Harry Potter: The Worst Thing Every Order Of The Phoenix Member Did

Being described as a hero in a story does not inherently indicate that the character is a good person. Indeed, well-written characters live in shades of gray, in which there are moments of greatness along with moments times in which they make poor decisions as well. The Harry Potter stories are no exception.

Formed to be a secret society dedicated to battle back the forces of Voldemort, the Order of the Phoenix was a tight-knit group that was inevitably undone by the betrayal of one of their own. However, to suggest that this is the only fallacy within the organization would simply be inaccurate.

In total there were 33 total members of the Order written in J.K. Rowling's books. This list, however, will include 21 of them. The reasons for this is that, primarily, the names listed on this list simply existed to bolster the number of atrocities Voldemort and his Death Eaters committed. Yes, the Longbottoms were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange, and people like Marlene McKinnon and Hestia Jones were killed in action, but those are virtually the only facts known about the characters.

One notable exception is Nymphadora Tonks. The shapeshifter was largely an innocent, whose greatest fault was slipping into her own depression in the sixth novel over a forbidden love with Remus Lupin. It was determined pining over a werewolf wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

With that in mind, let's examine some of the Order's more substantial shortcomings.

The Matriarch of the Weasley family is often idolized by fans of the series and characters alike, and for good reason. Compassionate, warm, but fearless and blessed with a take-no-crap attitude, Molly has strength that belies her generally kindly exterior.

Such are the qualities of Molly that it's difficult to find many faults. Her fierce protectiveness likely stems from her brothers being murdered by Death Eaters during the first Wizarding War. As such, it is very apparent why a Boggart, an entity that takes the form of whatever someone most fears, repeatedly becomes the dead bodies of her children as well as Harry, to whom she immediately forms a maternal bond.

Perhaps her worst moment comes in the book Chamber of Secrets, in which she sends a Howler to her son Ron. Ron, having stolen a flying car from home in order to get to school when he and Harry are stopped from boarding the train, loudly chastises him in front of the entire school, much to her son's humiliation.

Ron certainly deserved deserved some form of punishment for his actions, but embarrassing him in front of friends and bullies alike served only to make school life more unbearable. Thankfully, if that's the worst thing Molly did during the course of the series, then she's doing alright.