What a character

When most people say that, they mean, oh, how funny or how eccentric or how quirky.  I'd like to put another meaning out there: when a character in a book feels so real that you can envision his or her story continuing on after you read the last page--and want to so desperately--that's a character.  There are characters in my head from books I've loved that feel more real to me than some of my family members!  Ha ha, but not kidding.  This is why people write fan fiction, I'm guessing, and read it as well.  I haven't been tempted to try writing it, and the few I've read haven't wowed me, but I saw one today that intrigued me: James Potter.  It would be hard to follow in Harry Potter's footsteps, wouldn't it?  Harry has some pretty big shoes after all.  James's adventures would likely either be quite interesting or simply dull, depending on if he felt drawn to top his father's exploits somehow or opted to have a quiet humdrum life as his father had earned for him and for everyone, saving the world and all.  I have wondered this about "real" famous people's sons and daughters, who often don't seem to amount to much, but is that because they live their lives under intense scrutiny and would be thought perfectly normal people if not for their famous parent(s)?  Children of famous characters hadn't occurred to me though, hence my interest in James Potter.  That curiosity alone might be enough to get me to pick up the book, just to see if he's a character.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2548866.James_Potter_and_the_Hall_of_Elders_Crossing