One of the many things I love about the Red Rising series is the way the world is populated by people who have built their legend. These characters are regularly referenced by other characters as measuring-posts, and over time our own protagonists (and antagonists) become their peers, building their own legends.

Some examples:

- Lorn au Arcos, legendary razor master, used as the measuring post of martial honour

- Aja au Grimmus, his greatest student, personal bodyguard of the Sovereign, used as the measuring post of combat skill

- Magnus au Grimmus, The Ash Lord, burner of Rhea, used as the measuring post of ruthless pragmatism

- Regulus ag Sun, Quicksilver, the solar system's first Quadrillionaire, used as the measuring post of wealth

- Silenius au Lune, the Lightbringer, first Sovereign, Conqueror of Earth, used as the measuring post of nobility and virtue

Spoiler

- Darrow of Lykos, The Reaper, ArchImperator of the Free Legions, last student of Lorn au Arcos, used as the measuring post of strategic brilliance and unrelenting determination to win

Let's say you wanted to do something similar with HP. Who would your legends be? What would be their feats by which they had gained that status?

It seems to me that this is also a chance to expand the international wizarding world by having characters refer to international figures as well-known legends.

Some of mine:

Laertes Hellson - legendary British Auror, defeated the French sorceress Calliste in 1815, putting an end to a rebellion against the ICW and cementing the death of truly independent wizarding states.

Le Défenseur - French wizard, successfully ran Grindelwald out of France on two occasions in the 1900s, until his defeat by Grindelwald at the summit of Mont Blanc in 1940.

Imperio - Chinese wizard, true name unknown, birth date unknown, master of the mind arts, controls magical China with a velvet fist.

Cristobal de Tenochtitlan, The Aztec - second oldest wizard in the world after Nicholas Flamel, born in the 1500s during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. Rumored to steal youth by way of ritual sacrifice, rumours which Cristobal denies.

 

Contemporary:

Langue Delacour - a modern diplomatic legend, and paternal grandfather of the latterly famous Fleur Delacour -- recently a triwizard champion and war hero in the second wizarding war of Britain.

Langue 'D'Amour' Delacour was a highly efficacious international diplomat in a time when diplomacy was limited and continental war seemed inevitable. Still, his legend relates more to those successes he enjoyed with the wives of the politicians that he encountered and fled than any political victory which he facilitated or negotiated. The french people celebrate the intelligence he took from pillow time interrogations, and his skillful wand work made Langue an international hero - whose entanglements and subsequent extrications were popularised in a series of fictional adventures not outsold until 1985 and the release of the more child-friendly fictional adventures of Harry Potter, the boy who lived, whose mysterious seclusion until 1991 fuelled book sales.

Langue's most celebrated victory involved the battlefield romance and seduction of Vinda Rosier. In the course of a duel as he fled a Rendez-Vous with a turncoat in the village below Grindelwald's stronghold, uncovered by a jealous husband, Langue was pursued across the alps by the Dark Lord's most feared enforcer and Dark Witch.

Langue's ability for pitched battle and saucy repartee, the most archetypal rogue known to history, resulted in Rosier's removal from the war campaign and acquisition of the intelligence that secured Albus Dumbledore's victory over the Dark Lord Grindelwald, the victory of love over hate, guaranteeing not only his own legend but that of Langue's, too.

However, Langue's lasting popularity comes in the form of his outsized impact on the aspirations and culture of wizarding dating, and the philosophy of many modern young wizards that recognises that all strengths have a purpose, and that passion and free love can be a force for good even many decades later. His example inspires my conduct, and bolsters a belief that joy and the opportunities which emerge from it can be seized by those who believe in noble ends even by french means; that what is positive and right can only, in time, be proven positive and right.

Indeed, once, it helped save the world.

- JS Potter.

See me in my office on Thursday at 4pm. This is not an appropriate reflection on 'Witches and Wizards whose example inspire you', as you well know, with much of the above frankly fictitious. As your head of house, I also will not have my essays used to defend inappropriate behaviours between yourself and Ms. Swellfast and Ms. Suckwell that have led to detentions and points loss no matter how natural you might feel your actions to be.'
- Professor Gorski​

 

Of course they don't need to be OCs - they can also add to canon characters. E.g.

Bellatrix Lestrange, the Mad Wand - legendary duellist and most dangerous follower of Lord Voldemort. Known for her unpredictable style, Bellatrix was collecting accolades on the European duelling circuit before she was 17, and took the Championship at the tender age of 19, the youngest Champion in history. She went on to dominate the duelling scene for over a decade, attracting a number of students who sought to study under her. Her protégés included Evan Rosier, Barty Crouch Jr, and future Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

 

- Wallace Wellington, famous adventurer, who rediscovered the hidden isle of Avalon in the late 1400s and was the first known wizard to fly to the moon and back.

- Selmy Whitehorn, particularly known for his mastery of fire-based magic, believed to be so skilled that his flames could cleanse the breath of a nundu.

- Belle de Villeneuve, a French witch who was her era's preeminent master of charms, and is credited with discovering the 5 forms of True Love's Kiss.

 

But they were, all of them, deceived, for another witch had been born. In the land of Albion, in the fires of the Burrow's kitchen, Molly 'Mollywobbles' Weasley fed her family, keeping her skills secret, knowing that one day, her superior duelling talent would be called upon in the final battle of good versus evil...

 

Daphne Greengrass. The girl.

 

Merlin "The Silvertongue": He became unquestioned leader of the witengamot, for an astonishing amount of time. Negotiated the Avalon Accords, peace between the merpeople and the sirens, end to the reign of terror of the Green Giant and the inclusion of the Irish to the Witengamot. Founder of the Round Table, one of the most famous predecessors to the ICW and only know wizard to have ever been declared a friend of the Goblin Nation.

Baron von Münchhausen: Brilliant German inventor, botanist and actually first man on the moon. His giant bean sprout allowed him to climb to the sky at which point he used a cannon to have a cannonball be used as his transport vehicle to get to the moon. Known to have since then used a massive cannon as tool to shot himself through the sky.
Served the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and nearly helped them in conquering Vienna.

Maximilian von Berlichingen: Son of the legendary Götz von Berlichingen. Creator of the Iron Fist and one of the finest maker of prosthetics to ever live. His finest creations were the "Eisernen Ritter", which protected the German Magical Community in the Black Forest till their destruction through Grindelwald himself for over five hundred years.

Gevatter Tod: His real name is lost to the ages, but he is one of the most loathed German wizards of all time. During the 14th century, he led the largest known contingent of Inferi on a vicious journey throughout Europe. He was finally brought low from the combined assault of the Mongolian Wizard Timarchak, the German Witch Marie Wild and the Bulgarian Witch Fania.

Strong Hans: Also called Hans the Strong. He was a young wizard, who was raised among giants. While some claim him to have been a half-giant, the truth is lost to time. When he came of age, he wrestled with the old leader of the giants, Sigumath, and won the allegiance of his tribe. In the future he would lead them to create the first and only known village where giants and humans live side-by-side peacefully.

Jan Kaspar Weishaupt: Also known as the Ratcatcher of Hamel, Vanquisher of Circe, Conqueror of Daedalus' Workshop, Owner of Pan's Flute and only known lover of Lorelei. Universally considered one of the greatest curse breakers of all time, in his long career he has made as remarkable achievements as finding and conquering the workshop of the eccentric Daedalus. Broke Circe's Curse and freed the island of Aeaea as well as one of only two known wizards that have been able to break a Fidelius curse.

Thile von Kletlinge : Better known as Thyl Eulenspiegel, Nasreddin, Dschuha or Hersch Ostropoler. Famous trickster and most famous German squib. While he was born without magic, his mother was an especially gifted enchantress. She gave her pitiful son a multitude of items with magical purposes. Another, more righteous man, would have used such gifts for good, Thyl used them to have fun. Tales about his exploits are numerous and are only equaled by his many names, but one thing stays the same, his identity as the wise fool enjoying his life as the expense of others.

Sahur: Founder of the quarantined werewolf society of in Australia, where every member is forcefully infected with the curse. As a life-long traveler he was likely the first werewolf to set foot onto Australia and its isolation allowed him to slowly infect one of the biggest magical community that existed there. Since that point werewolf have become a part of Australia.

 

That is a creative list!

So the real drop bears where werewolves all along?

 

I was interested to see what a neural network would make of these examples. Using three of Taure's ideas, I got:

The Contessa Mascagni - Italian witch and a noted singer in the late 1800s, who killed her husband because he revealed her as a witch.

La Casa dei Serpenti - Italian wizard, famous as a Grade I dark wizard catcher, whose exploits include the defeat of the terrorist group known as the Serpents of the Righteous Path.

Exley - American wizard and one of the richest individuals in the US, who hired a team of engineers to build a prison which actively prevents the escape of magical folk.

Laetitia - French witch known for her work with the French Resistance during WWII, she is also one of the most famous chanteuses in all of France.

Pieter van Doorn - Dutch wizard who defeated a Muggle serial killer in 1958, but was killed by the criminal's friends in retribution.

Marguerite - French witch who sacrificed herself to save a group of schoolchildren from werewolves in 1815.

Rigel Quirinus - British wizard and the first person in the magical world to discover Muggle computers, earning him the title of "The Merlin of Muggle Understanding".

La Motte - French wizard from Auvergne, France; known as the founder of the Elite Gobbler Force.

Nox Khamal - Muggle NYPD officer, only one of two ever to be awarded the Order of Merlin for Bravery.

Lafourcade - French wizard and the first person to discover an unknown species of flying reptile in the Amazon, earning him L'Ordre du Mérite Agricole.

La Balestra - Italian wizard and one of the richest men in the world, known for his generosity and his frequent (and sometimes fatal) pranks.

Dominique - French wizard, who was the first person to discover the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá, earning him the title of Explorer Extraordinaire.

Rudolf the Red - German wizard and the first person to be convicted for violating Regulation XVII.

Hans Gruber - German wizard and the first person to break into Gringotts by way of a Muggle computer, earning him the title "The Gringotts Hacker".

 

Robert Knox, the Black King — (b. 1845 May 17th) was a prolific thief and legendary curse-breaker. Knox was known for breaking into the homes of the most powerful witches and wizards of polite society, pilfering their most vaunted heirlooms and leaving behind his coat of arms, a smiling black skull with red eyes under a crown of gold. Knox's continued success led to a bold attempt to rob the Ministry of Magic itself—where he was finally captured. Knox was kept in "interrogation" for months but never revealed his trove's location.

When asked for his last words, he stated:

"I ruled well, now my time is done, how hope I that another shall come, and take up my bloodied crown."

Robert "Black King" Knox was executed by beheading at the age of 22.

Cultural Remnants: You're one Knoxy little brat, you know that?
Muggle Equivalent: You're one ballsy little git, you know that?

Generally used as the standard for recklessness and rebellion, but mostly for how good a thief is.

 

Les Voyageurs: A team of wizarding fur-traders from modern-day Quebec, this band of men one winter found themselves far from home, just prior to the Christmas Season. There was no possibility of making the journey in the muggle fashion, and it transpired that each of them had promised their wives, sweethearts or children that they would not, under any circumstances, miss Christmas.

Lacking Brooms, the men embarked on an audaciously foolhardy plan, and enchanted their canoe with all the charms one might imbue with a racing broom. Thus imbued, Les Voyageurs rowed their flying canoe all the way to the Saguenay Valley in record time, saving Christmas (and more than a few marriages) at a single stroke. Unfortunately, they were seen by numerous muggles along the journey, and so Les Voyageurs entered into both Muggle and Wizarding folklore forever.

 

Fleur Delacour- French witch, earned her second Star in Charms at the age of thirteen, and heralded a third two years later. By her penultimate year she had earned, and kept, double Estoile in the three Arts and three Classiques, for the past two years, a feat accomplished only twice in the past century and a half. A candidate for l'Empyrée.

Victor Krum- Bulgarian wizard, won entrance to the Schulleiter Sammlung against his Headmaster's desires. He became the top duellist at the famously competitive Durmstrang Institute and won his first and only two demonstrations on the European stage (his participation has since not been required or volunteered). First wizard in all of seven hundred years to triumph in the Mountain Dash, a flying race against the Durmstrang castle's shadow when it takes its midday run. Youngest national seeker to have earned five rescues, ten starts, twenty catches, qualified for the Quidditch World Cup, played in its final, and to have caught the snitch in every game.

Realized that while I had a few figures in my work-in-progress they weren't 'measuring-posts', and is an aspect I am missing.

Note on Fleur: second Star/E(s)toile roughly equivalent (though vastly different in form and circumstance) to Harry's patronus, and third star something akin to his end of the book vs 100 dementors patronus.

One star would be like an end of year qualification (ie A-E-O)- ie. most wizards are trying to earn their one star the whole year, thus to 'retain' even one star the following year means you display consistent understanding and first time success/ability throughout as would be needed to meet the end of year expectations. Two stars is either a great display or a noteworthy depth of understanding. Hermione /might/ just manage to push herself in a subject and earn a second star, but would lose it again come next year. Really you can't realistically earn (and keep) two stars unless you are a natural at magic /and/ you care to (ie. Sirius Black talent, but unless he shared his extra-curricular achievements he wouldn't qualify).

Note on Victor Krum: Schulleiter Sammlung is, unless my web translate is horrible, just 'Headmaster Gathering'. It amuses me to think Karkaroff has a group of favourites (in the Malfoy mold) with privileges and perks, and Krum (who had things greatly and unfairly stacked against him) is an unwanted intruder. Only for Krum to gain international fame and success, and part of canon Krum's misery is now dealing with a smarmy Slughorn-ish Karkaroff suddenly and annoyingly being nice.
Also the Mountain Dash is taken straight from Chariots of Fire 'College Dash' "It's special because in all of 700 years nobody's ever done it."