Build-An-Author a new canon game

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 178546

Potioncat:
> I suggest a new game!
> 
> Which character sometimes reminds you of JKR? Or, Does JKR ever 
display 
> traits of one of her characters? Cite canon or at least refer to it. 
No 
> characters off limits this round.

Ceridwen:
I don't know if I should participate in a game invented by someone who 
has created a Reader!Horcrux:

> Potioncat, who has compartmentalized all deep, dark thoughts about DH 
> into a tidy little box and hid it behind tasseled shawls, poufs, and 
> pictures of too cute kittens.

Ceridwen again:
Especially one that gives off Umbridge vibes, but I'll be a sacrificial 
guinea pig.

I trust that opinion also comes into this, so I will put Snape forward 
as an alter ego.  The character was based in part on a teacher she 
disliked who gave her bad marks and called on her in class when she 
didn't know the answers.  The other teacher who became part of Snape, 
from what I hear, didn't give Rowling a chance in the first class, 
relegating her to the "dunce" side of the room.  These teachers were 
not Ms. Rowling's favorite people.  Snape is portrayed as not being 
able to let go of grudges.  By creating this "deeply horrible" 
character, she releases her own grudges.

I also advance Petunia.  The physical description, of a thin blonde 
woman, could conceivably be a description of the author by the author, 
from a low-self-esteem POV, as she may have had at the beginning of the 
series.  Petunia is best known for disliking Harry and for spoiling her 
son, Dudley.  I think that Rowling got so attached to the character of 
Harry that she was unable to put him through the wringer fully.  The 
thing that most makes me think of Rowling when I read Petunia in DH, 
though, was her consuming desire to be a part of Lily's world when she 
couldn't be.  It was actually heartbreaking to think of that child 
seeing all the cool things her sister could do, and practically begging 
to be able to be a part of it.  I think this trait could apply to more 
people than Rowling: wouldn't we all want to be magical and have the 
ability to have the laundry fold itself, to Apparate, to Levicorpus 
friends and enemies?  Sure.

Dumbledore.  He was a twinkly-eyed mentor, but he had his dark side.  
What author doesn't manipulate the actions of their characters to some 
extent or another?  Characters take on their own lives, and it's up to 
an author to shepherd them back into the plot.  As author, Rowling is 
the Creatrix of the WW and the Supreme Mover of the plot.  She is 
Dumbledore's Dumbledore, and maybe the irony struck her.

Minerva McGonagall, while having affection for the children under her 
charge, comes off as a tight-lipped prude at times.  While Rowling 
never got nearly as tight-lipped as Minerva, she did express some 
surprise at people assuming they would be Sorted into Slytherin, or 
having an attraction to the "bad boys" of the series.

I suppose Hermione, Rowling's stated self-insert, should be mentioned.  
Since I didn't see Rowling as a child, though, I'll have to take her 
word on that.

Ceridwen.