I just read Excession. This crossover was the perfect opportunity for a mutual Outside Context Problem.

 

I'm fine with having Sma in the story. I like her. But I have to agree that seeing as this is an HP/Culture crossover, most of not all of the action should be on Earth, not fucking around with 'female nobody #1' like in the 2nd or 3rd chapter.

Chapter 6 felt like a definite filler chapter, which was not good. The writing and the style is fine, but this just stinks of filler, and the fact that Harry and Sma seemingly apparared or portkeyed through Hogwarts wards brings up a lot of questions.

As much as I like this story, Ruskbyte might have been better off finishing one of his old stories, a personal favorite of mine.

It called 'From the Abyss', and has a stream of consciousness crazy Harry with godlike powers that I like. Ruskbyte should have brought this back to life rather than start a new story from scratch starting with Hogwarts Year 1 with a story concept that while good, has the potential to tear itself apart quite easily.

 

Abyss was suprisingly good. The whole insane angle was played nicely. Until he gets his muse for that though, we'll just have to endure.

Culture is doing okay, but I'm hoping Ruskbyte picks up the pace. Trying to get through 1st year stories is some of the toughest fics to write.

 

For people wanting more of an introduction into the Culture without reading the novels themselves, here's a Battlestar Galactica 2k3 and Culture crossover. http://www.tthfanfic.com/wholestory.php?no=16122

It's not bad, but it's not fantastic either. I've been reading it in parallel with Ruskbyte's fic as chapters are released.

It has spoilers up to the end of Season 3 of Galactica. Season 4 is airing on TV atm, so there shouldn't be too many people that this affects.

 

I would rather see Backwards Compatable updated than this story, although it is turning out good I don't want Ruskbyte to suddenly abandon it like his other fics.

 

Except that Sma kidnapped Harry. During the trial in the 5th book, we find out that the Ministry is aware of Harry's location at the Dursleys. Which makes it his legal residence. If Harry suddenly got taken away from the Dursleys, I am sure Dumbledore would have reported it as a kidnapping. The fact that Sma can just walk in and demand things from Dumbledore seems even more unrealistic. The conversation would be more like, "Give us Harry or get sent to Azkaban."

No, Dumbledore seems to be acting very out of character. I would also imagine that the Ministry would be more involved then what is shown in the story. They would do more than anything to get their "savior" back. I am sure that the Ministry could come up with some sort of reason as to why Harry should stay at Hogwarts.

 

Whether Sma kidnapped Harry is irrelavent. Harry trusts Sma and the Culture, not Dumbledore and the Ministry. As it stands, why would Dumbledore do something by force against an opponet he doesn't undersand. (In more ways than one).

What he knows about Sma is what he's been told. Since that's all he has to work with, only idiots charge head first into situations he doesn't understand. He's attempting to use words (Like he ususally does) to get what he wants. The problem is, Sma is a much better at this game than he is. Dumbledore seems in character to me.

 

You seem to be under the assumption that the Ministry has the means to enforce that decree, which makes me wonder if you've been reading the story at all.

The balance of power at the moment is so lopsided in the Culture's favor that it's not even funny.

 

Of course Dumbledore is using words to persuade Sma to let Harry stay at Hogwarts. That however, is the problem. Why does he need to beg and plead when he can just bring Sma up on charges for kidnapping? In fact, the story so far is unrealistic. The Ministry should have already interfered and tried to detain Sma(and fail miserably).

Whether or not Harry wants to go to Hogwarts is irrelevant. He has been taken away from the wizarding world, and the Ministry and Dumbledore have failed to act.

I am perplexed when you say that Dumbledore cannot "charge in" as you call it. For all he knows, Sma is just a foreign witch who committed a terrible crime and kidnapped the living one.

You sir, have clearly been reading too much fanon. If you think Dumbledore is acting in character when he begs and moans to Sma like a good little bitch. Then I am sorry to say you are mistaken. His attempt to persuade Sma is also laughable. Dumbledore throughout the series has been shown as a charismatic, intelligent old man.

Yet in this story he does not show any of his abilities to negotiate. He acts exactly like he does in every other manipulative-dumbledore fic, where he comes off as having the intelligence of a rock.

I didn't say anything about enforce. I am well aware that if the Culture choses too, it can completely obliterate the wizarding world. However this does not excuse the reaction(or lack of) of the wizarding world, when they find out about Harry.

Like I said, the Ministry should have sent in Aurors. With Dumbledore sending in the Order. They should have attempted to bring in Sma to Azkaban on charges for the kidnapping of Harry. In fact, this story should have already ended. Where Dumbledore, the Ministry's Aurors, and the Order all get slaughtered by the Culture.

This story is completely unrealistic in character interaction. Sma has just returned with a kidnapped Harry, and Dumbledore invites them over for tea? When Sma tells Dumbledore she has no intention of bringing Harry to Hogwarts, Dumbledore proceeds to beg Sma to let Harry stay. Yes, this is definitely how Dumbledore would act in Canon.

 

Your arguments are totally irrelevant to the point of this fic.

I ship Harry/Sma.

 

Look, Harry is OCC, because he hasn't been living on Earth. Because he's OCC, don't you think everyone around him will be acting differently in response to what you read in canon?

Besides, even if Dumbledore is OCC, so the fuck what? That's fanfiction. You want canon, read the books. Here we have an alien, an alien culture, and human raised by aliens. How in character can you get with that much dynamic backdrop to write in?

Again, if Dumbledore thinks Sma is a kidnapper, it's irrelevant. Who does Harry trust more? Sma or Dumbledore? If Sma is arrest or harmed in anyway, do you think Harry will stay on EARTH at all? No. Back to the Culture and light-years away. Dumbledore has no advantage. From his POV, if Sma is capable of hiding Harry so well that he can't detect his presence, then she could do it again.

 

I'd like to point out that Sma actually picked up an abandoned baby - injured and left out at night in late Fall - which implies sufficiently cold to be dangerous. It is quite possible that AD left some sort of spell on the child to keep him warm and protected and prevent the child from being attacked by a stray dog, but what Sma SAW was a blanket, a basket, a note, and a tiny child with an open injury as well as multiple bruises.

I doubt it's legal (even in the British Wizarding World, which seems to have most of the more unpleasant aspects of the Regency period) to simply drop a baby on a doorstep. Dumbledore didn't even post someone to keep watch. After all, Harry wasn't stolen by the milkman, he actually was grabbed by an ALIEN. And HOW long did it take for Dumbledore to notice?

Edited to add:
Moreover, AD KNOWS that there are multiple strange things about Sma and Harry's history - remember the locating spell? And Sma specifically told him that the curse scar had had its magic drained and the mark removed. Moreover, Harry told him that doing so caused an explosion that killed someone. It's perfectly reasonable for Dumbledore to decide that he needs more information. AD has spent the day trying to interrogate Sma, and she is blocking him on nearly every particular. He's canny and smart and he isn't used to being completely unable to control a conversation, especially considering her apparent age.

As Harry's primary caregiver, getting her on Dumbledore's side would simply be intelligent. Don't make an enemy if an ally would work better.

 

That may well be true. However I doubt the Ministry would see it that way. For all they know, Harry Potter the chosen one was kidnapped.

The proof we see in the series points to the contrary. The Ministry is aware that Harry lives with muggles at his aunt and uncle's house. It is listed down as his residence. Which clearly means that if he were taken away in the dead of night from his house, it would be seen as a kidnapping. They don't care at all what abuse he receives at the hands of his family. So I doubt they care how good Sma may have treated Harry. It is kidnapping to their eyes, and they will treat Sma like a kidnapper.

Do you think it is natural for Dumbledore to invite the kidnapper of Harry over for tea at Hogwarts? It doesn't matter in the slightest what Sma's intentions where. I doubt the Ministry, or Dumbledore would see it that way. All they know is that their golden boy had been kidnapped.

I'm sure that Dumbledore is not under the impression that Sma is a death eater. Yet nevertheless, he should try and take Sma in, and "rescue" Harry. For not only did she break the law, she happened to kidnap Harry Potter of all people.

The last thing Dumbledore is going to do is sit down and have a conversation with Sma. More than likely they would try to take away Harry and arrest Sma. Albus spending the day pleading with Sma doesn't make any sense at all.

Also, the fact that the locating charms don't work would only strengthen Dumbledore's resolve. For all he knows Harry has been kidnapped by death eaters, and has been placed under heavy security, prohibiting the locating charm from taking effect.

If he was curious, he would interrogate her in Azkaban. Or at least that's what he would attempt to do. Like I said, this story should have already ended. Dumbledore, the Order, and the Ministry, should have tried to take away Harry. Harry should have left, or his bodyguards should have just wiped out the wizards.

The fact is that Sma will not be seen that way. Not when she stole Harry in the dead of night.

Let me say this. If a police officer found a boy who has been kidnapped for 10 years, along with his so called "guardian." Would the police officer invite the kidnapper along with the boy over to his house to have tea? Would the police officer beg and plead with the kidnapper to hand over the boy? Or would the police officer do the sensible thing, and arrest the guardian and take the boy in?

It's just common sense Banner. The fact that Harry Potter is a celebrity would make matters even worse for Sma. Sma's intentions were certainly for good, yet no one will see it that way.

To me, inviting Sma over for tea, seems about as crazy then if Dumbledore were to invite Bellatrix over for dinner. Bellatrix is a mass murderer. Sma is a kidnapper of the most important baby in Wizarding Britain. Everyone in the wizarding world is going to want their savior back. I wouldn't be surprised if the Ministry were to issue a death warrant for the kidnapper of Harry.

 

One thing that people seem to be forgetting is the fact, that at the time Sma rescued Harry, he was on Privet Drive for a couple of hours, at the most. It is entirely possible that at that point there were only three people who knew that. And none of them worked for the Ministry.

The reason that the Ministry knew where Harry lived, in canon, was most likely Dobby's fault. There is absolutely no mention of the Ministry ever noticing/doing anything about Harry's 'accidental' magic. In fact, there seems to be a 'black hole' around Privet Drive until Harry goes to Hogwarts.

There also seems to be some 'truth' to the common fanon idea that Dumbledore made a unilateral decision in placing Harry there. So, if he did that, it would be in his own best interest NOT to let the Ministry/public at large know where Harry was living, until at least he entered Hogwarts. In this story, it seems to be even more 'true'. If Dumbledore were not acting on his own, then when the instruments showed Harry not to be at Privet Drive should have dumped Dumbledore into 'a world of hurt' from the Ministry before Chap. 1 finished. There should have been calls for and permission granted to have Dumble's head on a pike.

So, at least in the context of this story, it seems that the only ones who knew Harry was actually 'missing' were those who put him at Privet Drive in the first place.

 

Actually, the wizarding world was well aware of Harry's disappearance.

In chapter three, Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall are discussing why Harry's 'abductor-guardians' haven't come forward if they really are good people as Albus magical devices seem to indicate:

It seems unlikely that the public would be told where Harry was supposed to end up (No. 4 Privet Drive), because Dumbledore was adamant about keeping it a secret at the end of chapter one. He'd still need to keep the Dursley's a secret in case he ever recovered Harry.

None the less, the public and Ministry were well aware that Harry had been taken.

 

So your objection is that the author didn't write a two page story which ends with "THEN THE CULTURE KILLED ALL THE WIZARDS. TEH END."? I don't even like this story that much and I still think that's the most retarded thing I've ever heard.

It's true this fic has made him look weak but Dumbledore is such an enigmatic guy I don't think anyone can really say what he would or wouldn't do in a particular situation. He made some really fucking crazy decisions in his time.

 

True enough. Working on the assumption that Dumbledore wants to take the measure of Sma (and whoever was helping her hide Harry,) then the longer he can keep her talking in a congenial fashion the better. After all, there will be plenty of time to use less pleasant methods.

It's lots harder to turn an enemy back into a friend.

 

And lets not forget, that Harry was abandoned...which means one can not speak about kidnapping at all.

I mean, what would she be accused of? For picking up a bruised and bloddied baby which might die if not looked after emediatly?


The most idiotic action Dumbledore could take (the Ministry doesn't even know yet, that Harry has returned to Privet Drive) would be to seperate Harry and Sma and interrogate her, because even if he might succed, do you really think Harry, who might as well love Sma like his mother or who might even think that she is his mother would look kindly upon anyone who tries to take her from him?

Smart move, lets get Harry so he might someday kill the dark lord, only for him to hate the magical world with a passion for taking his mother from him, and joining forces with Voldemort, killing all those who were involved with Sma's abduction.

Dumbledore choice to treat both Sma and Harry with respect and even begging a little is his best option, because antagonizing Sma, Harry or both would be the biggest mistake he could make, no matter if he thinks he is in the right.

And lets not forget that Sma also thinks of Harry as her son, for the moment at last, do you really think any mother (or father for that matter) wouldn't lay into Dumbledore for letting ones child come to danger ?
Any mother would react as she did.

 

Post an introduction and use spell check.

 

Specious arguments
Flowing back and forth; stagnant
Logic is defied