Title: Kukolka
Author: treewishes
Team: Phoenix
Genre(s): Romance, Alternate Universe *Hover/Click for Games Definition of Alternate Universe*
Prompt(s): Inheritance
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: Adult themes; *Minor character death*None (What? It's a romance.)
Word Count: ~17,500
Summary: Harry Potter receives a gift from his dying mother that is much more than it seems. (Pretty lame summary, you say? Where's the romance, where's the adventure, you ask? Well, I'll tell you, it's all here. Flying Cauldrons. Magic Wands. Bad men. Good men. Love. Hate. Revenge. Ugliest witches. Bravest wizards. Ogres. Giants. Curses. Death. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles. Come on now, try to keep up....)
A/N: Alternate Universe: *In 1913, Albus Dumbledore kills Gellert Grindelwald during a heated argument, and his sister Ariana lives. This changes everything.*

A reader may recognize in this hodge-podge pastiche a number of sources in addition to the Harry Potter books 1 through 7. Additional "borrowed-froms" include The Princess Bride: A Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (The 'Good Parts' Version) by William Goldman, The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson, Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back by George Lucas, and two traditional Russian tales: Vasilisa the Beautiful and The Death of Koshchei the Deathless. Ideally, one should read all of these to appreciate what has been borrowed from previous works in this 'literary collage'. Those familiar with slash fandom may find additional irreverent references herein as well. The author has deliberately co-opted plot elements, inserted snippets of dialogue, and evoked scenes from movies to create a cultural blend. Whether all together this is more or less than a sum of its parts remains a question for the reader.

Many thanks for critical beta reads from Venivincere, Rubyrosered, and Ad Baculum; any errors that remain are my own doing. Also thanks for language ideas from Vorickson and painless_J, and structural discussions with BethBethBeth, cmshaw, and LightGetsIn. Finally, none of this would be possible without semi-constant advice and encouragement from Fuschia, whose knowledge of Russian literature has always delighted me.


( Kukolka by Treewishes )