It could be exploited several ways. Because the mysterious curse Harry is given an edge in the fight and so on... Or the other way is the Curse helps Voldie because he is so evil (negative plus negative is negative ). Other than that I hadn't thought about it further, it just seemed odd to me.

 

I think JRK ignored that for the rest of the series. Possibly could have been explained a way as a curse on the soul which didn't work due to his horcruxes, but apart from that I'm not seeing it.
I think what Rowling meant by the curse is that you wouldn't be able to enjoy anything inn life past that point.

 

I took it to mean that the guilt of having killed something so pure would constantly plague you: so you'd never be happy. Not an actual curse or anything, just a psychological thing. Voldemort just doesn't give a fuck, so I don't think it would have effected him.

 

I don't. Because that's dull.

I like the idea: it's very open to interpretation - and I'd love to see a fresh take on something like this that hasn't drawn much attention from the fans, despite its seemingly large potential.

So, as for an actual idea that involves this:

When Harry realises that he is the last horcrux, he is faced with the horrible truth that if Voldemort is to be slayed, he must die.
But... fuck that. He won't die. As heroic and determined as Harry is, he discovers that he can't give up the one thing most important to him - his life.

Or, at least, not when there might be an alternative.

Struck by sudden inspiration he remembers the old legends about unicorn's blood: only one who has nothing to lose and everything to gain would commit such an act as murdering a unicorn - and Harry's choices are death, or this one wretched glimmer of hope.

Before he goes to confront Voldemort, he slaughters one of the animals and drinks the forsaken blood - as soon as it washes down his throat it burns him, a searing agony that dies and leaves only a yawning emptiness and hunger for more. He feels its power coursing through him - but it makes him feel weaker, not stronger.

With trembling limbs and that odd cold emptiness, he stumbles to meet Voldemort, and to end his immortality once and for all. But the further he travels, the more cold, more empty he feels. His hunger for the blood grows like a tangible force, until Voldemort, his friends, what he's fighting for... none of them feel as important as the lust for blood.

When he confronts Voldemort, it is with a sick pallor and dilated eyes, barely upright. His enemy, confused by Harry's behaviour and unable to goad him into responding, stalls with the kill until the man finally loses his patience.

When the killing blow comes, Harry meets it head on.

As the green light washes over him, he barely feels it over the immense hunger and emptiness that is eclipsing his mind. He's vaguely aware that he's just been hit by the killing curse, and that he should probably play dead or something to avoid arousing suspicion, but fuck it. He can't control his hunger any longer; he bolts.

The death eaters follow him as Harry runs single-mindedly back to the unicorn's corpse, and watch in disgust as the boy, seemingly deaf to the world, ignores them entirely to lap at the creature's body like a cat would milk.

Damn. Forgot I was being brief.

The jist of it is that the hunger Harry feels grows and grows with time, and when he is cut off from a suppy of blood from the unicorns, it continues to grow until it is the one thing that dominates his mind and being.

He can't fill the empty hole with the blood he became reliant upon - and as his life diminishes, he morphs more and more, becoming weaker and more insubstantial and yet at the same time gaining strange new powers.

And one day, he snaps; can't bear the hunger any longer. He kisses someone, and sucks out their soul.

That's how dementors came to be.

 

And where's the fun in that? I admit it's an awesome idea for a subplot, happening to someone other than Harry, but this plot sucks for a Harry centric story.
Or it could be a really sad one-shot or something.

 

Because the story is then about Harry learning to control it.

 

Sounds like Harry would be pulling a Darth Nihilus, here.

If a Star Wars fan reads this and knows the history of the "Jedi Exile" and the "Sith Triumverate" characters, you'll know what I mean.

I sort of agree with Republic - good sub-plot, but it can't stand on its own. Maybe if it was a part of a greater arc/story-line?

 

Nice plot. Where would Voldemort come into play? Or would this just be an interesting spin on Harry getting new powers and uses those to kill Lord Voldemort? How would you reconcile these strange new abilities with them not happening to Voldemort from year one? Because he had no full soul thus supping from Unicorn's blood would do nothing for him?

It would be interesting to see this hunger play out with him, Hermione and Ron. That tension would be very interesting. Watching the one person they pinned their hopes on reduced to be an addict.

Not to jump-on the Ginny-hate parade, but would be fun to see her try and convince him that he is stronger than the hunger by just being strong and that her love will help him, give him strength. (Would be too much bashing to have him suck her soul out through a kiss. And cheapen the fic in my opinion.)

EDIT: @Ichor and Republic21. Sub-plot? No, too much tension within the character for that. Maybe you guys just don't like seeing Harry becoming weakened? Maybe a good one-shot, but I think you could make a story out of it. Just make his inner-fight the main focus, but trump up the rest of the story with more plot and other characters.

To be honest, there are lots of powerful scenes that could be played with, confrontation to be had and whatnot. Maybe I just have an itch for seeing heros becoming sullied.

 

Great idea, though I'd go with emptiness without desire for more unicorn blood. It's not very smart curse for killing this animal if someone feels need to kill more of them.

 

I just see it as a plot component, not a full plot line in itself.

Seeing Harry go all 'Nihilus' would be pretty awesome, frankly.

The idea itself has promise, but it needs to be 'thickened up' by something else, in my opnion.

 

That is exactly it. I can understand an inner struggle milking out a chapter or two, I can understand the occasional arc to become able to defend himself, but total helplessness and loss of control I despise.
I like my Harry in control, thank you very much (I know how gay it sounds but meh).

Editalindrome, go ahead.

 

Well, ah, this was really just something I came up with on the spot to substantiate my post a little... Wanted to come up with a way that HoS's idea could be used, and got carried away.

So yeah, it feels incomplete because it is incomplete. It feels like a sub-plot because it is a sub-plot.

I was twisting a large portion of a plot I'd once come up with to fit. I thought the story up probably around three years ago now, and the transition I wrote was pretty much a muted version of the lingering mystery and key to the climax of my story: I actually wrote the start of it at one point, about 30k, not that it's recognisable as the dementor idea as of yet. It was popular - got into the library here, IIRC, but I was fourteen and far more stupid at the time, so I'm pretty ashamed of the writing and would change a hell of a lot if I were to write it now. Heh.

I'll dig up my old notes on it, if you guys want to hear it?

Edit: I'll write about it tomorrow. I need sleep.

 

By the way, wasn't there a fic on DLP that had Harry addicted to unicorn's blood?

Quick search.

Yes, there was - There Is Only Power by Anubis. Rather nicely done, though there wasn't much of the curse there. Still, the idea is good so I'd read about it if done right.

 

Yes.

I guess I should contribute to the thread. Thought of this back when I first started posting.

Grindelwald found another path to immortality. When he was taken, he expected them to kill him so his soul could possess another's so he could return. They didn't. He was imprisoned instead. Years whiled away and every attempt at suicide was halted. He languished there, until Voldemort came to him.

He egged him on and was granted his wish of death.

He possessed a student and made another bid to power from his old school a year later. That is when Auror Harry Potter swooped in and stopped him, called from Great Britain to help. He tried again but was met with the same frustration. The years past and he could not best the young Auror, who had only gotten more skilled with each of their confrontations. At times the two would seem to be locked in a war for months and years at a time.

Frustrated, he made his way to Britain in an effort to undermine the Auror there and finally see him dead.

Cue protagonist: Albus Severus Potter is a young child with an overbearing brother and annoying sister. But with a mother he loves with all his heart and soul. She is beautiful and has always been there for him, caring for him, loving him. He idolizes her, wants to make her as happy as she makes him.

Harry Potter is his Hero, he wants nothing more than to be like him, but that changes each time he goes off to fight another Dark Lord, gone for months and years at a time. He hears his parents fighting over it, sometimes yelling. Harry sacrificing himself. Al hates how his father makes his mommy cry herself to sleep. How angry he makes her. Some nights he pretends to be sick, at a young age, so his mother will have someone to hold at night.

As he grows and attends Hogwarts he resents his father more and more, especially how distant he has become, realizing that a father's place is at home and that the world should find another hero.

Then one more Dark Lord springs up in France and Harry is sent for again. By now Albus is seventeen and about to enter his 7th year at Hogwarts. The family is together when Harrry gets the news in middle of dinner. He stands to leave then, but Ginny confronts him. They fight and the children join in. Lily doesn't know what to think. James sides with Harry while Al with Ginny.

Harry leaves and Ginny cries. Albus hates his father more than ever and confronts his mother, revealing his love for her now matured to "True Love." Tells her he can make her happy, can take away all the pain. Just leave his Dad behind and be with him, he can make her happy. He reveals all he had done as a child to make her happy.

Instead of heartened, as he hoped, she is disgusted. She reprimands him, using the voice she had always reserved for James. Telling how horrible he was for even thinking like that. He's mentally destroyed, flees the house, with despair filling him.

In the night Albus is alone and lost, but blames everything on his father. It was all Harry Potter's fault. That is when Grindelwald comes and offers the boy a choice. The same choice he had offered all those before him, let him help Albus get what he wants. (The call to France had been a ruse by Grindelwald to tear the family apart, he had been watching for a time.)

They merge and a Dark Lord comes forward that Grindelwald hopes Harry Potter would be unable to kill.

Not sure where to go from here. Maybe force his way back into the house or maybe lay some traps for Harry. Some confrontations with his father? He feels out his father's friends to get to know him more? Play it smart and rash, or aggressive?

 

Sounds like a slightly modified Catharsis prequel with a lot of potential. The only problem I see is Albus-Severus as the main character, a huge turn off for many readers.

 

I've actually never read Catharsis, but will to avoid the similarities. That is if I ever find the motivation to write it.

 

I wonder if anyone's ever thought of a transposition of the Harry Potter storyline into either Halo or Starcraft's fictional universe...

Spectre!Harry or Spartan-II!Harry might be worth a read...

Hmm...I've also got some vague notes about a Jedi/Sith transposition/adaptation into the Harry Potter magical world somewhere, too.

 

I just... it seems so exaggerated I can't get behind it. Harry goes off to save the world and his son turns into a crazy fucking douche? Idunknow, it seems like the thing you see in every drama movie ever. You want your protagonist to be likeable and relatable, this one would just come off as a whiny dick.

I would want to punch Albus Severus every chapter (which is terrible, since I already want to punch Harry and Ginny for picking the name). A very good Grindelwald may make me give it a spin but otherwise I doubt it.

Also why am I not suprised you went the Mother/Son route?

 

That is a good plot bunny in my opinion, but you must remove the incest part. I don't know, it just ruined it for me.

 

It would be more believable if Albus Severus slowly stepped into the 'dark' due to his hate (*cough* Star Wars *cough*) of his father. The falling in love with his mother is weird, but a known psychological issue; this could be spun more with a few scenes showing him growing up with all his siblings at Hogwarts, his father never home and only having his mother to rely on (I think that's what you were going for, anyway).

The only way I would be interested in this is if it was Harry centric, and we only had the odd scene hinting at the problems developing in the family due to Harry's own flawed characteristics; the epitome of a tragic hero. Also there is an exciting opportunity to have a well written Grindelwald here, as well as possibly having Teddy and James as supportive characters.

Do it.