A guide to writing HP fan fiction

Character relationships

While at Hogwarts, your main character will go through making and losing friends, having an arch enemy or even possibly go through some romance. Here are some tips on how I've created relationships in my story.

Platonic
This is the type of relationship that happens between two friends. It is easy to portray this type of friendship in the story, especially if two characters are very close. Whenever I am focusing on Fred and Hallie's friendship, I tend to make them act like siblings towards one another. Platonic friendships also show a level of loyalty, trust and investment. Although these traits are found within romantic relationships, friendships show them in different ways. You must also consider that person's character arc whenever doing so; Draco wouldn't be an extremely touchy friend, where as Lavender would probably hug you a lot.

Romantic
I like to have a strong friendship between two characters before I even consider something romantic between them. Early on, I try to hint at their closeness and create a contrast between the dynamic of a potential romance and a friend. You can either do a slow burn or fast burn romance. Here is the ways you can portray them.

Fast burn: This is the type of romance that occurred between my two main characters in my story. By doing so, it meant that the whole focus wasn't on their relationship. Both people were more than their romance. Even though George and Hallie have been friends for years, their romance is fast burn to the reader because the main plot line starts in her fifth year.

Slow burn: If you take a look at Ron and Hermione, who got together after seven long years, their romance was very slow burn. I believe that slow burn romances only really work if your story has a main plot line. For example, Harry Potter's main focus was defeating Lord Voldemort. Ron and Hermione had other things to do while growing closer together. Romance shouldn't be the only focus in a slow-burn relationship I think.

Acquaintances
Acquaintances are a fundamental part of the plot as they are something that add realism to your story. At Hogwarts, you're naturally going to speak to people in your class. For example, Hallie and Ernie Macmillan share study notes and say hello to each other in the hallways but they aren't any closer than that. If your plot is full of tension and emotion like mine, these type of moments are good in relieving the pressure from your characters. After all, people want to be able to relate to them.

Enemies
Some people just don't go well together. For example, the hatred between Draco Malfoy and Hallie Blackwell is very equal. There are a lot of things that can create this type of relationship between two people.
1. Jealousy
2. Clash of personalities
3. Rejection
4. Who you're friends with

The main thing about these type of relationships is that they don't completely immerse your plot, unless it leads to something important. Naturally, there are going to be people in life you don't get on with and that's why I think it's important to have a few enemies in your story.