Prince of the Dark Kingdom, which looks to be about 90% of a seven year AU, featuring probably the best Voldemort in fanfic, and a pretty awesome Harry who's still recognisable from canon. Hasn't been updated in about a year though.

ABC is (I assume) A Black Comedy, where an older Harry winds up falling through the Veil and finds himself in an alternate dimension, along with Sirius. Hilarity ensues.

 

POTDK - Prince of the Dark Kingdom

ABC - A Black Comedy

CR - Circular Reasoning

cbf to make links

 

I guess my ideal Harry would be one that is interesting to read about. I'm not really too picky about his personality changes as long as they reflect the world that's been written around him and he hasn't been powered down/up to the point where the conflict is too hard or too easy.

All of my favorite fanon Harrys have excellent worlds as well such as POTDK, Unatoned or Wastelands of Time.

 

Out of the stories I've read recently? I'd add Renegade Harry to the list.

 

My preference tends to be towards smarter and higher skill level, but it has to make sense.

 

Mostly, what I prefer in a Harry is agency. Harrys that just let things happen to them can be frustrating, especially if the Harry is presented or said to be one that is action-oriented. Sometimes it seems like this happens because authors set up their 'superbadass!harry' who takes no shit, but then actually ends up taking shit, because the author doesn't want to deal with the consequences.

I don't always like angst fics because it seems that Harry loses all agency in many of them. I think angst is better represented by having actions overly driven by grief and moodiness (like canon) rather than a harry who curls up and cries all day, thus taking no action at all.

 

Hardcore fan of katana wielding godlike harem loving Harry's who can cause nuclear explosions by simply farting. Nope, lies. Shit like that actually exists, funnily enough, and its so bloody cringe worthy.

My ideal Harry is similar to canon, with many similar traits, but a bit more competent than canon Harry, who's remarkably inept at times. For example, my ideal Harry can cast more spells than canon, and is slightly more powerful, withouth entering god-like territory. A bit more ruthless then canon, but not by much, since I like to have similar traits in fanon Harry and canon Harry.

 

I actually have no problem with God-Harry, as long as the focus on the story is not his power, as I have no desire to see a character accomplish everything with ease, but instead, I would prefer the story to focus on his mindset, how he cannot relate to others because of the gap between them, his apathy, boredom, etc.

 

I like a glory loving, heroic Harry, one that measures up to all of Snapes expectations and is pretty much the epitome of Gryffindor. I like a Harry that basks in the attention rather than rejecting it.

 

Like most I prefer stories that have a cannon feel, and thus Harry's accordingly brave, happy to have friends and a new world. I feel that cannon Harry was a bit of a dumbass in certain, many, ways and thus stories where he is more enterprising are appreciated.

Also stories where the magical world is explored, specifically the application of magic, so again A Harry who is more like his parents in that regard is appreciated because there seems to be some fun to be had in the myriad ways of magic.

 

Our Most Holy Inquisition Glorious Administratum (team) has massively incentivized posting for both newer and older members.

While this will increase forum activity and stave off forum entropy, the cost is an inevitable increase in shitposts. Hopefully, it will only be temporary.

 

It's interesting to see everyone else's thoughts and opinions on this. I agree with a few others in that a good Harry is one that might be somewhat extrapolated from canon, but not one with totally new and different characteristics coming out of nowhere.

It's a common desire to want the main character to be strong, but Harry has just never struck me as a prodigy or magical powerhouse that is able to be on the level of Voldemort while he's a teenager.

If Harry is going to diverge from the Harry we know in canon to any great degree, I at least think it's more realistic for him to do while he's older. Both have been mentioned, but for un-orthodox Harry characters I think Unatoned and Circular Reasoning both did a really good job with it.

 

I honestly prefer Harry as a side character, or perhaps a totally revamped character, a la "Jamie Evans and Fate's Bitch". He's just too damn passive to be in the lead role, and anything that super-powers him makes him an entirely different character.