Potterhead Calls For People to Give Snape a Break After Reading the Harry Potter Books for the First Time and Concluding That James Potter is a Bully

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
May 2, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

James Potter was a bully. There, I said it. Oh wait, you all know…

It's not a secret that Harry's dad wasn't the kindest teenager. Hormones and Hogwarts… well, you know how that goes down. It's tough to be a Muggle teenager, so I can't imagine what it's like to be a Wizard or a Witch. To be fair, I'd assume that puberty is an awful period of your life, regardless. One Potterhead took to Reddit to express frustration with James Potter. They were reading the Harry Potter series for the first time and were shocked at James's behavior. Fellow Potterheads weighed in and a heated discussion ensued, which proved to be a pretty interesting read.

You don't have to like all the Harry Potter characters… people are nuanced, and layered. Scroll down to read the amusing thread where everyone gave their own opinion and then check out these gamer geeks who shared the weirdest games they had ever played.

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  • 01
    IM SORRY BUT I DONT LIKE JAMES POTTER Discussion
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    You can comment up to Harry Potter 5 only— no spoilers! I am not a fan of Snape. But James Potter was a bully! Watching the movies, I never really understood that scene- that memory of Snape where James was making him fly in the air and mocking him. I thought, maybe I didn't understand? Maybe it was just a one-time thing? But reading the book, I see clearly the type of person he is! Arrogant! Mean! He is a bully! He took Snape as his victim and behaved horribly towards him. Why does everyone wan
    via u/No-Tradition2677
  • 03
    make him seem like the perfect nice wizard? We didn't get the opportunity to know him as an adult, but I am shocked by his behavior! Snape was right from A to Z about him. He was a true victim. That scene in the park where he was just minding his own business and reading, and Black and Potter came to him to humiliate him in front of others just because they were bored... crazy to me! Not saying that Snape is a good person!! But James Potter WAS A BULLY! He is worse than Malfoy at that time. I. D
    via u/No-Tradition2677
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    Cheezburger Image 9916946688
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    • ProffesorSpitfire 6 days ago · edited 6 days ago Nobody does. Not 15-year old James Potter anyways. He was also exceptionally poorly cast in the movies imo. He was supposed to be a rather small-statured, good looking jock with untameable hair. And they cast a tall, lanky dude with the looks of your average school chess club president with the mellowest hair I've ever seen. A 5.3k Share
    via u/ProffesorSpitfire
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    JrBaconators · 6 days ago I'll always hate they didn't just use Radcliffe with a different haircut and no glasses A 1.8k Share Alik757 6 days ago When I was kid I thought they used Radcliffe with a wig and pigtails for Myrtle A 2.3k Share
    via u/JrBaconators, u/Alik757
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    Chemical-Star8920 6 days ago · edited 4 days ago You are on the emotional roller coaster that the story wants to take you on! A major theme in this series is that NO ONE is totally good or totally bad (except Umbridge). OOTP shows us Harry having that kind of normal kid moment of realizing your parents are flawed humans and not just total heroes, though he is doing it in a unique way. Sirius and Lupin even immediately agree that they all were kind of j ks as teenagers and had a lot of growing up
    via u/Chemical-Star8920
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    SuchaPineapplehead · 6 days ago To me he's just another stupid annoying teenager. I think Harry gets overly upset about things he finds out James did but it's understandable as he's put his parents James especially on a pedestal and Dumbledore actually. I guess because Harry's adolescence isn't carefree in anyway really and any mistake has big consequences, he can't help feeling frustrated at others for being stupid teenagers/kids and making mistakes. A 531 Share
    via u/SuchaPineapplehead
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    shiawase198 6 days ago I mean that was the point? Like Harry talks to Sirius and Remus about this and they admit that he (and they) were c ks. They also mentioned that he stopped being a ck after this and that's why Lily eventually gave him a chance. I would argue that Sirius was a bigger d' : since he literally almost got Snape kd AND exposed Remus as being a werewolf to him. 73 Share
    via u/shiawase198
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    Diamondback424. 6 days ago I would highly recommend reading the books. The characters are far more nuanced than in the movies. A 805 V Share thatfandomh 6 days ago I think they are reading the books and that's what prompted this post. They were saying the movies led them to believe that was just a one time thing or something, but now after reading the books they have a vastly different opinion of him. (And they're also only on book 5, so they're not fully done with the series yet.) A 501 V Share
    via u/Diamondback424, u/thatfandomh
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    mandrake92 6 days ago Reading the books would reveal that snape used to attack people who back where turned. Openly talked of joining the doth eaters while in school also was in group calling themselves de.h eaters while at the school. If there was anyone that deserved to be bullied in Harry Potter it was snape. Young snape was a creep and a coward. He at least grew out of the cowardice. A 183 V Share dalaigh 93 6 days ago Ravenclaw Snape being a terrible person doesn't remove the fact that Jame
    via u/mandrake92, u/dalaigh93
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    plantman01 6 days ago Gryffindor Nobody ever said hes perfect so idk what youre talking about. Its generally accepted he was a d 'he in school and mellowed out as he matured. Snape wasnt an angel either A 680 V Share stocksandvagabond. 6 days ago Heed when he was like 20? How much did he really mature from his school days. At least nothing we saw from him displayed good traits. Maybe JKR should've added a positive James memory somewhere besides just characters talking about him A 53 V Share
    via u/plantman01, u/stocksandvagabond
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    brbsoup - 6 days ago → Slytherin Snape and James were j ks to each other, it's implied they had a back and forth until James mellowed out more. he isn't perfect but Snape isn't blameless either. 306 Share jish5 6 days ago * Hufflepuff Except in the books, it was stayed that James would Cɩe anyone he didn't like, so what we see here isn't just towards Snape. That's not to say he focused more on Snape, cause he did, but he was still a major sl. to a lot of people. A 103 ✓ Share
    via u/brbsoup, u/jish5
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    Fun_Score_3732. 6 days ago Lily didn't like him either. She called him "an arrogant toe rag." But he did have a crush on Lily. However, it seems while one headed in a very dark direction & then as Lily says "evil" as she cuts him off from friendship; it seems the other started to mature as he aged; & started to see the error of his ways. Lily is a very empathetic human & doesn't seem the type to be taken in by some arrogant bully. Something must've changed in James, to cause Lily to fall in love
    via u/Fun_Score_3732
  • 15
    stronger people to watch them bully others" or however it was worded in POA. Even Harry is really disturbed at watching his father bully Snape. Even after he found out he cringed knowing it was coming when he was looking at Snape's memories thru the pensive. I'm sure it's tough to see your father that way; someone you not only idolize, but you are constantly compared to. Again, Lily was witness to at least 1 of these acts as she stepped in to defend Snape & that's when Snape called her a "filthy
    via u/Fun_Score_3732
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    People change & mature. Tho Snape questions the sincerity in the act; Dumbledore does not as he tells Harry that James saved Snape's life. Many people that knew them both well seemed to know James both as a teen & a man; & they tend to like the adult James. This is a pretty strong indication, along with Lily ability to fall for him, that he truly changed. Lupin was one of those people. He did not participate in the bullying but he was witness to it. He had great things to say about James as a ma
    via u/Fun_Score_3732
  • 17
    up going from thinking James an arrogant toe rag bully; to someone to marry & father a child with. Something changed & everyone deserves a 2nd chance. That's one of the lessons of this book. The Malfoys were given a 2nd chance. & Even Voldemort was offered a chance at remorse by Harry; his total enemy; before his dech. Even Albus Dumbledore, the wise mentor; who took down 2 of the darkest wizards of the ages; & saved Harry in the process, & saved Draco's soul; Albus was planning world domination
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    with his lover & trying to hide his ill sister under an invisibility cloak & take her around the world doing so.. which led to a fight where she d d. He seemed to spend the rest of his life avoiding power & trying to make amends for such things. This story is about human mistakes & being remorseful to try to make amends; aka paths of redemption; as much as it is about the power of Love & the secret hero magical journey against evil. A 24 Share
    via u/Fun_Score_3732
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    TALieutenant. 6 days ago If we're going to bring up bullying, let's talk about adult Snape bullying an actual child (Neville) to the point he is their worst fear. Personally, I think that's worse or at least on par with anything James did. A 171 Share LookHorror3105 . 6 days ago I'd extend that to literally every Gryffindor, but Neville in PoA does take the cake when he encounters the boggart. Snape also spent most of PS protecting Harry though, so I feel like he's overtly an as e to Gryffindors
    via u/TALieutenant, u/LookHorror3105
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    Slytherin to keep up the ruse that he's still rooting to Voldemort while simultaneously trying to protect everyone he can without giving it away. It doesn't excuse literally tra izing a 13 year old, but I can see his reasoning, it had to be a personal hell for him. *edited from "biased towards" to "favors" because words are hard sometimes. A 35 V ❖ Share
    via u/LookHorror3105
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    SpiritualMessage · 6 days ago Until the very End Snape makes it perfectly clear that he despises Harry and it's no act, the memorable lines "After all this time?" "Always" was spoken in the context of assuring Dumbledore he still hated Harry and was still doing everything for Lily So i dont buy for a moment him being prejudiced against gryffindors and favoring Slytherins is an act, he's shown to be a petty.s at every turn A 72V 2 ✈ Share ...
    via u/SpiritualMessage
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    Lumos405 6 days ago That's why a lot of people want a marauders prequel to see what made James change. I feel like Lily wouldn't have married him if he didn't... A 27 V Share
    via u/Lumos405
  • 23
    LookHorror3105 - 6 days ago He was a pick in school, but Snape was also obsessed with the dark arts and James despised the dark arts. Once he left school, joined the order, and saw battle after battle he chilled out a bit and matured. I'd argue it was because of people like the Weasley's and Longbottom's that demonstrated a better way to fight darkness by countering it with kindness and love. A 102' Share Pokehero96 6 days ago He was also Head Boy in his final year which shows he had a massive t
    via u/LookHorror3105, u/Pokehero96

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