While many consider themselves Harry Potter fans, few can fathom the hundreds of thousands of mega fans that congregate online. 

FanFiction.net is a free archive site where users can post their own stories and review others’ work. All “fics” posted are stories based on pre-created work with categories ranging from film to anime to novels. 

The most popular storyline that the 1.3 million users manipulate, elaborate on and make their own is Harry Potter, with over 384,000 fics posted. 

The stories users write completely change what happens in the real books—they sometimes even bring in other novels or shows such as “The Lord of the Rings” or “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” creating a mass compilation of various plots.  

The inner workings of FanFiction are extremely complicated, making truly a world of its own. Involved “fanfictioners” are fluent in specialized terminology for the site and can even name favorite FanFiction-only authors. 

Senior Joanna Derman became a FanFiction fan in the sixth grade. She has a mixed love-hate relationship with the site. 

Derman says she shakes her head at self-proclaimed Harry Potter fans who do not use FanFiction. 

“People who use the site are pursuing Harry Potter beyond the books by Rowling,” Derman said. “That dedication is clearly the sign of a true fan.” 

Derman also feels that she has improved her skills as a writer and even made a close friend at school because of the site.  

“I’ve only posted a few stories, but it’s a great opportunity to have fellow fans rate and comment on your work,” Derman said. 

Using FanFiction linked her and fellow senior Sarah Emsley when Derman was new to the school. 

“I was walking by and I heard her mention the site,” Derman said. “We immediately started squealing in excitement at having found a peer fan.” 

While Derman said that she actually prefers some of the FanFiction versions of Harry Potter (posted stories can range from one to over a hundred chapters) to Rowling’s series, she has some major problems with the site. 

 “My social life suffered because I literally spent hours and hours weeding through awful stories written by 13 year-olds before finally making it to some quality pieces,” Derman said. 

She said she loved certain posts (her favorites include “Winterwood” by the user sterlwench and “Redemption” by Krtshadow) but others manipulated the characters of Harry Potter in unbelievable ways. 

“It’s also extremely annoying when a really good author will stop writing halfway through a chapter,” Derman said. 

For Derman, FanFiction was a way to pass the time between actual Harry Potter books. 

“I read so much FanFiction that I’d actually have to reread certain Harry Potter books before the next one was released because I would forget what the actual plot was,” Derman said. “I also heard that Rowling refused to read anything on FanFiction until the end of the last book because she was afraid she’d be led off her track by different posts.” 

FanFiction gives users many filter options. It asks for two genres, which Derman said can greatly affect the type of story that comes up. 

“There is literally something for everyone,” Derman said. “I usually set my search for genres in Romance and Action-Adventure stories.” 

The site also allows users to pick a favorite “pairing.” This means that a user could be particularly interested in the relationship between characters Ron and Hermione. Stories revolving around this relationship are then brought up. 

There are various terms within FanFiction used to describe the content of various posted stories. 

A “Fluff” story means that it is sweet and innocent. “AU/AT” indicates that the story takes place in an alternate universe, outside of Hogwarts. “Crossovers” are stories that combine characters from other novels such as “The Lord of the Rings.” Because users can write about anything, some stories also have age advisory warnings due to inappropriate content. 

With such a wide range of story options, Derman found it easy to spend endless amounts of time on FanFiction looking for new great plot twists and character interactions.

 “I’d always tell myself ‘One more chapter, one more chapter,’ Derman said. “But believe me, it is never just one more chapter.”