Title: Beyond the Scars
Author: Aurora Vampiris (formerly Demonis Insidus)
Rating: K+
Genre: Adventure/Angst
DLP Category: Independent Harry
Pairing: Nothing official: connotations of H/G, possible one-sided Hr/H
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,822
Updated: July 20, 2007
Published: May 6, 2007
Status: Complete

Summary: Post HBP. Harry Potter abandons his friends and flees in a desperate attempt to follow a training regime Dumbledore asked him to follow, prior to his death. But as Harry goes through the motions, he finds that the true enemy is not Voldemort, but himself.

Link: Link


Heya,
It's been a while since I recommended anything from the library, so here it goes. Luckily, I remembered to include the link this time, so I'm not going to appear like a total moron.

Now, first things first, this story is much better than it sounds. The summary is pretty vague about it and doesn't do the story justice. That said, there are flaws.

First, Harry's still in love with Ginny...although that changes by the end of the story. Worse off, Hermione may be in love with him and if there is ever any more of this, then you can bet that I'll be dropping it in a flash.

Second, Harry has issues. When I say issues, I mean 'My life sucks but I'll kill Voldemort and then off myself' issues. That said, I personally think Harry's personality is good for the story- it shows what he's given up and just how far he's spiralled down into the darker aspects of magic. The secondary category is angst- so expect to see quite a bit of it.

Third- Snape, who becomes Voldemort's right hand man, is 'redeemed' in a way, and the usual crap....Dumbledore was already dying...he hates his life...blah, blah, blah. Still, it seems to be well done and without the intrusion of a fangirl.

Now, for the good points.

One- Harry is not a pussy. He is everything but a pussy. He's very powerful, he has a decent understanding of magic and he still get's his butt kicked from time to time by a more expierenced opponent- Voldemort.

Two- Voldemort is not a dipshit. There's now 'lougning on the throne and Crucio!' - he participates in battles, kills opponents and employs a large amount of strategy to bring the Ministry and Order to thier knees. His forces are widespread as well, and he seems to be waging war on multiple fronts and winning. In other words- he's competent.

Three- There's a few brief moments of angst, yes, but the paragraphs before and after them are filled with action and violence. Its a real war, and although Scrimgeour and the Ministry Aurors are a bit stupid at first, they get over it pretty quickly.

Four- The writing style, to me, was solid. I didn't notice any major spelling mistakes or grammar issues, but I rarely ever do. The author really presents a bleak and harsh world with his writing.


It's a shame that this story only has 16 reviews. Although it has its flaws, its much better than anything I've read while browsing FF.Net recently. I suggest you all try it and make it to the end- it's only 40k, so its not a massive novel. I don't doubt that some of you won't like it but flaws aside, I think it's a pretty solid story.


That said, I think Deathly Hallows is a pretty solid book- flaws aside. So, yeah.


For me, I give the story:

4/5



Checked by Minion, March 17, 2013

 

Well, I thought the same about the Deathly Hallows. I guess I'll give it a try.

 

Very nice fic. It gets a 5/5 from me .
Very good characterization of Harry and also of some other sideline characters. And the fight of Diagon Alley kicked ass!

 

A nice, short and sweet, story. It's a bit angsty for my tastes: not just the suicide thoughts, but the tone the whole story carried. It's finished and short, so it almost feels like a long one-shot as it has the ending of one.

Harry is a bit Super! for only 17 months of training, but it doesn't detract from the plot as the training is given to the reader in the form of flashbacks. 4/5

 

I liked it, That feeling of being hollow, continuing for good of others, then just offing yourself in the end. 5/5 KIT SAYS YES!

 

4/5

It was a good fic. Plenty of action, well laid out. The end went well with the way the author had directed the fic. All in all a good rec there Shezza.

 

Read it and for some reason I wasn't a fan. Good writing, well paced and strong Harry, but I just couldn't stomach the pining and the longing (thought you did warn). 3/5 vote for me

 

I really liked this one. It was definitely one of the better Dark!Harry stories I've read, possibly even the best. Very good find. 5/5

 

It was..ok. I'll give it 4/5 the only fuss that i had over it was the shortness. I felt that there was to much left uncovered and to meny details to put in 7 chapters. I tried to ignore that love between him and Ginslut keeping him from total darkness and focused on just the idea (not the who) of that keepin him on the balance.

 

The Flashback form is nice and I enjoyed the plot line. I would say this is one of the better fanfics out there.

4.7/5

 

It was a very pleasant experience when I was reading this. There was a lot of angst and drama, but it was well done. The writing style was good, not exceptional but it wasn't terrible.

I found that the characterization was excellent- Most writers tend to write Harry as some ingenious, scheming, and brilliant teenager who can constantly out-duel and outmaneuver wizards and witches with infinitely more experience. He is smart but not a genius, independent but still able to have human feelings, and he actually feels 3-D in this fan fiction.

I find the H/G to be a good thing actually- She's not really shown in this story too much so she's not annoying, and I find that the pining keeps him human. What would happen if he was just a guy who had no real selfish desires or anyone he loved? I can generally like any pairing (except for slash) as long as it's well done, though I'd still prefer H/Luna, H/Tonks, H/Slytherin Girl or H/None over H/G.

Add in the fact that it's finished, and I am very satisfied with this story.

So this pretty much gets a 4.5/5 for me, I just wish that the story was just longer since it seems to short in my opinion.

 

Not bad, the author is pretty good at writing a duel. I like that he utilized wordless magic unlike a lot of authors won't do. His writing stile was decent, and his flashbacks were used in a way that it didn't disrupt the flow of the story.

5/5

 

Very very realistic story. And for the first story by an author, its simply fantastic. Ginny is a slut, Harry is powerful, Voldemort is not dumb and duels are believable. What more do you want?

Pity its so short though. I really really liked it. Should watch out for more from this guy.

5/5

 

Thanks for all the encouragement. I guess I did make a good debut then.