MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT JAMES POTTER

| MISCONCEPTION SEVEN |

In his earlier school days, James was a bully and nothing but a bully. Okay, no. Before we start- we've said it before, but I'm saying it again- he WAS a bully, I'm not trying to deny that or avoid that fact. And usually we talk about how he changed, and how people never logically judge others in real life based on how they were as a kid. All of which is very true. However, today I'm actually going to dig into a less looked at part of James, at least for James lovers, Jily shippers, and Snape haters such as myself.

The period of time where he was still a bully.

None of us wish that James had done what we did, at least as Jily shippers and James lovers go. Being a character who we love so much, this is a sore spot, admittedly. But this is me proving (though we've proved it here time and time again) that it's not like we're unwilling to acknowledge that it happened.

But a misconception about him, even if you don't put this thought into words or realize you do it, necessarily, is that James was totally, completely, and nothing but a bully in that time.

But here's the thing. James Potter had a life, okay?

Yes, he hexed people for no good reason at all, and he was a bully, no question. Even his closest friends admit it.

HOWEVER.

The common picture James haters paint is that that's all James ever did, was bully people. That was his one hobby, what he did 24/7.

But this is false.

First of all, I don't think he did it enough for that to be what he was known for at school. I mean, he was popular and well-liked-- if he was known solely for being a horrible bully, he would NOT have been that well-liked! I think that he got his popularity from other things- being good at Quidditch, a fun person to hang around, a prankster, etc.- and sadly, when James did do the bullying, people were okay with it because they already liked him for different reasons. Which isn't at all right, but if being a bully was all James was known for, people wouldn't have liked him the way they did. That much is obvious, I'd say.

Secondly, James did a lot of other things. It's not like he had nothing else to do except bully people all the time, which is, I think, the vision of James most haters hold onto. No, I'm going to list a bunch of things that prove that bullying was not all James did with his time.

•He played Quidditch, and later on became captain- which takes time and effort! It's a commitment to play any sport, and Quidditch is no exception! There are practices, games, and team meetings, which are all obligations for players.

•He got good grades. Now, he may have been a natural, maybe he wasn't- but it doesn't matter, good grades take studying no matter how naturally good you are. I'd know, academics is a big strong point for me personally- that doesn't mean I just magically know everything! I still have to study for things and work for my good grades!

•He was a legendary prankster, guys. Do you think prank plans just come together with no time at all? If you do, I don't think you've done proper pranking. No, the best pranks take careful effort and planning before you can actually perform it well.

•HE WAS ONE OF THE MAKERS OF THE MARAUDER'S MAP, HONESTLY. Of all the things, THIS would take time. I mean, come on, finding all those secret passageways? Going through the castle, part by part, mapping it all out? Not to mention hours upon hours of research to figure out all the spellwork needed to actually make it work!

•He spent three years becoming an Animagus- now THAT takes time. First, he and the other Marauders had to FIND how to even become one, which probably meant studying Filch's patrolling schedule to see when they could sneak into the restricted section of the library and spending hours every night searching for it (I doubt that, even in the restricted section, it'd be easy to find, and the Hogwarts library is a huge place). Then, there was that minor issue of actually DOING THIS EXTREMELY COMPLICATED PROCESS. Complicated nearly always means time consuming, and I doubt this is any exception. For full-blown wizards to have trouble achieving it? That would take up a lot of James's time, wouldn't you say?

So look, everyone. No one is trying to deny that James was a bully and that what he did was wrong. But please, stop acting like that was all he did with his life!! We see him being horrible to Snape ONE TIME, guys. We know that yes, he was a bully, but it's not like we have any canon proof whatsoever that he did it all the time, or even often, or regularly, actually!

Snape apologists who are also James haters base their whole everything on that one memory, and completely ignore every good thing about him. (Not to mention conveniently ignore every terrible thing about Snape)... but that's a whole separate rant, I won't get into all that here.

We do, however, have proof that bullying definitely wasn't the only thing James Potter was known for or did with his life. Yes, he was a bully, but with everything else going on in his life- everything mentioned above, and also just being a boy and hanging out with his friends and having a good time talking with them- his bullying obviously wasn't what he was known for, and it clearly wasn't something he did 24/7. I'd say it was probably occasional, contrary to popular belief.

For those who had this misconception previously, I hope this cleared that up, and for my fellow James lovers? Hopefully this made you love him even more.

-Alyssa :)