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]

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!

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

Now I'm confused!

I've been confused since Oryx made the post. :-(

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

It really really doesn't. After years of looking at the last two objectively and seeing all of the (obvious) mistakes my mind is going around in circles when I now focus on the first. Obvious mistakes there, too, but ... surely it *must* be better material, otherwise why did the whole HP thing take off the way it did? WHAT AM I NOT SEEING?!?!?!?!?

Argh.

[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. ;)