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?
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 05:08 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 06:28 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-08 01:04 am (UTC)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.