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Harry Potter: The Supporting Character

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by Arthellion, Nov 14, 2019.

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  1. Arthellion

    Arthellion Lord of the Banned ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Nov 14, 2019 #1
    So one thing I've seen done only rarely in fics is having a Harry that is likable, but also not a complete moron/wimp. Furthermore, fics, even if they manage to nail Harry as a character, rarely -use- him well.

    So, how would DLP write and use Harry as a supporting character in a story?
     
  2. Zombie

    Zombie Black Philip Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐

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    Nov 14, 2019 #2
    1. I'd have him trained by someone off screen, that is maybe a distant cousin that Dumbledore didn't tell us about (stupid Dumbles).
    2. I'd then find a more powerful time-tuner and a manor house from our many ANCIENT AND MOSTE NOBLE families.
    3. Create a hyperbolic time chamber in which every min inside is 1 day.
    4. Start lifting weights.
    5. Get a SUPER TRUNK and go CLOTHES SHOPPING
    6. Get handcrafted wand from rare and little known magical creature
    7. TERRIBLE BUT GREAT
    8. Inheritance Test
    9. VAULTS GALORE
    10. Invite all the named cast to the hyperbolic time chamber manor, including the females.
    11. Let the females ogle his Quidditch toned body, maybe bang one or two of them, esp. Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot. They got them tatas.
    12. Ordered Lists are cool.
    13. When the school year is ready to start, have a minor-conflict that results in death of distant cousin.
    14. Abandon the story here and tease about updating it again if I get 7000 reviews, but otherwise make no effort to update it.
     
    CrackedMind, James, ashland, ashlands of the cold, theimmortalhp, Utsane, AceOfSpades, Arthellion
  3. Arthellion

    Arthellion Lord of the Banned ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Nov 14, 2019 #3
    Well...I don't see how that's Harry being used as a supporting character, dork.
     
  4. Paradise

    Paradise Paraplegic Dice DLP Supporter

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    Nov 14, 2019 #4
    Potter Law bruh

    We are here for Harry, not anyone else. He is the enjoyable main character any attempts to substitute him are usually indicative of bad fic.
     
    Niez
  5. Arthellion

    Arthellion Lord of the Banned ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Nov 14, 2019 #5
    Potter Law died when Taure made Harry a girl. @Paradise
     
  6. Zombie

    Zombie Black Philip Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐

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    Nov 14, 2019 #6
    Its not dead, its just thread locked :)
     
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  7. Mordecai

    Mordecai Drunken Scotsman –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Nov 14, 2019 #7
    Its an interesting concept. You'd have to move him out of the plot somehow, perhaps after the Philosophers Stone incident Dumbledore decides the threat of Voldemort getting to Harry is too much and sends him abroad, or to be trained privately? Abroad might be better, then he can correspond with folk and come back to visit sometimes? Hermione or Ron could make the ideal replacement main character if you kept with the regular plot.

    However, another way to make Harry a supporting character would be to change the focus of the story whilst keeping everything else the same. What about the Twins as main characters? A story of pranks, quidditch, girls, and detentions. Then in their final year the escape from Hogwarts, and setting up their own business. Then you have the whole setting up a resistance radio channel and fighting the good fight. And then you have a major character death right at the end to round things off nicely. Could even do a sequel about George coping with the death of his twin, though that might get a bit angsty for my tastes.
     
    Arthellion
  8. Silirt

    Silirt Chief Warlock DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    Nov 14, 2019 #8
    So far I haven't seen anyone write a 'dark lord potter' story in which Harry is not the perspective character. Whether he was raised by a different family, or he had some kind of massive character shift during the story, making him a side character would spare us from having to read the same transformation montage for the trillionth time, and it would make him look more like an antagonist, as opposed to a morally grey character or an enemy to all. I would be interested in seeing Ron or Hermione serve as the main character under such circumstances.
     
    Arthellion
  9. Arthellion

    Arthellion Lord of the Banned ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Nov 14, 2019 #9
    One plot bunny I've had is a Neville story where Harry falls further and further into darkness after losing Sirius. Ron and Hermione stay loyal to harry, trying to save their friend, but Neville is the one that realizes Harry is becoming just like voldemort.

    Would lead to a post war Neville vs. Harry story.
     
    FitzDizzyspells
  10. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    Nov 14, 2019 #10
    Honestly... if you want Harry to be a supporting character as opposed to the main character... Neville is a solid protagonist choice.
    1. Everyone thinks Neville is the BWL. He is the main character and goes through canon in his own way. Harry - the actual BWL - is his best friend. They can either be aware of the BWL status or not.
    2. Strike that, reverse it. Everyone thinks Harry is the BWL but it's really Neville. Again, Neville as the main character but a different dynamic in play here.
    Also easy enough to write this an apprenticeship and/or adoption type story, but that would be harder to hold the longer the fic got.
    1. Main character is Kingsley Shacklebolt. He took Harry under his wing during Harry's 4th/5th year and tutored him all the way up through Harry's appointment as Head Auror years later. Kingsley is the POV character and he views Harry as "a kid" most of the time.
    2. Sirius and/or Remus kidnaps/adopts Harry - story follows them as they deal with whatever shit they have going on with Harry as a secondary character.
    3. Teddy is the main character. Harry was his Godfather and now that Ted is out of Hogwarts he’s apprenticed to the man.
    4. Harry is an elderly wizard on his last adventure - story told from the POV of a younger companion. Maybe a great-great-grandchild?
    What else?
    1. There is no BWL. Harry and whichever friends you pick for him are all equal protagonists in their own story. Harry is not special among them. They are all supporting characters in each others stories - perhaps every chapter can change POV.
    2. Do some kind of Ender's Shadow story, where Harry is the equivalent of Ender and some other character is the equivalent of Bean. Tell the same story from an unexpected-yet-interesting POV that explains everything that didn't make sense in canon.
    3. 'Cheat' like some authors do and give Harry a twin named something other than Harry. Make him the 'real' main character while ‘Harry’ just goes about his boring canon crap as second fiddle to his more interesting twin.
    *shrug* But really Harry is designed to be a main character as opposed to supporting cast. Changing that is possible but it requires more skill at writing than most fanfic authors possess.

    That story about, uh, Neville and Bill sneaking 'behind the curtain' or w/e made Harry into supporting cast with Neville as the main character. But Harry is still the badass in that story and one could probably argue the protagonist, even though Neville is who we are following. It's a good story.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2019
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