Dumbledore’s Army was made for one purpose and one purpose only: to learn proper Defence Against the Dark Arts in preparation for Lord Voldemort’s full return to power. Oh, and to stick it to Professor Umbridge. But mostly the ‘terrifying return of the Dark Lord’ thing.

Although many members of the gang joined up to learn everything they could from Harry to fight old Voldy and his Death Eaters, others decided to join for… less than noble reasons. Here are the members of Dumbledore’s Army who probably should have thought twice before writing their name on a cursed sign-up sheet…

Zacharias Smith

No wonder Fred and George threatened this grouchy Hufflepuff with some of Zonko’s finer merchandise. Ever since arriving at the Hog’s Head for the group’s very first meeting, Zacharias only ever seemed to question Harry, and made it pretty obvious that he just wanted to know all the juicy gossip about Voldemort’s return.

What made his constant scepticism even more irksome was that no one actually ever invited him along. Hermione admitted that she had to give him the details of the first meeting after he overheard her telling Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott about it. So his presence is basically the classic awkwardness of when someone invites themselves along to something and you’re too polite to say no to them…

Michael Corner (and his little squad)

Michael Corner seemed like a decent enough fellow, but it can’t be denied that he and his buddies, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein, joined the D.A. because Michael was dating Ginny at the time. We could probably think of several more romantic settings to spend time with your girlfriend than in a club with three of her older brothers while learning spells to fight off the wizarding world’s greatest evil – but hey, whatever works for you, Mikey!

Marietta Edgecombe

Oh, Marietta. With her mum working at the Ministry, surely she’d know more than anyone not to sign up for something like this?

Cho’s curly-haired friend, who ended up with a pretty pattern of pimples across her face after betraying the gang, should never have been a member of the D.A. in the first place. She only really joined on Cho’s insistence, and seemed to spend most of her time there glaring at Harry. And then she finally betrayed the group by reporting them to Professor Umbridge (and effectively ended Harry’s relationship with Cho, so double points to Ravenclaw there).

Angelina Johnson

As Ernie Macmillan pointed out, the D.A. was seriously important. Even more important than O.W.L. examinations, people! However, despite needing to learn as much as they could about the impending mortal peril coming their way, Angelina was the first one to worry about Quidditch practice.

Angelina, we all love Quidditch, but putting your school team ahead of such an important group that could save your life seems ever-so-slightly short-sighted.

Dennis Creevey

As a true Gryffindor, Dennis wanted to learn all he could from Harry; good for him! He was also a little starstruck – just like his brother, Colin. That’s also fine. Harry Potter was the Boy Who Lived, after all, so we’ll give him a little leeway there. However, the reason that Dennis shouldn’t have been a member of the defence club was because he was, at that point, a tiny second-year student.

As noble as his intentions were, everyone else in the group was at least fourth year or above, and so they were ready to take on some serious stuff. But when it came to Defence Against the Dark Arts, Dennis should have still been learning about Cornish Pixies at this point!

Also, there would have been no way he could have done some of the magic they were learning. Even Harry, eventually an Outstanding-level O.W.L. student, could only conjure a Patronus in his third year. So Dennis, although your intentions were pure and true, your presence was probably just a bit of a hindrance to the rest of the club. Sorry. Perhaps they should have started ‘D.A. Juniors’ for the younger years.

Ernie Macmillan

Ernie might have been a little pompous, but overall he was a good friend to the golden trio and one of Harry’s most outspoken supporters when no one believed him about Voldemort’s return. That being said, the cautious Hufflepuff was still pretty anxious about signing his name to the group. Although he had a lot to say about the importance of their venture, he seemed to talk a lot about their incompetent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and their O.W.L. year-end exams.

Members of Dumbledore’s Army were an admirable bunch. Even the ones who joined for less than noble reasons rallied together to create an impressive symbol of unity against a corrupt Ministry and their denial of Voldemort’s return. In many ways, every student in the club was imperative in making it a success.

Although some had their reservations when joining, or perhaps joined for the wrong reasons, they continued to work together and rebel. This is impressive, especially when you consider that Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, who perhaps aren’t as naturally courageous as the Gryffindors, still stuck with the club despite certain expulsion, and they did it because they believed in its importance. As such, each and every one of them should be admired.

Except Marietta, of course. Marietta, how could you?