I’m gonna go back to the issue regarding mental problems.

Technically, he doesn’t actually NEED mental problems…

But Harry Potter lost his parents in his youth. Then he was brought up by people who hated him and never gave him any love at all, and constantly gave him chores.

This is certainly the makings of angst. It isn’t the makings of a hero – at least not the kind Rowling creates.

By psychological… logic, Harry would be emotionally distant. He should find it difficult to make friends. And most of all, he would be submissive and weak-willed. He would not possess the confidence to lead a sports team, nor would he be prepared to run around the school breaking rules.

His upbringing is not one that would breed a leader. Most likely it would create somebody who would struggle to overcome their social inhibitions, particuarly due to the knowledge that they’re so special for doing nothing. Hell, maybe they would even wet the bed.

That’s not to say he should have been a coward. Nor that he couldn’t possibly be a brave person. But a leader? The guy in charge? The one who pushes people around? The one who breaks rules and challenges authority? No, that’s just not psychologically realistic.

Harry’s personality and his upbringing do not mesh in the slightest, and that’s just another problem I have with Rowling’s characterisation.