A bit random but I was wondering: a lot of HP fics write Harry as someone who turns out to really bad at Auror-ing (sometimes simply incompatible with the details of the job, but other times legitimately incompetent compared to his colleagues). Do you have any personal head canons, or thoughts about how Harry would do as an Auror? Do you think he would like it after everything he went through or be any good at it? Thinking back on your fics I think you've had a mix? Sorry if I'm misremembering!
I don’t think there’s any way in hell that Harry would be an incompetent Auror. He has as much as or more skill at seventeen, as both a fighter and a teacher, than many of the adults around him, he’s cool in a crisis, he’s passionate about justice, he’s got great instincts. There’s just no way he’s inept at this.
Traumatized though? Maybe. I could see it. I could see him not wanting to fight anymore.
Otoh, it’s one of the few things he’s ever had in his life that’s led to him feeling loved and included, I could also see him clinging to it fiercely.
You’re right that there’s a mix of depictions in my fic (though I don’t think he’s ever inept?) and that’s because I think that how Harry felt and performed as an Auror would depend on a lot of other things about his relationships and the evolution of post-war society. In a scenario where Ron joined him and Kingsley ran a tight (and just and moral) ship, I could see him being a career auror. If Ron went to work at WWW and Harry was fighting without the support of his friends, and/or if the Aurors were engaged in morally dubious stuff and/or if a bunch of ex-Death Eaters pulled a Lucius and got back into power, I think he’d be inclined to step away.
This is, I think, an important thing to keep in mind about writing fic: characters are not static. Understanding characters does not mean developing one definite headcanon and shoehorning it into every situation, but openly and thoughtfully considering how your characters would respond to the world in which you put them.
