10 More Movie Endings With Disturbing Implications You Totally Missed
3. Lockhart's Memory Never Returned - Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets
The position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher brought some colourful characters to Hogwarts to say the least, one of the most notable being Gilderoy Lockhart. Though he didn't necessarily teach the children anything, strictly speaking, he was Harry and co.'s teacher in their second year.
Portrayed wonderfully by Kenneth Branagh, the character was egotistical, narcissistic, happy to take credit for the work of others, and all round detestable. All this and more may make sympathy for him something of a rare commodity, but even taking all of this into account he didn't deserve the fate he ultimately received.
After he tried to hit Harry and Ron with a memory charm (again, not helping with the whole sympathy thing yet), it backfired due to Ron's broken wand. It was his own memory that he wiped, and pretty permanently. How ironic that the only thing he was genuinely good at was ultimately his own undoing.
There is an oft-forgotten post-credit scene at the end of Chamber of Secrets that shows Lockhart never recovered his memory. In the source material he became a permanent resident of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, after essentially losing his mind. No, he was not a good person, but this seems an incredibly harsh punishment.