This forum is Dark Lord Potter for a reason, but I wanted to see if any of you have preferred protagonists of fics that are not Harry, and why you prefer them to other protagonists. And also if you have any examples of fics that demonstrate why.

 

Theodore Nott - but only if he's super kewl and everyone calls him 'Theo'. <_<

 

Considering the information Pottermore has/had on Nott, I do think he could make a good protagonist. Sadly I haven't found any good story told from his perspective, and yes, I've searched.

Anyway, Tom Riddle makes an awesome protagonist in my opinion, mainly for his sweet insanity. I don't really enjoy stories not centered around him or Harry, but I'm still hoping to one day read a good Regulus fic.

 

This might seem strange, but I don't really want to read from the perspective of someone immersed in muggle culture. If I'm reading HP, it's because of the magic.

 

I haven't really seen it done right, but I would enjoy reading a story with Dumbledore as a protagonist. There is something really fun about his character.

I've always thought Lupin would make for a good PI. He is broke and most people wouldn't hire him because of his condition. I could see him living in a shitty apartment taking weird or hopeless cases while avoiding his landlord until he gets paid. He could lead into the darker portions of magical society. See some werewolves, vampires, etc. I mean he was very good at teaching kids DADA with a creatures emphasis. You could really expand on the magical world.

 

Yes, there's literally a fic called Remus Lupin, PI.

 

Huh, I didn't know that. Thanks for the info. Hopefully, it is decent.

 

We've seen umpteen fics featuring Harry and Ron as a double act, whether it's a buddy cop-style or stoner-ish narrative, and for good reason: the chemistry is there.

But I'd actually like to see Ron branch out on his own a lot more. His brand of humour is often preferable to Harry's (which is considerably drier) and he's probably of comparable skill overall. How much more he knows about the wider wizarding world is debatable, but the hilarity that would ensue if and when he needs to "go Muggle" would more than make up for it.

There was a fic that had the right sort of idea - the Ministry gave him a mission out in the Middle East and Harry had spattergroit, but that's all I can remember, unfortunately.

 

I have a strong preference for Harry as a protagonist, but probably my second favourite is Voldemort. For some reason having Voldemort as a PoV character feels more legitimate than other non-Harry characters. Maybe it's because, as Harry's opposite number, there's a sense in which the HP books are his story too.

 

Hm, I would like one about James Potter, especially if it starts in his Fourth Year. This way the younger years would be skipped and a more 'mature' story could be told, and there would be time enough to depict him before and after his maturation. Besides, he was born in a magical family, which would help the readers to get more familiar with the Wizarding world and give a more clear backstory on the Potters before their demise.
There's his interactions with Sirius too, I'm very curious about them.

Also, both James and the rest of the Marauders seem to be more inquisitive regarding magic compared to the Golden Trio, so new mechanics could be expanded upon.

 

Umpteen? Any good and finished? I feel I've read very few well written, and none of those I can remember were even close to the magical feel of canon.

HAHAHAHA

The problem with both of those is (almost?) no-one is able to write them in character(-ish, it's fanfiction after all), especially when there is any sort of internal monologue involved.

When we see just the results of their decisions, it's sort of ok, but when they're more involved, it's usually just a caricature of puppeteer or evil madman respectively — especially if author tries to justify any of the more questionable actions taken in canon.

Sigh.

 

Come on, deep inside they have a heart of gold (y)

To be honest I would like them as secondary characters, which is better than fics where people write about the 'Silver Trio', Harry+Draco+1. That is bad.

Also, you made fun of my bad taste but didn't give your own opinion. Reveal your secrets man.

 

I did not make fun of your taste — and I read strictly Harry-centric stuff — it was more about the fact that they are Messrs. Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail, who created The Marauder's Map, not The Marauders.

I had a nitpick moment.

 

So Marauders is fanon then? Never would've guessed, they even have a page on the wiki.

 

While it might not have been explicitly said that they considered themselves as "Marauders", it is more than implied.

Yes, I'm aware of the fact that no one else (Teachers, parents, other students) even knew the name "Marauders" but it's what James, Sirius, Remus and Peter consider themselves. Besides, it's much easier to just refer to that group as "The Marauders" than saying "James, Sirius, Remus and Peter went down to breakfast".

Unlike Harry, Ron and Hermione, who only have have 3 names and 6 syllables and can be referred to as a "trio", the Maruaders have 4 names and 8 syllables and the term "quartet" doesn't quite roll off the tongue as easily and using it in every sentece would be annoying.

Then again, I hate stories involving that generation (Snape, James, Lily, Sirius, Arthur, you name it) si it doesn't really make a different to me.

 

That would be fanon speaking, I think. It's "Marauder's map", not "Marauders' Map", after all. It's one of my pet peeves, born from the retarded "new Marauders" fic with bad nicknames a stupid "prianking wars".

But yeah, I understand why somebody would be okay with it.

Edit:

But then again, mentioning who's who more than once in one scene is plain bad writing anyway.

 

Are we talking about a sprawling 100k+ story or one shots?

Because non Harry centric one shots can be pretty interesting if done well with side characters like Mc Gonagall, Mad Eye etc.

However long storys somehow often seem wrong to me if Harry is not the MC (can´t really explain it because in other fandoms I actually really love a different MC)

The only characters I actually feel like can carry a story are Voldemort and Dumbledore. I really would love to read a good story about LV´s rise to power or a Dumbledore in the war against Grindelwald.

But sadly I never seen a good story about them which wasn´t a one shot. The problem to me with characters like the mauraders as MC´s is that they never were involved in crazy shit like Harry and there Hogwarts years would turn in a teenage borefest of stupid pranks.

Even a first war story with them would be pretty boring to me they are side characters which can´t really carry a story and we all know how there future will turn out.

An OC story with a talented and creative author could be pretty interesting too read a bit of the Alexandra Quick and it seems intersting, problem is most fanfic writers can´t actually write a MC which is not a complete Mary Sue

 

I know. That's why I said I've never seen it done right. Well, I remember reading one fic a long time ago that seemed to be getting it right and then it was promptly abandoned after a few chapters. Most characters have picked up fanon characterizations. Hermione is another character that is really bad for that.

 

I'd say that's because the supporting characters don't really have agency in HP. No one bar Harry really does anything in the whole series: Voldemort has like one goal per year, Dumbledore twiddles his thumbs and waits, looking benevolently over his charges, the Order of the Phoenix sits around "guarding" stuff and folds the moment Dumbledore dies, and the Death Eaters just prance around being all evil and shit with no real individual goals. And the ministry is corrupt for the sake of being corrupt.

Writing about someone who doesn't have agency is boring, and the moment you allow your non-Harry pow character do do anything actually meaningful the whole canon plot blows apart and it becomes a fix-it story. Which is cool, but can't really carry the story all that far.

It's like writing a "The Truman Show" fanfic from the pow of one of the extras.

 

And I'd say the main reason they have no agency is how resistant JKR was to amping Harry up. I believe she said she overpowered the 70's generation a bit. Let's just say JKR goes the traditional hero route and lets Harry show off a bit more. Then you have more room for the other characters to do other stuff. You also get to amp up the death eater a bit more, and the order.