Chapter 2: Alexander Hamilton
Harry Potter: An American Musical
"What do they mean American?" Seamus Finnigan asked, "We're British, not American." "That might be the alternative version part of it. What my life would be like if I was American instead of British?" Harry said though it seemed more like a question than an answer. Harry doubted that his being American would be the only change because that seems like such a small change that would change his entire life. Though he might not have gone to Hogwarts if he lived in America... So that would change some things... in fact, he might have never met Ron and Hermione if he went to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Tom Riddle (Aaron Burr): How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore, and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor. Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
"..." The Order members and some others were shocked to see young Voldemort, otherwise known as Tom Riddle, singing. To others, they were confused why people were reacting this way to seeing a young man singing. "Who is that? The person singing?" Katie Bell, a Gryffindor chaser asked. "Well, Ms. Bell, that is a very young Voldemort. He looks to be the age he was when he just finished school." Headmaster Dumbledore said, which caused even more people to become shocked. To Harry and many others, it was (still) hard to believe the Dark Lord once went to school like all the students are now.
Blaise Zabini (John Laurens): The ten-dollar founding father without a father, got a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter, by being a self-starter. By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter.
"Fourteen? That is awfully young..." Arthur said, getting a nod of agreement from Molly and some other Order members. Harry inwardly rolled his eyes at this. Sometimes it didn't matter what age you were, or if you were too young for something, you still need to know things to protect yourself! Voldemort isn't going to wait for me to turn twenty-one before attacking me!
Percy Weasley (Thomas Jefferson): And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted away, across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up.
"Percy?! That son of a-" "Ron! Don't say that about your brother!" Molly interrupted her son who was getting angry at just the thought of his brother. "Why not? He is one! He left us, Mom, he doesn't deserve kindness!" Hermione rubbed Ron's back slightly to cool him down, knowing that Ron's hatred for his brother ran deep after he left the rest of the Weasley family.
Percy hung his head in shame. He couldn't believe his family- especially Ron- thought of him that way. He was sitting in the very back of the room, so none of his family noticed him yet.
Percy Weasley (Thomas Jefferson): Inside he was longing for something to be a part of. The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter.
'He must have been very desperate to do all that...' Remus thought while considering who the boy reminded him of.
Oliver Wood (James Madison): Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned. Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain.
'Poor kid, having to go through all that at such a young age... it's almost like how Harry's been through a lot.' Sirius thought, already having guessed who they were all talking about.
"Does anyone else notice how weirdly everyone is dressed in this video so far? Or is it just me?" Ginny asked the group, looking at the suits and ruffles all the men were wearing so far. "Yeah, it's-" "almost like-" "they are-" "wearing old-" "timey clothes." The twins said while looking at the on-screen Oliver. "Well, this dimension could also be set during the past. It would change a lot about how things went. They would also probably wear clothes like those." Hermione explained.
"So do you think instead of battling Voldemort, and a war with Voldemort pending, they are still worried about the war with Grindelwald?" Harry asked the group at large, no caring when people flinched at hearing Voldemort and Grindelwald's names. "It may be so..." McGonagall responded to her lion cub, thinking about all the destruction and deaths that may be shown in this if it was about the war with Grindelwald.
Oliver Wood (James Madison): Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain.
"Unlike what you can do sometimes, Ron," Harry said while snickering. "Hey! I do just fine!" Ron huffed out while crossing his arms over his chest like a child, pouting. Many people who heard this chuckled at the two's friendly banter.
Oliver Wood (James Madison): And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain.
Tom Riddle (Aaron Burr): Well, the word got around, they said, "This kid is insane, man." Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland. "Get your education, don't forget from whence you came, and the world's gonna know your name. What's your name, man?"
"We'll get to find out who it is!" Tonks squealed out in glee like a child.
Harry Potter (Alexander Hamilton): Harry Potter. My name is Harry Potter. And there's a million things I haven't done. But just you wait, just you wait...
"Of course, it's the Potter," Snape said with a sneer on his face. 'That boy is always trying to get attention and flaunt his fame...' This caused Harry to look down at his hands in embarrassment. He didn't want to be the center of attention, it just always seemed to be him that everyone noticed in a room. And he hated it. He would rather go unnoticed.
Sirius scowled at Snape as he saw the expression on Harry's face. That man always managed to make Harry feel bad about himself.
Cedric Diggory (Eliza Schuyler): When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden.
"Split?! James would never leave Harry and Lily!" Sirius called out in outrage, "While I do agree with you, Mr. Black, I believe that this is part of the changes being made for the other versions of ourselves." Professor Sprout supplied, though she was also off-put by the fact that James would do such a thing to his family in that universe. He certainly wasn't loyal to his family in the other universe. And she would know a thing or two about loyalty, seeing as she was the head of Hufflepuff. 'Can't say the same thing about Percy...' Ron thought miserably.
Cedric Diggory (Eliza Schuyler): Two years later, see Harry and his mother bedridden. Half dead, sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick. And Harry got better but his mother went quick.
"Oh, Lily... even in that universe she meets a terrible fate..." Molly whispered to herself while everyone thought of their own Lily, who had given up her life to save Harry. Her one and only son.
Albus Dumbledore (George Washington): Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide. Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside, a voice saying, "Harry, you gotta fend for yourself."
Bill Weasley gasped; he couldn't imagine the pain Harry #2 went through when his cousin took his own life. He couldn't imagine what he would feel if one of his siblings took their own life... He also was sad that Harry's cousin believed the only answer was to take his own life.
Other people were thinking similar things, but Harry was still confused about the part where he moved in with his cousin. He couldn't imagine willingly wanting to live with Dudley... but maybe it was a different cousin, or since Harry didn't grow up with the Dursleys, they acted differently. It was still hard to imagine.
Albus Dumbledore (George Washington): He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf.
Tom Riddle (Aaron Burr): There would have been nothin' left to do for someone less astute, he woulda been dead or destitute, without a cent of restitution.
"Did Voldemort... just compliment someone?" "Yeah, I think he did..."
Tom Riddle (Aaron Burr): Started workin', clerkin', for his late mother's landlord. Tradin' sugar cane and rum and all the things he can't afford.
Tom Riddle (Aaron Burr): Scammin' for every book he can get his hands on. Plannin' for the future, see him now as he stands on the bow of a ship headed for a new land. In New York, you can be a new man.
"Wow Harry, it seems like other you really wanted an education. Reading that much would surely exhaust and bore me to death." Ron told Harry chuckling but stopped when Hermione hit him on the back of his head. "Hey! What was that for?" Ron said, rubbing his head where Hermione hit him.
"Think, Ron! It doesn't seem like Harry had a chance to get an education in the other universe. So he clearly is doing whatever he can to get one! Unlike you, who does not value your education at all." Hermione said, defending other universe Harry and any other people in the room who were like him, either because of other circumstances or because they simply didn't get the chance at all.
Remus smiled at this. It was nice to know that at least some people of the newer generation thought about other magical beings who are seen as less than wizards and witches.
Everyone: In New York, you can be a new man. In New York, you can be a new man. In New York, you can be a new man.
Cedric Diggory, Draco Malfoy, and others (Women): In New York...
"Draco?! What is my son doing in this video?" Lucius asked Dumbledore while glaring at the old man. "Unfortunately, I do not know, as I was not able to watch this before we all came here. But I assume Draco must know and interact with Harry in the other dimension if he is in the video." 'I mean we also are sort of friends in this universe too...' Harry thought though he wasn't going to tell anyone that just yet. He and Draco had only recently made a pact with each other that they wouldn't go out of their way to annoy each other anymore.
Harry Potter (Alexander Hamilton): Just you wait!
Everyone: Harry Potter, we are waiting in the wings for you! You could never back down, you never learned to take your time!
Everyone: Oh, Harry Potter... When America sings for you... Will they know what you overcame?
"It seems that even in that universe I get hit with the killing curse," Harry states while many of the first years and other younger kids look up at him in shock, not knowing the full extent of what Harry was famous for.
Everyone: Will they know you rewrote the game? The world will never be the same, oh...
Tom Riddle (Aaron Burr): The ship is in the harbor now, see if you can spot him. Another immigrant comin' up from the bottom. His enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him.
"And it seems that I won't have a happy ending, like in this universe as well," Harry said in a sadder tone of voice, having already come to terms with his fate. "What? Oh, Harry, you can't think that way!" Madam Hooch said while thinking of how depressed Harry sounded.
"Why not? I know I'll never survive the war with Voldemort. He wants to kill me." Harry said in a monotone voice, which broke the hearts of many people in the room, including many of the adults. "You still must have hope, cub," Sirius said while pulling Harry closer to him so that he was practically sitting in Sirius' and Remus' laps. Instead of protesting, like many boys his age would, he just snuggled into the two more and pulled Remus closer so that they were in a dogpile hugging each other. Though Harry still didn't seem very hopeful for his future.
Ron Weasley, Oliver Wood, Fleur Delacour, and Percy Weasley (Hercules Mulligan, James Madison, Marquis de Lafayette, and Thomas Jefferson): We fought with him.
"Huh, a lot more people are being introduced than before. It seems that more people come into play in this story than we thought before." Charlie Weasley said, looking at the other versions of his brothers and seeing that Ron looked older than before and Percy looked a little younger than before.
Many people nodded their heads in agreement and wanted to see who all else would be in this world.
Blaise Zabini and James Sirius Potter (John Laurens and Philip Hamilton): Me? I died for him.
"Died?!" Blaise's mother yelled from where she sat with the other Hogwarts parents. Blaise just rolled his eyes. His mother was always too busy with her boyfriends to care for him before, so why now? "That's not really me, mother," Blaise said just to that she would calm down some, and not make a scene.
Many of his other Slytherin friends just looked at him with sympathy in their eyes. Most of them knew about each other's house situations because, despite popular belief, Slytherins weren't heartless. At least not to each other. They take care of each other and their own. Snape always made sure to inform them of that and keep them to that throughout their time at Hogwarts.
Still, the Slytherins weren't happy to know that Blaise would die for a Gryffindor, so they also scooted closer to each other to comfort each other.
"Who is the younger guy next to Zabini?" A fifth-year Ravenclaw asked the group, wanting to know if he was one of the differences between the universes. Everyone shook their heads to say that they didn't know who he was. "Hmm... he sort of looks like Potter..." Pansy Parkinson mumbled.
Albus Dumbledore (George Washington): Me? I trusted him.
"Why is this all in the past tense? I can understand the dying part, but Professor Dumbledore is saying that as if he doesn't trust Harry anymore." Hestia Jones asked the room, though no one could give her an answer.
Cedric Diggory, Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley, and Cho Chang (Eliza Schuyler, Angelica Schuyler, Peggy Schuyler, and Maria Reynolds): Me? I loved him.
Many people just sat there, shocked, while others blushed furiously at the mention of them liking the boy who lived. Cedric just looked over at Harry, and when he caught his eye, winked at him. Which caused Harry to blush in return.
Tom Riddle (Aaron Burr): And me? I'm the damn fool that shot him.
Gasps were heard throughout the room at this piece of information, and Sirius and Remus held Harry closer to them as if to shield him from his other universe's death. "So Voldemort really does still kill me in that AU..." Harry whispered under his breath.
Everyone: There's a million things I haven't done, but just you wait!
Tom Riddle (Aaron Burr): What's your name, man?
Everyone: Harry Potter!
"Wow... that was... something," Ron said, which got snorts in amusement from the people closest to him. "So who all do we know is important in this alternative universe?" McGonagall asked, wanting to keep track of it so that they might be able to figure out what the other universe went through before it is revealed if it is revealed at all. "Well, we know Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, Blaise Zabini, Percy Weasley, Oliver Wood, Cedric Diggory, Professor Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Ginny Weasley, Cho Chang, and that unknown guy are all important in this. But that's everyone so far." George said, surprising almost everyone that he paid attention to the video and actually kept track of the people in it. "Okay... I don't believe we can come up with a definitive answer to what happened in that universe yet, so it might be best to try and find out more by watching the next clip." McGonagall said, which triggered the next clip to start.
Published: 2/9/2023