Ok, I know that the books are based around the fact that Harry's an orphan but I was thinking the other day, what if James and Lily hadn't died? Would Harry be a different person than he is without them? And what would it mean for him and Herms?

Let me know what you think.

Occilus Reparo

Ooh ooh! That's a lil' bit but oh well
I DID think about that too! Well, IF Harry's parents did come back, it's be a little too "sudden" and think it would kind of throw off the whole "life-is-tough-everyone-dies-deal-with-it-become-strong" theme in Harry Potter
Maybe he'd connect with Herm more, since she's got both her parents...but I think that'd sort of bring his closer to Ron, actually, since Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have been trying to look out for him
But don't you love it how Harry goes to the Burrow so much and sees the Weasley family in general so much but no romance with Ginny? Hehe horrible comment! Back on subject! Ummm...I think if his parents came back, Harry's go crazy I think it'd affect ALL his relationships, including Hermione That'd be a throw-off! And, remember, he isn't sure what to think of his father anymore (referring to OoTP)

I didn't mean his parents "come back" exactly, I meant if Voldemort hadn't killed them in the first place and he had grown up with them alive. And if he had grown up with his parents there would he or his relationship with Hermione be different? Would they be friends? Or more?

Sorry if it was off topic.

Occilus Reparo

haha, nah! It's on-topic, really, when you think about it But I see your point now, sorry, the stupid misinterpretation messing everything up!
...thinking Harry'd be REALLY different! He'd probably be more...Cedric-like, I guess. No scar, no anything... getting a headache just thinking about that! Hehe...but I think, in "parents-never-killed" scenario, Harry would pair with Cho better, and he probably wouldn't exactly "accept" Hermione. Can't explain the above just yet, give me time to think about it!

I think if his parents had never died Harry would probably have been more like his father, arrogance and all. He also wouldn't have so much trouble with life and JKR wouldn't have sold as many books.

I have thought about this before, but not for very long. I would guess Harry would be a lot like his father or Sirius. A crazy, rule breaking, prank playing, Quidditch fanatic (not that he isn't now), and pretty arrogant teenager. Or, at least that's how I see it...

Alexandral brings up a good point; maybe Harry wouldn't really accept Hermione, maybe he would just see her as a bossy know-it-all and not give her the time of day. But maybe, since I kind of see Lily being exactly like Hermione, Harry would end up with Hermione anyway, just like Lily and James ended up together.

Who knows?

~Sweet
(I had to laugh at what Ariadne said about J.K. Rowling not selling as many books; I totally agree!)

If his parents never died, possible scenarios:

Scenario #1) That would mean Neville is the Boy-Who-Lived, leaving a very high chance that his Harry's parents were tortured into insanity, Harry would live with Sirius, and probably act a lot like he did when in school, making Harry not as likeable of a character.


Scenario #2) Parents are healthy and raise him. I don't think he would be like James was. Lily had too strong a personality and too much dislike for such arrogance in people. In OotP people said that James did change his attitude later, so I dont' think there's a chance from either parent to raise Harry into being an arrogant show-off. I would see this Harry being having about as much a role in activities at Hogwarts as Dean or Seamus have had in Canon, except Harry might get on the Quidditch team.


Scenario #3) Though I don't even see it as possible, Harry could turn out arrogant if for some reason Lily didn't play a big role in his life during his life from 6 to 10 years old, and to compensate James spoiled him and nurtured an ego into his head. I would see that Harry being like James was during the Pensieve scene at the O.W.L.s exam in Snape's Pensieve.

You can imagine how Harry#1 would react with girls, probably blunt and sure of himself. I don't see Hermione liking that attitude at all.

With Harry#2 it depends on how focussed he was when it did come to academics. He'd probably have the lively personality that would attract attention to him from Hermione as long as it wasn't immature. And if he did have a personal academic standard then I could see Hermione and Harry becoming friends and possibly more.

Harry#3 is the one I dont' think Hermione would even consider at all. Though I suppose by the end of his 7th year he could change just like his father did and it could be Lily/James all over again.

We saw in OotP that even James, who had a horrible personality, could change enough for Lily to fall for him. Those types of changes can happen to anyone, making this kind of "what if" really hard to give solid answers to.

And Neville wouldn't really be the Boy-Who-Lived because the only reason Harry has that title is because of Lily Potter, and he sacrifice.

But, I think the reason most of us love the series is because we love to hate the Dursleys And because it's one heckuva well-written series ^.^

Apparently I need to elaborate on my scenarios more.

On all of them: They are based off the Longbottoms being the first target rather than the Potters. So Neville's mom made the sacrifice, not Lily Potter, making Neville the boy-who-lived. I see this as basically taking Canon, but switching Harry and Neville's characters, and change Harry's attitude to what I described in the scenarios. So please, when trying to pick apart my statements quit saying that Neville can't be the boy-who-lived, because even in Canon, Neville had the chance to be the one.

Well, I think that Harry would be somewhat of the same person, just without the scar and a bit more satisfied with his life.

I also think he wouldn't be an only child, I think Lily and James would have had more children.

I don't know if he would be friends with Hermione though. He might've not even been friends with Ron! I think, truthfully, that when Ron offered his friendship to Harry at the beginning of the series, he was so desperate for companionship that he would've been friends with anyone!

I don't know that if Lily and James were alive, if he would have been so, taking, to Ron's friendship. I hope he would've, but I'm really not sure.

I think Harry would be nice and caring, but I'm not sure if his life would've changed.

Amanda Rose

Hmmm, my bad then

Anywho, if Neville was the centre of the series, like someone already said, JKR wouldn't be selling as many books. Neville won't have the Dursleys, but he'll have his grandmother, who is ten times better than the Dursleys. And with his bossy Grandmother there, Neville will still be as timid and as insecure, maybe just as brave. Personally, I don't want to read about that.

I really like Harry because JKR made him to be the perfect hero, her perfect hero, and my perfect hero. See, there is NO SUCH THING as a perfect hero. They all have their faults, some more than others. But Harry is this realistic hero, with real feelings, and a personality that most people can relate to. He's felt what it was like to be unloved, unwanted... Like most of us. He's also felt what it was like to hate, real hate. He's felt a lot of things we all feel at some point [well, he hasn't really fallen in love yet, but that's why we're all here at Portkey, is it not? ] And apart from him having all these "only human" feelings and personality, Harry has the adventures. Sure, they seem a bit cliche at one point or another [we get spoofs, do we not? ] but JKR writes them so skillfully, that we don't even see it the first 5 times we read them!

I don't know about you guys, but, if the roles were switched, I wouldn't be as obsessed with "Neville Longbottom and the Philosopher's stone" or "Nevielle Longbottom and the Chamber of Secrets" or "Neville Longbottom and the Prizoner of Azkaban" or "Neville Longbottom and the Goblet of Fire" or "Neville Longbottom and the Order of the Phoenix". I don't think I'd even read it No offense to anyone.

And there's a reason why JKR chose to write Harry and not Neville. Aside from the fact that it was Harry she saw on that train ride, Neville would take all the "fame" differently. He's been living with his Grandmother and obviously, she lives in the wizarding world. And don't go saying that she won't be here because Neville is the boy-who-lived and he's supposed to be with the Dursleys and supposed to be a near orphan because he has no other relatives and his Grandmother died. You'll be changing FAR too much, and the story will start to not make sense

Well, just my two knuts

~the dog star

Very interesting...Harry/Hermione might not be friends at all. After all, he would probably think she was a know-it-all. I don't know, he might still be friends with Ron...but who knows?

Yeah, I thought about this too... and I always thought that Harry would get spoiled by his mother, that he'd be a lot like Draco, but in the spoiled sort of rich way.. not the evil way...

I always thought that he'd be like his father in his younger years ... I hate to say this but I'm glad that Harry's parents are dead ::runs away from flying, rotten tomatoes!:: ... Because I love the way Harry has turned out, and I love how his relatives have treated him, the way they made who he is... or maybe he turned out worse... I guess we really wouldn't know unless JKR did a "What if?"...

I love Harry's character more than any other character, and I'm glad of the way he has turned out.. un loved... poor treated... terrible childhood... it's built his character, and Harry deserves a happy life... and i think he'll get that when he's older!

Hope I haven't confused anyone...

Dreamer~

Agreed! It made Harry a much stronger character and his trust and faith in his friends is much more absolute than it might have been.

Very true, friendship contributes a lot to this series...and I think it'd be way different if his parents were alive.