Color me a redemption arc fanatic, but I've really just been thinking a lot about them for my Harry Potter fics...?

For the most controversial characters too. I mean... I'm not redeeming, like, say Voldemort or Umbitch, but... Say... Peter Pettigrew? Severus Snape? Draco Malfoy? Other Slytherin kids who've been labeled terrible like Pansy Parkinson?

(Spoiler alert: this is just gonna be me plotting crap so you can see how Crazy my thoughts get when I plan out my fics haha)

Cause like... First of all we only see Slytherins through Harry's perspective and let's face it that's pretty biased and therefore unreliable to the truth. We don't see them as well rounded characters, just one dimensional bullies that showcase jkr's own bias.

Draco and his fellow bullies are only children, they have the rest of their lives to repent.

Peter and Snape may have missed their shot and basically ruined half their adult lives by wasting it with hate and crap, but even so it's never too late to learn from your mistakes! You can always be better today than you were yesterday, in my opinion.

Doesn't make your wrongs okay or magically fix it. People don't have to forgive you. They owe you nothing. But you can be better. If you choose to.

The question then becomes this: how shall I make them choose to do so?

Well...I already have something up my sleeve for Draco and I think with just a bit more rounding out of their characters the other bully children can come around too. (Plus war changes people)

It's the two adults that have me most stumped. They're already set in their ways and so change is harder, but of course not impossible.

Let's start with Snape.

Jkr makes an attempt to redeem him, sure. It's...mm...not very good. But it's something to work with. He loves Lily Potter (neé Evans)... But like...does he though? It's more of a creepy infatuation especially since the "love" is unrequited. Sure, we sympathize with him because James and co bully him, but he's the one to push Lily away, he's the one who joins the bad guys, and he's the one who chooses to bully Harry simply for looking identical to his dad.

A redemption arc isn't meant to justify any of this, which, I think, is where jkr went wrong. It seems like, when I read it, she's trying to justify the abuse and the weird creepy obsession.

Redemption doesn't erase that, it doesn't make it okay. It's meant to show that they've learned and grown as a person, that they've become better than they once were.

And I mean...in canon Snape dies for Harry. Okay, yeah, sure...

But no.

To me this is not redemption. And it's been a while so I might be wrong but like...did he even really die specifically for Harry? Didn't Oldy Voldy just want him out of the way because he thought he owned the Elder Wand or whatever? So I mean...meh. It's not like he's taking a bullet for Harry or anything...

So how to fix this lame ass attempt... 🤔

Well, there should be a course of events that change things for Snape, something that gets him to come around. I imagine it's probably a slow process, possibly one that takes up the entire course of the seven books where really no one ever develops as characters tbh.

Let's say this then. Maybe not so often that it's an easy to spot pattern, but just every once in a blue moon something happens that forces Snape and Harry to bond or something (maybe not bond exactly but Harry learns something new about him and vise versa). Or Harry says or does something that gets Snape to really really reflect on his actions (or even my oc also if we're having this happen in my fanfic universe).

Bottom line, Harry (and maybe my oc in addition) force Snape to grow the fuck up and maybe he even probably realizes that he's just a creeper towards Lily and finds someone else. I feel like he's too proud to apologize for his actions out loud, but it'll be clearly implied through different actions.

Rat man is...more complicated. Probably not something anyone would suspect. He's hated universally for helping to bring back Smolderhurtz and framing Sirius for James and Lily's murder ... Oh and for getting James and Lily murdered.

The thing is...I don't necessarily hate him for it? I mean, yeah, I kinda get it. Being afraid. Color me a selfish coward too but let's get honest here almost nobody would sacrifice themselves to save their friend. I don't care how loyal you think you are, that situation is impossible and terrifying.

Am I saying that it was a good thing? Am I saying that he shouldn't suffer consequences for his actions? Absolutely not. It's a down right awful, terrible thing to do and it's like the ultimate dick move. He should at least have a few years of time out in prison for it.

However, I don't think anyone can or should fault him for being scared out of his fucking mind and making the wrong call....repeatedly...

If I were in that situation I'm pretty sure I'd be a shit for brains too.

It's a little tricky, planning his redemption, if not just because he's so gosh darn cowardly. He'd have to go through some major changes in character development.

But what... 

🤔🤔🤔🤔

Seems nearly impossible, but I enjoy a challenge. I have this one idea (see the previous chapter) that might contribute a bit to things. Beyond that I'm not entirely sure just yet.

I think, he's sorta like Neville in a way. Both meek and stuttery and awkward and seemingly awful at magic at first glance... But then Neville grows up to be quite the bad ass.

What's the difference?

There's this whole theory that sorta talks a little bit about it on YouTube by SuperCariltonbros... But I don't have the energy to get into it so I'll leave the link after this. But here's the summary: Neville had encouragement and Peter did not.

So I mean...I don't know. He was in Gryfinndor. He values bravery and all that crap so he clearly wants to be and he has had plenty of opportunities to be brave... He just never took them. I don't know, maybe he just needs a shove in the right direction?

Whether or not these characters are forgiven for their wrong doings is...up in the air. Let's say not. Not at first anyway. They'll have to work very very hard to earn that forgiveness, and even then no one owes them that ever. Especially Harry who is probably the most affected by everything.

(I also have a whole rambling idea about why Dumbledore is an awful person and maybe that warrants some sort of redemption arc too but...meh. Tbh I'm not sure I like Stumbledork and I'll need a whole other chapter thing to get into that business....)

What are your thoughts on this matter?? Let me know!