Forget the Cowbell; I need more Draco Malfoy! Part 2

I wanted to continue my post about fan fiction. We all love it, whether we admit it loud and proud or keep it as our most delicious secret. It's succulent WORDS, baby, and oh, how we love words.

Anyway...

There's a pervasive What-If element to many fan fics, and that's really nothing new. Now, I loved X-Men comics when I was younger (well into my teenage years, thanks), and every so often, Marvel's writers released a What-If issue/storyline.

Here's a quick list that someone's put on Wikipedia. Heck, the X-Men went through an entire Age of Apocalypse (so incredibly awesome, by the way) to show what happened if Xavier died before creating the X-Men. Even the people deciding the future of every story wanted to explore different angles with their characters. And why not? It sold comics, entertained us, made us go 'hmmm.' Great idea, right?

It's no surprise then, that writers and readers across the planet want to do the same with characters so magnificent that they're more friends than figments of the imagination. Here are some questions I'm almost positive at least one fic has answered: What-If...

Bella chose Jacob
Voldemort won
Kendra killed Drusilla (yeah, roll that around your brain for a minute)
Gayle took Peeta's place in the games
Peter left Neverland forever

If could be anything, everything! A whim, a raised eyebrow, an 'ooh, what about this...'

So, what's yours? What is that one thing you would change in your favorite story, and how would it effect every single other thing that happens? Why not write it?

-Marie