The Order of the Phoenix is an elite group of wizards and witches that are formed together during two of the great wizarding wars. They are designed to combat the increased threat of Lord Voldemort and are made up of some of the best sorcerers of their time.
The two incarnations have some pretty famous members to Harry Potter fans, and they are the standard-bearers of the light during incredibly dark times. However, each member has done something terrible that usually negatively impacts the people they love. We’ve chosen the most prominent members of the Order and are taking a look at the worst things that each of them have ever done.
Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore is one of the most talented wizards in history. The former headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry certainly has some skeletons in his closet, though. It’s difficult to pick a single thing that Dumbledore has done so we’ve had to choose two.
The first is the fight with Grindlewald that ultimately led to his sister’s death. It’s an incident he has carried the guilt off until his own demise and shows how reckless he was when he was younger. The second is the horrible secret he kept from Harry for so long. He knew that one day he would have to die to destroy the Horcrux, but could never bring himself to say it.
Sirius Black
Sirius Black is no saint, with his own past tainted with the decisions of war. He’s killed before, and has certainly done some unsavoury things when locked in Azkaban. His plan to kill Peter Pettigrew involved some dangerous actions, including injuring Ron, but it’s his history-altering decision that deserves a mention on this list.
It was Sirius who was sworn as the secret keeper to his friends, with the secrets he held being carried with him to the grave. However, he passed this duty on to Pettigrew, who, of course, betrayed the group. Sirius is, in some ways, therefore responsible for the deaths of Lily and James Potter.
James Potter
James Potter was a man of many faces, and Harry only saw one of them for some time. But it was revealed that as Harry looked further into his father’s past, he could see a darkness that he didn’t like.
James Potter was arrogant and a bully in his younger days. He tormented and dangerously bullied Severus Snape, eventually causing him to turn towards the Death Eaters for some time. It’s this abuse that could have altered the events of history completely.
Lily Potter
Lily has her own demons with this situation. While she stood up for Snape on many occasions, Snape eventually turned on her, thinking himself best off alone. Her mistake was to turn her back on him and eventually couple up with and marry James.
Although he was far less arrogant than his earlier days, he still tormented Snape on occasion. Lily would dissuade him from this behaviour a little, but, by making these overall choices, it showed Snape that there really was no hope. Although she should never have been with Snape either, choosing the side of the bully might have led Severus down an even darker path.
Alastor Moody
It’s ironic that the worst thing that mad-eye Moody has ever done was not actually done by Alastor at all. During the Triwizard Tournament, Moody plotted to not only enter the underage Harry into the events, but also helped him to win them.
This was all part of a huge plan to get Harry to win the whole tournament, transporting him to a graveyard in order to revive Voldemort. Of course, the real Moody was locked away while Barty Crouch Jr wore his image with polyjuice potion. Everyone thought for a time, therefore, that these actions were Alastor himself, and so they are technically the worst things he has ever done.
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall is probably one of the best teachers you could ever get. She’s caring and fierce with a strong motherly side. She’s an excellent witch and very stern when she needs to be. Her eventual assent to the role of headmistress is much deserved but tainted.
During her time working at Hogwarts, she allowed the students to get abused and punished many times. While she always stuck around to try to help when she could, under her watch, the likes of Umbridge and the Carrows both tormented the students, causing them longterm physical and mental damage. It’s a shame she did not do more to act on this.
Remus Lupin
The worst things that Lupin has ever done are sadly not even his fault. Remus’s condition means that every single part of his life is negatively affected. At a younger age, he was scratched by Fenrir Greyback, causing the transformation into a werewolf.
When there is a full moon, Lupin transforms into a monstrous beast with very little control over his actions. It’s clear he’s caused lots of damage in the past and actually threatened to kill Harry, Ron, and Hermione before Sirius stepped in to fight off his old friend.
Arthur Weasley
Arthur Weasley probably gets the dad of the year award every year and sometimes not even for his own kids. He’s prepared to sacrifice himself for the greater good and has a cute obsession with muggle objects. It’s this obsession that leads to the worst thing he has done though.
Because of his role at the ministry, Arthur is responsible for the loophole that allows him to have a flying Ford Anglia. Not only is the car barely legal, but it’s also the object of trouble that nearly gets his son expelled from school. It was probably best if he just never bought one!
Molly Weasley
Much like Arthur, Molly is a pretty stand-up citizen. Most of her decisions are for the betterment of her kids, and, even when she performed the killing curse, it was to protect her only daughter. There’s one incident that comes to mind when talking about terrible behaviour.
Her infatuation with Gilderoy Lockhart is not only embarrassing for her kids, but it’s also misplaced. Her worship of this vile and pretentious man really is the worst thing she has ever done!
Peter Pettigrew
It’s fairly obvious that Peter Pettigrew could have many decisions to be put on this list. Whether it’s his continued support of Lord Voldemort of the murder of Cedric Diggery, there’s plenty of options to choose from.
We have to go back to the night that began it all, though, and that’s the murder of Lily and James Potter. It was Pettigrew that told Voldemort about their whereabouts, and it’s their blood on his hands!
Nymphadora Tonks
Tonks is a pretty reliable friend and a loving wife. She was always loyal to the order and helped Harry and friends whenever she could. She was quirky and alternative but one of the gang.
The worst thing she’s ever done really wasn’t her fault. Her decision to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts was noble, and her sacrifice alongside her husband was heroic. It was these decisions that made her son an orphan, though. While it may be the worst thing she has done, it’s not her fault at all, and her husband has done much worse as a monster of the night.
Severus Snape
The worst thing that Snape has ever done was to kill Albus Dumbledore. Despite all the murders and all of the dark choices he had to make, Snape’s decision to follow Dumbledore’s order rid the world of a remarkable man.
His allowance of the torture of the Hogwarts students and his tormenting of Harry were all bad, although helped to keep up the lie he had formed around himself. Yet, it was this murder that created a lot of problems afterwards, even if he was told to do it.
