There’s no clear cut answer for that because there’s no absolute morality - and this is presented by the many issues raised with the entirety of the wizarding world Rowling built.
Take house elves for example. For us it’s obvious, they’re quasi slaves, and no amount of them saying they want this can alleviate the fact that wizards are enslaving an entire race just to make housework easier. We do see from e.g. the Weasleys that housework is trivial - an enchantment here, a spell there, and dishes clean themselves, clothes stay clean and well shaped (let it be ironing, pressing, etc.), pretty much the only unique, unreplicateable ability elves have is that they can apparate anywhere unrestricted.
And it’s not like many treat them well. Sure, the ones at Hogwarts are not abused, as far as we know. But look at the other examples. The Malfoys with Dobby, the Blacks with Kreacher, even the Crouches with their elves whose name I don’t remember… Just continuous abuse. Verbal, physical, emotional.
And it’s not like Harry or most of his idols are exceptions. The only people we see treat Kreacher well, are the Weasley parents, and Hermione. And by “treat well” I mean not abuse. Harry cusses him out in DH, and even throws shit at him, Ron too has some not exactly nice remarks, and don’t get me started on Sirius, the man who claims to have left behind his family’s “dark and evil” ways, treats Kreacher as if he was responsible for Sirius’ childhood trauma.
Or take the Goblins of Gringotts. Most wizards see them as necessary downside for a working financial system. Most wizards also don’t think they’re people.
Or literally any other sapient creature. Look how Firenze is treated in OoP by the students. He’s “just” a centaur, and even though Dumbledore names him a professor, the students don’t consider him an actual teacher. Harry and a few others are open minded enough, but most think of him as a talking horse (I think this name is actually said in the books).
So many creatures show not just sentience (aka the understanding of self, which most animals exhibit, alongside basic emotions that aren’t instinctual), but actual sapience - the ability to form coherent, complex thoughts and communicate those in some form - meaning they’re not just intelligent on the level of an animal, but at least as an equal to human intelligence and cognizance. And yet these creatures are treated as second class citizens, if they’re citizens at all and not just considered “wildlife”, making them property.
And while Harry might be “good” in the eye of the reader… He also doesn’t consider most of these creatures as equals. He fought for equality within the wizards, regardless of their birth status, where their magic comes from, or who their families are… but didn’t give a crap about the creatures, he was more than happy to preserve the status quo. He saw only one side of the injustice, fought against it, and won, proclaiming himself to be the good guy. While completely ignoring the more systemic injustices and in fact considering them perfectly okay.
To make a comparison with real world… imagine if the US civil war was fought over not slaves per se, but just the non-black slaves’ (so Asian, American indigenous, arab and Semitic, and what Americans considered “non-white” at the time like Spanish, Italian, Irish, Polish, etc. European immigrants) status, the Norrh saying “yeah slavery is fine up until this skin tone”.
To me this screams morally grey at best, because okay, Harry is directly opposing genocide… but on the other hand doesn’t give a crap about non-human members of the wizarding world, beyond “don’t kill them unnecessarily”. He doesn’t just don’t want to change the system - he doesn’t even see the issue with it!
Honestly the only morally positive person throughout the entire franchise was Newt Scamander from Fabtastic Beasts. Respectful towards all forms of life, no matter how sapient or not they are, always fighting for their betterment, protecting those who can’t defend themselves, and only fighting those who’d attack otherwise dedenceles creature.
There’s no clear cut answer for that because there’s no absolute morality - and this is presented by the many issues raised with the entirety of the wizarding world Rowling built.
Take house elves for example. For us it’s obvious, they’re quasi slaves, and no amount of them saying they want this can alleviate the fact that wizards are enslaving an entire race just to make housework easier. We do see from e.g. the Weasleys that housework is trivial - an enchantment here, a spell there, and dishes clean themselves, clothes stay clean and well shaped (let it be ironing, pressing, etc.), pretty much the only unique, unreplicateable ability elves have is that they can apparate anywhere unrestricted.
And it’s not like many treat them well. Sure, the ones at Hogwarts are not abused, as far as we know. But look at the other examples. The Malfoys with Dobby, the Blacks with Kreacher, even the Crouches with their elves whose name I don’t remember… Just continuous abuse. Verbal, physical, emotional.
And it’s not like Harry or most of his idols are exceptions. The only people we see treat Kreacher well, are the Weasley parents, and Hermione. And by “treat well” I mean not abuse. Harry cusses him out in DH, and even throws shit at him, Ron too has some not exactly nice remarks, and don’t get me started on Sirius, the man who claims to have left behind his family’s “dark and evil” ways, treats Kreacher as if he was responsible for Sirius’ childhood trauma.
Or take the Goblins of Gringotts. Most wizards see them as necessary downside for a working financial system. Most wizards also don’t think they’re people.
Or literally any other sapient creature. Look how Firenze is treated in OoP by the students. He’s “just” a centaur, and even though Dumbledore names him a professor, the students don’t consider him an actual teacher. Harry and a few others are open minded enough, but most think of him as a talking horse (I think this name is actually said in the books).
So many creatures show not just sentience (aka the understanding of self, which most animals exhibit, alongside basic emotions that aren’t instinctual), but actual sapience - the ability to form coherent, complex thoughts and communicate those in some form - meaning they’re not just intelligent on the level of an animal, but at least as an equal to human intelligence and cognizance. And yet these creatures are treated as second class citizens, if they’re citizens at all and not just considered “wildlife”, making them property.
And while Harry might be “good” in the eye of the reader… He also doesn’t consider most of these creatures as equals. He fought for equality within the wizards, regardless of their birth status, where their magic comes from, or who their families are… but didn’t give a crap about the creatures, he was more than happy to preserve the status quo. He saw only one side of the injustice, fought against it, and won, proclaiming himself to be the good guy. While completely ignoring the more systemic injustices and in fact considering them perfectly okay.
To make a comparison with real world… imagine if the US civil war was fought over not slaves per se, but just the non-black slaves’ (so Asian, American indigenous, arab and Semitic, and what Americans considered “non-white” at the time like Spanish, Italian, Irish, Polish, etc. European immigrants) status, the Norrh saying “yeah slavery is fine up until this skin tone”.
To me this screams morally grey at best, because okay, Harry is directly opposing genocide… but on the other hand doesn’t give a crap about non-human members of the wizarding world, beyond “don’t kill them unnecessarily”. He doesn’t just don’t want to change the system - he doesn’t even see the issue with it!
Honestly the only morally positive person throughout the entire franchise was Newt Scamander from Fabtastic Beasts. Respectful towards all forms of life, no matter how sapient or not they are, always fighting for their betterment, protecting those who can’t defend themselves, and only fighting those who’d attack otherwise dedenceles creature.