Disclaimer: We don't own anything related to Harry Potter, that belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling and her cronies. We do own all original characters (mainly Bridget Griffins, Kagumi Pheonix, Raminus Slytherin, and Cordan Gryffindor) as well as all original interpretations of canon and the prose itself.

Story Summary: Prophecies can be tricky things. When those in power decide to play it safe rather than take action, two girls left out for their own safety find their own way to change their destiny: by strolling right into a world long thought fictional. Oops? DM/OC, HP/OC, RW/HG, DT/AB, NL/GW.


The Hope of a New World:

Alternate Universes, Fiction, and Fanfiction

By Bridget Griffins

Professor George Mooney—English 224

One of the most common themes in fiction is answering the eternal question of "What if?" and attempting to answer that question will inevitably lead to the writing of alternate universe stories. In original fiction, this can most obviously be seen in works of science-fiction, fantasy, or alternate history, but is it most apparent in the existence of fanfiction itself. Never truly able to be congruent with the canon work, fanfiction is merely a collection of alternate ideas and different timelines.

Most obvious is the alternate universe story. The basic theory behind these "fics" is that once a different decision is made the entire chain of events that follows that decision—as big or small as it may seem—can be changed. It can be something large and obviously important, like the decision of a Secret Keeper in the Harry Potter book series, or it can be something small and seemingly inconsequential, such as John Winchester's choice of car in the Supernatural television series. These decisions set off another set of questions that can lead to a story almost completely independent of the original work.

All stories begin with a choice. For instance, in the original story one character, Conner, chose to put another character, Katie, in a situation, a new world perhaps, against the advice of his elders. This situation would force her to deal with life and death decisions that would not always go in her favor, and Conner knows that. It is inevitable that Katie will find heartache and hardship in this new world, but she can also create hope and opportunity that the world would not have had without her and, possibly, she could find friends and love to a depth she could never have in her old world.

But, what if Conner had listened to his elders? What if he had waited just that one extra moment, and taken the time to think things through?

Perhaps, then, something would have happened to illustrate to him just how damaging this could be to Katie and, in an attempt to protect her from the pain, he decides to keep her isolated from that new world. It is possible that she could then have a normal life with a nice husband, nice children, and a nice job. Or, maybe, the draw would be too much and she would still be pulled into that world he tried so hard to keep her from. Did delaying the inevitable make things better for Katie, or did Conner's overprotective actions make it harder in the end?

At this point it's a completely different universe, even if the starting point was the same. He made a decision for her good, in an attempt to make things right, which is something we all strive to do. But, now, after the fact, can he really say that it was better?


Author's Notes: Just to be clear, this is an AU of our other fic, Distinctus Inter Nos, which is an AU of the HP world. You don't need to read DIN, although it is helpful, at least. This is a very different world from DIN, but it should be fun.

Flames will be used to ward off Voldemort (obviously he's afraid of fire… dunno why) and reviews are always welcome. Questions can be directed at either Kagumi or Jet (or both if you don't know who'd be better) and we shall try to answer them without revealing sensitive plot information. If it's a plot point, we'll just tell you to keep reading.

~Jet and Gumi