What If Harry Potter Had Been A Girl?

With so many female-driven adventure stories finding success both in books and on screen lately (from The Hunger Games to Divergent and A Game of Thrones , to name a few), it’s clear that audiences love seeing realistic portrayals of women. You don’t have to be the same gender as a protagonist to relate to them, because as storytellers consistently prove, complex characters are relatable in their own right… and a quest is a quest, whether the hero is male or female.

So would our favorite stories be that different if the hero had been traded for a heroine, or vice versa? Would a female Arthur have been able to pull the sword from the stone? Would a male Alice in Wonderland have been just as curious, and just as prone to fall down a rabbit hole and go through the looking glass? And what about a female Harry Potter?

Sure, there are plenty of awesome female characters already in the Harry Potter books… after all, Hermione Granger is one of the best female characters of all time (this is an understood fact, right?). But wouldn’t it be interesting to know what the series would have been like if the boy who lived… had been a girl?

She'd Have a Crazy Awesome Work Ethic

After growing up in the muggle world, girl Harry would be used to working twice as hard as the males in her class to overcome all the muggle-world double standards, so she'd develop a great work ethic.

She Would Have Picked a Letter Off the Ground

While male Harry spent his time dancing around in the letters in the Dursley's house, female Harry would know from her time spent studying that the best way to get a letter is to PICK ONE UP OFF THE GROUND. She'd put it in her pocket, pretend she didn't get one, and read it later in the privacy of her cupboard.

Snape Wouldn't Hate Her So Much

Harry reminded Snape of James, but if Harry had been a girl, he may have reminded Snape of Lily instead. Meaning Snape would have been a lot more eager to protect and help girl Harry throughout the series.

We'd Get Insight Into A Witch's Life

In the original series, we got to see behind the scenes in the lives of Ron, Seamus, Dean, and the rest of the Gryffindor men, since Harry lived in the dormitory with them... but with a female Harry, we'd see the girl's dormitory instead, and we'd get to learn a lot more about the brave ladies of the Hogwarts house. Plus, how awesome would it be to pick up tips and tricks from a witch's beauty and hair routine?

Sirius Would Think of Harry as Lily Instead of James

In the books, Sirius bonds with Harry right away because he sees the similarities between Harry and his old friend, James Potter. But if Harry had been a girl, Sirius might have compared her to Lily at first. Meaning she wouldn't get the Firebolt until after Sirius got to know her and realized her personality actually was a lot like James'.

Rita Skeeter Would Write a Lot of Stories About What Harry was Wearing During the Triwizard Tournament

The news would suddenly shift to cover what brand of robes girl Harry sported as she faced the Hungarian Horntail.

Whenever She Did Well in the Tournament, Draco Malfoy Would Say People Were Going Easy on Her Because She's a Girl

All while still flashing that "Potter stinks" badge.

Guys Would Be Lining Up to Ask Her to the Yule Ball

It would be expected that a guy would ask girl Harry, instead of the other way around, so she wouldn't end up without a date at the last minute... instead, she'd quickly find a date so she wouldn't have to deal with the drama. And she'd probably take her awesome friend Neville.

There'd Be That One Person in Dumbledore's Army Questioning Her Authority

Girl Harry would be in the middle of the lesson, and someone would whisper the word "bossy." But then they'd shut up after her awesome Patronus class.

She'd Agonize Over Her Crush on Fred Weasley (He's Ron's Brother!)

She'd feel as if she were betraying her friendship with Ron by crushing on his brother, but eventually it would all work out and she and Fred would get together. Ron would reluctantly approve, of course.

And She Wouldn't Try To Break Up With Fred to Protect Him

...because she knows they can both take care of themselves. Unlike male Harry when he ends his relationship with Ginny, female Harry would find a way to make it work because she believes she and her partner are both strong, independent people.

Voldemort Would Underestimate Her

The wizards and witches on the dark side consistently underestimate female characters in Harry Potter. For example, Bellatrix enters into a duel with Molly Weasley... big mistake. Hermione Granger is constantly discounted because of her muggle parentage, but according to Hagrid, there's not a spell she can't do. And female Harry would be no different. She would face Voldemort, emerge victorious, save Fred Weasley, and her scar wouldn't pain her for nineteen years. All would be well.

So, in short, it would be pretty awesome. Like you didn't know.