In order to save HP fanfiction from exhaustion by cliche, I believe it is time to take up the mantle of destroying the British Ministry and the Statute of Secrecy. The British Wizarding world is hopelessly evil, corrupt, and bigoted. It needs to go.

The heroes of the HP-verse, kept in canon, would be mentally destroyed by their efforts to protect the other children of the wizarding world and the world itself just finished murdering trainloads of muggleborns. I can't see Harry, Hermione, Seamus, Dean, or the other muggleborns who survived Book 7 being forgiving of their official world of magic. They can retreat, but it will come back and haunt them. They can try and fix it from the inside, but that's a terrible cliche and its never been done believably.

What I haven't seen much is replacing the British Wizarding world with one for the Muggleborns. One that puts being Human first, and magical gifts second. The BMOM are thugs that are desperately grasping for power as their world collapses. They don't have the birthrates to sustain themselves. They don't have the technology because they suppress development behind nepotism and corruption. They're dying out. The Muggleborns are humans with abilities, and they love their families and relatives regardless. They're people like us. They know about technology and don't fear it. They aren't stuck in the 1870's like the Purebloods seem to be.

In order to create their own magical culture, they've first got to segregate and marginalize the control by the BMOM (British Ministry of Magic). The BMOM murdered muggleborns by the trainload when Tom ruled the Ministry in Book 7. Harry, Hermione etc, would be outraged and want blood. The BMOM has no right to access the muggleborn children. Its well within H/Hr's character to steal the books recording magical births and prevent ministry access to muggleborns. Next, they'd find a way to educate the families, children, and protect them legally by the muggle govt as well as gain offical, if secret, recognition for muggleborns. Perhaps a Magna Carta document for magically gifted people. Signatories gain the rights to various muggle things and non-signatories are considered rebels against the crown, have no rights, and can be killed on sight. That's harsh, but trainloads of children were murdered. Try to keep that in mind.

To gain support of the Muggle govt, H/Hr etc must do a carrot/stick deal with the Muggle PM. Documents proving cause of WW1, WW2, thousands of disappearances, rapes, terrorist acts, murders all tied to magicals. Proof that many muggleborns mothers were raped by these terrorists, and that routine mind magic use has erased evidence, that the muggles are endangered by these people. The DA, who would follow Harry and Hermione for saving them from Voldy and leading them when the adult wizards wouldn't pull their thumbs out, the DA would then form an aggressive reactionary force to protect each other, aid the muggle military and spy agencies as they age, and begin to break down the Secrecy Act, piece by piece.

To fund themselves, they'll yank their gold from Gringotts, who betrayed the Light in the War and supported Voldy. Yank enough gold from the vaults and it will hurt their backwards banking system. Additionally, giving MI5, MI6, the military itself, and the bobbies on the street access to magical talismans to protect themselves from the BMOM terrorists and obliviation would be a real blow to the indiscriminate power used by those magical thugs of the BMOM.

Next, muggleborn magicals need education, healthcare, and potentially jobs. Technomancy with a blackbox hiding enchanted gizmo means patent law would protect them, give them money, employ them doing the enchanting, and allow for some useful applications which would jet ahead British technology enough that the Crown and Houses of Parliament would give them carte blanche. Embracing technology instead of hiding from it would help them immensely. And it would further isolate and reduce the value of the wizarding purebloods. Throw in some wardbreakers like Bill and Fleur to destroy noticemenot and mugglerepelling charms and the Tax Man can start in on the purebloods. Pay taxes or have your house seized, and have the magicals able to back this up. Maybe this process takes a few years getting us to the present time to really start impacting the BMOM, but with no muggleborns going to Hogwarts, their class sizes will drop from 160/yr to 100/yr at most. And all those dead wizards and the attraction of halfbloods to join the DA culture where they're not 2nd class citizens and real technology is in use... why go to Hogwarts at all? Why put up with the discrimination from the dying culture that's already massacred its brightest minds for mere bigotry?

So, if you wanna take on the destruction of the statute of secrecy and integration of magic with muggle, that's the way out of stagnation in fanfiction. Its more challenging because its not centered on Harry, necessarily, and its not at Hogwarts, at least not at first, but you get to watch the BMOM collapse and the Wizengamot run rampant as their darkness consumes them. And some interesting speeches as Harry and Hermione explain magical crime to the PM and make their offer for magical technology and request for official protection of their rights as HUMAN BEINGS. And that's really what the series is about. Power and human dignity. Even Voldemort wanted that. Ironic, isn't it?

 

No, just no. You are proposing a faction of muggleborns. That's possible with Voldemort's (yes voldemort, not voldy) regime of terror, though it will only end in the mudbloods demise. You say the mudbloods can just take money from Gringotts, to fund themselves. That's incredibly unlikely to happen, and will cause a war which the mudbloods will lose.

Magical talismans won't protect the filthy muggles from magical attack. Also, Bill is one man. Even with a team of muggleborns trying to break down the noble pureblood wards, it is not possible. They would get massacred trying. A team of Aurors would decimate them.

Even if some wards on properties are brought down, the idea of muggles trying to tax the purebloods is laughable. Muggleborns not going to Hogwarts won't make a difference, as they already didn't when Voldemort took power.

You are trying to tell me that technology is better than magic, the idea itself is laughable. You tell us that the purebloods massacred its brightest minds. The only mudblood I know of who is remotely intelligent is Hermione. Pureblood families don't need mudbloods contaminating their schools. Furthermore, muggles will only get in the way. Read In Light of Silver Memories to see why wizards will always win.

If this idea is ever written down, it will be under the genre Parody. You know, like how the scene in DH where mollywobbles killed Bella is a parody....

 

I've seen the concept you are discussing done in parts before for fanfiction. In fact, I plan to do so to an extent for my series in the near future. At least an overhaul of the ministry in my case...no magical muggle protections...it's just not feasible within the construct.

It's a sad fact that new ideas are nigh impossible to actually find, and the best way to set yourself apart as an author is through the characters and delivery of the plot.

The problem with dismissing the secrecy laws in my mind, is that once they fall in Britain they would have to fall everywhere else...which is a bit tougher to put together.

Now, a complete change in the struture of the ministry is well within reason without compromising secrecy laws...it is rather canon to note that Voldemort was as much against exposure as the ministry or Dumbledore was.

Although, I would like to read a fic where George W. finds out about the magical world and decided they are responsible for terrorism...I can just see it now.

"These Magicians are a threat to the American way of life and Democratacy. We need to embargo the bunnies we export to these terrorizers so they can no longer pull them from their weird magical hats. That is all...don't mess with Texas."

~Matt

 

So you're both content to see HP fanfic die under a flurry of slash pairings? Or the stories of their kids? We've had harems, dark!Harry, Independent!Harry, time travel, alternate guardians, and quite a few other versions. What hasn't been done yet is the ministry being side-stepped and the secrecy act getting tossed. IF you do nothing, write nothing, the fanfic genre dies. That's it.

Is that your solution to these awful cliches? Just let it die?

 

Yep, pretty much. I'm safe here in my hidey hole from the turd filled slash stories, that are only growing and growing more numerously. Here at DLP I have everything I need.........

 

TAKE MY CHALLENGE OR THE FANDOM DIES!

Your self-importance is extremely grating. This is but one plot bunny. It will have no measurable effect on Harry Potter fanfiction as a whole, whether someone writes it or not.

Oh, and add insulting on top of grating. You just stated that the collective population of DLP is currently writing nothing original. Fuck. You.

 

Straight, and to the point!

 

All right. That's 3 people's opinions that this is a bad idea. Do we have four?

Also: being hated by Australians or Texans does not break my spirit.

 

Yes we do, I count as 2 people.

 

It wouldn't be a bad idea for a story but no, it isn't really a new idea. Also, it isn't original enough to start a new genre in HP fiction. You probably should have just said you had an idea for a story and asked for help to improve on your idea. That way you wouldn't come off as so arrogant.

 

It's a horrible idea for a story. I fucking hate it when authors incorporate muggles into their story, while giving the wizards the impression that they're gods. Wizards will wtfpwn their ass, end of story. Besides that though, the idea still is retarded. Magical artifacts protecting muggles from wizard attack, including the Avada Kedavra, degrades the story. Don't even get me started on the fact that the muggles are taxing the purebloods...

 

You know what this reminds me of? The story An Aunt's Love, which if you have read the thread you will know that most of DLP dislikes. Next time you want to offer up an idea please don't expect everyone to automatically take to it because you think you're hot shit. kthxbye

 

I actually was referring mostly to the bringing down the ministry part.

As for the muggle stuff, it isn't really my thing either, but I think if he is good enough he could probably pull it off without me completely hating it. I read a story by Roshach's Blot who did something similar, yet way less in depth. It didn't go as far this guy wants it to go, but it wasn't a bad read.

While it is possible for this fic not to suck, it is highly unlikely it wouldn't especially with some of the facepalm worthy details he has in it.

 

Ve have five, five people who hate my idea. Ahahaha!

 

Whats so funny? Ve all think your retarded! Add Canada to the list of places whose opinions you don't care about.

 

Actually, that's five people who gave enough shit to fucking respond to your fucking idea. Make that seven. As a whole, DLP does not approve.

Oh, you might wanna check out IP82's The Last Dinosaur's Roar for a possible outcome of your suggested breakage of the Statute. It might be... illuminating.

 

The Pacific Northwest also finds the idea lacking.

A plot idea involving the incorporation of Muggles doesn't even make for a good HP fic.

Forget about revitalizing the HP fandom.

 

While I wouldn't mind seeing a fic where the Ministry is destroyed, especially if done in response to their own actions, your attitude honestly would make me steer clear of anything you wrote, regardless of whether it was good or not. Hell, the story "Dark Respite" by Omagic over at ff.net does something like this, and it sums it up with this quote pretty decently.

Btw Mors Mortis, I just finished reading "The Last Dinosaur's Roar". It was very amusing. Thanks for recommending it.

 

The idea has been done already. Not the way you outlined, but the MoM did infact implode. The difference was that (a) magic as a whole was disappearing and (b) it was a harry/ginny story.

Yeah. You can smell the Fail, can't you?

Like others said earlier, you've presented a challenge/plot bunny, not a "solution"; a challenge that, ignoring its unnecessary complexities, isn't all that original. In fact, I'm sure there's somthing in Potter Law about originality, stating that it's more or less a myth.

In conclusion: you haven't imparted on us the new fucking gospel of Fanfiction's second coming. Don't preach.

 

I'll take that as a quorum then: the ideal fails. Pity. I'm at a loss where HP can go at this point. Any number of ideas have been done to cliche. Sounds like I've got nothing to offer here. Ciao!