I'm about to piss a
loooooot of people off.
So in case you haven't
heard, J.K. Rowling has released a new short story taking place after the
original Harry Potter novels. I have yet to have a chance to read it. From what
I understand though, it takes place from the perspective of Reeta Skeeter and talks
a bit about what some of the characters are doing. That's fine and all, I would
be okay knowing what some of the Potter gang is up to a few years later. Here
is the thing though, there was a LOT in the Potter books that left me a little
bit frustrated after book 7 was finished. I'll go ahead and list some of the
bigger ones for you.
1. Was Voldemort really the only dark wizard worth
mentioning?
So I will fully admit, Voldemort
was one bad mofo. Guy split his soul a bunch of times at a crack at
immortality, went attacking a newborn and just about brought both the wizarding
world as well as the muggle world down on its knees. But lets look at the real
world for a minute, specifically the Nazi party. One of the biggest reasons we
like World War II so much is because we had a bad guy that pretty much
everybody can hate and Hitler was the incarnation of that evil. When we killed
off Hitler though, did that get rid of all the other bad guys? Hell no it
didn't! Now we have terrorists and cyber criminals and Wall Street and whoever
it is you want to claim is the current evil overlord. Let's also look at
another fiction series, one with a lot of similarities to the Harry Potter
universe. Star Wars. When they killed the emperor, did that stop the empire?
No, it kept chugging. Pretty sure Harry has got a few Death Eaters to clean up.
Let’s not forget there are probably massive amounts of cults now worshiping Voldemort
and trying all sorts of weird magic to bring him back.
There is also the
possibility of completely different factions coming out of nowhere. Who's to
say it has to even be a dark wizard, it could just be a very smart wizard
dedicated to stealing priceless artifacts. There are a ton of possibilities,
one of which I will get to later.
Let me start by saying
that I am not a huge Draco Malfoy fan boy. I don't write fan fiction about him
and Harry. I don't have a huge slew of shirts dedicated to his image. (I don't
think I have ANY Harry Potter merchandise now that I think of it.) I don't
swear my allegiance to Slytherin. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would be in
Hufflepuff. But Draco was starting to become one of the more interesting characters
in the series. The specific point I remember being the scene in the bathroom.
If you don't remember the scene, I think it was in book 6, Harry stumbles upon
Draco crying to the ghost Moaning Myrtle. This is the first time we see Draco
as something more than just a spoiled brat. We see him as someone who puts up a
facade to hide his true anxiety from the world. And let’s face it, being asked
to murder Dumbledore would be a daunting task for anybody, let alone someone
who isn't even old enough to drink yet.
In literature, you never
mention something unless it's important to the story right then and there or if
it will become important later on. This scene was setting Draco up to become a
more central character, something deeper than just the rival. And what was that
pay off?
JACK SHIT!
We see Draco running
away and then the fantastic trio saves him. That's it. No big coming of age or
realizing that he can be more. He simply falls back into his comfortable
stereotype. That made me nearly rip my hair out. In the epilogue, it was even
worse. He simply nods towards Harry as if they now have some weird bond between
them. Like not friends but not enemies. Well guess what, NOTHING HAPPENED THAT
BROUGHT THAT ABOUT! If anything, I would still see Draco as they guy who was on
the other side of the battle. The only reason no charges were brought up
against him was because he was a minor.
A new book series would
go a long way in giving Draco what he deserves, a fully completed character
arc. I'm thinking having to overcome alcoholism while explaining to his son his
past as part of the wizarding Nazi party.
3. Wand law
made absolutely no sense.
This one is a pretty
common complaint about the 7th book. Specifically that there is absolutely no
mention of want law before book 7. This is the exact reason you need to explain
rules for your universe way before they take effect. Because otherwise it
becomes a Deus Ex Machina. In case you don't know what that is, it's Latin for
"god from the machine." It's a plot device that comes out of nowhere
to save the day at the last minute. If Rowling had mentioned and followed the
rules of wand law from the beginning, like when wands are being explained or
when they have a dueling club in book 2, then this wouldn't have been such a
big deal. However it comes from nowhere and it's a pretty big sin for a
writer.
Now that we've explained why I believe there could be a
new book in the series, let me explain why the conflict should be between
magical and non-magical people. Again I break this down into a list
format.
Wizards are afraid of
muggles.
In the books, wizards
and witches are portrayed as thinking of muggles as quaint magic less
creatures. Often times saying how they wonder how they live without magic. This
is very much a sentiment pushed on the people by the government. For starters,
which has been restricting wizards and witches from revealing themselves to the
muggles for a very long time. And why is that. The ministry of magic would have
you believe that muggles are simply an annoyance. At one point in there
learning, the gang is taught about a witch that would cast a spell on herself
so that the fire from being burned at the stake wouldn't hurt, but would feel
like a tickle. The wizard government would claim they hid away from muggles
because they were a daily annoyance, like a fly or something. Here's the thing
though, you don't take an entire society into hiding because you’re annoyed.
You do it because you’re
afraid.
Let’s also face it, the
wizard government was corrupted, and what does a corrupt government do? Try to
control the people. It's a lot easier to control a complacent herd then it is a
bunch of fearful mice hiding between the cracks of society. So you promote
being ignorant, making fun of those who are interested in the muggles and
portraying them as simpletons not worthy of a threat.
But if any wizard were
to become steeped in real muggle culture for very long, they would learn that
humans are dangerous beasts. We don't need a wand and a magic word to kill you.
We have guns, which would be unaffected by magic's effect on technology. Most
guns don't have electronics in them, they are elaborate machines that trigger a
basic chemical reaction that launches bits of metal at lethal speeds. Unless a
wizard or witch had a chance to put up a barrier, a stealth attack would be very
effective. I also highly doubt that anybody has had a chance to research a
spell on cleaning up nuclear fallout, making an atomic bomb very effective if
you couldn't find your exact target. Hogwarts anyone?
It only takes one
organization.
The wonderful thing
about humans is that there are so many of us and we have so many different
ideas and beliefs about the world. Quite a few people would find the idea of
wizards and witches hiding among us as kind of cool and fascinating. But what
if your, let’s say, a religious leader. It's no small secret that quite a few
fundamentalist groups still see which craft as the devils work. In fact, many
families band the famous Harry Potter books from there house for fear it would
change their Children into devil worshipers.
It's a well-known fact
that the Ministry of Magic would communicate with the prime minister of
Britain. That same could probably be said about the US, Canada, Australia,
anywhere where wizards are gathered. But what if Wizards revealed themselves to
the wrong person. There are a ton of crazy dictators out there and not all
politicians are as they seem. If you ask a conspiracy theorist, there are tons
of shadow armies ran by the government that we citizens aren't aware of. It
would not be hard to fight a secret war. It would also be easy to hide the
expenses. Simply claim that all the money is going to anti-terrorist programs.
If anybody asks anymore, just say it's classified.
It would make for some
awesome scenes.
This is my weakest
argument, I will fully admit it. But I want to paint a picture for you. Imagine
the dining hall at Hogwarts. All the children of the characters from the first
series are enjoying a grand feast, let’s say for Halloween. Everyone is
gathered in one spot, oblivious to the world around them. Moments later, a
small object flies through one of the windows, trailing a grey mist from
behind. Many more follow through the other windows. The smoke begins to build
up as the teachers tell the children to make their way out of the hall. However
the doors are stuck and cannot be opened by any force. People are reaching for their
wands to blow it open, but they can't utter the enchantment due to the smoke
now filling their lungs. Within moments, men in black repel down from the
ceiling wearing gas masks, brandishing silenced pistols they use to quickly
take out the adults. Throughout the rest of the school, the same paramilitary
men sweep for any that were not present at the feast. Within moments, Hogwarts
is under the control of an organization hell bent on eradicating the magic
menace.
Who is the wizarding
world going to turn to? I'll tell you who. The man who defeated the greatest
dark wizard ever, the man who eradicated the corruption in the governments
police force and one of the most famous wizards of all time, Harry
Potter.
If this sounds like a
bad spy movie, that's because it is. But it can work. It could also give Rowling
a chance to complete unfinished story arcs *cough cough Draco* as well as give
characters whole new ones. Maybe Harry isn't always the best father. He didn't
have the best father figures growing up. What if one of his sons did end up in
Slytherin like his one son was afraid of. Saying you’re okay with something and
actually being okay with it is two entirely separate things and could lead to
some very interesting family drama.
It would also give
Rowling a chance to explore themes not explored in the previous books. Maybe
muggle isn't the best term to call a non-magic person. I've always thought of
it as sounding offence at least. We could also see some of the trauma the
wizarding world has faced since Voldemort’s reins. Perhaps Harry's popularity
has dropped since then thanks to some unpopular decisions in order to clean up
the Aurors department. There are all kinds of possibilities that would lead to
some amazing set pieces as well as honest to god drama that goes deeper than
the first series could ever HOPE to reach.
But hey, that's just my
tiny opinion. Do you think there is a better villain for the sequel series? Do
you even think there SHOULD be a sequel series? Leave your theories and
thoughts in the comments. I would love to see some of them.
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