I've had this plot bunny kicking around in my head for a while, but despite starting it, it never really got anywhere. I've been thinking of the 7 years business, and most AU stories tend to follow canon pretty closely, with the Horcruxes not being introduced until book 6. Even JKR never really foreshadowed anything aside from the diary.

And the Diary raises a natural question as well. If that one soul piece could take possession of a person, why not give that power to the rest of them? It would increase the number of villains you could write, while still keeping the overarching theme.

Many of canon's events can be tweaked very slightly to introduce at least one Horcrux. If in each year, Harry fights/defeats a single Horcrux, it seems like it would have better pacing than canon itself. This pattern also allows the removal of the stupid Horcrux hunt from the year 7 storyline, and does not require the Hallows to power up Harry.

Year 1 - Quirrel, soul fragment
Year 2 - Diary possessing people
Year 3 - Sirius comes back to Grimmaud, picks up the locket.
Year 4 - Voldemort reborn, Harry is less wimpy than canon, destroys Nagini
Year 5 - After a DA meeting in the RoR, Cho discovers Ravenclaw's Diadem. Oops, possession, take 2. Voldemort has already started to take over the wizarding world, as he is not focused on the prophecy.
Year 6 - Voldemort sends Bellatrix to pick up Hufflecup's cup to make it safer. The cup believes it's stronger than the one that had to be reborn, and decides to do things its' own way. Final showdown is against a possessed Bellatrix.
Year 7 - Harry finally beating the fight against the Horcrux in his mind, and the final fight against the corporeal Voldemort.

Does this seem like it would make for a better plot line for the books? Is it giving anyone any ideas?

 

There doesn't seem to be any plot here. No adventure or journey, just a 'oh it's the end of the year and I find a horocrux accidentally, yay' idea. It might be possible to make a series of one shots of this, but I don't think there's a hidden story here.

 

The plot would be what the soul pieces actually do. In book 3, 5, and 6, for example, Voldemort plays a much closer role than in canon.

This premise brings the action much closer to home - in Books 3 and 5, a part of Voldemort actually gets into the castle, just like book 2.

The main point of this is that the Horcruxes are not just objects that sit there, waiting to be destroyed. If they possess the people that find them, they can be minor villains in their own part.

Depending on how they act, it could either be Harry reacting to things, or it could be him trying to unravel what the Horcruxes are doing.

 

You forgot the ring. And the soul piece in Quirrel IS the later corporeal Voldemort. You'll have to change something.

The possession idea could only happen twice (once on a good person- Cho- and then, ironically, on Bellatrix herself). That means that third year something else would have to happen. Your whole idea about Sirius going and getting the locket leaves a lot to be desired. Unless he too gets possessed, which would be far to many possessions, you have nothing different going there.

Maybe, in third year, Harry could go and try and get into Grimmauld Place, having researched Sirius Black's home. There, he finds the ring and has to fight Voldemort's possession himself for the first time.

 

Or you could make it that Bellatrix betrays Voldemort for the Cup-Horcrux of her own free will. She is half mad and insanely devoted to 'her' Dark Lord. So, after the failiure to get the prophecy (or some other major failure) is nor longer in Voldemort's good graces and when the cup-horcrux gets into her head, she sees her chance to start anew. After all one piece Voldemort need not be all that different than any other piece of him.

 

That.

Also, I think you should have a go at it. But do try to write the series without a overpowered Harry, and make it so that he nearly die against the first few horcrux. Maybe the protection crap can work on the 1st book and make him start training to survive?

If you add some political manipulation, former deatheaters trying to assassinate Harry and some actual plot( 'cause just sitting on classes showing off to everyone while outmanuvering every move his enemies make suck)

If you pull it off it could be a good fic.

And do stay away from trunks, time machines and insanely powerful animagi forms okay?

 

Hah, this is definitely out of my league. I wouldn't be able to write an actual 7-year story.

 

Sirius hates his family, and it's unlikely that Harry could ever get into Grimmauld due to protections and general lack of motivation.

What I would do instead, is to make the MoM raid it. People come in and out, some pockets get heavier as time passes.

And as for Quirrell? Skip the trip to Albania, and make him go muggle sight-seeing in Little Hangleton, accidentally finding a certain old shack in the process.

Why the Voldemort revenant would still want the Stone is a mystery, however.

 

I was going to rip the Ministry raiding Grimmauld Place idea, but it seems logical that if they were actually after Sirius, they would search his home. The Minister could order the removal of dark materials and acquire the locket himself, forcing Harry to have to deal with Fudge possessed by Voldemort. That would be completely original, as far as I'm concerned.

Quirrell runs into one of Voldemort's horcruxes the summer before Harry is meant to start Hogwarts, and once possessed, applies to Hogwarts in order to be close to Harry for his first year. Dumbledore brings the Sorceror's Stone to Hogwarts to divert Voldemort's attention from Harry -- because immortality > revenge. Harry kills Quirrell much like in canon.

Two second book would pretty much remain unchanged, unless the author chose to make Harry the possessed or something. Ginny throws the diary away and Harry receives it, and with the pressure placed on him by being the suspected heir and having few friends, he is easily seduced by the power of the horcrux. Dumbledore saves him from death, or he fights the horcrux off himself and kills the Basilisk, and then he vows to never be that weak again. Or whatever.

In Prisoner of Azkaban, an Unspeakable or Auror or something, brings the locket to Fudge, and Voldemort has the Ministry at his disposal. There's a lot of ways to deviate from canon quite nicely here... so I won't really go into it. Truly an interesting idea here though.

It would be AWESOME if Voldemort possessed Fudge with the backing of Malfoy (Nott, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle etc.), and then Pettigrew brought the spirit Voldemort back to life...

I doubt anyone would want to write a seven book series, but maybe a quick-paced story (a few chapters a book) would be okay.

 

Using Fudge as a villain is an excellent idea. I was having trouble with thinking of a suitable person to fill that role, someone with the necessary influence to wreak havoc on the plot-line.

I think CoS should just be skipped, references to it in later chapters/instalments would be sufficient.

This story would be especially awesome if whoever takes this up portrays each piece of Voldemort with different thought processes. Young Riddle will possess Quirrell through the Ring, relish in teaching, relatively minor manipulations and other such stuff, thinking time on his side. While the Minister will be more interested in power-play and making a mark on the world.

Think it would be very interesting if Cho-Horcrux would try to seduce Harry to the Dark Side. Bellatrix could capitalise on the friction between Death Eaters caused by what Fudge did.

PoA climax could happen because Fudge has been using Sirius as cover for his dirty deeds, and therefore doesn't want to accept his innocence.

This idea sounds more promising each time I think more about it.