History Literature / SeptimusHeap

* AChildShallLeadThem: Jenna is 10 years old when she is called to be Castle Queen. Her coronation, however, isn't until she's 14 during ''Fyre'', which is a significant plot point in ''Darke''.

* ChildMage: Septimus Heap is an adolescent who has the makings of becoming a powerful wizard one day.

* SealedGoodInACan: Queen Cerys spends most of the series in the Queen's Chamber. As a ghost she can't go anywhere she never visited while alive, and having been queen means she visited ''very'' few places outside the castle. Since someone needs to guard the secret passages the Chamber hides, she opts to make that her permanent home.

* TooDumbToLive: Queen Etheldredda demanded [[spoiler:her son, Marcellus Pye, craft her a potion to grant her immortality. Marcellus, being the most talented Physician of his day (and also the only one of her children she didn't murder),]] actually proved capable of doing this. Unfortunately for all involved, Etheldredda [[spoiler:grew too impatient and stole the potion before he could finish it. It killed her.]] ...sort of.

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Most, if not all, people who die become ghosts. They are required to spend the first year plus one day in the exact location where they died, and can only enter places that they visited at least once while alive — if they try to break that rule, they get swept back out by a supernatural wind. While they cannot touch or grab things, they have the limited ability to '''Cause''' things to happen. Somehow. No one's sure exactly how it works, not even the ghosts themselves. Alther can cause a hat to be replaced by one only "slightly" smaller, seemingly easily; [[spoiler:Ceres]] and [[spoiler:Etheldredda]] can open and close doors with a snap of their fingers. And yet, other ghosts fade away (the ghostly equivalent of passing out from exhaustion) from merely causing a tap on someone's shoulder.

* PetTheDog: It's said in ''Darke'' that [[BigBad DomDaniel]] once gave a bowl of milk for a stray cat. Semi-justified, as it's mentioned that a Darke witch or wizard can never become ''completely'' evil simply because he or she is human.

* TakingTheBullet: Jenna is haunted all her life by a "named bullet" -- a bullet guaranteed to find the person bearing its name. Initially, it "comes" to her unshot and free of its gun -- she owns it, so it "found" her. However, it's stolen from her and fired. [[spoiler: Alice Nettles takes it, and due to the way the bullet was named, it accepts her as its target.]]

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Most, if not all, people who die become ghosts. These are tied to the places they visited when they were alive, and while they cannot touch or grab things, they have the limited ability to '''Cause''' things to happen. Somehow. No one's sure, really. Alther can cause a hat to be replaced by one only "slightly" smaller, seemingly easily, and yet, other ghosts fade away(the ghostly equivalent of passing out from exhaustion), from causing a tap on someone's shoulder.

* AbandonedWarehouse: The Port is filled with these warehouses, many the products of the stern Port Customs Office impounding goods and then never get the customs money paid. One of these in ''Physik'' has the time travelling Glass.

* AdultsAreUseless: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. Most of the adults characters ''aren't'' useless per se, but the kids are usually the ones who get the important stuff done, and there's been more than one occasion where the adults contribute to problems by refusing to listen to the kids.

* AmbitionIsEvil: [[spoiler:Simon Heap]] is aiming to become [=ExtraOrdinary=] Wizard. When he’s stepped over in favour of Septimus, he’s turns to [=DomDaniel=] to get his wish. It doesn’t work out.

** In Syren, Septimus has a hard time of convincing Jenna and Beetle of the Syren's existence.

* AYearAndADay: An often-seen deadline across the books, e.g. a wizard enters a contract as an apprentice for seven years and a day.

* BackForTheFinale: ''Fyre'' involves many of the major and minor characters from pervious books. It's not quite a ContinuityCavalcade, but it's close.

* CannotCrossRunningWater: '''Darke Magyk''' and its creatures don't cross saltwater - especially flowing or tide-influenced one - well.

* ChekhovMIA: Wolf Boy/Boy 409 is mentioned in ''Magyk'' as having been lost in the river, but he's later reintroduced as survivor in ''Flyte''.

* CoolBoat: The ''Cerys'', sporting among others ventilated safe rooms, lots of fancy equipment etc. And lets not forget the Dragon Boat.
* CoolCrown: The True Crown. Made from the gold of the spiders of Aurum, it was withold by Queen Etheldredda from her daughter Esmeralda and only taken back by Princess Jenna five hundred years later.

* DidntSeeThatComing: ''Magyk'': This is [=DomDaniels=] reaction when Marcia reveals that the Apprentice the Heaps have just saved is actually him.

* DiscreetDiningDisposal: With Aunt Zelda's food, many people try to dispose of it, by feeding it to dogs, hiding it behind their cutlery, showeling it into their pockets, and allegedly by hiding away in the attic with an excuse and conjuring better food up with '''Magyk'''.

* DudeNotFunny: InUniverse: Nicko Heap often gets criticized for this, having an habit of not understanding the seriousness of a situation.

** At the end of ''Magyk'', Sarah Heap notices that [[spoiler:Septimus's]] eyes are becoming green when she identifies him as her child.

* GoodGuyBar: The Hole In The Wall tavern, where several meetings of the characters occur.

* MicroMonarchy: The Castle. It's a fairly small city state, except without as much external territory as city states usually have.

* OutOfFocus: In the very beginning of the first book, at least, we were introduced to Silas and see through his perspective frequently, and it seemed as though he was going to be one of the main characters. But virtually every single Heap besides Jenna, Septimus, Nicko, and Simon are swept away for the vast majority of the series and only get a few scenes at most per book mentioning what they're up to.

* SingleSexOffspring: the Heaps have only had sons for several generations, and the lone daughter, Jenna, is adopted.

* UnfortunateName: Poor Jim Knee. He got his name through Merrin's mispronounciation of "jinnie", and certainly wasn't pleased about it -- a jinnie of his status shouldn't have such a common name.

* AcceptableProfessionalTargets: Wizards and Witches are often mocked or plainly distrusted InUniverse.

* UncannyValley: An InUniverse example: Syrah when she's [[spoiler:possessed by the Syren]].

* TheLostWoods: The Forest is this in spades, being a lawless wilderness well beyond the Castle's authority (despite being literally across the river from it) and home to [[ManEatingPlant carnivorous]] [[WhenTreesAttack trees]], packs of vicious wolverines, and the [[WickedWitch witches.]]

** The Two-Faced Ring. It grants its wearer immense Darke power, but once it's put on, [[ClingyMacguffin it never comes off.]] Ever. [[UpToEleven Even if the wearer dies.]] But there is one way to remove the Two-Faced Ring. It's called "the Other Way", and it involves [[{{Fingore}} cutting off the finger that the Ring is on]] and removing it that way.