Some Ways Rowling Could Have Made HP a Little Different

These are a collection of ideas about other ways that J.K. Rowling could have written her books. Many of these ideas came to me through my brother, Matthew, who got me thinking about how Harry Potter could have been different, and why J.K. Rowling made excelent choices when she wrote her books.

Item #1: What else could Harry have pulled out of the sorting hat in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?

*Salazar Slytherin's Semi-Automatic Slingshot: Unfortunately, although semi-automatic, Slytherin's slingshot would have been no match against the Basilisk. Besides, there were no rocks handy for ammo, so Harry would have only had a few chances at hitting the snake.
*Rowina Ravenclaw's Bewitched Blowtorch: This weapon may have come in handy for Harry, except that the Basilisk uses pipes to get around, which are most likely damp. The fire would go out and Harry would be left trying to fling the blowtorch at the Basilisk when the fire didn't work.
*Helga Hufflepuff's Laser-Guided Rocket Launcher: This weapon may have been useful, had it not been for the tight quarters in the chamber. I, personally, remember countless times of being blow up with such a weapon as this in games like James Bond and Quake. For this reason, I think J.K.
Rowling was wise not to provide Harry with such easy means of meeting his own demise.

Item #2: What other ways to get to Hogwarts could have existed?

*The Hogwarts Jet Plane: The Hogwarts Jet Plane seems to be the most logical way anyone should go anywhere, especially such advanced people as wizards and witches. However, since flying cars had enough trouble landing just a little off course, a plane would undoubtedly be even harder to land on Hogwarts grounds and would damage much more than a wand, if an accident occured.
*The Hogwarts Hot Air Balloon: This would be a wonderful idea except for the whole landing thing. See "The Hogwarts Jet Plane" for details.
*The Hogwarts Bus: The Knight Bus exists in the wizarding world, so why wouldn't Rowling have busses go to Hogwarts? Well, the sheer number of students would require a few multiple decker busses, probably six-decker or more, so safety and practicality rules busses out. Besides, even muggles would notice a few six-decker busses parked somewhere. It would be possible to disguise the busses, with a combination of tactics from the Hogwarts express and the Knight Bus, but the effort would not be worth the busses.

These are just a few things that J.K. Rowling could have put into her books. She, of course, chose the material that is present in the books now, but it is fun to ponder the possibilities of Harry Potter's realm of magic.

By Amanda Smith

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