Harry Potter: 7 Times Harry Was A Complete Idiot

7. When He Snuck Into The Slytherins' Compartment – The Half-Blood Prince

After Malfoy’s suspicious behaviour in Diagon Alley, Harry is keen to learn more information. With the help of his Invisibility Cloak, he takes his opportunity during the journey to Hogwarts and sneaks into a train compartment full of sixth-year Slytherin students.

Given the compartments aren’t particularly big on the train, Malfoy picks up on Harry’s movements and decides to take revenge on the boy who landed his father in prison. After casting the Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus), Malfoy then breaks Harry’s nose by stamping on his face.

Had it not been for Tonks (or Luna in the movie adaptation), Harry would have been taken all the way back to London. To make matters worse, he didn’t even learn anything valuable. Malfoy spotted Harry almost at once, and as such, he deliberately withheld any important information whilst talking with his fellow Slytherins.

Put simply, Harry took a risk with the hope of discovering Malfoy’s secret but ended up paralysed and bloodied for no reason at all.