Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)
Assignment #2 - Alchemy (What Are We Aiming For)
Task #4 - Write about a female being underestimated in a situation where she proves the person wrong.
Warnings: implied/referenced character death
Further prompts are at the end.
Word Count: 1,025
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated universe belongs to J.K. Rowling, and not me. I'm finally remembering to put these! Also, you should definitely search up what a bundimun is.
"You're the ruler here, right? Do you rent out dungeon cells? Asking for a friend."
"You- You're-" said ruler stammers, eyes darting between the closed doors to the lavish chambers and Harry herself.
Harry very kindly stops herself from comparing him to a bundimun, even if it's only in her mind, because of course that wouldn't be polite. (See, Hermione?)
"Oh, so sorry, forgot to introduce myself," Harry realizes, bowing at exactly thirty degrees for a breath because the emperor is, technically, of higher status than herself, even if he isn't her ruler. "Harry Potter, she/her, Hogwarts world. And you're Emperor Fudge, right? This is Ministry world?"
"I- Yes," Fudge says, seeming to gain a little more confidence as he puffs his chest and says, "And you're trespassing - I command you to leave my quarters, this instant!"
Harry rolls her eyes. "Oh, relax. I won't be here too long. I just had a simple question: do you rent out dungeon cells? Oh, and can I sit here, by the way?"
"You-"
"Thanks!" Harry chirps. Ooh, and the code in the royal suite is really nice, the texture of the cushions like a cloud. Fudge opens his mouth, probably to ask why she's here, and his face is turning a really alarming shade of mulberry-purple, so she tells him before he can work himself into a greater fit, not knowing. "We've got a capacity issue back in Hogwarts, after the coup, as you know, and we're out of space in the dungeons to keep our new prisoners. And I know, we could just kill them all off, rid ourselves of that problem - that's what I told them we should do - but our new Headmistress is all about 'second chances', so… we're out of space. Do you rent out dungeon cells?"
"I- I demand you leave, this instant!" Fudge exclaims, and Harry frowns - this again? "Or I'll call the guards!"
"We just need some space to hold our new prisoners," Harry soothes.
"GUARDS!"
Okay, she's changed her mind. Fudge definitely is a bundimun, of the worst, most acidic, slimy, many-eyed kind.
"Now you-!" A quick, nonverbal Stupefy takes care of him easily, though Harry can tell what he's thinking, as his eyes bulge in the moments before the crimson sparks hit. Duh, she would've taken down the firewall preventing unauthorized spellfire before coming in.
Footsteps pound down the halls, the ornate doors opening with a crash and the guards streaming into the room, wands drawn… just in time for Harry to wink at them before Apparating away.
Hermione's going to be so mad at her, Harry realizes, back at the temporary portal Neville hacked. She might have just ruined any chance of an alliance between them and Ministry.
-oOo-
"When I told you to negotiate with Ministry, I meant officially, not by breaking into their emperor's chambers!"
"He was fully dressed and everything, I checked-"
"Not. The. Point."
Harry waits a few seconds for Hermione to cool down, before adding, "By the way, any chance we could take over Ministry as well? Their leader's kind of a bundimun."
"Harry James Potter-" Oops, the full name is never a good sign "-I swear-!" Just as it seems like Hermione can't possibly get any more frightening, she seems to collapse in on herself, shoulders hunching and eyes closing.
Harry steps towards her worriedly. "Are you-?"
"I'm not going to be able to stop you," Hermione says tiredly, "am I?"
Ron snorts, which Harry takes as a good sign, that they're finally out of the Granger Danger Zone enough for him to dare draw attention to himself again. "When has keeping Harry from doing what she wants ever turned out well?"
"Hey, that's not true!"
Ron raises an eyebrow. "When Virtuality software didn't let you choose a female body as your virtual self, you hacked into the server and added that decision, plus an intersex option, for everyone in every world. When the Daily Prophet told everyone you were insane, you deleted their headquarters, permanently. When Umbridge tried to take over Hogwarts, you got the centaurs to take care of her, somehow without implicating yourself. When Dumbledore tried to manipulate you into killing off all his enemies, you killed them all anyway then started a coup and killed him-"
"That was Draco, actually-"
"-plotted everything so he'd die," Ron corrects. "When-"
"It was all perfectly normal reactions," Harry grumbles. "Right?"
No one, not even Draco, meets her eyes.
"Traitors."
"Harry, love," Draco offers, "you're amazing, but also terrifying."
"No, that's Hermione."
"And you."
"…But can we still take over Ministry?"
-oOo-
Taking over a different world is, surprisingly, easier than taking over Hogwarts was - although that might only apply to Ministry, because through a nice blend of negotiation (Draco), economic incentives (Neville), and threats (Harry), by the time they storm the royal palace, the majority of the population is on their side, the few Fudge fanatics easily identified and dealt with. The Ministry's many restrictions against Virtuality-hacking, too, handicap them, so that the Hogwarts forces have a clear advantage in the few skirmishes.
"Remember," Draco calls to their gathered troops, just outside the palace walls. "Capture and Stun, but do not kill unless you have to. Headmistress Granger's orders. We're not the Order or the Death Eaters. That applies to you too, Harry."
There's a few scattered chuckles, but really, she's not that bad!
"I knew it!" Fudge exclaims, smiling a little deranged-ly even though he's being held at wandpoint. "Dolores warned me, that you, Harry Potter, would be a threat! That you'd want to take over Ministry, next!"
"Okay, I wasn't planning on killing you, but you're really getting on my nerves," Harry informs him. "Also, Dolores?" The name sounds familiar, but…
"Dolores Umbridge!"
"Umbridge?" Harry spits. "You were the one who sent her?" She remembers hearing that Umbridge'd been sent from another world, but Ministry? Fudge was the one who'd ordered her to literally torture the people of Hogwarts?
"Yes!" Fudge exclaims. "I told her, control Hogwarts, by any means-"
She'll just, just say it was an accident. That'll work, right? "Avada Kedavra."
Winter Seasonal Challenges
Days of the Year & Religious Events: February 1st- Imbolc (Pagan): Write about thinking about the future.
Black History Month: Angela Davis: Write about a political activist.
Crochet Week: Moss Stitch: (word) texture
Colours: Mulberry
Crystals & Gemstones: Diamond: Royalty!AU
Tarot Reading: Five of Pentacles, reversed: Write about the end of difficult times
Slytherin Characters: Draco Malfoy
Slytherin OTPs: Harry/Draco
But Can You Spell It? G - (theme) Good & Evil
Writing Club: February
Character Appreciation: Word: Proficient
Record Collection: Don't Matter, Akon: Write about ignoring someone's opinion.
Written in the Stars: (trait) creative
Book Club: Jaron: (au) royalty, (phrase) long-lost, (color) purple
Showtime: Get Down: (au) royalty
Amber's Apothecary: (word) spark
Elizabeth's Empire: (task) Write the OTP of a member of your house
Liza's Loves: Barbarian - Write about someone getting angry
Angel's Archive: R - (au) Royalty
Sophie's Serial Killers: (scenario) Being accused of something
Scamander's Case: (plot point) running away
Film Festival: (word) Disturbing
Lyric Alley: Fight so dirty, but you love so sweet
The Forecast Says… 21st: Snow: Disrespectful
EnTitled: Route 666 - Write about reconnecting with an ex - alt - Write about a murder
Gen's World Tour: Indira Gandhi - the first female Prime Minister of India, she left behind a controversial legacy, helping create an independent Bangladesh but also curtailing rights during calls for revolution - [prompt] Write about a woman who is the first to do something
Would You Rather? Write a Crossover OR write an AU?
You Get My Love: Romantic - (color) crimson
Stop! Hamper Time: Cakes: Words - Mixed Fruit Cake: Cajole
Stickers Club: Helga Hufflepuff's Cup - Plot Point: Being framed or accused of something
Resolution Evolution: Write - Write a crossover fic with a new fandom or a new pairing within a fandom you've written before - Draco/Harry
Gwen's Candy Shop: Bowl 4 - Trans: Write a character who is any type of trans - trans woman
Fantasy February: Day Two - Dialogue: "You're the ruler here, right? Do you rent out dungeon cells? Asking for a friend."
365: (au) royalty
Scavenger Hunt: Write a story from another fandom (or an au of another fandom if you only write Harry Potter)
Fantastic Beasts: Chrysomallos - AU: Royalty
