Brainstorming, or Perhaps Second-Guessing
Jul. 10th, 2012 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerravonsenOkay, so I'm writing a Harry Potter AU, set pre-Hogwarts. At this point in the story, Harry is nine. He does some accidental magic due to panic, the consequences of which freak him out (the details don't matter). This Harry doesn't know anything about magic, he thinks it's psi powers. But as I said, this particular thing freaks him out, and he wants to ensure he doesn't do it again. But as it was accidental, he can't be sure he won't. So what can Harry do about it?
His resources are:
* the public library
* his primary school?
That's about it.
Any ideas about what he could do? Could he train himself not to panic? How? What about mental disciplines? Is there something he could learn out of a library book? If so, what book or books? This is set in 1989, remember.
His resources are:
* the public library
* his primary school?
That's about it.
Any ideas about what he could do? Could he train himself not to panic? How? What about mental disciplines? Is there something he could learn out of a library book? If so, what book or books? This is set in 1989, remember.
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Date: 2012-07-10 01:52 pm (UTC)Too late for him to watch OSTP, too early for NSTP or Babylon 5. New Age-y meditation books? As an SF fan, that would probably be the first thing I'd try, something that's supposed to unlock your mental whatever... *waves hands*
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Date: 2012-07-10 10:57 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-07-11 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-11 03:24 am (UTC)There's no problem in regard to Harry getting hold of SF; that's the premise of the story, actually: that Harry got into reading SF and thus thinks that the "accidents" that happen around him are psi powers. I'm more interested in figuring out how to make it plausible that Harry would learn something non-fictional that would teach him mental discipline. The most likely contenders are meditation or martial arts. But I've read far too many stories in which an AU Harry learns martial arts and then proceeds to be a Super!Harry and pwn everyone. Mind you I'd love a plausible way of Harry learning martial arts because that opens up a lot of interesting avenues for character development, but I really don't want him to become a Super!Harry who makes everyone around him look like idiots. And I certainly don't want to send Harry in a New Age direction.
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Date: 2012-07-11 03:32 am (UTC)Hmm. I think if he gets into reading SF, he wouldn't have trouble finding books at the library about unexplained phenomena. If he were talking to a skilled reference librarian, she would probably be able to guide him to books on meditation and psychic powers. I know after reading the New Agey book, I had to go find out more about it, and that was in pre-Internet days, so I was doing my research at the library. I read books on ESP and tried doing those tests with the symbols to see if I had ESP (I don't! LOL). So I think it's conceivable that he could find his way to books that might at least partially shape how he related to his powers.
One thing I am not sure about--the librarian might have to be a bit anachronistic, because I'm not sure if librarians back then were as militant, so to speak, about freedom of information, as they are today. In library school, we had it drilled into us that librarians aren't censors or moral guides--we're meant to provide reliable sources of information about anything the library patron wants to know. But since I was 13 in 1989, I can't say what the ruling principles were at that time. I can say that as a library user, I was able to find those books, but I don't remember whether it was with the librarian's help, or just using the card catalogue.
Not sure if that's any help to you, but just my two cents. :)
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Date: 2012-07-13 02:09 pm (UTC)In terms of books - Greenwitch had aspects of controlling self helps with controlling the supernatural.
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Date: 2012-07-10 01:17 pm (UTC)The film contains the concept of mental focus and control and using movement to calm yourself down - I reckon he could have known about these techniques from the film and then practiced them to try not to panic? Or maybe he knew a bit about martial arts from the film and then used the library to learn more?
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Date: 2012-07-10 11:11 pm (UTC)I like the idea, but I don't know how plausible it is.
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Date: 2012-07-11 09:24 am (UTC)Could his school have had a peripatetic teacher who came in one afternoon a week? They could point him in the right direction and answer some questions?
I went to a village primary school in the SE of England, and we had quite a few peri teachers, I think that group classes were paid for by the school and then individual lessons by parents, so he could have attended a group lesson...
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Date: 2012-07-11 01:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-11 01:16 pm (UTC)I shall join as I can probably contribute to quite a lot of the questions!
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Date: 2012-07-11 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-07-11 03:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-11 04:06 pm (UTC)I've just looked over on hp_britglish - I don't think that they're contradicting - these lessons aren't called electives - they were just lessons/ clubs put on by the school.
Also relevant will be that I went to a village school - there wasn't a sports centre in the village so quite a lot of sports were included at school - the nearest sports centre was in the town about 5 miles away.
I'll post a comment over there and ask if anyone else had peri teachers - see if we can find some consensus for you!
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Date: 2012-07-11 04:52 pm (UTC)kingsleyschoolbideford.co.uk/Junior-School/Junior-Staff.aspx
tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Team-games-edged-out-of-curriculum-Sport-in-Scotland-299821/
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Date: 2012-07-10 03:14 pm (UTC)Though if he's leaning towards science rather than magic There were books on the paranormal too. I remember from my own explorations at a slightly earlier date (1985) a book written by Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff. Though I don't remember the title, it wasn't Mind Reach which is what I found by Googling.
Again he'd have to sneak a look in the Adult section. As I went to a branch library and such things were there, I should think Harry would find them on his shelves.
PS
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