Line #33 HateSink/HarryPotter


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7	->''"I loathe Pansy Parkinson. I don't love Draco but I really dislike her. She's every girl who ever teased me at school. She's the Anti-Hermione. I loathe her."''
8	-->-- '''J.K. Rowling'''
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10	Lord Voldemort, the chief antagonist of [[Franchise/HarryPotter the franchise]], has done tons of despicable things, including killing Harry's parents, but even if he was responsible for setting the series' plot into motion with the murder of Harry's parents, he acts in the shadows for most of the series and thus isn't really a suitable nexus for audience scorn. In his place are other characters who are willing to serve as [[HateSink bullseyes for the audience's hatred]].
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12	[[AC:Harry Potter]]
13	* The Dursleys are your archetypal [[Creator/RoaldDahl Dahlian]] abusive family to Harry; although Dudley has a HeelFaceTurn after Harry saves his life from the Dementors, and Aunt Petunia at least has something of a HeelRealization and is ultimately revealed to have somewhat sympathetic reasons for her hatred of the magical world, having been envious of her sister Lily's powers for her whole life, Uncle Vernon is never given any sort of redemptive moment towards Harry. Unlike Petunia, he has no motive for his hatred of magic other than his general disdain for anyone who isn't like him, and he is a vulgar, short-tempered, and petty-minded {{jerkass}} even at the best of times, not to mention encompassing everything [[AuthorTract Rowling herself]] thinks is wrong with British society. He outright encourages Dudley's rude behavior and bullying of Harry, and when he hears that Dementors have been sent after Harry in Little Whinging, his first instinct is to [[MoralEventHorizon kick Harry out of his house]] [[DirtyCoward to save himself, his wife, and his son]], which would most certainly spell a death sentence to the teenage Harry, ''[[UngratefulBastard who had just saved his son's life]]'', might one add.
14	* And then there's Vernon's sister, Marge Dursley. She only appears in one chapter of ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', but it only took that one to one-up her brother and then some. She [[TheAlcoholic downs brandy after brandy like the industry's going belly-up]] ([[{{Hypocrite}} while simultaneously slinging false accusations at Harry's parents of having been the same]]), cares more about her dogs than most people (which given how callously she has the runt of a litter drowned is very little as well), has classist notions that put her brother to shame, shows unabashed joy at the thought of Harry receiving corporal punishment, and ''even Dudley'' has to be bribed to tolerate her presence. Ultimately, she gets a very satisfying comeuppance from Harry, who isn't even punished for inflating her due both to circumstances and the fact it was accidental.
15	* Draco Malfoy is introduced as a {{Jerkass}} {{Fantastic Racis\|m}}t rich kid who thinks he is better than others because he was born in a rich family. As the story progresses, he only shows more jerkassery as he openly declares that he wishes to know who Slytherin's heir is so he can help him kill Muggle-borns, deliberately fake the severity of the injury Buckbeak inflicted on him so Hagrid will be sacked (it doesn't work, but Buckbeak almost gets killed for it), and so on. This is finally subverted in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]''. [[spoiler:Although Draco makes several attempts on Dumbledore's life which almost get two other people killed, he's ultimately shown to be [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain pitiable and is arguably at his most sympathetic]], as he clearly doesn't want to be a member of the Death Eaters but knows Voldemort will kill him and his family if he fails.]]
16	* [[BumblingHenchmenDuo Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle]], Draco's two handymen, are essentially Malfoy minus even the ''microscopic'' redeeming qualities that Draco himself possessed, or any motive for their actions beyond being obnoxious, brutish bullies. Having the same personality as Draco but being even dumber, uglier, and crueler, no one was remotely sorry when [[spoiler:Crabbe (Goyle in the movie) [[UndignifiedDeath got himself killed in an unbelievably stupid way]] by [[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own misdirected spell]] in an attempt to kill Harry, Hermione, and Ron, making him the only person in the series dumb enough to [[EpicFail die in the Room of Requirement]]]].
17	* {{ZigZagged}} for Serverus Snape in the early part of the series, which he largely acts as a cruel, bitter, and absurdly unfair {{Jerkass}}. Yet, Snape has sympathetic qualities and as the series progresses, his backstory and HiddenDepths are revealed, even when still being a bully to Harry. This changes somewhat in Book 5 when Umbridge quickly turns out to be far worse than him, and then there's Book 7, when we find out [[spoiler:just how much of a ([[AntiHero morally grey]]) hero he was all along despite remaining a cruel, bitter and absurdly unfair SadistTeacher]], ultimately {{subverted}} the trope. %%Snape has too many sympathetic qualities to count, even in Book 1 it's revealed he's been trying all year to save Harry from Quirrell despite hating him.
18	* Pansy Parkinson is portrayed as a one-dimensional AlphaBitch who's rude, insulting, prejudiced (topping off the series' usual FantasticRacism with some [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain actual racism]] towards Angelina Johnson), and cruel with no improvement throughout the series; she's also the only Hogwarts student who wants to [[spoiler:sell out Harry to Voldemort in exchange for safety]]. On top of that, she's [[StupidEvil dumb]] and [[EvilMakesYouUgly ugly]]. Rowling herself [[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/1224-pottercast-anelli.html describes]] her as "...every girl who ever teased me at school ... I loathe her." and she isn't particularly subtle about it.
19	* Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, manages to be an even bigger {{Jerkass}} and {{Fantastic Racis\|m}}t than his son. He openly insults the Grangers for being Muggles and the Weasleys for being poor, harshly berates his son for his poor grades, glowers at the 14-year-old Hermione for being a Muggle-born, and, in his most loathsome act not directly connected to being a Death Eater, [[spoiler:has the 11-year old Ginny brainwashed to open the Chamber of Secrets]], [[WouldHurtAChild which could have killed several children]] and did result in said children being petrified, intending to take advantage of the situation to have Dumbledore sacked and Arthur Weasley's life ruined, all to settle a [[EvilIsPetty petty grudge]] with Arthur and rid himself of an incriminating dark artifact. This was {{Enforced\|Trope}} by Lucius's actor Creator/JasonIsaacs with regard to his film incarnation, as he stated his intent was to make Lucius so hateable as to make Draco more sympathetic by comparison. If anything, the film version of Lucius is [[AdaptationalJerkass even worse]], stepping up from emotionally abusing Draco to hitting him with a cane, and attempting to [[DisproportionateRetribution outright murder Harry]] for foiling his plans in ''Chamber of Secrets''. Like with Draco, this gets subverted in the later books, as his love for his wife and son is presented as a genuine redeeming quality, but WordOfGod states that Lucius ultimately learns nothing from Voldemort's defeat and remains a bitter Muggle-hater in his old age.
20	-->'''Jason Isaacs:''' I watched the first film to see who my son was and maybe decide how to play his dad, and he's such an unpleasant little slimeball I decided I should win him some sympathy. So you see me bully him mercilessly.
21	* Gilderoy Lockhart is a a KnowNothingKnowItAll characterised by his [[{{Narcissist}} extreme arrogance]]. He claims to have performed many heroic deeds, but is actually a fraud who used the Memory Charm (the only spell he was even remotely good at) to erase the memories of others and claim the credit for himself. During his one-year stance as Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, he is seen as a complete joke, not helped by his many attempts to one-up other Professors ''in their own field'' and failing miserably every time. When real danger rears its head, he is revealed to be a [[DirtyCoward complete coward]] who is willing to leave Ginny to die in the Chamber to save his own neck while attempting to wipe Ron and Harry's memories... [[spoiler:only for Ron's wand to wonderfully [[HoistByHisOwnPetard backfire on him]] and [[LaserGuidedKarma wipe his own mind clean]] due to Ron's wand being damaged earlier in the story]]. This potentially horrifying fate earns him no sympathy and is PlayedForLaughs, and ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'' reveals that it has taught him nothing, as he remains exceptionally full of himself even though [[spoiler:he can barely remember who he is]]. It is worth mentioning that during his time as a student, his Professors noted that he was very intelligent (being sorted into Ravenclaw) and ''could'' have been a great wizard, but was so vain that he never actually bothered to develop his magical talents.
22	* [[CorruptBureaucrat Cornelius]] [[ObstructiveZealot Fudge]] is initially presented as something of a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, but by the end of Book 4 and throughout Book 5, he shows his true colours: that of a corrupt, cowardly, greedy, xenophobic moron who puts the entire world in danger by ignoring Voldemort's return. To do this, he launches a smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledore ([[UngratefulBastard despite the latter always gave him helpful advice during his years in office]]) and puts the former through a KangarooCourt where he acts incredibly smug and refuses to let Harry get a word in. He also puts too much importance on so-called blood purity, having held back Arthur Weasley to low-paying positions within the Ministry because of Arthur's like of and fascination toward Muggles, considering Arthur to lack proper wizarding pride, while continuing to associate with Lucius Malfoy, a former Death Eater. [[EntitledBastard Eventually when the truth about Voldemort's return is revealed, he wants Harry to help him despite everything he did]], leaving Harry and Dumbledore disgusted.
23	* [[{{Slimeball}} Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew]] is a former classmate-turned-nemesis of the Marauders having betrayed the Potter family to Lord Voldemort when his life was threatened. Initially presumed dead at Sirius Black's hands, Wormtail actually framed Black as Voldemort's informant before faking his own death, killing innocent people and removing a finger in the process before transforming into [[YouDirtyRat Ron Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers]]. When confronted by Lupin and Black, Wormtail [[NeverMyFault blames Voldemort's threats]] for his treachery, before begging for his life. After escaping the encounter, Wormtail serves Lord Voldemort out of self-interest, eventually culminating in an attempt to kill Harry Potter despite the latter saving his life.
24	* [[ImmoralJournalist Rita Skeeter]] is a smug, obnoxious {{Paparazzi}} journalist for the ''Daily Prophet'' who has no respect for anyone's privacy, and spends the vast majority of her time writing blatantly false and defamatory articles that just serve to make Harry and Hermione's lives more difficult. Her writings about Harry convince Minister Fudge that Harry is crazy and shouldn't be believed about Voldemort, so she's more responsible for Voldemort's damage than one might think. She even manages to be just as scummy in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' despite not personally appearing. There, she writes a tell-all book about Albus Dumbledore's life and darkest secrets, despite the fact that [[spoiler:[[SpeakIllOfTheDead he was just recently murdered]]]]. She is, notably, the only person in the entire franchise who Dumbledore (including his younger self in ''Film/FantasticBeasts'') treats with outright contempt instead of his usual condescending rudeness he uses on people he doesn't like. She also makes the detestable, homophobic implication in ''Deathly Hallows'' that Dumbledore has [[AllGaysArePedophiles an "unnatural" interest in Harry]].
25	* Three words: [[SadistTeacher Dolores]] [[BoomerangBigot Jane]] [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Umbridge]]. Full-stop. She uses her position at Hogwarts to undermine Harry and Dumbledore for daring to tell the truth about Voldemort's return, and outright tortures Harry by forcing him to magically carve the words "I must not tell lies" into his own hand with his own blood. She hides all of her horrible traits under a [[SugaryMalice sugary-sweet mask]], lacking even the LoveToHate charisma of Voldemort. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', Umbridge demonstrates the consequences of giving power to a bigot, promoting hatred towards Muggle-borns, depriving students of the capacity to learn self-defense, and [[FantasticRacism disrespecting the inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest]]. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'', she graduates from "mere" petty cruelty to outright assisting with genocide, charging Muggle-borns with "stealing magic". Whether she is an undercover Death-Eater or merely an opportunist jumping at the chance to [[{{Sadist}} cause pain to a large number of people]] is never confirmed, not that we have the slightest sympathy for her when [[spoiler:according to WordOfGod she is sentenced to life in [[TheAlcatraz Azakban]] (albeit one without Dementors)]]. Creator/StephenKing described her as "the most despicable person since Franchise/HannibalLecter", and this comes from the man who created [[Literature/{{Misery}} Annie Wilkes]], [[Literature/{{It}} Pennywise]] and [[Literature/TheStand Randall Flagg]].
26	* Zacharias Smith never does anything evil, but stands out as a particularly obnoxious and annoying character. He joins Dumbledore's Army, only to complain about everything Harry tries to teach them. He later becomes an incredibly biased Quidditch commentator in the sixth book and makes one final appearance in the seventh book, abandoning Hogwarts before the final battle starts and pushing first years out of his way whilst deserting.
27	* Fenrir Greyback, while not as widely hated as many of the above examples due to his villainy being of the same over-the-top and impersonal brand as Voldemort's, is still a cannibal and the werewolf personification of WouldHurtAChild, to the point of even being implied to be a pedophile.
28	* [[ImpoverishedPatrician Marvolo Gaunt]] is ThePatriarch of the Gaunt family and one of the last living descendants of Salazar Slytherin alongside his children Morfin and Merope. Marvolo treated his daughter Merope [[AbusiveParents with nothing but contempt]], forcing her to do all the work and berating her for her lack of magic, a SelfFulfillingProphecy since abuse stifles the development of magic. [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections Because of his bloodline]], Marvolo thought he was untouchable, and proved to be unreasonable when confronted about his son's attack on a muggle named Tom Riddle. When Marvolo learned of his daughter's infatuation with Riddle, he tried to strangle her in front of a Ministry official, leading to his and Morfin's arrest. Marvolo's abusive treatment of his daughter [[VillainousLegacy caused decades of suffering for the wizarding world]] when Merope despaired after being left by Riddle and died giving birth to his son, who would become [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]] and instigated two wars in a mad quest for power and [[ImmortalityImmorality immortality]].
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30	[[AC:Fantastic Beasts]]
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32	* ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'': Mary Lou Barebone is an odious Bible-thumping [[FantasticRacism wizard-hater]] who [[AbusiveParents beats her foster children]] and spreads slanderous anti-wizard propaganda around New York, all the while hiding behind an infuriatingly preening mask of [[KnightTemplar arrogant righteousness.]] If that wasn't bad enough, she's also directly responsible for [[spoiler: getting Tina Goldstein fired when she used magic to try to defend [[TheUnfavorite Credence]] from Mary's violent abuse.]] She's such a horrible mother and so fanatically anti-magic that she makes the ''[[MuggleFosterParents Dursleys]]'' look positively sanctified in comparison. [[spoiler:It is impossible to feel even the slightest bit of sympathy for her when [[TheDogBitesBack Credence lashes out with his powers]] and she dies wearing an expression of obviously horrific agony.]]
33	* ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald'': [[AristocratsAreEvil Corvus Lestrange IV]] lusted after Laurena, the wife of Mustafa Kama and put her under the Imperius Curse, [[WouldHurtAChild attacking her son Yusef when he tried to stop him]]. Corvus raped Laurena for months before she died giving birth to a girl, who Corvus [[HeirClubForMen showed no love for as she could not continue his line]]. Corvus brushed off Laurena’s death and subsequently took another wife who bore him a son. Knowing that Yusef would target his son, Corvus sent both his children to America despite [[DidntThinkThisThrough knowing the person he sent them to would be abusive]]. In short, Corvus Lestrange committed a particularly [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil heinous crime]] for the Wizarding World and [[KarmaHoudini managed to avoid the consequences]].
34	* ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheSecretsOfDumbledore'': [[CorruptPolitician Anton Vogel]] is the [[AllGermansAreNazis German]] Minister of Magic [[PsychoSupporter supporting Gellert Grindelwald's interests]] and successfully gets him legally absolved of his past transgressions. As part of this, Vogel also intends to help Gridelwald's supporters [[VoteEarlyVoteOften keep the still living Qilin from picking Vicência Santos or anyone else over Gridelwald]] for the Supreme Head of the ICW--while the dead, cursed one that Grindelwald possesses will pick Grindelwald personally--and throws Theseus Scamander in a prison to [[FrameUp make him look like a dissenter]]. The plan nearly succeeds with Grindelwald ready to declare war, but as the actual Qilin steps forth to ultimately choose Santos, Vogel's own deception is exposed as the curse wears off of the dead Qilin and it collapses in his arms.

Context HateSink / HarryPotter