What are some items of accepted fanon that you wish didn't exist?

(Easy answer: all of it)

To be clear, we're not talking any old cliche or trope here. We're talking about tropes that have reached a level of universality that many people in the fandom just take them for granted as part of the world.

A few of mine:

- The idea that "Dark Lords" rise up on a regular basis and that the wizarding world has regular wars against them.

- Wizarding Britain having conservative/Victorian social values especially with regard to dating.

- Warding as a cohesive body of magic with its own theory, rules, spells, etc.

 

Without a doubt, my most hated fanon has to be the dreaded prank wars.

 

I second the Dark Lords thing. Whenever someone brings up a list of dark lords in a story I always expect someone to say something about their cause, or about how they were called dark lords in retrospect or in defamation campaigns, but no. Dark lord as a title is either specific to Voldemort, or means terrorist leader or something like that, which is why Grindelwald was called a dark wizard - i.e a wizard who practiced the dark arts rather than a dark lord, because he was a legitimate political figure, unlike Voldemort. If dark lord does just refer to terrorists then, why would they be so notable in history texts - you'd expect there to be mentions of old international conflicts rather than domestic terrorism.

As for a part of fanon that I despise, it has to be the weird stigmatisation of dark magic in wizarding Britain, usually used as a plot device to separate Harry from non Slytherins if he becomes a practitioner. As far as I remember in the books, dark magic is illegal in the same way that firearms are illegal, because it's dangerous rather than evil. Authors seem to forget that Remus Lupin (and presumably other Order members) advocated for the use of lethal spells against the Death Eaters, and that aurors were given a special dispensation to use the Unforgivables during the first fight against Voldemort. If all dark magic had such a corrupting influence on its users then the Ministry would never have even considered that as an option.

 

I third the dark lords thing. It makes Voldemort seems substantially less significant. If you're going to have other people in history who were considered 'dark lords' at least spread them out across space and time.

I mean, I didn't forget that the Aurors were willing to use it and the Ministry had a kill on sight order, but I think it's pretty likely they would do it anyway and just not call attention to it. Combat gives you PTSD, but no one really cares about that in the middle of a war the state and the people consider to be important. We actually knew soldiers were getting seriously fucked up as far back as Vietnam and we just sort of swept it under the rug.

 

• Caricature Voldemort who can't go five minutes without torturing somebody, lacking any subtlety whatsover, who's followers only obey him out of fear or because they're evil and who has no strategy whatsover about taking over beyond randomly attacking Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade.
  
• Rune Magic
  
• Harry and Ron being poor students.
• The Marauders being pranksters
• Dan and Emma being the names of Hermione's parents
  
• Temporary Transfiguration
• Pacifist Harry/Order of the Phoenix/Dumbledore who can't tolerate killing in any situation.
• The Horcrux in Harry giving him an extra life
• Wizards being incredibly ignorant of muggles, as in not even knowing the name of things they see all the time like cars.
• Luna
• All wizards are atheists or pagans

 

The horcrux giving Harry an extra life, or taking a killing curse for him is canon though, same with most wizards being incredibly unfamiliar with muggle tech.

 

It really isn't.
The reason why he survived is that Voldemort used Harry's blood to recreate his body, and resulting in the magic of Lily's sacrifice inside Voldemort's blood tethering Harry to life as long as he lives.

A couple other things also played a part, like Harry owning the wand Voldemort used to kill him as did Harry willingly walking to his death and evoking a sacrificial protection himself, but there is absolutely nothing in canon that implies Harry survived because he was a horxrux or that being a horxrux would protect him in any way.

Not even close to the level of established fanon. Wizards in canon are ignorant of muggles but they're not aliens, they're still going to be able to know what a car is.

 

I take your point, but ultimately anything said by Dumbledore in the train station is conjecture - either Dumbledore is guessing as he says, or he isn't there at all, and it's all a figment of Harry's imagination (I would lean towards the latter). It's open to interpretation in canon.

 

No? The book is quite clearly giving us the explanation of what happened here. And Dumbldore isn't guessing why Harry survived, he said he was guessing if it works.

Either way the Idea of Harry getting an extra life because of the horcrux is pure fanon.

 

Lucius Malfoy is not a member of the Wizengamot.

Edit: to clarify, common fanon being he is a member.

 

• Dumbledore knowing about the Horcruxes before the diary.
  
• Unspeakables doing anything useful.
• Daphne Greengrass. Beyond bored of her.
• Politics. Just no, it has never been done good. For some reason everyone decided that how Black Comedy did politicking was the gold standard and just plopped out more of that, but straight faced.
  
• The ancient and Noble house .... , It was pretty much a joke in the books, but hey lets spawn a half baked system of nobility around this.

Well this is just pet peeves thread vol.2

 

Goblins don't take care of inheritance. The Ministry does, as proven when Sirius and Dumbledore die and no goblin has any implication ever.

 

• Pup/Prongslet/Cub

 

This is particularly amusing since Goblins in canon wouldn't rven acknowledge thr concept of inheritance, as from their perspective objects belong to the person who made them and are only borrowed when purchased, so giving the objects of a deceased person to anyone bu the creators would be as bad as theft for them.

 

• Susan Bones' massive knockers.
• Daphne 'Ice Queen' Geeengrass.

The first is 14 year old jerk off material and the second is written by girls who desperately claim to be 'not like other girls'.

 

Referring to members of Hogwarts houses by their associated animal.

 

The idea that prophecies are something that are inevitable. Dumbledore makes it quite clear to Harry that not all of them are fulfilled, and that Harry is free to turn his back on the prophecy.

Also that all wizards are just utterly ignorant of everything muggle. I've seen far too many comments insisting that wizards don't have any idea what nukes are.

+1 on the whole pacifist Dumbledore shit. There's a point in Half-Blood Prince where Harry talks about taking as many Death Eaters down with him in death as he can manage, and Dumbledore literally pats him on the back in approval lmfao.

 

Molly Weasley the frequent Howler sender.

Arithmancy being about spellcrafting or analyzing spells. Dividing it into parts or spomething similar.

Golden Trio or other insipid nicknames. At most I would say something like that would be used in a derogative way, but never in an endearing or flattering one.

Marietta and Cho are bullies of Luna. Some of the few named Ravenclaws have to be held accountable apparently, regardless of them being never identified as such bullies in canon.

Padma and Parvati are exact opposites of each other and one the airhead bimbo, the other intelligent one.

Veela are weak in water or against water.

Veela aura and them being able to control it. Also, only going for wizards able to resist it and all the crap that includes.

Lastly, I would reiterate runes, warding and Luna.

 

The mischaracterization of Sirius to the point where he's always the womanizing caricature pranking Harry, "his cub".

 

• Harry's "emerald orbs" or Voldemort's "blood-red gaze".
• The Potters being some uber rich and ancient family who descend from Gryffindor.