Just Another ReFi

Video:  Cute Baby Bat

Before the Hogwarts Express, some young wizards and witches made their way to Hogwarts on broomsticks and in enchanted carriages

There are other fractional platforms at King’s Cross station. Try 7 1/2 for a trip to wizard-only villages in Europe. 

It took five and a half minutes for the Sorting Hat to decide whether to place Minerva McGonagall in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw

Several Hogwarts students have caused mayhem at King’s Cross by dropping suitcases full of newt spleens or biting spellbooks all over the Muggle Station.

Peeves the poltergeist caused a three-day evacuation of Hogwarts in 1876 after escaping a trap set for him armed with several dangerous weapons. 

The one exception to the general magical aversion to Muggle technology is cars. Even the Ministry of Magic owns a fleet, modified with various useful charms. 

Many wizards were unhappy with the invention of the Muggle-like Knight Bus, and refused to use it when it first hit the streets. 

Headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts can teach their magical portrait to act and behave exactly like themselves. 

Sir Cadogan’s most famous encounter was with the Wyvern of Wye, a dragon-like creature, whom he accidentally killed with his broken wand. 

Only one non-magical person has ever managed to get as far as the Hogwarts Sorting Hat before being exposed as a Squib. 

Of the Eleven wizarding schools in the world, the African school of Uagadou is the only one to select pupils by Dream Messenger, leaving a token in the child’s hand whilst they sleep. 

The 1809 Quidditch World Cup final turned into a human versus tree battle when one of the players managed to jinx an entire forest to attack the stadium. 

The Hufflepuff ghost, the Fat Friar, was executed after senior churchman became suspicious of his ability to cure the pox by poking peasants with a stick. 

Every year St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries treats at least one injury caused by homemade Floo powder. 

Before she became a teacher at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall used to work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. 

Part of the process of becoming an Animagus requires you to carry a leaf from a Mandrake in your mouth for an entire month. 

A Dark wizard called Raczidian was devoured by maggots that appeared from his wand when he unsuccessfully attempted to cast the Patronus Charm.

Any part of a person’s body can be added to the Polyjuice Potion to allow the consumer to take their form, including hair, toenail clippings, dandruff or worse…

Remus Lupin’s father, Lyall, was a world-renowned authority on magical creatures like poltergeists and Boggarts. 

It took 167 Memory Charms and the largest mass Concelment Charm ever performed in Britain to modify a muggle steam engine and create the Hogwarts Express. 

Students from the Russian Wizarding school, Koldovstoretz, play a version of Quidditch where they fly on entire, uprooted trees instead of broomsticks. 

These are the bumper stickers NASA’s New Horizon team have on their cars.

Here is the best advice I can give you;

No, I’m not going to care about your character simply because they are a child. Being a man, woman, child, human, animal, alien, has nothing to do with the level of care I will give your character. I need to know who they are. 

So many books and movies just pull out the ‘Oh, a child then’ trope if they need us to care about someone but are unsure of how to make any of their characters likable or don’t think they have time too. So, suddenly there’s a precious star-child, savior baby or a little girl with super powers. This is especially common in escort style stories where children are treated like precious cargo/objects, instead of human beings.

You ever wonder why everyone groans when a child character is introduced? This is why. Because we are suddenly given something useless that must be protected at all costs. No one likes that in a character; but we can’t complain about it because it’s a child. Well, I can.

Here are some things that might help.

Children have varying personalities. 

Children have goals; hopes and dreams, sometimes impossible. 

Children have views on their situation & how others see them.

Children can be manipulative and selfish.

It’s okay for adults to be frustrated and annoyed around them. 

Children offer perspectives adults might not have thought of. 

Children have bad habits that could be annoying, lower morale or put people in danger. 

Children can be useful. They can help, and they can learn. 

Children usually like to be around other children more than adults. 

Children like any perceived power or favoritism as we all like something we rarely experience. 

Children want to have fun. What fun is might vary. 

It’s okay for adults and children to be friends.

Children and adults can learn from one another. It’s not one sided. 

It’s okay for bad things to happen to your child characters. 

Shy children still have views; and express them creatively. 

Children don’t ‘innately like good guys’ and ‘innately fear/hate bad guys’. 

Children are not magical creatures. They are humans. (Unless of course they are a magical creature in your world.)

Children can have senses of humor. 

Children can have mental disorders. 

Children turn into pubescent adults; and suddenly; hormones. It;s normal.

A lot of children are aware of darker themes. 

Not everyone is going to like the child because it is a child. 

Especially not every woman. 

Children need to develop as characters. They do so faster than adults. 

Some really good examples of children written well are Lyra, from Northern Lights and Ellie from The Last of Us. Northern Lights is fairly vague in it’s audience and has been read by children and adults; but The Last of Us is aimed at adults, and still gives Ellie a great character. She is allowed to explore her sexuality, her ‘purpose’, have a blunt personality and swear in people’s faces. While Lyra is smart, curious and daring. She uses her cunning to fight her battles. I really loved her as a child and as an adult. 

The Original One Ring 

but i got her back:

fun fact: I told her there were 29