Because she didn’t want to deny her kids the pleasure of reading them, she made them more “family-friendly”

Sep 25, 2014 18:19 GMT  ·  By
Harry Potter is a boy wizard whose beautiful journey to (young) adulthood is documented in the “Harry Potter” books and films
   Harry Potter is a boy wizard whose beautiful journey to (young) adulthood is documented in the “Harry Potter” books and films

J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books spanned one of the biggest film franchises of all times but they’re also very popular and critically acclaimed on their own. To one mom in particular, they’re a bit too “wizardy,” so she’s rewriting them to replace all mentions of wizards and witchcraft with Christianity.

She’s doing it because she wants her kids to be able to enjoy the “Harry Potter” books without experiencing any of their negative effects in terms of behavior. Funnily enough, she’s oblivious to the fact that, by rewriting them, she’s not allowing the kids access to “Harry Potter” at all, but to her own version of it.

In mother’s version, Harry is on a journey to becoming a true Christian

Grace Ann posted several chapters from her own version of the “Harry Potter” books on the website FanFiction.net, a forum where fans can get together, exchange ideas and chat on their versions of popular literary works.

The fragments have gone viral, reigniting the debate on religion and fanaticism, and whether one’s religious belief should carry them this far as to rewrite novels to keep their children “safe.” A much cheaper and convenient alternative would obviously be that of not having the books at home at all.

That’s an idea Grace Ann would not even consider. “My little ones have been asking to read the Harry Potter books; and of course I’m happy for them to be reading; but I don’t want them turning into witches!” she writes. “So I thought... why not make some slight changes so these books are family friendly?”

By “family friendly” she means that she replaced every mention of wizards and witchcraft with Christianity, and the books are now called the “Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles!”

What’s different at Hogwarts now?

First of all, Harry’s uncle and aunt are trying to keep him in the dark about Christianity, feeding him instead notions of evolution, “science and socialism and birthdays.” Don’t ask what birthdays have to do with it, the Internet has been trying to figure that one out as well – to no avail.

Hagrid takes Harry to Hogwarts to introduce him to the religion and God. There, he meets Dumbledore, who is now a Reverend and is married and straight, of course. Hermione is his daughter and is described as “modest” and “obedient.” She probably would never dare to challenge everyone and everything as she does in the books, guided by her razor-sharp wits.

Besides presenting Christianity as the only possible way, the rewrites also change the feminist rhetoric in the books – and not just by depriving Hermione of her exceptional mind.

“Women shouldn't not have careers because women are stupid! Women are not stupid at all! Women should not have careers because women are nurturing and loving and their gifts serve them best in the home!” Harry shouts at one point.

New version of “Harry Potter” could be “satire”

Because the changes made are so huge, many readers online believe that we’re dealing with a satirical piece. After all, this is a very popular series of novels, and changing the text to such an extent and still claiming to be in the spirit of the original seems like an Audacity on part of the woman who did it.

Nevertheless, there are strong indications that the text is meant as actual fan fiction, not satire, starting with the fact that it was posted on the aforementioned forum. Then, as noted above, it spans several chapters and many pages, thousands of words, which indicates that this is an extended, tireless effort of creation.

More samples are available at the link above. You decide for yourself whom to believe.