Disclaimer:
I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Mischief Managed Damn It!
Title: Neo Avalon (Working Title)
Posted Date: November 18 2023
Tags: Harry leaving Britain, Post Hogwarts AU, Manipulative Dumbledore, Build up Story Plot AU, Harry living on an island, Bad Percy, Dumbledore is the Dark Lord of Prophecy
Possible Challenges: Alive / Mostly good Weasleys
Sounds of footsteps echoed in the stone corridor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the old wizard walked through with tired steps, his eyes looking upon the familiar sights with sadness. Once shining armours were looking dented with rust appearing around the edges. Paintings of people, animals or scenery looked faded and worn out from the years of neglect. The fires that used to burn brightly from the torches were now burning low enough that the corridors looked uninviting with the shadows that appeared to be alive and wanting to drag anyone into the darkness. He paused by the Great Hall and looked at the rather sad state of the place that would normally be boasting of the magical children talking with each other as they learned about the wonders of magic, but now was silent like the grave with dust settling on the tables, a clear sign of the cleaning spells failing.
The old wizard sighed heavily and continued his way to his office, the staircase famed for moving at random now locked for him to walk up, eventually to the gargoyle statue that slowly moved to the side like it had rigour mortis, up the spiral stairs that no longer moved, and finally his office where instruments were no longer chiming or portraits were mostly stilled to conserve magic. The wizard went to his desk and sat down with a heavy sigh, seeing the office that seemed to have dulled with time.
This was not how Albus Dumbledore had envisioned after the war with Voldemort, not this sorry state of matters.
The defeat of Voldemort, previously known as Tom Riddle, should have brought about eternal peace to all corners of the Wizarding World, and he would be at the forefront to help lead them to the golden age of magic. It would be the crowning jewel to his resume and he would be able to go on his next adventure with the knowledge that all was well in his plans.
It did seem that way once they got the ministry back in some working order for some to get through the laws and removed some of the more extreme versions. Dumbledore kept a cursory eye on the laws, but let them deal with it since he already had his people looking in on it.
So what if there were additional laws passed through the ministry and later the ICW to enforce the statute of secrecy that may seem more extreme in protecting the magicals? It was for the safety of all magicals, and some people needed a heavy hand to remember to keep themselves hidden from the muggles.
So what if they passed laws in the ICW to bring the nations together under one flag and to create an international Auror Corps to help monitor and enforce the laws with force if necessary? It has been shown that the difference in laws, language and even personalities of individual countries have created strife with each other and their own citizens. It was better to have them united under one banner and one set of rules, and having a single group of Aurors made up of the folks would aid the cause, with any dissenters be kicked out and perhaps arrested to avoid discord.
So what if the Veela enclaves, Shaman tribes and other smaller indigenous tribes were to be forcefully absorbed or be removed if they refused to join the rest of the world? It was to ensure that all magical beings were united as one as Gellert had intended, and if they resisted, they should be removed.
So what if a law was passed to have the newly born muggleborns taken from their muggle parents and passed to other parents to be raised while the muggles were obliviated of all their memories related to the child, if not quietly dealt with? He had seen whatever happened with Tom Riddle and Harry Potter among many others, and the muggleborns should feel right at home with the other magicals. And if they resisted, there was alway the option of compulsions and a bottle of potion to help with the decision.
It may seem cruel to some, but it was for the Greater Good for all magical beings that live on this planet.
The Greater Good that he and Gellert had envisioned in their youths and now finally obtained in his time.
But it did not happen.
A decade after that war, right as his plans were coming to fruition, a disturbing trend began to appear.
People and places had begun to lose magic at an exponential rate, with many effectively becoming Squibs at best, or muggles at worst. Squib births were increasing with many family lines declared extinct by magic. The goblins had gone underground while closing the doors of Gringotts all over the world, and magical creatures were leaving en masse to a place rumoured to be the space between realms where only they would survive without human interference. And the different enclaves that did not submit to their rule had disappeared.
The magical governments had their Unspeakables tasked to find a cure to the ever increasing squib illness, but none succeeded and whatever society that was crumbled into dust. The ICW tried to restore order, but not even an international organisation could withstand a tidal wave of human anger and despair hellbent on finding whatever or whoever was responsible for the mess, and the countries that made up the group barely managed to agree to break up to avoid going to war with diminishing resources.
Percy Weasley, Draco Malfoy and a few other pureblood youths who had entered the British Ministry after the war were kicked out of the place for their roles with proposing the laws that forced people by blood status and supposedly infringing on rights when the muggle government got involved. They were also involved with cases of abuse of power to hunt down other people that were dangerous to the government, and only with some leniency and the ongoing crisis that they avoided prison, and ended up leaving the country in hopes of outrunning the disease that had appeared all over the world.
Riots had broken out with many imprisoned and wands destroyed. Diagon Alley was in a sorry state along with the Ministry and many homes were destroyed in the process. A good number of the pure-bloods had committed suicides in the face of them losing their magic.
Hogwarts was also affected with the decreasing number of magical births, and it had gotten to the point that his beloved school was forced to close its doors with the last batch of students that had only just left a couple of hours ago. The more recent batches of students have decided to go into the muggle world to work there, seeing no future in the wizarding world.
What few of his colleagues that had held on thus far have left for greener pastures or to their homes, wanting to spend what time left before their magic left them for good. He himself had decided to stay in Hogwarts as his final act as headmaster, even if he had wished for a proper burial by the grounds. Something denied because of this and recent truths that came to light about his dealings and actions from the war and the administration.
Too many families were lost and magic was disappearing, and while the blame was given all around, there was one who certainly had people pointing fingers at.
"Quite the look on your face there, Dumbledore."
Dumbledore blinked at the voice, only realising the other person seated across him in the guest chair, an arm propping his head and his legs crossed, all while having a neutral expression on his face and ignoring the portraits exclaiming at his sudden appearance. Despite knowing he was meant to be hitting his thirties, the man before Dumbledore still looked to be barely hitting his twenties with a decent build that showed his time in the sun, long black hair tied in a loose ponytail and green eyes that were focused on him.
Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.
The Bane of Magic.
The Destroyer of Britain.
The one who used to be his weapon against Voldemort, now the Reaper of the Wizarding World.
The one called Harry James Potter.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen." The young man spoke while maintaining a level tone that hid any indication of his amusement or disgust for the situation. "You must be so disappointed by how this turned out. Purebloods losing their magic and wealth. Nations losing their magical governments. The people previously oppressed are now gone and safe from your laws that would force them into a caste system worse than before. Magical Britain is a laughing stock of idiots that people have to either pity or hate for their situation. Your puppets and minions have now been forced out of their positions and money, and are either on the run, dead or dealing with the hospitality of the goblins. And perhaps my favourite of the lot." At this point, he gave off the smile of an angel that made his emerald eyes look more sinister. "Your dreams for a utopia pertaining to the ideals of your constant 'Greater Good' are now in pieces, with even Hogwarts showing the state of your dreams."
"Why?" That one word came out of Dumbledore's mouth as he looked at the young man who had come into his office to gloat in his opinion.
"Why?" Harry raised an eyebrow while maintaining the irritating smile. "By that, you mean why all of this happened? In a way, I should not be surprised that you asked this. For all your cunning and planning, you always seem to overlook those that you deem unimportant for your plans or throw out after using them. And given what you did to me, you only kept an eye out to make sure I do not mess up your version of the truth."
"The ministry needed to be reformed, Harry. Our numbers were decimated." Albus tried to explain.
"Reformed is a nice word to use, provided the people involved are people genuinely doing the right thing as opposed to doing the same crap as before, and then expanding it to the international stage." This was when Harry dropped the smile and a pressure descended on the room. Dumbledore was more than familiar with this since he had experienced it before, and used it many times in the past towards his enemies and the young man before him in his youth a couple of times, but this was the first he experienced it from Harry, and it absolutely terrified the old wizard at the amount of power that was coming from Harry, and he could tell it was merely the spillage of the magical power building up inside the young man whose emerald eyes were now glowing the infamous colour of the Killing Curse.
"Did you honestly think that after all the manipulations you have done, the lies you have brandished out, the thefts of many people's lives, fortunes and knowledge, the actions and inactions you have done, you are able to walk away scot-free?" Harry spoke calmly with a tone that set off alarms in Dumbledore's head. "Did you believe that after what you did to me since birth, I would not have plans to deal with you? Did you think that faking your death and leaving me and the others to deal with your mess only to come out into the open and claim all the credit while ignoring the sacrifices we had made? All the lives lost because of your constant need to act like some important bastard that withheld information that could help end the war and reduce bloodshed, along with your silly excuses to give the guilty multiple second chances while leaving the victims in a ditch."
"But it was thanks to those plans that we could end Voldemort's reign of terror and free those under his rule. They were given the chance for redemption and helped to bring our society to a golden age." Dumbledore spoke. "They helped to bring prominence to Britain, and you ruined them in your quest for revenge against Britain."
Harry let out a soft scoff at the old wizard's attempt at rebuking the young man like he was a student to guilt trip him. "And that right there, shows your twisted views. But then again, for the guy who held back on killing Grindelwald from World War 2, that actually makes sense. You shared the same beliefs as the man who had in some manner influenced Hitler into learning about the occult, and you believe that sacrifices must be made for your 'Greater Good', no matter how many lives must be taken."
"Not to mention your hidden disdain towards muggleborns or muggles in general. Don't bother lying about it." Harry steamrolled over the wizard opening his mouth. "You talk pretty about being a champion for them, but your laws, attitudes and general behaviour made it clear that you are just as much a bigot as the others. Then again, considering your past with Grindelwald and Ariana, that is no surprise." That last name got Dumbledore stiffening his posture and looking him in the eye but not getting anything from Legilimency like he was trying to look into a fog.
"Yes, your sister was quite informative about your past." Harry answered based on his expression. "And she wanted you to know that you were the reason for her death." At that, Dumbledore felt a pain in his heart and he clenched his hand on his chest to control his breathing.
"What is the point of you being here, Harry?" The old man gasped while lightly glaring at the young man. In response, Harry reached into his pocket to pull out an orb that looked very familiar to Dumbledore.
"Remember this?" Harry asked rhetorically, knowing the old wizard would recognise a prophecy orb. "You did not bother coming back to check on it, did you?"
"The prophecy was fulfilled. You have vanquished the dark lord." Dumbledore spoke while eyeing the orb, noting the pale white smoke that denoted it as a partially fulfilled prophecy.
"That depends on your perspective." Dumbledore looked at Harry with slight foreboding. "This is why I hate prophecies, they are always so convoluted and you won't know the true meaning until it is over. I defeated Voldemort, 'a' dark lord. But the prophecy stated that the Chosen One should be vanquishing 'The Dark Lord', the whole title with capital lettering and all. Also note there are no names stated in it." Harry rolled the ball in his hand with the air of one talking about the weather. "Now, considering I am still able to handle the orb, that means I am one of the participants. Now who is the dark lord?"
"Impossible, the prophecy was already completed." Dumbledore spoke while shaking his head. "Furthermore, the orb was destroyed during your struggle in the Ministry that had Sirius killed because of your recklessness." Harry shrugged while ignoring the dig by the wizard to throw him off.
"Croaker told me that any true prophecy will have the orb repaired in the event it gets broken before the prophecy passes. When you played your act, I decided to check on the department on a hunch, and Croaker was there to help me answer my questions while showing me a fully restored orb." Harry lightly spun the ball on his finger like he would a basketball, while Dumbledore felt ice pouring down his back at that bit of news. "You can imagine my shock and anger at the sight of the orb still partially active. And when I read through the diaries from my parents, some things came to light and made a fair amount of sense to me."
"My parents had argued with you over the restriction of the spells used against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They had argued with you over leaving the safety of the Potter Manor and moving into Godric's Hollow. They had also argued with you over the choice of Secret Keepers for the Fidelius Charm." At this point, Harry's eyes seemed to glow with a quiet fury. "A choice that you were apparently very well aware of since you were the one who suggested that Pettigrew was to be the keeper while Sirius was to be the decoy." Dumbledore would have wanted to refute that but the boy looked a little trigger happy and that made Dumbledore think he should keep silent on that.
"Then came my years in Hogwarts with all the craziness happening in it, and how everyone seemed to know despite the incidents happening out of sight. All the way until my final fight with Voldemort." Harry kept speaking with his eyes on the old wizard. "One might say that my fame ended up on the same level as yours."
"Oh, and let's not forget how you dumped me with the Dursleys, how you kept sending me back despite the obvious evidence of the abuse, constantly moving me like a chess piece, losing my godfather and parents. Your actions and inactions have defined me over the years, and in so doing, marked me."
"And then there were the parts that were coincidentally left out from the version you showed me." Harry lifted a finger and tapped the orb, making it project out an image of Trelawney giving out her prophecy.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and the Dark Lord will seek to control or destroy him to bring about the false utopia, his tendrils ensnaring the world in his grasp through falsehoods of a great rebirth… But the child shall endure his pains and bring about the end and rebirth of magic through the deep cleanse to defeat the Dark Lord… and in so doing, he shall end the Dark Lord's legacy in his stronghold… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
The office was silent as the recording ended, with only Harry being calm while the portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses alternated their looks between him and Dumbledore in horror. "Quite informative, don't you think?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"What did you do?" Dumbledore looked at Harry with budding anger, now understanding that all of his plans and ideals were truly ruined thanks to the young man in front of him. "What have you done?!"
"Apparently in my own way, I brought about the cleansing of the magic to ensure the cancer that was the pureblood propaganda would finally be torn out of the body that was the magical world. I made sure that those responsible are now truly punished, and those that could be saved are well away from you and your proxies. I made sure your dreams of the Greater Good will never come true, and that your legacy will be demolished by showing everyone the truth." Harry stood up from the chair and placed the orb on the table while maintaining eye contact.
"And with all of that confirmed, right here in Hogwarts where you always held court, I hereby declare that I vanquish the Dark Lord named Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." With that, the orb flashed briefly before the smoke turned dark, rendering it black and indicating its fulfilment of the prophecy. That got the portraits to start yelling out questions and demanding answers only to be silenced by Harry with a wave of his hand. Harry straightened up while leaving the orb on the table, a smile directed at the old wizard with cold eyes.
"Checkmate."
The old wizard did not respond for a while, his eyes focused on the orb that had described him and spelled his doom all those years ago. He tried so much to stir the prophecy away and sought to end the families that had met the criteria. He had tried to get Harry under his control through core bindings, spells, potions and his proxies, and then tried to have him silenced in some manner after the war with Voldemort.
And it was all for naught.
"Time's up." Dumbledore looked up to find Harry dusting himself off. "You can keep the orb. I have completed my business with you."
"Do you think I would let you go after ruining my plans?" Dumbledore still had some connection to Hogwarts and sealed off the office. With a flick of the hand, his wand came out and fired off a spell at Harry who merely smiled as it went through him and cracked the wall behind him.
"Yeah, that won't work." He raised a hand that started to fade away into mist. "I was never here to begin with. This is just a temporal projection that allows me to use some magic and physically move items about for a short while before it gives out. A useful spell for the old shamans, and one of those spells you had declared dark because you failed at using it properly." Harry then gave a smile that was irritatingly familiar to Dumbledore as the rest of the body faded away and left behind the head for a short while. "Too bad you no longer have the Elder Wand, this is my final prank for the world. Toodles, Dumbledore. Arianna is waiting for you in the next world."
With that, the projection disappeared completely, leaving Dumbledore in anger and despair. The man grabbed the prophecy orb and with a roar, threw it across the room and shattered it on impact. He wanted to rage at the loss of his plans and the interference from his former weapon, but that was when his heart gave out without warning and the man slumped over the table, and after a while, a small portrait appeared on the side of the office to show his slumbering form, showing the last headmaster to ever govern Hogwarts. The body disappeared shortly after, while the shards of the prophecy orb floated off the floor and gathered above the table, reassembling itself and became whole once more.
And so with his death, it signified the end of Dumbledore's tenure over Hogwarts. But the portrait would never wake up from its slumber to give out any words or advice, as Hogwarts had decided that his interference over the years had created the monsters that spilled much blood and caused the decline of Magical Britain. The only reason he was allowed a portrait to be hung in Hogwarts was due to the enchantments set into the walls of the castle, but the castle can decide the size and placement to show the relevance.
The castle would be locked down and over the years be hidden by the forest, waiting for the next wizard to open its doors to and hopefully usher in a new generation of wizards and witches to be taught.
A wish that would be many millenniums in the making.
~ooOOoo ~
A pair of eyes opened slowly, the owner taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly before getting up from the seated lotus position he held and stretched his legs to get the blood flowing. It was a bit of a hassle to do this but given this was likely the first and only time to do it, he was prepared for the long haul, and he had done it just to have one last conversation with the man who had screwed him over the years, to show where he went wrong and how he finally got one over the old wizard. He was honestly not sure how to feel about the whole deal by the end of it despite acting very smug towards Dumbledore.
The door opening drew his attention to the brunette coming into the room with a smile and a hand on her large tummy as she made her way slowly. "There you are, we have been looking for you." Harry Potter smiled gently at the woman as he came over to give her a hug and kiss. "Hmm, that is nice. What's the occasion?" His hug slightly tightening clued her in on the seriousness. "Harry?"
"I did a partial projection to visit the old man one last time." Harry felt the woman stiffen at that.
"Why?" Harry shrugged while still hugging her.
"A part of me wanted to make sure that he was not going to pull one out of his ass at the last moment, and to keep an eye on those who had turned on us previously." Harry hummed as he considered what else to say. "But I suppose I did it for closure. I wanted to make sure I have no more regrets holding me back in Britain."
"Did it work?" She asked. Harry paused at that question as his mind weighed in all that had happened.
"In some way I suppose it did, Tracey. He won't be able to do anything to us anymore." That earned him a kiss on the cheek to cheer him up.
"Come on, the others are waiting for you." Harry smiled at her and let her guide him out of the room.
"Hey there." Another young woman came up to him with her hands on her hips and eyebrows raised, this one being of Asian descent. "You sure took your time, Buster."
"Sorry, Su." Harry raised his hands up in surrender. "I just needed some closure." It took Tracey to do some quick talking before Su nodded with a sigh. Then she came up to slap the back of Harry's head.
"That is for not letting us know." She then grabbed his shirt to pull him down and deliver a tongue searing kiss that lasted a few seconds before releasing him, "And that was for restraining yourself against Dumbledore."
"I think I can get used to that." Harry joked while the women rolled their eyes in good nature.
"Come on, let's find the others." The women dragged Harry to the front door and out of the house to reveal a scene of tranquil grasslands and trees that lead to a cove showcasing the clear blue ocean. That was quite impressive on its own, unless someone was to look up to find themselves in a dome that was partially submerged and showing the sky above, with what looked like big tubes connecting to other domes near the one they were living in. The dome shimmered a few times from the light and water hitting it, giving off a rather ethereal look to it.
"Hey Harry." Harry turned to find his long time friend Hermione coming by the path with one hand on her growing tummy and her husband wrapping an arm around her. "You have been cooped up in the house all this time?"
"Just need to do something." Harry answered with a smile before a hand placed on his shoulder drew his attention to the young woman looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Anything I need to know on that matter?" The slightly older woman used her height to her advantage as she looked sternly at him.
"I just went to do one last check on the outside world before we completely close off Avalon's entrance." Harry raised his hands in surrender. "If it helps, Penny, I also checked on Percy, and he is not having the best of days." The woman paused at that before sighing.
"While I am happy to hear that," Penny spoke a little listlessly, "I would prefer that you not endanger yourself with that projection skill. It is forbidden for a reason."
"Indeed." Harry turned to find the beautiful French woman appearing behind her. "I believe the people call it a glutton for punishment."
"Oh sure, gang up on me, why don't you?" Harry huffed in good nature. "but at least I can make sure that Dumbledore is effectively neutralised." Harry hummed as he tilted his head with his eyes slightly dimmed. "In fact, he just went on his 'next great adventure' as of two minutes ago." The others blinked at that news.
"He has been cheating death since he wore the cursed ring." All turned to find Luna coming along with her husband helping her walk due to her pregnancy. "The man had attempted to use the Philosopher's Stone from the Flamels to extend his life, but that was merely a false way of living, and he was using a fake stone to do it. His age has exceeded the body's limit, his loss of status has accelerated it." She turned to face Harry. "And your confirmation of the prophecy was the final nail in his coffin." Harry huffed at that.
"At least with his death, there will be no one coming after us anymore." Harry sighed as he looked back to the top of the dome. "We just need to live in isolation for the next few centuries until the outside world has been cleared of those pureblood bigots and whatever bigotry for magic to come back properly."
"It is pretty crazy knowing that this is truly the end of the wizarding world as we know it." Tracey hugged his arm tightly.
"It is." Su grabbed the other arm. "But at least we are safe."
"That we are, that we are." Harry nodded as they watched the barrier glow a few times before it turned opaque and they could feel the pressure shift slightly as the dome started to descend deeper into the ocean while everything remained level.
This was their new home and new way of life, and none of this would have come about if Harry did not leave Britain shortly after the war just to get away from it all, only for the situation to snowball to the point of creating a new place for refugees to stay in.
A place he and the others decided to call Neo Avalon.
Author's Notes:
This was inspired by two stories I had read. The first and most direct influence came from one I read in the very beginning when I started fanfiction. I can't remember who wrote it, but I remembered it being a long story compressed into 6 odd chapters with the pairing supposedly being Lunar Harmony, but it was only hinted at the very end, and it was with a lot of deaths and messed up blood bigotry. Percy Weasley ended up becoming the minister under Dumbledore's influence and pretty much screwed up everyone. Luna was scary to think up nano-machines to kill off all magic. O.O There was no mention of Horcrux if I recall correctly since it was written before the concept.
The second story is a more recent entry done by W1tch0nParad3 called Safe Haven. This had the Gabi pairing, and the characterizing was a bit odd in my opinion but still a semi decent read if you ignore a lot of canon. Percy ends up the bad guy.
This idea I wrote out is somewhat of the same vein where Harry has left Britain after Dumbledore's bullshit, but having to deal with the aftermath of those who just won't quit their bigotry and spread it worldwide. Not sure if I want Ron to be alive or not, hence the wording about Hermione's husband.
What do you think?