The Internet Is Dragging Harry Potter For Being A Bad Friend, But Not So Fast

While the topic of Harry Potter has held a pretty permanent place within pop culture since the books rose to popularity decades ago, the subject of the magical series does seem to be on the rise of late – likely thanks to updates on HBO's Harry Potter book-to-screen adaptation of the beloved series, and also perhaps due to the monthly releases of Audible's full cast audiobooks. Regardless, one Reddit thread caught our eye this week, with a fan questioning Harry’s generosity based on how he handles (or doesn't handle) the piles of gold he had stored away in Gringotts. Was Harry a bad friend for not taking better care of Ron, whose family always struggled financially?

It’s a completely reasonable question, and some fans seem to agree, or at the very least are raising an eyebrow at Harry's inability to be more generous. But I also appreciate some of the responses in the thread that help add a bit more context to the complicated situation, especially when factoring in what we know from the books.

If your memory of the Harry Potter books or movies is rusty: despite having inherited quite a bit of gold from his parents – money he came into when he turned 11 – Harry Potter was rarely seen offering financial assistance to Ron or his family. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Ron was using a hand-me-down wand because his parents couldn't afford to get him a new one. And then in Chamber of Secrets, that wand is broken by the Whomping Willow, and Ron spends the rest of the year with a malfunctioning wand that's held together by spellotape. After winning a bit of money, the Weasleys gift Ron a brand new Wand before his third year, so he comes into Prisoner of Azkaban with a wand that’s properly suited for him. But... why didn't Harry offer to buy Ron a new wand long before then? That’s the question asked on Reddit:

Redditors have different opinions on the topic. Here are a few that come to Harry's defense:

• I mean he did buy out a whole snack trolley to share with Ron.
• Basically, Ron has always found it embarrassing that he's so poor and that Harry is so rich, and Harry believes that Ron and the rest of the Weasleys would find it insulting if he just gave them money. He would gladly share his entire fortune with them if they would let him.
• Ron and his family are too prideful/moral to take money from an orphan and would refuse the offer. Harry had to threaten Fred and George into accepting his winnings from the Trizwizard Tournament so they could open up their shop after they got scammed out of their life savings.

Harry was 12 years old in Chamber of Secrets. Thinking back to the book, I'm not even sure it occurred to him to try to buy Ron a new wand. He did advise him to write home to ask his parents to get him a new one – as most kids would do in similar circumstances – but Ron was too afraid to get another Howler from his mom, so he didn't do it and just put up with the broken wand.

As one commenter brought up, Harry did shell out for the trolley snacks on the Hogwarts Express in Book 1. In the book, it's clear he was thrilled to have someone to share it with. Harry didn't grow up with money, nor did he ever have a lot of friends, so having someone to sit and eat treats with was a huge deal. And in the book, Ron only accepted the snacks after Harry asked for half his sandwich in return.

I'm also with the commenters who said the Weasleys wouldn't have accepted Harry's generosity, though he gladly would've given them plenty of gold if they let him. I think back to the scene in Chamber of Secrets when Harry and the Weasley's go to Gringotts, and Harry tries to block Mrs. Weasley's view from seeing into his gold-filled vault, having just come from emptying the meager contents of her own family's vault to pay for school supplies. I took that as a sign of his compassion, not greed. But maybe this aspect of him wasn't as clear in the movies.

But Harry Did Spend A Lot Of Money On Ron Once...

One commenter brought up how Ron accepted the expensive Omnioculars Harry bought him at the Quidditch World Cup in Book 4, but another fan was quick to point out the added context, which I think really drives home the argument being discussed here:

• Because it was framed as an early Christmas gift, then Ron immediately paid him back when he got some gold. Ron very much had a problem with it when he realized that the money he paid Harry with was leprechaun gold.

Ron was noticeably upset when he found out the gold he'd given Harry to pay him back for the Omnioculars had disappeared, though Harry didn't seem to care that the money was gone (he was too worried about his missing wand at the time). Not only would Ron never have asked Harry to buy him a wand (or pretty much anything), I really don't think he wouldn't have been ok accepting it from Harry if he'd offered.

Couldn't Harry Have Found An Excuse?

In response to the topic of Harry believing the Weasley's would find it insulting to take his money, one commenter suggested Harry find a better excuse to get him a new wand, explaining:

• Ron is usually the one standing next to Harry when things go wrong. Harry should have bought Ron a new wand the day his original broke, physically dragging him into Ollivander's shop if necessary, and explained the simple fact that keeping Ron properly armed is the single most sensible investment Harry could make for his own safety.

That's a pretty good excuse that Harry could have used, but it's hard to picture. The dynamic between Ron and Harry was always a little bit tricky. Ron was the younger sibling of overachieving siblings (each in their own way, anyway). His friendship with Harry was something that was totally his, and even so, the balance there was sometimes delicate, given how much attention Harry always got.

Harry was always a bit modest when it came to his fame and his money under normal circumstances. But his friendship with Ron was one of his top priorities, and not making Ron feel bad about his family’s financial struggles always seemed to be near the front of his mind when issues like these came up.

So sure, on paper Harry could’ve found a way to get Ron to let him buy him a new wand, or non-ancient dress robes or whatever, and maybe if he was older or had developed the necessary skills to approach the complicated and often sensitive topic of money with a friend who has less than him, he might’ve found a way. But he was 12 and a kid who was about as new to having a best friend as he was to having money, so while I think it's an interesting topic to bring up, I'm also on the side of giving Harry a pass on this one.