Challenge #1:

Summery: Some random abnormally powerful wizard (or witch) decides he wants to be the worlds next dumbledore. Problem is he has no grindelwald, so he decides to create one. And who better for that than the boy who lived. It takes him seven years to find harry but he does, and he proceeds to alter harry life forever....

Rules:
-harry gains a booster wand (illegal wand used by pure bloods to train their children)
-harry gains a few books with more radical views on magic ie: magic is might, and might makes right
-harry is a magical prodigy upon making it to hogwarts
-dumbledore is blind to harry's machinations but McGonagall distrusts him

 

The point is? What is distinguishing your challenge from couple hundred similar ideas out there? It is nothing new. Just another old "Harry-meets-another-wizard-before-going-to-Hogwarts-and-he-becomes-uber-powerful-prodigy-and-all-around-badass".
Small advice - capitalize first letter of names and titles.

 

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

 

It's challenges like this, and people like you, that give fan fiction a bad name.

 

Rather than make useless, though appropriate, remarks like my esteemed fellows, I shall attempt to create some sort of moderately useful idea out of this...thing.

The initial premise is to have someone want to gain Dumbledore style fame and influence by defeating a dark wizard. Not a bad initial idea for a fic, not particularly original, but not bad.

And then you say that they go on to create a dark wizard? Out of Harry Potter, who's all of 7/8/9 at the time? Not feasible!

What might be better, is if you take the idea of a powerful wizard wanting to gain influence, and make it that they want to stay out of the lime light. Therefore, they locate the Boy-Who-Lived and gain his trust. When or how is up to the author, there are benefits for long time pre-Hogwarts, having them find him by following Hagrid, finding him at some point during Hogwarts, or even locating him post-defeat of Voldemort. Each could be interesting in its own way. When they find him, they gain his trust, and eventually become a sort of mentor/guide to him.

Have them teach Harry how to comport himself in public, how to appeal to the masses, how to use his fame. They then get him to make small statements to the Daily Prophet in line with their own views, which would then be conveyed to the public, and if his fame is at a high enough standing, it could cause a strong impression and have a powerful effect.

Harry could learn who is worth being friends with for gaining influence: Draco Malfoy would be a risky choice because despite his fathers influence he is a) smeared with the Dark reputation (which Harry would want to avoid being aligned with) and b) Draco himself is massively unpopular at Hogwarts, so any influence he has later in life will be bought rather than gained. On the other hand Harry could be seen as the all round good guy, willing to forgive and forget, to move on if he was seen with the Malfoy's in public. A similar risk would come from being seen with Ron or another Weasley in public, as they are seen as the dregs of wizarding society, buy those people who currently hold a lot of influence. On the other hand they have a solidly Light reputation, are fairly popular people, and have 7 children who are all possibly capable of making something of themselves.

If Harry were to weigh up options like that before associating with anyone, then it could make for a reasonable fic.

However, you now have a start, and a rough middle. But whats the general plot? Would you follow the books? If you were starting say...post OotP then you can just go AU easily. Perhaps have the overarching plot being that Harry eventually realises that he's being manipulated into providing his mentor with power/influence etc. What you have Harry do then is up to the author. Will he continue to allow it, since he's not really harming anyone, but have him start to be more careful about what he says in public, so he isn't just blindly supporting any particular cause.

Or for a fic of similar proportions, starting post-OotP or post-defeat of Voldemort by something other than DH means, have Harry somehow enrolled on anger management classes, assertiveness classes, maybe see a shrink etc. A month and a half of those and he would be a completely changed character when he went back to Hogwarts. Thats just a random thought.

 

Thats a better idea than what I had

 

Thats a better idea than what I had

 

You are new so you didn't know, but DLP isn't big on double posting, it's what the edit button is for. If you have more to say and someone hasn't said something after your last post, edit that one.

I didn't think it was an awful challenge. I've never seen a 'Harry is manipulated into the spot-light by someone who just wants to kill him to get that same fame.' It wasn't fleshed out at all, but I could go with what he said and make a decent story out of it.

 

My impression from his challenge was that he wanted to re-create Grindelwald v. Dumbledore, in the present, by some how influencing Harry to become a wizard in Grindelwald's mold, and then, the person doing the influence would take the role of Dumbledore.

INSERT DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS:

I think it would be more interesting (and feasible) to see something that likens Harry to Dumbledore's situation as a young adult. However, there would be no Kendra, Ariana or Aberforth Dumbledore, and no Bathilda Bagshot.

Perhaps if someone were to create a suitable backstory...

MY TAKE ON THIS CHALLENGE

Harry is living at home post-Hogwarts, with his fiancee Ginny (bear with me) and together, they are taking care of young Teddy Lupin together. However, Teddy, with his mixture of Metamorphmagus powers and Werewolf heritage, is having dramatic, harmful accidental magic and needs to be under constant watch. Ginny takes care of him for the most part, as Harry is finishing up apprenticeships under various wizards (be creative; Transfiguration and Charms are the easiest ways to go however), and Ron and Hermione pitch in whenever they can.

Harry, riding the sails of his victory over Voldemort and the subsequent attention he recieved from the most powerful wizards of the day, is frustrated that he is stuck taking care of young Teddy, despite the fact that he loves him as his own. But, when a graduating student from Durmstrang moves into the Godric's Hollow area for the summer, they strike up a quick relationship...

Spending most of his time working with the powerful wizards and planning schemes with his new friend, Ginny is left to care for Teddy more and more often. When Teddy flies into an uncontrollable rage, Ginny is left murdered in the ancestral home of the Potters, and found by Ron.

Angered at the loss of his only sister, he confronts Harry and (whatever name), and in the subsequent three-sided duel Dark Magic erupts from the wand of (whatever name), catching young Teddy in the crossfire. Appalled and fearing retribution, (whatever name) apparates and flees the country immediately; Harry stares in awe at everything he has lost and Ron, inconsolable, leaves Harry alone in his broken home.

At the funeral, Ron breaks Harry's nose, starting a story and path remarkably familiar to one from the past...

 

Meh, I don't think it's as horrible a challenge as everyone else thinks. but still... you're riding the cliche a bit rough. If someone can write a truly Dark Lord Harry, than maybe it could work... the wizard would have to be terribly young to start though, early twenties. Meh. If written well enough, it could be good.

But still, going to hogwarts? Why? He could gain just as much Dark Lord fame from being the Boy-Who-Lived, remember, people don't remember Tom Riddle at all anymore. His Hogwarts days will be useless and stupid.

Perhaps Drumstrang if you really want him in school?