***HP Spoilers***
Achromatic posted...
Also to clarify: There is nothing wrong with adding an OC to make the story better by fulfilling a new role and stuff. It is needed sometimes.
But there are bad OCs a lot.
Then there are self-inserts.
:(
I have thought on occasion of writing a Harry Potter fanfic and creating an OC because I find Rowling's series is sorely lacking in something crucial: a Slytherin student who exemplifies the positive attributes of the House- pride and ambition sans the hellbent on blood purity and cut-throat attitudes.
Every other House has at least one person that upholds the negative attributes of their House and several more people that demonstrate the more positive traits. Example: Gryffindor has Romilda Vane (or hell you can even say James and Sirius were negative in their year if Snape's flashback is any indication), Ravenclaw has Michael Corner, and Hufflepuff has Zacharius Smith...
But Slytherin... Slytherin has all negative and, at most benevolent, chaotic neutrals running amok with absolutely zero positive-natured students. The only "good" Slytherins are the two professors, and Snape and Slughorn come across as pretty neutral as well despite obviously being alligned with "the good guys". It just makes the House seem so one-note and shallow. Were I ever to follow through on the whole fanfic craze, my first step would be to create an OC Slytherin who is worthy of the House placement without being a total douche. And no, as she'd be personifying pride and ambition, she'd be the opposite of me in everything but gender. She definitely wouldn't be a self-insert character as I'm lazy and unmotivated.
If I could, I would just force Percy Weasley into that role. He'd make the perfect Slytherin if he wasn't too old! Think about it: he's proud of himself and his intelligence and his ability, and also ambitous enough to chase his dream job at the Ministry even if it means forsaking his family to do so, yet he's not so blinded by his own ambition that he completely loses sight of himself and eventually he realizes where his true loyalties lie. A perfect "neutral-good Slytherin". Only because of his age, he would only be around for one or two years which is not ideal for the series as it needs a more present "good" Slytherin.
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