I have 3 that have rattled around in my head for a while and have written a little bit of, but am unsure of:

1) A nonBWL!Harry - In this he's similar to Tom Riddle as a child; not quite of a sociopath, but very confident in his own importance and talent. Harry gets his letter, goes to Hogwarts and stuff happens. A lot of things I had in mind are different; Dumbledore died of natural causes the year before, Nicolas Flamel decides to come along with the Philosophers Stone as the new History professor, Lily survived but got the Longbottom treatment (which is a main part of the plot) etc. Quirrell tells Harry that the Philosopher's Stone can heal his mother and that he must get it from Flamel and bring it to him yada yada you get the point.

2) A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones - I was imagining a point of divergence and how much things can change from one thing happening differently. So, I imagined how things would have gone if Eddard Stark and Ashara Dayne fell in love at Harrenhall and decided - in a fit of teenage spontaneity - to get married that night (like Romeo and Juliet did). Eddard takes his new wife North to introduce to his father and when the rebellion happens he is unable to marry Catelyn Tully. In order to secure the alliance Catelyn marries Jon Arryn and Ned agrees to marry Benjen to Lysa Tully (because she's ruined and Hoster is desperate to match her).

I had planned to make Ashara unable to give Ned a child (they're all stillborn), and because of the forced abortion her father gave her Lysa keeps miscarrying Benjen's children. So, because I'm a Jon Snow fan, Ned has no choice but to legitimize Jon Snow as his heir. Meanwhile, Jon Arryn has had 3 healthy children with his wife, there's no Littlefinger at King's Landing because Catelyn isn't insane like her sister, and Jon Arryn lives long enough to get the same treatment Ned got in canon.

3) Harry Potter/A Song of Ice and Fire - this one I haven't put as much thought into, but Harry gets transported beyond the Wall a few years before canon. He has to battle his way out of the Land of Always Winter and eventually finds a place with the Free Folk becoming a respected man of their people for his knowledge (he can read/write/math) and his magic. I'm still unsure if he instead of Mance becomes the King Beyond the Wall.

 

If you need someone to bounce ideas off of, shoot me a message and I'd be happy to help.

 

Taure's right about IRC being a good place to live chat things out. Spin ideas and whatnot. And having a good outline in place is good, from my perspective. Plot stuff starting from the prompt of Dumbledore and Grindelwald basically becoming Harry's gay dads is easy as. Lots can be done. Especially with warping the media perspective, maybe some former enemies of Grindelwald coming out of the woodwork looking to kill him and Dumbledore for freeing him, not to mention Voldemort's recruitment in the mainland possibly going awry when Dumbledore decides to take advantage of his new image to recruit them first and tell them to stand down.

But from what you've said you worry you're not able to write a badass Dumbledore. And Dumbledore's a hard nut to crack and writing him mentoring Harry is an even harder one, but I think what would be a good place to start is not to focus on his badass acts of magic, but his presence. Dumbledore is a hurricane. And this hurricane has remained nice and placid for a long time, but is now directing all of his focus into rescuing Harry Potter. He'd start small with legalities and inquiries, but then he'd get loud. He'd drum up support where he could. Just like in canon around the time, he'd be shunned and stripped of his rank. He'd be forced into a position where it's clear that he's going to have to revert to something base and primal. But the thing is, despite all that and the fear of losing Harry, Dumbledore is still that presence. He is the calm before his own storm.

Writing from his perspective might be the part that can trip you, and can be averted easily enough by, say, having him recruit Sirius and Remus and McGonagall or something in the early stages, then just having Harry's POV from rescue on. Or even if it's Harry POV all along, who knows. Grindelwald is another key here. As a relatively blank slate, you could shape him into whatever easy enough, and also use the history as showcasing how much Dumbledore has changed from just this young badass wizard into this much older and wizened and calmer icon. If Grindelwald looks at something Albus pulls off and is like, "Woah" then we know it's automatically cool. And old man snarky banter between Dumbledore and Grindelwald could be a great lynchpin in the fic, right up until they remember they're not friends anymore and that's great emotional intensity.

And while Dumbledore can pull off shit with magic we can't comprehend, and vagueness can get you far. But not forever, unfortunately. And that's where it'd be a good place to come to IRC or something with, just to bounce ideas of little Dumbledore magic tricks et cetera. Things he can pass onto Harry. Things that may have the weight of history with Gellert - spells they invented, spells they practised, spells used in their final duel - for bonus points. Everything and anything.

It's a remarkably good damn and unique-y premise. A lot of the ones in this thread are. And that's just the thing. Your best ideas are always going to be great as presented in this format, but don't let yourself off the hook if you haven't written them out yet. Because hey! They could become great stories. No shame of sometimes just getting ideas out of your system and writing down summaries of fics you'll never write, either; after all, the best tool in a writer's arsenal is the shovel. A big ol' one, for graverobbing purposes.

Ask yourself why they're not written, too - is it just a fluff fic? Are there too many words involved for the investment of time? Busy? Can't get past the planning stages? Written some and lost steam? Diagnose the reason why you didn't write it and then consider that the next time you get a great idea. The first hurdle for most is the classic "people will hate this" thing, but you know what? Yeah. People will. And you also know what? People are generally really fucking stupid. And you also also know what? Five years from now you could be writing the best story ever written. And you'll never know if you don't just start something, anything, everything, and not nothing. You gotta gain EXP to level up and evolve into a stronger Pokewriter.

Meanwhile, everything I've been working on has remained unposted - Blackman aside; I evoke the Crackfic Amendment there - for my usual reason of wanting a full story written first. Because if I can't hold my own attention long enough to finish it, then I fail in making something I'd also like to read later. I may hit up the thread with some of the ideas I know won't go fully written, and why, but that's another long post for another long night.

 

The only thing I wrote were a lot of plot bunnies, but that obviously does not count.

 

Damn. That might be the most profound character note on Dumbledore I've ever read.

Heartily agreed that Dumbledore is someone who works best when seen from other PoVs.

I feel like, in a roundabout way, Matt, I understand the why and howwolf of Blackman a little bit better with this insight into how you approach writing.

 

I don't really write much anymore, but I do design homebrew RPGs in my spare time. The one I'm working on at the moment is an adaptation of Pact into RPG format, using a hybrid of the Unknown Armies and FATE Core systems. I've got the mechanics 90% worked out and have started writing up the power and creature lists to give them some background.

It's pretty much the nerdiest hobby I've ever heard of and it's a lot of fun.

 

Have you ever tried to design one based on HP?

 

You guys are all awesome!

I'll go finish up the couple chapters I have in the next couple weeks when I have free time and post for feedback. You guys gave me courage which has opened up creativity. I'm at work writing down potential ideas in the middle of programming now. I am now unproductive at work, thanks DLP

I'm not too worried about my writing ability because I know it will improve as time goes on and DLP is good about helping you forward. It is more about my (lack of) plot and getting Dumbledore to have that presence. He isn't just good at magic; he is brilliant, cunning and knows his shit. Matt was spot on in how I was going to characterize him.

I also agree with Newcomb that seeing him from another POV is better. Who knows what goes through Dumbledore's head at every moment.

I will also go on IRC sometime and see if people want to shoot me ideas in real time (and perhaps contact Vira) about suggestions and plot ideas.

My WIP thread may be a little different as I'm going to use it to help the plot and my writing ability move forward instead of just posting stories. It may be the first couple chapters may be rewritten multiple times as DLP comes up with better ways of showing the tension of the Wizarding World.

Now, I'm going to go before I sidetrack this thread even further.

 

Intersting. In this view, Dumbledore might be a character that needs to be the underdog to be effective. Give him power and and he's more or less useless. Have him fight the good fight against all odds, and he's unstoppable. I wonder how he would have acted if he had been alive when Voldemort took over and he wouldn't have had anything left to lose, no power to abuse, nothing to be afraid of but failure.

 

I would read the fuck out of this. Just saying.

 

Pick a narrative based system. Add HP trappings. Done.

HP magic is hilariously easy to create an RPG out of so I haven't bothered.

EDIT: God damn it, Taure. Why did you put this idea in my head?

 

Well, obviously the fun part is creating a new system especially for it.

 

I've been working on and off on a couple of ideas though I'm mostly in the planning/researching stages. The fics I've been planning lately have been:

1. A Guardians of the Galaxy / Harry Potter crossover — in 1988 the Ravagers kill two birds with one stone and pick up contracts to nab both Peter Quill and Harry Potter from Earth, though eventually both end up as members of Yondu Udanta's crew. Hilarious adventures ensue. The major hang up I have is that right now it feels like it's much more Marvel than Harry Potter and I'm trying to get a better balance between the two.

And while I have an idea of how to get Harry back to Hogwarts it's perhaps too similar to other methods used by other authors (basically Harry's name pops out of the Goblet of Fire and he's teleported to Hogwarts). The major difference is who puts Harry's name in the goblet but it's not satisfactorily novel for me.

2. Songs of the Seawolf (ASOIAF) — instead of fostering with Jon Arryn in the Vale, Eddard Stark is sent to be fostered with Quellon Greyjoy, the progressive ruler of the Iron Islands. Given his young age this results in him internalizing certain Iron Born traditions — basically he becomes a viking. Think Ragnar Lothbrok from the Vikings TV show.

This has a few consequences: (1) Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon are not friends and have a much more antagonistic relationship than in canon; (2) The Greyjoy Rebellion does not occur as in canon as they join in with Robert's Rebellion; (3) Ned having spent the majority of his life in the Iron Islands also causes friction with his northern bannermen. There's a few more minor changes too — Jon Snow would more likely be named Quellon Snow, Robb would probably be named for Balon, Aeron, or Euron.

 

If Eddard and Robert aren't friends, why would that cause the Greyjoys to join in the rebellion rather than simply continuing the canon course?

 

Well, a sensible Eddard Stark would tell his foster father how utterly foolish it would be to rebel against six united kingdoms and hope to stand against that. Even in canon the Greyjoy rebellion made no sense. But I think this is not the place for that kind of discussion.

 

My basic plot is that after Rickard and Brandon Stark are killed at King's Landing (effectively as canon) Aerys II asks Quellon for Eddard's head and Jon Arryn for Robert's head largely for the same reasons that he asked for them in canon. While Quellon doesn't want to make waves, Euron sets Ned free and Balon is able to convince Quellon to go whole hog now that everyone in Westeros thinks that he did exactly what Jon Arryn did.

The Greyjoy rebellion wouldn't happen as in canon because they're effectively declared for Robert in the first place. So the arguments that Balon would have made — i.e. that Robert is weak — aren't going to have the same traction as before. They're not an isolated bunch of rocks any more but a part of the coalition that brought Robert to power (for instance, a Greyjoy might be named Master of Ships instead of Stannis). Now ten or fifteen years down the line (say 298AC, when the canonical War of the Five Kings occurs) that may change. But a rebellion five years after they had just put the king into power seems unlikely.

 

If we're covering planning too, I've been preparing an AU fic where Wizarding Britain kept much more of its Roman and Celtic roots than in canon. They split shortly after the renaissance ended, and didn't follow (much) of the muggle culture that came afterwards. No Victorian morals and customs. Robes and other wizard clothes, not muggle clothes (no suits and ties). They are not prudes, they are not christian (dropped that after the witch hunts, but most pay only lip-service to "traditional religion" since for 1000 years they were christians), women have the same rights as men, and they are very class- and family-based. The Head of a Family is the only truly "adult" of his or her family in a strictly legal sense, all his or her children and great-children are "minors" no matter their age - unless emancipated. There are very few legal limits on a head's power, but lots of limits by society and custom.
There are very few "true" muggleborn - wizard children actually born to muggles. At most 1-2 per year, usually less. All those get a Patron, who will take care of "guiding" them into Wizard culture. Depending on who you get as a patron, once you get past the veneer, that's either nothing more than a guide and sponsor, or a slave owner in all but appearance. Society is divided in three classes/castes, muggleborn, half-bloods and purebloods, which one is generally born into - so the vast majority of muggleborns actually wasn't born to muggles, some have long "pure" family trees, but never managed to "marry up". They still are in a client/patron relationship with a pureblood head of family, inherited mostly from their parents. Same for half-bloods. Again, the actual effects range from minor protection/treated as family to "treated as servants" depending on the head of the family, with Society's disapproval limiting the excesses - or forcing them underground.

Hermione is thrust into this world, and finds out just how it works only once she's already at Hogwarts. She teams up with Harry (who should be the head of his family due to everyone else having died) to make the best of it. Years 1-3 will only be detailed as needed to show how they differ from canon, year 4 starts the real story, and ditches the remains of the canon plot pretty soon. No Potter title, manor, fortune, or library. Sirius is still rich though. Goblins are greedy bankers, nothing more. Dumbledore is a skilled politician with a lot of contacts, and Malfoy won't be able to oust him easily, if at all.

 

Fuck now I can't just fade into obscurity and never post anything.

I would love to see this. There would probably be major opposition to Ned's rule from the Northerners. Sure he's a Stark and probably wouldn't follow the Drowned God but with how much the rest of the Kingdoms despise the Ironborn there's no way he'd be as well liked as he is in canon. But Roose Bolton on the other hand would probably be one of his most loyal bannermen and...

Man I love this idea so much.

 

I watched Denzel Washington's The Equalizer, and toyed with the idea of writing an HP story with a similar premise.

It's summer, and Dumbledore, newly appointed Professor of Transfiguration at Hogwarts, is on break from his duties and travels to Bordeaux to take a bit of breather - teaching children is not quite the piece of cake he had imagined it to be. There, in between taking in the sights and sampling in the local delights, he takes a shine to a smart but guarded waitress at his favorite cafe, a girl who goes by the name Medara. Slowly, in between his visits, he gets to know her more, and they begin to strike up a friendship. Days before he's due to return to England, through an accident he discovers that a secret she's been hiding - she has the Second Sight, and more importantly, unlike others with her ability, she seems to possess the very rare talent of being able to trigger her Inner Eye voluntarily. She begs him to keep her secret silent, and leaves, distressed. A few days later, she stops coming to work entirely. He takes the matter of her disappearance to the French authorities, but his inquiries prove fruitless - it turns out no one knows who she is - inexplicably she has no known family, relatives, friends, and no history, and with the spectre of Gellert Grindelwald beginning to loom large over Europe and the whisperings of the possibility of war on the horizon, the authorities have more urgent things to do than to track down a missing girl. Curious, he returns to the cafe and manages to get an address to her last known residence.

The place is squeaky clean, no hint at all that anyone ever even lived there. However the cleanest places often hide the most secrets, and he does a bit of sleuthing nonetheless. He discovers several suspicious items - amongst them several disguises, false identities, half-complete portkeys and newspaper cuttings, detailing reports of Seers disappearing from all over the world. None of these are as startling, however, as the little, blue-eyed girl who crawls out from a cleverly-concealed enclosure in the room, tells him her name is Cassandra, and calmly proclaims that unless he helps her, she has approximately fifteen minutes to live. Five seconds later, curse-fire shatters a window. They are under attack.

Basically what I was shooting for is a thriller. Pre-WWII setting - a mysterious organisation is hunting down Seers all over the world, from a wizened witch-doctor in the magical slums of Tanzania, said to be able to accurately predict death-days, to the famous high priestess of the Temple of Tiresias in Greece. Medara and Cassandra are sisters, and a rare breed of true Seers, clairvoyants with the ability to willingly look into the paths of the future. Medara's gift is weaker than her younger sister's, but between the two of them they have been on the run for five years now, fleeing from safe house to safe house, never staying at one place for too long, barely always a few steps ahead of their relentless pursuers. Until now. Now it's up to Dumbledore to take care of the little girl Cassandra and protect her from the sinister forces out to get her, all the while attempting to uncover what has happened to Medara and why the Seers are being hunted down.

Unfortunately I'm complete bollocks at planning anything more complex than a shoelace, and apart from a few isolated scenes and sketches, this idea is doomed to be nothing more than just that, an idea.

 

I have a few things squirreled away for when I finish When a Veela Cries.

CHAOS (at least that's the title for now)
One's a Harry and Ron Chaoskampf/Auror fic that goes a different route than the epilogue of DH. Together, Harry and Ron are tasked by the Ministry to chased down the source of chaosmonsters that keep appearing in the British countryside and destroying everything their path. They begin by going to Egypt with Bill to learn more about the ancient god of chaos, and from there, trek across the Middle East to ancient Ur and back, learning thousands of years of Ancient Near East history and fighting enemies both ancient and modern inside Pyramids, temples, zigurrats, as well as modern cities. Through it all, Ron is trying to come to terms with some old wounds and Harry's just trying to live day to day without killing one of Muggle-Britain's four Muggle "Security" team members traveling with them through the Mideast who are Royal Marines, including his own cousin, Dudley. I have about a chapter of it written, but nothing solid.

Oneshot-
This one probably won't see the light of day. It was just a little plotbunny I had that I wanted to write out. Bill, the twins, Hermione, and a number of others all die in the last battle at Hogwarts. Fleur's hit with curse that almost kills her, and Ron stays with her at the hospital to nurse her back to health, then goes to find Hermione's parents. After coming back and having Hermione's funeral, he pulls away from the family. The story jumps four years, and Ron's trying to drown himself in flesh and alcohol until Fleur shows up in his life again.

Fourth Year Tri-Wizard Tournament story
I just have a few paragraphs, but the previous spring, Snape wakes up in the tunnel and is able to re-capture Peter. Sirius is freed and returns as the DADA instructor during the Tri-Wizard tournament. When Harry's picked, they decide to go a different route and the tournament becomes a team tournament with the three main champions as the team leaders plus three others. The only problem is that Sirius had Harry and Ron with him all summer in southern France, and the two fourth years that come back to the school in the fall aren't exactly the two third years that left. The story is intended to be humorous, a tad over-the-top, and my final Harry/Fleur pairing.