Why roll with a main character who’d “do well in Slytherin?”
If Yote Diamondback went to Hogwarts she’d be rocking the green and silver. But why roll with someone who’d be a surefire Slytherin in the first place?
If Harry Potter was a major inspiration for The Arcane Prophecy and the entire Arcane Elemental Academy series, why not roll with a protagonist who’d be a Gryffindor? Most main characters in young adult fantasies that don’t dive too deeply down the dark path would boast protagonists who are courageous, and show other positive traits associated with the red and gold. But I wanted to throw a dagger into that narrative.
Not that Yote Diamondback is a bad person or anything like that. But I sought a character who, if she went to Hogwarts, would serve two functions. One, she’d be Draco Malfoy’s best friend, and maybe even more than that. And two, she’d be a foil for Pansy Parkinson, who would exemplify the positive side of ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness.
When creating Yote, I asked myself, “Where do I start?” How, if I injected her into a magical academy like Arcane, could she serve these two purposes?
Enter Storm Sharpe, the brash rich love interest
Storm Sharpe and Draco Malfoy are carbon copies in everything except for looks. Storm has dark hair, olive-green eyes, and a fierce, focused gaze. But he’s rich, cocky, and someone who loves throwing his father’s name around.
Storm often has a few dudes following him around, and I was thinking of Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini when creating them. Oh, and Yote has a colorful nickname for this trio: the Gang of Idiots.
While they’re not stupid like Crabbe and Goyle, nor are they bullies, they have a passion for inconveniencing people. There’s a little bit of the Marauders in them, too, with Storm leading the charge. If students aren’t careful, they’ll be subjected to an embarrassing viral video simply because the Gang of Idiots would find it funny.
Yote loves all four of them, but she simultaneously can’t stand them. By injecting this group into The Arcane Prophecy, it let me theorize how someone like Yote would manage to keep these boys in check. And, if push came to shove, knock them down a few kegs.
Is Yote the Pansy Parkinson of the Gang of Idiots?
In a way, you can say she is. Like Pansy did with Draco in Harry Potter, Yote immediately aligns herself with Storm. She may not approve of his snobbish attitude, but Yote, coming from a well-to-do family herself, quickly becomes friends with the son of arguably the richest man in the region.
Yote also acknowledges her sole purpose of attending Arcane in the first place is to get the credentials needed for acceptance into an elitist Elemental high school. While her parents have a lot to do with Yote taking that path, she’s quick to conform, and keeps her sights on attending Lamerth the following year.
It’s clear that Yote, like Pansy, is attracted to elitism and staying atop the social order. Despite the fact that Storm and the Gang of Idiots like going out of their way to humiliate others, Yote scolds and even gets angry at them, but she often sees past their shortcomings once she cools off, and does so quickly.
In short, you can compare Yote to Pansy Parkinson. But she’s not the bullying snob that Pansy is. Nor is Yote a coward, unlike Pansy, who showed off her cowardly streak in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
How can a Slytherin be the heroine in a lighthearted novel?
That was the burning question to be answered. I had no interest in recreating Harry Potter, especially since there are a sh*t ton of retellings and comparable works out there, I’m sure. Instead, Potter needed to influence a series where the main character would be a Slytherin for the sheer challenge of making the idea work.
I hate writing fiction that conforms to modern-day trends. It’s boring, and quite frankly, it’s absurd. Why not be different, take a challenge, and cater to a niche audience that will buy every damn book you write? That’s where I was going with The Arcane Prophecy.
Yote Diamondback may not resemble Pansy Parkinson to a T, nor should she. Instead, it makes for an interesting book series to inject a good deal of Pansy into Yote, but not that stereotypical mean girl attitude. Instead, Yote’s sister, Jett Diamondback, carries that honor.
And if you don’t believe me, why not meet Jett for yourself? Check out the first three chapters of The Arcane Prophecy and introduce yourself to her. She’s waiting for you.
