I've always been uncomfortable with phrases like "wizarding world" or using "wizards" to refer to wizards and witches. In the past, I've tried to compensate by actually writing out witches and wizards, or using magical people, but it never works out because I'm too lazy. We need better slang on VH. On the blog "magicals" is the collective noun for witches and wizards.
Theory of left-handedness among magicals
From VH21, where I was explaining why Morgiana is left-handed:
My reasoning is that you used to be able to be killed as a witch for being left-handed, and even my dad got caned as a child for using his left hand to write with. The left hand is traditionally associated with evil because the latin word for sinister meant left. Or something.
sinister |ˈsinistər|We know enough people were burned as witches for the invention of the fire freezing charm to be useful (though I don't know how they dealt with hanging and beheading - perhaps some sort of levitation charm in the case of hanging?) perhaps the muggles were on to something and left-handedness is actually more prevalent among magical folk.
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [malicious, underhanded] ): from Old French sinistre or Latin sinister ‘left.’
Metamorphmagi
Don't really know why I was thinking about this, because I wouldn't ever create a metamorph character, but I was thinking about how when you see them on other forums, they tend to bend to the typical "Mary-sue" stereotype of using their powers only to change their hair and eye colour. And that seems pointless to me.
We know metamorphmagus powers are genetic, because JKR has said Teddy inherited it from Tonks. However, not all genetic traits automatically manifest, some need environmental factors to trigger them. The other thing Teddy and Tonks have in common is that they were both born in the middle of the wizarding wars. It's not hugely important, but it could explain why it's so rare, and why metamorphmagi exist at all.
Which brings me to my next point. In nature, what do animals change their appearance for? To hide, and to get attention.
I'm actually more interested in attention, because my cousin just had a baby, and human babies are way less self-sufficient than any other animals. Human babies need your attention. If they want to eat, if they want to be burped, if they want to get up or lie down or play or if they're overtired or whatever! And the way most babies get it is by crying.
So the way I see most RPers talking about their metamorph character, probably based on the way JKR described Teddy's hair changing colour, is that they have to learn to control their powers. Their eyes go red when they're angry (red for anger! If your character is from another culture, does that change?) and they mentally chastise themselves for slipping.
I suggest that it's the other way around. The metamorph gets control of their powers very quickly, when they're a baby, and uses those powers as an alternative or an additional way of getting the attention they need. Which would be especially useful in a situation where crying was dangerous, such as during a war.
