KenderCleric’s Challenge #19 – The Reclamation

Summary:

Voldemort had been defeated and the people of Magical Britain were once again free to live in peace. Like the rest of the world Harry Potter and his friends were left to live their lives in peace. Twenty years of peace and prosperity graced the Wizards and Witches of England, but elsewhere a shadow was stretching out to cover the world.

It began with the occasional appearance of a stranger in archaic robes and cowls passing through the magical centers of the world. Varying descriptions of the exact characteristics were enough to keep true suspicion from taking root, but still some began to wonder as the frequency of the sightings increased. None of the strangers ever seemed to be doing more than passing through though and were forgotten by most once they were gone.

Disappearances came next. They were few and scattered across the globe to the extent that no one ever considered them associated. People vanishing into the night were written off as accidents, unscheduled vacations, or in some cases simply not even noticed. The inattentiveness of the magical communities of the world continued on as the shadow spread further and further.

The magical races and creatures began to stir restlessly. Goblins became even more suspicious and began to cut their business hours shorter and shorter. The Centaur herds began to migrate away from their ancient forests and into the newer, less magical, lands. House Elves, if possible, seemed to be even more skittish when forced to leave their homes for any reason. Finally, the Witches and Wizards began to take notice of the ominous feeling growing in the world around them.

When the muggles began to take notice of the changes the magical world finally took notice. The non-magical populations of entire villages and towns suddenly began to abandon their homes and jobs to move elsewhere. Laws became more strictly enforced as a general sense of paranoia grew, and anything out of the normal was rigorously investigated. Wizards and Witches could no longer leave their muggle-warded enclaves and homes for fear of arrest and detainment.

The world was approaching a breaking point and many held their breath waiting for the final straw.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had stood for over a thousand years. It had withstood siege and student alike for ages. Yet, in the dawn light of September 2nd exactly twenty one years after the fall of Voldemort, the school met a foe it could not withstand.

An army of robed and cloaked figures emerged from the ether around the school. They wielded magic unlike any recorded in the history of the magical world, and with it they razed the castle to the ground. No student or teachers survive. There were no prisoners, and there were no demands for surrender. It was a swift, ruthless, and completely unexpected attack.

Over the next two weeks a hundred other magical and muggle locations of importance were destroyed. The casualty count was inestimable due to the wholesale destruction involved. Yet, as the world began to fall under the onslaught of an unknown and seemingly unstoppable foe, one man did nothing. His world had died with Hogwarts along with his children, and he had no interest in carrying on. Harry Potter, the Hero of Magical Britain, had given up before the battle had truly begun.

Survivors of the one-sided war began to scatter. No stronghold or rallying point was safe as they simply served to attract the unknown army. Thus, few heard the news that strange new magical castles and enclaves were being built by their foes. Land once held by muggles or wizards now houses entire cities of the merciless army.

And still Harry Potter did nothing, and cared for nothing.

In time the loose, and often roaming, bands of free-peoples established a network of communication. Intelligence on the enemy finally began to provide insight into the unstoppable magic wielders. Claims that they were not human, spread like wildfire. The other magical races hide themselves away, but one House Elf refused to be cowed. Dobby, the Free Elf, would not let the world fall to the First Ones again.

Harry Potter had remained in seclusion behind the wards of his home since the destruction of Hogwarts. He had ignored the owls and visits of his friends. Their pleas for his aid, and their accusatory shouts after his defiant silence had gone ignored. However, when Dobby delivered his message to the one-time savior he listened.

He learned the name of those who had killed his family.

He learned why they had killed his family and so many others.

He learned the true history of the Magical world that had been hidden for countless ages.


The migrant bands of free-peoples had all but lost hope for ever defeating their foes. A people with hope may be able to overcome any odds, but for the magical and non-magical races there was no longer any hope.

That is, until the enemy was handed their first defeat.

Word spread like wildfire through the underground network. The enemy fortress that had been constructed on the scorched ground where Hogwarts had once stood was gone. Claims that an army wielding the same magic had appeared and decimated the invaders ran rampant. Yet, for as prolific as those rumors were, none were more so than the tale that Harry Potter had been at the head of the victorious army.

Now the world stood with baited breath and waited. Was it true that Harry Potter was fighting the conquerors? What was the army he had raised and where had they come from? The answered mattered little, however, for the rumors and questions had given the free-peoples hope. The idea that Harry Potter could defeat the unstoppable army burned like a beacon and raised spirits world wide.

Hope was not what drove Harry Potter though.


The Challenge:

Write a story based on the summary above. You decide who the unknown foe is and what their back-story may be. Events from the summary must appear in the fic, but may be altered slightly to fit your story.


The Rules:

• Dobby must be the one that tells Harry who and what the enemy is.
• Ginny and Harry’s kids are all DEAD. No miracle survivals allowed.
• Harry’s army may not consist of wizards, witches, or muggles. You figure out the rest.
• Voldemort and the Death Eaters ARE NOT the enemy. They are gone.
• EDIT: The enemy CAN NOT BE ELVES. I swear to god...no f-ing elves!

 

For a moment, I thought this mysterious enemy was house-elves. In the space of this moment I considered about ten different way of suicide.

Poor Albus Severus Potter. I would have have loved to see how he's getting mocked and beaten because of his name by Slytherins.

Aside from that, I guess it is an interesting idea. I just don't like the fact of Harry Potter sitting for twenty years sulking and doing nothing.

Those mysterious ennemies would have to have a purpose killing students and kidnapping Wizards and Witches. As they seem not really to care about the Wizarding population I can't really figure out what they want, unless they plan on taking the whole world, but then, they would have begun attacking the Muggles too, no? I don't know, it doesn't really make sense to me.

 

1) Harry didn't sit around for 20 years. He sat around for about a year, maybe a bit more. Reread the summary.

2) Why did the enemy kidnap and kill everyone? Why did they attack specific muggle and magical locations? That's part of the challenge. I have my ideas, but what might another author's be? It's a...challenge...to think up your own plot. /gasp

 

An evil horde of Plot Bunnies has been set loose by the collective minds of DLPers, and they are bent on creating a singular plot that will be written about for thousands of years to come once they are defeated by The One Decent Writer who completes the challenge!

 

Perhaps Salazar Slytherin's disappearance in forgotten times was an entrapment in a place between life and death? After a millenia, he has finally fought his way out of the joint containment spells of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor, complete with an army of possessed wizards of extraordinary power?

Or maybe I'm stupid, lol. I like this challenge a lot. Hope someone with talent picks it up.

 

An interesting plot bunny one can use, KenderCleric. If I wasn't already caught up in a fic, I might adopt one of your poor plot bunnies, though somehow I doubt I can do it justice.

This one gives leeway for any propective writers to twist to their own whims. The reasons behind the invasion of these inhuman warlocks needs to be made realistic. If you just say, oh, they're a bunch of blood-thirsy monsters who want to annhilate the world, then you'd defeat the potenial of this bunny.

If anyone does take up this challenge, I will read it.