A Headmaster other than Albus
Jan. 22nd, 2012 10:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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deathtocapslockSo 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?
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?
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Date: 2012-01-26 06:24 am (UTC)We just as easily project our goodness upon the narcissist in our lives and then we fall in love with the good qualities in ourselves projected upon the other.
I've taken this topic to another forum and a respondent there told me exactly the same thing; that the (incredible) 'resistance' of some people to the errors of HP - they don't notice them, and when they're told of their existence they run away, change the subject or launch personal attacks - is due to their honestly 'loving' the books. Or - my addendum to her theory - in some cases Joanne Rowling herself.
Get the people who 'love' the books together so that their numbers exceeds that of the citizenry in the fable 'The Emperor's New Clothes" and there you have it; a group of loyal 'cultists' - as oneandthetruth has stated here - who will brook no dissent.
The language is simple, so even those with limitid vocabulary have access, it does not require much thinking.
That's certainly true of the first few books, I guess, and they're at the root of the problem; the HP juggernaut was approaching critical mass by the time GoF was published. I still don't know why THOSE THREE BOOKS were such a breakout from all the other books at the time. Because they were all ready and part of a promised series, as Mary J has said? Actually, in the current age, where everyone wants instant gratification now now NOW, maybe that factor has more weight than I originally thought when I read Mary's comment. Hmmm.
And certainly, as you say, Rowling was blatant in setting up the 'good guys' versus the 'bad guys', it was all very easy. Dumbledore in one corner, Dark Lord in the other. We could pick our side and then sit back and cheer every time Harry was awarded an (artificial) triumph. But surely other childrens books of the time were equally simplistic? What made Rowling's three so super duper different?
(I'm still leaning towards my own theory - expressed elsewhere here - that Americans hadn't had any real exposure to the 'British Boarding School' genre - or the British books/films 'The Worst Witch', etc - and Rowling just happened to be lucky enough to be the first to get that tried-and-true trope over to the other side of the pond.)
But it would be better if he remembered his mother's death! Yes! Like the bit in 'Bambi'! I remember how everybody cried at that!
Heh. I certainly agree with you and Mary J on the 'throwing in bits and pieces from all sources' penchant of Rowling's, I've always thought that was the case (and refused to genuflect at Rowling's WORLD BUILDING IMAGINATION). And she did it with little understanding of what she was doing or how to connect all the pieces together.
But I like your re-enactment of writer Rowling in action! Hee. :-)
If I ever see the word 'Bambi' in a Harry Potter story I'm liable to break out laughing now, you realise.