"Harry" in fanfiction is basically just a name authors give characters with widely varying personalities (compare TheSanti's story to, say, "A Black Comedy"), so I normally just sit back and see if I like the character the author has decided Harry Potter to be.

 

It started as just drinks and a movie, but quickly...


Oh, wait.

Do you mean did JKR succeed in creating an identifiable protagonist for the audience? Yea, she did; the reader is supposed to be supportive of the main character, otherwise they have no incentive to get emotionally invested in their success.

 

He owes me money.

 

Judging by my current fic, I enjoy making him suffer.

 

Like Revan said Harry's a sympathetic character, I always felt J.K tried to keep him relatable to both extremes of normal personality's along with having personal flaws as well (ex. His anger).

 

Just a bit of light petting in the broom cupboards.

 

I worry about his addiction to pop culture and Burger King, and his tendency to burn down buildings, but I think he's going to make a great dad once his life has settled down a bit.

 

My relationship with Harry a good time in my teenage years. If i got stressed i always could enjoy my time destressing with Harry and his friends. Even if i like some OC!Harry better now that i am an adult-

 

Generally i don't mind how much out of character he is as long as there is some resemblance of the original Harry Potter in there. I'm not a big fan of authors that, for example, give harry a brother then proceed to make harry the oc and the oc harry just with the names switched. i get that they are trying to make their oc relatable by giving him the connection to the name Harry Potter, but when Nathan/Daniel/Charlie potter act exactly like cannon harry and Harry is basically the oc it is a little annoying.

 

Can't stand that weak idiot that is canon Harry. Fanfiction on the other hand....who ever knows?????

 

He is my favorite character. I mostly read Harry centric fics. I cannot tolerate if he is made a secondary character who does nothing in non Harry centric fics.

 

This is a bit tangential to the topic, but although I never felt as though the books gave the possibility Harry would end up a titan of magic like Dumbledore, I did find the later books a little hollow in their change of message.

The Harry of books 1-5 largely faces his problems with grit and determination, and succeeds due to self-improvement (and the aid of friends and stonking piles of luck).

By contrast in book 6 he seems to stagnate, there is no particular drive to improve and he is a fairly passive agent as both Dumbledore and Malfoy drive the plot forwards.

In book 7 he goes camping and then wins due to a quirk of wandlore. The positive characteristic on his part being changed from an active drive to succeed against the odds to a slightly less heartening willingness to die for his friends, which while admirable appealed to me less than the determination of early series Harry.

Sorry for the ramble!

 

He owes me child support. Bitch better have my money

 

I can't stand Groupies!Harry or Angsty!Harry. Regardless of when the angst happens.

I prefer The Santi's style of Harry. Magically gifted but somewhat morally skewed. I used to really love well written Indy!Harry because it partially did that.

 

I find most magically gifted harry stories go over board. The Santi's story, was the only one I have seen that actually show harry practicing and studying. His version of Harry really seems like what a gifted individual can achieve.

 

@Legend, IMO the best part of that story was that it's realistic about those who have more power thinking less about others and more about what they stand to gain by using tool X / delving into morally-dubitable field Y.

 

I like canon Harry in that he was relate-able. However he also was a bit tiresome because he rarely seemed to grow as a character or learn from his mistakes. However I feel that if his name is used in a fiction then it is better that he has some similarities to canon Harry. The main character doesn't need his name though I understand that it sells the story more. I do want major differences or the fiction wont be that appealing.

 

I think a lot of people often overlook one of the main messages of the series, that being wise, learning from your experiences is more important than being smart and talented.

He didn't stand out even among his peers in that respect. But by the end of the series what he seemingly lacked in power and all round general awesomeness (according to some) he more than made up for by learning from his mistakes and that of others(mainly Dumbledore and Voldemort) and by doing that he proved himself to be wiser than every character in the series. He also demonstrated an understanding of magic that rivaled that of Dumbledore's and superior to Voldemort's.

I, for one was satisfied with the direction canon went(though I believe the deathly hallows as a concept should've been introduced earlier in the series). It gave us a relatable hero who didn't need hacked up superpowers to defeat the villain.

 

I see canon Harry as a Lucky SOB with mommy issues (redheads...), I've no problem with the guy, but I care about him about as much as I cared about the top jock in high school...