Appealing to the Hive Mind

[kerravonsen]

Hello mes amies.
(Darn, I need a Harry Potter icon)

Given that it looks like my Harry Potter Harry-in-the-Library pre-Hogwarts AU is going to win in the finish-a-thon, there are some things I'd like your thoughts on.

Should I have wee!Harry make friends with someone? In canon, he couldn't because he couldn't get away from Dudley and the Dursleys, but in this story, he has two ways of doing so:
1) In the library.
2) By Apparating somewhere. (Yes, this Harry will teach himself to apparate after the incident on the kitchen roof).

The problem with the Library idea is that the librarian is very strict and wouldn't allow anyone to talk. (Mind you, being strict is one reason why the library is a refuge, so I'm not going to change that)

The problem with the Apparition is that it's not like Harry is going to be able to go anywhere he hasn't been before. He's not going to be able to just appear in Diagon Alley, for example. So the chances of meeting with someone and making friends are still slim.

Even if I could figure out a plausible way that Harry could make friends with someone, the most likely thing is that this person would be a Muggle. This means that once Harry gets to Hogwarts, that person will be out of the picture. Yes, Harry could write letters, but how would they write back? And Harry could be in violation of the Secrecy Act if he wrote letters to someone he's not related to. So I'm not sure if it's even worth trying to give Harry a friend. Except that it would be nice if Harry had a friend.

Help?

Comments

[fred_mouse]

I *always* want Harry to have friends, even when the story isn't about him. What about a friend who he never talks to, that they just do nice things for each other in the library? Such as the friend-to-be walking past the desk that Harry is sitting at, and dropping something on the table, which turns out to be something that Dudley nicked and threw in the bushes/a book for Harry to read/some other obvious thing I should have though of, which in turn requires Harry to find something to do for them? It could progress to notes in books (eg. "The third story is the best"), or any number of things. I want there to be lollies, or chocolate bars, or something, so that Harry has some idea of what sweets there are in the Muggle world (not sure how else he is going to learn about what he likes).

Or it could be someone who saw the apparition, and knew what it was (squib child of squid parents?), rather than thinking he had just run away.

[kerravonsen]

I'm thinking more and more that the friend, if there is one, needs to be a Muggle, because part of the fun of this story is going to be Harry doing magic while thinking that it's something more science-fictional, like mind powers.

which turns out to be something that Dudley nicked and threw in the bushes

I like that idea.

[fred_mouse]

Ah, with the premise that Harry thinks that he has mind-powers, rather than magic, the need for the friend to be a Muggle is much more obvious! And I'm convinced that Harry isn't Dudley's only victim, so it would be reasonable that more than one kid is hiding out in the bushes.

[tptigger]

Huh? OK, I get the ministry doesn't mind so much accidental magic for those under 11, but somehow I can't see them letting something huge like underage apparition slide... (Also is he apparating or teleporting, those rules seem awfully famliar...)

Him having a Muggle friend who sort of disappeared after Harry "went away to boarding school" IE Hogwarts...

Though I bet he could have Hermione's parents drop things in the post after first year....

[kerravonsen]

Well, this is set mostly before Harry turns 11, so everything he does before Hogwarts would be classed as "accidental magic", because they can't concieve that someone without a wand could do magic that wasn't accidental.
I'm talking about Harry making a friend before he gets to Hogwarts, so the "accidental magic" umbrella still applies.

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Maybe Harry could make friends with someone who is even stricter about the library quiet policy than most would be? And thus has ways of getting around it--they write notes to each other, or maybe the friend is Deaf and teaches Harry some sign? (That's totally Izh's remix version of this story, sorry. *g*)

[kerravonsen]

or maybe the friend is Deaf and teaches Harry some sign?

Oh, now that's an interesting idea.
(Of course, you're aware of that because of your awesome job, yes)

I wonder if I could get away with having a Deaf character when I myself don't know sign language (very much... I once taught myself the letters, but I've forgotten most of it).

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

A friend or someone to relate to would be good as a sounding board. Someone he can talk to would give the reader more of an insight into Harry without too much introspection.

It could be a book character and Harry just sort of talks to him/her in his head. Or is that a bit meta considering you would then have a fictional character having a fictional conversation with another supposedly fictional character. :¬D

Of course, if the person he meets is also trying to understand why strange things are happening around them, they'd have something in common. Someone like Hermione, for instance, would try researching things like magic and folklore as well as science. After all the answer to everything can be found in a book! It also means they would end up in Hogwarts too.

[kerravonsen]

I find it hard to justify there being another Muggleborn at Harry's primary school when there wasn't one in canon. 8-/

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

From my experience of primary school libraries(British at that), there is a small selection of books in each classroom. There is a group of bookshelves in a hall that is accessible to particular year groups. Too small to warrant a librarian. In Britain in State run schools, this is the norm. I should know I attended two and my daughter another one.

You only encounter librarians in Public Libraries, not at primary school.

[kerravonsen]

Oh, interesting. At my primary school in Australia, we did have a library and a librarian. Of course, the local public library was much bigger, but still...