I've always thought that the key to a successful AU was to start with a single change and watch as things slowly change in response to the
alteration. In this case, something will have to happen to draw Snape towards Petunia instead of Lily. From that point, you need to carefully reveal the series
of events that result from the change.
One thing that will have to be covered is how the information is revealed. Will the story start at the time of the change and move forward from there, or will
it start with an 11 year old Harry and use flashbacks and in story revelations to provide the information? If you are going the former route, then you can have
things turn out very differently since you'll be revealing the string of dominos effect as it happens. If you use the latter method, you'll have to
leave things close to canon on the surface and subtly ease into the differences and the reasons behind them so as to maintain the integrity of the story.
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"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV
alteration. In this case, something will have to happen to draw Snape towards Petunia instead of Lily. From that point, you need to carefully reveal the series
of events that result from the change.
One thing that will have to be covered is how the information is revealed. Will the story start at the time of the change and move forward from there, or will
it start with an 11 year old Harry and use flashbacks and in story revelations to provide the information? If you are going the former route, then you can have
things turn out very differently since you'll be revealing the string of dominos effect as it happens. If you use the latter method, you'll have to
leave things close to canon on the surface and subtly ease into the differences and the reasons behind them so as to maintain the integrity of the story.
----------------------------------------------------
"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV