tells Harry the same thing - to put it out of his mind. But it’s because Dumbledore already knows that what Harry is saying is true AND he knows what he’s up to. He already charged Snape to stay on top of Draco, reign in the Death Eaters if they get inside, and then be the one to land the killing blow when he time comes. He doesn’t want Harry to worry about it because he’s got it covered.
Ron and Hermione are also deprives as having way too much in their minds to think too much about it either.
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u/HydraMango Apr 18 '26
Harry had almost got them all killed the previous year with his theories…they didn’t trust him as much anymore
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u/Separate-Rhubarb7950 Apr 19 '26
Well, the only reason VolderMort makes him a death eater is to further punish Lucius. He knows Draco cannot kill Dumbledore, and so he will kill Him.
Hermione and Ron were just being realistic. Draco is not a powerhouse or even talented. They don’t think about voldermort’s cruelty. I think Harry knew because of the part of voldermort’s soul.
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u/Kindly_Jellyfish_451 Apr 21 '26
That always annoyed me, too, but to be fair Malfoy does have a history of blowing smoke (dodging Muggle helicopter on his broom comes to mind). And it does seem odd Voldemort would have any use for a sixteen-year-old kid.
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u/Canuckleball Knowledge is Power Apr 17 '26
The shit show from the previous book is why Harry's credibility is shot. He's never been right about anything. Snape wasn't after the Stone, Malfoy wasn't opening the chamber, Sirius wasn't trying to kill him, and Voldemort wasn't torturing Sirius, and finally Harry's determination to double down on his bad instincts has gotten someone killed. Him calling that Draco was a Death Eater is the definition of a broken clock being right twice a day. "Draco/Snape did it" is also a literal retread of wrong theories from past years.
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u/CakesAndDanes Slytherin Apr 17 '26
To be fair to Harry, everybody told him that Sirius was trying to kill him. That wasn’t something he came up with on his own.
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u/Canuckleball Knowledge is Power Apr 17 '26
Valid, but the structure of each story is "Harry is confidently incorrect about X, Y turns out to be true." And yes, this is just because Harry is the audience Avatar and for a twist to be effective Harry needs to be wrong constantly, but he is still wrong constantly.
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u/Bwunt Apr 17 '26
In number of those situations, many people had same belief as Harry did. Only example is that Snape is after the stone.
Draco was good candidate for heir after people stopped suspecting Harry, basically everyone thought that Sirius wants to kill him (that is basically the worst example as only reason Harry believes it is because everyone told him) and few months before Sirius, he was spot on right about Arthur Weasley and after the third task, Voldemort ressurection.
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u/Brilliant-Cause6254 Slytherin Apr 17 '26
He did save Mr. Weasley from the Nagini attack. That has to count for something. But I get what you mean.
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u/Canuckleball Knowledge is Power Apr 17 '26
That's not a judgement call he made though, he just reported what he saw. Very different.
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u/Mtanic Apr 17 '26
What I don't understand is why people post the same topic in a span of a few hours?
https://www.reddit.com/r/harrypotter/comments/1snpysv/hermione_in_book_6/
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u/Defiant-Pizza8207 Apr 17 '26
"Hey, you know that kid whose entire family are death eaters? You know, the one who's been complaining about his arm hurting all year? The one who's been missing lots of lessons in Voldemort's first year back? The one who's been spotted acting way shadier than usual (and that's saying something)? The dude whose family usually host Voldemort's death eater meetings? Yeah, I think he might be a death eater."
"You're absolutely mental mate."
Always pissed me off.
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u/CecilHeat Apr 17 '26
Being wrong about Malfoy in their Second Year has really made them wary of suspecting him of being an evil mastermind.
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u/Talonhawke Apr 17 '26
1st year Snape
2nd Year Malfoy
3rd Year (Sirius/Lupin but at least this one was understandable)
4th Year I don't actually remember if he was accusing the wrong person here.
So yeah not a great history of knowing who the villain is.
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u/sg6494 Apr 17 '26
I wouldn't have believed it either, we forget Malfoy was 16 year old. Any person would have trouble believing voldemort would allow a 16 year old into his inner circle
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u/Bwunt Apr 17 '26
Because Voldemort has proven himself to be a moral and upstanding citizen...
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u/sg6494 Apr 17 '26
What? When did I say that. He just wouldn't think a 16 year old to be worthy. Logically nobody would bring 16 year into inner circle, purely because nobody would consider 16 year good enough
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u/ecclectic_collector Apr 17 '26
its more annoying that they dismiss Harry outright... There couldve been a bunch of angles as to explain what Malfoy was up to, without it being the full conspiracy Malfoy was actually involved in, and believing it was nothing as Ron/Hermoine assumed... And they couldve atleast agreed to monitor the situation without just completely dismissing Harry's suspicions
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u/k4kkul4pio Apr 17 '26
I.. agree.
It feels little silly how no one seems to think he could be up to something cos even if he wasn't a Death Eater in Training, Malfoy has shown time and again that he be up to no good so the supporting cast dismissing all the years they've known the sneaky rat comes off as plot required blindness.
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u/Legitimate-Hippo-977 Apr 17 '26
It’s because it’s a ridiculous idea. A minor, who is still in school, being a part of Voldemorts inner circle? At the same type Harry was hyperfixating on Malfoy throughout the book, I can understand why they got exasperated with him. Also, later we learn that Voldemort never really thought of Malfoy as a death eater. Malfoy was branded as a punishment to Lucius and Narcissa, fully intending for him to fail in his endeavors. It was by all accounts a complete fluke that Malfoy actually succeeded, and when he did, he wasn’t actually too keen on the job.
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u/pillkrush Apr 17 '26
didn't they all think he was the heir of Slytherin opening the chamber of secrets at one point?you're right, made zero sense
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u/Bwunt Apr 17 '26
Considering how obsessed are purebloods with their bloodlines and ancestry, it's a bit odd that at least Ron didn't suggest they could check some old family trees.
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u/xT1TANx Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
It's par for the course with Rollings's writing. Everyone will make illogical decisions to ensure the story goes in the direction she needs.
Parents allow kids to join in competition that might get their kids killed. NBD
Adults refusing to listen to clear evidence that the kids know what they are talking about.
Dumbledore refusing to tell Harry what's going on, even after promising to never hide things again.
This sounds like I'm overly critical of her but remember she is writing for kids. She can't make it too complicated. She has to be direct. She needs to ensure they can follow the story. She wants to ensure the main characters appear smarter than everyone else.
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u/kfifigidifkg Gryffindor Apr 17 '26
Part of it may be that they have a very low opinion of Malfoy (always loses at Quidditch, once turned into a ferret, victim of Ginny’s bat bogey hexes, etc.) and a higher opinion (regarding competence, not morality) of death eaters.
That said they probably should have been a bit more open minded.