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]

The only places in Wizarding Britain we know of one can acquire experience in administration are the Ministry and St Mungo's. There is a precedent where a former St Mungo's head became Headmistress, so that would be a possibility. And that would be someone who was mostly outside of politics, but may have seen some students who were hurt at Hogwarts and needed extra healing.

Another alternative I'm considering is whoever was head of the Department of International Cooperation before Crouch Sr. It's the Ministry department most likely to have been headed by the kind of person I want New Head to be. Definitely not Magical Catastrophes (that's the boss of the Obliviators) nor Magical Games and Sports.

[sunnyskywalker]

I like that idea! Someone who (at least theoretically) is dedicated to cooperation, imagine. That could be excellent. And if we absolutely must have the Tri-Wizard Tournament, there's someone to instigate it for entirely non-Dumbledorean reasons, probably with better precautions and maybe more effort at actually getting the students to mingle and become friendly (more than one single dance for an entire year).

[oryx_leucoryx]

Also, someone familiar with international affairs would be familiar with whatever Dumbles did or didn't do as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. S/he may have something to say about the non-effort to trace Voldemort abroad or the non-engagement of international wizardry in Voldiewar.

[sunnyskywalker]

S/he also might do a bit more to find out what Karkaroff knows, and why the people in Durmstrang's catchment area are so trusting of a turncoat former DE that they'd let him guide their children's education. Diplomatically, of course. Also, why Britain gave him such a sweet deal. And s/he would probably keep up relations with Madame Maxime and other school heads around the world (Brazil? Argentina? if we're supposed to buy the WWII parallels, surely some DEs fled there... And maybe in wizard-land, the Museion in Alexandria still exists), as well as various politicians at home and abroad s/he knows from time in the Ministry.

Possibly the rumors of a haunted forest in Albania would turn up in all this networking, though it's hard to say what New Head would make of them. But a lot of wizards do seem to think Voldemort is "out there" somewhere, powerless, so maybe New Head would propose an international coalition of DADA experts go investigate. (If Dumbledore can be Headmaster and in the International Confederation of Wizards simultaneously, why can't New Head?) Sort of a White Council vs. the Necromancer thing. And what would happen then, I don't know...