Oof now I'm also excited for the 3rd book in Effie's story!! I am *trying* to think of what big changes could be made due to her gender but I forgot most of canon so I've come up empty, unfortunately :') Although I can't wait to see how Sirius is with a goddaughter instead of a godson; please tell me he teaches her to ride the flying motorcycle (is that canon or fanon, anyway?)
And will she be more interested in her school subjects compared to canon Harry?
I am also looking forward to seeing her interact more with the other side characters! I really like your version of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Will Effie befriend quidditch players from other houses in her first year or are those tags for the later books?
Anyway sorry for asking so many questions, do you prefer if readers wait to read and find out the small not-really-spoilers stuff?
Not to sound too confident, but I think (I hope) that the changes I'm thinking of making in the third book won't be easily guessed, but also won't feel like they're coming out of nowhere either. And haha! The motorcycle is canon, though Hagrid has it. I'm sure if it was in Sirius' possession, he wouldn’t hesitate to teach any version of Harry how to ride it.
I struggle a bit with answering this question for myself! Personally, I always felt like Harry's disinterest in schooling was a consequence of how JKR wanted to deliver world building and plot instead of as an actual reflection of Harry's character. For example, if Harry doesn’t ever pay attention during classes, for instance, JKR didn't have to 1) come up with spells/history/magical objects until they are necessary and 2) could use Hermione’s bookish nature to funnel information to Harry and by extension to the readers without them having to find answers themselves. The thing that gets me is that, because of this decision on the author's part, Harry is canonically a poor student, which is fine, except for the fact that it feels inherently oppositional to the rest of his character, which is what fans see. You mean this kid that goes around solving magical mysteries doesn't actively try to learn magic? You mean this kid that frequently has his life saved by various spells/potions/creatures/things from this magical world he knows little about never wanted to invest a little more energy into finding out what these are? Even Harry's canon interests are vastly unexplored by canon Harry. He loves DADA reportedly but doesn't want to practice duels with his friends, read everything he can find about spells and jinxes, learn more about dark creatures, etc? You mean Harry is really into Quidditch but never looks into Quidditch history or modern teams or practices different tactics and strategies for fun? It's like JKR has never actually met a child. I digress. Not that I'm unhappy to make any hour hate on JKR hour, but, you asked whether Effie would be more interested in academics than Harry is, and the answer is, yes. She will be. But I want to clarify that it's not because I think girls are naturally more inclined towards scholarly interests or something along those lines, so I'm trying to lead her there carefully, in ways that can be related to her gender identity and how other people might treat her differently because of that, and not because she inherently has to be a girl for academic interest to have weight on hers and Harry's story.
To answer your next question simply instead of long-windedly, those character relationship tags are relevant in this book! She will be friends with the other Quidditch players early on as well. I think every character that appears in a house that isn't Gryffindor is treated horribly unfairly and am on a mission to undo that, where I can, and this was a good opportunity.
And please, always feel free to ask a lot of questions! I like to think I’m putting a lot of nuance into Effie's story, and I genuinely like talking about it. In particular, I love having my brain picked about my radical gender theories and how I apply them here, which you've certainly done.
Thank you again for the ask!! I'm sorry for replying so late!
