Harry Potter Adoption

[zerohour]

Recently read Rorschach's Blot's Odd Ideas shorts collection, and stumbled upon chapter 94: neutered. Basic Idea: Due to odd circumstances, the Malfoys believe that Draco has enraged Hermione to the point of striking back, by way of neutering. Since she's obviously a devious witch, they decide to calm her ire, and prevent the destruction of the Malfoy line, by adopting her.

I read a similar idea in Balancing Destinies, where US Wizarding families would adopt powerful mages into their family.


So, what if, after Voldemort's fall, Lucius decides that blood purity doesn't matter so much. After all, Voldemort was defeated by a Half Blood, or if they believe that it was due to Lily's actions, a Muggleborn.

So Lucius changes his focus from purity to power. Given that he has a position on the Board of School Governors, it isn't much of a stretch that he could sneak a peek at the book containing the names of future students. Once he has the information, it doesn't take too much effort to track down the Muggle borns, and investigate them for brains, strength, and magical prowess. After checking each of them, he chooses the best and brightest of the lot, and then goes to have a friendly chat with their parents.

Rather than spiriting the child away, Lucius actually shows some tact. He explains to them about the magical world, and while their child has the potential to be an amazing mage, many of their laws and traditions of the magical world will hold them back and prevent them from reaching their full potential. Fortunately, there is a solution. By allowing Lucius and Narcissa to adopt them, their children get to enjoy many of the benefits of being a pureblood, as well as a degree of protection from less savory elements.

The adoption is mainly on paper. The child will live with their biological parents, aside from maybe a week or two during summer. They can visit Malfoy Manor (Or another Malfoy property, in case of concern of potential backlash), ad learn about magic. Narcissa might be ecstatic to have more children besides Draco, and since Draco is no longer guaranteed to rule the Malfoy family, he might wisen up. (Sure, he could still assume that Daddy loves him best since he's his real son, and all the others are just there to make him more powerful, but that doesn't make it true.)

Everyone wins. The parents get a chance to see what the Magical world is like, and actually interact with it, the children get a head start, or catch up to purebloods, in school, and the Malfoy family is poised to solidify their power for the next generation.


Couple of potential plot points:
-When Voldemort comes back, Lucius has to decide if he stays the course, or go back to his original plans.

-Harry Potter is still a wild card. While he's out of reach for now, once he starts going to Hogwarts, it might be a good idea for some of his daughters to befriend him.

-Should all of the kids aim for Slytherin, or is house diversity a better choice?

-Will Lucius have a change of heart? Having that many muggleborn around making him more powerful has got to knock some of that bigotry out, right?

-Will other families follow suit?

-By taking a pro muggleborn stance, Lucius might be able to unseat Dumbledore as the leader of the light, especially since, as an imperioed servant of Voldemort, he knows just how bad things can get, and what needs to be done to prevent such a horror from happening again.

-Once the Malfoys are exposed to some of the Muggles inventions, will they start to take advantage of them?



So, what do you guys think?

 

[Deathsheadx]

:mellow: :mellow: :huh: :blink: :blink: :huh: :huh:

You have my attention.

 

[Tentrees]

Lucius would have to really change his point of view about Blood Purity...the story is doable if he really changes but I think he would need a lot more then just Harry bringing him down to change. Watching several of the purist families vanish into history as the men are sent into the viel or if had had lost a close relative because of the war either to Voldemorts, his fellow Death Eaters or Dumbles Order.

You would have to totally remake the image of Lucius to a complete OOC, stern, but traditionalist leaning man. I also would thnk he needs to find blood links to some of the Muggle born he would adopt. Not just about power and brains but also salvaging any family magicks/lines form by blows he can prove via blood magics.

Think it through carefully. Remember we will beleave anything if you can get the vermisitude right.

 

[Takerial]

Remember, change is always a two way street.

To cause any real change in someone, you, yourself, have to undergo change.

This means that both Hermione and Lucius would undergo changes.

What and how are the plot points. But you will do well to remember that it works both ways.

 

[mandalorianjedi]

Intriguing... This is something I'll have to play around with, that is, if zerohour doesn't mind...

 

[zerohour]

Intriguing... This is something I'll have to play around with, that is, if zerohour doesn't mind...

Go for it. I'm too exhausted to try and work with it right now...

Damn Final Exams... Need sleep...

 

[Tentrees]

I don't see Malfoy or any of the 'Death Eater' families doing this. :rofl:

I can see powerful non-Dumbles aligned familes (Dumbles is like Molly Weasley- both are condisending if not a closeted bigot to the muggles, they have no respect for them or see them as real people).

I can see a old Family doing this to bring power into the family and to more throughly expose the new muggleborn into the politics of the Wizarding world. But most would keep the pracice quite in the face of Ministry bigotry and Dumbles less then helpful stance. :headbanger: Not to mention the monsters like Malfoy still floating around. :evil:

Even in Polarized America we have many factions within the two main parties and lets not forget the Libertarians, Greens and the swarm of other smaller groups. t:

 

[zeebee1]

This is one way to save some of the old families who lost their heirs to Voldemort.

 

[Tentrees]

Yes it would be but also it would endanger those new heirs both from the DEath Eaters, Dumbles and those who stood to gain if the old family faded away.

 

[shindou26]

-Snip-

This oddly reminds me of Schindler's List

 

[zerohour]

-Snip-

This oddly reminds me of Schindler's List

Really? I should really get around to watching that. I'm a bit surprised since this i essentially a way to cover his ass/further his evil machinations rather than saving a prosecuted people from an evil overlord.

Then again, now that I wrote it down, it kinda makes sense...


@Tentrees: There are a couple of reasons that Lucius wold do this. Maybe Dumbledore/Light aligned wizard are looking a bit closer at the Imperious defense, and he wants to make it clear that he really was doing it against his will. Maybe he really does think that Voldmort's speil was a crock of shit, since he got killed by a year old half blood.

I'm not saying it would be simple to justify, but with a bit of work, it could make sense.

As for other DEs giving him a hard time... he's one of the inner circle, and has a lot of political influence as well, so pissing him off could be suicide, both metaphorically, and possibly literally.



Hm...given how quickly DADA teachers get replaced, it wouldn't be out of place for one of he adopted children. If he starts this soon enough, one of them could be teaching in place of Lockhart second year.


I might cook up a snippet or two soon. Not sure if I want to turn it into a full blown story, but we'll see...

 

[zerohour]

Couple of snippets:

--- --- ---

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families."

"Oh sod off Draco!"

Harry turned in surprise, seeing a severely irritated bushy haired girl glaring at the boy next to him. Before either of them could respond, she launched into a short tirade directed at the unfortunate blond.

"You only say that because you're a mama's boy who's jealous when Mother Narcissa pays attention to someone else!"

Draco turned pink, "Shut up you... you Mudblood!"

The girl's eyes flashed, and a resounding smack echoed through the store as she slapped the blond boy, "When I tell Father Lucius what you said, he might make you stay home from Hogwarts this year!"

"Father would never do that!"

"Do you want to find out?!"

Draco fumed for a few moments, before storming out of the shop.

The girl turned to Harry, "I'm terribly sorry about my brother. He's a bit thickheaded sometimes. Always thinks he's better than other because of who his parents are."

"It's alright." Harry responded.

"I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." the girl declared, holding her hand out.

"Granger? But I thought..." Harry replied, gesturing towards where Draco had departed.

"I am. Well, sort of. Father Lucius came to my house years ago and told my parents I was a witch. Ever since I've spent a few weeks in the summer at his house, learning about magic and having to put up with that prat."

"Oh..." Harry answered, before noticing Hermione was still holding her hand out. He quickly reached out and shook it, "I'm Harry. Harry Potter."


--- --- ---
Set in the start of second year.

"Hey Hermione," Harry said, drawing the bushy haired girl's attention.

"What is it Harry?"

"What's up with Malfoy? He seems...different. Like less of a git." Harry asked, staring at the subdued boy at the Slytherin table.

Hermione snickered, "Well, Father Lucius and Mother Narcissa are having another baby, so his place as "The Only True Malfoy" is gone."

"Is that all?"

"Well, our older brother, Jerome, is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, and he all but told him if he didn't behave himself, he would fail the class and have to repeat it. Jerome never liked Draco's attitude about how he deserved to rule the Malfoy family, and Draco's finally realized that there are plenty of people out there that could ruin him. He can't hide behind Father Lucius' robes anymore."

"Oh." Harry responded, "Well, I guess it serves him right."

"I definitely agree." Hermione replied with a dark smirk on her face.

--- --- --- ---

What do you guys think?



Jerome would probably be one of the oldest children, with one or two his age or older.

Couple of Stray Thoughts:

-Suppose one of the muggleborn children have parents involved in banking and insurance. Would forming a Magical/Muggle liason bank be a possibility? What about introducing the idea of insurance and loans to the goblins in exchange for part of the cut?

-Would having more children be plausible? Narcissa always struck me as the motherly type, and with lots of children coming by to visit, I could see he wanting to have her own bundle of joy. Given how Lucius is expanding the family as well, I don't see him objecting.

-Would and Alliance between the Malfoys and Longbottoms be possible? Granted, there's a lot of bad blood between them due to their inherent opposition, as well as Narcissa's sister driving Neville's parents insane, but such things could be overcome given enough effort, especially if Lucius provides massive funding to St. Mungo's, and said funding improves, or even cures, the Longbottom's condition. It would do wonders for Lucius' image if he formed an alliance with prominent light based family.

-Would Lucius encourage his adopted children to join Slytherin, as it was his house, tell them to avoid it, as it is primarily filled with the children of Death Eaters and similarly minded people, or say nothing, in order to get a few kids everywhere? Maybe something in between?


Regarding possible changes in character:

Given how the children will spend most of their time in their normal homes, I don't see major character changes when they arrive at Hogwarts. Maybe a bit more confidence or better performance in class, but overall the same. However, as they spend more time int he magical world, the Malfoy's will become a larger and larger influence. Changes in the Malfoy's will be more pronounced, because while each child is spending a couple of weeks with them, they would have muggleborn children around a significant portion of the year. At the very least, all of the summer and some of winter break. While both parties will be different, as seen by Hermione's willingness to smack Draco around, the changes will be more pronounced in Lucius and Narcissa, who are exposed to the other side far more often, and have to keep it up in Wizarding society as well.

 

[Prince Charon]

Interesting, that it is.

Thank you for updating.

 

[zeebee1]

How badly will Jerome's teaching career end?

 

[zerohour]

How badly will Jerome's teaching career end?

Who says it's gonna end? Lockhart left because he was a coward and accidentally Obliviated himself when trying to weasel out of it. Heck, with so many of his adopted muggleborn children, Lucius might not plant the diary since it could easily backfire and ruin years of work.

Heck, second year might be the closest thing to a normal school year Harry gets.




Hm... would the Troll incident still happen? Hermione is probably more self confident, but the extended family might not be especially close, and pre-teens are emotionally fragile... Ron could easily be more antagonistic towards Hermione, since Weasleys and Malfoys, even associate Malfoys, don't get along. Might be enough to make Hermioen go off and cry... might be a chance for Lucius to establish a relationship with Harry... Heck, could easily turn into an arranged Harry/Hermione relationship. There are plenty of options that would not normally come into play...


Hm.. speaking of the Weasley/Malfoy enmity, how would that effect the adopted muggleborns and the Weasley family?

 

[zeebee1]

The position was cursed by Riddle. No one teaches it more than a year. Lockhart's injury might seem like a coincidence, but it was as much of a coincidence as Remus forgetting to take his potion.

 

[zerohour]

I find it a little ridiculous that A: No one noticed the pattern of losing the job after a year and stopped applying, or at least letting Snape have it, and B: No one was competent enough to break said curse.

I mean, it's been going on for at least 30 years. You'd think someone would do something about it...

 

[Minami]

They did notice the pattern. That's how Lockhart got the job. No one else applied. The same for Umbridge. Dumbledore couldn't find anybody so the ministry appointed someone.

 

[zeebee1]

If Dumbledore couldn't get rid of the curse then no one in Britain could. Or at least, that would be what people would tell themselves.

 

[zerohour]

If Dumbledore couldn't get rid of the curse then no one in Britain could. Or at least, that would be what people would tell themselves.

Hm, well considering curses are regarded as Dark Magic, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Lucius to have a bit more knowledge about the curse, and might be able to subvert it. Then again, Jerome might just use the job as a way to build experience. Heck, that could become a Malfoy family tradition to teach DADA for a year.

 

[zerohour]

Snippetry!

--- --- --- --- ---

Harry watched uncomfortably as the "Study Group" discussed the various points of the text, and the applications the various spells could be used for. While an all girls' stud group, Harry had been invited because of his experience leading the Defense Association, and they wanted his "expert" opinion to serve as a mediator.

'Ignorance was definitely bliss' Harry thought to himself, somewhat regretting the political crash course Sirius had given him last year. Things were so much simpler when he didn't know how to read the subtext.

While it was a study group on the surface, underneath, the conversation was about Harry. Specifically, which of them would get to date him first. Harry supposed he could blame Lucius Malfoy for his current predicament, since the endless jockeying between his adoptive family was the starting point for this. While Lucius was more than happy to help them out, the vast majority of the Malfoy fortune, and consequently, connections and power, was still up in the air, and like it or not, Harry, as the Boy-Who-Lived, Chosen One and only remaining Potter, was a rather powerful piece in the political arena. Gaining access to Harry would earn Lucius' favor and get the lucky girl that much closer to winning a bigger piece of the pie.

Of course, once it became obvious that there was a competition to win Harry's heart, or at least his attention, more girls joined in, and Harry Hunting Season was officially open.

Fortunately, given how competitive some of the participants were, many of the would be participant were sidelined before they even had a chance. Madam Pomfrey had her hands full durign that week, as numerous girls found their way into the Hospital Wing after suffering "spell mishaps." That narrowed the number of participants to those who could defend themselves, something that, with Voldemort looming on the horizon, harry appreciated.

Hving eliminated the bottom of the barrel, the arena shifted from combative to social, hence Harry's role as "adviser" to the girls.

"That's nice Ginny." Hermione smiled, though her tone was that used when humoring a child. Predictably, the redhead reacted with name calling and threats of hexing. While Hermione apologized, it was obvious that Ginny had lost the exchange. While Hermione had insinuated that Ginny was a child, her reaction had cemented that impression in the study group. Clearly, Ginny, with her triumphant expression, had no idea what was really going on.

Harry guardedly listened as Daphne, Tracey, and Stephanie engaged in a conversation about the practicality of transfiguration in combat conditions. While he was not all that aware of the goings on of Slytherin House, from what Hermione told him, it was like this study session, all the time. As he watched the three snakes try to cripple each other, his thoughts turned to the other major players of their study group.

Susan and Hannah presented a united front, and represented one of two firm alliances. He wasn't sure if their goal was to secure him fo rthemselves, or simply to make sure that none of the girls affiliated with the Malfoys won. He didn't keep up with the greater world of politics, so he was tuck with only rumors and idle chat to discern their motives.

The Patil twins were the second solid alliance, and the only one to span houses. They had a few advantages, mainly access to Harry on a regular basis, and confusing the other girls by switching places, clothes, and even mannerisms. They had the twin act down to a fine science.

Hermione was the only lone Griffindor still in the running, mainly because most of them recognized her as one of Harry's close friends, and a few words from her could doom any attempts. Harry was somewhat distrustful of her motives. While she said she was only looking out for him as a friend, she was also fighting for the Malfoy title, an Sirius had taught him to be wary of everyone.

Luna was the Drunken Master of social Kung Fu. While she was in a weak position, given her persona, her odd comments could easily derail someone's train of thought, allowing another girl to take advantage of the opportunity and eliminate another competitor. Given how little she advanced her own qualities, the girls were content to leave her alone as long as she kept In the back of his mind, Harry wondered if she was just waiting for the opportune moment to sweep her rivals aside and claim Harry for her own.

Cho Chang was less aware of the subtext of the session, but she was making full use of being in her seventh year by taking advantage of he additional knowledge. While not especially successful from a political point of view, she was rivaled only by Hermione in academic knowledge.

While there were several other s girls in the study group, most of them remained in the background, either because they were unaware of the purpose behind the sessions, because they lacked the power to make a move, or because they were simply biding their time and waiting for a moment of weakness to strike down one of the ringleaders and take her place.

As the deadly political dance continued, Harry hoped with all his heat that Sirius had been joking about the Bloodline Restoration Act and the legality of polygamy in the Wizarding world. He didn't think he could handle that.

--- --- --- --- ---
The setting is fifth/sixth year, and Sirius taught Harry the basics of politics in response to Lucius' ongoing power play. Harry is aware of the goings on in the school's political battlefield, but he hasn't learned how to play well himself, or pick up on all the subtle nuances of the game.

The Malfoy heir is as of yet undeclared, and as a result, Lucius' family is trying to secure that position for themselves. The major candidates at this point are those who have been out of Hogwarts for years and are already working their way up the political pyramid. Those still in Hogwarts, in an effort to offset the handicap of a late start, are looking to gain an edge by dating someone who will have major political power. Harry is a major target, but others, like Neville, might also be on the radar. Harry is justifiably paranoid at this point, since he's essentially chum in a swarm of sharks.

At this point... I don't know what Draco is up to. He could have been completely crushed at some point along the line, he could have wised up and is building hos power, or he's biding his time and waiting for a weakness to take out one o his siblings.

 

[zeebee1]

Cho doesn't have long to act.

 

[blackrosekodachi]

First, this is an intriguing concept. May I suggest that, once the effectiveness of Lucius' power play - because with the Malfoys, what else could it be but a power play? - is seen, other families, be they Dark, "Gray" or Light, will begin their own attempts to acquire... call them "allied cadet family", or perhaps clients, in the Patron/Client tradition of Imperial Rome. Eventually, there won't be more than a handful of unaligned Muggleborn attending Hogwarts.

Those allied to "Hufflepuff families" - since it seems people have this tendency to end up in the House their relatives did, at least fanon-wise - will probably be the most normal; 'Puffs strike me as more "let's do this together" than others, and that can only be improved by having more family running around. I see Slytherin families having the most - can't let Lucius steal a march on us, after all - with all of the kids just drinking up the competitiveness and "win at any cost" nature like mother's milk. Following closely are the Gryffindor families - you think Albus is going to let the Dark families create a horde of loyal canon fodder?. Ravenclaw families would be more picky, going for quality over quantity.

Also, while I imagine Mommy!Narcissa loves having all these children running around calling her Mother Narcissa, I think it's Paterfamilias!Lucius who drinks each and every "Father Lucius" like a swallow of the finest brandy. Child after child, each picked for power and wit, taught to move and thrive in the halls of power, and knowing they are firmly indebted to him for every opportunity that comes their way.

Exquisite.

 

[MWkillkenny84]

If Dumbledore couldn't get rid of the curse then no one in Britain could. Or at least, that would be what people would tell themselves.

Has ANYONE ever tried to remove the curse by CHANGING the course's name?
In a good deal of magic-based series, if a curse does not have a 'target', it simply disappear.
Oh, I was forgetting the basic rule: HP!wizards does not possess common sense.
My common sense says to Dumbledore:
The DADA course is cursed?
CLOSE the DADA course and open a new one with a different name, MORON!

For the story:
Good idea and good snippets... yes, I can see it as a reasonable idea.
If an half-blood toddler can best the so-called Heir of Slytherin and his unstoppable Killing Curse, WHY I have to follow the "Pureblood Supremancy" agenda?
Better go on a different path, and pose yourself as, if not a Light Mage, as a Neutral/Grey Mage.

 

[Lord of Bones]

According to your logic, what does that make the countless other families who fell to Voldemort's killing curse?