The more time I spend in this forum the more I seem to ask myself, "Why the **** do I like the Harry Potter series if I hate so many of its parts?"

I mean how many people have stated outright that they hated the directions the books took from the start. Yet many kept on reading. Even as the fourth book showed a Harry who could do nothing on his own, even as the fifth book introduced whinyBitchingANGST!Harry, it was read on. God forbid you read the sixth.

Yet this site is growing.

I kept asking this to myself. And slowly I began to realize, I hate the works - but not the mythos.

I see through JKR, to the world and characters she created, without being dragged down by her trashing thereof.

The questions I want to ask is this:

What parts of the mythos of Harry Potter drew you in?
What do you hate?
What would you change?
What brings you back, even if you read HBP?

 

Here's what make my HP fascination ticking:

1 > Self-empowerment

You're not just an ordinary guy, one in a million similar drones. You are SPECIAL! You have POWERS!

Of course, this is the basis of the whole fantasy genre. But...

2 > Modern times

Sure fantasy can be interesting, but most of it happens in some strange medieval-like setting, with which few people can identify. HP, on the other hand, brings magic much closer to home, placing it basically in our own backyards.

After all, who hasn't had neighbors like the Dursleys? Maybe your Dursleys have a magical hero locked up in their basement too?

3 > Secret society

The secrecy/conspiracy theory aspect can't been underestimated too. When reading any other fantasy, magic is there, all around you (you = the lead character). But in HP, it's like a secret you're invited to discover. And people are generally very curious animals.

4 > Variety, inventiveness

Now, there are several settings that include parameters mentioned above - Superman and other super heroes, X-men etc... But all these settings are rather... well, simple; plain; straightforward; uninventive; boring.

Superman can fly, is immortal and has laser eyes. Spiderman has 6th sense and can do the spidery stuff. Aquaman can shoot water from his ass. Each mutant from the X-men has one specialty. But in the end, none of this seems very special compared to HP. There's just not that much finesse in letting bullets bounce off your chest or shredding someone to ribbons with your adeshitium claws.

In HP, on the other hand, there are MILLIONS of possibilities. Different schools of magic, hundreds of spells, magical creatures, trinkets etc... There's a basis for some really interesting stuff to happen.

5 > Can't beat a firm, solid foundation

When developing self-empowered characters, it is very important for there to be a solid, logical basis for every ability that is given. Can you really respect a character who is superhero only by chance, a stroke of luck? Why the hell do they get to receive special powers when exposed to radiation, when I and other people only get to die in pain?

Thankfully, in HP NOTHING is given freely; There's no mutogen X or a radioactive spider to give you cool new abilities which you can then show off under the safety of flashy latex costumes. No sir. You have to sit your ass down and EARN your powers, rather then just wake up one day and realize you can grow spikes or run faster then sound (anyone said super!Harry?).

...
That's why HP is, in my mind, far superior to any other fantasy self-empowerment setting I've seen so far.

That's also why I get so pissed off by the direction HP canon is heading. Instead of developing all these cool aspects she came up with, JKR had instead decided to teach us all a lesson that magic isn't everything and that we could all use some love.

Hello!? I read HP because I want to see some magic, not because I need lessons about what's important in life according to some 50 years old rich bitch! I can have love in the RL, thank you very much! What I can't have is magic. So that's what I want.

 

The part that drew me in is the environment created. The way magic is part of the world, but kept separate.

What would I change. The wizarding world. Its not well written in my opinion. Also, a lot of people have taken it as the general attitudes of the Brittish. I would keep the old fashioned setting, but I would emphasise on the good portions of it. I would also bring the Government and Politics into the books more if I had the option. Can anyone tell I like Political!Harry?

 

Well, as IP said, the possibility that maybe you weren't just some ordinary shmuck, but could actually be a wizard. Most fantasy books try to do this, but they're either magical realism, and barely touch on the magic, or they're a fucking period piece and not going to happen in this time period.

Unfortunately, although JKR is a talented author in many respects, Harry hasn't really grown as a character. Ron and Snape are quite possibly the only characters with any kind of depth at all in the story.

Also, the lack of technical details are irritating.

 

What drew me in? I was always into magic and fantasy. Eragon, Harry Potter, Dragonlance, Fluke, that kind of thing. It was a fanfic by Ruskbyte (Order of the Pheonix) that started me into the books. I was confused as hel, wondering what the hell a Death Eater was. I thought it was some sort of magical creature at first. >_>

The I stole my sister's first through third book. I bought paperback four and five, then returned to fanfiction. I lurked around alot of Potter yahell groups and ff.net while still writing in the fist fanfiction scene I wrote on (Love Hina anime).

After a while it got repeatative and I started to lose interest, then I found a link to DLP on PP3, and lo, Vash was born in his truest form.

What kept me into HP fanfiction for so long?

There is nary a better fandom that was built so well for fanficiton. Book four opened the best path for a dark!Harry.

Most of the characters were likeable in the book, even Ginny; who was little more than filler. Really there is little more to say.

 

It's the story of an average boy, not being so average.

_everyone_ dreams about being special, well known, famous... and this boy gets it for a spurious reason, just like we'd like to.

 

Ooh, Tough questions.

1) The Hidden world. Seriously who hasn't wished at least once that somthing like the world she has created did in fact exist.
2) HBP, a good chunck of OotP, and Umbridge as a person. As a character she is perfect as you can't help but hate her.
3)Dumbledore would go Down in a blaze of glory instead of whining like a brat, Umbridge would have been left to the centures, and Rowling wouln't have pulled pairings out of her ass.
4) The remaining potential for turnaround, and the promise of a conclusion. I may hate the way JKR ruined the series, but at least once it's all over I can get on with hating specific parts of it in peace. (Although I can just feel that it will probably never truly be 'Over')

Alright, now that I've answered the Questions I'm going to go read everyone elses responses.

Chow!

 

The second movie drew me into both the books and the world of fanfiction. I saw the second movie before I ever saw the first one, and the part where he talks with the snake was so badass I had to download the first movie and eventually read all the books (was at ootp at the time I believe). Of course I was disappointed that Harry was such a pushover, and I'm not really a big fan of the genre but that's what ended up pushing me into the world of fanfiction and especially the dark/gray/independent stories.

 

Ooh those are tough.

What drew me in? Probably curiosity at why my cousin was constantly reading them. She took them everywhere and one day I was walking past Waterstones and GoF was a special offer. I bought it, read it in 5 hours and went out to by the rest of them.

I hate... Dolores Umbridge... I loathe the thought of anyone who stifles creativity and the gathering of knowledge. Of the books themselves I hate the way Voldemort shows no hint of his supposed brilliance. Sure, he sets up elaborate schemes to capture his arch foe but he's so incompetant and arrogant that he can't kill a 14 year old boy. One killing curse would be all it took, but nooooo he had to toy with him first.

What would I change? Hard to choose really, but I'd have to add in more about magic itself. As it is, HP is more a story of morals and good vs. evil, I'd go into more depth about the magic and how the world is effected by old Voldie.

Its easy to say what brings me back now - the fanfiction. I read the books because the fan fiction kicks ass.

Aekiel

 

I have to say, the chamber of secrets is pretty much what drew me in. I was bored stiff and saw the book on the ground, so i read it. I was amazed at how a boy is able to fight a snake that can make any guy wet him self. Then things led to another until i found ff.net.

 

I started reading the books when the series started, my family was going on a road trip and my father had just bought it for me to read on the trip. I know I am mostly alone here, but I love everything about the books. What I love is how Harry doesn't even question his actions. He never thought twice about going to save the stone, nor to save Ginny. And as a orphan brought up in hell he spared the life of the man who betrayed his parents. I love when Harry is powerful and superhuman. But what I love about the books is his humanity. And yes he did get awful whiney in the fifth book, but come on, cut him some slack, he'd just been rogered good. I loved all of the books and eagerly await the next one.

 

The thing that I liked best was the magic/fantasy bit. I looove books with magic in them, so that was a major thing.

The characters mostly have some substance, and could be semi-believable, I mean, they have some flaws, but are decent people. We've got a good protagonist and antagonist- we have a definite side to root for (Though we can pick which one we are on...).

What's kind of funny though is that I told myself that this was just another fad sort of thing like pokemon, and that I wouldn't get too into it or anything. Once I read the first book though, I was hooked.
My grandma brought it up with her, and was like "Have you read this book?" And the fascination just grew from there...

 

1) To the series itself, the fact that when I started reading it GoF had just come out and I was 14 myself. The fact that I was the same age as Harry helped me connect to him, and via him to the mythos surrounding him. The contemporary setting was the same too; we had a universe with centaurs, wizards and goblins, but at the same time as cars, tv and so forth.

To fanfiction, the really vague way the mythos was defined in canon. There aren't any sort of rules of magic ever given, just hints at them, and the same is true in virtually every aspect of the canon series. There are blank holes all over the place, and FF fills them in with a hundred different ideas. You can build a convincing theory for nearly anything with the various hints in canon. You want an evil, manipulative Dumbledore? You can put together a case for it just by putting a negative spin on canon events. I can't be bothered to think of other examples, but there are plenty out there.

2) The one thing that I really, really hate in canon is the completely blasé approach to learning magic that most of the characters seem to have. They have this awesome power at their disposal, but they treat learning about it like any other school work. If I went to Hogwarts, frankly I'd make Hermione look like a slacker, not because I wanted to show off my awesome knowledge but because, FFS, it's magic! It's the ability to alter the world with a will and a word, and they act like it's such a horrible chore to have to learn how to wield it. If I had the potential to learn HP magic, you'd need a summoning charm to get me out of the library until I'd learned every spell I was capable of casting and then some. Frankly, the HP cast have so much potential at their wand-tips, and it's always pissed me off to see them squander it.

3) I'd give myself magic, of course. Seriously though, there's nothing about canon I'd particularly care to change, simply because I no longer care about it; the fact that canon isn't perfect is why I'm drawn to fanon, and as canon's gone downhill (at least IMO) I've become more attached to fanfics that have taken the series in directions I'd prefer it to go in.

4) Mostly nostalgia. As far as I'm concerned, nowadays 'canon' is simply one possible branch of the HPVerse, no more, no less. When book 7 comes out I'll buy it and read it, and most likely hate it, the same as I hated HBP, but whatever happens it won't have the same emotional impact as it might have had I, for example, read the whole series without ever running across fanfiction, because I've since found dozens of other branches for the HPVerse to take that I like more than the stuff that Rowling's scraping together. Book 7 will bring the canon branch to an end, satisfactorily or not, and by now that's all I really want from it.

 

The first book drew me in and I read all the way to the 5th book. I dont remember exactly how I found ff.net but I think it was through Naruto and then to HP.

What keeps me to the series is that its idea of a secret world that is right in front of you but you cant see it.
What I would change? I probably wouldnt change anything in canon, in fanon though... I dont know where to begin.
What brings me back is that since this is fanfiction there are endless possibilities of what can happen. I'll likely read Book 7, hate it for its ending, and go back to ff.net. Though once this series ends... I wonder how the ff.net scape would change. Probably not a lot.

 

I was first read Harry Potter in third grade when my teacher started to read it to the class after one of his friends sent it to him from the UK. Thus I ended up reading the Philosophers stone version and not the Sorcerers stone.

The only thing I really hate is the things that JK does not flush out. There are several plot holes and characters who are barely mentioned. But then again it is a kids book.

If I could change something I would simply make the whole wizarding culture thing more finished. It seems like Jk started something really cool and then decided that the fans did not like it. I would love to see the wizard culture flushed out more and her ideas about what the culture of magic is like.

I read fan fiction because I like it. I will be reading the 7th book simply for the fact that I have to know how JK ends the book even if I don't agree with the direction that she has taken the serious.

 

Funny actually, HP Universe is so appealing that nobody couldn't even be detered by the omnipresent deus-ex-machinis and numerous plot-holes.

More interesting, is how this appeal of the magical world still persist in not-english-speaking unfortunate countries. Let me tell you this story...

***

Some years ago, when OotP wasn't even released, there was a lot of talking about mysterious Harry Potter, and the Lord of the Rings. Needless to say, I was greatly intrigued by this all-encompassing conspiracy, and came to resolution to get at the roots of things. I've somehow procured pirate's copy of the existing movies about Harry Potter, and was immediately in love. I'll give you an idea how badly the movies were "translated".

***

The first scene, Dumbledore meets McGonagall:
the screwed translation / what was really said

DUMBLEDORE

I should've known that you would be here. I know, I know, the time has come...
I should've known that you would be here, Professor McGonagall.​

MCGONAGALL

Good evening, Professor Dallmandore.
Good evening, Professor Dumbledore.​

Are the prophecies coming true, Elvis?
Are the rumors true, Albus?​

DUMBLEDORE

The Professor said so: the boat and the musical band.
I'm afraid so, Professor. The good and the bad.​

MCGONAGALL

And the boy?
And the boy?​

DUMBLEDORE

Upon the agreement.
Hagrid is bringing him.​

MCGONAGALL

He seeks not vice, and trusts everything unimportant.
D'you think it wise to trust Hagrid with something so important?​

DUMBLEDORE

Yes, such is our Professor... I would trust him with my life.
Ah, Professor, I would trust Hagrid with my life.​

***

Hagrid flies in:

HAGRID

Professor Dallman, sir. I'm Professor McHarrygan.
Professor Dumbledore, sir. Professor McGonaggall.​

DUMBLEDORE

Not a problem: I trust you.
No problems, I trust, Hagrid?​

HAGRID

No, sir, magical secrets are soaring above us.
No, sir. Little tyke fell asleep just as we were flying over Bristol.​

Hands Harry over:

Try not to be amazed.
Try not to wake him.​

***

Brownie points to all who've read through this bunch of gibberish. Of course, it got only more interesting in the next scenes, but I won't bore you with that.

OK, I learned that there were books actually written about this Harry Potter, and thus found, in the depths of Internet, pirate's word for word translation, books one through four.

Half-arsed as they were, impatient fourteen years old's attempts to translate the books (before the official will appear in print), you could imagine they were little better in quality than the movies. Still, I fell in love. Still, I persisted.

It took little time to procure an official translation of the second book, done by one extremely respected, elderly literature Professor (and, naturally, a woman). Imagime with what chagrin I found, upon reading it, that the venerable Professor took it upon herself to improve JK's unskilled writings! When word-for-word translation certainly lacks quality, it lacks the numerous unexpected additions to the book as well.

Some places in that translation were truly masterpieces, they were quoted across the whole Russia and beyond. Oh, the great times! I'll show you some excerpts.

original / was translated as:

[Dudley's] bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair
Dudley's belly drooped over...

"Gerroff! Gerroff!" about Gnomes being de-gnomed.
"Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo!"

"I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand." Mother-Weasley said.
"I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things in a for-sale store that [the store] is currently being let for a trifle."

​

And the best of all:

"...My common Muggle-born mother," he added, shaking with suppressed rage. "She stopped you killing me..."
"My vulgar mother she-mugglah stopped you"... and so on.​

All in all, the "translation" smothered Rowling's style, completely cut out her 'funny-stomach-feelings' invention, flooded the book with rubber stamps, but still, despite all that, she couldn't make me un-love the Harry Potter's series.

There were protests about the Professor of course: her translation won the 'kaputt' award of the year: but the good Professor was infallible, she was widely respected, and thus could do no fault! And besides, the official translation was already released, and swept from the bookstores' bookshelves by the avid readers so fast, as though hurricane came; nobody was about to withdraw the book back, and who are we, in Russia, to complain?!

Thus, myself and many others were left with no choice but to nurture our love for Harry Potter's Universe quietly and privately, learned English language, and read the books in the original.

Some, of course, were annoyed enough to start translating the books themselves; when the hustle-and-bustle around the fifth book came, they were among another group of fourteen years olds who soon contributed the community with terrible word-for-word translation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but that'll be for a different story...

***

Well, I hope I humoured some people here. :Bows left and right and goes back to haunt the girl's toilet: Muahahahaha.

 

Yeah.. Alexeyy I got this movie too on DVD... English text didn't work (and Russian by the way) so I had to try and understand English words (I can read them but really bad at understanding speech).
I began reading books almost accidentally and the first one was only way to spend time but the third - beginning of obsession (and fan fiction reading). There are many things i hate such as pairings, oath, portkeys, JKR's Voldemort (maybe it's just me but i expected more from this character) but the idea of word itself is very appealing. 1)I liked first of all, weirdness, complicatedness (ministry, different races and est.). 2)It's not overpowered (don't count shitty fics). 3)It has some reflection of almost all world problems and social and personal problems but not overly..err..real. 4)Harry Potter himself. He is strong and special enough so you want to read about him but very "raw" character - at some point of life you can turn him into everything and believably(?).