So many people try to pretend they're issuing a legitimate challenge, when all they're really doing is trying to entice people into writing the pairing or scenario they want.

Thumbs up for just saying "write my stories."

Now watch some twat come in here and try to do the same thing, in a twat-like manner, and come off looking like a complete twat.

 

I had actually thought thats what a challenge was. To get someone to write what you want.

 

And here I thought everyone else was doing it wrong and you did it right.

I'm so tempted to try the Spy!Harry but it would inevitably turn into the magical equivalent of James Bond. That's too Hollywood-glorified and not cloak-and-dagger enough.

 

Would you be willing to answer questions on your potential XiphIdeas?

 

I don't really care enough about the Terrorist idea to even bother, but the Spy one is somewhat interesting. Are you particular about the time period?

 

The Polyjuice Ministry infiltration scene in DH1 wasn't too bad either, in some respects (if we forget how Harry barely even noticed Moody's eye - Or the way Polyjuice doesn't change your voice, because the producers are afraid we'll forget who's who).

Or maybe I just think it would be cool to see a more hard-core Harry lurking around in that black leather coat, putting his boots to anyone who pisses him off...

The Coat.
David O'Hara/Albert Runcorn making a considerably less goofy face in said coat than Radcliffe did.
Harry The Spy?

 

This was the first thing that came to mind Xiph0.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on the armrests. Tucked away in his office, he knew this was one of the last few moments he had left to quietly consider the nightmare lurking in the shadows.

Minerva stood before him, arms folded and staring out the open window at the dimming horizon. She, like him, had yet to speak. She, like him, just took the moment to think.

Finally, the silence was broken.

“So it’s begun anew, has it?” It wasn’t much of a question – there wasn’t much question of it – but she wanted to hear it from him. More than anything, she wanted to hear him deny it, to tell her it was all just a bad dream and that those times weren’t back.

That he wasn’t back.

Dumbledore sighed and looked up at his deputy. “It has. Though I suppose it never really ended in the first place, didn’t it?” Minerva closed her eyes and leaned against his desk. He knew how she felt, what she wanted – and didn’t want – to hear, but vehement denial of facts would only land them in the same mess they were decades ago. “You and I both knew this was coming. For years now, it seems this has been in the works.”

“And the Shadow War rages on,” she muttered. Mcgonagall’s shoulders slumped a bit before she stood up and collected herself once more. “Your orders?”

His fingers halted mid-motion and slowly his back straightened. Here, after 14 years, sat the man who had orchestrated an entire war from an old oak desk.

“Raise the call to arms. Gather the old crowd. And above all, keep a low profile. Yet again we find ourselves donning our cloaks and brandishing our daggers.”

It was as simple as that; coming from the old Headmaster, those words might as well have been a declaration of war – a bloody war fraught with deceit and treachery and waged in the back rooms of Ministry courts and the shadows of society.

Minerva moved to leave Hogwarts. She had her orders and now was no time to delay.

“One last thing.”

She stopped halfway to the door but didn’t turn to him.

“If or when Minister Fudge acknowledges Lord Voldemort's return, he will either be no help to anyone or too much help to the Death Eaters. When you see him, tell Kingsley the first mission goes to him. ‘Lucius Malfoy’s days as ministerial poison are over. Eliminate him by any means.’”

She reached the door and exited.
​

 

Part of the potential issue is how the story starts. You mentioned retaliating against Arthur being bitten by ripping out Malfoy’s throat - of course, if the story takes place after ootp, that couldn’t happen. But other things could instead. I had one idea that Mr. Weasley might have been a bit more gravely injured, and is still in intensive care even months later - which could lead to Harry’s shift in mindset.

Sin Saori’s approach is a different matter, entirely, considering that it seems to take place at the end of GoF - where Harry wouldn’t have the skills yet to really deal with leadership responsibilities. Additionally, although I kind of like what he wrote, it seems a bit too much AU in terms of the world to me. I also prefer a story from Harry's POV, although perhaps that's just me.

A possible intro:

Sometimes all it takes is a very small spark to start a fire - or a very small death to start a war.

For Harry Potter, that death was not the death of his parents, the presumably wonderful people he had never known. It was not even Cedric Diggory, the fairly decent boy who had been killed right in front of him. And it wasn’t even the death of his godfather, Sirius Black, although perhaps it would better to consider that the fuel that ignited. The spark came months earlier, when Harry’s theoretical father figure Arthur Weasley had <whatever>.

But at the time, Harry had just been relived that the Weasley patriarch had not perished at the fangs of a monstrous serpent.

The death of Sirius left Harry confused and barely functional - walking around in a daze, unsure of how he should really feel. He didn’t exactly feel depressed, although a part of him felt a sense of loss for the erstwhile link to his parents.

After a day of walking around aimlessly, Harry sat down for dinner in the Great Hall, his friends seeming to sense his mood, as they made sure not to ask him anything, only talking lightly about irrelevant topics.

Amidst the talking students, someone stood out as different. Harry looked over at another quiet person at the Gryffindor table - Neville Longbottom, who sat silently picking at his food.

Neville, who had lost his parents as completely as Harry, although in a different manner. Lost his parents to Death Eaters - to Barty Crouch Jr, who was now without a soul and just a vegetable. And to the Lestranges - to Bellatrix, who had killed Sirius. Another connection between them, Harry suddenly realized. They both needed the same thing: revenge.

Harry blinked and looked at his other friends. Hermione, seriously damaged by a dark spell cast by another Death Eater, Dolohov. And Ron - who had nearly lost his father to a bloody snake.

They all needed vengeance. Harry once felt that he wished he could spare his friends the terrible drama and pain of dealing with Voldemort. But it was far too late for that. They were all damaged, and although not all casualties were on their side, there had already been far too many for Harry’s tastes.

Suddenly Dumbledore’s recent words echoed in Harry’s head - he could not help but hear the words of the blasted prophecy over and over in his head. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. The Power to Vanquish the Dark Lord.

Perhaps it was just words, spoken by a nutty old bat, or perhaps it was something else - a call to arms.

Harry stood up suddenly from the table and his friends looked at him in surprise.

“All of you, meet me in the Room in ten minutes,” he said. “And bring the whole gang from the Ministry. We need to talk.”

With that, Harry left his unfinished meal behind and walked off to his dorm room. He had a few things to retrieve from his room, just in case.

And despite all the seriousness and despite his confident stride, Harry couldn’t help but smile.

But perhaps that’s because laughing out loud right then would seem just a bit odd.

 

See, now I'm liking where Jeram's going with this. It would be a more capable - magically and mentally - Harry playing spy games against Voldemort.

The first thing that came to me when I read the prompt from Xiph0 was Dumbledore, at the end of GoF, reassembling the Order. The idea of a shadow war played by two or three sides came from:

Reading that, it occurs to me that people during Grindelwald's time had it lucky since they at least knew there was a war, knew what the sides were, and knew who was on which side. That's the advantage of an open war: everyone knows the rules and how it's going down.

That obviously didn't happen during Voldemort's reign of terror.

I've always had this mental picture of Dumbledore and the Order - as seasoned spys and soldiers - covertly training the new generation to take up their mantle. So the story would kick off at the end of GoF and the bulk of OotP would be preparations, followed by becoming more Harry-centric from HBP and on.

The AU-ness can be attributed to how long it's been since I last read through the books.

 

Xiph0: Damn you for putting this idea in my head. As soon as I get back home, I'm going to try and write a short one-shot for this. Spymaster!Harry demands to be written.

 

Xiph0 -or anybody else for that matter- you might wanna check out this. It's not necessarily what you've been looking for, but meh, I'm trying.

 

So is anyone gonna pick up from where Jeram left off? It would be a waste of a potentially epic story to leave it at that.

 

Someone else is writing this using the other intro (the one I think is a different take on it) - if that doesn't work, maybe I'll try to keep going.