I think Horace Slughorn would also make some sense to take over the Headmaster's position if only because it would allow him more chances to "collect" famous and prodigious students. I could also see a universe where Griselda Marchbanks gets annoyed with falling exam scores and puts her name forward for headmaster.

As wordhammer notes Remus likely not being at Hogwarts really does mess up a lot. For instance, I'm not necessarily sure that as a trio Pettigrew-Potter-Black is a stable group compared to the canon Marauders. Or at least I can make an argument for it not working. Might either mean new blood in the group of mischief makers or just Pettigrew permanently on the outs as the weird kid in their dorm. Which, if you follow that line of reasoning probably butterflies away stuff in the late 70s/early 80s.

 

So tentatively calling this one "Makers of Fine Wands".

Obligatory bad tagline: Ever wonder why wands caught on? Why other Foci for Magic was used well take a look back to the past and find out.

HP/Lovecraft crossover.

The premise is such, Magic has been around since the time of the sumerians and slowly growing, while not a secret it's still been a closed off society that's scattered about the world, though there is a common element.... Most that practice the craft go mad, and those that use more tend to go to the deep end even faster.

Join Ollivander's ancestor as they solve this madness before losing they're mind.

Taking a few things from canon and then making that leap to lovecraft as such. Instead of this magic core nonsense that floats in and out of the fandom wizards and witches are those that are able to channel bits of energy from other dimensions, which puts more strain on the body and mind, accidental magic isn't very common (maybe a few instances a year) and doesn't leave lasting damage in children because there's plenty of time to heal. But when schooling starts repeated use of magic wandless or with inferior foci puts immense stress on the mind coupled with an addiction to the power. When those with magic go mad they start spouting gibberish which has an "ancient" feeling behind them as if they're trying to bring back something that was lost.

Ollivander's ancestor along with others are desperately trying to solve this as things like staffs and rings are only stop gap measures they ease the stress on the mind but not enough to stop the malady. Foci and staffs use sumerian ruins and magic plants, and lesser magical creatures.

Dive deep into the beginning of wand lore, why we use unicorn hair, phoenix feathers, and dragon heart string, what makes something a wand wood. And foci theory or how using a focus reduces mental stress. All the while the madness creeps into Ollivander's head, trying to twist him and awaken a horror of eldritch.

 

It's a concept worth pursuing - I've not read any decent HP/Lovecraft Mythos stories yet and wandlore was a curve ball Rowling threw at us in DH that really should have been explored earlier. Would you borrow from her Pottermore Wandlore section at all?

 

So, now I want a fusion story where the Night Watch (probably from circa Men at Arms so that we can get more than just Nobby and Colon) are a much maligned part of the DMLE. Most of the characters can keep their backgrounds, for the most part. Maybe Carrot can have some distant relationship to Merlin which is never really acted upon in any real way, and have been raised by Goblins, Cuddy can either be a human dwarf in a beard, or he could be race-lifted into a Goblin. Maybe.

Maybe have them looking into some silly little crime which then spirals into the whole Hall of Prophecy thing in book 5.

 

Since Harry so publicly fulfilled his own prophecy, other people implicated in their own prophecies from around the world come to him for advice/try to shirk all the work onto him. Harry's like Aberforth, and just wants to be left alone for once in his goddamn life. Yet somehow he keeps getting dragged into their problems and eventually does end up helping, a la The Doctor.

Format should be episodic chapters that can be humorous or dramatic. Maybe an overarching plot that connects several prophecies together to forewarn a gigantic asteroid falling on Earth or Moriarty type villain or something. Some kind of straw millionaire thing going on too, in which some item he gets during the course of one prophecy run is the key to resolving another prophecy...which really just compounds his problem that people keep coming to him for help because he actually does help!

Characters should involve a lot of OCs with their own international magic/perspectives. Harry is some undetermined age (have we seen any Moody-aged Harrys yet?) but at story start he's a bit jaded. At first he's annoyed by all of this trouble that keeps finding him but then, character development happens.

Huh, I basically just described Pixar's Up.

 

Just don't have every episode end with an ass pull by Harry.

 

Shifting this a little. AU.

After the first wizarding war and the subsequent budget cuts by Fudge, the Aurors were in shambles. Alcoholic half-cripple ex-Master Auror Moody, along with a group of misfits* were all that was left in the corps.

Enter Harry Potter.

Having endured a tough childhood, he had grown into a man who wished to do good, to ensure that bad people are punished and good rewarded, to make things better in the world. Those who were in power didn't like that, though, and they shoveled the young man into the useless Auror Corps, hoping it would break him into more manageable bits.

Hijinks ensue.

* because they have to be ragtag bunch of misfits. Who nevertheless each had one odd skill that synergize and when combined would deal massive damage.

 

This has to be a discworld cross. Moody as Sam Vimes, Harry as Captain Carrot. Even put in Dawlish as Sgt. Colon and have Mundungus Fletcher conscripted to be Nobby.

 

This explains everything.

"What do you reckon the chances are of some kid with a spotty education, who's muggle raised and barely pays attention in class being able to take down the most feared Dark Wizard in history?"

"Million to one. Got to be."

"But it might just work..."

Dumbledore was playing the long game. Imagine if he'd raised Harry from birth to fight Voldemort, and given him all the information he needed to take him down in good time. Harry's victory would be almost a certainty.

Whoever heard of anyone saying, "It's practically a certainty, but it might just work!"

Dumbledore knows what's up.

 

I want to see this now.

 

Edit: sorry, my bad, wrong plotbunny thread.

 

Has anyone read a crack story where Harry either become a porn actor or a stripper that is not slash or incest? I have found a story called Stripped Bare where Harry ends up as a stripper. However, the author has to incorporate some unrealistic elements into the story that has did not make the story enjoyable.

I think a crack fic that revolves around the plot of Harry becoming a stripper or porn actor have some merits of becoming interesting and hilarious if it is done correctly (meaning it should be outrageous). Imagine all the awkward encounters with people like Molly or McGonagall that Harry will need to endure. He would be the best role model for children!

 

Uh....and here's a more innocent crack!fic idea:

The Ember Island Players come to Wizarding Britain.

Not really. OC Muggleborn and recent Hogwarts graduate has just come from seeing a celebratory play at the Globe Theater TRULY INSPIRED. Wondering why the hell Wizarding Britain doesn't seem to have any culture beyond the Weird Sisters and Celestina Warbeck (seriously, that just seems wrong), s/he decides to write his/her own play. And who better to base it on than Britain's very own modern day hero, Harry Potter?

Also, meta opportunity to throw in a couple digs at Cursed Child!

 

Just because we aren't explicitly shown things, doesn't mean they don't exist.

It's silly to think that only the Weird Sisters and Celestina exist because they're the only ones we are shown.

"Digs", even if deserved, are always in bad taste and end up being cringe-worthy.

 

I...

I mean...

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something seems off about this...

Because the fact that Harry's a stripper is completely in character and realistic.

 

I think you're being too serious about this? It's a crackfic idea. And obviously there's a culture that we're not being explicitly shown, it's not like I think they live in a vacuum. That's why we have fics to fill in those gaps, and that's what this fic would also do, addressing the art world in particular. The humor frames a stereotypically serious and high falutin subsection of culture and renders it somewhat ridiculous given all the other "wizards pretend to be muggle" things we've seen. The aside to Cursed Child was more about the meta than about mocking; it can go both ways, I don't particularly care.

Given that, maybe a better OC for this would be some Arthur Weasley redux, who gets taken to a show by his Muggleborn friend to celebrate graduation. Canon characters would come in with interviews while s/he writes the play. Edit: S/he could also be using something Rita Skeeter's Quik-Quotes quill that wildly misinterprets everything that's said. The Basilisk could either turn into a garden snake, or a 100 headed hydra that HP has to battle on the lake with the help of the great squid, etc...

 

How could you forget about Stubby Boardman?! and the hobgoblins...

 

I always wanted to write about Harry Potter, the Pinnacle of Extrovertism. He'd learn how to make * friends * to make his life easier, to help him when needed, land in Hufflepuff, unite 3 of the 4 Houses all while being really bad at doing actual magic, and either become Minister for Magic or get offed when he's caught without friends at the end

 

Here goes nothing.

Murder Mystery AU: In early 2017, Ron is still an Auror and is the Magical equivalent of a Homicide Detective. He's assigned to work with a Ministry Hitwoman track down a sadistic serial killer he's been tracking for 3 months.

Notes:

The main focus is on the actual mystery of finding out who the killer, with a bit of buddy cop interactions between them.

The secondary focus is on Ron and the Hitwoman's personal lives.

I'm kind of drawing a blank on the first focus. I know who the killer is, and what his or her motivation is. But I'm drawing a blank on how to move the story forward.

 

Have you read Aurors by FloreatCastellum? It might give you some ideas.