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

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

On Pottermore, Rowling says that Dumbledore and McGonagall both taught transfiguration for a time before Dumbledore became headmaster. So maybe Slughorn didn't necessarily have to leave before Snape joined the staff. Maybe Hogwarts had two potions teachers for a while.

[sunnyskywalker]

They certainly should have two - permanently! The course load those professors handle is ridiculous. And "if one professor is busy being a werewolf sick, have another already over-scheduled professor from another department sub" is just not a good plan.

Hm. So, let's say Dumbledore kicks off in 1983 or so. Voldemort's gone, the Longbottoms' attackers are in Azkaban, and everyone is starting to feel that maybe it's really over - Voldemort might still exist in some sense, but it's starting to look like he can't come back. Ever. Otherwise wouldn't he have done it by now? Whew! Without Dumbledore around, Slughorn might be able to manage his guilt: sure, he made a huge mistake back in 1943 or whenever that was, but he knows better know, and perhaps now he'll be better able to recognize warning signs and protect the kids. So, unless he has already decided he wants to stay retired (or just retire, if he was still on as Potions Master with Snape assisting) and enjoy his candied pineapple and grand piano, it's possible he could be talked into being Headmaster. (Unless there is also a strong candidate from St. Mungo's or the Department of International Magical Cooperation or something and they are pretty evenly matched as far as supporters.) Especially since, if Dumbledore has told him Voldemort's original name, he knows that Tom might have made multiple Horcruxes, in which case heavily-fortified Hogwarts might be a good place to stay.

So, what kind of Headmaster might Slughorn be? He probably would want to look up famous Baby Harry, and Dumbledore's 2nd-in-command does in fact know where he is, so Harry would probably get settled with a (Slughorn-friendly) wizarding family he's some kind of cousin to. If there's a custody battle with Narcissa making a claim through the Black connection, Slughorn probably has enough support to overcome her challenge, especially since the Malfoys are probably still under heavier suspicion at this point (as opposed to a decade later, when they're recovering nicely). Maybe Harry and Neville end up growing up together. (Or Harry and Ernie - there's a Macmillan in the Black family tree too.) Slughorn claims not to know many of the technical details about Horcruxes, but it's not like he had a good reason to be open about the extend of his knowledge at that point - so we can't say whether or not he would start wondering about Harry's scar.

I'm not sure how reforming he'd be, or how much he'd be willing to take "suggestions" from Dumbledore's portrait. He might at least dismiss the most incompetent teachers (he has no problem "dropping" people who aren't interesting, so that might extend to hiring and firing) and get new people from his network in. But I wouldn't bet on the rampant favoritism and double standards disappearing. On the other hand, he wouldn't ostracize Slytherin House, which could make a difference later in Voldemort's recruiting base in the 1990s, so that's something. Snape would have less reasons to hang onto bitterness and guilt, at least, though if Dumbledore's portrait clues Slughorn in on Snape's DE past that could be a problem, at least as far as them trusting each other goes. ("I thought I knew him!") Hm. Any more thoughts?

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

----If there's a custody battle with Narcissa making a claim through the Black connection, Slughorn probably has enough support to overcome her challenge, especially since the Malfoys are probably still under heavier suspicion at this point (as opposed to a decade later, when they're recovering nicely). Maybe Harry and Neville end up growing up together. (Or Harry and Ernie - there's a Macmillan in the Black family tree too.)

Ernie and Harry are both related to Melania McMillan Black, but not to each other, or at least not through the Black family.

As others said above, Andromeda probably would also have a good chance of being granted custody of Harry in 1983; it would depend on how much being married to a Muggle-born and being disinherited from the Blacks counted against her.

[sunnyskywalker]

I was thinking that if all the direct relatives were knocked out of the running for one reason or another, they might go to relatives by marriage next, but it is a long shot.

It probably also depends on Andromeda and Ted's living situation. A nice cottage in Hogsmeade? A little flat in Muggle London? Would they be willing to relocate to a better environment for The Boy Who Lived to grow up in? That sort of thing.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Of course with so many interrelated families there are plenty of family ties as close on the Potter side (even if Charlus was an only child, he may have had cousins), the Bulstrode or the Flint sides, etc etc. Milicent Bullstrode could be Harry's third-cousin-once-removed, the same relationship he has with Neville. (According to this Harry and Ginny are third cousins, BTW.)

Once we include cousins-by-marriage the possibilities may encompass the entire country.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Why would being disinherited by a crazy woman whose 2 sons were DEs (as everyone believes) count for the purpose of placing The Boy Who Lived?

We see the Tonks home in DH. Looks like a private house with enough outdoor space for the Order's peripheral protections (including a pond of some sort). All we know about the couple is that Andromeda is good with housekeeping spells and Ted is a slob. (BTW his daughter apparently attributed the slobishness to his Muggle background until she saw the Dursley kitchen.) Also, Ted is good with healing spells (well, with a daughter who tends to crash into stuff that might have been a necessary skill). We don't know what occupations they had, but they seem to be living comfortably enough.

I'd say growing up with the Macmillans or Tonkses would have given Harry the most bland-and-typical wizarding upbringing as well as evidently decent values. With the difference of having a foster-brother his own age or a much older foster sister. The Malfoy and Longbottom families would have added drama.

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

----Why would being disinherited by a crazy woman whose 2 sons were DEs (as everyone believes) count for the purpose of placing The Boy Who Lived?

Well, yes, if Walburga was the one who blasted Andromeda off the tapestry, then it wouldn't count for much. But the decision to disinherit Andromeda might have been made by Arcturus, and he was still the head of the family in 1981.

[oryx_leucoryx]

When was Andromeda disinherited anyway? Sirius expected Tonks to still be on the tapestry (despite being the child of a Black daughter, mind you). And summer 1995 was the first time he noticed Andromeda was gone. I think she was still on in 1976 when he ran away, but she must have married Ted around 1972 already, judging by her daughter's age. So it looks like someone did a clean-up job, I'm guessing after Sirius' leaving became permanent once he got Alphard's money and his own home around 1977. Hmm, maybe before James and Lily married, explaining why Dorea Black never got tainted with blood-treason.

[sunnyskywalker]

Their house nowadays looks suitable enough, yes. I have no idea if they were living there in 1981.

I think the Tonkses or Macmillans would have been nice, normal homes to grow up in, and would probably be politically good compromises too (Tonkses: pureblood adopted mother, muggleborn father, everyone except the Blacks and a few other hardliners will think he's in an environment where he'll learn about wizarding traditions properly but not get too snobbish; Macmillans are purebloods 9 generations back, but also seem very down-to-earth and, well, Hufflepuffish, which means neither Gryffindor nor Slytherin wins that custody tussle, which probably cuts down on drama.) As far as the Tonkses, it might have done Harry some good to have a foster sister with an amazing and rare talent, so he'd grow up knowing that whatever made him The Boy Who Lived isn't the only special power out there - sure, he's special, but other people are special in ways he isn't.

The Longbottoms would certainly have been more dramatic, and Augusta might have constantly compared Neville to Harry, which I'm sure wouldn't have been beneficial for either of them - but if he had to pick a wizarding family, Dumbledore would probably prefer the Longbottoms to most other candidates, and he still had a lot of pull in 1981, and they're associates of Harry's sainted parents, and a respectable and perhaps wealthy old family which surely could provide everything a proper wizarding child needs (you know, as long as you don't care about psychological effects...), and so might still win the custody battle.