AU Harry Potter Poll

[kerravonsen]

Yo!
I'm working on a Harry Potter AU, in which things happen differently for Harry before Hogwarts, and as a result there are a number of changes by the time he gets to Hogwarts. And I have a poll for y'all about choices I have to make for the story. Not that I'll necessarily follow the popular vote, but it will help me to clarify things in my mind if nothing else.

Poll #12191 Harry AU

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 16

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This Harry's going to be sorted into Ravenclaw. Where should Hermione be sorted?

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Gryffindor
5 (31.2%)

Ravenclaw
9 (56.2%)

Hufflepuff
1 (6.2%)

Slytherin
1 (6.2%)

This Harry's going to be sorted into Ravenclaw. Where should Neville be sorted?

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Gryffindor
11 (68.8%)

Hufflepuff
3 (18.8%)

Ravenclaw
1 (6.2%)

Slytherin
1 (6.2%)

This Harry has been doing stuff with wandless/accidental magic before Hogwarts; this has probably affected how his magic has developed. Should he get the same wand as in canon, or a different one?

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Same wand, phoenix feather and all
11 (68.8%)

Different wand
5 (31.2%)

If Harry has a different wand, what should its composition be?

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Harry gets his Hogwarts letter under different circumstances. Who should the messenger be?

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Hagrid
0 (0.0%)

McGongall
6 (40.0%)

Snape
4 (26.7%)

Flitwick
2 (13.3%)

Sprout
0 (0.0%)

Sinistra
2 (13.3%)

Vector
0 (0.0%)

Dumbledore
1 (6.7%)

Other (explain in comments)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[dawnmist]

I hate to admit it, but I don't know who Vector and Sinistra are...so I don't know whether they would be more appropriate letter deliverers.

For Hermione and Neville, the reasons they got sorted to Griffindor originally would not have changed. There was nothing that Harry himself had said to them on the train or before the sorting (that I can remember) that would have influenced where they were sorted to, so changes in Harry's circumstances probably wouldn't have affected their results. (Though if they had to change, I'd go Hermione=Ravenclaw and Neville=Hufflepuff).

For the wand - there was a specific reason in canon for why *that* wand picked Harry - and that was the part of Tom Riddle's soul that had been transferred to him when the curse rebounded. Even with his change in circumstances and his private experimentation, I don't think that this would have been negated. If anything, the "learning it alone in hiding by experimentation" approach could have made his magic closer to the type of approach used by Tom Riddle rather than distancing him from it, making the wand's choice even more appropriate.

[cheyinka]

Septima Vector teaches Arithmancy; Aurora Sinistra teaches Astronomy.

[kerravonsen]

If anything, the "learning it alone in hiding by experimentation" approach could have made his magic closer to the type of approach used by Tom Riddle rather than distancing him from it, making the wand's choice even more appropriate.

Oooh, that's a very good point!

[cheyinka]

I'm actually torn between McGonagall and Flitwick; she's deputy headmistress, but he's the head of Ravenclaw and encountering him might have influenced Harry towards Ravenclaw. For drawbacks, she can become a cat (and Aunt Marge has dogs), but he's really unusually tiny.

[fred_mouse]

None of my choices are based on logic, all are based on a desire to see how such variations would affect the story, and what backstory might be required to cause them. Though I would also be interested in how the domino effect has to do with one of these alternatives directly or indirectly leading to the alternate sorting of Harry.

[kerravonsen]

Intriguing idea about the wand. However, I've been persuaded that it actually makes more sense for Harry to have the same wand as in canon, because in this universe, in some ways he's even more like Tom Riddle.

[of-anoesis.livejournal.com]

Oooh! Whatcha writing?

Thinky thoughts:

I still think Neville ought to be a Gryffindor - he's very brave from early on, even if it isn't recognised until he becomes all rugged.

As for who collects Harry - I suppose it depends on what you want Harry's introduction to the wizarding world to be. Hagrid is an underdog. His kindness to Harry means that Harry will defend him to Malfoy, because that is his nature. Had a strong character arrived with his letter, things might have been different. McGonagall needs no protecting and no one is likely to mock her. Had Harry first seen Hagrid lumbering down the street, he might have been easily convinced that he was a bumbling oaf.

Changing the wand means a huge change in the later story. Would be interesting to read, but possibly exhausting to plot. I'd be interested to read it!

Erm... I'm a bit sleepy, sorry if none of that made sense!

[kerravonsen]

Oooh! Whatcha writing?

This.

Had Harry first seen Hagrid lumbering down the street, he might have been easily convinced that he was a bumbling oaf.

I guess it depends on whether Harry thinks Hagrid resembles Dudley or not.

Changing the wand means a huge change in the later story.

Indeed, but since I'm already intending to sort Harry into Ravenclaw, that's a huge change already. I really don't know how things will change further down the line; with this story I'm exploring as I go, because I want to see how this particular AU concept unfolds. Hence the poll, because I have a less clear idea of where I'm going than I have had with other stories. But I'm trying to stay relaxed with this story and just play with it.