10 Smartest Decisions Made By Harry Potter Characters

With seven books - or eight films - centred around a magical school, it’s no surprise that many of the characters manage to make some astute decisions. And that’s a good thing because the world of Harry Potter is a dangerous one. With a sinister threat looming each year at Hogwarts, it's imperative that some of these characters kept their wits about them.

Albeit good decisions or bad ones, the best choices are ones that have unforeseeable benefits later on. There are countless times in the franchise where things could have easily gone horribly for the characters.

However, they get by because of something they did earlier in the story. Whether it's Hermione’s need to take too many classes or Harry and Ron’s lack of thinking, planned or not, these decisions pay off in the end.

Whether it’s good planning, quick thinking, or just plain luck, the characters of the Harry Potter series tend to make sometimes intelligent and sometimes seemingly random choices that end up paying off. The characters may or may not have realized what they were throwing into motion, but because they did, the heroes prevailed.

Without these unforeseen consequences, Harry may never have made it through his second year of Hogwarts.

Things did not go well for Harry and his friends when they broke into the Ministry of Magic.

While they managed to foil Voldermorte's plans and locked up some Death Eaters, the trip is hardly a success. Even though the break-in caused the tragic loss of Sirius Black and the demise of the Hall of Prophecy, there were a few unforeseen benefits in its destruction.

Aside from the destruction of Harry's prophecy, the accidental wrecking of Time-Turners was one of the most important events that could have happened.

The mess Harry and his friends cause in the Ministry prolonged Harry's life in more ways than one. The first is in delaying Voldemort from hearing the prophecy.

While Dumbledore could have shared the entirety of the prediction with Harry at any time. The loss of the sphere means Voldemort is left without essential knowledge. This allows Harry to grasp his duties and meet death as an Ally in the end.

The second and much less immediate consequence is in the continuation of Harry's story, The Cursed Child. The wizarding world is threatened by Voldemort's daughter and a single, illegal time-turner.

The loss of time turners not only keeps Voldemort's daughter at bay, but also any other loyalist that may try to go back in time and defeat Harry.

If Harry and his friends had not broken into the Ministry, the Death Eaters and any other Voldemort supporter would have been after one of the many time turners.