Harry Potter: 10 Most Hated Characters Who Aren’t Villains
Lavender Brown has to be the most irritating girlfriend of all time...
The wizarding world is populated with an extensive list of interesting characters. Whilst the enticing plots and the magical settings are fantastic, it’s the heroes and villains who keep us coming back again and again.
Indeed, there are multiple villains we all love to hate. Voldemort – though he’s definitely the evillest – isn’t actually the character we loath the most. Dolores Umbridge – with her falsely-sweet persona, her love of medieval punishments, and her questionable dress sense – is easily the most hated character in the series. Though Bellatrix Lestrange is a close second.
But it’s not just the villains who are hated by the Harry Potter fanbase. There are some characters who get underneath our skin for all the wrong reasons despite not being overtly evil. More often than not, such characters are irritating rather than villainous. Their personalities do little to garner sympathy even if they have a firm moral compass.
Whilst it’s impossible for any character to be worse than Umbridge, many of the following individuals are so irritating they’re even more hateable than most of the villains who populate the wizarding world...
10. Rufus Scrimgeour
Rufus Scrimgeour steps into the wizarding world in The Half-Blood Prince as the new Minister for Magic. Though his predecessor – Cornelius Fudge – is the real political menace of the series, Scrimgeour isn’t much better.
Despite the fact he used to be Head of the Auror Office, he’s a rather pathetic politician. His response to Voldemort’s return is vague and disorientated. Rather than rounding up genuine Death Eaters, he arrests Stan Shunpike (the conductor on the Knight Bus) in an attempt to look impressive.
He actually seems more concerned with public perception than defeating the Dark Lord. On several occasions, he asks Harry to become more acquainted with the Ministry in the hope of boosting its reputation.
In fairness, Scrimgeour did refuse to give Voldemort and the Death Eaters information during his final moments, but this isn’t enough to redeem his poor tenure as Minister for Magic.