HPM Dance of the Hours
Daria is the creation of Glenn Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, and Wizarding World. I own neither, and neither expect nor deserve financial compensation for this story. I am writing for my own amusement and for ego gratification.
What if Minerva McGonagall had been able to persuade Professor McGonagall to place baby Harry Potter with different blood relatives instead of with Petunia Dursley and her husband: the Morgendorffers from MTV's Daria?
Harry Potter Morgendorffer*Harry Potter Morgendorffer*Harry Potter Morgendorffer
Albus Dumbledore's Monday was not going as he'd expected. True, he had expected to be busy. As the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he had expected to cope with the minutiae of running one of the foremost schools of witchcraft and wizardry in Europe, and the only such school of its size and import in Britain. He'd not only had to deal with teachers' reports concerning their curricula and how their students were progressing, but also any reports concerning the more serious discipline and personal problems that Professor McGonagall or the other Heads of Houses couldn't deal with on their own. Plus, there were matters concerning the school and grounds, wear and tear on the classrooms and hallways, as well as the upkeep of building exteriors and the school's grounds. Some of the wear and tear would require money and materials to repair it; magic had its limits. He'd probably have to bring in Goblins or magical workmen to work on the repairs during the Christmas or Easter holidays.
He'd hoped to keep his calendar clear to deal with Madam Morgendorffer and whatever agenda she might have brought over but found that he'd had two major distractions dropped in his lap. The first concerned the aftermath of a turbulent meeting of the school's Board of Governors. Not only had some of the governors gotten wind of the continuing difficulty finding qualified faculty to fill the school's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, but there was also the matter of bad feelings regarding George Whetstone's attempt to add a second mathematics teacher to the school's faculty. The half-blooded governor had argued that there simply weren't enough jobs available within the magical community for all of youngsters leaving Hogwarts and Magical Britain's other schools, and that pre-calculus and other mathematics courses would help some of the school's graduates find employment in Muggle jobs or placement in Muggle schools. Whetstone had also claimed that his proposal had had support from Gringotts, but it was not enough. His proposal had been crushed by the Board's Pure Blood bloc led by Lucius Malfoy, who'd argued that wizards and witches leaving the wizarding world deserved no support from the school.
Dumbledore wished that Whetstone had gracefully conceded defeat, but the half-blooded wizard had been passionate about his proposal. Whetstone had called Malfoy an elitist old-money berk who had no more idea as to how the real world worked than a flobberworm did about Transfiguration. Dumbledore knew that Whetstone had other reforms in mind—foreign language instruction, what Muggles called "Language Arts" concerning grammar and composition, as well as an elective course to teach students from magical backgrounds how to access the resources of Muggle libraries and institutions of higher learning. Alas, those other proposals were even less feasible than Whetstone's mathematics position. Whetstone wasn't quite a loose canon, but his proposals wouldn't work. He would have to find a way to persuade Whetstone to resign his post.
He began to think about just how he'd ease Whetstone off the board when he realized that it was the early afternoon and that he should probably pause for lunch—even if it was only a light meal brought up to his office by house elves. He'd just sat down at his desk when Professor McGonagall informed him that wands had been drawn and a fight had broken out in the corridor.
The fight was the result of a nasty quarrel between scion of a family that had supported Voldemort and the offspring of one of the Death Eaters' victims. Caractus Darnley, a Ravenclaw, had insulted Suzanah Biggles, a Hufflepuff, in the hallway, and had told her that not only was he glad that the Death Eaters had killed her father and uncle, but that he wished that they'd gone on to exterminate the rest of her clan. If Caractus had been somewhat wiser, he would have left it there. He went on to say that what the school really needed was a cleansing of the filthy Mudblooded vermin soiling its hallways and that he hoped he'd be leading the fight. At that, tempers frayed, wands were drawn and a fight broke out.
It was an ugly fight. Several of the brawlers had been sent to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey told him that a couple of cases were sufficiently severe that they might have to be sent off to St. Mungo's.
Worse, owls had been sent, and several relatives of the injured from both sides of the brawl had contacted the DMLE. The Headmaster then spent several hours he didn't have to spare trying to head off the DMLE's visiting the injured, and attempting to pour oil on trouble waters. Neither the Darnleys nor the Hufflepuff girl's parents had been mollified. Even more troublesome was that one of the Harrows was Miss Biggles' wizarding Godmother; and the Harrows were an important pureblood family, even if they weren't members of the "Sacred 28." Professor Dumbledore sighed; he realized that he might have to resort to stern measures to lessen tensions. One or both of the duelists might have to be expelled, and he had to prepare a defense for his actions.
By the time that the last irate wizard had been escorted out of his office, the sun had set, and the old wizard realized that he just wasn't going to have the time he'd hoped to have to prepare an adequate defense as to why he should be allowed to retain control of Harry Potter's estate. A clock on the wall confirmed his worst thoughts: it was time to floo to Gringott's.
He undid the charms that kept unwanted visitors from entering his office, picked up some powder, said "Gringott's!" and flooed away.
Harry Potter Morgendorffer*Harry Potter Morgendorffer*Harry Potter Morgendorffer
To my loyal fans, I do apologize for the lengthy delay. I got distracted by my other story and by some real-life concerns and it was only recently that the creative juices for this story began flowing and I could start writing and publishing new material.
I am nearly done with proof-reading Helen's showdown with Professor Dumbledore at Gringotts. Among other things, the next segment will show that a certain young Texas-raised wizard has different interests from his canon counterpart. But to say more will spoil the story.