Chapter 56: rambling

In my personal view, the Harry Potter series—from Books 1 to 7—feels a little split in tone. Books 1 and 2 lean heavily toward children's literature, with a lot of things that don't quite hold up logically. Later on, Rowling clearly started to expand the worldbuilding and themes, moving into more serious territory—much less like a children's series. As a kid, I loved the first three books the most—probably because no one died in them. But starting from Book 4, the body count started. Cedric. Sirius. Dumbledore. Honestly, I never expected someone as powerful as Dumbledore to die. By the time we reached Book 7, the deaths just kept coming. I won't even list them all—it was brutal. Now, I'm not saying Rowling wrote it poorly. At the time, I was just too young to handle it. Now that I'm writing my own story, I totally get how hard it is to kill off a character you've spent so long developing. Anyway, back to Harry Potter. Despite the tonal shift from light-hearted to dark, at its core, it's still a story full of love and hope. There's not too much conspiracy, and the line between good and evil is quite clear. But sometimes, I felt Rowling's character writing was a little too... utilitarian. Take Slytherin House, for example. From Salazar Slytherin's hatred of Muggle-borns (which some argue ties into the medieval witch hunts), to Voldemort, and then the sheer number of dark wizards from that house—it felt very one-note. But are there good people from Slytherin? Of course! Like Regulus Black. And Professor Snape. Are there relatively normal ones? Yep—Professor Slughorn, for instance. And the students who didn't become Death Eaters and even returned to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. Still, Rowling spent more time focusing on characters like Malfoy—an arrogant kid raised with pure-blood ideology—and the Death Eaters. A lot of the most hated characters in the books were Slytherins. As a kid, I hated Slytherin too—which was clearly what Rowling intended. But I often wondered: what if Slytherins had better guidance? What if they received the right kind of education? What would the House look like then, if it were no longer seen as a factory for future dark wizards? That's how I came up with my protagonist—someone who's a genuinely good person in every sense. A wizard descended from the Knights of the Round Table. Someone with both the drive and the strength to lead Slytherin down a better path. Maybe some people think this premise is meaningless, but I really want to see cunning, ambitious Slytherins using their talents for good. Of course, that's just one storyline. The protagonist has other plotlines as well, which is why I decided to bring in the concept of the Knights of the Round Table. Rowling didn't explore the Round Table much. In fact, in her timeline, Merlin appeared after the founding of Hogwarts, sometime in the 10th century—which obviously doesn't match the traditional Arthurian legend. Still, I think there's a lot of potential to blend the Round Table mythology with the Harry Potter world. So that's where the protagonist's background comes from. Also... well, I'll admit it—I'm a bit of a Type-Moon fan. Those who know, know. That said, I won't be cramming too much Type-Moon content into this story. It wouldn't really fit. There may be a few elements here and there, but the main plot will always follow Harry Potter canon, with the Knights of the Round Table as a supporting theme. I think I've said enough for now. In the end, I just hope you'll subscribe and stick with me. I'll do my best to write a story that reflects both what I want to express—and what you'll genuinely enjoy reading. I'm still a newcomer, so I really appreciate your support. If you spot any major mistakes, please let me know so we can grow together. Thank you to every reader out there!