I've had a plot bunny that’s been bugging me since Deathly Hallows came out. The basic idea is that Dumbledore goes back in time because he thinks there is no hope for the future with a canon!Harry being the worlds last hope... Only instead of sending himself back to say Harry's first year at Hogwarts or when he made the horrible mistake of placing Harry with muggles. He instead finds himself reliving one of his worst nightmares the day his sister was attacked by muggles...

Is the idea worthwhile?

 

You'd have to invent a totally new villain, because there's no one we know of who could stand up to Dumbledore back then.

 

I see what you mean, and I have for the most part... I mean would he really think it would be possible for his sister to be evil?

 

If you could nail Dumbledore's characterisation and pull off the psychological horror of having to fight his own sister - both of which would be incredibly difficult to write well - this has potential to be insanely epic.

 

I think the Arianna Dumbledore fanboys on the site would ether crucify you for fucking up their...Erm object of affection? Or sing your merits to god if you did it right. I personally don't really like the plot idea, if Dumbledore could have gone back in time why not just kill Voldemort? Or would that get factored in, as he fights his sister?

Plus his sister's magical control was lacking, how could she be the villain if she wasn't purposefully doing it?

 

Dumbledore, fighting his sister? I doubt you can pull that off while keeping him in canon. If I remember correctly Dumbledore blames himself for his sisters death?

 

Damn you now I have doubts about the idea. I'll try but I doubt I could live up to your expectations.

On the first part he didn't know how far back he could travel... And if I read the book right it was the attack by the muggles that made her magic go screwy, I of course could be wrong, but this is fanfiction so screw canon.

Yeah kind of why I said one of his worst nightmares, and why he would never expect it to be his sister.

 

So he saves her from being fucked up by the muggles and she retains her magic. Cue sappy part of the story. Give it a few years and his friendship with Grindelwald has dissipated (due to Albus' foreknowledge of Gellert going Dark) and you have your new villain.

Only there's something wrong. Grindelwald didn't have such a strong supporter last time around, where did she come from, and who is she? Cue revelation and horror from Albus... Epic.

 

Indeed.

Albus vs. his one true love and the sister he changed time to protect? Epic.

 

Another few things that saving Ariana does to this world is that their father doesn't go to jail for killing muggles, they don't move to Godrics Hollow to keep Ariana quiet and Ariana never accidentally kill her mother. Oh and the stupid round the world trip Albus never got to do, I figure if he is away from Ariana it will make it that much easier for her to up and disappear.
Now I just need to find a way to make him want her dead instead of throwing her in jail like he did to Gellert... So I guess you all like my plot bunny?
I'll start writing but I doubt I can do it, writing has never been my strong suit.

 

Don't... Ever... Say that again.

OP: It sounds like an interesting idea, but it'd be rather difficult to pull off.

 

Wait - Ariana is going to be evil? Did I miss something in the books, or is it just the normal DLP + sexy female = dark formula at work?

 

It's not in canon, but if your brother saved you from being beaten to death by some muggles, what do you think your next move would be ?

 

... I'd turn evil and want to take over the world? Is that what you're getting at? Because I don't follow from the 'attacked by a random group of Muggles and escape unharmed' part to 'cackling in glee as you rule the world' part.

Reasonably, the worst I'd expect would be a general dislike of Muggles, not genocide. But then, we've seen bigger changes in fanfiction before.

 

True, it's a leap. But if the anti-muggle sentiment is there, it wouldn't be hard to make the shift from "Oh, I hate muggles" to "Oh, I'm superior to muggles" to "Oh, I should rule them for their own good", especially if she's already been exposed to individuals like Albus and Grindelwald (at that age). Also, Ariana's a girl, and Gellert was hinted at being attractive, so it wouldn't be too difficult for Grindelwald's propaganda to get in her head.

Grindelwald wasn't about taking over the world, per se. His deal was gaining power. Others have argued about how he probably influenced the muggles in WWII, but I don't see how someone bent on the Deathly Hallows folklore would think about using muggles in a quest for the ultimate power. His and Dumbledore's interest in the muggles was simply to keep them in check "for the greater good".

With this plot bunny, Ariana could explain the WWII/Grindelwald's Reign coincidence. She could fit in with Grindelwald's camp the same way Snape fit in with the Order of the Phoenix: seeming to follow the leader's propaganda, but having an ulterior motive. In this case, instead of Snape's lurve for Lily, Ariana would want to extract revenge on the savages that almost killed her - something to that effect. She could pitch it to Grindelwald as a good distraction for the Ministry government to deal with, when secretly she just wants to see the muggle filth kill themselves.

 

Basically my idea was that Dumbledore doesn't manage to save her from coming in contact with the muggles or getting attacked. He just saves her from erupting in accidental magic which is how I always envisioned the scene.

That was the general idea.

 

If Arianna doesn't suffer side-effects from her beating by Muggles there is the possibility that Gellert can communicate with her, influence her. She may come to agree with Gellert's ideals and follow him. Albus, on the other hand, is more likely to try and turn Gellert over to his line of thinking now that he knows the future. He wouldn't kill him. It's not what we know of Albus.

Also, the death of Arianna and the fight at her funeral can fairly easily be manipulated to mimic this situation. Dumbledore blames himself for Arianna's death because he 'let her' become evil and had to end her.

God, if anyone can write that fic well, you, sir or madam, are brilliant.

 

On the subject of time travel for my story, should Albus ruthlessly kill his ten/eleven year old alter ego and take over, or let the kid experience life, and just be a guiding force of sorts. Maybe a mix between for when alter Albus fucks up?

 

Looks like a good idea. Might be more believable if Grindelwaled was the one to save her.

Something like: Dumbledore realizes that this is the day his sister is attacked, Grindelwald doesn't understand the sudden hatred/sadness/whatever from Albus and tags along and Grindelwald is the one who saves her.

Original plot bunny, I think.

 

The only problem with this is that Grindelwald didn't even know Albus until long after the Dumbledores moved to Godric's Hallow, which was because Ariana was beaten up by the muggles.