I hope no one cries of nostalgia while reading this article! Actually, if anyone does become teary while reading this, I'd be very surprised because this isn't something positive, nor reflecting on the precious moments of the series. Rather, the horrible people who both, made the series intriguing, but made us want to scream in frustration and just walk into the book and smack them hard. Behold, the least liked characters of the Harry Potter series:
1. Dolores Umbridge
Hands down, she is numero uno, on the list of Terrible People in Literature! All throughout the fifth book and movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I was agonizing her presence. Even today, I can't decide which of the following is the most annoying: Umbridge herself, her office, her weekly (or maybe even, daily) new rules, her voice, her punishments, or the cats. (I feel bad on behalf of the cats, seriously, I wouldn't dress them up all frilly and lacy if I owned cats.) The worst part of Umbridge would have to be the way she treated the students; making them write in their own blood, forces information from children, threatened Harry Potter himself with the Cruciatus Curse (how cruel does one have to be to do that?!), and purposely sending dementors on Harry, just so the poor boy could get in trouble. She really has to be the daughter of Satan, or from someone even worse than him. And I haven't even mentioned the discrimination Umbridge holds against Muggles, Muggle-borns, and half-breeds. She only wanted people of 100% wizard/witch background in the magical community, which explained her desire of wanting to inspect students' backgrounds. Scary how her actions closely resemble Donald Trump of today: wanting to rid anyone and everyone who's not White and anything else he considers as inferior.
2. Lord Voldemort
Voldemort's history of being given away to an orphanage, sans loving parents/guardians, shouldn't necessarily justify his violent behavior as an adult (should he be called an 'adult'?) There are orphans out there in orphanages, but I don't think each and every single one of them turned into murderous monsters in their later lives. He killed his own parents, Merlin's beard! And that wasn't stopped right there; he also murdered Harry's parents, James Potter and Lily Evans, along with multiple other people. Voldemort also had a dislike for Muggle-borns, which prompted him to strip them of ownership of any wands, and if they couldn't prove to have any relations to any wizards, the Muggle-born would be subjected to a Dementor's Kiss. How demented is that mindset?!
3. Rita Skeeter
She is the Daily Mail of the magical world: writing biased articles about witches and wizards, both adults and young students (most notably Harry Potter), along with a horrible biography of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Skeeter also goes around interviews people about a certain upcoming event, such as the Triwizard Tournament, but she doesn't necessarily publish the facts. She usually twists and morphs the details around, so that the person being targeted appears as bad as possible. Her hairstyle is hideous, her last name is so disturbing, and she's just plain rude to people. Sure, Rita is crime-free, but not when it comes to writing terrible stuff about other people. In addition to being rude, we see that she has this tendency to sneak up on people (well, that's nothing new) and taking pictures, especially when two or more people are in private conversation. For example, when Harry and Hermione were talking in a tent, then Hermione suddenly hugs Harry. Rita bursts into the scene with the flash of a camera, and is seen as thrilled to have another article topic that's sure to create a buzz. Ugh, bugger off, Rita! No one want to see, or even talk to you!
4. Draco Malfoy
Ugh, as handsome as this boy is, man is he someone worthy enough to punch! He bullies and taunts Hermione, but mainly Harry, since the Potter boy, is of course, Potter boy. And we're all quite familiar with his predictable, one-and-only, handy-dandy, supposed-to-be-threatening threat: "My father will hear about this!" Sure, did you actually write, or tell, your father every single thing Potter boy and Granger have done, or said about you, in school? I'm sure your father heard everything, but it probably just went in one ear and out the other. No surprise, I mean, who wants to cater to whiny children? Tables turn, though, when Draco lies about Harry being dead, since earlier, Harry rescues Draco from the Room of Requirements. Draco isn't exactly someone who's murderous; he's just a typical spoiled boy who likes to pick people on their insecurities. But when the fact that he's an admirer of Lord Voldemort comes along, eh, looks like Draco isn't a normal-minded person, after all.
5. The Dursleys
In a way, I can sort of see why they treated Harry in such a hostile manner. Harry had no inkling of his 'Wizard' status, until Rubeus Hagrid personally made the announcement to the young boy. A wizard, in the words of his Aunt Petunia, were "freaks", and Hogwarts, according to Uncle Vernon, was a place led by a "crackpot" (aka Professor Dumbledore). In addition, the Dursleys already knew about Harry's 'Wizard' status, so they kept the poor boy in terrible conditions, probably being hopeful that no one will take him to the school led by a "crackpot", since Harry's obviously going to thrive at Hogwarts. However, their treatment towards Harry was totally inappropriate because there was a likelihood that he (Harry) could've turned out like Lord Voldemort. The Dursleys were very lucky people that Harry turned out to be a sane human being, despite the hostility shown during his first 11 years of living. At least Harry was being taken care of underneath a roof, with immediate family members, instead of shoved into an orphanage.
