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Miscalculation - Chapter 16 - End
🕑 Added 2025-01-14 19:02:44 +0000 UTCThings moved fast after the public defeat of Dumbledore. The Wizengamot practically threw titles at him. Within a week he was the new Chief Warlock. Two weeks after that he was elected Minister of Magic by a landslide. In a world where an eleven-year-old has the ability to reshape reality it is those with power that make the rules. Harry was the most powerful Wizard in the country, possibly even farther. His focus was on avoiding the mistakes of the future.
He struck while the people still worshiped him. First came the education reforms, Dumbledore was powerless to resist. The budget was tripled, more staff were hired, and the curriculum was expanded. Introduction to Magical Traditions became mandatory for all muggle-born and half-blood students. That made a lot of Mot members very happy. So much so that they completely missed the fact that Pureblood students now how to take an updated Muggle Studies class. All subjects were split into three levels (introduction, intermediate, and advance) each with a new professor. Art, Music, and foreign languages were added as electives. Defense Against the Dark Arts was changed to Study of the Dark Arts. This allowed the students to learn the reason why the Dark Arts were restricted as well as methods fortify their resistances. The castle was also updated with elevators for every tower. Hogwarts was revitalized by the time all the changes had been completed. Thanks to magic, and plenty of money, everything was finished over the summer break. There was a burst of excited energy to the place when it reopened in the fall.
Then came the changes to the law. Harry removed the term limit for the Minster of Magic and ended elections until further notice. The Wizengamot had their power severely reduced before they even knew what was happening. It wasn't until Harry cracked down on nepotism and Pureblood privilege that they realized things had changed. The Wizengamot had been relegated solely to advisory duties. They could provide their opinions and evidence, but the final ruling was Harry's word.
The staff and practices for International Relations were restructured. Laws were altered to include all magical folk regardless of origin. Non-human magical folk such as Veela, Vampires, and Werewolves were given full rights. Wolfsbane was available for all Werewolves and brewing was taught to those who wanted to learn. Regulations only allowed for the potion to be sold at cost, but Potion Shops were given special benefits to keep them interested. Vampires were connected to a donated blood supply. New negotiations with the goblins opened. They were given the option to open more branches of Gringotts around the country and settle wherever they wished. The Veela were the hardest to negotiate. Not only because of their Allure, but their requests were more complicated than they appeared. Protected enclaves, permission to create their own schools, and a specialized law enforcement agency for Veela concerns. Each species now had their own voice in the Mot. Where needed, they had their own laws to handle specific needs.
A group of Lords and Ladies gathered to stand against him. Not surprisingly, his father was among them. Their approach started out peaceful in hopes to avoid another conflict. It helped that most of the families that had been loyal to Voldemort hadn't survived. Much to their shock, Harry listened to their concerns. He didn't rage against them, kill them, toss them in Azkaban, or anything that a Dark Lord would have done. Instead, he addressed their issues as he could. They weren't completely satisfied, but it was better than they had expected.
Oddly enough, the most pushback came when trying to implement technological advancements. The current level of Muggle Technology had a noticeable discordance with Magic. There weren't any cellphones yet, so he didn't have to worry about disrupting the signals. As of right now, it was the television and radio that had the most issues. Changing from quills to fountain pens should not have been anything major, but the pushback was harder than dismantling the Wizengamot. It took multiple public exhibitions, and a sneaky discount for students, to get the people to accept them.
Eventually, even his father had to admit things were getting better. The population was growing, international trade and relations were improving, and people the families that had fled were returning. Harry was effectively king in a little over a year.
It was worrying to think that Riddle could have easily done the same if he hadn't gone insane. Young Tom Riddle was charismatic and powerful. All he needed to do was scale back on the genocide a little. Harry didn't want to think too much about how lucky he had been that he had faced an unstable Voldemort than a competent Tom Riddle.
June 1st, 1980
Potter Manor
Harry approached the doors to Potter Manor with a nervous energy running down his spine. His younger self was born yesterday. Today was the day he was going to meet him. Lord and Lady Potter had sent him an invitation, which was a nice surprise. James still wasn't a fan of his, but he had settled on a cautious approach rather than outright hostile. It helped that the budget for the DMLE had been increased as well as some additions to training.
The door opened smoothly as he approached. A rather dapper looking House Elf stepped out and bowed. They were dressed like a butler instead of a sheet or pillowcase.
"Greetings and Salutations, Not Mister Potter," the elf said.
"Hello," Harry said with a smile. "Not Mister Potter?"
"You be Mister Potter but Not Mister Potter," the elf replied as though that explained everything.
"Right," Harry said. "May I ask about your uniform? Does that mean you are free?"
"No, Not Mister Potter," the elf answered. "Bargo is not a Free Elf."
The last two words were said with such disdain it made Harry raise his eyebrows.
"Bargo is long Potter Family Elf," the elf stood up straight, proud in the statement. "Potters be treating their elves as part of family. This be a uniform to show that Potter Elves be important."
Harry smiled at that.
"Thank you," Harry said. "Are you here to escort me?"
"Yes," Bargo nodded. "Please follow."
Harry did. He took in the area as he followed. The place had been abandoned for nearly twenty years before Harry had been able to visit. There was a lot of red tape he had to deal with to simply get there. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to make sure Potter Manor was almost erased from the records. When Harry finally did visit, the place was in ruins after years of decay. The wards had been destroyed, as well as a portion of the grounds, and the house had been thoroughly looted. He wasn't sure if it had happened when it had all happened.
Seeing the various pieces of Potter history plucked at his heartstrings. The portraits were mostly empty as the subjects were currently trying to get a look at the new member of their family. There was a noticeable change as they got closer to where Lily and the baby were. Most paintings were packed with Potter ancestors, house elves buzzed around waiting to help, and Sirius stood outside the door acting as an impromptu bouncer. He would send a little jolt at the paintings if they got too rowdy.
"Your Majesty," Sirius said with an elaborate bow. "How gracious of you to visit."
"Fuck off," Harry snorted. "How are things, Padfoot?"
Unlike James, Sirius was more than happy to accept Harry. He was all for unending the status quo of the Magical World. It helped that Harry beat the Pureblood Traditionalists at their own game without them getting wise to it until too late.
Remus was a different story. The werewolf held Dumbledore in the highest regard. Seeing the Headmaster defeated in such a way made him despise Harry. It got even worse when Dumbledore pretty much sequestered himself in his office. The improved status for werewolves kept Remus from being outright hostile, but he made sure that he wasn't anywhere to Harry.
"Wonderful," Sirius smiled brightly. "You're coming to the wedding, right?"
"Yes," Harry replied. "Just like I told you last time you asked."
"I want to make sure your plans didn't get change with Kingly duties," Sirius motioned forward. "Keep quiet. Lily is doing great. James is a mess. Junior is sleeping."
"Junior?" Harry asked. "Please tell me they didn't name him James Potter the second."
Sirius gave him a wicked grin but didn't say anything. The two wizards entered the room quietly. There was a muffling charm on the door to prevent anything from outside disturbing the interior. Harry smiled brightly as he took in the scene. Lily was awake holding her newborn son against her chest. She was radiant and graced him with a smile. James was asleep in a chair nearby; he had bags under his eyes, and it looked like he hadn't changed his clothes in a couple of days.
"Hello, Harry," Lily greeted him.
"Hello," Harry carefully made his way over to the pair. "Is he awake?"
"No," Lily let out a little laugh. "He's out just like his dad."
"Are you doing alright?" Harry asked as he transfigured one of James' discarded shoes into a chair.
"I'm fine," Lily rolled her eyes. "Honestly, childbirth isn't a big deal with magic. I don't know why James was so worried about it. Can't imagine how worked up he would be if we did it the Muggle way."
Harry shuddered.
"Enough of that," Lily said. "Harry, I would like to introduce you to your… little brother?"
"I like that," Harry said with a broad smile.
"Harry, meet Charles James Potter," Lily said running a hand through the small tuft of black hair on the baby's head.
"Charles?" Harry asked.
"After James' grandfather, Charlus," Lily answered. "I wasn't going to name him Charlus. It's not a big difference, but it would drive me mad."
"And James was against Harry?" He teased.
Lily nodded.
"It's nice to meet you, Charles," Harry whispered to the baby. "Your big brother will be here."
He was pretty sure it would be fine if he held the baby. This wasn't a time loop, so they were different people. On top of that, Harry had changed drastically since he had been born. The replacement arm, basilisk venom, and phoenix tears were more than enough to separate the two. Mostly, he just didn't trust himself to hold the baby. Maybe he would eventually, right now Charles seemed so small.
July 31st 1986
Potter Manor
"Harry!" Charles yelled as he saw his big brother. "Save me!"
Harry laughed, scooping up his little brother into a hug.
"What did you do?" Harry asked.
"I didn't do anything," Charles replied with a practiced puppy-dog look.
Harry stared at him for a moment.
"Ok," Charles sighed. "I may have used dad's broom without asking."
"And?" Harry prompted.
"And raced the owls," Charles added.
"And?" Harry said once more.
"And accidentally crashed into the statue of great, great, great grandpa Geoffrey," Charles finally admitted.
"The one that you think is creepy?" Harry asked.
"It was an accident," Charles replied with a roll of his eyes. "Mostly."
"Did you feed the owls extra granola to make them poop on it again?" Harry asked.
Charles gave him a wicked grin in reply.
"Happy Birthday, Charles," Harry squeezed the boy. "Is anyone else here?"
"Neville, Draco, Susan, and Ron are here," Charles counted off his friends. "Daphne and Hannah are supposed to be here later. They won't miss the cake. Ron brought his brothers and little sister too. Her name is Ginny. She's really good on a broom. For a kid."
"Because you're not a kid," Harry said.
"Exactly," Charles nodded.
July 31st 1991
Potter Manor
Harry watched as Charles played with his friends. This was the year that they would be starting Hogwarts. Charles was easily three inches taller than Harry at been at the same age. He had made sure that the world was a better place. Not only for Charles, but for the entire country. There had been a couple of hiccups along the way. Nothing close to the old timeline.
Seeing all of the kids together really sold the situation to him. It had been a little painful at the start to see Charles growing up. There was some unexpected jealousy that popped up seeing the difference in their lives. Thankfully, it was a fleeting feeling that was extinguished by years of smiles and laughter.
It may have been a mistake, but this was far better than he had ever hoped. He was going to make sure that it stayed that way.
The End
NOTE:
That's one story complete. Now to focus on the others. I hope it doesn't feel too rushed. There wasn't much more story to tell.
Comments
orthodox1057
Of all the changes you should be condemned for the lifts! Magicals are already lazy bastards, they don't need to avoid the stairs. Climbing stairs is healthy!
