I don't generally wander in the dark arts section.

 

It was visible from the index of the site though.

But yeah, I think it's a pretty good story.

 

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3039099/1/In_Terms_of_a_Name

In Terms of a Name » reviews
[Chapter XI: Obscured Personality] Indicted, imprisoned, kidnapped, and Kissed, Harry manages to survive and gain powerful allies. Now, he bides his time for the perfect chance to strike. AU after OotP. Dark, powerful, independent, Dementor Harry.
Harry Potter - Fiction Rated: T - English - Drama/General - Chapters: 12 - Words: 68,053 - Reviews: 376 - Updated: 12-10-07 - Published: 7-11-06

It's written alright, and it has Dementor!Harry, but that's it. It's like SilverAegis, you apparently only have enough creativity to come up with one original idea and base a story on it, making every single other aspect dull.

Something that rarely occurs happened to me - I read 68,000 words, and shrugged when I reached the end without eagerly anticipating updates or feeling curiosity.

 

Veil of Shadows, by v v c
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4659219/1/

In the days after Sirius falls through the veil, Harry retreats into silence and watches as the scene repeats itself in his mind’s eye. He knows that if he can just understand what was said by those whispering voices, that he could rescue his godfather.

It's a one-shot, 8200 words

This is an idea I've never seen before, and I love the execution. The episodic style is interesting and different, and it works perfectly with the subject matter. The reason I haven't suggested this story for the Library is that I'm pretty sure it won't hold to being reread in six months, but it was a great way to spend an evening.

 

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3475526/1/Of_Durmstrang

Of Durmstrang » reviews
Sirius Black never took Harry to Dumbledore in the first book and instead raised him as his own son knowing that everyone in the wizard world thinks he told Voldemort where the Potters lived, he fled the country with Harry, bigger summary inside.
Harry Potter - Fiction Rated: M - English - Adventure/Romance - Chapters: 17 - Words: 93,945 - Reviews: 273 - Updated: 9-10-08 - Published: 4-4-07

False advertising. Saw the title and thought - hey, is it too much to expect that the writer invested some thought to set the story in Durmstrang and flesh it out?

Turned out it was.

 

This is a favorite of mine, to be honest. I've considered offering it up to the library, but as I have rather... varied tastes, I'm not doing it.

Counterparts » reviews COMPLETE. After leaving the Dursleys in the summer after fifth year, Harry goes to Godric's Hollow and finds himself . . . at home. AU with a twistComplete - Harry Potter - Fiction Rated: T - English - Drama/Angst - Chapters: 4 - Words: 8,058 - Reviews: 24 - Updated: 9-30-04 - Published: 7-30-04

And its sequel--

Learning to Vanquish » reviews COMPLETED. Continuation of Counterparts. A sixth year story as close to canon as I can manage, with my predictions as to what will happen. Chapter 15: The endoftheyear debriefing with Dumbledore.Complete - Harry Potter - Fiction Rated: T - English - General/Angst - Chapters: 15 - Words: 89,819 - Reviews: 61 - Updated: 7-10-05 - Published: 1-9-05

Good solid writing, and an original twist on the Harry-is-sent-to-an-AU plot. They're older stories, and more points for complete.

 

I was considering posting this one for a review as it does have ideas that at least I have never read before, and should add that I enjoyed them quite much. The execution is not half bad either.

The only reason I decided against it, is the overly manipulative Dumbledore. Although I like the way it's done, it's still a bit too much for the liking of many.

If there are more people thinking that it might deserve a "For review" post we can move it there.

Black Vengeance >> maidros78
After Sirius' death, Harry has problems trusting people, especially Dumbledore. When some Death Eaters trying to evade Voldemort make contact, he learns curious truths. Can he uncover why he was given to Dursleys? after OotP, AU, manipulative Dumbledore
Harry Potter - Fiction Rated: T - English - Adventure/Mystery - Chapters: 18 - Words: 46,084 - Reviews: 375 - Updated: 10-25-08 - Published: 2-8-07

 

Ooh, It has been a long time since I have seen these fics. What I remember, they are decent reads, but probably not what many around here would like to read.

/me goes off to re-read 'em

 

Just skimmed it through. I must say this belongs to the "Barely Readable" end of the spectrum. It might well be more suited for the "Awesomely Bad Fanfics" thread.

Writing is terrible, plot is terrible. It's just GoF rehashed with a more powerful Harry hailing from Durmstrang (and taking Krum's spot as Champion). The First Task is not changed, and neither is the method Harry uses to solve it.

Romance is terribly done. Both of Harry's love interests, Fleur and Cho, are unlikeable characters in this fic. A good fanon Cho would build on her Ravenclaw aspect and be portrayed as someone intelligent and resourceful, not only the blubbering mess JKR wrote her out to be in OOTP. Here, her characterization is even worse then it was in canon.

Also lacking is the uniqueness and class that makes Fleur appear a league above other women. Instead, we see her here as pretty much an ordinary petty schoolgirl with little of her Veela aspects being explored apart from the uber beauty.

You also have the standard Weasley bashing of both Ron and Ginny.

I won't even bother with the author's pathetic attempts to write a few half-baked Voldemort scenes with the usual 'Cruciating his servants to show how menacing he is' crap.

So there you have it- A fic that fails in plot or originality, fails in its action scenes and fails in the romance. An epic fail with no redeeming qualities. I'd give this 1/5 if it was put up for review.

 

What kind of sick son of a bitch would write 90,000 words, not one thousand of which is worth reading?

It makes me look more charitably upon Vanishing Illusions. Still no sign of Durmstrang, but at least it was more readable.

... And from what I understand, you had a story where Harry attends Durmstrang story yourself.

 

I couldn't get into this one. There a couple of nitpicks in the first chapter itself like Daphne and Nott being allowed to attend the hearing at the Wizengamot (I don't care who they accompanied), Hermione giving out the name of the group - DA - when they had not decided the name until the first meeting and Harry speaking freely to Nott and actually believing his spiel, when his father had sycophantically licked DLV's metaphoric boots and showed no compunction in taunting Harry and attempting to curse him at the graveyard. I willing to believe that Harry would listen before cursing but actually believing so easily...
Also, all that Slytherin plotting stuff doesn't sit well when you are writing about 15 year olds. There is an overdose of intrigue and sophistication. This would have been pretty good if they had all been 20 yr olds trying to form a vigilante group.

I find it hard to believe that kids would know things like that. Harry knowing might not be surprising because of Sirius being Regulus' brother, but the kids of random Death Eaters?

Too cliche and overly precocious - these are 15 year old kids, after all.

 

So I decided to read Veil of Shadows, and like Banner said, it's interesting. I like the concept of learning from the 'voices' Harry hears near the veil, but the story is mostly that, a concept. It'd be very interesting to see what an upper-echelon writer could do with this idea.

 

Except that there is pretty much not a thousand words worth reading, unless you count the scenes where the author ceaselessly bash Ginny into the ground as such.

Eh, I'm confused- Do you actually think the fic is any good?

Back to the point though, I've come to the conclusion that fics where Harry studies in any school other than Hogwarts will never work. This isn't a Durmstrang fic. Nothing much has been explored regarding Harry's history in the school. It's simply a GoF rewrite with Harry hailing from Durmstrang instead. Even "Vanishing Illusions" is the same, albeit slightly more interesting and better written.

There simply isn't any true Durmstrang!Harry fic where we actually get to see Harry growing up and studying there.

Same goes for the "Harry studying in Beauxbatons" plot bunny. Apart from Bioplague's attempt, which I assume is pretty much abandoned after two chapters, the have been no other similar efforts.

"We, In Faith", while being a pretty well-written fic, if not a little dull, is yet again another GoF rehash but with a Beauxbatons!Harry and a freaking ton of OCs.

Hogwarts is simply such an integral part of the Potterverse that writing a fic where Harry studies somewhere else is nearly impossible to turn out well, unless the author somehow manages to introduce a legion of believable, well-written OCs, churn out lots and lots of creative ideas on how Harry's school life is like (and how it differs from Hogwarts) without having to uber-ize one school and it's teaching methods over the others.

Otherwise we will just get the commonly seen 'Harry goes to so and so school learning various uber magicks and skills alongside elves, elementals and whatnot' type of fic.

Oh, I can't write to save my life. Found that out a long time ago, hence I've never written anything since.

Edit: I think I remember reading a fic where Harry studied at Beauxbatons for his first five years over at FictionAlley. The plot converges with canon when Harry went to Britain at the end of his fifth year.

 

This is getting into semantics but I said one thousand arbitrarily, because individual words are fine. The writer used 'quarters' of the ship, but when placed in a larger context it sucks. Should have said 'not a hundred words'?

I agree with everything you said.

I suppose no one in the fandom is willing to flesh out another school as a setting. Even with your story which did not sidestep having Harry in Durmstrang, you stopped right when Harry got there.

What, OoTP took over? If the Beauxbatons part was worth a damn the author should have been fanatic about keeping the story original.

 

Eternities Limits... yes its by myself hell the only reason I haven't deleted it is because it seems that to have an extremely annoying fanbase.
Looking back now I would say barely readable to the point I dont' really want to waste the effort typing up the rest or rewritting it any further I just don't feel like it.
Seriously can anyone tell me how the hell its got such a base in the first place it sucks in my opinion.

 

Barely readable is too kind, considering the shittiness begins before the story does.

What the fuck?

You professed to have Harry go to Durmstrang, but let me guess, you conveniently avoided having to flesh out the environment by having Harry already educated. You then planned on introducing Durmstrang through flashbacks, but abandoned the story before you did so.

Amiright?

Your fanbase is very modest, consisting of 100 reviews, not all of which were submitted by different reviewers.

No need to be shocked.

 

Rape fic. Harry decides to rape every female he knows:

I'm dying. It's terribly written but I can't stop laughing.

The Baby Maker by Van Wickyn:

Link: http://wc4.fanficlinks.com/fanfiction/tiki-index.php?page=The%20Baby%20Maker%20%E2%80%93%20Chapter%2001&structure=Wim%20Vincken

 

Jesus Fucking over anything small and puffy Christ... I want to know what can push you to write something like that?

"She was not as pretty as Tonks and Ginny, but she had boobs and for sure a pussy"

I bet it is a case of bad childhood! O_0

 

Wow...I know there's lots in The Baby Maker to find fault with but...good God, the repetitive, tedious style!

 

I'm liking The Baby Maker more by not ever actually clicking that link and reading it. It's much better just to read the comments here and imagine the rest.

I just came across an entertainingly awful fic that definitely leans closer to the barely readable side rather than almost recommended.

It starts with more Lords and Ladies than an SCA masked orgy and it just goes downhill from there.

For example, the Queen, or "Grandmum" as Duke Harry calls her, decides Prince William and some other Royal's daughter don't need any more protection beyond Harry as a guide to stroll down Diagon Alley.

And of course his magic, blood, and soul pass the tests and proclaim him heir to all four founders.

I know, you're thinking 'damn, that's a lot of cliches' when all of sudden BAM! He's got a Soul Bond. They can talk into each other's heads. And oh yeah. They need consummate it, ASAP.

Then it starts playing possum, rolling out the greatest hits: his parent's will was ignored, Dumbledore's manipulating everyone, Ron and Ginny have been getting paid from Harry's vault, there's a block on Harry's power, and you begin to think you've got a handle on this fic...

And then come the terrorists. No, not Death Eaters. It's Osama Bin Laden.

Allow me to quote a section that caught my skimming eye:

Silently he cursed the Americans for inventing such a weapon... "Damn you, America, DAMN YOU!"

Oh this fic is so awful it's kinda fun.