#ah yes the movie where a kid tries to fit in with society and kill a monster only to end up becoming friends with said monster | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

laryna6 · 7 years

Text

So I have now written about 8K of HP fic that is basically worldbuilding. I have no idea what to do re. turning this into a fic. I’m like ‘I don’t want to revise and watch a movie to figure out the character voice!’ So have a dump of the draft.

It’s not the Harry grows up and deals with how the treated the Dursleys ‘verse, but an alternate present where the whole Albus/Gellert thing where Gellert didn’t love him but still threw a duel that lost him a war and went to prison for the rest of his life instead of killing Albus with the Elder Wand resolved more sensibly because people were more realistic about the results of a sudden wizard reveal and were like ‘yeah there would need to be PR and our society would need to suck less so the muggles don’t think we suck what do you mean the purebloods want to criminalize homosexuality to get those pureblood wizards breeding and increase our numbers?’ and so you had the Wizarding Sixties instead of a World War-equivalent.

Of course Harry believed in magic. Everyone in England believed in magic.

Of course they did: Merlin was one of the founding heroes of the high kingdom that made England England, the protector of King Arthur. England was protected by magic to this day, like during the Blitz, how bombs kept falling on places that had already been bombed and people somehow survived without a scratch.

Everyone knew that people in hospitals got better around Halloween, to the point the NHS let cancer patients from the rest of the EU come around then, since there usually weren’t that many people that sick in England. It got them a lot of money.

The pagans might believe that it was the spirits of ancestors coming to check up on their descendants during the harvest festival instead of witches on broomsticks, but everyone agreed that either way, it was magic.

There was an old lady across the street, Ms. Figg, with tons of cats, which meant she might be a witch and so everyone was very respectful to her.

Aunt Petunia had lovely witch-themed jewelry that she wore to remember Harry’s mum. She told him and Dudley about his mum in a hushed voice by candlelight, how she was a witch and brewed potions that cured people and had even married a wizard like Merlin. How Harry might grow up to be a wizard and then the Evans would have two witches in the family, and since Dudley’s aunt was a witch he should be proud and needed to get married and give Petunia grandchildren because whether or not he was a wizard, there was magic in his blood and he might be the proud father of another witch.

At this point, they were all pretty sure that Harry was a wizard. Either that or his parents’ spirits were watching out for him, which would be just as good.

The trouble was that wizards were all wise and noble, so Aunt Petunia didn’t let him get away with anything and he had to study more than Dudley, and herbs and stars and stuff too, because there was a wizard school and his Mum had to learn a lot about wizard stuff in a hurry because she hadn’t had the right education growing up and his Aunt didn’t want him to struggle and get looked down on.

Dudley had extra lessons and stuff too, because that was only fair, but he got to learn martial arts and compete in junior league tournaments already. Being a wizard who didn’t know how to do magic yet didn’t get you trophies the way being a little knight did. Harry felt that was hardly fair.

Then the day came that Aunt Petunia had marked on the calendar, and there was a real live owl that let him feed it the fillet mignon Uncle Vernon had bought special. They gave his reply to the owl, and the next day there was another letter asking when they wanted to have a real life witch or wizard come over to tell them things. Aunt Petunia whispered to them that she could tell Harry what he needed to know and take him to get his school things because of his Mum, but did he mind letting Dudley meet a real live witch?

Of course not! This meant Harry got to see one sooner too.

The witch was a wizard, a handsome silver-haired man with a knightly bearing that made Harry and Dudley look at each other thinking, ‘He’s just like Merlin in the story books!’

He knew Aunt Petunia, which instantly made Harry’s aunt ten times cooler, and apologized to her about coming instead of a professor, but they had so many young witches and wizards this year that the professors were swamped visiting people who didn’t have relatives who knew about magic and Albus hadn’t wanted to keep Lily’s family waiting.

He also had the paperwork for Harry to attend wizard summer school so he got to explore the wizard school before actual classes started and learn about how a proper wizard acted. It sounded so much less boring than the class Petunia made them go to to learn the waltz and foxtrot and act like Proper Young Gentlemen with the word wizard attached! Also he got to go there through the fireplace!

And they got to go to the wizard shopping district.

Every town had herb shops and a place where people could buy old-fashioned brooms and cauldrons and books on old-fashioned English cooking, before the Empire when everything became tasteless roast beef that let the French make fun of them. Every ice cream parlor had flavors like Dragon’s Blood and Halloween Pumpkin and Witch’s Brew. Tons of kids had wands for playing magic, and Harry had tried to cast tons of spells he made up with his, hoping something would work.

This place had a wand shop with wands that had sparks come out! And a flying broom store with a broom that had a chain on it for kids to try if they hadn’t gotten to fly on a broom before.

They’d gone to the bank with real goblins first, though, so Uncle Vernon could exchange some money and Aunt Petunia could get the money for Harry’s things out of his trust vault. Then the man they were with apologized, saying he needed to get something and they could wait here or they could ride with him through the caverns and it was wicked.

Getting fitted for wizard robes might have been boring, but they were wizard robes and there was a real wizard in there who guessed that Harry must not have grown up a wizard because Draco knew everyone (and that was the coolest name every) and without Harry getting a word in edgewise said that he was attending the summer school to help set a good example and Harry should come to him if he needed help with proper behavior because it was his family duty to look after the common people. Like a wizard knight, even if he was a bit snooty!

“Ah, Arthur!”

“You asked me to meet you, my lord?”

“No need to be so formal, I’m not wearing that infernal judge’s wig at the moment. Vernon, this is Arthur Weasley. He’s the head of the Non-Magical Artifacts office, and he has a keen interest in non-magical technologies and manufacturing techniques that made him a good pick for the job of studying how to apply magic to them responsibly and keep things like teapots some witch enchanted to pour tea for her old Mum from ending up in the general population and giving someone a heart attack. Arthur, this is Vernon Dursley.”

“I remember you from the wedding!” Arthur said, smiling brightly. “You married Lily’s sister, yes?”

“Yes,” Uncle Vernon said, holding out a hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet you then.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I didn’t have eyes for anyone but Molly at my wedding either.”

“Vernon is the head of a drill manufacturing plant.”

“The making of tools used to make tools!” Arthur grinned, practically sparkling. “I’d love to hear about your work.” His face fell. “I wanted to stay in contact with you and Petunia afterwards, but…”

Vernon waved away the apology. “Better safe than sorry dealing with those continental wizards… no offense,” he told the old man quickly.

“No offense taken. Why do you think so many of us came to England?” he rolled his eyes.

“Should I assume that you’re here because of…”

Vernon nodded, but the old man held a finger to his lips and Arthur nodded quickly, looking a little embarrassed. “It is a relief, but I won’t say anything more.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Vernon said, clapping him on the back. “It’s not often someone says they want to hear me talk about my work. Far too many people take drills for granted.”

“No!” Arthur looked shocked.

When they went into the bookshop Vernon and Arthur remained outside with the old wizard to keep chatting about work. Harry caught Dudley rolling his eyes a moment before Petunia said, “Why don’t you two look around for something interesting while I get Harry’s school things. Just remember, Dudley, your book has to be something that it’s alright for you to show our friends.”

“Yes Mom,” he said quickly, before darting a glance at Harry and the two of them dashed for the fiction section, passing a bushy-haired girl their age staring in delight as books flew around her.

“And I’ll take this,” the old wizard said once the clerk was done ringing up Petunia’s purchases. “Here you go, boys,” he said, handling The Tales of Beedle the Bard to Dudley. “Now I believe there’s a knight in at least one of these stories.”

Dudley opened the book and started flipping through it as they walked out of the store, Harry leaning to look over his shoulder.

“Why didn’t you just recommend it to me?” his aunt asked.

“Albus wanted me to pick up something as interest on all those late birthday presents, and he loves that book.”

Most of the adult wizards at the school dressed in black robes, same as the uniform cloak. Except for Hagrid, who wore tough clothes to deal with the invisible animals or everything.

The headmaster wore a cloak all colors of the rainbow and there was a smiley-face and a peace sign button pinned to his hat, so the first time Harry saw him he knew he was a hippie.

There were a lot of them in England, what with Stonehenge and the magical tradition and everything. His parents didn’t quite approve of them, but they made Uncle Vernon’s headache tea and the one kind of yogurt Aunt Petunia liked. Harry quite liked the commune in the town commons because they encouraged them to play with the animals and he’d ridden a horse once (only once: they were big and lots of other kids wanted to have a go).

“I’d love to tell you ‘welcome to Hogwarts!’ But I can’t say that quite yet, you see. You’ll be here on the first day of school: right now we’re smuggling you in so you can get a sneak peak.” He held a finger to his mouth, as though he was telling them to keep a secret. “This first week, you’ll be assigned to groups with professors showing you around and filling you in on whatever they think is good for you to know before you come to class. After that, in the mornings you’ll have lessons and after lunch you’ll be able to pick who to go with. Ms. Price will escort a group to the library every day; Hagrid will be taking you to explore more of the grounds; Argus will be teaching you how to navigate the school; and Professors Sprout and Snape will be available to take you to the greenhouses and potions lab to work with you to make sure you know how to stay safe around magical plants and potions. I highly encourage everyone to go with each of those groups at least once. It’s very easy to get turned around when the moving stairs turn around, you see.”

Harry didn’t want to be late for class when it was magic class.

“Professor Lupin, Madam Hooch and the other professors will also be taking groups some days: they’ll let you know their schedules. We may also have some mysterious guests!”

“Alright everyone, time to put on your blindfolds,” said Hagrid. “They’re all on? Here we go.” He rang a gong, the sound reverberating in the huge stone chamber. A door grated open, and Harry heard something moving closer. “Now, this ‘ere is Slytherin’s basilisk, the protector of Hogwarts.”

“Even more tiny wizards than last year,” the snake hissed, sounding pleased. “My hatchlings must be having large, healthy clutches.”

“Who wants to feed her?” Hagrid asked, sounding excited.

Harry thrust his hand up in the air before realizing that Hagrid couldn’t see him. “Me, sir!”

“Ah, Harry!” Hagrid said cheerfully. “Reminded me of your dad, you did. Come over towards me, and I’ll hand you a hunk of venison.” Harry did, and Hagrid turned him around afterwards and pushed at his back. “Walk a bit closer to her, and hold it up in the air. This’ll give her a chance to smell you too, so she knows you’re one o’ hers.”

Harry did, and stopped when he felt cool air on his face.

“A Potter,” the snake said thoughtfully.

“Yes, my name’s Harry Potter,” he told her.

“You can speak a civilized tongue, child?”

“I’m sorry ma’am, I don’t know what you mean.”

She hissed softly, thoughtfully. “I smell a bit of Salazar’s magic on you, but not his blood. Curious.” The venison was lifted from his hands, and he heard her gulping it down. “Come visit me again, hatchling.”

“You can understand her when she talks?” Hagrid asked.

“Yes? She wants me to visit her again. I understood a python at the zoo once too. Is that weird?” Harry asked him, as some of the kids behind him began to whisper.

“It’s a rare gift, that is. One of the founders of Hogwarts had it, it’s how he was able to tell a basilisk to protect the school. Raised her himself, ol’ Salazar did. Didn’t care a bit about how dangerous she was,” Hagrid said proudly. “But you’ll hear more about the founders in History. Right, now back up Harry, time for someone else to get the chance to introduce themselves.”

Harry wasn’t the first, second or even the third student called up by the Deputy Headmistress during lunch. According to Ron, she was telling everyone about Career options they might not have thought of, so they had some idea of the variety of things and how to figure out what they might want to study a few years later when they could choose electives.

So he followed her out of the great hall, and down the staircase that appeared after she said, “Sweet Tarts” to a stone gargoyle.

“Harry!” the handsome old wizard said cheerfully, waving by a chair next to the Headmaster’s desk, where Albus sat twinkling at them.

“Now,” Albus said once the door shut behind Minerva, “You’ve probably heard a bit about what happened when you were a baby.” He gave Harry a regretful look. “Gellert thought it might be best for us to sit down and have a talk with you about it, so you weren’t relying on hearsay.”

“Hermione read me the stuff in the history books, although Draco said a lot of that’s rubbish,” but even though Harry had heard about it from them, he still moved forward trying to hide how eager was to sit at the chair in front of the Headmaster. He wanted to hear more about his parents.

“Well…” Albus started.

“Yes,” Gellert interrupted. “The textbook-makers want to sell to the American wizards, who don’t allow enchanted printing presses because they’re no-maj technology, but also refuse to teach children history that urges contact with non-wizards. The real historians are gathering interviews and documents but don’t want to write about the war until enough time has passed to be able to analyze its effect on society, and the people who have written firsthand accounts don’t want to publish them until they can give those who fought beside them credit by name without inviting their assassination. So even a witch as bright as Hermione who doesn’t have family who fought in the war she can ask as Draco does is stuck with English Wizarding History books that give it a brief half-chapter summary at best.”

“That rather sums it up,” Minerva agreed, looking disapproving at the state of things for a moment. “Gentlemen, if I may?”

“Of course, Minerva.” Albus nodded his head. “It’s yours to dispose of.”

“Mr. Potter, stand up.”

Harry Potter stood up straight quickly. “Yes, Professor.”

She took out a piece of fabric and swirled it around his shoulders. “Wicked,” Harry breathed when he realized he could see through it.

“Mr. Potter, what I have just given you is an invisibility cloak. The invisibility cloak. It was given to me by your father so that in the event of his death it would find its way to me and could be used to rescue you, if it came to that. Now it is yours. It has been passed down in your family from the time when the Potters were the Peverells.”

“The Peverells?” Harry asked, pulling the cloak off his head so that she could see him looking at her.

“Like in the book I brought you,” Gellert agreed. “It was a project of mine and Albus’ when we first met, to track down the Deathly Hallows.” He held up his wand, and the headmaster held up his hand. On the same finger as Aunt Petunia’s engagement ring was a ring with a large black stone. “Unfortunately, we made enough noise while looking for them that others began to take their existence more seriously.”

“The magic within them is unique and very tied to karma,” Albus went on. “Killing and injuring others builds up negative karma, until fate is so tilted against the bearer of the Elder Wand that no matter how hard he tried to hold on to it, it will be taken from him and he will die by the sword he wielded. Commanding the souls of the dead to appear without thinking of their welfare is disrespectful at best, often cruel. The third brother could have used the cloak for foul purposes, but instead he only used it to prolong his life, and in the end sacrificed it and his life for the sake of his child.”

“In other words, boy, use that cloak to harm someone instead of protect them and,” Gellert mimed slitting his throat. “But, your father gave it to Minerva hoping that would save your life, and it may very well have. I myself would probably be dead by now if this thing and Albus hadn’t force me to consider my actions very carefully.”

“What do you mean about my father?” Harry asked.

“The cloak is the least dark of the three Hallows by far, and that may be because generations of Potters have given up its power for the sake of their children,” Minerva told him. “It was too reckless to give something like this to an infant, when you would die if no one could find you to feed you or take care of you, so your mother helped him create a ritual to give the cloak to me as your proxy, until you were old enough to begin to exert some control over your magic.”

“How would that save my life?”

Minerva looked at the two men. “I’m afraid that groundless theorizing isn’t my field.”

Albus smiled. “Minerva’s wonderfully practical,” he agreed. “Gellert and I each have a theory: it could be either, but most likely both factors were at work.”

“The Dark Lord of Running Away from Death tried to cast a magic that works by seeking the soul and binding it to death on the child of a family whose magic has been entwined for generations with a magical artifact that conceals them from death itself. When he cast Avada Kedavra on you, the spell might have worked perfectly well, but death simply wasn’t able to take you. That’s an oversimplification,” Gellert said, flicking his fingers. “I can lead you through the logic once you’ve taken some arithmancy and Ancient Runes. The correspondences give you a very solid advantage over his magic.”

“Another possibility is that by giving up the cloak, and by laying down her life to protect you, both of your parents gave up their lives so that you could live and be safe, Harry,” Albus told him gently. “Love is one of few powers stronger than death, and the mystical correspondence to the passing of the cloak could have channeled that power in a way that let them save you.”

“You’re saying it like… why would he kill them to get to me?” He was just a baby, when his mother was a brilliant witch and his father a brave wizard.

“There was a prophecy that could have applied to any number of children, but only two of them were born to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families. He likely chose you as his nemesis because you were a half-blood: your mother was born among non-wizards.”

“Lord Coward is also a halfblood,” Gellert said, rolling his eyes. “And that muggle who took over Germany had neither blond hair nor blue eyes. It says something about how brain-dead racial supremacists are, that they fail to realize they’re proposing pogroms that would put their own heads on the chopping block.”

Albus paused. “I’m not sure if I should let that insult slide because you’re insulting him, or scold you for using a slur in a way that implies that everyone who isn’t a wizard is like him.”

Gellert winced. “Sorry, dear.”

“We’ve been having this conversation for decades. You are a role model, you know. Don’t encourage people to act the ways you find so idiotic and then complain about how those attitudes would have been stamped out already if other wizards weren’t such fools.”

“Yes, that is the problem with being geniuses like us. The mind is the ultimate weapon, and the sharper it is the more damage you do if you cut yourself,” Gellert said, tapping his fingers together thoughtfully.

“In any case, Mr. Potter,” Minerva said, a slight crease between her eyebrows indicating her annoyance. “You survived the Killing Curse that has been certain death since the time of the Ancient Greeks, and the backlash somehow took down a wizard with a level of power only seen a handful of times in a century; the charisma to convince some deluded old fools that he could get their heirs to come back into line; the intelligence to puzzle out the darkest of magics and the complete lack of not just principle but sense required to split his soul into fragments.”

“Voldemort is not dead, I’m afraid,” Albus said, and it was the first time Harry had heard anyone just come out and say his name. “He fled to the continent, to one of the many conservative wizards there. Almost three quarters of a century ago now, Gellert and I led progressive movements in Britain and Eastern Europe. The young wizards and witches who joined us in working towards ending the abuse of people who couldn’t defend themselves against magic and eventually having open and honest relations with our neighbors have grandchildren now, but wizarding folk can live a very long time.”

“And some children saw advantage in currying the favor of their parents by being outspoken about their desire to pick on people not their own size, or wanted to keep buying into an ideology that told them that they were born superior, even though that meant they never had truly had the chance to become great on their own merit, if it was simply what was expected of them.”

“England has advanced so far that I’ve had the pleasure of my students pointing out that sometimes I myself fail to do a good enough job of defying the way I was brought up,” Albus said, sparkling. “But we managed to escape some of the Continent’s social problems thanks to Helga Hufflepuff. Classism in Wizarding Britain is far less entrenched, partially because the pureblood mania caused even the most ‘common’ families to be desirable marriage partners. Treating wizards as worth less than other wizards makes it harder to get people to stop treating non-wizards as worth less than wizards. Those poor people who grow up thinking they’re near the bottom of the social ladder can feel like they’re losing power if the rung below them is no longer below them, instead of seeing it as destroying the system that keeps them down as well.”

“Wonderful woman, Helga Hufflepuff,” Gellert said, smirking. “Clever, evil, effective woman. If she was alive I might leave you for her, Albus.”

The headmaster propped his chin on his hand, looking thoughtful but with one side of his mouth turned up in a smile. “Yes, that would be understandable,” he agreed.

“Gentlemen, the boy is eleven.” Minerva folded her arms.

“No flirting in front of the children, Minerva?” Albus raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.

“When have I ever said that?” She demanded. “Keep flirting in front of the children, how are they supposed to learn how to make a marriage work for a century or more without examples? Stop turning this into another discussion about your social movement, Gellert, and let Albus simplify it for Harry.”

“Lord Voldemort still exists, although he is no longer alive and much reduced in power. Your mother’s family’s love for you kept you safe and hidden when you were younger, Harry, but you are now at the age where your magic is shifting over from devoting all its power to protecting you to giving you conscious command over it and no longer acting on its own. That will make you increasingly vulnerable until you learn how to protect yourself. Because it was built to shepard children through those years, Hogwarts is the safest place in all of Britain, and Gellert will also be staying here as much as possible and commuting to handle both his duties and some of mine that aren’t related to Hogwarts so you have one more protector.”

“Oh?” Gellert asked, when Harry frowned, puzzled.

“Hagrid said that too, that Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain. Wouldn’t it be the bank?” Not that Harry wanted to be locked up in a bank vault.

Gellert and Professor McGonagall chuckled. “You’re a sharp little one, wondering what’s so safe about this place and its death forest, greenhouses and pens full of things that will kill you and Rowena Ravenclaw’s attack staircases.” Gellert smirked.

“Accidental magic is also known as subconscious magic, while spellcasting is conscious magic,” Professor McGonagall explained. “Having magical threats nearby keeps subconscious magic from slacking off, so it will keep protecting you as long as possible. In addition to that, when a young witch first encounters a danger, it’s normal for her to freeze or panic. When she encounters the same danger a second time, however, she’ll know it’s possible for her to handle the matter, so she won’t have to wrestle her emotions into submission before she can deal with the problem. Experiencing dangers for the first time while still protected by strong subconscious magic allows children to learn to handle them with confidence. Your parents were Gryffindors, Mr. Potter. By the time they graduated, they had the composure of veterans, able to fight without a second’s warning or hesitation even in the face of a Dark Lord.”

“Right now you could jump off a cliff and while your subconscious might allow you to get banged up a bit to teach you not to do that again, you would not suffer any permanent damage,” Gellert said, shrugging. “The Coward Lord used Avada Kedavra on you because it takes magic that strong to kill a baby wizard.”

“Young wizards are very like dragons,” Albus agreed. “Dragons are very resistant to spells even though they can’t cast any of their own, because all their magic goes into keeping them safe from their own magical fire and allowing them to fly. It takes so much magic to overcome that resistance that even the strongest spells are weak enough they’re nothing but nuisances by the time they penetrate a dragon’s skin. It takes very powerful magic to permanently harm a wizarding child even as old as thirteen. During the school year, Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain because in addition to the wards and the Founder’s other precautions, in addition to the professors, myself and Gellert, there are also five hundred wizarding children thirteen and younger under this roof, their powers constantly working to make this place safe for them.”

“That protection goes away during the age of fourteen for most purposes, but it’s not until fifteen that a witch can hurt herself with her own magic, or her magic can be turned against her.”

“There is a condition where a young wizard’s magic can turn against them,” Gellert added. “It will lash out at things around them, but it can’t actually hurt them until they turn ten or eleven and the first loose fragments of their magic are no longer incapable of harming them. Not that this applies to anyone in Britain,” he added when Minerva glared at him for going off-topic.

“As soon as the school year starts, you’ll be taking Defense with Professor Lupin. Who, it just so happens, knew your father.” Albus smiled. “By the time you reach fourteen, even outside Hogwarts and your step-parents’ home, you should be able to protect yourself until an adult can reach you. According to the prophecy, just by existing you severely weaken Voldemort, so hopefully the aurors will be able to deal with him well before you graduate.”

“What if I don’t want someone else to deal with him?” Harry wanted to know.

Gellert and Minerva looked at each other. “Gryffindor,” Gellert said, smirking. Minerva just loosened her reserve enough to allow a flicker of a smirk.

“I mean, there is a prophecy, right?” Harry added sheepishly. “If I’m supposed to defeat him, then wouldn’t people just get killed if they try to fight him instead of me?”

“Look where paying too much attention to prophecies got Lord Vol de Morte,” Gellert pointed out. “Not that I know where he is right now, or I’d be there instead of here…”

“I promise that I’ll discuss the prophecy with you after your fifth year,” the headmaster told him. “If matters haven’t been resolved by that point, that’s when we will no longer be able to guarantee your protection, and if you take divination you’ll be able to interpret the prophecy yourself. Gellert is right that reacting without thinking right after hearing a prophecy tends to lead to the worst interpretation coming true. Try to avert a prophecy and you’re opposed by very powerful magic. If you accept fate and work to fulfill the prophecy in the way that best suits you, then it’s possible to harness that magic.”

“He will not get away with what he did to your parents, Harry,” Minerva said coldly. “We can promise you that, even if I’m afraid that if you want him to die by your hand, you’ll have to get in line.”

On Wednesday of the next week, the children were divided into two. Harry was in the same group as Hermione, but Ron and Neville were in the other group.

They were led to a classroom with “History of Magic” on one blackboard and “Muggle Studies” on the other.

After they sat, Gellert followed them in.

“Hello, children,” he told them. “I’m sure you’ve figured out that we divided you into the children raised only in the wizarding world, and those of you have either split your lives between the two worlds, were raised entirely unaware of magic or fall somewhere between the two. My name is Professor Emeritus Gellert Grindelwald.” He paused to write it, half on each blackboard, “And because I’m the headmaster’s husband I have this opportunity to expose you to what many conservative wizards consider propaganda.” He smirked at them as though he was playing a trick on people who deserved it and he was giving them a chance to be in on it.

“As muggle technology increases, wizards throughout the world have been separating themselves and their lives more and more from those without magic. This can be seen in how history at Hogwarts was divided into History of Magic, a required course, and Muggle Studies, an elective.” He underlined that title. “The history of 99.9 percent of the human race and it was an elective, despite the fact that wizarding history makes very little sense and is very boring outside of the broader picture of what was happening worldwide. When historians began to look at the two together, it was amazing how many of the great questions of Wizarding history suddenly had obvious answers.

“Separation breeds fear. It breeds ignorance, and we fear what we do not understand. When we are afraid, it becomes natural either hide ourselves away, or try to convince ourselves that the other is weak and easily subdued… which is then ‘proven’ in ways that anger the other party. It is not possible for wizards to hide forever. This last century has seen unprecedented innovation in all aspects of magic, thanks to geniuses like myself and Albus and the hard work of people like Dr. Newt Scamander and Hogwarts’ own Professor Sprout. It’ll be confirming my hard-earned reputation for arrogance when I say that people like these,” he pointed at the names he’d written down, “are one in a thousand.” He looked across the room. “How many ‘one in a thousand’ innovators are there in six billion people? The rate of progress among muggles has always outstripped the development of the magical world by far. They simply have more people than we do, and now that they’re educating more women and not leaving potential geniuses untaught because they were born into the wrong race and class, they’re going to be able to take more and more advantage of the wealth of talent they possess.

“Eventually,” he said, beginning to pace across the room, “Muggle technology will progress to a point where they will be able to find us and do much of what we wizards can do. Many wizards see this as the end of our world. It is not. It is the only way our world can survive. If a muggle can levitate a book with a device,” the teacher said, lifting Hermione’s copy of Hogwarts, A History with a wave of his hand, “then why should they care that some people are born able to do it? Rather, they will care, but not because they find witches and wizards terrifying. Because magic is fascinating, and the desire to discover is the best part of human nature. At that point, we will have access to the muggle talent pool, and be able to explore frontiers of magic yet undreamed of. I truly hope I live to see that day.”

He looked out at them. “Previous generations in this very country hated and feared magic. Is there anyone in this room who didn’t wish at some point in their life that they could grow up to be a wizard or witch?”

No hands were raised.

“You children are a vitally important part of the future of magic. Someday, you and your families will be the bridge that connects the two worlds. That helps give non-magic hospitals regular access to magical medicine and healers access to muggle science and research techniques to improve treatments. But I’d rather tell you now so that it doesn’t come as a surprise later: some adults are not very bright.”

Muffled laughter from somewhere in the room.

“A great many wizards are terrified of muggles finding out we exist, despite the fact that muggles do know we exist. The Ministry of Magic is in contact with the British Government, and is… in an odd legal situation, something like a Commonwealth nation, because your wizarding nation’s charter was drawn up by Arthur and Merlin and a great many later parts of the common law and Magna Carta don’t apply to you. To the kind of people who are terrified of muggles and yet at the same time convinced that they can play tricks on Muggles without consequence, the very existence of people like you is a danger to the wizarding world. Even Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders, thought Hogwarts taking on muggle-born students was hazardous – although please, don’t let that prejudice you against Slytherin House. You’ll be covering this early in History, but Slytherin felt that way at the time for historical reasons that don’t apply to the modern world.

“Wizarding Britain has been on the forefront of setting up the groundwork for open contact between our two worlds for decades. Around the time you were born, we fought a war to save our future. Your future.

“You’ll hear the time between the two World Wars referred to as the Wizarding Sixties. The first World War made a lot of wizards start to realize that muggles could be a threat to us, and the resulting reactionary nonsense was ‘a total drag.’ We young people had our liberties vastly restricted, and it was hardest on people who didn’t want to marry and start producing children at absurdly young ages – before that time traditional wizards did not have children before the age of forty, when they were certain their powers were firmly under control. The fad of couples having children in their twenties left a great many pureblood women unable to ever have a second child.

“All this interest in bloodlines led to the discovery of the Gaunt family, descendents of Salazar Slytherin, who was claimed by the pureblood supremacists as an ideological forebear despite the number of half-bloods and muggleborns who have been sorted into Slythering over the centuries.” He rolled his eyes. “Because of their rampant inbreeding, the father and son were practically squibs, and the daughter had been kept from attending Hogwarts – her father lied and told her that she was a squib to keep her from questioning this – and… Albus will make me sleep on the couch if I go into too much detail on Merope’s childhood. Being swept off her feet, taken to London, given decent clothing and promised remedial instruction in magic should have been the happiest day of her life… except that she had fallen in love with a local muggle, Tom Riddle, who already had a girlfriend and she did not wish to marry.

“Her protector seemed to accept this, and she was allowed to mingle with Wizarding Society until hopefully she got over her broken heart and found someone… And then it seemed as though she did.

“None of us realized that she was being given love potion.

“When the child was almost born, the father became so convinced that his bride had to love him, in all his pureblood glory, that he finally gave in to the family healer’s frantic begging and took her off the love potion. She seemed willing to stay, and it seemed as though he would have his perfect heir…

“But poor Merope grew up in an abusive home. She knew how to hide her true feelings from her captor, and she now knew that there was a world outside the door and friends who would help her. She’d been taught a number of useful charms by fellow witches in case her father and brother ever were let ouf of Azkaban and came after her. She was able to escape.

“Unfortunately, the stress of her escape and exhaustion of her crippled magic triggered premature labor, and in her pain and exhaustion she somehow ended up taken to a Muggle orphanage to give birth, where she perished, but not before naming the child after the man she’d wanted for his father.

“Tom Riddle was found eleven years later, when his Hogwarts letter came. Growing up a poor orphan, he responded to the overtures of his father and returned to the bosom of that family.

“Then after graduating Hogwarts he killed them all. Which, understandable.” Grindlewald shrugged. “However, it wasn’t out of a son’s love for his mother. His conception under love potion left him incapable of love. This is not the same thing as someone who will never fall in love – I myself am aromantic and that hasn’t kept me from having a close relationship with someone I hold very dear. My heart has never fluttered. I have never dreamed of kissing anyone in the moonlight. But I could be emperor of the world, and I would throw the crown in a midden to keep my husband safe. Love is one of the fundamental forces of magic. I don’t really have the sense for it, that’s more my husband’s field – blasted hippie,” he said affectionately, “But Albus sees the good in everyone and when he went to speak with the boy to tell him he was a Hogwarts student his skin was crawling the entire time. At the time, I thought it was hilarious – I wrote him back asking if this meant that he understood now that he shouldn’t be so sympathetic to everyone and would stop telling me to have mercy on people who didn’t deserve it – but I was in Europe and didn’t meet the boy until he was a man and we were on opposite sides of a battlefield.

“Lord Voldemort, ‘the flight from death,’ and his supporters will tell you that he fights to restore ‘pureblooded’ wizardkind to their ‘rightful place of supremacy.’ He lies,” Grindelwand stated firmly, sweeping his gaze across the room.

“If he fights a muggle-born like you and a pureblood like me, he’ll be trying to kill me, not you. Pureblood witches and wizards among his forces die or go mad in ways that utterly disgraces them and the family name. He’s wiped out more pureblood families than the muggles ever have. If it weren’t for wizards and witches like you, Wizarding Britain would have a tenth the numbers it did when Albus was born, if that. The current lords Black and Malfoy call muggle-born women Mother and give them the same honor as their blood mothers because dwindling numbers made their parents attempt pregnancy at so young an age that they became incapable of carrying children to term, and if they hadn’t been able to find skilled witches willing to be surrogate mothers and adopted them into the family so their magics became compatible with the childrens’ magics – which was only possible because those witches were not tied to any family magics of their own – the titles would have gone to collateral branches so distant they don’t even bear the names Black or Malfoy.

“If it weren’t for children like you, the wizards of Britain would be near extinction.” Once again he swept the room, meeting all of their eyes. “Remember this. Do not allow anyone to look down on you, or tell you that you do not belong here. You do not need us. You have places in the muggle world. We need you. Magic itself needs you.”

“Wizarding Britain thrives despite Voldemort while Africa, the birthplace of humanity and human magic, stagnates, Wizarding America curls up in a terrified ball and Europe treads water because of you. Each and every one of you is a savior of the Wizarding World.”

Savior of the Wizarding World. Harry had heard himself called that, but somehow it made him sit a little straighter seeing the man meet everyone else’s eyes. Like Harry sat among a whole hall full of heroes.

Like he was never alone and never ever could be.

“Dumbledore and Grindelwald addressed Slytherin’s concern about muggle-born instead of ignoring it like Griffindor did,” Draco was saying when they got back to the common room, from where he sat perched on one of the tables like a king on a throne. “These days, muggles treat wizards with the proper respect and you don’t have to call the obliviators over every little thing. My sisters can invite girls from the muggle town as well as the estate for their tea parties and I don’t have to play with them.”

“Yeah, shut it,” a black boy who also looked like an Italian said lazily. “You know how many husbands my mother has had, and I’m an only child. They keep exhausting themselves trying to have proper pureblood children like they’ll do as they’re told when the first batch of kids didn’t,” he rolled his eyes, “when they could just find a muggleborn surrogate instead of divorcing their wives and losing half the family estate in the process.”

Draco nodded, rolling his eyes. “Blaise is right. Mother said Madam Zabini is doing a public service, fleecing those continentals. Not that she’s cheating anyone,” he said quickly when Blaise raised an eyebrow. “It’s not your mother’s fault they’re fools and their wives should get to enjoy being out in society instead of shackled to someone who thinks they’re replaceable like that. My grandfathers didn’t divorce their wives: they had standards. And what would it matter if they actually did marry a muggle-born? The Malfoy family line goes back centuries. I could marry a hundred muggles, and it wouldn’t make my children any less noble. Keep implying that it’s possible to make Malfoy blood impure, and I’ll be telling my father.”

“And along this hall is the White Lady’s room,” Argus told them. “Walk up and down the corridor three times thinking that you want to see her – I’ll only demonstrate for you once!” He did so, and then a door appeared.

He used the bumblebee doorknocker and a voice called, “Come in!”

Argus opened the door and waved the children in.

Harry blinked, and blinked again. “Feels weird,” Ron said, rubbing his upper arms.

“I’m afraid that’s on my account,” said a white-haired woman sitting by the fire, on a couch next to a ghost. She smiled at them apologetically. “My magic’s a little messed up, so the room creates magical flows that untangle it for me.” She smiled at them, exactly like a grandmother. “Why don’t you children come and sit down? I always love to have visitors.”

Draco stood in front of her and bowed. “Ariana Dumbledore? My name’s Draco Malfoy.”

“Look at you!” She looked delighted, and Harry could see the resemblance to Albus in the sparkles. “You’re the spitting image of your father. And… hmm.” She laughed brightly. “You’re certainly a Black, but for some reason you remind me of Nymphadora instead of Narcissa…”

Draco brightened.

“They’re going to keep mistaking you for a half-veela when you grow up, aren’t they you handsome young man?”

“I’m too old to be a metamorphmagus,” he said, but “Do you think…”

“I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be able to became an animagus, if the shape-shifting power is that close to the surface. Isn’t Nymphadora a delight?”

“I know! My Mother thought the power had gone out of the family, and then it shows up in a half-blood? Father thinks that the Blacks are like the Malfoys, with so many alliance marriages that we have a half-dozen family magics and some of them suppress each other.” Then he blushed. “Sorry, Lady Ariana.”

“No, no! It’s wonderful to hear a young man being so enthusiastic about my little theories on the preservation and health of inborn magics! I was so embarrassed when that reprobate Gellert went and had my thesis published without even telling me, but it’s so worth it to see a talent like Nymphadora’s come back into the world.”

“Harry’s a parseltongue!”

Ariana held her hand over her mouth and gasped with delight. “No!” Draco simply had to be teasing her.

“Harry, come over here! Oh, forgive me Lady Ariana. These are Crabbe and Goyle, my liegemen, Hermione – she’s a genius – and the sixth Weasley.” AKA ‘you poor bastard, I have three younger sisters, I can’t even imagine what it must be like to have six of them, and most of them older. At least you can get away from younger ones.’

The way those two talked about their huge families made more sense to Harry now after hearing about Voldemort and what happened to the purebloods. Half ‘it’s such a pain and imposition’ and half bragging about how their families were huge and would totally kick your ass. Although maybe Harry kind of got that, when he’d never worried about bullies because Dudley could kick everyone’s ass.

-“Lemon drop?” After Harry nodded and took one, Albus chuckled. “Yes, Gellert has that effect on people. When we were teenagers he was thinking of leading an army. I thought he was so impressive at that age… then he moved into my house so we could work on research together and I could still look after Ariana and he would never pick his clothes up off the floor or do the dishes.” He smiled nostalgically. “I finally understood why Aberforth – my brother – wanted to strangle him so much. I got over my starry-eyed infatuation and realized that Gellert – while I love him dearly – is a bit of a jerk. I found myself wondering ‘do I treat people like that?’ and honestly I did, I was overly impressed with my intelligence when I was younger, and was so horrified I started making an effort to be a better person. There’s a movie one of my students gave me with a giant magical rabbit that contains the line ‘I have tried being bright, and I have tried being pleasant.’ I do find that being kind is a genius all its own.”

But because England had a lot of power, PR changes there could get distributed throughout the world… Around three-quarters of a century later, England’s Ministry has been only technically not violating the International Statute of Secrecy for so long that the other countries think that England is the place it’s least likely for a breach to occur, because the native people think magic is something that happens all the time, so no reason to put it in the papers, and the other muggle countries think England just has a thing for magic and folklore and keeps making up urban legends.

Gellert was able to sell his ideas to a lot of the younger generation in Germany but was resisted by the traditionalists. He proposed using England as a test case, so a lot of continental wizards decamped to England until the older ones were out of the way and got a taste of doing the healings and being considered heroes by a local mythos more focused on Merlin than Baba Yaga.

He was at Durmstang for a bit, but while he considers children less stubborn and immature than adults (less set in their ways, easier to nudge to be logical/think his way), he got lonely for intelligent conversation.

He’s active in political and social circles and has some of Albus’ canon political posts, or serves as Albus’ deputy in posts where the actual title has to go to a British wizard. He’s allowed to sub for Albus even where that’s irregular because of course being Hogwarts Headmaster takes priority. While he’s trying to stick close to Hogwarts, the European social movement is in the hands of Hufflepuffs and adopted Hufflepuffs. Helga is an icon among European lower-class wizards and reformists. So I supposed Gellert does have an army in the AU, it’s just Hufflepuffs. Which is more terrifying.

It was their experiences with the Elder Wand that made them go ‘yeah how about no’ to completing the set, because the magic is very clearly malicious and Gellert thinks that traps should be sprung by someone who is not him but on the other hand he doesn’t want someone not him or Albus getting the power if they survive, while Albus has the job of vetoing things involving innocent people.

#all of the fanfic #harry cannoneer

9 notes · View notes

smol-pilots · 7 years

Text

code: calico

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

You: role play fuck my brains out bc i just virtually sucked someone's cock and got nothing in return

Stranger: why did you do that?

You: that's not a bad question

You: idk i thought i'd get something in return

Stranger: i guess so. some reward :D

You: yeah exactly

Stranger: it's like in movies, why girls are sluty

Stranger: they want something in return

You: hah i mean it's only fair isn't it?

Stranger: i think its kind of self deception

You: that's also not a bad remark

You: i always blindly believe men

You: i mean not blindly but

Stranger: we believe what we want to believe.

Stranger: so the important thing is what we want

Stranger: i mean, people want to "live happily ever after"

You: tru

Stranger: they imagine family, love and so on

You: but what do i want

You: i don't really fit into that tbh

Stranger: o.k., so what do you want

You: i mean i don't want family

You: i guess i wouldn't mind love but i don't expect it

Stranger: o.k., maybe you want relationship?

You: i don't even know what it feels so

You: i can't really feel any romantic feelings towards people?

You: it's kind of

You: sad actually

Stranger: do you feel like life is meaningless?

You: yeah

Stranger: maybe out of boredom you just try to have some "fun"

You: i mean exactly

You: i don't expect anyone to love me because i know i probably won't love anyone so

Stranger: oh

Stranger: by the way

You: yes?

Stranger: one good song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voi-aQlvP68 heard it yesterday in a movie

Stranger: stange movie, "Calico Skies"

Stranger: strange

You: i'm listening to the song and i really like it, thank you!

You: noted, i'll put it on my to-watch list :)

Stranger: what you said reminded my of the lyrics of this song

Stranger: she's kind of sad because she knows a man will love her, be she will not so much

You: okay i really like the song??? the voice is so nice also i rly like this type of music

Stranger: do you watch Game of Thrones?

You: i watched like 2 season but then i stopped hhh you?

Stranger: i watch it. yeah, 2 season was impressive. the red wedding, isn't it?

You: yup

You: i see there's so much drama now hahah

Stranger: :) yeah, they lost it, i guess

Stranger: the beggining was building impressive,

Stranger: anyway

Stranger: you are f or m?

You: f

You: you?

Stranger: m

Stranger: so why girls suck cocks, it quite nonsensical

Stranger: gross acitivyt

You: i mean tru but i guess it's for the dude's pleasure? also it's kinda fun to have so much power over someone

Stranger: yeah, but this is zero sum game - pleasure for the dude, but for the sucker what?

Stranger: nah, it never appealed to me

You: it's a lot of work actually but i guess all of this is just giving and receiving

Stranger: i think physically it's quite troublesome

Stranger: for a woman

You: i mean it usually takes time??

You: and then everything just starts to hurt bc the dude can't come that fast and it's just

You: uh

Stranger: yeah. crazy stuff

Stranger: but people do many crazy things :)

You: hah that's true

Stranger: what's your country?

You: uk

Stranger: old good uk :)

You: hahahahh

You: you?

Stranger: russia

You: oh nice!

You: ive never been there but i rly want to go to moscow

Stranger: come sometimes, we'll drink a lot of vodka together

You: oh my god no vodka always kills me

Stranger: :D

Stranger: it kills everyone

You: that's like my top three worst drunk moments all involved vodka it's the devil

Stranger: ha ha ha

Stranger: wine is also tricky, it is very intoxicating

Stranger: try a lot of red wine

Stranger: you'll see :D

You: i love wine tho

You: but yeah it also hits pretty hard hahahah

You: how old are u tho?

Stranger: 28

You: ah i'm 24

Stranger: vow vow, we would make a perfect pair :D

You: hahahh we really would :)

Stranger: anyway, why people always try to pair at all?

Stranger: natures call?

You: i have no idea

You: i mean is it really tho

You: i don't think it's nature, it's the culture

You: the society

You: everyone is always shocked when i tell them that i'm single and i don't want kids because they're like??? but how??

You: everyone expects things according to the society they live in and it's kinda annoying sometimes

Stranger: yeah, it's quite strange. everyone want to live by that stream: family, kids, happy life. no alternatives

You: exactly

You: it's like i'm obliged to live my life by this rule

You: and i'm weird if i don't follow

Stranger: but even if people remain single, they want to get romantically involved

Stranger: that is also strange

Stranger: it's like some software inside of us,

You: tru. i sometimes catch myself wishing i'd have a boyfriend and a house and two kids and a dog bc i remember i wished for all that when i was a child. and then once again i see that my parents told me that this is how it is? you get older, you get married, have kids, a house, a job and that's what i also wished for when i was younger

You: i was raised by these values

You: and now that i'm older and i don't want that anymore but i feel like at the same time a part of me maybe still hopes that one day everything would just go the way a young me dreamed it to be

Stranger: when i was younger, i also had dreams about family. and all people about 20 yo i know have the same. almost all.

You: really?

You: what do you want?

Stranger: with time i have seen that this is very big struggle, family, kids, relationship, and "you do not get what you imagine". so i drop those young dreams. they were not realistic. it was illusions of young person. i did not know life and did not know the world.

Stranger: i want to rise above the problems of this life. to get free.

Stranger: not to get entangled more and more

You: the first part!!

You: i really believe that this is what contributed to the majority of crap i had to go through as a teenager and up to this day

You: u see but how does one get free

You: i feel like time to actually! enjoy this life is running out and at the same time i feel there's just sooo much left of it and i'm just passing by, doing things that don't make me happy

You: (bc i don't really know what makes me happy)

You: (imma go brush my teeth and shit i might be gone for about ten minutes okay?)

You: (and shit does not mean take an actual shit i just meant it as "and other stuff")

Stranger: o.k., yes, please do the needful. i'll have some time to reflect. :)

Stranger: i see it like this: I want to be happy just by existing. To rise above my own mental structures, that don't let me feel happy, don't let me feel light and content. I think, if one in his soul "takes everything very easy", not burdening himself with so many false ideas about why he is this or that, and just tries to be, to exist authentically, as a being that is free, then it is good state of consciousness.

Stranger: just to feel that lightness.

Stranger: do i need to do something for that, some big projects of life? I dont think so. Just need to give up some mental stuff. It's all in the mind.

Stranger: if man will simply change his mind, he can be happy. And so many jobs, responsibilies and relationships will not make him happy. It will be just a lot of troubles.

Stranger: anyway, we are all after happiness. the only question is, where is that real happiness

You: that's actually a very interesting perspective that i do find myself agreeing to but at the same time i feel like in theory it sounds ideal and simple but it's really hard to just let go of what's in your mind

Stranger: you are right :) it not easy

You: i was very hung up on the happiness thing as i felt unhappy all the time. and i wondered whether or not you're ever really happy in life. and i asked my mother (u know the older the wiser or smth) and she said that happiness isn't really a long period of time but rather a moment here and there that makes you happy to be alive

You: and that thought made me really sad at the time because i always felt like happiness is something that comes in time - when you get older, wiser, more experienced etc but now i'm discovering my mother wasn't really wrong?

You: at least that's how i experience life

You: my colleague tho, she lovES life. literally loves it. the most positive bright cheerful happy person i have ever seen w my two eyes. and it's just weird bc what did she do how did she achieve this bliss how can she see this life so full of good things

You: it's just

You: so weird

Stranger: it depends on what we do. I think, it's real assessment of ordinary life - happiness are just rear and fleeting moments. but i my life there were some periods where i felt very happy for considerable periods of time. no i do not feel so happy. and with age, happiness diminishes, i think, because the body begins to make a lot of problems. then one is not as energetic as before. and you have to work and survive with less and less energy to accomplish that.

Stranger: i thing technologies, computers, internet steal a lot of happiness

Stranger: i went to asia for some time, and after few months i revived the joy of life

You: that's true but it's also what made it really tough to keep living - that it won't get better in time. i was really sad and depressed for the majority of my teenage years so being alive while people kept telling me it's only gonna get harder wasn't really a good thing for me i guess. but at least my expectations weren't that high hahah

You: that's true but at the same time i depend on them to distract me from life so it's really in contradiction

Stranger: it can get better

You: ohh where did u go

Stranger: it must

You: i mean that's what i want to believe but like someone give me idk an age at which it gets better hh

Stranger: with good strategy, there is way. i think so. because I experienced it for a while. I does not depend on the age

Stranger: i may be unhappy for the rest of my life, if i do not try, and stay as i am

Stranger: but if i will apply whatever i learned about happiness, i may achieve something, as i had before.

You: that's a really nice and positive thought

You: i'll keep it in mind

Stranger: if there is hunger, there must be food. so if we are hungry for happiness, it must be out there. or inside of us.

Stranger: oh my god, it's 1 am here

Stranger: forgot myself while talking this stuff :)

You: but it's just so annoying my time is ticking?

You: hahahah

You: i really enjoyed it tho

You: it's rare to find someone to have this kind of conversation with

Stranger: o.k., lets think of a keyword by which we can find each other on omegle again.

Stranger: :)

You: okay

You: :)

Stranger: i know. "Calico". you'll find me by this.

You: good one. i'm going to write it down so i don't forget :)

You: also so i don't forget to download the songs

0 notes