r/WritingPrompts • u/pm_me_nude_celebs • Apr 09 '19
Established Universe [WP] It was then Harry Potter realized the last 7 years in Hogwarts was actually a mental institute. The man he thought to be Dumbledore was just an elderly caretaker. Harry, looking at an old broken twig he once believed was a wand, started to remember what really happened during those years.
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u/imtherealmellowone Apr 10 '19
“Harry! Quick, this way!” Hermione dragged Harry by the arm toward the Enchanted Forest. “Are we going to Hagrid’s?” “No, silly! We’re going into the forest!” Harry had learned by now not to question his friend’s actions or motives, but to just follow along. She must know where she is going, he thought. She’s never steered me wrong before. Well almost never. Still, he had to wonder what their destination was. “Where, exactly are we going?” “You’ll find out! Just come along.” Harry had been suffering from horrible headaches as of late which, unsurprisingly, originated from his scar. He was becoming weary, both physically and mentally, from the frequent assaults on his being by you-know-who. “Voldemort! Damn you!” Harry moaned. “What now?” Hermione implored. “It seems like he’s with me all the time now. And he won’t relent. I sometimes feel like I’m going mad.” Harry held his hands on either side of his head and shut his eyes, accidentally tripping over a branch. “Don’t worry, Harry I think I’ve got a solution!” “You damn well better! I can’t take this much longer!” Harry screamed as he tripped over a branch. He was tired of the epithet, “The Boy Who Lived.” He was tired of being “’Harry Potter’ the one who will save us all.” Harry just wanted to be plain old Harry. At times he wished he never found out about Magic or Hogwarts or Quidditch or any of this. Even Dumbledore, his most powerful ally, had been killed. He even occasionally dreamed of being back at the Dursley’s, living peacefully under the stairs. If only Voldemort would leave him alone. Harry was led deeper and deeper into the woods until they reached a small clearing, in the center of which was a small cabin, not unlike Hagrid’s. Only this one emitted an unmistakable aura. He could tell without entering it that there was something or someone powerful within. Hermione approached the cabin and softly rapped on the front door. After several seconds with nobody answering, she knocked again. This time they heard shuffling from within and finally a minute or so later, the door opened. “Hello, Hermione. Harry, my boy, how good it is to see you!” It was Dumbledore, dressed in a long, black, shiny robe and inexplicably, wearing sunglasses. Behind him Harry could see that the cabin was many times larger than the outside let on, and contained the entirety of the old Wizard’s office at Hogwarts. “Professor! I thought you were dead,” Harry lamented. “No Harry, I just had to… go away for little while.” “Herminone said… she said she had a solution. Can you help me? I can’t get him out of my head! I am truly going insane!” “I can help you, Harry. But you have to choose between all of this,” waving his hand to encompass the contents of his cabin, “…and freeing yourself of Voldemort.” “What do I have to do, Professor?” “Well, Harry, “ Dumbledore explained as he pulled out a small wooden box, “I have these two pills. One red and one blue…”
After he had swallowed his chosen pill, and as his mind started drifting, Harry heard Dumbeldore rasp, “He may indeed be The One.”
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u/imtherealmellowone Apr 10 '19
Not by but not exactly strictly following the prompt...
“Harry! Quick, this way!” Hermione dragged Harry by the arm toward the Enchanted Forest. “Are we going to Hagrid’s?” “No, silly! We’re going into the forest!” Harry had learned by now not to question his friend’s actions or motives, but to just follow along. She must know where she is going, he thought. She’s never steered me wrong before. Well almost never. Still, he had to wonder what their destination was. “Where, exactly are we going?” “You’ll find out! Just come along.” Harry had been suffering from horrible headaches as of late which, unsurprisingly, originated from his scar. He was becoming weary, both physically and mentally, from the frequent assaults on his being by you-know-who. “Voldemort! Damn you!” Harry moaned. “What now?” Hermione implored. “It seems like he’s with me all the time now. And he won’t relent. I sometimes feel like I’m going mad.” Harry held his hands on either side of his head and shut his eyes, accidentally tripping over a branch. “Don’t worry, Harry I think I’ve got a solution!” “You damn well better! I can’t take this much longer!” Harry screamed as he tripped over a branch. He was tired of the epithet, “The Boy Who Lived.” He was tired of being “’Harry Potter’ the one who will save us all.” Harry just wanted to be plain old Harry. At times he wished he never found out about Magic or Hogwarts or Quidditch or any of this. Even Dumbledore, his most powerful ally, had been killed. He even occasionally dreamed of being back at the Dursley’s, living peacefully under the stairs. If only Voldemort would leave him alone. Harry was led deeper and deeper into the woods until they reached a small clearing, in the center of which was a small cabin, not unlike Hagrid’s. Only this one emitted an unmistakable aura. He could tell without entering it that there was something or someone powerful within. Hermione approached the cabin and softly rapped on the front door. After several seconds with nobody answering, she knocked again. This time they heard shuffling from within and finally a minute or so later, the door opened. “Hello, Hermione. Harry, my boy, how good it is to see you!” It was Dumbledore, dressed in a long, black, shiny robe and inexplicably, wearing sunglasses. Behind him was Harry could see that the cabin was many times larger than the outside let on, and contained the entirety of the old Wizard’s office at Hogwarts. “Professor! I thought you were dead,” Harry lamented. “No Harry, I just had to… go away for little while.” “Herminone said… she said she had a solution. Can you help me? I can’t get him out of my head! I am truly going insane!” “I can help you, Harry. But you have to choose between all of this,” waving his hand to encompass the contents of his cabin, “…and freeing yourself of Voldemort.” “What do I have to do, Professor?” “Well, Harry, “ Dumbledore explained as he pull out a small wooden box, “I have these two pills. One red and one blue…”
After Harry had swallow his chosen pill, Dumbledore whispered to Hermione, “Maybe Harry IS ‘The One’.”
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Apr 10 '19 edited Apr 10 '19
22nd of June, 1991 - It was the story which shook not just Surrey, but the entire British nation; Vernon Dursley, 46, Petunia Dursley, 41 were found dead and their son Dudley, 10 critically injured on the scene by police responding to a 999 call of a child screaming for help, with one constable describing 'a house awash with blood'. An immediate search of the house uncovered an additional occupant of the household hiding under the stairs, the Dursleys' 10 year-old nephew Harry Potter, huddled inside the cupboard and locked in an unresponsive state.
Potter was identified shortly thereafter as the sole suspect for the slaying, due to the lack of any forced entry, blood spatter across his clothing and a kitchen knife bearing his fingerprints and blood matching the victims. Within just a weeks, investigators established that Potter had taken a knife from the kitchen and proceeded to inflict multiple fatal injuries to his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia as they slept in their bed, before entering his cousin's room, where after being inflicted with a stab wound Dudley was able to escape and cried for help before losing consciousness. Unfortunately, the young boy died en-route to hospital - he was but a few hours away from celebrating his eleventh birthday.
Due to Harry Potter's young age at the time of the murders, his identity was withheld and the boy was dubbed 'Child F' by the press and retained in custody as investigators struggled to establish the entire picture.
On the 31st of October 1981, just 15 months-old, Potter was the sole survivor in a car crash which saw parents James Potter, 21 and Lily Potter, 21 perish, leaving him an orphan. With no other next-of-kin, Vernon and Petunia Dursley became the legal guardians of their nephew and would raise him alongside their son, Dudley. Close friends and family of the Dursleys recalled Vernon and Petunia as 'doting parents', the 'classic archetype of the traditional british family' with Vernon holding a position as Director of Grunnings Drill while Petunia remained a housewife, dedicated to her family. Dudley was remembered as a 'bubbly, playful boy who loved nothing more than talking about his computer games and enjoying his favourite sweets' while in contrast, Potter had been seen as 'a troubled child', aloof and unfocused in spite of the Dursleys' effots.
As he spent further time in custody it became increasingly clear that Potter was mentally stable, frequently entering brief states of apparent catatonia while in others he seemed entirely aware of his actions, albeit without any sense of remorse of understanding of their serious implications. Inquiries with schoolteachers established he was a very quiet, withdrawn child and his guardians uninterested during meetings regarding their nephew's education, whereas meetings regarding Dudley's schooling were always followed with close attention. When found at the Dursley household after the murders, Potter was found to be underweight for a child of his age and later it was demonstrated that he had been lodged in a cupboard under the stairs, despite the presence of a spare room within the house.
After an appeal was made by the police, one anonymous individual made a statement that they had witnessed Potter being made to cut the grass on the Dursleys' front garden during the peak of the summer heat and was audibly berated by Vernon for failing to do so to his satisfaction, even going so far as to openly threaten to withhold a meal and 'lock [his] ungrateful hide up' if he didn't continue, despite being visibly fatigued. Further investigations and similar interviews continued to develop a picture grossly counter to the initial perception of a troubled child destroying their benevolent family without any legitimate reason, instead suggesting Potter had been a victim of neglect and abuse from his guardians, pushed to lashing out by their mistreatment of him.
In light of these circumstances, Harry Potter would ultimately be found guilty of three counts of voluntary manslaughter with diminished responsibility and sentenced to detention at Her Majesty's Pleasure; within just two months, he was transferred to Hogwarts Psychiatric Hospital as his mental health deteriorated. The boy, still known to the world only as 'Child F', would not be in the spotlight for another decade until, in 2001, it was announced that he would be released from custody - this event, although originally subject to substantial public debate, was subsequently overshadowed by the outrage and rampant discussion over the release of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, the killers of toddler James Bulger.
Mr. Potter has, in recent years, waived his right to anonymity and agreed to speak with our correspondant Joanne Murray about his twenty-nine year struggle with mental illness and his experience while in custody and the psychiatric hospital, where he has agreed to discuss the vivid fantasy world that he invented and inhabited for the first seven years of his incarceration.
Who is Harry Potter? An unrepentant murderer? A misunderstood, neglected child that was failed by the state? A wizard? We ask that you read this account and decide for yourself.
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u/WillyHaar Apr 10 '19
The calm that so often returns as patients of his ilk regain rational thought was short lived. The events leading to his break and involuntarily commitment snapped into crystal clarity. This epithany was anything but calming.
He examined this in his memory and wondered how he had ever regained sanity. His mother used and tortured her only son untill he retreated into the land of make believe. His helplessness was vanquished by his imagination bestowing magical powers. A mother was supposed to be a font of comfort, safety and security; his was a pit of deception, despair and selfishness. She was going to pay, and pay dearly.
How quickly he embraced matricide was somewhat troubling to him but he was committed to run up her back, wrap his legs around her neck and twist until he felt and heard neck bones snap. He stopped short and wondered, where did that thought come from, and why was he confident he knew how to execute this maneuver?
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u/DefectMahi Apr 10 '19
Harry was shocked, he spent many years having adventures with his friends here, fighting to save the wizarding world! Alas when he came off his medicinal high, he realised that none of that was true.
Voldemort was just a stuck up doctor who thought drugs were the answer, Professor Snape was the doctor who was harsh but full of love, Professor Mcgonical was the kind old doctor woman who would talk things through with you if you asked, Ron was just a ginger coloured rat who seemed friendly enough to stay around and Hermione, who has always been black.
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u/akritikts Apr 10 '19
[Poem]
These medicines give you the worse nightmares, Said Dumbledore as he helped Harry to the chair.
Fear choked his head, He wanted to go back to bed.
Memories of his dream, Were a magical stream.
Beautiful landscapes and joy, His wand was a wonderful toy.
Dwelling on those hazy faces, He found terrifying traces.
Then he felt his scar, He smiled as Hogwarts wasn't far.
Seeing Dumbledore smile, he was sure, He had found his cure.
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u/pedro_el_skiman Apr 10 '19 edited Apr 10 '19
Harry began his daily stroll through the unit. The glaring white of the entire floor only contrasted by the occasional streaks of green passing by. The orderlies. The sudden change of color, and thoughts of their cruelty, always gave Harry migraine headaches. Deciding to cut his walk short, he sat in the rec room close to some of the other long term patients.
A girl with pretty facial features but almost comically bushy hair, sat close by, staring out the window and reciting Pi to a ridiculously long decimal point. For more then one reason, Hermione Granger had been all over the news a few years back. Hermione had been a child prodigy, expected to do fantastic things. Perhaps cure cancer or aids She was the only survivor of Lucius Malfoy, the notorious "Mudblood Killer". Malfoy would inject his victims with bleach in an attempt to clean their blood. She was missing for 3 months. While she hadn't spoken a word of what happened, Hermione's mood now ranged from near-catatonic, to manically obssesive over one issue or another (as long as they weren't her own).
The red head kid That had been playing chess with himself in the corner walked over. "Oi! If it isn't Harry Potter! The boy who lived in two worlds!" Ron ejaculated loudly. "Wotcher Ron" said Harry. Secretly, Harry wondered if he was talking to Ginny, Charlie, one of the twins, or another of Rons split personalities. All in all, Ron had eight other people rolling around in his head. He called them his family. Ron always spoke of them like they were real people who weren't present. Admittedly, the effect could be quite convincing. Harry was not to proud of the fact that on more then one occasion he had ended up snogging Ginny/Ron in one of the darker hallways. The spell was usually broken when something to the affect of "We really should tell my brother! He's your best friend!" was said.
Ron snapped Harry out of his musings with a dumb joke about Nurse Rosmerta's chest. So it WAS Ron. He was the only personality that was so fixated on Rosmerta. Plus, the twins would have made a better joke. "C'mon" said Ron, motioning towards the chessboard "lets play before my Mom gets home. If she sees I haven't done the dishes she"ll turn into a regular howler!" Ignoring the casual break from reality, he said, " Sure, but I'm white this time. And take it easy." "Of course!" Ron said with a mischievous smile.
As they walked across the room, Harry felt the old feeling start to hit. It was like someone was pouring dry ice directly into his open skull. Kind of like a mix between Brain freeze and a gunshot wound to the forehead. Harry's peripheral vision became smaller and smaller until only a golf ball sized image of Ron's face remained. "Harry! Harry! Whats up? You look strange." said his voice, getting quieter and quieter as his image faded entirely.
At some indistinguishable point The shouts of "Harry" became much higher and started to contain a different level of concern. Harry opened his eyes. He was under a tree next to a massive lake. Hermione sat next to him staring with immeasurable concern etched on her face. " Harry!" She exclaimed " It happened again didn't it? It was you-know-who!" Even if Harry felt the slightest inclination to share the details of his dream with her, it didn't matter. He could feel the details of his dream slipping away even now. "What? No! Hermione, I just dozed off for a second!" She looked incredulous but said reluctantly " Oh alright. C'mon! We were supposed to meet Ron 5 minutes ago." While the details of the dream were not clear to him, Harry would have bet all the gold in Gringotts that it was about Voldemort. He silently resigned himself to make a conscious effort to do better in Snape"s Occlumency lessons. With a very strange feeling of optimism mixed with frustration, Harry fiddled with his wand as he walked with Hermione on the path towards Hogwarts.
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u/Lumos-Maxima-Non-Nox Apr 10 '19
Harry Potter looked up and blinked.
"Dumbledore?" he asked. "What is going on here?" He blinked again to clear his vision. "Professor Dumbledore, what did I do now? I-I thought I defeated Voldemort, right? What could have happened that I ended up in the Hospital Wing? And wait... aren't you dead? How are you coming back again, because this time it's real!"
"Shush, Harry," said Dumbledore. "So, so many questions. So, so many answers. I---" Then he couldn't go on any longer and broke down into tears which fell down his long white beard. His crooked nose was straight but his half-moon glasses were there.
"Harry, Harry, oh Harry," he said. "Where to begin, where is truth and where are lies. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I lied to you so many times. Now you know no truth. I was supposed to care for you, but instead I ruined you. I fed you stories and let you believe! What have I done?"
Harry was confused. "Professor Dumbledore, I--what are you talking about? I-I d-d-don't understand. A-a-and why am I s-s-stammering s-so m-much? W-why a-am I so c-c-cold...?" Harry lay shivering in a bed in a small room with Dumbledore standing still crying above him. "O-oh!" cried Harry. "M-my wand. A-and H-H-Hedwig? I t-thought s-she died. And Sirius and T-Tonks and R-Remus and--- so m-many people. Y-You all should be d-d-dead!"
"Harry, Hedwig did not die. She was just an animal there for support to help you. About a week ago, you just started pretending she didn't exist. And Sirius and Tonks and Remus, no, they are all just illusions. Blink again, and you'll see, they aren't there." the old man told the confused boy. Harry did as he was asked, and blinked again. They were gone. "No!" cried Harry. "Come back. No, I need you. Please! Come back!"
"Harry, they never existed," Dumbledore told Harry. "They were all just I-I-ILLUSIONS! THEY WERE ALL ILLUSIONS! YOUR LIFE WAS AN ILLUSION! HARRY, I'M SORRY!" "No, no, don't shout," Harry muttered. "E-Explain." Dumbledore wiped away his tears and began to explain.
"Harry, the reason you are so cold right now is because you-you-you're dying. You're killing yourself. And it is MY fault! Why, oh, why, my boy, my child," Dumbledore sadly said. "Your parents hated you. So much that they tried to kill you multiple times. All your life, you were forced to take care of them and their other son Dudley. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon never existed. They made you live in a cupboard under the stairs. Lord Voldemort, no. It was THEM who tried to kill you all those times. But we saved you each time. Now you're here with us, after killing them and sending their son Dudley far away. You had no one, so you came here. You thought of so much to tell you the wrong idea. You lived your life again in a year, you've been here a year. Your whole life, well, you've made it into a story. You found this twig," he broke off and showed Harry the wand he saw earlier. "And pretended it was a wand. And I started it all, I did! I started it. Now your brain is remembering everything, and the emotional trauma is killing you. And it's my fault, I can barely bear to admit it, but it is! Oh Harry, your life---is not a life. It's a lie."
It started to dawn on Harry. The old memories of everything started leaving him and he started remembering everything. He started to tear up. "A-a-all of it? A-a-a l-l-lie? W-w---" "Harry, stop talking. Before you do, please drink this," he said and gave Harry a glass. "P-p-phoenix t-t-tears? W-w-why?" Harry said. "No, Harry, these aren't phoenix tears. Just-just drink it. Please," Dumbledore said. "Please." Harry drank it. He had no idea what it was, but he didn't care. He didn't even notice it stopped his stammering, but not his coldness, and he started to cry lightly and go on. "Quidditch? Fred and George? Molly and Arthur? Hogwarts? Lord Voldemort? Flying broomsticks? The Burrow? And, so much more! All of it, not real?!" Then he started to wail. "Ron and Hermione?!" he cried. "NO! THEY MUST BE REAL! I LOVE THEM! I NEED THEM!" "Harry, Harry," Albus said soothingly. "Harry, Harry. Ron and Hermione are one of the few things that are real." Then, two figures came up to him, looking like the Ron and Hermione he knew. And they were about the same age too. "Harry," Dumbledore said consolingly. "Harry, these are two people who you know and love, because you met them one day and became close to them. Very, very close. Then the Hogwarts and Dumbledore and all that came up and, well, Ron and Hermione were in it."
All of it was a lie. Harry could finally see. He knew everything now. He had been forced to clean, cook, and do everything for his family. He had been beaten and badly treated. It was much, much worse than what he had imagined. He cried and cried and cried, seeing now that it was all a lie, nothing was real. Nothing. Then his coldness overcame him and he stopped. He lay back on the bed. His time was near.
Albus Brain Percival Dumbledore, Ronald Bilius Weasley, and Hermione Jane Granger were now all crying, as they knew he would be gone soon. They had all loved him, but had failed at caring for him. They all cried softly, not knowing what to do.
As Harry closed his eyes for the final time, each one said, "Harry, I love you. So, so, so much. I'm sorry for our failures. Harry, I love you."
As the life faded from his frail body, Hermione looked and through her tears, saw something. She looked at Ron and Dumbledore, and they saw nothing. Through her tears, she smiled. She knew that Harry would live.
Then Harry's cold body started to warm. His pulse livened and quickened. And his eyes, they opened! "Harry, I knew you would live!" Hermione whispered. Hermione swooped down and hugged Harry. The movement startled Ron and Dumbledore and they looked up, and laughed of joy. For, at that moment, they knew that Harry James Potter, was truly the Boy Who Lived.
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u/Hunajahullu04 Apr 10 '19
I am so confused but great job
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u/The_Badger42 May 07 '19
Like the last paragraph is his delusion living on, his wizard ideas continuing, even though he had died. At least, that's what I think.
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u/Lumos-Maxima-Non-Nox Apr 15 '19
LOL thanks though! I guess it's confusing... but I LOVE these writing prompts! Gives the writer inside me a place to write and imagine and NO ONE will think it's weird! I mean... that it's weird I'm WRITING... but whatever.
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u/Wolfgang2002 Apr 10 '19
Harry looked up at his surroundings. He was in a hospital bed. There sat in a chair a girl with fluffy brown hair.
“Where am I?” Harry asked.
The girl’s eyes lit up.
“Harry! You’re awake!” she said.
“What happened to Ron?”
“Ron?” She asked with a confused look. “Ron’s been dead since you were seven. He got bit a spider while vacationing in Australia with his family.”
“What’s going on? Who are you?”
Harry started to panic. He touched his forehead. The scar was still there. It didn’t sting. Had he really defeated Voldemort?
“Relax, Harry. You’ve been in a coma for seven years. You got in a car accident on the way to the zoo on Dudley’s birthday,” she said.
She held Harry’s hand. Harry’s met the girls’. Her mouth was open a little, revealing metallic braces on her teeth. Wait a second, wasn’t this girl...?
“Hermione!” Harry cried. “But I thought your teeth...! Didn’t Madam Pomphrey shorten them during our fifth year?”
“Madam Pomphrey? Isn’t that the old school nurse?” she said softly. “I got braces? You remember how horrible my teeth are, don’t you? I had to get a couple pulled because they were crowding.”
Hermione explained some things to Harry. Apparently since he lived with the Dursleys his mental health had been depleting little by little. His aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon hadn’t realized this. Neville was one of Harry’s few friends at school and they were always being picked on by Dudley’s gang. Harry and Neville used to pretend they were wizards together when they were younger. Dumbledore was one of the doctors who looked after Harry, and he had died just last. Snape was his science teacher and he knew Harry’s mother Lily before she died. Hagrid was a hobo Harry used to visit on the street after school.
It was all coming back to him.
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u/The_MadTitan Apr 10 '19
"So... Me mum and Dad?"
"I'm so sorry dear. I know you had such high hopes to see them, but they died in the accident."
"Oh..." It had been a quiet day at the youth asylum. For the past six years, there wasn't a day that had gone by without antics of some sort. At one point, things had gotten so bad that the Ministry of Health had to step in. That didn't end well. The previous weeks had been hellish for the staff, with the kids running rampant. One of them had even managed to die in the chaos. His twin hadn't taken the news so well.
But oddly enough, today everyone had grown rather calm. A somber mood had taken hold of the patients as they meandered through the halls. To the staff's credit, they didn't try to separate them, or move them to their rooms, in fear of starting up another ruckus.
"You're telling me that it had all been a dream?" The boy was a little slow, but none could blame him. After suffering such a traumatic accident as a child, and never getting the chance to be properly educated, it wasn't surprising that Harry Potter was a bit behind the curve.
"But doctor..." he trailed off as he read the name on her badge.
"Mcgonagall, dear."
"I-I know... You were there..." He sat wide eyed. The shock, it seemed, was still to much for him to handle.
"There? Harry it wasn't a dream. It was very much real life to you." The boy sat there, still, and silent. "What of the events that you believe transpired?" Doctor Mcgonagall asked. "How much do you remember?"
"All of it." His words came out as barely a whisper. Mcgonagall sat quietly, looking on intently. As the boy's gaze drifted about the room, his eyes caught on a shiny object in the corner opposite the door. It was a small, silver, sphere, that poorly projected his likeness, but it served its purpose.
The boy screamed a scream of horror that sent chills running down the good doctor's spine. He clutched his face, and fell to the floor. Staring back at him from the warped image of the silver ball, was the likeness of a boy, with a deep and ugly scar stretching from his forehead, down to his cheekbone. Splitting there, it forked across his face towards his nose, while the other side ran straight to his jaw. The scar, that small lightning shaped scar that he had learned to love in his years at Hogwarts, was not small at all.
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u/coolwrite Apr 10 '19 edited Apr 10 '19
"Harry?" Her voice caught him from the flash of sudden remembrance. He shook his hair from his eyes. His glasses fell and snapped on the concrete, mirroring the brokenness of the twig.
The twig. "But, Hermione," Harry said. "This is just a twig."
"Yes, Harry" Dr. Granger said excitedly. She looked round at Dr. Weasley. "Ronald, are you ready?"
"I thought..." Harry gazed at the twig; it was fuzzy due to his horrible vision, though clearly only a twig. "Wasn't it....the elder wand? Just...just a moment ago?"
Hermione bit her lip, pondering how to respond. "Perhaps it was in some way, Harry, but I see only the twig. How about you, Ronald?"
"Yes, Harold, I see just a twig as well."
Harry turned and gaped at them. Doctors, the pair. Not his best friends, through thick and thin. Not even teenagers. His eyes widened in horror.
"How old am I?" Harry asked.
"Erm, well you turn 47 this July," Dr. Granger said.
Harry scratched his head. "What happened to me?"
"You died, Harold, for approximately 12 minutes when the undertow took you in the ocean with your family. And then, somehow, you came back to life."
Harry's jaw dipped toward his chin. Dr. Weasley continued, "We have never seen anything like it before. You appear to have suffered massive brain damage. Since your physical recovery, you've been experiencing incredibly detailed delusions, delusions SO incredibly detailed that your sister has actually penned a best-selling book series about them, by the way."
"M-my sister?" Harry stumbled over his words. "I have a sister?"
Dr. Weasley nodded voraciously, but continued his explanation as if he had a time limit. "Yes, but then you have these moments of clarity. Always when you break the twig. Please stay with us, Harold. It really only ever was a twig."
"Yes, Harry, please stay," Dr. Granger pleaded.
At this very moment, Harry collapsed, convulsing on the pavement. Dr. Weasley turned him onto his side to prevent him from choking.
"Suppose we can cross off telling him the truth of the matter. What shall we try next?" Dr. Weasley said, as Harry relaxed and began to make small, cooing baby noises.
Dr. Granger shrugged. "Wonder who Dumbledore will be this time."
Edit: Spelling/grammar
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u/spindizzy_wizard Apr 10 '19
I can't decide whether to up vote this or down vote it. It's well enough written, but the switch in attitude from before his fit to after... it jars. From caring, to 'shrug'.
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u/coolwrite Apr 10 '19
I was kind of going for a jaded tonal switch. They really want him to not fall back into the cycle, but once he does they're back to square one, where they've been numerous times before. So they're just kind of over it.
But I see what you mean; it is a jarring switch. Thanks for the feedback.
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u/Deuxclydion Apr 09 '19
Here lies Albus Dumbledore, who loved Hogwarton. The gravestone lay tucked away in a small corner of the cemetery, not yet worn by time, small and unobtrusive. A light soft rain kissed the old gray stones scattered around the burial grounds of Hogwarton Institute for Mental Recovery. Two men dressed in somber black coats stood before the headstone of the deceased caretaker. The shorter man knelt to lay a faded slip of a willow branch in front of the grave with great reverence.
"He never lost patience with me," Harry Potter reflected aloud, "even on my worst days. Hogwarton isn't the same without him, Mr. Riddell."
Thomas M. Riddell, director of Hogwarton Institute, placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "But you do not need a mental institution anymore, Harry. I think old Albus would be happier to see you living a productive and grounded life outside these walls."
"Happy, you say?" Harry stared down at the granite headstone. "I was happy here, wasn't I? Immersing myself in a fantasy world of magic and drama and heroism. I had everything I wanted in the school: friends, teachers, purpose." He glanced up at Riddell. "Even a worthy opponent."
Riddell chuckled warmly. "That was Albus' idea, did you know? Both of us saw at once that you were grasping for something meaningful to believe in - and sometimes, it can be something as simple as adversity to overcome. As long as you were willing to fight, you would not give up. When the physician ... when the physician told him he would not be long for this world, even then, he was thinking of you and all the other patients here." His face turned grave. "Harry, the mind is a strange beast. I don't think there was a single dry eye the night you came to us, so frightened and incoherent from all the abuse. I don't resent you for casting me or Dolores as villains in your own story. We're all glad and relieved that you got the help you needed. Maybe the past should stay buried once it has ceased to be of use."
Harry nodded at the forlorn slip of wood lying on Dumbledore's grave. "He didn't even giggle when I told him I was a wizard on my first day here. He told me to keep that wand, that I would perform miracles with it."
"Was he wrong?" Riddell asked.
Harry Potter smiled wryly. "Of course not. Thank you for humoring me all this time, Mr. Riddell. Give my thanks to Mr. Napes too. And, if I can be of any service to the patients who still need a little more time and a little more love here ..."
Riddell canted his head, thinking for a moment. "... There may be someone, Harry. She came in here stark raving mad but a few days ago. Why don't you sit down with her and tell her a story? Perhaps Hogwarts will help her more than Hogwarton."
"Her name?"
Riddell shrugged helplessly as he guided Harry Potter away from the grave of the elderly janitor, the two falling into lockstep like old friends as they leisurely ambled away. "That, I am afraid I don't know. The constables found no documents when they arrested her in the square, dressed in only in a towel and carrying a jar of marmalade and a doll. Try and be patient with her, Harry. If you need a name, she only answers to J. K. Rowling."
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u/Pratchettfan03 Apr 09 '19
“dressed in only in a towel and carrying a jar of marmalade and a doll”
I love it
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u/Professor_Barabas Apr 09 '19
This one is very good!! It also explains why Rowling seems to be adding more and more weird details after finishing the story, she can't use it as therapy anymore 😂
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u/JazzlikeWillingness4 Apr 10 '19
Hermione was in a wheelchair
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Apr 09 '19
“Where am I? Dudley?” Harrys beady eyes snapped open with a start, and they instantly found themselves staring at a mess of the boy perched upon a chair at the end of his bed.
His greasy blue eyes shot up, though they appeared rather tired. “This again? Please, I just want you to come back to me. I miss you.”
“W-What are you talking about?” The boy muttered.
“Please, You’re not yourself. I’m Mathew, your husband, we’re both 46 years old. We’ve been married for almost twenty. Cmon Harry, we have kids! Please just come back.” He begged, clutching his husbands shoulders.
“I’m sorry, what?” He drawled, of course he understood perfectly well what his husband has said, Only the idea of such an outrageous event even occurring to him was mind boggling, to say the least. Maybe he didn't want to believe it, he couldn't believe it. His entire future was being remodelled like clay. No- this was a trick. It had to be. He was the famous, all powerful Harry Potter, defender of Hogwarts.
With a sigh, Mathew passed his husband a beaten up twig. “That is your wand.”
“No...” he mumbled, looking at the crooked twig. “This must be a trick. This is a trick! I’m not Harry Potter, I don’t even know a Mathew! My name is Sam, Sam Edwards, isn’t it?”
Mathew broke into a wide grin “I thought it would take you longer to figure that out, to be quite honest. Though it was fun to listen to all of your fantasy’s. Hogwarts, did you call it? Yes I do believe so. This is purgatory, we’ve been testing you to see whether you belong in heaven or hell for the past decade. Unfortunately, your results have been all over the place. Whilst you did display signs of angelic behaviour, very unfortunately you decided to kill Voldemort. That wasn’t quite supposed to happen. You killed him as vengeance for your parents deaths; you didn’t care about anyone else. If however, you killed him to save others, now that would’ve made more sense. Your motivations were corrupt.”
One of Harry’s eye brows shot up. “Wait, why are you even telling me this?”
“Judging by your recent behaviour within this hospital room, we believe that we’ve finally decided. You see, if you were really worthy of heaven you wouldn’t have thought of yourself as famous or powerful. That’s called pride. There’s a special place in hell for people like you.”
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u/Kainita Apr 09 '19
Decided to try it out in a different POV.
McGonagall remembered when they took in her favorite tenant, Harry ‘Potter’. He had lovely parents, but by the time the boy had turned 11 his delusions had painted his family as foul ugly human beings. It was his mother Petunia who was most broken hearted by this development.
She would labor for hours on his birthday to bake him a cake and lovingly wrap each gift. Dudley, Harry’s brother, would help cut Harry’s cake and unwrap his presents for him... McGonagall heard all these things from Harry, but the cake was never for him and he never received a single present in his telling. He didn’t even remember begging to live under the stairs, even though Petunia tried to get him to stay in his room.
McGonagall loves Harry’s stories, even though it was clear to her that she was a stern teacher within them. Surely the wrinkles that painted her face gave her bones features a stern polish. She didn’t mind terribly, she was simply happy to be a part of them.
Recently, however, his stories have become gloomy and are always delivered in broken sentences. After seven years of care, the Dursley’s finally agreed the Medicare their son. Petunia was particularly insistent that there was nothing so wrong with her son to warrant medication. After seven years with no progress... the pale and broken woman just wished for her son to call her mom one last time before she passed.
The medication worked. Harry became confused as parts of the delusions began to ‘come’ into focus. His treatment wouldn’t fix his issues, but they may be able to ground him a little. McGonagall felt sick to her stomach when she would bring him his medicine and he would stare blankly at her and ask who she was.
Harry was in limbo, stuck between two worlds. One minute he would be on an adventure with ‘Ron’ and ‘Hermione’ and the next he would be staring the world around him... like he left all his joy with his delusions.
Today marks his 3rd month on medication. McGonagall, even though she was the head nurse, always insisted on bringing him the medicine everyday.
“Good Morning, Harry. Ready for a day of adventure?” Her normal greeting.
“You don’t really turn into a cat do you.” It wasn’t a question. His mind had worked out that truth from his ailed mind. “Can anyone turn into animals... or was that all...”
McGonagall swallowed the lump in her throat with no success. “Well... no Harry. There isn’t anyone who can turn into an animal.” She placed the tray on the bedside table.
“How did that end up in my mind?”
“Your mother brought in a favorite book of yours once... Animorphs, or something like that.”
“Mother? Then she isn’t...”
“No she isn’t dear. Don’t worry, Harry. One day at a time we will help you find your way back to her.”
The rest of the conversation was mundane and nothing out of the ordinary, but when McGonagall left his room she couldn’t help but shed some tears as she lost her favorite status. Harry Potter’s, the boy who lived, Professor McGonagall. Proud head of the Gryffindor house and an integral part of his story.
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u/Lumos-Maxima-Non-Nox Apr 10 '19
Wow! Great story! How is it in a different Point of View though? It's just kind of totally different, but totally great!
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u/ForsakenMoon13 Apr 10 '19
Different point of view as in from Mcgonagall's perspective rather than Harry's.
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u/laceth_ Apr 09 '19
I love this!!! Super creative to do a different POV and I love that your twist on it wasn’t quite so sinister
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Apr 09 '19
Dumbledore? But you're... you're... dead. Snape... he well... Wait, where am I,? Where's madam pomfrey? And what happened to your robes? I'll get us out of here Albus.. Alohomora! Alohomora! Why is it not working? "Oh Harry.... are you having nightmares again? Here, have a chocolate frog. It'll make you feel better." Thank you professor. The medicine did its work again. Until next week the boy "Potter" would have another good week at "hogsmeade".
"I'm sorry, Harry." Said Albus the caretaker at St. Mungos. "This illusion of hogwarts is for the best." This is how all days had been since Riddle won the battle of hogwarts...
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u/EpicDaNoob Apr 09 '19
This was a really well done twist!
I took the liberty of re-formatting it a little, including adding punctuation.
"Dumbledore? But you're... you're... dead. Snape... he- well... Wait, where am I? Where's Madam Pomfrey? And what happened to your robes?" Harry said in a rush. "I'll get us out of here... Alohomora! Alohomora! Why is it not working?"
"Oh, Harry.... are you having nightmares again? Here, have a chocolate frog. It'll make you feel better."
"Thank you, Professor."
The medicine did its work again. Until next week, "Potter" would have another good week at "Hogsmeade".
"I'm sorry, Harry," said Albus, the caretaker at St. Mungos. "This illusion of Hogwarts is for the best."
This is how all days had been since Riddle won the battle of Hogwarts...
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u/flake4205 Apr 09 '19
That ending really got me. Loved how he stayed in the wizarding world and that it's not an illusion in our world!
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u/Anon-poster-hideaway Apr 09 '19
Nice twist. I bet you could drag that out a lot longer, building up more detail- and THEN hit it with the 'Winning the battle'. That would REALLY throw people for a loop.
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Apr 10 '19
I actually wrote this while in bed. My mind would've worked better in the morning I guess.
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u/Anon-poster-hideaway Apr 10 '19
Mate, I enjoyed it- please take nothing I said as negative criticism. I see tons of potential to do a complete and utter twist here- and you could drag it out significantly with a longer build up.
Unique, interesting, and exciting raw material to work from is hard- I can't do it. But I can at least recognize it in others- and that's what you have here.
Good Job!
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u/whiterush17 Apr 09 '19 edited Apr 10 '19
"This... is the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asks, wide eyed as he stepped inside the gloomy room. A chair lay in the center of the room, next to a table full of strange machinery. The wires leading out of the machines were tied together to resemble a thick strand of rope. The doctor points the thick strand out to Harry. "This is what you thought was the Basilisk."
"These beautiful black orbs in front of the chair," the doctor continues, "Are the newest in electroconvulsive therapy. Without causing the physical trauma of direct electrical impulses, it only triggers certain neurons in the brain that we can specifically target. They caused you to constantly lose all physical mobility because of which you refused to look at them. In your mind these were the eyes of the Basilisk."
Harry staggered backward, his head spinning with the sheer magnitude of the reality shaking his foundation. "What about my parents? Are they alive then?"
"Harry..." the doctor says, sympathetically. "I know all this is difficult to take in, but you're a wonderful human being. Your parents never understood what was wrong with you. They blamed you for being born the way you were, what they described as "lacking any semblance of wit or intelligence", and left you in our care. When they tried explaining to you that they were leaving for good, it just wouldn't get through to you. After they deserted you here, you conjured up an intricate story where they died protecting you. Because that's how your mind works. It can't handle any more trauma. It is stretched to its absolute limits."
Harry almost fell to his knees. He fought back the tears and the feeling of defeat creeping into his heart. His parents were never around anyway. There was a more important question in his mind. But could he conjure enough strength to ask?
"Ron... Hermione.." Harry somehow managed to sputter out.
"Harry, your parents left you because they blamed you for not being normal, for lacking simple intelligence. A part of you understood their betrayal, but the rest of you refused to acknowledge that reality. In your world, your two best friends are those that embody those very qualities. Loyalty and intelligence. Ron and Hermione."
Harry was weeping now, like a child that had tasted grief for the very first time. Everything was a lie. All of it. Everyone was a figment of his crippled imagination; how was he supposed to live in the real world if the one he spent most of his life in never existed? In the midst of all the crying, Harry felt the doctor's hand on his shoulder.
"You're wondering what is true and what isn't, I know. It is difficult to be diseased, and somehow, harder when you're cured. Suddenly the world is nothing like you have known it. But Harry, isn't recovery a form of magic? For most of your life, your parents locked you in a closet under the stairs, refusing to tell the world about you because they were embarrassed of your predicament. For seven years, you held a broken twig in your hand, ran into walls over and over convinced that there was something magical on the other side. You mumbled constantly about fulfilling some prophecy and about beating some Dark Lord and surviving to tell the tale. And here you are. Your world is still full of magic. Like we heard you say out loud one night- you are a wizard, Harry. And despite all the unfortunate losses, setbacks and misforunes you have endured, you made it. To us, those who have constantly witnessed broken beings wither away, of seeing sanity die a slow death between these walls, you will always be The Boy Who Lived."
Edit: Thank you for the Platinum, Gold and Silver, kind strangers :) Also a big hug to everyone else for leaving such beautiful comments and for all the love, thank you so much again!
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u/pixel_lord_99 May 01 '19
<loud crying>
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u/darkmagi724 Apr 14 '19
I actually teared up with this story, just awesome writing. Now I'm getting a tissue.
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u/whiterush17 Apr 14 '19
Sorry to do that to you :( sending loads of hugs. Thank you for the generous compliment!
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u/darkmagi724 Apr 14 '19
Never apologize for awesomeness, this is a great story and you are an awesome author!
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u/_Xx_Layan_xX_ Apr 10 '19
Wow, this is really touching. I really hoped that at the end of your (amazing) story, the wizarding world would really exist and Harry would find it, but it's just a reminder that some stories are happy in ways we don't expect. This is really awesome!
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u/ledepression Apr 10 '19
Very well done.Would love if you made a full series on this
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
Thank you! A full series would take an incredible amount of emotional energy to be frank. Ideally I'd love to stay true to the books and use references and dialogues to weave an alternate reality between the pages. But that would take some serious, long term effort.
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u/nameyouruse Apr 10 '19
...but in the books Dumbledore dies...does harry have a relapse?
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
I see the timeline of this conversation happening after the seventh book, where Harry has beaten the Dark Lord (ie having lived through his punishing tenure in the facility). Victory though, has come at the cost of coming to terms with certain realities and facing the true nature of convenient truths that he had told himself.
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u/fu7272 Apr 10 '19
Holy shit, that was absolutely fantastic and honestly made me cry a little bit.
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u/a-living-raccoon Apr 10 '19
This is so beautiful, it makes me feel grief and happiness at the same time.
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u/COC0NUTS Apr 10 '19
Love it.
"You're wondering what is true and what isn't, I know" reminds me so much of "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?"
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
A fellow redditor brought up the exact same line and asked me why I didn't finish the story with it. So glad you liked reading it!
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u/Lumos-Maxima-Non-Nox Apr 10 '19
Wow! That is an amazing story! I love it so much! I LOVE TO WRITE FANTASY. I've been writing stories ever since Kindergarten and wrote a full chapter book in third grade. I joined Reddit yesterday, and joined this. I read the prompt, and I was like, wow! This will make for a good story. Then, since I'm better at writing with a spark of inspiration, I scrolled the stories down here and I saw this. I was AMAZED! You started me off with a GREAT START! Even though my story wasn't based of yours or anything, you gave me the inspiration! Thank you SOOO much! I bet a lot of people used your story for inspiration! Just great job and I think you are a TRUE fantasy story writer! You have the combination of suspense, mystery, sadness, all of it! All of it! Beautiful story, and keep at it!
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
I'm screenshotting this so I can read it on days that I feel low on motivation. Thank you for such high and fulfilling praise. It was heartwarming to read. Also welcome to Reddit, and hope you have a wonderful time!
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u/etymologistics Apr 10 '19
This was so well written that it nearly convinced me Harry Potter really was in a mental institution all along. Beautiful and touching! You have some talent there. :)
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
Well, if it made you forget JKR's beautiful universe building for even a second, I did my job well. Thank you so much :)
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u/Mad__Marx Apr 10 '19
Nice writing but the parents part didn’t quite convinced me. Why the doctor after all didn’t try to protect his patient from the extremely harsh truth and he simply told him? Seems unreal but thats only my opinion
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
This conversation is happening after Harry makes a recovery, but up till a point where doubts still fog his mind when he tries to differentiate between truth and realty. The doctor is trying to offer up the truth to help clear that fog up; and to allow Harry the gift of acceptance so that he can truly begin again.
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u/Positron311 Apr 10 '19
The part with Ron and Hermione made me tear up. This is insane.
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
I think that was probably harder to write for me than the part where I turned his parents into monsters. To think that Harry faced some of his toughest challenges while only thinking he had them by his side feels poignant and heartbreaking at the same time.
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u/matty80 Apr 10 '19
This is also growing up for all of us, girls or boys.
That's a beautiful piece of writing. Bloody well done.
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u/akeratsat Apr 10 '19
Not gonna lie, I rolled my eyes when I saw the prompt because I absolutely hate these "dark and twisted" takes on established settings and stories. But let me tell you, your writing was fantastic.
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
It kind of is like writing dark humor isn't it? I usually find myself put off by those that choose to write dark humor because it so easily draws the audience's outrage/reaction and cheap laughs. Really good dark humour requires depth of perspective; a certain thoughtfulness that helps us peel away a simple emotion to reveal so much more that we usually take for granted or ignore altogether.
Thank you so much for reading though!
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u/HeyViolet Apr 10 '19
If you come out with your own book, or already have a book out there in the world I want to know!
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
Hello! Thank you for reading and asking that question :) I've finished writing my book, but I'm still editing it (I'm very shaky and underconfident when it comes to my writing so I have to be absolutely sure that it is worth people's time.) I should hopefully be done with the manuscript soon. If it does get published, I promise to update it on my subreddit! (r/whiteshadowthebook)
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u/HeyViolet Apr 10 '19
I subbed to it x)
But i read through some stuff you have on there. Its all intriguing and kept me wanting more lol.
Although i get how you feel, people will love and hate it no matter how good your book is. Take it as positive feedback and critical feedback for future books, either way, your first book is the stepping stone to more to come. x)
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
I think I'll run out of thank you's if I showed you gratitude for everything you said. I'm so glad you liked it. The first book is making me incredibly nervous. So I can only hope that I find the love I've always received and that I've written it well enough. Like you said, irrespective of what happens, I'll treat that as a stepping stone to whatever comes next :)
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Apr 09 '19
I came here because I thought I’d like all the stories. I read yours first. That was not wise. Your writing is special. So intricate and detailed… the world building and dialog… sigh Anyway, I’m not gonna read the rest of them because there is simply no way that there is anything better than this in this thread. Thank you very much, and I’d definitely be interested in much much more if you feel so inclined. If not, take my upvote and my very sincere regards. If I had the money at the moment, you’d have another platinum. Good night. :)
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
I sometimes wonder whether I am worthy of such generosity to be honest. I'm really grateful that you felt so compelled to read it. It gives me a lot of faith in myself, something that a writer needs in abundance if they are to write something bigger than themselves. So thank you :)
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u/sarahb002 Apr 09 '19
More please! Can you write an actual book!
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
I'm already on it, and almost done! All updates on r/whiteshadowthebook when it is polished and ready to go :D
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u/patricktranq Apr 09 '19
great writing whiteshadowthebook, and awesome prompt OP. While reading the doctors lines, I imagined Hagrid being the doctor.
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u/LiquidBeagle /r/BeagleTales Apr 09 '19
I imagined Lupin, that comforting voice of his.
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u/patricktranq Apr 09 '19
would it be weird if it was actually Lucious Malfoy. He bas the “bad guy” all thru the start of the treatment but then eventually became the good guy at the end when the treatment was finally working
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u/LiquidBeagle /r/BeagleTales Apr 09 '19
Ohh that's an interesting take, or even Snape!
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u/patricktranq Apr 10 '19
all the seemingly bad guys at the start that turned out to be good could be the medical staff.
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u/Arianna_Xoxo Apr 09 '19
This is beautiful! It’s a dark twist to the story we all know and love! This needs to be a freaking book! Or a novella!
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u/jekfrumstotferm Apr 09 '19
I know this is supposed to be serious, and I respect that. However, there is an 8th Harry Potter book (more of a play script, but that doesn’t matter). It takes place in the future, where Harry and Ginny have 3 kids, and 2 are in Hogwarts. Imagine that being a part of this.
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
To be honest I always thought JK's series ended at the 7th. The Cursed Child didn't hold the literary merits that their predecessors did, so it felt to include it in the same breath :(
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u/jekfrumstotferm Apr 10 '19
Well, it doesn’t matter. You can consider it to be non canon if you want. It doesn’t have an official book yet.
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u/KurlyKayla Apr 09 '19
And all is well. Very well done! It still matched the tone of the books despite being a complete departure from the genre. Have another upvote :)
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Apr 09 '19
This was... beautiful. It was haunting, slightly eery, and tad close to home ( probably closer to home for some than others). This is what you call an emotional rollercoaster.
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
I'm glad you sat in, strapped in and felt it was worth the time and thrills :)
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u/That_Whovian_Nerd Apr 09 '19
this gave me chills. This was amazing, thank you.
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
Thank you for reading! Sending loads of warmth to take care of those chills :')
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u/JoyStar725 Apr 09 '19
Oh dang.... wow....
You need to write more of this, and post it as a fanfic on fanfiction.net. Your writing is so fluid and descriptive and I loved every bit of it!
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
Oh gosh, I'm blushing thank you! I'm just really overwhelmed at the kind of reaction of love it has received here, more than anything I could have dreamt up to be frank!
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u/JoyStar725 Apr 10 '19
You're welcome! I'd really love to read more of this! I love "character finds out their life isn't real and they have to adjust" stories like this when they're written so well!
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Apr 09 '19
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/whiterush17 Apr 10 '19
I think I can safely and rightfully say I understand. This past year has left me needing a lot of magic. Im so glad you felt that this helped a little
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u/Auntie_Paticca Apr 16 '19
(Note: this is from a different POV from the wp)
Are we sure he is ready?
The committe sat in the bleak windowless review room, staring at their copies of patient #07318100's file.
Seven years is a long time to spend here, one of them said, a tall unsmiling man with lanky black hair in an overlarge suit.
Yes, but is he ready? The chairwoman asked, her sharp eyes peering down her glasses at the photos of the boy in question.
From ages 11 to 18, #07318100 has been a patient at the institute, under careful care of its staff. The boy was an orphan, rescued from terrible abuse and neglect at the hands of his closest relatives in Little Whinging.
Barely any meat on his bones, and much too smallf or his age, the chairwoman recalled. Good thing his parents had insurance or the Institute couldn't have taken him in and instead he's be wasting away in the system.
We have done all we can for him, squeaked the short, friendly secretary. And the boy is strong, intelligent and eager to restart his life. I say we give him the chance.
He might get into trouble, said the Chief Doctor. Goodness knows he's had his fair share of it, even in here.
All adults get into trouble. He'll just have to get himself out of it on his own now. That's just the way it is, conceded the chairwoman.
Remember the orderly who was stealing from the accounts room? Or the year after that when the bird flu took down a number of the other patients? He got really agitated, and went around getting in all sorts of mischief. We had to tranq him to settle him down!
The unsmiling man said, "Yes, he was shouting at me to confess my thievery. And he blamed another patient for poisoning those who got sick. Quite a ruckus, upset a lot to the residents."
"At least those happened inside the Institute. What about that time he stole a car and crashed it into Farmer Willow's orchard?"
"Or when he convinced himself that patient (the secretary glances down at the file) #11035902 knew his parents so he helped him break out of his ward? We had to transfer #11035902 over to the London Institute to keep him away.
Still, none of that was as bad as the time he slipped out and raided the old French manor downtown. We spent the better part of a week looking for him and there he had gotten himself lost in the maze hedge!
They recounted more of the patient's history: turning other patients against the staff, rebellious behavior, refusal to take medication. More and more, the committee felt an unease creep on hem, is this really the right thing to do?
The man at the end of the table, silent so far in the conversation, cleared his throat, and they all turned to him.
"Seems to me, what with that the delusions, erratic behaviour, and his uncanny ability to influence other patients, patient #07318100 could be a danger to himself and others if allowed to go out into the world without guidance. The Institute is all he has ever known, and there is no telling how he will behave when left on his own."
"What do you recommend we do, sir?" asked the chairwoman.
"We must keep him with us, and change our approach. We have been too lenient with his adventures, I confess I am most guilty of this. I do have a soft spot for the boy."
The unsmiling man scoffed almost inaudibly, and rolled his eyes.
"Put him on the new medication that Dr Riddle recommended. This should help him gain an awareness of his mental state, and how his behaviour affects others. He must be transferred to the common wing, too. The Griffin ward has kept him too comfortable. He needs to learn that the world does no revolve around him."
The group was silent, as they thought about this new treatment plan. Will this really be for the best?
But there were other files on the table, other patients to discuss, and treat, and care for. Already they spent to much time on this one.
The chairwoman scribbled quick notes on patient #07318100's file, closed the folder. and set it down on the 'done' pile.
"Seven years is a long time," she said quietly.
"Yes, my dear madam," said the tall man, his white hair and half-moon spectacles glinting in the light of the flourescent bulb. "But we must do what is best for those in our care, no matter how long it takes, or how difficult. After all, therapy isn't magic."