History Fanfic / PetrificationProliferation

!! ''Petrification Proliferation'' includes the following tropes:

* ArrangedMarriage: Apparently a common Pureblood practice. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were this, while Draco apparently has been promised to Pansy Parkinson. Though Sirius puts an end to this when Narcissa and Draco rejoin the Black family, and tells Draco that if he wants to get together with Pansy, to do it "the old fashioned way".

* BerserkButton: For Sirius, mistreating his godson. When he realizes Harry has been living with the Dursleys for the last ten years, he tells the Healer he's going to need a calming draught -- despite having just had one -- before asking for details because he knows Petunia hates magic and likely would have taken it out on Harry.

** Sirius has been out of the loop for over ten years due to being in Azkaban. He's understandably overwhelmed when he's suddenly released and walks right into the chaos happening at St. Mungos.

!! ''Petrification Proliferation'' includes the following Tropes:

** The Ministry of Magic as a whole is hit with this. In canon, they're usually ineffective at best, an outright threat at worst. Here, Ministry members working with Dumbledore are shown to be highly competent and efficient. It should be noted that most of the Ministry's action is directed by Amelia Bones, who was already a pretty competent ReasonableAuthorityFigure in canon, while Fudge, who is responsible for much of the ineffectiveness in the series from the Ministry, is only mentioned but never seen.

The fic can be found on FFN [[http://fanfiction.net/s/11265467/1/Petrification-Proliferation here]] and on [=AO3=] [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/14031132/chapters/32316612 here]].

The fic can be found on FFN [[http://fanfiction.net/s/11265467/1/Petrification-Proliferation here]].

''Petrification Proliferation'' by Creator/WhiteSquirrel is a Literature/HarryPotter WhatIf fic beginning near the end of ''Chamber Secrets'' which examines a potential response the school and the Ministry of Magic to the discovery of the Basilisk. There are several changes to the canon, small and large, from there.

* TheGhost: Fudge, who is mentioned several times but never appears in person. Amelia is specifically noted to be ignoring his memos for expediency.

* ForWantOfANail: The Basilisk's presence at Hogwarts is treated much more seriously, with Dumbledore enacting certain protocols and cooperating with the Ministry of Magic to bring a ''very'' different end of Harry's second year. As a result of these:
** Due to Harry being interrogated by the Ministry under Veritaserum, they find about the horrible conditions his MuggleFosterParents put him through. Thus, the Dursleys are arrested for child abuse. Dumbledore also cancels the Blood Wards over No. 4 Privet Drive since they are useless now Harry won't be living there anymore.
** Peter Pettigrew is discovered both to still alive and an unregistered Animagus during Aurors' sweep of the castle to rescue students' pets. His presence proves Sirius Black is innocent of the Potters' betrayal and for murdering those twelve Muggles. He becomes Harry's guardian once he's physically and mentally recovered from his eleven-year lockup in Azkaban at St. Mungo's. Harry meets him a year early as a result. He also meets Remus Lupin early when Lupin visits him and Sirius there.
** Lupin is outed as a werewolf much earlier, with the Weasleys and Harry learning as soon as he enters the room to see them.
** Pettigrew gets a 75-year prison sentence and is locked up in Azkaban, meaning that he can't resurrect Voldemort as he did in canon.
** Amelia Bones becomes aware of Horcruxes, so she and Dumbledore work together on finding and destroying Horcruxes much earlier than in canon.
** Lucius Malfoy is proved to be ultimately responsible for the Chamber of Secrets being opened and he winds up in Azkaban for it. Narcissa testifies against him during his trial in exchange for a swift and clean divorce because she's not happy that her husband indirectly put her son in danger just to settle a petty grudge. With Lucius out of the way, the prejudiced-but-significantly-less-evil Narcissa reaches out to her sister and cousin who will from that point forward be playing larger roles in Draco's life. Draco will probably turn out quite different as a result.
** Harry is found to be a pseudo-Horcrux immediately. Croaker and his team then reassure Harry and Sirius that they will study the other remaining Horcruxes to find ways to remove the soul piece without destroying the object it hosts.
** In a much smaller note, Percy's chances of being Head Boy the following year are impacted by his controlling behavior of his siblings, which is examined much more closely. It's not revealed whether he still manages to become Head Boy.
** Also on a smaller (and sadder) note, it appears that Dobby isn't freed in this continuity. However, his main abuser is sent to Azkaban and it's implied Narcissa intends to treat him better going forward, so his situation does improve.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Amelia Bones keeps the piles of paperwork generated by the investigation sorted into stacks by category: division of resources, searching the school, claims for missing possessions, illegal contraband, and... complaints from Fudge. Naturally, Amelia considers the last category as by far the least important.

* FantasticNuke: A Basilisk is outright compared to a weapon of mass destruction, up to a nuke, at several points. This is specifically noted because if it did emerge in the great hall, the low numbers of wizard kind in Britain would make the resulting casualties ''unfathomably'' catastrophic, particularly as they are still recovering from the previous war.

** Pettigrew gets a seventy-five-year prison sentence and is locked up in Azkaban, meaning that he can't resurrect Voldemort as he did in canon.

* NoodleIncident: The Aurors have to deal with trained ''attack cats'' in the Slytherin Common Room offscreen.

* RunningGag: The author's disclaimer at the beginning of each chapter always runs along the lines of "Would [unethical, deeply concerning, absurd, or all of the above thing] happen in a realistic scenario? No? Then I'm not [[{{Creator/JKRowling}} J. K. Rowling]] and do not own ''Harry Potter''."

** With the Department of Mysteries implied to be under even greater security as a result of this story (and with Lucius Malfoy, one of the major combatants being sent to jail), the Battle of the Department of Mysteries which closed out Harry's Fifth Year likely won't happen, meaning Sirius will be okay.

* AbusiveParents: The Durlseys get exposed as this to the Ministry as a result of questioning of Harry by Veritaserum accidentally addressing the topic while getting the full story on the Basilisk. The Dursleys are eventually arrested for this by Muggle authorities, though as it turns out Vernon and Petunia were careful to limit what they did to Harry to skirt the line on the legal definition of abuse, with only the times they stepped over the line qualifying legally. The amount they did step over the line led to the both of them serving prison time, with much greater damage done to their reputations. Harry's guardianship is then passed on to the freed Sirius Black.

** The Dursleys aren't jailed, but lose custody of Dudley and have their reputations permanently tarnished.

* BittersweetEnding: More leaning towards sweet than bitter: On one hand, Peter Pettigrew is arrested while Sirius is set free, Harry won't have to live with the Dursleys anymore, the Aurors lift the DADA teacher curse Voldemort had placed years prior, people find about the Horcruxes much earlier than in canon (and the fact that Harry is one) and they managed to get their hands on many of them, Voldemort is in a much weaker position than in canon, and many of the deaths and tragedies that happened in the books will be averted. On the other hand, Voldemort is still out there, his connection to Harry still intact, the Unspeakables still don't know how to destroy Voldemort's soul shard inside Harry without killing him (meaning that Harry can only hope that they will find a way in the future), the Hufflepuff Cup's whereabouts are unknown, and Dobby is still forced to serve the Malfoys.

** Also on a smaller (and sadder) note, it appears that Dobby isn't freed in this continuity.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: No mention is made of the other petrified students or what happens to them. Presumably, they're all okay.

** The Ministry of Magic as a whole is hit with this. In canon, they're usually ineffective at best, an outright threat at worst. Here, Ministry members working with Dumbledore are shown to be highly competent and efficient. It should be noted that most of the Ministry's action is directed by Amelia Bones, who was already a pretty competent ReasonableAuthorityFigure in canon, while Fudge is only mentioned but never seen.

* TheGhost: Fudge, who is mentioned several times but never appears.

* SkewedPriorities: Hermione's reaction upon finding out that a horrible monster almost killed her? Eh, no big deal. Her reaction upon realizing that exams will be in a few days, and that since she's been petrified for several weeks, she's been unable to keep up with her studies? Sheer, unbridled horror.

* ArrangedMarriage: Apparently a common Pureblood practice. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were this, while Draco apparently has been promised to Pansy Parkinson. Though Sirius puts an end to this when Narcisa and Draco rejoin the Black family, and tells Draco that if he wants to get together with Pansy, to do it "the old fashioned way".

* ArrangedMarriage: Apparently a common Pureblood practice. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were this, while Draco apparently has been promised to Pansy Parkinson. Though Sirius puts an end to this when Narcisa and Draco rejoin the Black family, and tells Draco that if he wants to get together Pansy, to do it "the old fashioned way".

** Broderick Bode will likely also escape his fate, as the abovementioned plot will not come to pass.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: No mention is made of the other petrified students or what happens to them. Presumably, they're all okay.

* BrattyHalfPint: Molly Weasley's testimony after Peter Pettigrew is discovered implies that ''Percy'' was one of these. Yes, really! Apparently, he desperately wanted a pet when Bill got one even though the family was poor, explaining why they adopted a common garden rat.

** The Ministry of Magic as a whole is hit with this. In canon, they're usually ineffective at best, an outright threat at worst. Here, Ministry members working with Dumbledore are shown to be highly competent and efficient. It should be noted that most of the Ministy's action is directed by Amelia Bones, who was already a pretty competent ReasonableAuthorityFigure in canon, while Fudge is only mentioned but never seen.

* AdaptationalBadass: The Ministry of Magic as a whole is hit with this. In canon, they're usually ineffective at best, an outright threat at worst. Here, Ministry members working with Dumbledore are shown to be highly competent and efficient. It should be noted that most of the Ministy's action is directed by Amelia Bones, who was already a pretty competent ReasonableAuthorityFigure in canon, while Fudge is only mentioned but never seen.

* AnArmAndALeg: Kingsley Shacklebolt loses his arm while dealing with the Gaunts' Ring, which affected him much like it did Dumbledore in canon.

* ArrangedMarriage: Apparently a common Pureblood practice. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were this, while Draco apparently has been promised to Pansy Parkinson. Though Sirius puts an end to this when Narcisa and Malfoy rejoin the Black family, and tells Draco that if he wants to get together Pansy, to do it "the old fashioned way".

* BrattyHalfPint: Molly Weasley's testimony after Peter Pettigrew is discovered implies that ''Percy'' was one of these. Yes, really! Apparently he desperately wanted a pet when Bill got one even though the family was poor, explaining why they adopted a common garden rat.

* ParentalSubstitute: Harry and Sirius bond very quickly in-story, and by the end of the fic Sirius has become something of a father figure to Harry.

** Since Peter Pettigrew won't be available to take Voldemort to the graveyard for his resurrection, Cedric Diggory will probably be okay too. And both Frank Bryce and Bertha Jorkins might avoid their canon fate as well.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: No mention is made of the other petrified students or what happens to them. Presumably they're all okay.

** Dumbledore will not be slowly killed by a spreading curse from the Gaunts' Ring, as it's destroyed in-story.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: This is basically Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: the fanfiction. The reaction to the presence of a basilisk is far more severe and involves cooperation with the Ministry of Magic.

* AdaptationalBadass: The Ministry of Magic as a whole is hit with this. In canon, they're usually ineffective at best, an outright threat at worst. Here, Ministry members working with Dumbledore are shown to be highly competent and efficient.

* ArrangedMarriage: Apparently a common Pureblood practice. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were this, while Draco apparently has been promised to Pansy Parkinson.
* BigWhat: A very common reaction by various characters to the many revelations during the investigation.

** The Dursleys are arrested for child abuse. Dumbledore also cancels the Blood Wards over No. 4 Privet Drive since they are useless now Harry won't be living there anymore.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: This is basically Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: the fanfiction. The reaction to the presence of a basilisk is far more severe and involves cooperation with the Ministry of Magic.

** With the Department of Mysteries implied to be under even greater security as a result of this story (and with Lucius Malfoy, one of the major combatants), the Battle of the Department of Mysteries which closed out Harry's Fifth Year likely won't happen, meaning Sirius will be okay.

** Since Peter Pettigrew won't be available to take Voldemort to the graveyard for his resurrection, Cedric Diggory will probably be okay too.

* AdultFear: The implications of a basilisk loose in Hogwarts is examined in depth here.
** The episode with Hermione's parents is a particularly dark example, of a child injured at school and the parents not informed for ''three weeks''.
** An adult man sleeping in preteen boys' dorms is also dealt with.

* LoopholeAbuse: Mild case with Dumbledore. Hogwarts' Board of Governors is insistent that she be punished...so Dumbledore suggests suspension for the remainder of term. Hogwarts is closed for the rest of the year as a result of the investigations by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Punishment also can't carry over to the next term.

''Petrification Proliferation'' by White Squirrel is a Literature/HarryPotter WhatIf fic beginning near the end of ''Chamber Secrets'' which examines a potential response the school and the Ministry of Magic to the discovery of the Basilisk. There are several changes to the canon, small and large, from there.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Dumbledore is visibly frightened by the discovery of the basilisk within Hogwarts. He also adheres strictly to protocol, something he doesn't often do in the books

* RealityEnsues: This is basically Reality Ensues: the fanfiction. The reaction to the presence of a basilisk is far more severe and involves cooperation with the Ministry of Magic.