A Headmaster other than Albus

[oryx_leucoryx]

So here is an idea for an AU scenario. Anyone is free to develop it into a fic, but we can just discuss the what-if:

Sometime between November 2nd 1981 and July 1991 Albus Dumbledore died suddenly. Maybe in some magical mishap, maybe a sudden heart attack, whatever. The important bit is he didn't expect this to happen and had no time to do any ad-hoc cover-ups nor did he have a chance to influence the choice of his replacement or to incorporate his death into some plot. The permanent replacement is chosen by the Board of Governors. If this happens early enough Lucius isn't yet on the board, if later he is on, but probably still trying to earn a reputation as an outstanding member of society who would have never joined forces with Voldemort willingly so I don't think he'd support anyone blatantly against the inclusion of Muggleborns. Anyway, the replacement turns out to be someone not as outwardly impressive as Dumbles - not so showy, with perhaps average or slightly above average magical performance, but a capable administrator with good organizational and interpersonal skills, but most importantly someone who cares about the students' well-being and education. It can be someone from Slughorn's network or even someone who thought well of Albus as long as s/he didn't have a chance to look too closely at how Hogwarts was run, but definitely not an Order member or any other close associate of Dumbles. Maybe an older, more experienced and less idealistic version of Percy.

The members of the Hogwarts staff are as we know them in PS (Care of Magical Creatures is taught by Kettleburn, Hagrid is still a groundskeeper), except for DADA. Depending on timing, Quirrell might be the Muggle Studies teacher. I think the DADA curse should still be active, so the teachers are still being replaced annually (we don't want the new school Head to have it too easy).

So I think this new person shows up and tries to run Hogwarts like a normal school. Some teachers object because that's not the way it was always done, some are relieved to have a professional in charge for a change. The handling of disciplinary matters changes. The inter-House politics change.

And then in the summer of 1991 Quirrell comes back from a sabbatical with a personally transplant. And one Harry Potter oddly doesn't reply to his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. (I doubt the new Head had a reason to look into Harry's situation of hir own initiative earlier, but maybe someone can make a convincing argument for that?) So what now?

Comments

[oryx_leucoryx]

Minerva didn't do anything in canon. The only reason I can think of for anyone to do anything is if New Head starts asking questions.

Hmm. New Head goes over staff members files and interviews them (like Umbridge, but with competence and without cruelty). How much does s/he learn about the circumstances of Severus' hiring? (The fact that Severus was a DE turned spy is a matter of record, though not widely known, so something would be said.) Maybe that information starts the investigation?

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

----Minerva didn't do anything in canon.

She never acted against Albus in canon, but she did have concerns about Harry's placement. She might act on those concerns if Albus were out of the picture.

On another note, Albus was essentially Harry's legal guardian in the WW. Somebody would have to take over that responsibility if he died, I think. I don't know if that would be the new headmaster or if Albus would have designated somebody.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Albus was never appointed legally as Harry's guardian. He assumed that position when Sirius was arrested. (Though for Hogwarts' purpose, the Dursleys are Harry's guardians - they are the ones who need to sign the Hogsmeade permission slip.) And in my scenario he wasn't expecting to die so he wouldn't have thought of a substitute.

I think once Albus is out of the picture someone at the Ministry asks 'who gave Albus the right to make Harry Potter's arrangements anyway, and what was he doing with the key to the Potter vault anyway?' Harry has living relatives on the Black family side (assuming Charlus Potter was his grandfather). Many of them are old and childless, his closest relatives who are of an age to raise a child are either the Tonks family or the Malfoys. Next in line would be the Longbottoms (whether Neville's immediate family or any surviving children of Callidora and Harfang's daughter - the daughter would be Neville's great-aunt, any child of hers would be Frank's first cousin), the various branches of the Weasley family and the Crouches - I doubt Bartemius would be considered, but he had 2 sisters.

All taken together, I think once questions started being asked, Harry would have most likely ended up with the Tonks family.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

If he'd ended up with them before he started going to Hogwarts, he'd've probably spent time living there while Tonks was still at Hogwartts, only home for summers.

[snapes-witch.livejournal.com]

Even if the tapestry Potters are Harry's grandparents (I'm inclined to think Charlus is his uncle instead) their connection with the Blacks wouldn't have meant Harry would be safe living with any of them. His blood protection is from his mum so Harry has to live with his Aunt Petunia.

[detritius.livejournal.com]

Well, Dumbledore put a lot of stock in the whole blood protection thing, but as far as I recall, we never saw it actually do anything for Harry, did we? And even if it was doing something, I wouldn't be surprised if whoever started making decisions after Dumbeldore's proposed death thought it was more important to protect Harry from the abuse and neglect that were already happening rather than some nebulous threat that may or may not ever materialize. And that's if whoever took over for Dumbledore even knew about the blood protection, which, considering how many things Dumbledore kept to himself, they very well might not.

[snapes-witch.livejournal.com]

The blood protection came into play when Quirrell attacked Harry, and his hands were burned. Some think it killed him; I'm not sure.

[detritius.livejournal.com]

That's what that was? I do remember that (it killed Quirrell for sure in the movie, but the book left it ambiguous, I think) but what does that have to do with him living at the Dursleys', since it happened at Hogwarts? And didn't Voldemort say he overcame that protection by taking Harry's blood in GoF? If so, why did he have to keep going back to the Dursleys'? I haven't read any of the books in ages, so this may be just me being dense, or it might be one of those side effects of Rowling never clearly defining how any of her magic worked.

[snapes-witch.livejournal.com]

Yes, when Voldemort used Harry's blood he was then able to touch Harry.

Dumbledore added his own protections to the Dursleys' house; I suppose that's the reason Harry had to stay there. Oh, so he could have lived with Andromeda after all???? Now I'm confused!

Yeah, it doesn't pay to look at these books too closely!

[oryx_leucoryx]

The protection that came into play in PS was Lily's protection. It is the same thing that happened at Godric's Hollow - if Tom (but not an independent agent of his as Quirrel was initially, before Tom occupied the back of his head) casts a spell directly on Harry or touches Harry the spell rebounds and the touch burns.

Terri attempted to disentangle the contradictions and disinformation about the 4PD protection in an essay named 'The Strongest Shield' (I'll post the link separately) from 12-06-2009. Her conclusion is that the protection was limited to 4PD itself and only from Voldemort himself, making it superfluous during the years Tom was in Albania.

So if New Head starts digging into some of Albus' decisions - maybe Severus comes forward with the protection story (if he doesn't nobody does - they don't know). After some questioning the whole story falls apart. Since Harry wasn't gaining anything from being with the Dursleys he is moved to a wizarding family, and everyone in the know loses some more respect for Albus and trust in his choices.

[oryx_leucoryx]

The link is: The Strongest Shield

[oryx_leucoryx]

The only people who know anything about the circumstances of Lily's death are Severus (who only knows partially and indirectly) and Tom himself (and Harry has memories in his subconscious). As far as Minerva knows, Harry was placed with the Dursleys to protect him from his fame. As far as the greater wizarding society knows, Harry is a weird baby with special powers, possibly.

And if Severus brings up what he knows I think at best the conclusion would be that if there were any signs of Voldemort showing up Harry could be moved to the Dursleys then, with added wizarding support.

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

Just a thought... What if the headmaster of Hogwarts is automatically the legal guardian in the Wizarding World of any magical children with Muggle guardians (i.e. Muggle-borns). If this were true, then Dumbledore would have retained legal control over Harry in the wizarding world for as long as the Dursleys were Harry's official guardians.

[oryx_leucoryx]

In that case Dippet was Tom's guardian, and it was criminal on yet another level for Albus not to tell what he learned at the orphanage.

[terri-testing.livejournal.com]

However, then Dumbledore could have signed Harry's Hogsmeade visit authorization, and surely Minerva would have told Harry that he could appeal to the headmaster for that when he admitted the Dursleys hadn't signed it?

Although--given that all those precautions were in place to safeguard HARRY from the mass-murderer BLACK, maybe Minerva (using her own judgment, not consulting with her superior) might have decided that for the safety of the boy, she wouldn't tell him of that possibility....

But wouldn't Albus then have joyfully signed the boy's permission form anyhow, to fling the human Horcrux into danger?

Well, possibly not. If enough outsiders would consider it negligent (at least) to authorize Hogsmeade visits while the mass-murdering Death Eater were at large.

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

----But wouldn't Albus then have joyfully signed the boy's permission form anyhow....

Maybe that's why Minerva didn't let Harry know it was a possibility. ;)

[snapes-witch.livejournal.com]

(The fact that Severus was a DE turned spy is a matter of record, though not widely known, so something would be said.)

That depends on when DD kicks off, doesn't it? Too soon after Godric's Hollow and no one knows about Severus because he's Dumbledore's spy, not the Order's. It's only when the DEs are rounded up (actual date unknown) that Dumbledore speaks up for Severus at his hearing, trial, or whatever the heck it was.

[oryx_leucoryx]

I think Igor's hearing was not very long after Godric's Hollow. As soon as Igor got confident enough that his Dark Mark was really really gone he proposed his deal. I don't see him staying too long in Azkaban if he didn't have to.

As for Severus - if there are no rumors about him having been a DE (the Weasley kids don't know of any) then his entire investigation must have taken place in a way that did not interfere with the school schedule. Either it was all done in an evening or a weekend, or at most during Christmas break. Or simply Albus vouched for him and nobody asked any questions. Which might come to bite Severus once people start being really suspicious of Albus.

[malic-ba.livejournal.com]

Love this, excellent scenario for speculation!

I would be surprised if how a teacher was hired was important if he had established a good teaching record. If the New Head comes in soon after 1981, he's probably trying to decide whether to keep the underqualified 'political' appointee(s!) or replace them, well before 1991.

What would Severus do in this scenario? IIRC Dumbledore swears him to service the second time by saying that Voldemort will come back, and that HP will need protection then, but not that Harry would be important to stopping VM later.

With DD out of the picture, is Severus the only person who believes VM is coming back? I don't think DD suggested that to Minerva in the scene we saw. Anyone else in the Order? The Ministry certainly wasn't interested in canon ... maybe some of the DEs could be convinced?

One possibility I like is that in 1991, Quirrell turns up changed from his sabbatical. New Head decides that the poor man is too traumatised from his Dark Creature experiences to teach this term and he is sent off for a rest cure somewhere. Hopefully Severus sees enough by then to become suspicious. I like to think he goes to his 'old friend' Lucius Malfoy, who's not at all keen on the idea of the Dark Lord returning, and arranges an unfortunate accident ...

Meanwhile, Harry Potter is found and brought to school by the usual authorities, as per the_bitter_word and marionros's excellent posts below. It makes total sense to me that the WW would not allow magic using kids to stay in the Muggle world, for fear of exposure.(Alternatively SS might check up on him now that DD isn't around - 'help me keep him safe' devolving to 'you keep him safe'.) I doubt that anyone does know about the 'blood protection' so the Dursleys are probably obliviated and Harry fostered somewhere else.

Under the New Head, the Philosopher's Stone probably never goes near Hogwarts. (What did DD tell Nicholas Flamel in canon?)

But then, perhaps Quirrell helps Voldemort possess someone with a better chance of getting into Gringotts instead?

Voldemort might get the Stone and be reincarnated earlier, without Harry's special blood. OTOH, without DD around, more of the adults would probably act competantly (Minerva, the Order) and HP would be better adjusted and more willing to accept help.

How would anyone find out about the Horcruxes though?

So many possibilities! I'd love to read some fanfics on this topic ...

[oryx_leucoryx]

Well, in Terri's fic Severus suspects Albus had some Machiavellian plan regarding Harry when he realizes how *unsafe* Harry had been with the Dursleys. Putting this together with Albus' conviction that Voldemort will return, he wonders if Albus knows anything about specific means Voldemort may have used to protect himself to death. In Terri's scenario Severus gets hold of the Black family copy of Secrets of the Darkest Art (with the help of Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait and the unknowing assistance of Draco), but the alternative is that Severus and New Head realize the significance of Albus' collection of Horcrux books, or that with the information New Head gets from Severus s/he forces the truth out of Albus' portrait.

If New Head and Severus come to trust each other they can be a stronger anti-Tom team than Albus and his 'secrecy and lies' policies, despite being less magically powerful.

I think they should be able to find and destroy at least some of the Horcruxes before Harry arrives at Hogwarts, and they'd know the expected number of them too.

As I understand it, Quirrell in canon went abroad in hope of acquiring experience fighting Dark creatures in order to get the DADA job. (I wonder if he was inspired by Lockhart's books?) If New Head understands the job is cursed perhaps s/he seeks a work-around? Perhaps some of the curriculum can become part of Care of Magical Creatures, some can be part of Charms and some can be part of a new class of Magical Philosophy and Ethics (where Umbridge's textbook is part of the curriculum - that's the book that talks about peaceful de-escalation methods and calls wizards on their hypocrisy of calling jinx they like counter-jinxes). In that case even if Quirrell was feeling stagnated as Muggle Studies teacher he might have not felt the need to travel abroad in order to improve his employment prospects.

[malic-ba.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, 'Unlikely Allies' - absolute gold!
In fact all of Terri's work is awesome, fics ('To do all in my power', anyone? 'The Girl and the Boy'?) and essays.

Totally agree that the New Head could put together a more effective anti-Voldimort team without DD's automatic secrecy, if they wanted to.

But would the New Head be interested in plotting against Voldemort at all, or see that as the Ministry's responsibility?

Maybe they would think that the Ministry would not act (being realistic about the WW) and therefore they would have to take action as a 'concerned citizen' once convinced of the danger?

On DADA, I'm not sure that they would decide that the job was cursed. I suspect that its effect must have been pretty subtle before Harry turned up - teachers leaving for a range of non-fatal reasons - because IIRC Dumbledore, who thought he knew when, why and by whom the curse might have been cast, only 'suspected' that there was one.

[oryx_leucoryx]

New Head will probably not be the leader of the anti-Voldemort effort, but s/he will have a special role as Hogwarts Head as the one with some power to enforce cooperation from Albus' portrait. Also, if Voldemort shows up he may involve Hogwarts in some plot whether New Head wants it or not.

I think once the information becomes available the responsibility to finding the Horcruxes and to solving the Harrycrux problem as well as finding possible interpretations to the prophecy will go to the Department of Mysteries. Severus will want to be involved one way or another and will have his own information to provide.

[malic-ba.livejournal.com]

That would make sense, if anyone at the Ministry could be persuaded to take the threat seriously. Kingsley Shacklebolt perhaps? Crouch?

Do you suppose the Chamber of Secrets thing would still happen, perhaps to Voldemort's design rather than Lucius' (whatever he thought he was doing?) The diary to Harry perhaps to complete a takeover? Though maybe only if the Philosopher's Stone had failed - Voldemort might not want competition.

[oryx_leucoryx]

We haven't seen much of the Unspeakables, but they should know the theoretical aspects enough that once presented with the shocking evidence (Harrycrux, all the stuff Albus had been hiding about Tom Riddle's career of crime from age 10 to twentysomething) they'd have to be on the case. Plus their reputation took a hit when Rookwood was revealed a spy so they'd want to make amends. (If you want names of Unspeakables from canon we have Broderick Bode and a Mr Croaker.)

Forget about Kingsley, Crouch and others. Some are in the business only as Dumbly's blind supporters and Crouch has one skeleton too many in his closet (and before that he was a war profiteer - gaining reputation for turning Wizarding Britain into a police state).

[oryx_leucoryx]

On DADA, I'm not sure that they would decide that the job was cursed. I suspect that its effect must have been pretty subtle before Harry turned up - teachers leaving for a range of non-fatal reasons - because IIRC Dumbledore, who thought he knew when, why and by whom the curse might have been cast, only 'suspected' that there was one.

I'm sure Severus knew. Albus would have explained to him they need to have this fiction going on where there is a paper trail of Severus applying for the job each year and being refused - that way he is following Voldemort's orders and keeping his job and relative health at the same time. I'm sure Albus more than just 'suspected'. He went through much trouble to ensure Severus was *not* the DADA teacher until he was ready to target Severus for his ultimate destruction.

And others figured it out fast enough: After Quirrell's death only Lockhart wanted the job. That's really fast thinking for wizards, unless many potential DADA teachers had their own suspicions for a while.