Facing Bad Tropes with Little Lady Potter 5 - (Harry Potter AU, SI)
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Warning! Dropping this one now since someone will whine about it but... it is a trope for crossovers to be a thing. And the worst part is that it isn't even the ripe time for those to have an effect. Rather, this chapter highlights that the shit that can hit the fan is bigger and stinkier than just what Dumbles can hurl at MC and daughter.
Before the end of her time of 'freedom', I had convinced Nymphadora to learn the Patronus charms.
One thing that I had remembered during those months spent together, coupled with the fact that it was a good spell to learn regardless of ulterior motives, was that Nymphadora was a secondary character in Hogwarts Mystery - the Game that many have tried and enjoyed, but only a few endured as it became clear the Energy cap was a nightmare to get things done without wasting either days or money in it.
It became a bit of a 'last trick' before she was off to school, something she accomplished the very last day she had before packing her things to board the train. The pinkette was elated at the sight of the jackrabbit that hopped around mid-air, looking ready to pick fights with Dementors left and right.
Rose was awed by the spell herself, even more when I told her it was an inherently good charm considering its purpose, nature, and its driving force. A week after Nymphadora left for her fourth year at Hogwarts, I had Rose sitting on my lap while I rested on one of the couches in the Tonks' home's living room. I was visiting as per their request since they had intended to tell me a few news in regard to Dumbledore's most recent moves in regard to... well, his blend of 'good reforms'.
Between restricting laws that 'sheltered' werewolves out of their tribes and tried to force them into society despite the various leeways purebloods had in hunting them around, the most recent political development was one of growing tension between magical folks and the werewolves.
As I had expected early on when the topic came up, the werewolves were not the same as in canon: the tribes had existed for centuries, dating back to the Romans if not prior to that. Some even confirmed that the Ulster Circle and other Celtic Mythological events had occurred to some extent, which was another can of worm.
Still, politics was not the topic that stole everyone's attention that day, but rather Rose's insistence to try and use the Patronus. Andromeda offered her wand, something she had done previously with Rose whenever she helped her learn some of the more basic spells, but I had a mixed view of this specific request.
Harry had so many dark thoughts and memories in mind that it was simple for him to think of a 'bright enough' memory to use to fuel the Patronus, and I had a worry that Rose didn't have that advantage. Also, Rose was using a wand that wasn't hers and thus wouldn't be optimal for use.
Despite all those concerns, I was reminded that this was a world of tropes that I was most displeased to live through: Rose projected something corporeal on her first time, but I actually was just as puzzled as anyone else in that room with what she conjured.
The charm had assumed a semi-circular frame, it was pristine white and yet soft, if not transparent in its intensity. But there was no doubt in anyone's mind that this was an...
"Egg?" Rose squeaked in confusion, looking up to me a she still held the wand in her hands. "Why is it an egg?"
"Well, I am not a magical expert, but maybe that's your magic telling you something, kiddo," I hummed, patting her head. "Maybe this is the kind of spell that needs you to be a bit more mature to get it done right."
She pouted. "I am mature."
"You are scared of pigeons, Rose, and you also think that a boogeyman lives in a non-existing basement of ours. That's hardly maturity."
The redhead was very pouty through the rest of the day, and the banter stole chuckles from the owner of the house. After that singular experience, I took notice of the fact that the egg itself was actually a sign of sort.
I didn't need to be told it was weird for a corporeal patronus to have such a shape, but I knew that Patroni could change shapes depending on various elements. And Rose's 'Egg' reminded me of Hirose Koichi's Stand and how it represented his growth into maturity - it was going to be a process which was going to create a far stronger Patronus than most known ones.
After all, what can come out of an egg? A snake? A basilisk? Or perhaps a Dragon?
All of that was indeed a clear reminder that there was more to fear and worry once Rose would start her path in magic. I had a list written down in a small secret compartment, ranging from 'unidimensional' tropes such as 'Dark Weasleys' or 'Soulmates' or even 'Time-Travel', to multi-dimensional tropes.
After all, the fandom was known to rival some series like Naruto in regards to Crossovers-related tropes like Harry dying and getting reincarnated with his memories and powers into an important character. Or maybe getting 'betrayed' or 'depressed' to the point of jumping through the Veil. Hell, one of those multidimensional tropes I quickly checked and... I could say it was half-true.
There was no Marvel or DC-related events going on (Thank God), but there were some jarring discoveries I made through some books that Andromeda gave me in regard to magical creatures. Specifically, there were mentions of Vampires, Werewolves (canon stuff), Demons, Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels-
I was face-palming mid-reading as I could feel a huge migraine coming my way: DxD. I think we are sharing the dimensional slot with fucking DxD of all potential options. And this was bad for several reasons- starting with the fact I wasn't going to touch that thing even if it could help. Like hell I was gonna get myself or my girl involved into that sort of hell.
Still, there was a saving grace: it's late 1980s, that means that there is no major events occurring that may somewhat pull Rose into this kind of trouble. Because I sure as hell wasn't going to get my ass anywhere near the Vatican, Japan, Kuoh Town, and the Underworld.
And by that correlation, I expected to not be molested by that sort of shit in return.
If there is one place that someone like the first Fallen Angel, Azazel, found to be most infuriating, it was the British Isles.
Not only was it the place where several powerful Divine Tools were created, but it had also turned into a rather horrible place to try and achieve some progress in reforms. Like, Azazel should have had no genuine personal stake into this, but by being in charge of an organization such as Grigori, meant to support those that were discriminated in exchange of having them serve under their cadres, he had a duty in regard to prevent the full collapse of the magical community.
Britain had been once the forefront element in keeping the international magical community glued up, but as Mephistopheles succeeded in further splitting away from that old fart Dumbledore and confirm the old authority the Germans had over the international business of mages and sorcerers, things had been heating up for the smaller communities caught in the crossfire.
Dumbledore was... not a person Azazel liked. He was a good placeholder, but even then the old man was bad at doing his job of keeping the Status Quo. He could blame two civil wars among mages in the West on the guy, and several smaller ones unfolding in Africa and South America.
Azazel had the misfortune of having to deal with a lot of those himself since they happened particularly close to Grigori's bases. And that had easily shredded any sympathy the Fallen Angel had towards the old goat-fucker. The only reason he didn't go after him was because the bearded cunt had secured deals with the Vatican and, by extention, with Heaven.
This created a conundrum for Azazel and for Grigori as he couldn't as easily set a foot in the isles if he so wished without the old bastard getting uppity and making demands, but he had been monitoring the situation for a while now, trying to find an opportunity to undermine Dumbledore's tight grip over his many positions, and he found something just a few years ago: the one that 'vanquished the Dark Lord'.
Dark Lords were quite common in the many centuries of magical history. Some were truly infamous, others were pumped up with air by those that sought to exploit their rise to their advantage - the former was best represented by Grindelwald, the latter by Voldemort. While the latest British Dark Lord was far stronger than Grindelwald, it was also true that the game had been rigged from the start by Dumbledore himself.
And this silly prophecy came clutch in giving Dumbledore a chance to 'kill his second Dark Lord', but also create an anomaly for him to handle: Rose Potter. Azazel put some spies to dig into the child's unusual luck, and two things came up: the girl was gifted with abnormal mana reserves from what the doctors checking her when she was born reported on paper, but she was also a recipient for both Holy and Dark Magic.
Which was inherently impossible considering the ramifications of mixing both opposing forces at once.
This doubled Azazel's original interest on the child, even more when Dumbledore made the sloppy mistake on not making sure that she was truly taken in by her blood family. Getting found by Joshua Stevens was Rose's best option, the Dursley family having a bit of a history in hating the magical side of their family, and sending Rose to that group meant breaking her into a loyal puppet. Under the care of Mr. Stevens, the little redhead was growing her potential quite rapidly and...
That's where a plot came to Azazel's mind as he happily let this matter rest until the girl was older. Then again, he didn't have the means to force the child out of the country just yet, but he had a potential excuse once she hit 11 and she would need to go to a magical school.
And there was nothing in the international lawbook that prohibited people from influencing the assignment books meant to give students to the various schools all over the world.
AN
Just as gut-punchy as the trope is, DxD is not planning to keep quiet forever. And Rose may end up making a few interesting friends in the process. And yes, I used to love those HPxDC stories when they would make sense. Then I stopped altogether when I read the same usual Harry x Supergirl story. I have a limit.