7 Characters From the Harry Potter Universe Who Deserve More Words

When JK Rowling approached the end of the tales of Harry Potter, and announced it was truly the end and to not be continued, I wasn’t fazed. By all means, end it! But this isn’t the say that we should depart from this world entirely. After all, Rowling crafted such a rich one, and it’s frankly criminal that our playtime ends with the conclusion of Harry’s adventures. I am, of course, arguing the point that Rowling and fans could come to a win-win agreement over the subject easily: give us some spin-offs and side stories based on characters who aren’t Harry Potter.

Here are some of my ideas—seven(ish) characters for seven books dedicated to Harry Potter’s story—free of charge.

Neville Longbottom

Neville is one of the characters I loved more and more as the story progressed. The moment he stood up to Voldemore and killed Nagini was epic—it was the moment that we all cheered and celebrated the hidden bravery of a character who started shy and clumsy. Later in life, he spent a short while as an Auror and then went on to become a Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, which is definitely fitting of his character. In Neville’s case, I’m mostly interested in short stories—just brief looks at things from his perspective throughout different points of his life. Is that too much to ask?

Albus Dumbledore: Obviously. You don’t get to Dumbledore’s position without having some fantastic stories to tell. Not only is he a great and powerful wizard (way more powerful than Oz, anyway), he seems to be feared by the Ministry of Magic, who basically control everything in the wizarding world. He’s the embodiment of everything strong and brave and just; he doesn’t sugar-coat, always seeks the truth, trusts people, always looks at things from all angles, and is full of unabashed love.

My question here is: why is he the character we seem to know the least about, going by the sheer volume of adventures and accomplishments he’s accumulated over time? (For the record, I also harbor these frustrations about Jedi Master Yoda.) I’d totally be down for an “Adventures of Young Dumbledore” series, Indiana-Jones style.

Narcissa Malfoy: Though the icy blonde pureblood may seem like an odd choice to care about (or for), Narcissa Malfoy is a mother first, and that’s fascinating. Her maternal instincts butt up against her duties as a Death Eater, so it’s at great risk that she prioritizes her son Draco over Voldy-Voldemort’s bidding, as rightly pointed out by Jeanette over at Bookriot. If that’s not conflict, I don’t know what is. I think she deserves a short story, at least. Just let us have a peek into her mind.

Nymphadora Tonks: I’ve always been curious about the sort of wild life that Tonks lived before the events of the books. Tonks is an Auror—that’s a qualifier in and of itself for some badass, evil-fighting short stories (though a spunky, kick-butt woman is enough to pique my interest any day, magic or no). A bonus with stories about Tonks is more of Alastor Moody, since he was her mentor, and bit of Remus Lupin as well, since, well, they end up together (for a while).

Luna Lovegood: Luna has become a fan favorite over the years, and no wonder—her weird, quirky personality is just so intriguing (and did I mention weird?), and I’m sure that anyone would welcome a few stories from her perspective. Like Narcissa, I want the inside look. How does Luna see the world, and what does she think of all the events unfolding around her? Will we ever know how many mythical creatures she’s encountered in real life? What about nargles—fact or fiction?

The Fat Lady (of portrait fame): Moving pictures are nothing special in the wizarding world, but the paintings in Hogwarts take things a step further and have actual duties, like, say, guarding House common rooms. To my memory, we never learn who most of the portraits portray. We don’t know why they inhabit frames in Hogwarts, how they can jump around as they please, or most important, why they cooperate with three-dimensional beings. I think a short story about the Fat Lady and how she came to her current station in the castle would be great—and maybe give her an actual name.

Charlie Weasley: It’s hard to pick just one Weasley. The twins are an endless source of entertainment, and Molly Weasley was my other top candidate because I’m intensely interested in her secret fierceness and superhuman knitting powers. But Charlie beat them out because he works with dragons, and dragons always win. Because dragons.

Charlie does a lot behind the scenes. For the Triwizard Tournament, he was responsible for bringing in the dragons that the kiddos fought (in secret, natch). During the events of Order of the Phoenix, he was responsible for recruiting foreign wizards to the cause. When he was younger, he was a star Quidditch player, but he dropped it in favor of studying and caring for dragons. What about that doesn’t beg for more writing?

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JK Rowling gave us seven books about Harry Potter, and I’ve listed seven characters who aren’t Harry Potter and deserve more words. It took me a long time to chop this list down to seven names (even though there are some sneaky extra names hidden in some of the entries). Who do YOU want to read more of?