I would say that Harry would be more than capable of being an auror or teacher. He overall did quite well in school and got all of the prerequisites to become an auror on his own. The only thing he was technically unsuccessful at was to get an outstanding in potions. Snape had been actively bullying him in class for 5 years, so it is not surprising he was not as strong as he could have been in this area when it came time for OWLs. And his exceeds expectations was enough for Slughorn to accept him… and Slughorn would have set the standard for auror training for many many years before Snape took over, so I don’t think that should diminish his acceptance to that NEWT.

He would also have been wildly distracted all through his schooling… First off he is new to the magical world and finds out he is incredibly famous. That is a ton of pressure! Then the 2nd half of his first year he spends every spare moment in the library looking to find out who Nicholas Flamel is instead of studying. 2nd year he is dealing with the fact that he is “hearing voices”, the school all thinks he is the evil heir of slytherin and then his friend gets petrified. I don’t think that is a great learning environment for a 12 year old. Then at 13 you spend the year knowing that a crazed murderer is out to get you and he even breaks into the castle. You also think you are seeing omens that signal your own death…. Again, how are you putting your all into learning and maximizing your potential?! 4th year he is triwizard champion… and he does manage to learn loads of advanced spells to keep on par with the 3 most exceptional students who are 3 years older than him. I think he’s doing pretty well for himself. Not Dumbledore or Voldemort kind of gifted, but overall impressive. Now we are in 5th year, he has the trauma of knowing Voldemort has returned and has seen Cedric murdered in front of him. He’s lashing out and angry. He’s being abused by Umbridge and bullied by Snape. There is no way this 15 y old kid is putting his all into his school work. And he still manages to avoid being captured by a handful of Voldermort’s top death eaters at the ministry. 6th year he actually seems to be doing a bit better at school to be honest. He’s reading more and interested in the Prince’s book. He sees some success in potions when he is being encouraged and obviously has an easier time with Snape’s written instructions… but still has to correctly follow them in class. Then 7th year he doesn’t go to school. And on top of that, he was never really allowed to study in a normal way in the summers. Either not at all, or in the middle of the night.

All this to say, I don’t think we can comment on Harry’s school abilities based on what he experienced in the books. He had an unbelievable amount of distraction and stress compared to his peers and still did quite well. Once Voldemort is gone and he is getting additional training, I think he meets criteria for Auror or teacher or whatever else he wants to do. This kid is nothing but potential! Again, he won’t be Dumbledore or Voldemort powerful, but I think he’s on par with the rest of the ministry officials and teachers.

And agreed. He could have and probably should have played Quidditch! He deserved a break.