A general thread for discussion of the Harry Potter books. Any new books set in the same world are also on-topic.
Games, films and other adaptations may be more appropriate for other threads if they're being discussed in isolation.
The HBO tv series has its own thread
.
Mod Notes:
- Media threads are primarily for fans of the works they cover. Not everyone will like everything, of course, and that's especially true in a franchise like Harry Potter. It's fine to say a particular story within the franchise doesn't work for you, or to talk about why it doesn't work for you. But please try not to dwell on the negativity for too long. Complaints shouldn't take up too much space on a thread that's intended for fans.
- This is a thread to talk about Harry Potter and the content of the stories, not a place to talk about J. K. Rowling's more controversial views. If there's something newsworthy where Rowling's activities become relevant (e.g. it affects her relationship to new Potter works and adaptations), that's fair enough. Otherwise it's all been said already and we don't need to repeat it.
there doesn't seem to be a general HP topic...
Edited by Mrph1 on May 27th 2025 at 9:17:24 AM
Then again, if Harry Potter is cloned early enough, does it actually mean anything? They just need to add flashbacks of his parents' death, and that can be accomplished as convenient. He may notice, but would he remember?
- Unless he needs to deal with a four year lifespan.
You know, there's another way to get a post mortem replacement...
- "Potter, you smell...Argh, my precious brains!"
- Unfortunately, this runs the risk of having Vampire Potter...
You know all those life and death situations Harry always escaped?
What if he didn't? What if every book starts off with a fresh clone? And somewhere in Hogwarts all the dead clones are kept in stasis?
@ Jewely: Wrong trope I guess.
A similar situation is that of the Slytherins. We're told that not Slytherins are evil, but because Harry (and Ron and pretty much everyone else) don't believe this at all. We're only shown maybe five Slytherins that aren't either evil or cowards. Show vs. Tell. We're TOLD Slytherin is not the House of Evil, we're SHOWN that it is. Dumbledore even tells Harry he thought Snape was sorted into the wrong house.
The same thing shows up in Ron/Hermione. We get some indication that Ron's attracted to her in GOF. The thread is dropped in OOTP (unless you count the continued hints that have been mentioned) and it comes back in full force in HBP. Why didn't Harry ever think that maybe, just maybe, Ron might have a crush on his best friend? After the Yule Ball fiasco? Is Harry so dumb he can't put two and two together?
edited 7th Feb '11 5:36:14 PM by Medicus
It's not over. Not yet.The Slytherin thing is one of my few major gripes with the series. We're shown... one major Slytherin that has never gone evil in their whole lives, isn't openly racist, and/or doesn't appear to hate somebody with an unnecessary fervor. That one Slytherin also happens to be a fairly detestable nepotistic self-serving prick - though his film portrayal is a lot less... rough around the edges (though honestly everyone's film version is like that).
The rest of them are all extremely unpleasant people who got a taste of real evil and decided too late they'd rather be unpleasant on their own. No wonder the fandom excessively vilifies Regulus retroactively - he's the only one we don't know for sure was an asshole.
But Rowling keeping telling us the Slytherins aren't all bad. Though some of that can be explained by it being Harry's POV - I'm sure beyond his year there are some Slytherins who get along with the other houses, occasionally we got scenes of all the houses mingling, though those were more common earlier in the series.
edited 7th Feb '11 5:35:17 PM by KnownUnknown
Blaise Zabini isn't an asshole racist. Instead he falls into the other Slytherin role, cowardly yes-men Quislings.
How hard would it have been for one member of the DA to be a Slytherin?
It's not over. Not yet.Well, he does use the word "Mudblood."
Though Zabini's the only Slytherin I like, because while he apparently hates people, he apparently hates everybody, his fellow Slytherins (read: Death Eaters) included, with a snarky disdain. Him being the only Slytherin we see to take a dig at Draco made my day.
edited 7th Feb '11 5:51:46 PM by KnownUnknown
Hmm...Harry Potter clone Zerg Rush? Man, that'd be pretty horrifying, only having vague memories of a year and the occassional important event...sheesh, that's me!
- Makes me wonder whether the clone gets dominant or recessive genes.
I'm gonna bring up my Stable Time Loop Harry idea again (Link
).
Blaise Zabini. Slytherin in the same year as Harry. Black guy. His mother's had seven husbands and they all died under suspicious circumstances. Not a fan of Voldemort but doesn't want anything to do with muggle-borns or muggles.
Unless you're in fanfiction land, where she's a blond Italian girl with [Insert personality here].
Making OCs out of Slytherins is fairly common, given all we have are names.
It's not over. Not yet.Blaise Zabini, Monster Clown!
[[tvtropes.org/pmwiki/lb_i.php?lb_id=12919183980B30760200 Liveblog of]] John Carter Of MarsBlaise Zabini, master of the Burning Finger, and leader of the Slythrin Alliance!
Somehow I'm picturing Harry Potter with an Evangelion Mind Screw ending. Or at least Komm, Susser, Tod for the last book.
- Go well with Cloning Blues Harry Potter.
"People need a hero..."
- "I intend to give them several."
- "No sleeping on the job, Harry my boy. Rise and shine, Mr. Potter. Wake up, and smell the ashes."
edited 9th Feb '11 10:17:05 AM by DrRockopolis
[[tvtropes.org/pmwiki/lb_i.php?lb_id=12919183980B30760200 Liveblog of]] John Carter Of Mars"Oh, hello Harry. I was just telling Harry and Dumbledore here about the benefits of mass production."
[[tvtropes.org/pmwiki/lb_i.php?lb_id=12919183980B30760200 Liveblog of]] John Carter Of Mars'Watch your back, spell straight, conserve magic, and never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon.'
- Might make for an interesting Fan Fiction.
- His potential discovered, Harry Potter leaves the orphanarium at the tender age of eleven to attend Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and WizardryMagecraft and Shamanism, a subsidiary of Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries, Thaumaturgic Branch. - Magical Education Division Senior Vice President Dumbledore serves as headmaster, and Harry will be given the most cost-effective and efficient education in magic available, with teachers such as;
- Binns 1.03, the corporate history teachsoft
Hans GruberSeverus Snape, alchemist and enchantments
- His potential discovered, Harry Potter leaves the orphanarium at the tender age of eleven to attend Hogwarts School of
- Hmm...who would be the Death Eater stand in? Some kind of Shadowrunner, but who? Rival Corporation (or that might be Durmstrange and Beaubaxtons)? Ecoterrorists? Socialists (Dirty commies)?
Hmm...Voldermort could be a rogue Aztechnology shadowrunner. His return from the dead? Cybermancy.
- Or he could be a Toxic Shaman or an Insect Spirit...
Alternatively, Hogwarts could be a clandestine, possibly anti-corporate school.
What would the Sorceror's Stone be? A magical artifact? Orichalcum? A leftover from Dunkelzhan's will? An unlicensed nanoforge? Depends on what Hogwarts is, but hah, maybe Harry and co are stealing it, rather than protecting it.
Hmm...I can see Harry as a Mystic Adept, Hermione as a Magician, and Ron as an Adept...
edited 9th Feb '11 7:03:36 PM by DrRockopolis
[[tvtropes.org/pmwiki/lb_i.php?lb_id=12919183980B30760200 Liveblog of]] John Carter Of Mars

Ginny did a spread in Playwizard to pay for Wizard College. She went on to have a moderately successful career designing handbags for rich socialites and their dogs.
Draco Malfoy became a children's entertainer.
Lavender Brown did donkey shows in Tijuana.
Percy Weasley left the Ministry to work as a Drover in Australia.
Hagrid became Headmaster of Hogwarts after McGonagall resigned to work at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
It's not over. Not yet.