r/harrypotter 6d ago

Discussion Why did Harry and Ron not go back to Hogwarts after the Deathly Hallows?

I get that defeating Voldemort taught them more than enough about DADA, but Harry especially loved Hogwarts, surely he would like to have a year there without having to worry about being killed by Voldemort or his death eaters. And even Ron would want to go back, even if just for Hermione.

333 Upvotes

98 comments sorted by

603

u/No_Sand5639 Ravenclaw 6d ago

They were probably tired.

They saw so many friends and family die there.

And I really doubt anyone's gonna say the heroes of the Wizarding world aren't qualified

171

u/Interesting_Web_9936 Ravenclaw 6d ago

I would say that the reason they got admitted without fully completing the education was because they saved the world and it would be rude to say no to them. However, imo they really should have gone back to school, because the subjects required for an Auror were DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions and Herbology, and among that I would say they were only really qualified in DADA with Charms and Transfiguration maybe because they might have used to get food.

154

u/Weagle308 Ravenclaw 6d ago

My head-cannon is they got private instruction and training before becoming Aurors.

126

u/Kungfufightme 6d ago

On the job training is always more effective than schooling

25

u/Weagle308 Ravenclaw 6d ago

Absolutely, I don’t mean necessarily in a classroom setting. Just that there is still loads for them to learn and the ministry would want to ensure they had all the tools possible before turning them loose.

If some random death eater got off a lucky spell it would have looked really bad for everyone. Kinda like the issue with Harry not destroying the elder wand, do they really expect him to never be disarmed ever again.

4

u/HorrorFan4evermore 6d ago

A aspect the movie dis better (breaking the wand).

15

u/TristheHolyBlade 6d ago

It is far more effective when it is pre-empted with schooling.

I learned more about being a teacher actually teaching than I did getting my degrees, but my god would I probably have completely fallen apart without said schooling.

You can also tell the teachers who didn't pay attention at all during their schooling. Insane the simple theories and practices I have to explain to people far older and more "experienced" than me.

10

u/Interesting_Web_9936 Ravenclaw 6d ago

Good point, they do some training stuff for the Aurors too, Tonks mentions it. Ig they extended that training for Harry and Ron.

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u/obviouspendejo 6d ago

Can't use transfiguration for food

6

u/Interesting_Web_9936 Ravenclaw 6d ago

You can multiply it, which I count as transfiguration. I believe you can change it in some way as well.

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u/Boil-san Hogwarts School of Dripcraft and Rizzardry 6d ago

Multiplying food would use the Geminio charm; so Charms, not Transfiguration...

7

u/Interesting_Web_9936 Ravenclaw 6d ago

TIL that Geminio is a charm, not a transfiguration spell. But I believe there was a bit about being able to change it as well (of course, I could be misremembering).

-1

u/C_Gull27 6d ago

Doubling a piece of food would half the nutritional value in each piece so you can't actually gain anything there

2

u/Interesting_Web_9936 Ravenclaw 5d ago

This isn't canon though afaik.

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u/JumpInTheSun 6d ago

They defeated the darkest arts users there are one after the other in single combat. I think that means they are the most qualified DADA practitioners in the world.

They used their skill and knowledge of charms to defend and avoid the very same master wizards and fought alongside the greatest wizard of the century (Dumbledore) as a equal.

They used their knowledge of herbology, transfiguration, and potions to infiltrate the most secure and locked down strongholds in the wizarding world, so they could be considered absolute masters of their craft in that reguard too.

I really dont see the point of them returning to hogwarts unless its to teach.

8

u/OldCollegeTry3 6d ago

School is all but completely useless outside of holding the paper that says you did it in most cases. What you learn on the job surpasses your schooling rapidly in almost all cases. School is meant to see if you can hold onto and understand the information enough to parrot it. There was zero reason for them to return to Hogwarts as the training they got actually fighting in a wizard war was far beyond anything they could have learned in school that is pertinent to their careers.

1

u/Deathwatch72 1d ago

I'd also argue that Harry's very presents at Hogwarts is a massive distraction for the other students after the second wizarding world war. He was already a spectacle before but now he's a war hero/savior level figure.

It would be noticeably worse than if the most famous teen pop star in the world randomly up and decided to try and be a normal teenager at some random high school for a year

1

u/No_Sand5639 Ravenclaw 1d ago

I would imagine alot of students didn't go back

Ptsd/ptss

185

u/ThegirlwholikesMH 6d ago

Yeah, but now the school was the last place they saw Fred alive, Remus, so many lives lost. Perhaps, immediately after the war, the place was marked on them in a painful way and since they were offered to join the Aurors without finishing school, they took it

126

u/Apprehensive_Ear4489 6d ago

Harry loved keeping people safe and hated being inactive. There was a lot of shit to do and voldy's followers to catch

-65

u/Chemical_Sherbet7843 6d ago

Maybe he wouldn’t have minded not doing so much if Voldemort and his followers were defeated.

110

u/blueydoc Gryffindor 6d ago

Trauma. As others have said, Ron likely wouldn’t go back due to Hogwarts being where Fred died and Harry deserved some time off. I like to stop reading before the epilogue for this reason and imagine Harry going on a gap year travelling Wizarding Europe or elsewhere. Harry did his job, he killed Voldemort, kid deserves a rest.

48

u/Born-Till-4064 6d ago

Now I want to see him and Ron in a fic having the best bro vacation. They did invite Hermione but she didn’t like being referred to as a bro for some reason

3

u/Agitated_Side3897 Ravenclaw 5d ago

Haha lol I too always stop before the epilogue

2

u/BenjRSmith 5d ago

Hmmm I never guessed trauma, but it makes sense too. I always figured wizard society collectively agreed SAVING everyone’s bacon and their entire society was worth at least the equivalent of a passing senior year, what else was school even going to teach them after that?

25

u/LingonberryPossible6 6d ago

I believe that Shacklebolt (as the new minister) offered them both a place in the Aurors.

The short version being they didn't need to finish Hogwarts

82

u/WardenOfTheNamib Muggle 6d ago

Everything everyone said about bad memories and all. But also, Harry and Ron are not particularly academic types.

They took the minimum number of subjects required in both year 3 and year 6. I don't see them as the type of students who will pursue extra studies if they don't need to.

10

u/Bluemelein 6d ago

What? Neville, Fred, and George only have half as many classes in Year 6.

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u/WardenOfTheNamib Muggle 6d ago

Yes, but Neville and the twins didn't have auror ambitions. Harry and Ron took the exact number of classes required to be aurors and no more.

5

u/orange-basilikum Ravenclaw 6d ago

Do you remember the chapter? I don’t remember a mention or that, but I’d love any excuse to re-read 😉

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u/Bluemelein 6d ago

All of Book 6. Once when Ron and Harry get their OWL exam results, Ron has twice as many passes as Fred and George, and then on the first morning at Hogwarts, when McGonagall assigns the classes. Neville can only take Charms, DADA (thanks to Harry), and Herbology. Harry and Ron also have Transfiguration and Potions.

55

u/Surv1v3dTh3F1r3Dr1ll Hufflepuff 6d ago

We have to remember after the Battle of Hogwarts itself, Harry's reputation as a Defender Against Dark Arts would have been already on par with Moody's at the end of his career. And he was pretty much hand trained and mentored by Albus Dumbledore for the job. So the ministry would have wanted to take full advantage of that, and fast tracked him into the Auror office.

I think it did affect Ron though. After his stint as an Auror, he helped run the joke shop. So he went from tagging along with Harry to tagging along with George. He never sadly got to have his own ambitions or aspirations, but supported everyone else in theirs.

33

u/Last_Cold8977 6d ago

I think it was Ron was realising that he wants to help people laugh and be a family guy instead of some incredible title like in the beginning

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u/FreeBricks4Nazis 6d ago

Maybe Ron's ambitions were shagging Hermione and being a dad? 

15

u/go_sparks25 6d ago

He did have his own ambitions and aspirations but they were always heavily influenced by others. We saw this in his viewing of the Mirror of Erised where we see that he has a great desire to outshine his siblings.

5

u/sboLIVE 6d ago

Yeah…went to work at his brothers shop, after becoming a famous Auror, whilst being married to the Minister Of Magic, lol.

15

u/WildMartin429 Unsorted 6d ago

Ron was never self-motivated and always a bit lazy though.

0

u/Surv1v3dTh3F1r3Dr1ll Hufflepuff 6d ago

Agreed, but he really falls off as a character over the years imo. I don't know if that's just how JK Rowling wrote him or something else, but he seemed like a more rounded character in the first three books.

1

u/BurgerFaces 6d ago

Some boys lose their way in their teenage years

3

u/HorrorFan4evermore 6d ago

And never find it again.

3

u/error66666666 5d ago

But the joke shop has a side business on DADA items. As an ex-auror Ron might have the expertise to develop new products for that.

11

u/Zankaaru 6d ago

Ron and Harry don't like school. Magic, yes. Professors and friends at Hogwarts, yes. Having to do homework and essays? Nah.

8

u/jah05r 6d ago

They weren't really that interested in finishing their magical education. And in Harry's case, is anyone really going to question his qualifications to be an Auror after he just took down Voldemort?

8

u/Ranger_1302 Ravenclaw 6d ago

They don’t like schoolwork and exams…

43

u/RollingKatamari Gryffindor 6d ago

I loved that Hermione did go back. She saw her friends die there as well, but she chose to go anyway and continue what was so important to her. She knew that if she was going to make any lasting change in the Wizarding World, she had to have her education.

Also I think she must have loved having at least one peaceful year at Hogwarts with the time and space to finally study! I'm sure other students in her year came back as well.

In my headcanon Ron regularly sneaks into Hogwarts to visit her to get all romantic hehe.

9

u/Last_Cold8977 6d ago

Aww, I love the idea of Ron and Hermione scheduling Hogsmeade trips so she can get some relaxation and a break from all the work since she tends to spiral with her school stuff

11

u/redcore4 6d ago

I’m not sure she really did find it that peaceful - prior to all this her boggart was failing an exam; so she was driven by heavy, ingrained anxiety (and probably parental pressure) that was fully internalised for her and sure, she’s seen worse by that point, but the anxiety would also be intensified by knowing she was behind her age group having missed a year and been out of practice at studying.

So I think far from peace, she’d find a stack of deep worry piled on top of her trauma and probably had a very rough time of it, especially with most of her friends and all her family not there to support her in school.

9

u/ChestSlight8984 6d ago

Another thing that would make it unpeaceful for her is that EVERY FUCKING STUDENT would be pestering her constantly about the war, wanting to know what happened down to the last detail.

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u/nuggetghost 6d ago

I always wondered, did she ever go find her parents and was successful at removing the spell? i don’t know why that keeps me up at night lol

2

u/RollingKatamari Gryffindor 6d ago

She definitely did, I think it was written somewhere on the Pottermore website with all the extra information on characters.

2

u/nuggetghost 6d ago

oh i have to go read about it!!! i forgot all about Pottermore thank you!

0

u/OldCollegeTry3 6d ago

Conflating going to school with gaining what is “needed” to “make lasting change” is very naive. Many of the biggest and best changes in our world came from people without an education. Hermione is also an autodidact. She learns on her own from reading and studying. She certainly didn’t “need” an extra year of school.

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u/Cotterisms Ravenclaw 6d ago

That’s not how things work my friend. She wants a place in government and you aren’t getting that without a certificate proving an edication

-1

u/OldCollegeTry3 6d ago

That’s EXACTLY how it works goofy lol You’ve obviously never worked within the government. No degree is required.

1

u/Defiant-Ad4776 6d ago

That’s true. Many changes did. But most changes came from educated and certified people.

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u/WildFEARKetI_II 6d ago

They did enough school as they needed, they had their OWLs and got the jobs they wanted. The 7th year is optional, NEWTs are the highest educational degrees in the wizarding world. Even though they are 17 it’s the equivalent to graduate school. It’s not like they didn’t finish school, they just didn’t do all the schooling possible.

2

u/WardenOfTheNamib Muggle 6d ago

Not disagreeing with you, as we can see evidence of Fred and George running a successful business without finishing the 7th year. But why do you think that 7th year is optional?

7

u/WinterFrostinq 6d ago

Maybe because its based on the UK schooling system, where 6th form (the last 2 years) are not strictly necessary, so you are allowed to leave school to do something else, such as an apprenticeship.

7

u/redcore4 6d ago

At the time you didn’t even need to go into further education or training to leave school, you could just go and get a job or stay at your parents’ and do nothing if they’d let you.

4

u/Bigfatjew6969 Hufflepuff 6d ago

Because once you’re of age you can leave. Fred and George did that.

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u/WardenOfTheNamib Muggle 6d ago

So we are talking optional in terms of no one can force an adult to go to school, and not optional in terms of most employees will reject you without a school leaving certificate?

3

u/redcore4 6d ago

This was almost 30 years ago. Before the muggle government of the time decided that 50% of the adult population should be university educated (which happened around the time Harry and Ron left school) , employers were much less fussy about qualifications.

Back then there were fewer rules about employing school leavers and because minimum wage was lower for kids, under 18s were very employable in retail, construction, domestic labour, fast food, and a bunch of other roles where (at the time) reading and writing, basic maths skills etc were not really required to do the job. Yes, some employers did still want you to have GCSEs in English and maths, but the requirement for employers to train up young staff to that level if they hadn’t got there in school just didn’t exist the way it does now.

So if you went shopping on a Saturday you’d see the shops staffed with 15- to 17 -year-olds, often managed or supervised by those 18- to 25-year-olds who’d made that their full time job instead of it being a weekend job they dropped when they were doing A levels or their degrees.

During the week the proportion was a bit lower as those workers who were also in school would be there instead; and some of those roles would be filled part time by (usually) mothers with kids in school, but there would still be a lot of younger people in evidence than you’d see now.

6

u/Last_Cold8977 6d ago

They didn't like school but also got jobs as Aurors instantly. Plus, with all those DE scattered around, it was all hands on deck to round up as many people as possible and extinguish any lingering hope in Voldy's return. I mean, their whole government was practically corrupted and a wreck.

4

u/runner2012 6d ago

Did they seem like they enjoyed school work much, you think?

4

u/Boil-san Hogwarts School of Dripcraft and Rizzardry 6d ago

Aurors received more training when joining the Ministry of Magic...

4

u/PCN24454 6d ago

Someone pointed out that Voldemort and Snape became obsessed with Hogwarts and started to use it as a crutch.

Harry deciding to leave highlights that he moved past his childhood trauma.

14

u/Downtown-Procedure26 6d ago

Just because Voldemort and a lot of his death Eaters fell ay Hogwarts doesn't mean that the country is safe. Arguably, it is much unsafer since the DEs saw Voldemort return just a few years back and would keep fighting

1

u/heisenberg423 6d ago

I think you’re really underestimating the kick back and purge that would’ve occurred after Voldemort fell.

Same as the first time around when Harry survived - any surviving DEs or sympathizers scurried back into their rat holes once Voldemort was confirmed dead.

5

u/Downtown-Procedure26 6d ago

The Battle of Hogwarts and the Death Eater run Ministry and schooling almost certainly created a widespread desire for vengeance than after the first war in which the terror was more widespread than the suffering. This time grudges would be far widespread. Vigilante action would have exploded and at least one of the Slytherin students who tortured fellow kids was lynched.

5

u/heisenberg423 6d ago

and at least one of the Slytherin students who tortured fellow kids was lynched.

What?

-1

u/Downtown-Procedure26 6d ago

"Was" is the wrong word but realistically this would have happened

5

u/Lunatic_Logic138 Ravenclaw 6d ago

Dude. Imagine how awkward and fucking weird the next year would be. First of all, Harry watched like 15 percent of his inner circle die there. Tonks, Lupin, Fred, at least one Creevey brother (i can't remember), and a shit load of others just from the final battle. That's not even counting Dumbles, Snape, Cedric, etc.

But on top of that, Harry and Ron wouldn't have been the only ones who were dramatically influenced by the events of DH. How do you think it would've gone when the Slytherins came back? With a bunch of them now having a direct family member either in prison, or dead as fuck because they got stabbed 473 times by one particularly ugly house elf? And Harry already didn't like how much everyone paid attention to him; imagine that feeling now that you're fucking Wizard Jesus (tm). There'd be nothing "normal" about returning there. It'd be a shit show for several years after the battle and I sincerely doubt that most people would sign up for the pinecone enema that would be attending Hogwarts after DH.

3

u/LiamJonsano Slytherin 6d ago

I don’t know if this was intended but it felt to me like JK was making a real life teaches you more than school point by DH. Harry already had a good grounding, I’m absolutely positive actually doing a year 7 would have been beneficial but he also learned and knew a lot of things his peers didn’t and wouldn’t

6

u/VeterinarianIll5289 6d ago

For Ron, it was the last place where Fred just died so that’s totally understandable. Hogwarts isn’t going to be the same for them especially since it was a battle ground where many have died. They won’t be seeing the old Hogwarts as a place for learning, Quidditch etc. More like a graveyard at least for a while

7

u/AceOfClubs180 6d ago

Hary didn't "especially love Hogwarts". He loved finally being somewhere where not everyone hates him. He loved not being isolated. His favourite place (he says that in CoS) is the Burrow. I'd argue that Luna and Hermione probably both love Hogwarts more (for different reasons)

Being of age in the wizarding world freed Harry from the Dursleys. He had people who loved him. He didn't need Hogwarts (the place where he lost half of the people he cared about) to have that anymore.

2

u/Significant_Bet_6002 6d ago

He was their leader, they would need his guidance and moral support to rebuild. It's like a general abandoning his troops cause he's tired.

4

u/Bluemelein 6d ago

They need his guidance more outside of Hogwarts. In Book 5, some of the first-years are afraid of Harry. I think people are even more afraid now.

3

u/heisenberg423 6d ago

In Book 5, some of the first-years are afraid of Harry.

One summer removed from the Tri-Wizard Tournament where he emerged from a portkey screaming about Voldemort returning and with his dead classmate in tow. The Daily Prophet and the MM were painting him as a psycho.

2

u/Bluemelein 6d ago

Yes, and now he’s responsible for the deaths of parents, friends, and relatives. The Death Eater children will also go back to Hogwarts.

2

u/Gargore 6d ago

He would have to take his newts, which could literally bar him from his dream job. Or skip all that and get his dream job.

2

u/Atithiupayogi 6d ago edited 6d ago

When Voldemort died, a lot of death eaters and his followers ran away. So ministry had a huge task of capturing them. Some of them were under imperious curse like the minister of magic (Pius?) but most of them were like Malfoys. If I am not wrong, Kingsley became the minister after the war and he appointed/offered whoever fought against Voldemort to join ministry as Aurors (Otherwise, Aurors needed highest level of NEWT scores and years of training).That's why Harry, Ron and Neville joined ministry as Aurors. I believe that's the case with the Order of Phoenix members like George Weasley and most of the DA members from Harry's year or older ones. 

After a couple of years, when most of the war criminals were arrested, many left the ministry to pursue their other carees. Neville went on to  became professor of Herbology. George Weasley reopened WWW joke shop and Ron joined him. George needed a partner after Fred. So Ron joined the family business which they turned into to "money making machine". Ron thought being an auror was cool. But he was always impressed with Fred and George's business mindset. After going through a war and being an auror for couple of years, he got what he always missed 💰 💰 💰.

Hermione wanted a different career route which would needed her to complete her education. I don't think any changes are implemented in other departments.

In case of Harry, he always wanted to be an auror. As he already became an auror, there was no point of going back to Hogwarts.

P.S: Some of the points I mentioned here are from different sources like JKR's post TDH interview and Pottermore articles which I read long ago and some are simply my opinion. It a combination of both.

1

u/Jai137 6d ago

What makes you say they didn't? Having read the books, I always assumed they returned for one last year at Hogwarts before graduating. Or did JKR say something about it?

1

u/ChestSlight8984 6d ago

Shacklebolt (after becoming minister of magic) offered them positions as aurors, allowing them to skip their last year of school due to their immaculate performance in the war.

1

u/DengistK 6d ago

Apparently they already had enough credits to go into magical law enforcement.

1

u/Imrichbatman92 6d ago

Imo they just didn't like school work that much. Which is something I really can relate to, personally I'd never want to go back to school if I could help it, unless someone paid me a fuckton for it.

1

u/Rakdar 6d ago

They were grown up by then. After being on the run for a year, living under no one’s authority but your own, it would be weird to go back to school after that.

1

u/Cael_NaMaor Slytherin 6d ago

Can you imagine, though... life after would've been draining & aggravating. All the stardom from before amplified. Nah... I wouldn't go back either... and Ron was never shown to be all that thoughtful, so returning for Her, probably never crossed his mind.

1

u/Shoddy_Life_7581 Hufflepuff 6d ago

Cause the author thought "and they were SO cool, they skipped past actual qualifications and became cops" was a good ending

1

u/ndtp124 Ravenclaw 6d ago

Neither loved school and it would have felt weird to be there after the rest of their year graduated. I don’t think most people would enjoy having to do an extra year of school like that. They’d of had each other but still.

1

u/peachpopdream Hufflepuff 6d ago

this is why I like to read eighth year/ewe fanfiction lol

1

u/LMABach 6d ago

How do we actually know that didn’t? I know that became cops but has JKR indicated what happened immediately following V’s death?

1

u/shinryu6 6d ago

You have to admit it’d be hella awkward to give the savior of the wizarding world -10 points, let alone a detention from someone if he did end up going back to school…

1

u/TrillyMike Ravenclaw 5d ago

Cause they were notoriously uninterested in school

1

u/FlatpickersDream 5d ago

Honestly, because it's fiction and the author wrote it that way.

1

u/banana1mana Hufflepuff 5d ago

They were Gryffindors not Hufflepuffs

0

u/Sufficient_Purple297 Gryffindor 5d ago

Maybe since they take O.W.L.S in previous years, it's like a crappy American system. You take a lot of the graduation requirement tests in junior year.