Family Ties

[author_by_night]

 

 

            One of the (many) debates in fanfic writing is the usage of original characters. A debate within the debate is whether or not to give canon characters relatives.

   

         I believe the situation originally arose from upstaging. Helen Granger is in every way smarter than her sister – on top of being inarguably gorgeous and magically gifted. Hermione is no longer important to the trio. Or we meet Harriet Potter, who captivates Harry to the point where Ron and Hermione are but distant memories.

 

But is it fair to use those examples for arguments that no character should be  given family members?

 

            The problem with this reasoning is that first of all, it’s virtually impossible that every Potterverse character is an only child/parentless/loverless/childless/etc. We even see in OoTP and possibly HBP (if you believe  RAB is Regulus A Black), that JK Rowling herself has given characters significant siblings and relatives.

 

            So when is the line drawn? I have made a few lists. Note that I mean close relatives – siblings, spouses, grandparents, cousins, children.

 

            Some characters that are family member safe (FMS):

 

1. Mundungus Fletcher. We really don’t know that he doesn’t have a wife, even, though that’s not too likely (she probably would’ve been at an Order meeting). But a brother or sister who either considers him or herself to be far more honorable than dear Dung? Or a sibling who is actually partly why Dung hasn’t landed himself in Azkaban? An embarrassed daughter (who is out of  Hogwarts)? It could be quite interesting.

 

2. Ted Tonks. There is no reason he couldn’t have any siblings – and I think it would be interesting to see Tonks and muggle cousin. The only possible pitfall I can see here is that Tonks didn’t seem to know much about muggles, judging from OoTP. (she’s fascinated with the Dursleys and says something to the effect of “I didn’t know muggles were neat freaks, Dad’s a right slob,”). Therefore, the author would have to work carefully with the latter. Same goes with Tonks being close to muggle grandparents who are still living – then why doesn’t she seem to be that familiar with the muggle world? 

 

3. Kingsley Shacklebot. There is no evidence that he does not have any relatives, although as he has been at the Order HQ more than once on a social basis, there is little chance that he is married. But any other relative works.

 

Some characters that are only FMS with caution:

 

1.      Remus Lupin. Given his reaction to Tonks in OoTP, it is highly unlikely he is a “first war widow”, and I think it would have been mentioned if he had a child Harry’s age. Siblings are a bit hard as well – I don’t think he could have more than one, unless the others weren’t in close capacity. It’s just not likely we wouldn’t know. I myself have given Remus a younger sister, Artemis, and one plothole I’ve found is that it’s also very unlikely Remus’s parents would have had another child post- The Bite. I have since decided she wasn’t “planned”, and that we don’t see her because she’s been living abroad. A friend of mine, Linda, gives Remus a brother who was born before the bite, and who has a distant relationship with Remus. As far as parents go – I think it’s more than possible for them to still be alive.

 

2.      Severus Snape. I sincerely feel that if he does have any family members, the relationship must be written in character. Snape isn’t going to get teary over a Christmas present, and sadly, I doubt he’s ever said “I love you” past the age of five. Having Eileen Prince still be alive works, but it’s going to be a complex mother-son relationship, if there’s any at all.

 

3.      Albus Dumbledore. This one is tricky, because it’s mixed. On one hand, you’d think any living relative of Dumbledore’s would be known about. On the other, nobody has pointed out who Aberforth is, and Aberforth is never mentioned when Dumbledore is ridiculed for his other ties (ie  Remus and Moody). Is it because Dumbledore’s less famous than we think? Or is it because Aberforth is a recluse? Or is it a flint? It’s tricky, and when adding any other loved ones, this must be kept in mind. It’s also worth noting that Dumbledore is somewhat distant.

 

4.      Ron. We already heard of an Aunt Muriel, and it’s possible he has more relatives. But once again, this has to be worked with. Why, if he does, do we never see or hear of them? As far as the “seventh brother/sister goes”, it’s possible (after all, Ron has never mentioned that at least two close relatives died because of Death Eaters), but not too likely. I think this, at least, would have been mentioned at some point. Wouldn’t Molly have mentioned losing a child?

 

5.      Hermione. Grandparents, cousins, and such? That works. But please, no little sister. That’s been ruled out.

 

Some characters that are almost definitely not FMS:

 

1.      Harry. By now, we would know. The only way this could  be possible is if Lily had miscarried, and still, I think Sirius or Remus would’ve told him. And if he had a living sibling out there, Dumbledore would have mentioned it. Wouldn’t he say, “and by the way Harry, while you’re Horcrux Hunting, keep an eye out for a girl with red hair and green eyes?” Finally, JKR has made it clear that all close relatives of Harry’s are dead. I suppose one could work with an extremely distant relative (I’m sure he must have some), but that’s all.

 

2.      Sirius. We’ve met all his relatives (except Andromeda), and we know he was never married. Distant kin is probable, but I doubt he has a sister or a brother who simply never appeared on the tree.

 

I do want to note that for the most part, fics that were written prior to there being any reason for these characters not to have close relatives, AU fics, and RPG’s don’t count (the latter being because in many RPG’s, canon is disregarded to some extent anyway). If you planned a novel length fanfic about Sirius’s wife pre-JKR’s site and/or pre-OoTP/HBP, keep writing it, but note that it is no longer canon.

 

Back on topic. What should one look for when giving a character a close family member? It’s not too hard.

 

1.      Upstaging. This goes for any OC  - they should not upstage the canon role of a character. If you want to have an OC think Dumbledore isn’t always right, that’s fine – plenty of people do. But don’t have that Dumbledore eats “Mudbloods” for dinner. He has faults, but one of his strong points is muggle tolerance. Don’t take that away.

 

2.      Implausibility. There is no way that Harry’s twin sister crawled out of the rubble and was found by a lovely American couple. Wouldn’t Hagrid have mentioned not being able to find Harriet? Wouldn’t Sirius have accused Peter of killing Harriett too?

 

3.      Immediate Redemption. If Snape finds out he has an illegitimate child, he will not immediately soften up and sing “Amazing Grace.”  It is more

      likely that he will bang his head against the wall, and pretend he doesn’t believe it. If he does believe it.

 

4.      Parallels that are a tad too ironic. Harriet doesn’t have to have a moon shaped scar on her chin.

It is not always taboo to write family relationships; the problem is that sometimes, family members “butt in.” But perhaps even that is a reflection of real life!

 

(Note: Sorry if the formatting is a tad off, I copied this from word. <i>Please</i> don't only comment with that unless it honestly makes it impossible to read.  Thanks).

Comments

[pinkpolarity.livejournal.com]

a lot of what I enjoy in reading fanfiction is more of the sociology, how the wizarding world works, how different people react to it. One of the best ways of doing that is through the eyes of a OC. I don't think you should dismiss having a main character be an original character out of hand

World-driven fic vs. character-driven fic. *nods* I'm a worldficcer myself, and I write primarily OC-centric stories for that exact reason, to give an outsider perspective on a familiar world.

As far as OCs as main characters, I agree with the OP in that they shouldn't upstage the canon characters' role (emphasis mine). IMO, an OC can be the star of their particular story, but their plot should be distinct-- they should not, for instance, be the brightest witch of their generation, or be the one tasked with saving the world from Voldemort. Give them something to do which doesn't interfere with what the canon characters are doing.

[lynnet.livejournal.com]

I hope this goes to the author of the post as well.

I'm sorry, I misunderstood, I thought that by saying an OC shouldn't upstage a canon character's role that you meant an OC should never be a main character in a fic. It didn't occur to me that you meant they should not take the place of a canon character. Sorry about that. I totally agree with you that if you're going to have an OC you should make him/her their own person, not just use them as an excuse to make another Harry, only without all of the pesky canon restrictions on who Harry is.

Also, mind linking me to some of your fics? It's so hard to find good OC centric fics....