When Harry, Hermione and Neville lost 150 house points in one go
Losing house points is never fun, but to lose 150 in one go? That’s just embarrassing. Especially, as Harry found out, when you go from being a hero to a zero in the eyes of your fellow classmates. Even though Harry and Hermione had a decent excuse for being out of bed – handing a baby dragon over to Charlie Weasley’s friends – they must have been kicking themselves for leaving the Invisibility Cloak at the top of the tower.
From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the House Cup. Everywhere Harry went, people pointed and didn’t trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, ‘Thanks Potter, we owe you one!’
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
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When Hagrid reminded him how friends should behave
In Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry and Ron were not particularly good friends to Hermione. In fact, sometimes they were just awful. We were glad when Hagrid decided to call them out on their poor behaviour. However, Hagrid isn’t normally one for serious talks. So, when he sat the pair of them down, spoke about how upset Hermione had been, how overwhelmed she was with work and how she still managed to find time to help Hagrid with Buckbeak’s case… we were glad to see it made them squirm.
‘Hagrid, we should’ve helped as well – sorry –’ Harry began awkwardly.
‘I’m not blamin’ yeh!’ said Hagrid, waving Harry’s apology aside. ‘Gawd knows yeh’ve had enough ter be gettin’ on with, I’ve seen yeh practisin’ Quidditch ev’ry hour o’ the day an’ night – but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two’d value yer friend more’n broomsticks or rats. Tha’s all.’
Harry and Ron exchanged uncomfortable looks.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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When Harry was selected for the Triwizard Tournament
Even though Harry often found himself in the spotlight, it wasn’t something he was particularly comfortable with. When his name came out of the Triwizard Cup, and he felt the eyes of the entire school (not to mention those of the visiting schools) upon him, he must have been mortified – especially as his walk to the front wasn’t entirely graceful.
Harry got to his feet, trod on the hem of his robes and stumbled slightly. He set off up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. It felt like an immensely long walk; the top table didn’t seem to be getting any nearer at all, and he could feel hundreds and hundreds of eyes upon him, as though each was a searchlight. The buzzing grew louder and louder. After what seemed like an hour, he was right in front of Dumbledore, feeling the stares of all the teachers upon him.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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When Harry asked Cho to the Yule Ball
Ah teenage romance. It’s always… awkward. It’s embarrassing enough to ask your crush to a ball – especially when your conversation is right by their giggling friends. It’s even more mortifying when they turn you down. We really feel for Harry here. This whole episode with the blushing, the stumbling over his words and the rejection was just painful.
He couldn’t ask her. He couldn’t. But he had to. Cho stood there looking puzzled, watching him.
The words came out before Harry had quite got his tongue around them.
‘Wangoballwime?’
‘Sorry?’ said Cho.
‘D’you – d’you want to go to the ball with me?’ said Harry.
Why did he have to go red now? Why?
‘Oh!’ said Cho, and she went red, too. ‘Oh, Harry, I’m really sorry,’ and she looked it, too. ‘I’ve already said I’ll go with someone else.’
‘Oh,’ said Harry.
It was odd; a moment before, his insides had been writhing like snakes, but suddenly he didn’t seem to have any insides at all.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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When Snape read 'Harry Potter's Secret Heartache' by Rita Skeeter in front of the whole class
Rita Skeeter really was a piece of work. When she published her particularly cringey (and false) article about Harry’s love life it made our toes curl. But Professor Snape managed to bring the mortification to new heights… and enjoyed humiliating Harry far too much.
The dungeon rang with the Slytherins’ laughter, and an unpleasant smile curled Snape’s thin mouth. To Harry’s fury, he began to read the article aloud.
‘Harry Potter’s Secret Heartache ... dear, dear, Potter, what’s ailing you now? A boy like no other, perhaps ...’
Harry could feel his face burning now. Snape was pausing at the end of every sentence to allow the Slytherins a hearty laugh. The article sounded ten times worse when read by Snape.
‘... Harry Potter’s well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate. How very touching,’ sneered Snape, rolling up the magazine to continued gales of laughter from the Slytherins.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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Harry and Cho’s date at Madam Puddifoot’s
Harry and Cho’s date must go down as one of the worst in history. There was the overly romantic setting for a first date. The cherub who kept throwing confetti. The fact that Roger Davies and his girlfriend would not stop snogging. The awkward and stilted conversation. Harry’s obliviousness when it came to talking about other girls (even though Hermione was just his friend). The crying. The general teenage angst and gawkiness. The list goes on and on. It’s no wonder that these two fizzled out…
In the time it took for their coffees to arrive, Roger Davies and his girlfriend had started kissing over their sugar bowl. Harry wished they wouldn’t; he felt that Davies was setting a standard with which Cho would soon expect him to compete. He felt his face growing hot and tried staring out of the window, but it was so steamed up he couldn’t see the street outside. To postpone the moment when he would have to look at Cho, he stared up at the ceiling as though examining the paintwork and received a handful of confetti in the face from their hovering cherub.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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Harry explaining to Dumbledore that he hadn’t got the memory
There’s nothing more awkward than letting someone you admire down – especially when they seem to have mastered the ‘I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed’ move. Harry should have worked harder at retrieving that memory from Slughorn and he really shouldn’t have tried to make excuses. All in all, it made for a very uncomfortable interaction with Dumbledore.
A hot, prickly feeling of shame spread from the top of Harry’s head all the way down his body. Dumbledore had not raised his voice, he did not even sound angry, but Harry would have preferred him to yell; this cold disappointment was worse than anything.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
