Fans have a way of taking what the canon of a novel, film, or television show presents them with and creating something of their own out of it. With seven books and eight films, it was only a matter of time before fans took what J.K. Rowling offered, and expanded upon it.
The smallest of moments become the source for the most popular headcanons and fanfictions. The wizarding world of Harry Potter includes a vast list of characters, creatures, and settings. Not only were Harry and his friends the source of many fanfictions and theories, but so were the Marauders, Lily, and Snape.
DRACO WAS ATTRACTED TO HERMIONE
The romantic pairing of Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger is a reasonably popular one amongst fans. While J.K. Rowling had tried to explain to fans numerous times that Draco was not harvesting a secret heart of gold underneath his cold ways, fans chose not to listen. Draco and Hermione tend to fall under a particular category of romance. Often, they are both too intelligent to become romantically involved with the rest of their peers. However, they also fall under Draco having a redemption arc, or even Hermione going dark herself. The Starkid productions of “A Very Potter Musical,” “A Very Potter Sequel,” and “A Very Potter Senior Year” all support this headcanon as well.
DRACO WAS SECRETLY IN LOVE WITH HARRY
Draco would often go out of his way to get a rise out of Harry. Many took that as Draco just reaching for any excuse to talk to his Gryffindor rival. On the other side, Harry’s sudden obsession with knowing Draco’s whereabouts in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was a cover for Harry’s newfound attraction to Draco.
They had a Romeo and Juliet type romance consisting of not only opposing family values but antagonistic houses that stood on different sides of a war. In matters such as this one, Hermione and Ron would be aware of Harry’s crush before he was, or Harry and Draco’s relationship would amuse them.
REMUS AND SIRIUS WERE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER
Sirius and Remus belong together. The two acted like an old married couple already, and as two of Harry’s operating parental figures, they would only get together in no time. In canon, they never did and remained friends from their reunion to their deaths. Remus even married Nymphadora Tonks. However, as Sirius never had a serious love interest during the series, but his closest relationship was with Remus, fans quickly brought them together. Similarly to how in headcanons Hermione and Ron would be supportive of Harry and Draco, James Potter would be aware of the romantic feelings between Remus and Sirius.
SEVERUS SNAPE IS HARRY’S FATHER
Even though James and Lily were married, some fans suspected that Harry’s biology was not that simple. Given the amount of history between James, Lily, and Snape, many headcanons suggest that James is not Harry’s father, but Snape is due to an affair Lily and Snape had. The anger at Harry’s existence mixed with Snape’s jealousy would also come from the uncertainty of who was indeed the youngest Potter’s father. These fanfictions tended to follow Harry and Snape, either being not too thrilled about the development or Snape being curiously patient for Harry to come around to the idea.
LILY POTTER THANKS MOLLY WEASLEY
With so many emotional deaths in the series, who was considered family did not always mean blood relation. For Harry, the Weasleys, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus were the closest thing he had to family, ranking above the Dursleys, who were blood relations. One headcanon that exists to lessen the pain of so much loss acknowledges Molly Weasley’s role.
The headcanon shows that after Molly dies, she is greeted in the afterlife by Lily Potter and given a hug as a thank you for watching after Harry. In return, Lily tells Molly that she had been looking after Fred.
DUMBLEDORE IS EVIL
Even though Albus Dumbledore was known to be one of the most powerful wizards on the light side, he still made some shady choices. Due to this, fans suggest the reason behind Dumbledore’s odd decisions was not because he was too trusting, but because he was a master manipulator. The backup to this headcanon comes directly from Dumbeldore’s behavior in the series. Dumbledore knowingly left Harry with an abusive family for eleven years even though McGonagall had warned him they were awful. In fanfictions, this was to ensure that Harry would attend Hogwarts weak and willing to trust and believe everything Dumbledore told him. Often, the reason behind this comes from Dumbledore’s ambition to be known for greatness. Some fanfictions take it a step further, suggesting that Dumbledore had gone as far as to watch Tom Riddle turn dark and do nothing to prevent it, then set up James and Lily’s deaths after hearing the prophecy.
…THE WEASLEYS ARE TOO
Whenever Dumbledore is the antagonist, the Weasleys are not far behind. Usually, Molly, Ron, and Ginny are Dumbeldore’s pawns in his plan to gain control of Harry’s life. He keeps the Weasley family under his thumb by paying them, often money from Harry’s vault. Frequently, they do this by feeding Harry and Hermione love potions, explaining his random attraction to Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Hermione’s emotional outbursts towards Ron.
By doing this, they have both Harry and Hermione distracted and unaware that Dumbledore and the Weasleys are controlling their lives. For the most part, Fred and George are left out of it, oblivious to their family’s wrongdoings.
PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL’S RETIREMENT
After having taught the Marauders, the Golden Trio, and the Weasley siblings, Professor McGonagall had seen every prank and watched as the Potters and Weasleys would break all the rules Hogwarts had to offer. After the Battle of Hogwarts, she wanted to rebuild the school that had been a home to many and return to educating young witches and wizards. However, life would not allow her to have too many years of peace. McGonagall would be happy for Harry Potter to have a happy family of his own but would be wary of the children he would share with Ginny Weasley. As Harry and Ginny’s first child, James Sirius Potter, would not only have the Potter and Weasley blood running through him but was also the namesake of two of the best pranksters Hogwarts had ever seen. Knowing this, McGonagall would circle the child’s eleventh birthday in a calendar to warn her that is the day she retires.
POST-BATTLE OF HOGWARTS
Fans have a never-ending list of ideas as to what happens between the end of the Battle of Hogwarts and the epilogue taking place nineteen years later. Sometimes the epilogue is ignored altogether, the story changing directions with how much the characters would have changed during the war. One of the most popular topics follows a “Marriage Law,” featuring everyone to receive a letter informing them that if they are currently not married or in a committed relationship, then they would be set up by a system and given the name of their spouse. Often, this had to do with the number of casualties produced by the war and the desire for repopulation.
GINNY AND ASTORIA MOCKED HARRY AND DRACO
After the years Harry and Draco spent as enemies, in hindsight, some of the ways they went about their rivalry may not look intimidating when watching people interact the same way. One headcanon suggests that after Harry and Draco married Ginny and Astoria, respectively, that whenever they would all run into each other while out, Ginny and Astoria would mimic Harry and Draco’s youthful arguments. The two women, jokingly, would strut up to each other and refer to the other only by their last name. They would make large, over the top, gestures as Harry and Draco looked on humiliated.