Because just having him shut up every full moon would be pretty boring?

 

There could be some interesting humor thrown-in, if you heightened his sense of smell. Say Hermione starts her period, something obvious to the reader, but he is trying to understand that different smell she has. Could be a running joke throughout fourth year. Or him smelling when a woman is aroused and is trying to figure out why it makes him hard.

The joke couldn't go too far or it would fall into anime cliches, but Harry's cluelessness with women could be funny if played on right. I could even see him getting a little confident/cocky with the ladies when he figures it out.

For inspiration you could use Perrin from Wheel of Time series. Sometimes his oblivious nature is stretched too far, but on the whole Jordan uses his enhanced senses well.

 

Hmm, the idea is that he was a Death Eater who hadn't renounced his ways, but due to Voldemort's fall he, like many others, were not convicted and sent to Azkaban. He went to Hogwarts and became the DADA teacher because he beat the jinx on the position (actually, just transferred it to the CoMC position).

...Alternatively, he could be teaching at Durmstrang and won't show up until Triwizard (if that event occurs).

 

Okay, since I was the first person to mention the GWL!Luna idea, I'll give my two-cents to your elaborations.

Firstly, I agree with wordhammer. The reason why I came up with the GWL!Luna in the first place was that it'd be interesting to see how someone who's not like Harry (e.g. less angst and more whimsy) would cope with the crappy life he had to deal with. I even proposed that the Attack on the Lovegoods happen when Luna turns nine (which coincides with Mrs Lovegood's death in canon), in order to shake up the Wizarding World and allow for different antagonists.

I like your idea of the Disgraced!Malfoys. However, the idea that Mrs Lovegood is Lucius's sister leaves a bad taste in my mouth... Lionheart, anyone?

Narcissa shouldn't commit suicide; I think that it would be far more interesting if she was alive. Send Lucius to Azkaban, while keeping Narcissa alive. The Lestranges can still raise Draco. In fact, the Lestranges would make interesting replacements for canon!Lucius's role.

The Crouch Ministry should be competent but more hardcore than the Fudge administration, almost in a bad way. Draconian rules should abound, and a central theme of the story could be Order vs Chaos. It's perfect, since GWL!Luna could embody the notions of Carefree Whimsy against the Ministry who tries to control everything.

The central elements of Harry's backstory should have some sort of counterpart in this universe. For example, there should be an alternative GWL/BWL, much like Neville from canon. I would have personally allocated that position to either Colin Creevey or Ginny.

Hell, Alt/GWL!Ginny and GWL!Luna would make an interesting friendship. Ginny's more "shoot first, ask questions later" mindset against Luna's more "slow and steady" apporach.

Also, Voldemort's attack on the Lovegoods must have happened because somebody betrayed them. But who? Let's make this interesting - one of the Weasleys, who are the Lovegoods' neighbours and best friends, did it.

But which Weasley? Guessing would be part of the fun:

-We have Ginny, who is Luna's wingwoman and could have been the GWL (takes canon-Neville's role and fuses it with elements of canon!Ron) [Perhaps one of the Weasleys did the betrayal in order to save Ginny; if Luna fulfils the prophecy and dies, then at least Ginny wouldn't have to fight Voldemort...)
-We have Fred and George, who are not in Gryffindor. Something has changed them. Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, probably.
-We have Mrs Weasley, who attempts to raise the children but struggles more than she did in canon.
-We have Charlie, who later hooks up with Fleur.
-Mr Weasley, Bill, and Percy are all "missing" (that doesn't mean dead. One of them might be in Azkaban...)
-Ron is dead; his death is perhaps linked to the fragmentation of the Weasley family.

Which Weasley will take Pettigrew's role, Lupin's role, and/or Sirius's role?

GWL!Luna goes to Ravenclaw, I think. Scamander can join her, perhaps with Ginny. NonBWL!Harry has a dead sister, which is why he can see Thestrals and why he forms a rapport with Luna (she reminds him of the sister). NonBWL!Neville grows up bitter, because his parents and his Grandmother both die in a DE attack (which happens before the Attack on the Lovegoods). The Order was perhaps too busy defending the Lovegoods, so perhaps NonBWL!Neville doesn't like Luna. Neville could take the role of the schoolyard antagonist.

Interestingly, Neville is the one who gets the Hufflepuff Cup (the Diary equivalent of this story; deposited by Bellatrix) in this universe.

Harry goes to Ravenclaw (not because he's bookish, but because we need quality Harry/Luna interaction... and we can do that if we stick them in the same House). Neville goes to Hufflepuff, which should have a more antagonistic relationship with Ravenclaw. Hell, it'd be interesting to make the Hufflepuffs hate Luna. The 'puffs could make interesting non-DE adversaries, and have shown to be vulnerable to gossip (Heir of Slytherin, Triwizard Tourney).

A disgraced Malfoy goes to Slytherin and is more power-hungry than in canon. He's actually competent in this universe. Hermione goes to Gryffindor, as do the Creeveys.

Also, Sirius married Rosmerta in this universe. Hohoho...

 

And this is why I love the Plot Bunny Thread.

@Solaceon: The Luna's-mum-is-a-(disowned)-Malfoy idea first came from one of the Blot's Odd Ideas, IIRC.

Regardless, I'm working under the presumption that it's the Love-Sacrifice-Protection thing again - i.e. Voldemort offered to spare Luna's mum's life and she refused in a desperate attempt to save Luna. Now why would Voldemort have any inclination to spare Mrs. Lovegood? Of course, if you're working in another reason for Luna's survival and defeat of Voldemort (say, a crumple-horned snorkack did it), then...*shrugs*

Oh, and, are you sure you want the attack to happen when Luna's 9? That'd leave very little time between the two 'wars'. I suggest making Luna younger, perhaps when she's 3 - 6: still get to know her mum but more time for the peace and inter-war years.

Narcissa: like I said in an earlier post, she has to be disposed of in some way. Coma? Long term ward in St. Mungo's (hey, that'd give Draco Neville's story! That's a thought), Azkaban (for bribing for Lucius' freedom, as suggested in previous posts).

Oh, and, the other fallout from this is that the Malfoy Manor is in lockdown mode, and no Diary incident (can use alternate Horcrux if you wish to recreate CoS, say, Helga's Cup), and Dobby is Draco's link to his family while he lived with the Lestranges.

The Draco-as-actually-competent-and-ruthless thing is serviceable, although I wish there is some way to shake things up by putting him in, say Ravenclaw. Wouldn't that be a stunner? Although he might then get too much time to interact with GWL!Luna.

The Crouch Sr./Ministry thing is precisely as you said. The Crouch Jr., high rank Ministry official & secret DE thing is the hidden danger. And I have the idea of a fascist Amelia Bones before but wasn't able to use that; semi-fascist Ministry could work pretty well here.

Harry is in Ravenclaw but I'm wondering how tight GWL!Luna could be with her trio (for now, Ginny and Colin) if they're in different Houses. Not to mention, perhaps GWL!Luna would fit more with Gryffindors. Of course, if you're making a Luna-Ginny-Rolf or Luna-Ginny-Harry trio then that's different. Personally I like to use Colin, because it gives the trio an inquisitive Muggleborn like Hermione was.

Gryffindor can make pretty interesting adversaries, too, especially if Wizarding Britain is more hardcore; the Gryffs are mostly from zealous supporters of the Crouch regime. Assuming Luna is a Ravenclaw, Neville can be a Lion and still be a bother to her life (if using your antagonistic Neville angle). He can still have a conscience, though, and struggles between good and evil like Draco did in canon book 6.

Using the Pettigrew-regret-his-youth angle, he can try to help Neville not to make the same mistake he did years ago; prevent the younger boy from joining Voldemort and the DE like he did.

And now, combining elements of your ideas and mine, GWL!Luna and the Prisoner of Azkaban:

Feel free to shoot it all down.

 

Well, if Trelawney told this universe's prophecy a bit later, then the Attack on the Lovegood can happen later, when Luna is nine. And we should operate on the assumption of the Love-Sacrifice Protection, where Mrs Lovegood dies but Xeno lives (good old unhinged Xeno...)


And since GWL!Luna would be more carefree than Harry, I would wager that she wouldn't take everything Dumbledore says so seriously. She would totally push the "a Snorkack did it" approach. =P

Actually, Narcissa being in a coma is very interesting. It keeps her out of Azkaban, alive, and gives an interesting Neville-esque edge to Draco. Since Hufflepuff!Neville (or Gryffindor, I suppose) would be an interesting (non-DE) antagonist to Luna, one of the few people who takes what she says for a grain of salt, the swapping of some backstories would be fun.

I've always thought that the Cup would come into play if the Lestranges pulled a Malfoy and kept out of Azkaban (which is very possible in this universe; if Lucius offed himself and Narcissa ended up comatose, Bellatrix may very well "stay behind" in order to make sure Draco doesn't get raised by "blood traitors" a.k.a Sirius).

We don't really see the Cup that much in DH, which is a pity. I don't want to know what happens if you drink from that thing...

Well, if we're making Neville more antagonistic, we could make Draco "nicer". However, Bellatrix's influences should have affected him. He can make a turn for the good, but I'd want to see him as competent and ruthless. Perhaps he goes to Slytherin, but he "converts" later on when he finds out how Narcissa ended up like canon!Alice Longbottom...

Like I've always said, the one thing that redeems the Malfoys is that love they have for each other.

The fascist Crouch government would be the opposite of the DE!Ministry from DH... except that they're just as ruthless and extreme. Stiff curfews, harsh penalties, and a liberal usage of "blacklisting" ("OMG, he's a Death Eater! Spring a Dementor on him!")

All the while, they'd be very competent.

You could make Voldemort a very interesting villain in terms of how he manipulates this competent but fascist Ministry. He could utilise Crouch Jr, who is like the Lestranges in this story, very well...

I'd prefer the Luna/Ginny/Colin or Luna/Ginny/Rolf trio over a trio which includes Harry. Hell, let's make it fun and make it a quartet of Luna/Ginny/Rolf/Colin. BWL!Harry would be far more fun as a mentoring type; somebody who helps out at opportune moments, but takes a backseat sometimes.

We could either chuck Luna/Ginny/Colin/Rolf all in the same House (probably Gryffindor), or make it an inter-House friendship: Luna and Rolf in Ravenclaw, and Ginny and Colin in Gryffindor. The fun twist would be that Colin would be the smartest and most inquisitive one in the bunch. =P

Harry could go to Ravenclaw, I suppose. I really don't imagine that he'd be that studious, though. I'd much rather have a cool, laidback bro. We've all read too much Super!Harrys.

Actually, I'd think it'd be more fun if the Hufflepuffs are the zealots. The books do imply that a lot of them aren't free thinkers, which automatically puts them in opposition with Luna, especially Ravenclaw!Luna.

Neville, Susan Bones, and Ernie Macmillan could easily be great pains in the butt.

Slytherins in this universe would be very scary... because they basically adopt the canon!Hufflepuff approach to Hogwarts. Keep your head down and don't get noticed. Why? Because the Crouch Ministry will be on your ass. The scary thing is that the Slytherins would still be as ambitious and "evil" as in canon. Indeed, they still source the DEs. However, they would master the art of subterfuge...

The Pettigrew/Neville parallel would be win. Similarly, somebody has to write a decent Sirius/Draco dynamic. I imagine that Sirius would have a few choice words to say to Bellatrix and the way she raised Narcissa's son.

Firstly, I'm glad that you've picked up on my "the Weasleys are the Pettigrew/Lupin/Sirius for the Lovegoods" angle.

However, as I've mentioned, I'd rather keep Mrs Weasley as the matriarch, while implicating one of the "missing" Weasley men as the Pettigrew/Sirius.

My version:

Snape isn't the one to hear the prophecy; it's Narcissa. When Narcissa finds out, she's disheartened because she was good friends with Mrs Lovegood. She blabs to Snape, who concocts a plan with her. They don't go to Dumbledore immediately, because they don't trust him. As a result, the First War gets prolonged. Also, Narcissa has the good sense to know that the Prophecy concerns the Lovegoods when she first hears it and doesn't report it to Voldemort.

However, Lucius stumbles on what on Narcissa and Snape's meetings; he's been trailing them because he thought that they were having an affair (lol). The truth is far worse; Lucius puts Narcissa in a coma, while Snape escapes and tells Dumbledore. Standard fanfare follows: Dumbledore puts the Lovegoods under the Fidelius, and Mr Weasley play Secret Keeper. Likewise, Mrs Lovegood plays Secret Keeper for the Weasleys. Hence, we have a double Fidelius.

Snape isn't a double agent in this story, at least in the beginning. Perhaps that role can fall to somebody else. (Rabastan Lestrange?)

However, Mr Weasley/Lovegoods decide to fool Voldemort by playing one last gambit. They secretly switch the Secret Keepers. As a result, the true Secret Keeper (who may or may not be a Weasley) does a Pettigrew in order to protect Ginny.

Anyway, everybody else thinks it's Mr Weasley, and he gets hauled off to Azkaban. Perhaps it's Bill? Or somebody else: Moody, or one of the "minor" Order members like Emmeline Vance or Sturgis Podmore. At any rate, it shouldn't be Mr Weasley or Mrs Weasley.

Voldemort "dies", Crouch is Minister, and Lucius tries to "off" the Weasleys? Anyway, Lucius gets arrested. Bellatrix and Rodolphus, seeing that Sirius might get custody of Draco, decide to play it safe. I don't know how they managed to trick the competent!Ministry, but perhaps they utilised Crouch Jr? Crouch Jr could have Imperiused the Minister for Magic...

Final result: Mrs Lovegood (dead), Xeno (more unhinged, but alive), GWL!Luna, Azkaban!Mr Weasley, Dead!Ron, Gutsy!Ginny (no fangirling over Harry in this story; she's too busy defending her father's honour...), Missing!Bill-and/or-Percy, Coma!Narcissa, Azkaban!Lucius, Alive!Potters, and Hiding-in-Plain-Sight!Lestranges.

EDIT:

GWL!Luna's primary antagonists:

At Hogwarts: Neville; Susan, Ernie, Hannah; Draco and Pansy (at first); Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe.

The Fascists (or as Luna would call them, "The Dream Deflaters"): Crouch, Amelia Bones (?), Percy (if he's not "Missing"), Mafalda Hopkirk, Dirk Cresswell, Marietta's mother. Umbridge, who is an adroit politician, could also easily go "DIE, YOU'RE A DEATH EATER!!!" in order to grease her political career. Hell, she would lead the blacklists on Death Eater sympathisers. I smell a McCarthy clone...

The Death Eaters who have infiltrated the Fascists (a.k.a. the really scary, competent and true villains): Crouch Jr, the Lestranges, Rookwood, Yaxley, perhaps members of the Black family who are still alive? The Carrows (they avoided detection in canon during the first time, they can do it again) would also feature.

Death Eaters in Azkaban: Lucius, Dolohov, Avery, Selwyn, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Travers, Macnair, Gibbon, etc. [EVERYONE ELSE - the Crouch Administration is scary efficient, and the blacklists had to catch some people]

It'd be nice to utlise DEs who don't really feature in canon in this universe; keep them out of Azkaban, while the majority gets arrested. I'd be really interested to see how Yaxley and Crouch Jr manage to manipulate the Crouch Ministry. Perhaps they both pretend to be anti-DE nutjobs to infiltrate?


Perhaps that's why the Fascists don't like GWL!Luna. She's much too friendly to people like Draco, and too forgiving at times...

 

^^^ God, this is cool.

@Oruma: I missed the play you were setting up- I was under the impression that Lucius' absence would defang the bad guys, but this has turned into a much more complicated arrangement with political nuance and a central character that truly could unite the divided Houses of Hogwarts, if they can just find enough faith in her, despite the Lovegood reputation for being nearly unhinged.

I'm very in favor of Ginny and Colin as Luna's backups, with Harry as a James-clone big brother type that (as Potters are wont to do) flouts the status quo.

The individual plots by year can be completely reshuffled, which helps to put Luna in a position to act heroic in the Chamber much later than in canon. I'd even encourage the idea of the Hufflepuff Cup being given to her directly, leading to some interesting mental struggles.

Instead of Harry's anonymous slavery, Luna would be forced to mature due to running the household for her half-mad father (without a wand) and resisting the magical world's influence. Most wouldn't accept her as a heroine so much as a poster child; it will make her eventual moment of triumph be when she gains enough confidence to speak up for what she believes and what she sees as wrong.

Dumbledore in this world could be the best possible ally, as he's both powerful and fond of whimsey. I see him mostly cut down to just being the Headmaster, as his opinions and those of a Crouch Ministry would naturally collide. If the first war went on long enough, he may even have been maimed to the point that people don't see him as a threat anymore.

This is worth writing. Hell, it could make an interesting challenge for multiple writers' offerings.

 

While it's certainly great to hash out stuff like this - and that's the real beauty of the Plot Bunny thread - I have to be honest and warn anyone contemplating a GWL!Luna that writing it will be an enormous struggle.

If you write it straight, you'll likely have to make a choice between characterizing Luna as competent and not spaced-out, and the lovable, quirky and oh-so-random canon!Luna that we (almost) all love. I mean, unless this is done by a writer who's very astute with injecting comedy without going overboard, it'll either end up as an unintentional crack-fic, or feature a Luna that none of us can recognize.

For an example of how the semi-serious GWL!Luna might play out or unfold, have a look at JBern's absurdist Harry-raised-by-Trelawney fic The Inner Eye of Harry Potter.

And not to rain on this parade any more than I already have, but Bill as Secret Keeper? No. Even if Luna's mum is killed when Luna is nine, that's 1990, and Bill would be at most 20 years old when he becomes the Secret Keeper. I suppose that's not as bad as I was first thinking, since Sirius and/or Peter became SK around the same age, but I cannot imagine Arthur allowing his son to take on that responsibility/danger when he himself could do it.

Of course you could say it would be the same kind of unexpected trickery that Sirius/Peter/James tried, and that's fine. Or, upon further reflection, it could be a plot point that either Molly tricked her husband into it (and is perhaps in on it or at least culpable by knowing it would happen) or even that Molly Confunded or Imperiused Arthur to switch to Bill/whoever, and maybe even Obliviated Arthur and perhaps others afterward. That might all fit into her maternal protection instincts, etc.

Hmm. Well, I guess I shot fewer holes in this than I thought I would. I still say this would be an absolute /beast/ to write while not butchering Luna's character or making her a complete and total OC who only happens to be named Luna Lovegood. And if that's the case, it's no different than any other canon-female being the GWL.

I don't think I can even begin to wrap my head around what it would take to make a believable and interesting GWL!Ginny.

 

This, I think. It seemed to me that the Sorting Hat believed him an appropriate candidate for all four Houses... speculation and conjecture though.

 

Yeah, the biggest hurdle for GWL!Luna would be to balance her canon sensibilities (e.g. her serenity; her whimsical nature; her ability to trust others) with the burdens which come from being the GWL. I do think that it is possible to tone down some of Luna's more crazy tendencies and inject her with some plot-needed sensibilities (which can be explained by the fact that she had to, as Oruma stated, raise her more unhinged father). Essentially, you make her less naive than in canon.

I know that Cynthia (from Pokemon) is nowhere near Luna in her - er - zany behaviour, but when I was writing Cynthia, I watched a shitload of Happy Go Lucky. The protagonist of that film is a great example of a likeable female protagonist who's scatterbrained, cheerful and slightly whimsical - without being a naive crackpot. Sure, Luna is calmer than Poppy (who behaves like an Energiser Bunny at times), but I think a GWL!Luna is definitely possible. Harder than depicting Harry, yes, but possible.

To be honest, I'd include Bill as "the Lupin". A red Herring for the true "Pettigrew". The actual Secret Keeper could be Emmeline Vance or an Order member (use one of the Advance Guard about whom we know little). Bill's strange absence would keep the reader guessing, and I really think that the author should keep a Weasley Mystery as a subplot for the PoA equivalent. As seen, what happened to Mr Weasley (who is in Azkaban for supposed betrayal), Bill (who is missing), and Ron (who is dead. Probably). It would all tie with the events of Halloween.

Mrs Weasley, I think, should be innocent of the crimes. She'd be a decent mother figure to Luna, and the poor girl needs somebody to help her deal with Xeno, who in this story will be more unhinged than in canon.

That's the best way to make Luna less zany whilst keeping her IC; make her responsible for helping her crazier father. Caring for a sick relative ages people up quickly.

Honestly, you can go in so many directions with this plot bunny. The beauty is that the end of the First War happens when Luna is nine/Harry is ten. Therefore, this universe would be very different, allowing you to implement a shitload of changes.

For example, Dumbledore is taken far less seriously in this universe; he forms a rapport with the similarly unbelieved GWL!Luna. The events of CoS happen after PoA. The events of PS/SS happen after GoF. The Cup and the Diary switch places as plot devices (the Diary is in Ministry custody; therefore, somebody needs to break into the DoM).

Although Oruma took the idea that the Longbottoms are dead, I think it'd be interesting if Alice is one of the "mysteriously missing Order members, along with Bill Weasley and Emmeline Vance" (a.k.a. suspects for the true traitor).

Of course, Mrs Weasley could easily be the real traitor. See? Already we have a ton of mindscrews.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky is an awesome movie. Go watch it. Now.

 

@Solaceon: Just a friendly reminder, if you want Mrs. Lovegood to pull a love-sacrifice-protection for Luna, you have to give Voldemort a reason to spare her so that she can refuse it. I'm totally in for Luna being saved by the power of a Heliopath, however.

Using the Cup Horcrux is cool. Since it's an alternate CoS story perhaps the Dean Thomas back story can be worked in? The Diary and the Malfoy Manor: eventually Draco will return to his family home and become possessed by the Horcrux. When Luna & co. goes on the Horcrux hunt it'll be Dungeon and Dragon time.

I'll suggest that Neville's parents are killed in the line of duty (Aurors), and he's still raised by his gran - because making up a new character to take care of him (say, Uncle Trevor) is rather unnecessary. He can be a zealous, hard-line Ministry supporter because of his parents' death, and disliked Luna because (as you suggested) of her carefree and forgiving nature.

I prefer Luna/Ginny/Colin as a trio myself, but Harry, while laid back and cool and all, should still be awesome. And why can't he be all that and still a 'Claw, anyway? He can be Cedric-esque, and if he is still canon-ish he can be the one that tutor the new trio in Defence. Colin is the 'inquisitive reporter' type IMO: curious, perhaps intuitive, with a different perspective due to his upbringing as a Muggleborn, but not as intelligent as Hermione.

In my version, Harry isn't a James-clone. In fact he goes to Ravenclaw because while he is smart, he also doesn't like to be compared to his dad all the damn time (not that he doesn't love him): remember he is supposed to be more like Lily in temperament. His dead little brother enables him see Thestrals - in fact he'll be the one who (inverting canon) explains to Luna about the strange reptilian horses no one else can see.

Perhaps Hufflepuff and a significant portion of Gryffindor House are zealots to the Ministry. Maybe there's even a Hitler Youth-like club for these Ministry supporters? Like an inverted DA. Sirius and Draco reconnect over drinks at the Three Broomsticks. This. Must. Happen. Agree with the 'love redeems' quality between the Malfoys. Oh, and, I suggested James/Sirius as the people who caught Lucius because that way Draco and Harry will have their own little feud as well. Speaking of Voldemort, perhaps by the time he returns some people actually wants him because the government is too oppressive? That'd be scary either way...

Love & Thumbs up. Although, still, I think Luna becomes GWL at nine is a bit too old, and the short inter-war years not enough time for everyone to recover. The secret Death Eaters, especially Crouch Jr., helping their fellows escape justice is a win, but letting him Imperiuses the Minister is...not good. It gives the DEs too much of an advantage; perhaps later? Ginny probably won't fawn all over Harry if he's not the BWL, although she can still carry a healthy crush on him and they can still date, of course. McCarthy!Umbridge would be awesome. Scary, but awesome.

Agree about the Dumbledore angle - except perhaps even he is mystified at times by Luna's beliefs.

 

Absolutely! With the changes in place, Slughorn might remain as Potions Professor, since Snape would go underground without support from Dumbledore's political aegis. Overall, the atmosphere outside of the Lovegood keep would be harsher and more restrictive. Luna's interactions with the Weasleys in intervening years may instead have been acrimonious, and she and Ginny don't hit it off until the Express... or other life-threatening circumstances change their attitudes towards each other.

Do you think Barty Crouch's Ministry would be more anti-muggleborn? He seems only a few shades away from Pureblood loyalist. This may change the situation for Dean, Hermione and the Creeveys, or it may not. I only bring it up because Hermione doesn't seem to fit well in this pantheon. Maybe she's as much an enemy as Susan Bones, though most of the magically-raised treat her like a wannabee. Is her life extraordinary in canon because of Harry, or was she destined for a different kind of greatness? I'm of the mind that she be sacrificed early on as a demonstration of the harsher Ministry in action.

"She was stealing magic!"

"I was not! I'm shopping- I have money and I never intended to pay any less than required. I just don't see why I have to pay more."

"You're here on a non-mudblood day. You pay with coins. You've taken the last copy of a book--"

"It was the only copy here for months! I've been thinking of buying it for a while now and no one else had purchased it after all this time--"

"So you were conspiring to steal! Aurors! Take her to the Inquisitor's Office."

"Knowledge is a right, not a privilege!"

"Anarchist! Aurors, bind and silence that alleged witch before I show her the back of my wand!"

It's the sort of event that might make Luna open her eyes. (Alternately, I'm short on anti-depressants again)

 

Well, this can be done by creating a Snape equivalent. Since Snape isn't the double agent here, perhaps somebody else is. This person could have been the person who begged for Voldemort to spare Mrs Lovegood...

Since CoS would take place after PoA, there is adequate time to build up relationships between Luna and the Muggleborns who aren't Colin (i.e. Hermione and Dean). Therefore, you could weave in the Dean backstory by having him explain his predicament to Luna and therefore the reader.

And Draco defeating the Diary would be interesting. I do like the idea that Luna might get the Hufflepuff Cup, if it isn't Neville. It could easily masquerade as a drinking goblet, provided that the Badger icon is hidden.

Perhaps it'd be interesting to put Harry in Ravenclaw. To be honest, I wanted to put him in Gryffindor so that he could form a friendship with Hermione again. And I didn't really want Hermione in Ravenclaw; she makes a very interesting Gryffindor.

But yes. If Hermione goes to Ravenclaw, Harry could follow him. Luna, Harry, Hermione and Cho Chang in the same House. Oh. God. The headaches.

Umbridge would definitely create a Hitler Youth-ish club. The scary thing about this universe is that the non-DE gang is just as extremist as the DEs. Yes, they protest that they are protecting Muggleborn rights, but they persecute anybody who resists their ideals ruthlessly. Your cousin is a DE? You might get blacklisted.

Hence, Crouch Jr and Yaxley would have to masquerade as anti-DE nutjobs. I'd see how they wouldn't be able to Imperius the Minister, but they'd be able to manipulate lower members like Mafalda Hopkirk. Remember how pissed we all were about Dobby's Hover Charm and the Ministry of Magic? Think that, times three. Draconian measures...

It'd be wonderfully ironic if Ginny doesn't like Harry in the beginning. If she fawns over him even from the start, we could detract attention from the nascent stages of the crucial Harry/Luna friendship. It'd be far more fun if it were more like this:

First Yr Ginny: Luna, I don't know what you see in that guy. He's really... annoying. Why does he have to be that frustratingly vague all the time?

2nd Yr: I wish he'd stop teasing me. Luna, why do we still talk to him?

3rd Yr: He does remind me a little of Ron. I guess that he's a decent person, deep, deep down.

4th Yr: He pisses me off, with his enigmatic comments. And why does he call me "Red" all the time? ...shut up, he did not smell my hair.

5th Yr: Who said I like Harr- I mean Potter! Stop smiling, Luna.

And Luna can become the GWL when she's a little younger. I do think it would be interesting if Luna clearly remembers her pre-Voldemort life and her post-Voldemort life. She should be old enough to very clearly remember her mother and to be able to start caring for her father.

Well, the point of the Crouch Ministry is to depict the polar opposite of the DEMinistry in terms of blood supremacy, but the spiritual twin in extremity. The age-old argument that extreme right-wing and extreme left-wing behaviour begin to overlap springs to mind. The Crouch Ministry would endorse Muggleborns, but crack down heavily on anyone who was even associated with Voldemort (a.k.a. the purebloods). That is why they'd come into conflict with Luna, who is far more relaxed and forgiving in temperament.

In this universe, Hermione, I think, would be Harry's right arm. Basically, in this universe, Harry would be popular, but he would kind of be a loner; he likes his quiet and tends to stick with Hermione. She'd be closely associated with him whenever he goes into "big mentor bro" mode.

I think Hermione would be interesting in that she'd sympathise with where Susan and the loyalist Hufflepuffs are coming from; Hermione does like rules. However, her friendship with Harry would bring her into constant contact with GWL!Luna, who shows her that sometimes, unorthodox can trump orthodox. Hence, Hermione would be a Luna-supporter, but not without her few share of complaints. She'd be the one in the group who would point out all the flaws.

lol, a nonBWL!Harry and Hermione would have an interesting friendship, especially since Ron isn't around. They'd often differ when it comes to GWL!Luna and her friends (Ginny, Colin and Rolf). Hermione would be indignant that Colin is willing to break rules to "get the latest scope", Ginny has no qualms about Polyjuicing, or that Luna believes in Snorkacks. Harry would be slightly bemused but amused.

EDIT: Snape probably wouldn't be a Professor because of the lack of Dumbledore's power, at least initially. Crouch would be far more successful in besmirching Dumbledore than Fudge. Snape could later come in as a Professor in the GoF arc. Since Moody might be MIA, Snape could be the DADA teacher for that story arc. And we all know how that ended...

Slughorn would probably be the Potions Master, though. A running gag would be his attempts to "collect" Luna, who rejects his overtures. Ginny would point out that it's a little creepy and pedophilic, while Colin attempts to "document" the event. I really like the idea that Colin is a photography and journalist aficionado. He could be like Hermione in terms of the "Muggleborn who knows stuff", but he'd be different from her in: 1) he doesn't really care about rules; 2) he has Ron's fanboy tendencies when it comes to celebrities; 3) he likes to document events a lot. Cue random hilarity when he tries to take a photo - at the most inappropriate moment.

 

He didn't seem to Anti-Muggleborn, but hell its an AU. Although he should just so Hermione can be and should be repressed :awesome

 

Make her seven years old- just think of Voldemort's numerological obsession on THAT little nuance.

Right. Switch Hermione for Pansy Parkinson, and 'mudblood' for 'rotblood';

"Knowledge is my birthright, not a privilege!"

Luna and Hermione stood to the side as they watched Pansy being wrestled to the ground. Luna turned and whispered, "Didn't you say something similar the other day?"

Hermione looked at Luna's open expression and gulped. "Well, yes I did. But that's Parkinson and she... she's not... you just know it was Dark Arts she was stealing."

Luna turned and looked at the book that had fallen at her feet. "101 Charms for Limp and Lifeless Hair by Gilderoy Lockhart. You're absolutely right. It must be in code. Shall I burn it?"

 

The computer for some reason screws with my formating, so...

At the risk of stealing GWL!Luna's spotlight, perhaps Harry will have a larger role altogether, doing part of the fighting for Luna while she adjusts to her unwanted responsibilities. It may even be better if she panics, or wants to "refuse" the call so to speak when the time comes for her first year confrontation with evil.

I still like the Molly the traitor angle more, but whatever; so long as it is reasonable and logical and works, right? Although I think lacking a mother figure in Luna's life (post Voldemort) makes her stronger, actually; she will resist another person trying to 'replace' her mother or alternatively, she craves another 'mother'. As for Harry, I'm not sure he can really be "laid back" if he grew up under the shadow of Voldemort, particularly given his family's association with Dumbledore and the Order.

I won't make the Crouch regime as anti-muggle/born, but they can be weary of these newcomers just the same. And Hermione will still be repressed.

You should post a timeline with the year/plot, bro; make things clearer that way.

I didn't really think much about Hermione and her role in this story, actually (except that she has to be repressed), although a kind of friendly rivalry with Harry wouldn't hurt. With GWL!Luna, though; it maybe be more interesting if they are friendly rivals instead.

Not sure if want. Maybe Ginny has a healthy crush on Harry, maybe they date, but that'd be it.

I think 6 is a reasonable age. Luna will have an image of her mum, and she'll fear she may eventually forget her too; meanwhile that gives Wizarding Britain 5 years between the wars.

Use the Narcissa overheard prophecy/consult with Snape angle. Dumbledore uses his remaining influence to protect Snape and offers him a job at Hogwarts, for DADA. Alternatively, Snape resurfaces during the GoF equivalent as an instructor from Durmstrang.

(Troll incident) Ginny: Now's our chance! Let's get out of here before the troll notices- Colin: (takes a picture, the flash totally alerted the troll of their presence) Ginny: (gasps at Colin, even as the Troll roars and raises its club) Luna: (grabs her friends and very, very calmly) Time to go, Ginerva, Colin.

 

Re: Voldemort offering to spare Luna's mother. She's a pureblood, isn't she? Perhaps he offers her a chance to step aside as a 'courtesy.' If he's at all sincere about the Master Race drivel he spouts, it would probably be (for him, anyway) a politic gesture.

Of course, he likely assumes she'd opt to try saving her daughter, so he gets to kill her anyway. Win/win as far as he's concerned.

As for Molly being the possible traitor, there's an obvious motivation ready-made for her: She'd pretty much go to any extreme to protect her own family. If Arthur's dead already, his ethics wouldn't be there to act as a counterpoint. His death might be the thing that tips her over the edge.

 

Maybe Luna's power that the dark lord knows not would be the ability to transform into either a nargle or a heliopath. I can see Hermione straining her brain trying to figure out how Luna animagus form could be a creature that doesn't exist.

 

Dark Lord Potter: A Plot Bunny

There exists a dark lord far more sinister and evil than Voldemort could ever hope to be. He is the black sheep of the Potter family, and his deeds are so atrocious that they are considered too grotesque to be put into words.

James Potter and Sirius Black are the only two aware of his existence. Will they be enough to stop the Dark Lord Potter’s dastardly plan? Only one thing is for certain…they must try and give it there all for should he be allowed to succeed all hope for the world would be lost.

What is this dastardly plan that two of the most courageous wizards ever produced by the noble house of Gryffindor are afraid to even speak of, you ask? He wants to unleash a monster upon the halls of Hogwarts…that’s right he intends to turn Severus Snape into a ladies man!

That’s right it is a Harry travels back in time done right, and it will start like a proper time travel fic…with Harry waking up naked in Knockturn Alley.

“I need your robes, your boots, and your wand.” ~Harry Potter

 

...

No.

Just no.