A Teaser of Sorts...

[Bob Schroeck]

This idea struck me in the shower this morning, and I just had to write down at least a teaser for it. Maybe someday I'll actually write it.

---

Once upon a time, a beautiful witch left her magical world to
marry an ordinary, non-magical man. He was a devoted, hard-
working husband and loved her very much, and she him, and so she
broke the rules of her magical world by showing him that she was
a witch. He didn't like it, at first. Nor did he like most of
his in-laws, once he learned of them. But he coped, and he
adapted, because he loved his wife.

And they had many many happy -- and magical -- years together.In
time, their marriage was blessed and the witch had a daughter.
She was a special little girl and a witch like her mother, as her
parents learned soon enough.

The little witch girl grew up in the non-magical world, although
she knew of her magical relatives, and she learned well how to
use her powers. And unlike some of her mother's family, she
never thought ill of the non-magical people among whom she had
grown up.

Then, in 1995, she learned from her mother that she had a distant
cousin, a boy who was as magical as she, and that he needed help
against an overwhelmingly powerful foe. He could use family,
however distant, at his side, she said. His own parents were
dead, she added, and he had been treated badly by the non-magical
relatives who had given him shelter in his youth. He needed to
be shown what *true* family was like. And another witch to help
fight the so-called "Dark Lord" certainly couldn't hurt.

The young witch thought about what her mother had told her, and the
suggestions she had made. She spent a day and a night consulting
her other magical friends and relatives, getting their insights and
hearing their opinions. And in the morning she made her decision.
Which was how it came to be, a week later, that Tabitha Stevens
arrived in England, seeking her cousin, Harry Potter.

LOON 'N' TOON PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
A TEASER/SEED:
HARRY POTTER AND THE CALIFORNIA BLONDE

---

I did a bit of research after writing this; as far as I can tell with Google, there are only two Harry Potter/Bewitched crossovers in existence on the whole of the Web: Mischievously Yours by "featherxquill" and Tabitha Stevens in Hogwarts by "scholcomp25"

Both are terribly short, but the first is quite nicely done; the second, however, is an abandoned prologue and rather ineptly written at that.

The lack of crossovers between these two sources strikes me as quite odd -- they are quite compatible, and you would think more people would think to write crossovers between them.

Anyway, as it's unlikely that I'll get to this as a serious project any time soon, anyone who wants to take the idea and run with it is welcome to. Some background information to save a bit of effort: Tabitha was born in 1965; she has a younger brother, Adam, who was born around 1972 and would be considered a squib. Her family clearly specializes in wandless magic. If I were to pursue this myself, I would ignore the 1977 television series "Tabitha", if only because it's horribly out of continuity with Bewitched -- it has a 20-something Tabitha when she should be no more than 15 years old at that point -- except inasfar as I like the idea of Tabitha looking like Lisa Hartman Black.

Ideas I was considering:

Samantha herself not playing a big role because she is home attending an ill or dying Darren (parallelling both actors who played him)
Endora as a closet Death Eater, or sympathetic but apart because Voldemort is tacky
Doctor Bombay and Poppy Pomfrey having a rather... tumultuous... history
Uncle Arthur and Snape in a snark-off
Cho, Hermione and Ginny suddenly very jealous of the beautiful blonde woman who is spending way too much time with Harry.

Things like that. -- Bob

Edit:  Finally got around to fixing the wrap issue that Yuku caused oh so many years ago.  And of course, since this was originally posted there have been other Potter/Bewitched crosses.  Still, I want to finish this one someday.  And correct it, since Tabitha is a Connecticut girl, not a California girl.  At least she is if we're ignoring the Tabitha "sequel" series.  Which we are.

-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

[Duane Peters]

Good God, I'd pay *money* to read this.

[Bob Schroeck]

Thanks. I hope someday to have the brainshare to actually follow up on this, but I'm not too confident.
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

[Morganite]

I love the phrase "Voldemort is tacky".
-Morgan."I have no interest in ordinary humans. If there are any aliens, time travelers, or espers here, come sleep with me."
---From "The Ecchi of Haruhi Suzumiya"
-----(Not really)

[Bob Schroeck]

<grin>

-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

[Ladegard]

So, anything develop on this idea?
- Tom

[Bob Schroeck]

Not from me, sadly -- I had/have way too many other projects taking up brainshare at the moment.
BTW, welcome to the boards, Ladegard!

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

[Black Aeronaut]

This never caught my eye before.

Bob. This MUST be written!

At least as soon as you've knocked out some more of DW.

[Bob Schroeck]

Heh. The dev file has accumulated a couple more notes over the ensuing decade, but nothing substantial. I want to at least have an idea of the ending before I start writing. And as Clell Harmon (I think it was) noted in Harry Potter and the Elder Sect, the power level differences do make for a very low threat level from the Wizarding side.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Ebony]

Morganite wrote:

---

I love the phrase "Voldemort is tacky".
-Morgan."I have no interest in ordinary humans. If there are any aliens, time travelers, or espers here, come sleep with me."---From "The Ecchi of Haruhi Suzumiya"-----(Not really)

To say nothing of the... people he surrounds himself with. A madwoman, a sniveling toady, and a werewolf, of all people! I'm all for a diverse set of resources, but you don't socialize with them! The only one that has any breeding is that Malfoy, and Voldemort hardly rewards him for his service. Hmm... perhaps a little cross-recruiting is in order....
You could probably also tie in Sabrina Spellman, if only by reference, since "Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch" is the 90s version of "Bewitched."
  
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Bob Schroeck]

Heh. I've just added that line to the dev file now.

And the comment about Sabrina made me do a quick Google search. FF.net already has the crossover category for HP/Sabrina (I spotted a story where Sabrina is a Weasley cousin!), as well as Bewitched/Sabrina. I guess I know what I'll be reading tonight...
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Black Aeronaut]

But wait... If you go by the time frame of Tabitha being born in 1965...

Hell's Bells, Bob! Tabitha's a grown woman by the time the Harry Potter series starts! I was under the impression that she was gonna be fifteen - guess I should have read your blurb a lot more carefully. :p

But anyhow... I can see Tabitha landing the Defense Against Dark Arts position... and KEEPING it! "Curse? Spare me the melodrama. My grandmother did worse things to my father on a weekly basis."

As for the ending... that depends... What version of Dumbledor are you gonna roll with this time? Same as in Drunkard's Walk?

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh yeah, she's 29 when Harry's 15, if I recall the notes in my dev file correct. Hadn't considered the DADA spot for her; I'll have to think about that. I think manipulative!overconfident!Dumbledore might make a good foil, but I have a fondness for the stock Dumbledore, since he's so infrequently used these days.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Ebony]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Oh yeah, she's 29 when Harry's 15, if I recall the notes in my dev file correct. Hadn't considered the DADA spot for her; I'll have to think about that. I think manipulative!overconfident!Dumbledore might make a good foil, but I have a fondness for the stock Dumbledore, since he's so infrequently used these days.

I think that it'll be more than just Hermione, Cho, and Ginny being jealous. An attractive, confident, American (i.e., exotic but still approachable) witch? Every boy in Hogwart's will be drooling after her. Especially if she looks like Lisa Hartman Black, the actress who played Tabitha in the short-lived spinoff from "Bewitched." Check out the photo on the Wikipedia page; that's her at 21.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[DHBirr]

Of course, there already IS a California Blond giving DADA in '95....
That said, I wonder into what sort of humorously disgusting critter it might amuse Tabitha to transform Dolores....  Rather than the painfully obvious toad, I propose a bloated, clumsy horse-fly — right before Tabitha summons up lots of hungry frogs.  (Why, yes; I DO have a spot of dislike for our dear Miss Umbridge; however did you guess?)

-----
“Have you ever heard it said that all women are entitled to keep some secrets from men?”  She nodded cautiously, and he smirked.  “Equal opportunity.”
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Bob Schroeck]

Tabitha's too much the nice girl for that. Endora would do it.  "There's embracing the lifestyle, dear, and then there's embodying the stereotype..."
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Black Aeronaut]

Honestly, I would expect her to married at that age. Gorgeous woman like her? She'd probably find a man that manages to sweep her off her feet in no time. Bonus points if he's an American wizard - Endora would still consider him to be of 'low breeding' despite being magical.

Better still if he could be a teacher in one of the other classes as well. Sayyyy, Muggle Studies? As an American Wizard he would have been a lot less insular and have a much better perspective on non-magicals. Plus, living with Tabitha he may have picked up a few tricks and manage to not get abducted by Voldemort's minions. :p

I'd stick with Original Recipe Dumbledor - that is indeed a rarity these days. She'd butt heads with him anyhow over issues with Snape - She's a shoo-in for Gryffindor, or maybe Ravenclaw if you're feeling like shaking things up a bit. (In my headcannon, Ravenclaws have very little love for Snape because of his constant favoritism of Slytherine students in his classes, and that just rankles the birds so badly because they KNOW they deserve better grades than that!) And her husband can be a Hufflepuff.

I can also see her being very no-nonsense during actual class time. "Boys, my eyes are up here. Keep yours above my neck line or else you'll be sitting the rest of my class as a cute little woodland creature. And yes, you will still need to take notes." (She wouldn't be dressing in any manner that's particularly evocative, either. Just boys and hormones, you know.)

Oh, with her being married this opens up the possibility for an avenue that you rarely see - one of the professors being pregnant for part of the term. Best of all, we'd get to see Harry Potter holding his baby cousin. Cue the squeeeee's.

In the end, I can see them all moving back to America, because Tabitha persuaded Harry to apply for a scholarship and landed one for Miskatonic University at Innsmouth. (Perhaps her Alma Mater?) Dumbledor is reluctant to let her go, but since she's held the DAtDA position at Hogwarts for several fruitful years, it seems that the curse is broken once and for all and will hopefully have no issues bringing on another professor. Perhaps he should let Snape finally have his crack at it? Slughorn has recently confessed to being utterly and terrible bored to tears now that he no longer has to hide from the Deatheaters.

Something else that would be nice to see would be the establishment of a special class for muggleborn and half-blood first years that properly introduces them to Wizarding Society. Perhaps have it taught by... say, Narcissa Malfoy? (This could be Endora's doing, of course.)

You like?

[Bob Schroeck]

Sounds like you have a better idea for a story than I ever had!
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[DHBirr]

Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

As an American Wizard [Tabitha's husband] would have been a lot less insular and have a much better perspective on non-magicals.  

This is contradicted by a Pottermore article from March '16:  

Rappaport’s Law further entrenched the major cultural difference between the American wizarding community and that of Europe. In the Old World, there had always been a degree of covert cooperation and communication between No-Maj governments and their magical counterparts. In America, MACUSA acted totally independently of the No-Maj government. In Europe, witches and wizards married and were friends with No-Majs; in America, No-Majs were increasingly regarded as the enemy. In short, Rappaport’s Law drove the American wizarding community, already dealing with an unusually suspicious No-Maj population, still deeper underground.

In June, Pottermore mentioned that Rappaport's Law had been repealed in 1965.  However, in 1995, there'd still be plenty of American wizards who grew up under a law of strict apartheid, and even those born afterward would likely pick up on some of its ways of thinking.  I considered at the time pointing this out to Bob in light of the thoughts he gave Umbridge about the egalitarianism of Americans, since the Pottermore article seemed to indicate that the American attitude would actually have been more in line with her own.  "She'd say one thing for those snotty Americans, they had the right ideas with regard to Muggles, or at least had until '65."  I decided not to suggest such an extreme revision.

Note, though, that the Pottermore article on the American wizarding school Ilvermorny to some degree contradicts this tale of hostility and separatism:  the school was co-founded by a No-Maj, who remains held in high honor three centuries later, his statue still standing beside his witch wife's at the entrance.
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Black Aeronaut]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Sounds like you have a better idea for a story than I ever had!

Aw shucks, Bob.  Just trying to help is all.  ^_^;;

Really, I've been on a bit of a streak for doing crash-plots like this.  Mostly for Neon Genesis Evangelion, though.

Ask me about the plot bunnies I've been churning out for Neon Genesis Evangelion - I got The Black Moon in Germany scenario and the Big Sister Maya Ibuki scenario.

DHBirr wrote:

---

Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

As an American Wizard [Tabitha's husband] would have been a lot less insular and have a much better perspective on non-magicals.  

This is contradicted by a Pottermore article from March '16:  

Rappaport’s Law further entrenched the major cultural difference between the American wizarding community and that of Europe. In the Old World, there had always been a degree of covert cooperation and communication between No-Maj governments and their magical counterparts. In America, MACUSA acted totally independently of the No-Maj government. In Europe, witches and wizards married and were friends with No-Majs; in America, No-Majs were increasingly regarded as the enemy. In short, Rappaport’s Law drove the American wizarding community, already dealing with an unusually suspicious No-Maj population, still deeper underground.

In June, Pottermore mentioned that Rappaport's Law had been repealed in 1965.  However, in 1995, there'd still be plenty of American wizards who grew up under a law of strict apartheid, and even those born afterward would likely pick up on some of its ways of thinking.  I considered at the time pointing this out to Bob in light of the thoughts he gave Umbridge about the egalitarianism of Americans, since the Pottermore article seemed to indicate that the American attitude would actually have been more in line with her own.  "She'd say one thing for those snotty Americans, they had the right ideas with regard to Muggles, or at least had until '65."  I decided not to suggest such an extreme revision.

Note, though, that the Pottermore article on the American wizarding school Ilvermorny to some degree contradicts this tale of hostility and separatism:  the school was co-founded by a No-Maj, who remains held in high honor three centuries later, his statue still standing beside his witch wife's at the entrance.

Eh.  Rowling's stuff is, as ever, full of plot holes.  As much as I like Harry Potter, I must respectfully say Fuck That Noise.  America was far too dynamic of a place for secrecy of that level to fly, especially in the face of WWI, WWII, and the Cold War.

I mean, 1965, right?  The year after the Civil Rights Act, right?  Oh no coincidence there.  Nuh-uh.  None at all!

[Ebony]

Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Sounds like you have a better idea for a story than I ever had!

Aw shucks, Bob.  Just trying to help is all.  ^_^;;

Really, I've been on a bit of a streak for doing crash-plots like this.  Mostly for Neon Genesis Evangelion, though.

Ask me about the plot bunnies I've been churning out for Neon Genesis Evangelion - I got The Black Moon in Germany scenario and the Big Sister Maya Ibuki scenario.

DHBirr wrote:

---

Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

As an American Wizard [Tabitha's husband] would have been a lot less insular and have a much better perspective on non-magicals.  

This is contradicted by a Pottermore article from March '16:  

Rappaport’s Law further entrenched the major cultural difference between the American wizarding community and that of Europe. In the Old World, there had always been a degree of covert cooperation and communication between No-Maj governments and their magical counterparts. In America, MACUSA acted totally independently of the No-Maj government. In Europe, witches and wizards married and were friends with No-Majs; in America, No-Majs were increasingly regarded as the enemy. In short, Rappaport’s Law drove the American wizarding community, already dealing with an unusually suspicious No-Maj population, still deeper underground.

In June, Pottermore mentioned that Rappaport's Law had been repealed in 1965.  However, in 1995, there'd still be plenty of American wizards who grew up under a law of strict apartheid, and even those born afterward would likely pick up on some of its ways of thinking.  I considered at the time pointing this out to Bob in light of the thoughts he gave Umbridge about the egalitarianism of Americans, since the Pottermore article seemed to indicate that the American attitude would actually have been more in line with her own.  "She'd say one thing for those snotty Americans, they had the right ideas with regard to Muggles, or at least had until '65."  I decided not to suggest such an extreme revision.

Note, though, that the Pottermore article on the American wizarding school Ilvermorny to some degree contradicts this tale of hostility and separatism:  the school was co-founded by a No-Maj, who remains held in high honor three centuries later, his statue still standing beside his witch wife's at the entrance.

Eh.  Rowling's stuff is, as ever, full of plot holes.  As much as I like Harry Potter, I must respectfully say Fuck That Noise.  America was far too dynamic of a place for secrecy of that level to fly, especially in the face of WWI, WWII, and the Cold War.

I mean, 1965, right?  The year after the Civil Rights Act, right?  Oh no coincidence there.  Nuh-uh.  None at all!

I was going to point out, as social media continues to prove daily, that America is vast, and contains multitudes. It's bound to contradict itself. (Borrowing a turn of phrase from Mr. Whitman.)
  
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Mamorien]

The USA is indeed (as a certain tribal singer we hopefully all wot of once described the world) "wondrous large [...] and it holds a vast of various kinds of man." Its population of 320 million (per Wikipedia) is theoretically capable of supporting four or five (depending how you round the fraction) schools on the level of the elite eleven that Rowling has mentioned (I base this on the British Isles having a population of 70 million [ibid]). Ilvermorny may be the one JKR's heard of, but I can't believe it's the only one in the whole country. (At least one of the others must have been crossed by the retreating Mexican border.)

[InsaneTD]

Well if you wanted to play up racial aspect of America's history, or even just the elitism, Ilvermorny is THE ivory wizarding school. With several others around. Maybe one even set up by native Americans? Or was just the one founded by English people, with a French one down near new Orleans, and a Spanish one somewhere near Texas.

That law actually makes some sense when you take the witch hunts into account.

[DHBirr]

The Pottermore article says that from the start, Ilvermorny trained Native Americans alongside Europeans.  In the earliest years, it seems Wampanoag and Narragansett students outnumbered the whites.  
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Ebony]

DHBirr wrote:

---

The Pottermore article says that from the start, Ilvermorny trained Native Americans alongside Europeans.  In the earliest years, it seems Wampanoag and Narragansett students outnumbered the whites.  

There are more Native Americans than the New England tribes. I doubt that the various tribes of the Comanche, the Sioux, the Navajo, or the Seattle (or others) would be interested in trekking across the country to attend some school founded by White Men. To say nothing of the Inuit or the Hawai'i maoli. "Why should we follow your ways? Ours work perfectly well."  
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."