Harry Potter Prankster?

[jwang]

You know, I've noticed a pattern in HP fanfiction: quite a few of them feature Harry as a prankster, a behavior pattern inherited from his father. <_<

I don't know what kind of crack these people are smoking, but just because his father was a prankster, doesn't mean that HE is a prankster. In fact, judging by his upbringing, he would avoid making pranks as much as possible. Could Harry be vindicative? Sure he could. Does he get into alot of trouble? Certainly, especially when trouble comes looking for him. But in no way is it mentioned anywhere in the canon (even before it went to crap) that Harry is a prankster, going out of his way to create trouble. So why the hell does people insist on giving him a prankster nature outside of a purposefully humorous fic?!

 

[Belgarion213]

Because people are stupid. There is a Harry Potter fic called "The Awakening of the Magus" and while it has many pitfals of bad fanfiction (Harry is imensly powerful, but can't use his power. He is mentally powerful, able to absorb the knoweldge of books in a minute, has literally dozens of magical talents. Draco and Snape reform and become friends with Harry....etc etc) There was one really good scene near the latest chapters. In it Sirus (who is alive because the story branced of after GOF) wants to go to the joke shop to get pranking material. It was basiclly Harry stating that while he could laugh at a good joke, he could just never be a prankster. He goes on to tell how since HE was usually the victim to the pranks in primary school (indicating Dudley and gang) he just could not be that mean and spiteful. It was actually a really nice theme, or at least I semi-remember it being one.

 

[OniGanon]

I'm just guessing, but it's probably the same reason HP fanfic writers have the 'light' side always firing non-lethal stun spells during major battles with Death Eaters, even though it can easily be shielded, or countered by their allies (ennervate), and practically guarantees that the Death Eater will either be back later in the battle or will return in the next battle to continue trying to kill them.