Around Harry's fifth birthday I think, with the snake incident, Vernon didn't just get purple in the face, he had a heart attack and had to be resusicated (-tated? I can't rmember exactly). Anyway, in the wake of that and after some stern talking to's by his doctor, the Dursleys became "health nuts" - in the ways popular during the mid-80s, not anything abnormal you understand - eating the latest fad health food and using the latest fad excercise machines and taking the latest holistic herbal supplements, because it's natural you know - do that freak boy some good to have something natural in him, even if it's just those plants and things. No need to buy those expensive pre-made capsules, sugarplum, just get it in bulk and the boy can divide it up! See, even his freakish underdeveloped fram is filling un a bit with natural things, and just look at how strong and fit our Dudders is with all this healthy food and excercise!
So, yeah, health fad Dursleys. Except that neither Vernon nor Dudley really have the willpower to not eat all the same junk food as snacks that isn't part of their meals, not that Dudley ever tried, and the only one who does more than two sessions on any particular machine (even after they get relegated to the second carport of the garage rather than proudly displayed in the living room, when the next one comes along) is Harry, who gets assigned workouts to "sweat that freakishness out of you!" whenever something odd happens. Well, after finally being let out of the cupboard, that is.
So anyway, eleventh birthday, letters, shack, giant, Diagon... Harry can barely manage a few fitful sparks, even from the pheonix wand. Sorting, classes... he can haedly do magic at all, to the point that there's rumors Voldemort blasted the magic out of him as a baby and now he's nothing but a squib, who shouldn't even be in Hogwarts... the exception is that he's an ace for Potions. Drives Sniv right up tthe wall... the arrogant brat seems to have completely memorized the first year text, and a few extra besides, and regards it as just a continuation of the muggle herbalism he's been doing for years only with a few new ingredients, and blast the little snot it seems to WORK! PERFECTLY! Even the things that need a good strong magical field from the brewer to come out properly... it's enough to make his lips chafe from grinding his teeth!
So, Halloween, troll in the dungeons, bathroom... we've seen that this Harry is in pretty could shape, but now he's on an adrenaline rush, and... why is he glowing? Yes, distracted the troll from Ms. Bossy-britches, now what Harry? HARRY! YOU CAN'T JUST PUNCH--
krak-KRACK THWAMM!! pitterpatterthud-thud...
The first crack is a shockwave as his fist breaks the sound barrier., The second is a hydrostatic shock as his fist breaks half a dozen troll ribs. The "thwam" is the troll, as it breaks through the stone wall and impacts the far wall of the room beyond. The pitter patter is crumbling masonry falling out of the new hole. The first thud is the troll falling over as its body realises it needed those internal organs and stops working, the second is Harry, completely magically exhausted and nigh to death if he hadn't been promptly seen to.
Dumbledore explains, now, his suspiscions that something like this might be the case - an Adeptus hasn't been seen in centuries, but there it is, he's a mage who's powers have concentrated in his body rather than being amenable to most external use - indeed, one fo the noteable qualities of Adeptus wizards as recorded is an unusual degree of spell resistance, so perhaps it was inevitable that the only person to survive the killing curse would be one. (Normal wizards and witches are Magus type)
Looking forward - Basilisk? No problem. Dementors? Um... yeah. a potion or two to mitigate the psychological effects, but unless one of his freinds steps up to the Patronus plate there's going to be Scooby Doo meets Call of Ctulhu level running away. Dragon? Well, there won't be any spectacular charm and hence no broom, but Harry's plenty quick on his own, and dragonfire is magic, after all. Underwater adventures were beaten by herbology/potions in canon, no persperation there. Maze foll of critters, pfft, controlled Krum gets a sock to the jaw while chanting and waving his lil' stick, then... Voldie.
Here's the sticking point, because this Harry's first impulse is NEVER going to be to go for his wand in a fight, and even if he did he can barely manage utility chanrms so out-powering even a newly reborn Voldy is not an option, if thebrother wands effect happened at all... and reborn Voldie even after Peter's reports on the boy is probably not really beleiving the kind of physical fight he can put up, nor strong enough to resist himself much...
Would seeing their terrifying boss get schooled by a bare-chinned boy be enough to shock his minions into immobility? Would not at least Snape, expecting nothing but trouble from a Potter, be able to get off a curse that would break through the brat's resistance? (Don't even bother trying to tell me he's really a good guy, at the best he's looking out for himself first and siding with whoever will give him the most - and being shut of Potters is surely a fine incentive to him.)
From there of course things would be hopelessly changed from canon, not least in Harry being able to to tell Draco, when threatened with dire retribution upon the Dark Lord's inevitable victory, that "Voldemort's a ruddy wimp! My muggle cousin could put him out like a candle!" - because of course, even though he realises how much stronger he's gotten channeling magic through himself he doesn't really understand it emotionally, and Dudley's always been able to knock Harry around if he can catch him.
Ano... and Umbridge falls through a phantom step at the top of the Great Hall stairs and falls into a coma on her second day in Hogwarts, hurrying after becoming late for her own class berating him for running in the halls, or something, so some other slightly more competent person has to fill in for DADA - one of the aurors who's solidly a Fudge man, perhaps, or Weatherby, and even though his magic resistance helps some Harry still sucks hard at Occlumency so he's stil got the vision thing...
All my crystal ball shows is song lyrics now. Specifically, Vision Thing by Sisters of Mercy, which really isn't pertinent at this time. So, I guess I'll have to stop rambling on.
- CDSERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
A kung-fu nun in a leather thong was no less extreme than anything else he had seen that day. - Rev. Dark's IST: Holy Sea World
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
So, yeah, health fad Dursleys. Except that neither Vernon nor Dudley really have the willpower to not eat all the same junk food as snacks that isn't part of their meals, not that Dudley ever tried, and the only one who does more than two sessions on any particular machine (even after they get relegated to the second carport of the garage rather than proudly displayed in the living room, when the next one comes along) is Harry, who gets assigned workouts to "sweat that freakishness out of you!" whenever something odd happens. Well, after finally being let out of the cupboard, that is.
So anyway, eleventh birthday, letters, shack, giant, Diagon... Harry can barely manage a few fitful sparks, even from the pheonix wand. Sorting, classes... he can haedly do magic at all, to the point that there's rumors Voldemort blasted the magic out of him as a baby and now he's nothing but a squib, who shouldn't even be in Hogwarts... the exception is that he's an ace for Potions. Drives Sniv right up tthe wall... the arrogant brat seems to have completely memorized the first year text, and a few extra besides, and regards it as just a continuation of the muggle herbalism he's been doing for years only with a few new ingredients, and blast the little snot it seems to WORK! PERFECTLY! Even the things that need a good strong magical field from the brewer to come out properly... it's enough to make his lips chafe from grinding his teeth!
So, Halloween, troll in the dungeons, bathroom... we've seen that this Harry is in pretty could shape, but now he's on an adrenaline rush, and... why is he glowing? Yes, distracted the troll from Ms. Bossy-britches, now what Harry? HARRY! YOU CAN'T JUST PUNCH--
krak-KRACK THWAMM!! pitterpatterthud-thud...
The first crack is a shockwave as his fist breaks the sound barrier., The second is a hydrostatic shock as his fist breaks half a dozen troll ribs. The "thwam" is the troll, as it breaks through the stone wall and impacts the far wall of the room beyond. The pitter patter is crumbling masonry falling out of the new hole. The first thud is the troll falling over as its body realises it needed those internal organs and stops working, the second is Harry, completely magically exhausted and nigh to death if he hadn't been promptly seen to.
Dumbledore explains, now, his suspiscions that something like this might be the case - an Adeptus hasn't been seen in centuries, but there it is, he's a mage who's powers have concentrated in his body rather than being amenable to most external use - indeed, one fo the noteable qualities of Adeptus wizards as recorded is an unusual degree of spell resistance, so perhaps it was inevitable that the only person to survive the killing curse would be one. (Normal wizards and witches are Magus type)
Looking forward - Basilisk? No problem. Dementors? Um... yeah. a potion or two to mitigate the psychological effects, but unless one of his freinds steps up to the Patronus plate there's going to be Scooby Doo meets Call of Ctulhu level running away. Dragon? Well, there won't be any spectacular charm and hence no broom, but Harry's plenty quick on his own, and dragonfire is magic, after all. Underwater adventures were beaten by herbology/potions in canon, no persperation there. Maze foll of critters, pfft, controlled Krum gets a sock to the jaw while chanting and waving his lil' stick, then... Voldie.
Here's the sticking point, because this Harry's first impulse is NEVER going to be to go for his wand in a fight, and even if he did he can barely manage utility chanrms so out-powering even a newly reborn Voldy is not an option, if thebrother wands effect happened at all... and reborn Voldie even after Peter's reports on the boy is probably not really beleiving the kind of physical fight he can put up, nor strong enough to resist himself much...
Would seeing their terrifying boss get schooled by a bare-chinned boy be enough to shock his minions into immobility? Would not at least Snape, expecting nothing but trouble from a Potter, be able to get off a curse that would break through the brat's resistance? (Don't even bother trying to tell me he's really a good guy, at the best he's looking out for himself first and siding with whoever will give him the most - and being shut of Potters is surely a fine incentive to him.)
From there of course things would be hopelessly changed from canon, not least in Harry being able to to tell Draco, when threatened with dire retribution upon the Dark Lord's inevitable victory, that "Voldemort's a ruddy wimp! My muggle cousin could put him out like a candle!" - because of course, even though he realises how much stronger he's gotten channeling magic through himself he doesn't really understand it emotionally, and Dudley's always been able to knock Harry around if he can catch him.
Ano... and Umbridge falls through a phantom step at the top of the Great Hall stairs and falls into a coma on her second day in Hogwarts, hurrying after becoming late for her own class berating him for running in the halls, or something, so some other slightly more competent person has to fill in for DADA - one of the aurors who's solidly a Fudge man, perhaps, or Weatherby, and even though his magic resistance helps some Harry still sucks hard at Occlumency so he's stil got the vision thing...
All my crystal ball shows is song lyrics now. Specifically, Vision Thing by Sisters of Mercy, which really isn't pertinent at this time. So, I guess I'll have to stop rambling on.
- CDSERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
A kung-fu nun in a leather thong was no less extreme than anything else he had seen that day. - Rev. Dark's IST: Holy Sea World
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows