There are a lot of aspects of Harry Potter's wizarding world that are pretty messed up, but the darkest truth hides beneath the surface. The fantasy universe described in J.K. Rowling's books is undoubtedly quirky, between somewhat disturbing magical practices, risky school rules, and neglectful parents. It's a wonder that Harry and his friends survived Hogwarts, even without the threat of the Dark Lord. However, the monsters in the Forbidden Forest or Potions assignments that have gone wrong are far from the worst of it. The magic of the wizarding world itself hides Harry Potter's most disturbing truth.

Over the years, the more adults of the wizarding world seemed rather typical, but now it's evident that the danger Harry and his friends were constantly placed in was downright neglectful. Still, Harry Potter is, at its core, meant for children and teens, so these quirky tropes are to be expected. However, magic's dark sense of justice is far more mature a concept.

Magic Has Its Own Dark Sense Of Justice In Harry Potter's Wizarding World

Magic & Destiny Keep The Balance

The Harry Potter series begins innocently enough, but by the end, there are countless signs that the magic of the wizarding world comes with a disturbing built-in justice system. Dumbledore alluded to this fact endlessly, telling Harry that those who commit dark deeds would eventually get their comeuppance. This goes far beyond the "what goes around, comes around" of the real world. In Harry Potter, magic and destiny are the same thing, and when a witch or wizard cheats death or commits a magic crime, they are doomed to face a dark and twisted fate.

Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape, & Lord Voldemort Are The Best Examples Of Magical Justice

They Paid For Life With Life

The most obvious example of magic's dark justice system in Harry Potter is Peter Pettigrew. Harry saved Pettigrew's life in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Dumbledore explained that this meant that the man owed Harry a life debt, which would be paid one way or another. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pettigrew attempted to kill Harry despite owing him this debt. As punishment, his own hand turned to his throat. Peter Pettigrew choked himself to death all because the magical justice system saw fit to punish him for not honoring the debt he owed Harry.

Later, Severus Snape gave Voldemort the information that ultimately led to the Potters' murder, which means he himself caused the death of the man to whom he owed his life.

Severus Snape is another example. He and James Potter had been enemies, but Harry's father still saved Snape's life while they were in school together. Similarly to Harry and Pettigrew, this meant that Snape owed James a life debt. Later, Severus Snape gave Voldemort the information that ultimately led to the Potters' murder, which means he himself caused the death of the man to whom he owed his life. In this case, destiny kept Snape alive long enough to protect James' son and aid in the boy's own destiny. Still, the price for this crime had to be paid—Snape's life was doomed from the start in Harry Potter.

Finally, Lord Voldemort is another prime example of Harry Potter's magical justice system. The villain committed the worst crime of all and paid the greatest price for it. Voldemort committed murder and used this terrible deed to split his soul into pieces, ensuring his own immortality. He believed that this made him invincible, but magical destiny ensured otherwise. When Voldemort heard the prophecy about a boy who could destroy him, he tried to kill that boy—but only secured his own downfall. Voldemort's severed soul was then trapped in torment for all eternity, unable ever to find peace.

It's revealed in Harry Potter that severed souls can't travel to the afterlife, which meant Voldemort was trapped in his flayed form in purgatory (which Harry saw in "King's Cross" after his sacrifice).

It May Be Hard For The Harry Potter Remake To Get Magic's Poetic Balance Right

Harry Potter's Magical Justice System Comes Across Better On The Page

The Harry Potter series is full of these disturbing checks and balances—Pettigrew, Snape, and Voldemort are only the beginning. Life is sacred in the wizarding world, and the gift of giving life and the crime of taking it will always be rewarded or punished in turn. This isn't an overt system, but it's impactful all the same. Though somewhat present in the Harry Potter movies, Dumbledore's hints about the unavoidability of magical fate were mainly absent, and the punishment faced by Pettigrew, especially, was left out in the end. Hopefully, this is something the Harry Potter remake can restore.

Life is sacred in the wizarding world, and the gift of giving life and the crime of taking it will always be rewarded or punished in turn.

HBO's Harry Potter TV show will dedicate entire seasons to each of Rowling's books, which means a lot more time to capture the more nuanced moments of the series. Still, the delicate balance of magical justice won't be easy to adapt to the screen. The Harry Potter books subtly approached this topic and hid the rules of the wizarding world within the characters' stories. The TV show would need to do the same, resisting the urge to overtly draw attention to this disturbing truth of the magical world. Hopefully, the somewhat terrifying poetry of the Harry Potter series can be carefully restored.