The following podcast contains audio extracted from videos on the Harry Potter Theory YouTube channel.

This video is one part of a multi-part series. We left part one and the conclusion of the

Battle of the Astronomy Tower, except in this version of events, things went very differently.

Dumbledore, alive and well, survived the battle because he never succumbed to temptation

and put on the gaunt ring. And while Snape was still bound by his unbreakable vow to help Draco with

his mission, Dumbledore successfully convinced Draco to abandon his task, eliminating Snape's obligation

to kill Dumbledore. Snape, Dumbledore, Harry, and their unexpected new ally,

Draco, then fight off the remaining Death Eaters. This leaves us with a number of things changed

from the original timeline. Snape's cover is blown, Draco becomes an early witness against

Voldemort's inner circle, and Hogwarts never falls into Death-Eater control. The Elder One's allegiance

never shifts, instead remaining firmly with Dumbledore, and Voldemort, who in the original timeline,

gained enormous momentum from this triumph, is instead dealt a humiliating setback by a Dumbledore

who isn't showing any signs of slowing down. And because Snape openly defends

Draco and stands in front of the Death Eaters, Harry never develops the deep mistrust that

defined their relationship in Canon. In fact, if anything, his trust in Snape solidifies. In the

original story, however, the moments after the Battle of the Astronomy Tower are pretty

bleak. Dumbledore is dead, the death heat is escape, and the order of the Phoenix is left shaken and

leaderless. Without Dumbledore's protection, Hogwarts quickly becomes vulnerable, eventually falling

under Death Heater control as Snape is installed as headmaster, and the carers begin enforcing Voldemort's

ideology. At the same time, the ministry collapses from within. The minister is killed, a puppet

government is put in place, and Voldemort effectively seizes control of Wizarding Britain.

With the school compromised and the government lost, Harry Ron and Hermione are forced into hiding,

...