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The Boy Who Triumphed!
By Oriondruid
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Author's Note: This one-shot is a revised and extended version of an earlier 'incarnation' of this story/article/ramblings/whatever you like to call it. ;o)
This re-write came about as my ever evolving and widening personal version of the 'future history' of the Wizarding World post-war within which I write a lot of my 'stuff' has come to include several possible future stories that I am currently retaining in the form of 'plot bunnies' at present. That is until I can clear my 'backlog' of currently incomplete multi chapters, since I dare not add much further new work until I can complete a couple of those. Hopefully one overdue story that had been sitting poste,d but only half finished, (Sunday Night at The Leaky), will be completed this weekend. However, one potential brand new story in particular calls out strongly to me and is hinted at here in one of the new sections of the text regarding Lee Jordan's post-war successful career. I will however resist the strong temptation to further add to my backlog by starting this now. However I have one other story I really must start posting, as some people have been promised it. That being at least the first two chapters and the prologue, (which I already have written), of the extended version of my earlier HP/Underworld crossover story The Allies, which was very well received. This was very gratifying and since I have promised I will post the longer version I will begin to do so later this weekend. However, a warning, I have no idea how long that story will take to update further or complete, as others must first be finished.
Regarding this current story, even if you previously read the earlier version of these scrawlings you might hopefully find this new one of some interest, since it differs markedly in places from the original and is longer, although the main sweep of my 'fevered imaginings' remains the same. :o)
Many Blessings All.
Oriondruid.
Disclaimer: With regard to the following story, the characters and settings belong entirely to the works and 'world' created by Ms. J.K. Rowling, even any characters that I myself may have 'invented' are completely derived from her work. This story/article is respectfully dedicated to Ms. Rowling and is not intended in any way for commercial distribution, being written by myself as a fan and entirely for fun. It is a genuine pleasure and privilege to be able to 'play' for a while in Ms. Rowling's world and I thank her for the opportunity and her generosity to her fans in permitting such fan fiction.
The Boy Who Triumphed!
To paraphrase an old enemy:-
Welcome my friends. It has been some fourteen years since The Battle of Hogwarts was won by Harry Potter and the Forces of Light. I must confess myself to be..Overjoyed!
Each year on September the 1st somewhere 'out there' in the Multiverse, in a version of reality very close to our own, a new school term is about to begin at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On that auspicious day there is, as ever, a splendid scarlet steam train standing at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, in King's Cross Station, waiting to take the excited young pupils away to the most wonderful place in their world.
And what changes there have been to the Wizarding World since Harry Potter first discovered himself to be a wizard! We, who live in this version of reality, avidly followed his adventures in Jo Rowling's wonderful books and on the cinema screen, gripping tightly to the edge of our seats as Harry and his friends faced up to danger after danger, stood up to a vile and encroaching evil and bravely fought it, eventually winning against overwhelming odds.
However, the events we have followed so closely all happened well over a decade ago, as we know. And even here, in our muggle world where the revelations have lagged behind the events in the Wizarding World, with the last book of the series published and the recent end of the movie 'franchise' the story of Harry's struggle against Lord Voldermort, as revealed to us, is now at an end. Although it must be stressed that there are still many smaller, but still important, details to be revealed to us muggles on Jo's own Pottermore website and many wonderful tales of that time are still being told here, in the realm of fan fiction.
But what of subsequent events in the Wizarding World itself? How has it healed and moved on from the terrible traumas, the destruction and losses of that horrible time? What's been happening in the last fourteen years or so over in that other universe, in the world of Harry Potter?
Jo Rowling's Epilogue naturally focussed on the families of the main protagonists and told us little about their wider world. So let me tell you a little more about what I believe went on after the Final Battle...
But first let's start with certain things we know for sure. It is a joy to know that Harry and Ginny married and now have their own young family, who will be off to Hogwarts themselves in the coming years. Likewise that the other main protagonists of the story, Ron and Hermione also are married now, and raising children of their own. We also know that many other 'old friends', such as Neville, Hannah, Luna, Hagrid and Professor McGonagall are happy and living in a better and safer world.
But sadly we also grieve for those like Colin, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, Fred and Professor Snape, who sadly did not live to see this better time.
Several others, whose actions were not so honourable or brave also survived the war, some deserving of and receiving punishment, but others punished enough by their own consciences. Such as Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, both of whom received clemency from the courts. Lucius Malfoy however was a broken man and a hopeless alcoholic at the end of the war and did not long have to endure his much deserved life sentence in Azkaban, as he died only a month or so after he was incarcerated. However, his wife and son, who both in the end abandoned the dark path and showed true remorse, were granted mercy by the victors. Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood both spoke up for them during the Ministry's investigation. So yes, even for Draco Malfoy the world grew brighter, there was love to be found, a family to be raised and a better future to be built.
In the wider Wizarding World the war had highlighted the awful divisions, injustices and prejudices that magical folk had lived with and ignored for far too long. Following the war they were collectively forced to look at the stark reality of the causes of the tragedy. The Ministry of Magic itself being a major one! It had been complacent, hidebound and corrupt for many decades, but with it's dynamic, brave and honest new Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, confirmed in his place it became once again what it always should have been, a model of honest, fair, progressive and efficient administration.
Another set of issues, those of House Elf, Werewolf and Goblin Rights, along with those of other sentient magical beings and creatures were taken up by Hermione Weasley, who having found fame and approval as one of the key people responsible for Voldermort's downfall managed to mobilise the new progressive spirit in the magical community and thus many new, farer and more liberal laws on the subject were eventually passed. Hermione's beloved House Elves were granted their freedom (at least those who would accept it) and such injustices as the institutionalised prejudices and harsh public discrimination against Werewolves were legislated against.
At Hogwarts the rebuilding work to the damaged castle was completed, although it took all of two years, even with the help of magical construction techniques! The destruction had been so extensive and serious that sections of the castle, even those that appeared apparently undamaged, had been shaken to their very foundations and needed stabilising. Harry Potter most certainly would not have slept so peacefully in his bed in the unstable, but apparently largely undamaged, Gryffindor Tower after he defeated Tom Riddle, had he but known how badly it's underpinnings had been cracked!
One aspect of the necessary repairs and modifications to Hogwarts could not, however, have been foreseen by anyone. This was down to a technical breakthrough during the period of reconstruction, made by Ministry magical researchers working alongside recently, (and secretly), recruited muggle scientists. The combined team found a way to shield electricity and muggle electronics from the damaging effects of magic! Indeed it was the muggles who made the first breakthrough!
Upon hearing of the problem the Ministry's muggle scientists more or less immediately looked at each other, grinned and in chorus said E.M.P! Without further explanation to their bemused magical colleagues they then went off and disappeared into a lab for two days solid and emerged with a laptop computer which seemed pretty much immune to all but deliberate magical attacks. They then explained to their astonished co-workers exactly what they had done to modify the circuitry of the laptop against voltage surges induced by any chance nearby strong fields of 'magical flux.' This was to harden and 'rugged-ise' the machine in exactly the same way that military equipment was protected from nuclear induced electrical surge damage. Their witch and wizard colleagues, upon grasping the principle of Electromagnetic Pulse effects, were then able to further help strengthen the circuitry's protection by impregnating the outer casing of the laptop with an innovative magical 'damping charm', making the resultant computer so immune to accidental magical damage that in tests it was found it could even survive apparition whilst still turned on!
Thus the 'new' Hogwarts came to feature electrical lighting, instead of the old smoky, unhealthy and dangerous fossil fuelled candles, gas and oil lanterns of the past, and computers made an appearance in the school library and classrooms. Additionally modifications were made to the access routes of the castle to facilitate easier movement for both physically handicapped pupils and staff. This suggestion came from Lavender Brown, who, whilst healing, was only slowly regaining the use of her legs and was still largely confined to a wheelchair, following the severe injuries she'd sustained when attacked during the battle by the vile werewolf, Fenryr Greyback. Lavender was not the only one whose mobility was affected by battle injuries, as a few other pupils and one staff member now also had similar mobility problems, as a result of their heroic resistance during the fighting. Since it was Lavender's determined intention to to champion disability rights, having experienced problems herself, she was easily able to convince Minerva McGonagall, the new Headmistress that changes needed to be made to the school layout during reconstruction. Minerva agreed wholeheartedly and as a result mobility ramps appeared in many places and thanks to the new electrical supply several lifts to upper floors were installed at strategic points inside the restored building. These were needed as magically powered lifts, such as those originally fitted in the Ministry, were far too dangerously jerky and unstable to be used by disabled people, since one had to hang on like 'grim death' in order not to be thrown around by their erratic and violent movements. Muggle type lifts however were ideal for the job!
A new spirit also grew up in the school when it finally re-opened. This originated in a wise suggestion by the Sorting Hat, which the newly appointed Headmistress, Professor Minerva McGonagall, enthusiastically adopted. They decided between them that no longer would the 'blood prejudices' and cliques of old be allowed to fester in the school and that in future each house of the school would include a somewhat wider range of personality types and social backgrounds amongst their selected pupils.
Whilst the Sorting Hat would still continue to sort pupils into the four houses and they would still be allowed to retain a degree of their old 'specialities', no longer would the personality traits that had previously been characteristic amongst the members of each house be allowed to become so prevalent as to outweigh the balanced and happy functioning of the school as a whole. It proved to be a very wise change and because pupils of somewhat more varied backgrounds, abilities and personality type were now integrated into all four houses they discovered, simply by living and working together in close proximity, that difference and diversity could be a positive and not just a negative thing. However there was still a lively, but far more friendly, rivalry between the four houses. Friendly that is except on the Quidditch Pitch, where things still sometimes tended to get a little 'heated', but that was only to be expected. Quidditch, of course, is Important!
In addition to the organisational changes at Hogwarts School it was decided by the Ministry's Education Department that a new standard of higher level magical qualifications in the form of Magical Degrees and advanced Vocational Training Qualifications would be needed in the future magical world that was being created. It had been realised for some time that the British magical community's educational standards had been lagging behind that of several of their Continental neighbours, such as the superbly rounded and advanced education that was available at Beauxbatons Academy in France.
This discrepancy had first been spotted when the party from that famous French school had visited Hogwarts for the Tri Wizard Tournament, whilst Harry and his friends were still pupils. The French school's students were seen to be far better read and seemingly more mature and more disciplined than their British equivalents. Also it had been discovered, by Ministry officials sent on a fact finding tour after the war, that the very dynamic American magical community were also much more modern in their approach to magical education, and that they too had much to teach the British system, which didn't even have such a thing as formal teacher training for Professors of Magic.
Thus the first ever British Magical University was created, it's campus being located in a brand new building, sited adjacent to the original Hogwarts School but run independently of it, having it's own academic staff and headed by it's own Chancellor, a distinguished academic and educational expert named Professor Everard Winstanley. Professor Winstanley, a man who bore an uncanny resemblance to the late Albus Dumbledore and although admittedly a few decades younger, was a man who had made a brave stand during the lead up to the second Wizarding War, by stating his opposition to Minister Fudge's appointment of the vile Dolores Umbridge to Hogwarts, a matter he in fact resigned from the Ministry over. During the war itself he went 'underground' and became a pamphleteer for Dumbledore's Free Army, writing boldly against the evils of Voldermort's regime.
He also once famously made a guest appearance on Potterwatch, broadcasting to the pupils of Hogwarts and the wizarding folk of Britain to try and raise their spirits, and bravely insisting that his real name be used instead of a code name during the transmission. As a result of which, had he been caught, he would most certainly have been killed. For this bravery and his other work against The Dark Lord he was awarded The Order of Merlin, Second Class.
The main building of Chancellor Winstanley's new University was named The Albus Dumbledore Memorial Wing and it was carefully and artfully constructed, so as to externally match the architectural style of the ancient castle, whilst inside it was a light, airy and modern facility, with all the latest magical and muggle teaching aids. Also, in a brilliant piece of design work, whereas beneath the original castle there were nothing but dank dungeons, and the far more comfortable area containing the Slytherin common room and dorms, in the new facility there was a full Olympic sized swimming pool and fitness centre. The use of this magnificent utility was scheduled not only for the staff and senior students of the University, but also accessible at set times to the pupils and staff of the original school.
Another rapid change occurred in wider magical society post-war, due to the adoption, (where suitable and useful), of muggle communication and computing technology, which were now immune to magical damage. This change was spearheaded by the increasingly large numbers of muggleborns, who were used to owning and using such things. It became commonplace to see trendy young witches and wizards toteing the latest mobile phones or portable computing devices about with them. You could see them in Diagon Alley on a sunny summer's day, sat at the tables outside the re-opened Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlour, (now run by the late, much missed, proprietor's nephew), texting and chatting away, or hooked up by wi-fi to social networking sites, just like the muggles sat outside the cafés of nearby Soho.
The ability to send group messages and the speed of communications of the 'new technology' so greatly out performed what magical communication methods could do that widespread usage became inevitable and soon progressed up the 'age chain' to older wizards and witches, just as it previously had done amongst older muggles. Owl's, although still sometimes used to carry small packages and birthday/yule cards etcetera, often became more like pets and familiars to witches and wizards, as the 'communications revolution' took hold.
A great leader of this movement was a dynamic young war hero, the wizard radio presenter Lee 'River' Jordan, who had risked his life transmitting and hosting Potterwatch during the war. Lee had gone on post-war to rapidly revolutionise the wizarding wireless service, dragging it screaming and kicking into the twenty first century, from where it had been languishing somewhere in what sounded like the 1950's. Lee was a visionary and was also instrumental in creating the new WTN, the Wizarding Television Network, in the first few years of the new century after the war. This was an extremely successful internet based subscription TV service which became more and more popular as the new WWWW (Wizarding World Wide Web) was set up and rapidly expanded. As a result of which Lee Jordan, whilst retaining his charm, humour and modest down to earth personality became extremely rich, set up many other successful and innovative businesses, (such as his specialised wizarding computer software company, PhoenixWare), and as a result was often described in the pages of the Daily Prophet and other print media as, 'the wizarding Richard Branson'. The flaming phoenix logo he'd designed for his companies soon became famous and recognised by all the magical peoples of the world, as he built the first ever truly global magical corporation.
Indeed it rapidly came about that even the previously moribund Ministry of Magic itself, under Kingsley Shacklebolt's energetic leadership, joined the 'information age' and saw the advantages of computers over the old fashioned paper dart memos and enchanted filing cabinets they had been using up 'till then and an electronic administration network was set up in the Ministry, making the old magical methods obsolete.
However, that is not to say that magic was completely abandoned due to the use of new technology. Indeed many new spells from the recently introduced and revolutionary American science/art of Technomancy, (which was a fusion of magic and muggle quantum physics), had begun to be taught and used in Britain.
As well as that, certain other advanced and highly innovative muggle/magical 'hybrid' methods were beginning to come into use. For instance the electricity itself, which now lit the Ministry and powered it's computers, was generated by a very advanced power station in the building's deepest basement. This used large, but essentially 'normal', commercially available muggle type AC alternators, but these were driven by a magically powered and virtually silent, fuel-less 'perpetual motion' type engine, thereby generating completely 'green' emission-free electrical energy. This kind of new magical technology was being developed by Ministry's researchers.
New thinking was flourishing as well in the minds of many innovative and creative young wizards and witches looking to improve their society, as well as make their fortune. Such creativity was also beginning to bear fruit in the R&D sections of several private wizarding companies, such as that of Lee Jordan's Phoenix Group and even in the more 'serious' arm of George Weasleys' joke shop business, which employed several inventive young people in creating non joke/prank related, but useful new homeware gadgets, under his 'Bright Sparks' brand.
The new ideas were also being taught in a degree course at Hogwarts University to Charity Burbage Memorial Scholars, the course being so oversubscribed that only the brightest and best got a place. It was hoped that eventually, when they went out into the wider world, that by implementing the new electrical/electronic and other combined muggle/magical hybrid technologies and social ideas the graduates would be able to help solve many of the energy creation, transportation, social and ecological problems that the people of the planet faced, both magical and muggle.
And speaking of revolutions, in addition to the technological one there were also many social changes in magical society post war. An increasingly large numbers of muggleborns were coming along, which according to Ministry's scientific researchers was due to magical genes becoming more dominant and widespread amongst the world's population. This fact more or less forced some changes to the International Statute Of Secrecy. It was decided at a worldwide magical conference that had been held in secret at the UN, that perhaps it was time to try a limited experiment in integrating muggles and wizarding folk, to see if peaceful coexistence was finally a viable option.
In Britain the 'experiment' was carried out at two small village sites. Ottery St. Catchpole and Godric's Hollow being the places chosen, as they already had large numbers of wizarding folk living in or about them. The villages themselves had a magical 'perimeter' set up around them, which automatically modified the memories of any casual visitors entering or leaving them. This wiped their memories of having seen anything 'unusual' whilst there, but left them otherwise unharmed.
Inside the perimeter however muggle and magical neighbours mixed openly and, it proved, quite happily. Indeed for most of the muggle villagers the 'revelation' that they had magical friends and neighbours living alongside them came as little surprise. For years so many minor acts of magic had been noticed by the muggles and gone un-wiped by Ministry Obliviators that it was already common knowledge that there were many 'odd folk' about. Indeed many of the muggles of these two villages had long taken a weird sort of pride in living in a place where 'strange' things happened so often, with only a few being fearful, since nothing bad had happened to themselves or their neighbours because of it. Those few 'Dursley Syndrome' (as the condition became known) afflicted muggles who did feel uncomfortable with magic simply tended to move away, but the numbers of such prejudiced people were tiny. Thus it was hoped, following several more years of careful study and planning, that eventually the wider British public could be told of the existence of the witches and wizards amongst them and a successful full integration achieved, with benefits, both social, technological and ecological for all, muggles, witches and wizards alike.
This then is the flourishing Wizarding World into which the children of the Heroes of the fight against Lord Voldermort are being born. A dynamic, fast evolving world of hope and optimism set free from fear. A world in which secrets long kept, out of the remembrance of long past dark times of persecution are finally becoming revealed. A world where many of the old prejudices that divided it's people, both magical and muggle, are beginning to fade into the past and where solutions to many of the problems that also plague our own version of reality exist and are being implemented. Don't you wish you lived there too?