Emperor
is a Harry Potter Fan Fic written by Panamanian Marquis Black, also author of The Dark Wars. The best way to describe it is as a Harry Potter Alternate Universe within an Alternate History, producing an interesting recursive reality.
After a brief prologue set in the future, the narrative begins in October 31st 1981. As in the books, the Potters are attacked by Voldemort, but neither Lily nor James are killed: instead, it is the Potters who kill Voldemort, who disappears. Rather than remaining in England, where Dumbledore will try to use them for propaganda, the Potters run away to the continent, hiding among the Muggle community in spite of the less than stable politico-economical situation (due to the non-existence of an European Community to make the nations collaborate), while periodically having to move countries due to Dumbledore's manhunt.
As Harry grows and slowly realises what his parents have gone through, he makes an oath to do anything in his hands to change the world, so that people like his parents won't have to hide away. He returns to England under a fake name at age eleven, and eventually joins the army, where he will slowly begin planning to make sure he will be able to fulfill his oath.
Tropes found in Emperor:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Averted so far with the ATHENA Project, although it is something mentioned several times.
- Alternate History: not only in the Harry Potter universe, but in the real world, as well: the European Steel and Coal Community, the forefather of the European Union, was never formed, and the European nations pretty much remained unable to cooperate with each other, rattling sables every few years over one thing or another. A later revelation is that Project Trinity failed in creating the atomic bomb, so the Allies were forced to carry out with Operation Downfall.
- Anti-Hero:
- Type II: Harry.
- Type V: Albert Hughes, who is almost a straight-up Villain Protagonist.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: when Harry is finally crowned as King Henry I of the Northern Sun.
- Badass Spaniard: Spanish general Alejandro Ruiz-Pérez is considered by the British a Worthy Opponent, fighting with great zeal and ability against them during the Anglo-Spanish War. And then with them during the invasion of France.
- Badass Normal: Erwin Jaeger, is a Squib
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Josefina became one of Harry's best spies after he saved her from being raped by several British soldiers, and then took care of her, since all of her family was dead already.
- BFG: Project MJOLNIR magnetically-accelerated cannons built with runic magic amplifications, and able to vaporize a ship with one shot.
- Big Damn Heroes: Task Force GUARDIAN is against the ropes after saving Queen Elicia, and is down to a few ammo magazines and some C4 (which they plan to use to wipe out any technology they have on themselves), so they say goodbye to their command while they prepare for a Last Stand. Right then, Redemption comes guns blazing, defeating the DGSE troops that have been attacking GUARDIAN and saving their asses.
- Blood Knight: Harry takes a long time to realise that he craves personal fights to death.
- Broken Pedestal: The new prologue reveals that, at some point in the future, Harry's daughter will resent him for his conquests.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: when Harry and several of his fellow officers discuss the recent magical riots, he begins to realise that the Death Eaters are going to launch an attack on the Muggle government's offices... including the building he is in, and the Houses of Parliament.
- Face Death with Dignity: the King of the United Kingdom, last surviving member of The House of Windsor after the Death Eaters kill the rest of his family and leave him paraplegic, does this. It is mentioned that he dies "with a peaceful smile on his face".
- False Flag Operation: Harry's operatives frame Neville Longbottom for the murder of Draco Malfoy to later recruit Neville for Harry's Mage Corps.
- The Northern Sun carries this out with Operation SUCKERPUNCH, dropping magical bombs in France and many other parts of the world to provoke massive technological failure and blaming it on the Death Eaters, to then reveal they have hardened technology able to resist this, goading France to declare war.
- For Want Of A Nail: James and Lily had their wands on themselves when Voldemort attacked, and were able to destroy him at the cost of their wands, leading to their running away from the United Kingdom to avoid falling under Dumbledore's control.
- Robert Schuman's inability to convince the French government to collaborate with the Germans, nipping the European Steel and Coal Community in the bud, causes many conflicts fifty years down the line.
- Later in the story, the King of Great Britain reveals to Harry and a few others the existence of Project Trinity, the attempt to create a nuclear bomb. In this story, the Project's first test was a bit too rushed and failed to make one, so the Allies were forced to carry out Operation Downfall, with the expected (that is, horribly high) number of casualties.
- Foregone Conclusion: The prologue all but states that Harry will succeed in his quest to become the Emperor of an United Europe. It is implied that Elicia dies a few years before the ending and that an adult Katherine (Harry's and Elicia's daughter) is not in good words with her father.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Ginny, who was a normal Auror, becomes ruthless and cunning after meeting Harry, who she tried to arrest for nearly breaking The Masquerade.
- Klingon Promotion: During the Siege of Sagunto, Harry organises the death of two generals above him in the ranks to take control of the British Army in the region.
- Irony: British Aurors, led by Ginny Weasley, try to arrest Harry because he is using his magic on the war with Spain and risking the Statute of Secrecy being broken. The arrest attempt is done in public, and the Statute is broken when several journalists film the magical fight between Harry and the Aurors. Of course, the Aurors and the Magical World still blame Harry for that.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: the Northern Sun's secret police uses this, combined with magical methods, to extract information out of terrorists and enemies.
- Mage Killer: The German Jaegers, trained to fight (and kill or capture) Britain's Military Mages.
- Magitek: What several scientists led by Elicia manage to do. Among them, genetical grafting, weapons that can vaporize their objective with one shot and working Artificial Intelligence.
- Meaningful Name: The Northern Sun, so called because Liverpool, its capital, is in northern England.
- Muggles Do It Better: Elicia manages to use Floo powder to create an almost neverending power source that is not affected by magic.
- Oh, Crap!: Nicholas Flamel, Hermione Granger and Ginny and Ronald Weasley, representatives of the magical government's remnants, when they are shown that technology's main weakness (magic overcharges electronics, blowing up their energy source) has been rendered non-existent thanks to the advances developed by the Northern Sun's scientists.
- Operation: [Blank]: Several of them stand out in chapters 23 to 25. Operation SUCKERPUNCH, using special magical bombs that can short-out any unprotected electrical and electronical apparatus in a great radius in many places in the world, aiming to goad France into declaring war, Operation VANGUARD, using a modified Floo Network to transport more than 10,000 troops from the Kingdom of the Northern Sun to Belgium in a few moments and Operation SUNRISE the invasion of France.
- Also the Projects: ATHENA creation of functioning AI based on the magic of Magical Portraits, MJOLNIR creation of Magnetically-Accelerated Cannons able to vaporize their target with one shot, HAVOC genetical engineering to improve the entire Armed Forces at a genetical and biological level and VANGUARD development of a Mass Floo transport system to take more than 10,000 troops across the English Channel in a few moments.
- Person of Mass Destruction: Harry becomes able to destroy buildings with Fiendfyre, which he conjures with just a finger snap. Eventually, several wizards and witches trained by Harry (among them Neville Longbottom) become able to do the same.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something:
- Elicia, Harry's wife, becomes one of the main scientists in the Kingdom of the Northern Sun's projects to develop new technology.
- Harry actually strives to be this, and feels bad because, after becoming the King, he cannot be on the field and lead his troops whenever he wants.
- Schmuck Bait: Harry uses himself as bait to the German Jaegers and Army. The Germans fall in the trap, allowing the ETO to break the stalemate in the war.
- Tank Goodness: the Northern Sun's Tigers, fitted with MJOLNIR guns.
- The Emperor: Harry's aim is to become Emperor of Europe.
- United Europe: averted. The background mentions that there are no supranational institutions in Europe such as the European Union (see Alternate History, For Want Of A Nail). Harry plans to change that, and helps establish the Northern-dominated European Treaty Organization.
- Villain Protagonist: Albert Hughes.Hughes shivered as he relished Clarkson's screams from outside the interrogation room. After the man's arrest, he'd been brought back to the "Tartarus" Black Site in the middle of London, where a crew of rather vengeful interrogators had quite joyfully taken him off the military's hands. Hughes was proud to say the man had felt no relief since then. The realization made him pause for a second. Maybe he was as psychotic as people seemed to think. And just as fast, he shrugged unconcernedly. So what? He was loyal, he did his job, and his goals remained within reach. As far as he was concerned, he had it pretty good. A few psychological disorders were a measly price to pay for that.
- War Is Hell: the effects of war on every level of society is shown. When Harry joins the battlefield, his use of Fiendfyre makes it even more similar to hell.
- Worthy Opponent: Harry sees Erwin Jaeger as one.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: French group Redemption was formed to attempt to protect all wizards, witches and magical creatures in France from their anti-magical government, but they also resort to bombings in order to find more support.
