That goes to show where I stepped in it; I had completely forgotten that we got a take on old lady Longbottom in this very story. I may have to revise my assumptions in light of this and others' comments, and lean toward JBern bringing back Frank instead of Alice.

And as for people bitching about HJ not hoarding the Elixir for himself or Dumbledore - get real. People are going to die in this war, and it's highly unlikely that either would get the chance to use the Elixir.

Think about it. Who on Voldemort's side could really hope to take on this powerful Harry/James combination, let alone Dumbledore? Maybe a couple DEs like Bellatrix could give HJ a run for his money, but the only one likely to pose a serious threat to either is Voldemort himself, and does anyone honestly think he'd mortally wound one of them and then let him get away, to take the Elixir in the nick of time? Highly doubtful, though I'll admit it's been written countless times.

The alternative is to add a potentially helpful ally into the mix on the front end, and while yes, it is a risk, it's at least a calculated one, and HJ knows that (1) Frank is/was a good person to have in a fight, a known quantity, and (2) bringing either one back is a good and decent thing to do for that person and Neville. This "fuck them, he should keep it" attitude pisses me off and completely misses the point of not only this sub-plot, but maybe the whole story, namely, that HJ is a blend of HP and JP and must weigh everything and make his decisions based on all that knowledge and experiences, good AND bad. No one's perfect, and if you want to read a story where Harry makes the exact right decision every time and never fucks up, well, I could recommend about a million absolute shit stories I've begun reading and dropped like a hot rock.

JBern, keep up the good work, and I for one look forward to your original novel whenever it comes out.

 

Just to nitpcik about the Death Eaters. As nothing book five onward has ever happened here, my money is that jbern takes a route of making them - or at least the inner circle - much more competant and deadly. Expect to see Rookwood, Malfoy, and friends be a much more worthy force against this stronger Harry.

 

I was rereading Lie I've Lived and found this rather telling passage. Pay special attention to the last paragraph.

 

I'm sort of rooting for the possibility of the elixir of life doing nothing. Just as a "Not everything works out" kind of thing. To me it seems like everything HJ has done has worked out, to at least a small extent in his favor. Having something like this backfire majorly could teach a lesson to him. That's just my theory though.

 

If.

Funny word, ain't it? Everyone seem to be wagering on it working, and whether HJ will bring back Alice, or Frank. Both have their advantages, both have their downsides, more so for Neville than each other.

I'd like to agree with Lunchbox and say that I just don't see it working. It's an elixer of supposed immortality; not a cure for insanity caused by prolonged exposure to the cruciatus curse. The Flammels are, were living people who are/were perfectly sane. The Longbotoms are still living, but not sane.

Sorry guys, but I just don't see this working out; something has to go wrong down the line. So far everything's been ok, Aimee incident aside. Still, I enjoyed the chapter, the character interaction was as always, brilliant. Eagerly awaiting the next update.

At the end of the day, it's all down to 'If' it will work or not.

 

As Stephen King said, in "Wolves of the Calla":

If, the only word a thousand letters long.

 

Grats, you just said what VOTN said, except you copied and pasted the part, instead of just mentioning it.

This in no way relates to the debate. We know that HJ is going to either revive Frank or Alice (or at least thats what it seems like), however, we are arguing about whether he SHOULD revive Frank or Alice.

I personally expect HJ to revive Frank, out of the two.

 

What should be done is rarely done Ellisande. I still say Frank or Alice would be a good recipent. We can argue all day about what it MIGHT be needed for in the future. But as of right now HJ wants to help his friends. Which we all know is what Harry Potter and most likely James Potter would do no matter the cost.

 

I agree with how you say what should be done is rarely done. I completely agree. I was just mainly arguing against Immolo's bullshit, when he was trying to convince us that HJ was doing exactly what should be done.

He just really pissed me off. :/ I'll drop it now.

 

I wasn't debating anything, retard. I was noting that Jbern could quite easily have left that as a Chekhov's Gun for who he was going to revive(in this case Frank).

 

Using the Elixir on the Longbottoms = Failure.

Assuming that the Elixir even works (I'm inclined to agree with Lunchbox on that point), why bother? As a plot device, curing the Longbottoms is right up there with reintroducing the Founders. Killing another Death Eater is just as effective as gaining an ally, so that faggotry about using the Elixir to gain another friendly wand just pisses me off.

And after HJ made all that noise about how he's a completely new person, and thus unable to care about or really identify with his peers, why do something as utterly retarded as wasting such a valuable potion (that may or may not work) on someone that, by his logic, he won't completely identify with? He already realized that his defeat of the dragon was too 'James', i.e. a waste; how is this sentimental bullshit any different?

 

James did not have his wand on him when Voldemort came in.* You might call that stupid, but I doubt most wizards carry their wands with them all the time (life is not entirely about fighting after all) and were doubtlessly assured by the Fidelius. Lily was likely overcome by motherly instincts quashing any sort of rational thought. I agree that "defied Voldemort thrice" doesn't mean that they kicked Voldemort's ass three times - rather, they probably were cornered by Voldemort and barely managed to escape.

*Of course, that's canonically speaking... In Lie I've Lived, James tried to duel Voldemort - and lost badly. They should have had Portkeys with them or something.

Lie I've Lived: HJ is Harry and James. While the combination thereof has made him a "new" person, James (and Harry) massively influence his personality and his sentiments. HJ doubtlessly feels connection to both Frank and Alice, considering that he knew them well. Sentimental bullshit rarely is that - not everyone can be as detached from their emotions as we'd like bad ass characters to be.

 

The difference in the curing the Logbottoms is that usually the Harry/Ginny retards have Harry be a super-mega-uper-duper powerful Phoenix animagus or powerful to rival God, or have Harry suddenly become a master of alchemy and make a stone. This way of curing them is both plausible and is in no way cliche in my opinion.

 

Personally I would love to see Harry give the Elixir to Mad-Eye. He was supposedly the best Auror during Voldemort's first rise and having him in full fighting condition would be a great boon for the Order.

 

Random Shinobi - Epic thought.

That is all.

 

I don't think HJ is ultimately going to be thinking about this from a pure strategic standpoint. Between himself, Dumbledore, the rest of the Marauders, and the hit-wizards that Sirius is supposed to gather, HJ would seem to have a dearth of fighters at his disposal.

I rather think that HJ is just looking to reverse what was a terrible tragedy, bringing back a former friend from an unimaginably horrible fate, while simultaneously giving Neville the parent that he's probably longed for his whole life. Which I'm guessing will be Alice.

 

This might be a damn stupid question, but was it ever stated or implied that Mad-Eye was significantly hindered by only having one leg?

Also, assuming his eye grows back, would taking the potion be a hindrance or a help?


I have to wonder what people who want HJ to save the potion for a rainy day are thinking.

It's all well and good to say that HJ should chug it when he's on the floor bleeding to death, or toss it to Albus when he's in the same position, but given the fact that in wizard battles you have all sorts of instant-death nastiness flying around - especially in jbern's stories - I think it would be a bit of a miracle of the potion actually came into play.

Curing either of the Longbottoms is the closest you can get to resurrecting the dead in the HP universe.

I say go for it.

 

I would say it would limit his mobility as far as his leg goes. But if he was a fighter who really used his enviroment and moved around alot he probably changed his style to move of a straight forward power style.

 

...the Elixir makes you not die, or significantly slows the aging process. It doesn't restore shit that's already missing (legs,eyes, etc).

And Mad-Eye is silly for keeping the wooden leg, given how Voldemort restored Peter's hand. Having the magical eye is as near PreCog as one will get. Gving the Elixir to him is no real advantage over his already significant talents, except granting him the ability to not die - unless killed.

/Yogi Bera

Despite that, it would still be infinitely less retarded than giving it to either of the Longbottoms.

 

Didn't Voldemort go for it because he thought it could restore his body?

Or am I missing something here?