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: Heir for the Greater Ideal (Working Title)
Posted Date: February 23 2024
Tags: Timeline brought forward, WBWL, Good / Decisive Dumbledore, Stupid Potters, Good Minerva, Know-It-All Granger, Problematic Weasleys, Alive Flamels
Possible Pairings: Harry x Susan, Harry x Padma, Harry x Daphne, Harry x Katie, Harry x Small Multi
Possible Challenge(s): Bad Sirius / Lupin, Alive Grindelwald, Neutral Snape, Technomancy
The summer of 2004, followed by the school year, could be politely described as an absolute clusterfuck.
The summer ushered in the Quidditch World Cup showcasing the finalists in their glory and ending with the most unexpected outcome of Ireland winning the cup with the Bulgarian Seeker catching the Snitch, but that was forgotten in favour of the campgrounds being attacked by people dressed in the uniform of the death eaters and ended with the Dark Mark appearing in the sky once more after the defeat of the last dark lord. A lot of people, from civilians to dignitaries, were attacked and harmed in that riot, and there were the Bulgarian cheerleaders who were Veela kidnapped at the same time. The British Ministry was not looking good at that point and was hoping that the Triwizard Tournament would turn things around and make the people forget about the debacle.
Well, the night of the selection of champions certainly made them forget about the attack, since there was a fourth name drawn after the three champions meant for the schools, that of Britain's biggest celebrity for the past couple of decades.
Noah Potter was the unexpected fourth champion to take part in a tournament meant for three, and had been leading with the points since his entry while dealing with the student populace who took offence at how he got his name into the tournament with Hufflepuffs being very annoyed at him for "upstaging" Cedric Diggory, their senior member who was chosen to represent Hogwarts. It did not help much that his time in Hogwarts had been quite disruptive with odd incidents happening around him, and his attitude could be off-putting at the best of times.
He did help to save the young Veela competitor in the second task when she was getting attacked by Grindylows, and he was really thankful to the headmistress the committee did not use hostages as originally considered by the has-been Ludo Bagman. So on that side, he got less of the cold treatment. It still did not help with the Hufflepuffs but as long as the Gryffindors were on his side, that was fine with him.
Then came the Third Task where everything went wrong.
It started out fine with him having a comfortable lead with the points he got from the first two tasks. He went into the maze filled with the sort of monsters that Hagrid would want to cuddle in his bed, along with a boggart and a few other surprises that Ludo Bagman threw in for the thrill factor (only made possible with James providing mirrors that tracked the champions while showing to everyone). The boy went through the traps and got to the center of the maze at the same time as Cedric Diggory, with the two rushing to grab the cup to end the contest. They grabbed it at the same time and Noah felt the uncomfortable pull of a Portkey pulling them away from the maze and into a graveyard where Cedric got tragically killed by Wormtail who later stunned Noah shortly after.
Noah woke up to the pain of having his arm cut with a knife, the blood being caught in a vial to bring to a boiling cauldron by Wormtail who was missing a hand. Noah found himself tied up to a statue and forced to watch Wormtail resurrect Voldemort from the dead, looking like the unholy offspring of a human and a snake with the face being so snake-like. He then called for the Death Eaters who had avoided Azkaban in the last war and started to berate them for their lack of effort to find him. At the end of it, Voldemort turned to face Noah only to pause in notable confusion and then frowning at Wormtail.
"I thought I said to bring me the Boy-Who-Lived. This is not the one!"
What?
~ooOOoo~
"How could this happen!" The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was pacing about the headmasters office with enough agitation that he could potentially wear out the carpet beneath his feet if not for the self repairing charms, but that was being sorely tested by the news that had hit him. What should have been a good end of this tournament and positive publicity for Britain was becoming a nightmare with the unexpected kidnapping of Noah Potter and the death of Cedric Diggory, and the unmasking of a man who was thought to be dead having impersonated his father to do all of this. The father's cries of agony as they carried Cedric's body away still rang in the ears of those around them.
Then as if it was not enough, Potter came forward with such a ridiculous story about him and Diggory being transported to a graveyard where they were ambushed by a Death Eater that had killed the older student, before forcing Potter into a ritual to resurrect You-Know-Who. The man then summoned his death eaters from the old war, and specifically called out the names of their society's upstanding citizens. Potter then had to fight the dark lord off long enough to get to Diggory's body and the cup to transport them back to the stadium, but not before the dark lord told him something that would shake the foundations of their society.
It was ridiculous, there was no way the dark lord was back from the dead! The boy was probably losing his nerves from the tournament and what had happened to Dirggory.
Anything was possible except the dark lord returning! He would not survive the reelection if that was true!
In the office with him, there were his personal guards, his "Senior Undersecretary" Dolores Umbridge, Amelia Bones with her Auror guards, and in the corner, the Potters with the adults comforting their son over what had happened and the news they had gotten. Amelia had sealed off the crime scene and got her best Aurors to keep it safe before she checked up on Amos who was struggling with his grief while comforting his wife, and then came up to interview Potter.
She would not tell them that Amos had wanted Noah arrested on suspicion of murdering his son. Not when these people were in the same office.
Seated behind the desk, the headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, was watching this going on in her office while nursing a major headache from all the happenings. She had a lot of trials to deal with in her time from her apprenticeship to becoming a professor and then the headmistress of the greatest school in all of Europe. She had seen a lot of, pardon her French, absolute SHIT in those years, and had to deal with lots of mayhem when it came to running a school.
But the past couple of decades had been most stressful with the Blood War that almost tore the country apart over the blood ideology prevalent in the purebloods and those of the higher echelons. Then for the past couple of years, the school got attacked in a multitude of manners, like a bloody Basilisk that petrified students and almost took the life of Ginevra Weasley if not for Noah going into the Chambers of Secrets to save her. Then the escape of Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange from Azkaban prison had Hogwarts playing host to the soul-sucking demons that had disrupted their lessons and endangered many lives in the process. She still had nightmares of the Quidditch match that had the dementors descending on the students eager for their souls, only in those dreams she was unable to persuade the minister to have Amelia posting Aurors to watch over.
Then this school year brought in the Triwizard Tournament that she had heavily protested to participate in but had to bow to the wishes of the Ministry who had press-ganged her into submitting, but not without demanding more Aurors for this tournament. That did not help when Noah's name came out of the goblet despite the precautions, and then a series of odd events over the school year that would lead to the kidnapping of Noah Potter and the death of Cedric Diggory. That was the biggest issue at the moment, and she did not need to know how the press would present this to the populace on supposed lack of security and what not.
And Cornelius was not helping at the moment with his panicking.
The woman looked at the cowardly minister with thinning lips, before she looked to the others and gestured at her ears. They briefly looked confused until they noticed her raising her wand, quickly covering their ears in time for her to fire off a loud bang to interrupt the minister from his downward spiral to paranoia. He, his undersecretary and his guards jumped at that sudden sound with Noah suppressing his giggles at their reaction.
"Now that I finally got your attention." The tone and her 'Scottish Highland Glare no. 3' on full strength ensured everyone in the room stayed silent, with those taught by her in the past shivering at the memory of her glaring at them in class. Even Fudge's toad, Dolores Umbridge, was keeping her mouth shut even if her face made it clear she wanted to shout at the interruption.
"Let us be calm and speak softly, and firmly." A tea set appeared for all to drink and partake, most doing it automatically being trained to just accept tea as part of their culture. "Now I do not know whether such news is true, and I will be frank in saying that in the present moment, this is paling in comparison to the loss of one of my students. My primary focus is the safety of my students, and right now I need to know if I need to step up security from an actual dark lord or a wizard trying to play up the fear of the last war, on top of people somehow able to force others out of the Hogwarts Wards with portkeys."
"Hem-Hem."
Oh great, here comes the Toad.
"I agree with the headmistress on the part of having the security stepped up accordingly to protect the children, but there should be no need for panic." Dolores spoke with that fake girlish tone that made a few want to pull out their ears and break that fake smile of hers. "I personally think that it may not even involve any dark wizards in the first place."
"Then explain the wounds on my son and Cedric Diggory." Lily wrapped her arms tighter around Noah. Dolores looked at her and sniffed, not bothering to hide her reaction at the thought of answering to someone she considered lower than her by blood status. It was only thanks to Amelia and the Aurors watching that James did not rise up to the disrespect, but his clenched fist was a clear indicator that he was losing patience.
"The boy is clearly traumatised from all that has happened in the maze. There were traces of Acromantula Venom on him and burns from those horrid creatures illegally bred by that half-giant. Not to mention the boggart showcasing his fears to all on the mirrors." Dolores paused for dramatic effect with a ugly smile appearing. "And of course, there is the rather suspicious death of Cedric Diggory to consider."
"What are you trying to say?" James asked with an underlying tone that warned those that he did not like the implication.
"Hmm?" The rather sick glee demonstrated on Dolores's face was quite evident. "We only have the word of one boy whose presence in Hogwarts has been quite disruptive since his enrolment, and has been involved with several incidents, his entry into the tournament being the latest. The mirrors were deactivated right as the two boys grabbed the cup, and there were no visuals in that period they were missing. Whatever audio we have gotten was muffled and could be faked. And the first words he said after coming back with spell burns was about the dark lord returning from the dead? Ludicrous claims from a child."
"My son is not a liar!"
"Enough!" Minerva slammed her palm against the tabletop as she interrupted the impending argument and likely cursing match between the two. "I will not have you duelling in this office or on these grounds for your argument, nor hear slander towards any of my students. Stand down." Minerva then increased her glare level to number 5, the type that had even the great Alastor Moody thinking twice before doing anything in her presence. "Now." That tone combined with her glare made the two back off reluctantly, although it was clear to all that they would immediately start cursing if given a chance.
"Clearly, people are worried and stressing out on this situation. There is a simple enough solution to this." Minerva turned to Amelia Bones for this. "Madam Bones, I suppose you wish to ask Mister Potter some questions about this evening."
"Yes, I will be asking him to give me his testimony along with the Pensieve memories." The director of the DMLE nodded at her statement. "And given the severity of the situation," she turned to the adult Potters at this point, "I would request for Mister Potter to be given Veritaserum to ensure we cover the bases."
"Hem Hem. I am certain we do not need to waste Veritaserum or the manpower for such a ridiculous tale." Amelia turned to the toad with narrowed eyes.
"Ridiculous or not, I now have a supposedly dead man in the dungeons, the body of a young man in the morgue and a distraught father next to him. I want to make sure that we get the truth and not hearsay. And let's be honest, this situation is asking for Rita Skeeter to make a mess out of everyone." Everyone grimaced at the possible scandal that would come from this. "The truth will be the best way out, and we can get it out now before rumours start spreading or certain people putting their own spin on it." The fact she said that while looking at Fudge spoke volumes.
"Doing this with the full extent should ensure that it is secured." Amelia then raised a challenging eyebrow at the Potters. "Unless you have something to hide, I see no reason for you to refuse this chance to prove your side of the story."
"No, I will take the Veritaserum and whatever tests you want . I have nothing to hide." Noah declared while glaring at Dolores who was looking at him with venom.
"In that case, we can conduct a quick interview before doing an official one in the Ministry. But I think we can all agree to keep silent on what is happening until I get all the facts." Amelia looked to the Ministry staff in the office. "That means no talking to the press or to any outsiders. That also means to your benefactors like Malfoy, understand? I will be demanding an oath on this." She added that last bit to the minister and his secretary, knowing they would want to talk to Malfoy on this once they left the office.
"There is however one question I need to ask right now in this office, since all here are the only ones to have heard what Mister Potter had spoken of." Amelia looked at Noah at this point. "I will be confirming this with Veristaserum and a Pensieve later, but are you certain of the declaration made by the supposed You-Know-Who?" Her glance made sure to keep the Minister and the Toad quiet.
"Yes." Noah looked down at his clenched fists, his mind going over what the dark wizard said and begging for it to be wrong less it broke the pillar of his world. "He asked how I felt about piggybacking on the one who had gotten rid of him in the first place, and taking the glory when it was my brother being the real Boy-Who-Lived."
And wasn't that a shock to the system for all who had heard that? The nation had been hailing the boy who had survived the attack of the greatest dark wizard in Britain, with only a select few remembering the Potters had a second son. It did not help that the Potters always insisted on having one son, so those who knew about the second had wondered if the second had been a Squib sent away or passed away after that fateful night. Learning that the brother was the one who vanquished the dark wizard was likely a hard pill to swallow for the adult Potters since they were the ones who kept going about Noah being the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Right, we will think about that bit later. For now, let us get this over with." Amelia made sure to get everyone's oath to not let anyone outside of the current group know the contents of the investigations until her say-so. Minerva kept her Occlumency up to hide the mirth of Cornelius and Umbridge trying to do everything to avoid it, only to get press-ganged into it. After that, they went their separate ways with Fudge no doubt trying to do damage control. Minerva was just thankful that she had Crouch Junior in a secured cell that could only be opened by her, otherwise the man would likely be "accidentally" Kissed by a Dementor.
"I will be there shortly. Make sure no one else gets to them or Crouch Junior." Amelia told her guards who nodded before one went with the Potters to the Ministry while the remaining four went to the dungeons to prepare transport of the prisoner. Once they were gone, Amelia let out a tired sigh as she removed her monocle.
"Take a seat, Amelia." Minerva addressed her with a soft tone, using her given name to show her support. Amelia took the offer and collapsed into the chair. "This is, pardon my language, a bloody buggering cauldron of dragon dung and Scottish piss in the wind." Amelia snorted at her old teacher's choice of words.
"Sadly, that is the nicest way of describing this mess." Amelia took a big gulp of tea for her nerves before refilling her cup. "It is already bad enough that there were two escapees from Azkaban two years ago, but the fact a third was out and about since the last war is having people demanding answers that I have yet to get. And it is the one prisoner that Cornelius is going to fight me all the way to interrogate."
"If you want, do the interview here for Junior so that he does not suffer an 'unfortunate accident' with a Dementor." Minerva had thin lips at that, recalling moments from the last war where certain people due to stand trial or be freed from Azkaban would suddenly have a Dementor to their faces with the convenient excuse of losing control or attempting to escape.
Balderdash if you ask her.
"I may take you up on that offer." Amelia paused for a moment as she considered her options. "Be honest with me. How likely is Potter right about this?"
"Noah Potter is many things. A decent student with above average grades in Transfiguration, a capable Chaser, and thankfully less prideful than James in his youth." Minerva took her sip of the drink. "But if you are asking me whether he may be lying about You-Know-Who coming back from the dead, that will be a hard no. He has worse excuses than his father when it comes to forgetting his homework at times, but he will not just say this out of the blue with the body of his classmate so close to him. I had been watching him since their return, and he was not showing any symptoms of one under compulsions, the Imperious, or any other spells, and he was not faking the reaction." Minerva took a breath at that point. "I do not know if it is the case, but right now I will assume we have a rogue wizard on the loose that is starting up trouble and trying to play up the fears of the last war by attacking the students with Noah Potter as the primary witness. After all, as the Boy-Who-Lived, his words would be taken with some seriousness."
"Except this is pushing the boundaries." Amelia took another big gulp of tea to soothe her nerves. "It is safe to say not many people would want to go back to the days when we have to be stuck in our homes, waiting for a black letter from Gringotts to notify us of a family death, and not knowing who to trust. And then there is the other bit he said."
"About young Harry Potter." Minerva was one of the few who knew about the other brother, having been there the day after his birth to see them in the hospital wing and then a few months later. While Noah was active, Harry was quiet but curious of everything around him, and his eyes always lit up when Filius or Minerva performed simple tricks to keep them entertained. That light was one she had seen in other students from time to time, the wonder of magic and the desire to know more.
Which made his disappearance more painful after that night.
She was distracted by Amelia lightly touching her hand with a concerned expression. "Minerva, are you okay?"
"I am fine." Minerva let out a sigh. "I am just recalling the time when the Potters were whole before that night. I had genuinely wondered if James and Lily were telling the truth after that night, but I could not get many answers out of them."
"I had my doubts about that night myself." Amelia nodded as she tried to recall the details. "I do remember Frank and Alice being very hard on James and Lily when Harry was gone after that night. Alice for one wanted to know where they left him, but they did not answer her."
"And then they got captured and tortured by the Lestranges." Minerva sighed again at the memory of the couple when she and her companions had rushed to the hospital after getting the news. The sight of their twitching bodies and open wounds filled her heart with dread, and when they went into a coma, it felt like a part of her went numb. She just could not believe the amount of suffering the Longbottom family had to go through because of the war.
And the worst part of it all was the treacherous part of her mind thinking of the odd timing the attack happened, right when Alice was bringing up the pact she made as one of the guardians for Harry Potter to go to the Wizarding Children Services to intervene. James certainly seemed a little more relaxed after the incident when the request got dropped.
"All I know right now is that this is a big mess to deal with." Amelia rubbed her head. "I will need to deal with a possible murder case, and then have to prepare the Aurors for a potential dark wizard that may have come back from the dead, and maybe have to find a boy who has not been seen for fourteen years."
"I can help in whatever manner I can, although I may be asked to step down sooner than later." Minerva had to contend with the School Board of Directors a few times on school matters, and it was safe to say there was no love lost between them. Lucius Malfoy for one kept trying to reduce her powers over Hogwarts if not remove her completely and replaced her with someone more attuned to their way of thinking, his attempts merely slowed after Noah's second year when he was removed from his position thanks to him overreaching to push her out only for Noah to come out with a bloody sword he found in the chamber of secrets and a house elf that tried to warn him.
"Not if I can help it, at least you have been working on the issues that cropped up over the years." Amelia spoke firmly. "But what about the case of Harry Potter?" Minerva frowned at that before the figurative light bulb lit up in her head.
"There may be someone who could help with that, along with the potential problem of You-Know-Who being resurrected." The elder witch spoke as she looked at the portraits of the past headmasters around her. A few of them were listening and nodded as though they knew who she was referring to. "I would need to send a letter to confirm it though."
"Any chance I know this person?" Amelia asked.
"You should know him." Minerva raised an eyebrow. "He used to sit in this chair before me." It took a few seconds for Amelia to process that before her own eyebrows went up and then a grimace took over.
"You have got to be kidding me. Please not him."
Despite the situation they were likely facing, Minerva could not help the smile from Amelia's reaction, which was understandable given who they were talking about. The person she was thinking of asking meant well, but he can be a little infuriating to work at the best of times.
~ooOOoo~
On the outskirts of Arles, the city in the province region of Southern France, there were a few houses that were built to take advantage of the views of the landscape and the coastal areas connected to the Rhone River. It was an ideal place for those who wished to have peace and tranquillity while soaking in the atmosphere that inspired the minds of artists.
One such building was a decent sized two story home that boasted a view of the coastline and a garden by the backyard which grew a fair number of vegetables and other plants that would not be recognizable by most. Built with old bricks, the "hardness" was softened with white paint, a veil of greenery on one side of the house and windows that gave a homely feel. That extended to the interior of the house that had softer tones of white along with wooden furniture and a nice fireplace with small pots of plants placed about the house. There were some modern comforts like the radio, the light bulbs and the television, but for the most part, the residents were mostly self-reliant without the need to leave the house too often.
In the dining room seated in the rocking chair near the fireplace, an old man with a long braided beard dressed in light blue robes was reading a letter with a frown, the newspapers opened up on the guest table before him. He had gotten the letter from an old friend about a situation that had occurred in Britain, and it was followed by the delivery of the newspapers for both France and Britain just so he could keep track of matters while bypassing much of the muck that came with the latter. With all of that combined, it painted a picture that he had been dreading for the past couple of decades.
"Morning, Grandfather." The man looked up from the letter to find a young man greeting him as he came in with a yawn. "Anything in the newspapers? You seemed quite invested this morning."
"Morning to you too, Harry." The old man folded the letter to place inside his pocket while gesturing with a hand to make the newspapers fold themselves up and placed neatly to each other. "There is some rather troubling news from Britain, it would seem. The tournament hosted at Hogwarts has ended with some tragedy." That got the young man's attention.
"One of the competitors got hurt?"
"Worse, the first champion for Hogwarts was found dead." Harry sat down at the news with a frown.
"You are referring to Cedric Diggory." That statement got a confirmation nod from the old wizard. "Did he die from the task?"
"The investigations have only just started." The old wizard answered. "Although the letter I got from one of my dear friends suggests something deadlier." That did not need any explanation for the young man who hummed while a cup of tea was provided by a house-elf.
"How about?" The young man waved a hand to an unspoken matter between the two.
"Noah Potter is currently safe, but apparently he got into a spate of trouble and was found next to Mister Diggory." That earned him another hum from Harry. "What are you thinking?"
"I have a bad feeling about this, Grandfather." Harry spoke out his thoughts. "The timing is a little too coincidental with the recent events of Azkaban, the Quidditch World Cup, and then the drawing of names for the tournament. It feels like that man is coming back."
"I fear you may be right, Harry." The old wizard sighed heavily as he looked out of the window, the scenery not really helping his mood. "My friend did not really write it in her letter, but the signs are there." He turned to face the young man. "Voldemort has returned, or at the least, close to returning."
"You might be called up for this." Harry had a worried expression on this.
"I don't doubt it." The man leaned forward with his eyes on Harry. "There is a chance we have to return to Britain in the near future, and that would also mean a possibility of you bumping into certain people." Harry looked down to his hands, losing himself in thought while the old wizard kept silent as he sipped his tea, knowing enough of the mannerisms that he was in deep thought.
"This is the time, isn't it?" Harry finally spoke. "This is really happening. Voldemort returning from wherever he came from."
"I'm afraid so, Harry. Much as I would like the rumours to be false, it is a dangerous hope to have." his grandfather answered.
"Then I need more training." Harry announced while looking him in the eye. The old wizard could not help the inward sigh at the sight of those eyes. So young and he already had eyes that spoke of dangers beyond his years, and the old wizard had a part in it. But he had to, knowing what he knew of what was to come, and what the boy's parents had done to him.
"Very well, I shall include more combat training for the afternoon." The old wizard answered while food appeared on the table for them to eat their breakfast. "But you will listen to my instructions, and you will not go overboard."
"I understand." Harry took a bite of the food and hummed in delight at the taste. After swallowing, he turned to the old wizard. "Have I ever thanked you for taking me in?"
"Only so many times since you were four." The man's eyes twinkled at that query.
"Well, here's me thanking you again, Grandpa Albus." Harry raised his cup to him. The old wizard, otherwise known as Albus Dumbledore, smiled while raising his own cup.
"Anytime, Young Harry."
'Clink!'
Author's Notes:
This story idea came from a similar type of story written by "theactualone", Dumbledore's Heir if I remembered the name correctly. The author removed it from here and other places, so this is something of a tribute to the story but I try to be a bit more in depth with my idea and try to be less cliche if possible (which is hard given this is a WBWL scenario)
The setting would be in the year 2000s so that some technology can be used.