The Order of the Phoenix is a significant organization in the Harry Potter books that becomes more prevalent in the later books. Several of the adult characters we meet that become close to Harry turn out to be members of the Order, and they band together to try and destroy Lord Voldemort once and for all.
However, in the process, they could be guilty of doing some very shameless things, sometimes brave and stupid, and other times just plain reckless. The following list explores some of the most shameless things the Order did throughout the franchise.
Sirius Accompanied Harry To King’s Cross While On The Run
At one point in the fifth book, Sirius made the rather stupid decision to transform into his Animagus and accompany Harry to King’s Cross to return to Hogwarts. The problem is, there were some notable people who were aware of Sirius’s transformational ability — like Lucious Malfoy.
Molly warned him that it was a reckless decision but Sirius did it anyway and wound up getting recognized. Harry felt guilty about letting it happen later, but it was Sirius who should have been more adult-like in his behavior.
Everyone Treated Kreacher Poorly
Both Hermione and Dumbledore warned the various members of the Order to be polite to Kreacher, the house-elf, but not many heeded their warnings. Sirius was the worst of them all, often treating Kreacher with obvious distaste.
While it was understandable why people would hate him, he was a decrepit and mean old thing, it ultimately led to Kreacher’s decision to betray Sirius. It started a domino effect that ended with his murder at the hand of Bellatrix Lestrange. Had everyone made a concerted effort to be kinder to the house-elf from the beginning, things may have turned out differently.
Kingsley Shacklebolt Lied To Fudge About Sirius For A Long Time
Kingsley Shacklebolt was an integral part of the Order of the Phoenix. He was also one of the few members to remain in the Ministry of Magic during the Second Wizarding War so he could keep Fudge off the trail of Sirius Black.
Kingsley was brave enough to boldly defy his entire office and his superiors so that they wouldn’t figure out where Sirius was truly hiding. He would tell them that Sirius was hiding out in places like Tibet and lead the other Aurors on a wild goose chase.
Dumbledore Destroyed The Entire Case Against Harry At The Wizengamot
As one of the leading members of the Order of the Phoenix, if not the de facto leader, Dumbledore carries with him a certain amount of respect and intensity in all situations. It was amazing to watch him destroy Fudge’s blustering attempts to expel Harry from Hogwarts after the trumped-up charges of a Dementor attack.
While he refused to believe the real reasons the Dementors were at Privet Drive, he couldn’t overcome Dumbledore’s calm and sensible defense which led to all of the ridiculous charges against Harry being dismissed.
Minerva McGonagall Made Her Distaste Of Umbridge Public
It was fantastic to see the normally stringent, rule-following Professor McGonagall lose her cool over the absolutely vile Dolores Umbridge. At every chance she got, McGonagall would break Umbridge’s ridiculous rules and she even inspired a rebellious streak in her students.
There was even a memorable moment where it appeared that the Transfiguration teacher had encouraged Peeves to wreak havoc if it meant causing trouble for Umbridge. It could have meant the end of her job, but McGonagall cared more about the safety of the school and her students than her career.
Members Of The Order Subtly Threatened The Dursleys
In the fifth Harry Potter book, several members of the Order were present at the ending when Harry was going from Hogwarts back to the Dursleys. Vernon and Petunia were especially frightened to see a group of people as eclectic-looking as the Order members there to help Harry gather his things.
They boldly threatened the Dursleys and implied they would hear about any mistreatment. Mad-Eye Moody even flashed him his creepy eyeball to seal the deal.
Several Members Tried To Encourage Harry Into Giving Up Dumbledore’s Secrets
In light of Dumbledore’s death, several members of the Order attempted to get information out of Ron, Hermione, and Harry about their impending journey to hunt down the Horcruxes.
Despite Harry’s insistence that Dumbledore didn’t want him to tell anyone, the adults continued to pressure them into giving up their game place, especially since they intended to leave Hogwarts and not complete their education. One would think they might have respected Dumbledore’s wishes but they shamelessly tried to get the information anyway.
Teasing Harry About His Body And Looks When They Used Polyjuice Potion
Poor Harry had to watch several powerful witches and wizards transform into versions of him during the seventh book and film in order to safely remove him from the Dursley’s home and protect him from the Death Eaters.
Everyone drank Polyjuice Potion to transform into a version of Harry and some of them were quite shameless about checking him out, especially as they had to change clothes. Several snide comments and jokes were made, much to Harry’s embarrassment.
Lording Their Knowledge Over Harry And The Golden Trio
One of the biggest conflicts in the fifth book was the decision of whether or not to keep Harry informed on the agenda of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. This was especially notable between Sirius and Molly who often verbally sparred about what the best way to treat Harry was in such dark times.
Sirius was willing to involve Harry in the Order but Molly thought Harry was too young. The fact is, even Dumbledore admitted Harry should have known more facts earlier but it didn’t prevent them from letting things slip or revealing various facts and then not answering Harry’s questions. Had they told him about the prophecy much earlier, there’s a good chance Sirius wouldn’t be dead.
When Lupin Tried To Abandon His Family
In the final book, there was a controversial scene in the seventh book where Lupin approached the trio and essentially begged them to let him go with him on the secret mission.
He admitted that the reason he did so is that Tonks had gotten pregnant and he was terrified of what would happen to his kid if his werewolf gene wound up being passed down. Regardless, trying to skip out on his family and leaving a pregnant Tonks behind would have been a terrible thing to do.
