I didn't read short stories, my fault.

Still, I really, really doubt that Michael would strike his own daughter unless he had no choice. I'm not even sure if he would defend himself, should Meciel (no 'r' in the name, btw) attack him.

Meciel doesn't threaten her soul. Amanda did that on her own. And I don't see why Harry is supposed to apologize for Meciel's actions.

 

You know, I think we're all missing the real point here.

Harry/(Meciel + Amanda) smut is back on the cards! I bet Jon's feverishly penning the omake right now.

 

Ofcourse Michael wont strike at his own daughter.

But what about when Harry has been rescued? Meciel has made an enemy here, and enemy that may come after her and Harry further down the line. An enemy wielding one of the artifacts specially designed to stop her and her kind.

Given recent events, I think Harry&Meciel could have maintained a peacefull relationship with the knights, even after he stops being one. I am not sure that is possible now. Michael will not forget how Meciel acted towards his daughter. Whether he can forgive probably depends on how her behaviour is explained. But even then, he will remember.

How could ^that be taken as anything but hostile threat to Amanda. I mean Amanda took up the coin to try and help Harry AND Meciel. And now in return Meciel is claiming ownership over her and threatening to eat her soul or whatever. Now whether Amanda is to blame or not is irrelevant here, what matters is that Meciel's general behaviour and attitude was aggressive and hostile, to the very people she needs help from.

I mean think about how Meciel could have done this:
After she got control, she could have apologized for the pain Amanda experienced, explained that it was just a side-effect of taking the coin and she did not mean for it to happen. Then explain what happened to Harry and show gratitude at Amanda for taking up her coin. Then she could show vulnerability at the void and use that as a reason not to leave Amanda, but she could promise that Amanda would be totally unharmed and her soul untainted. After that she could ask for help in saving Harry, reminding Michael of all that Harry has done for him. Then let Amanda regain control, (but not let the coin go yet ofcourse) further showing her goodwill and separating herself from the other "evil"-fallen in the minds of Dumbledore and the knights.

End result from this? The knights and Dumbledore would certainly do what Meciel wanted them to, go and rescue Harry. Only this way Meciel would also have maintained a peacefull relationship with them all, making sure that they would be potential allies in the future too.

Whether any of that is actually _true_ does not matter. Meciel is supposed to be a seductive, manipulative, ancient and extremely intelligent fallen angel. She should be able to come up with a convincing act that would get her _everything_ she wanted, without making any new enemies. Heck, with everyone working completely of their own free will instead of under duress, their performance might improve, increasing the chances of success.

Honey would have worked far better than vinegar. And unless Shezza wants to paint Meciel as a fool unable to look into the future beyond the immediate concerns, he should show a convincing explanation as to WHY Meciel was this blind and foolish.

As for Harry, I am assuming that Harry will take up the coin again eventually, I could be wrong but if not, the fact that he carries the coin does kinda mean that any attempt at revenge on Meciel will go to him too. By taking up and keeping the coin, Harry does accept some culpability in Meciels actions.

 

Heh, speaking of which, thanks Jon, if indeed this update was a result of your persuasive efforts.

 

I find this unlikely, though I admit I haven't read anything of the Dresden series, but from what I understand in this story, the last person Michael would ever want to strike down is Harry Potter. For one, he's fighting the ... evil wizard Voldemort. Secondly, he's captured more Denarians in a single day than any other Knight who has ever lived. Thirdly, his daughter is smitten with him. Fourthly, to everyone else's knowledge, Harry is still a Knight (and he may make everyone continue to think that way). What's the incentive to attacking him? Catharsis? Michael is too selfless to surrender to the bit of initial pleasure he might get out of vanquishing Harry/Meciel.

Harry's (and by proxy, Meciel) done too much good for the world to justify 'hunting down'. At least by the Knights... I guess I could forsee some trouble if word got out to the British that Harry hosted a demon inside of him.

 

I think your missing the point. Yes she's manipulative, ancient, and extremely intelligent, but she's also has her pride, she's used to being in a position of power. She's just spent time in the void which she loathes, and Harry was just taken. She's pissed off. It would be retarded if Meciel attempted to soothe Amanda, also it would be completely out of character. If I remember correctly the most positive emotion Meciel ever had towards Amanda was some sort of condescending amusement and derision.

And do you really think for a second Michael or Dumbledore would believe it for a second if Meciel apologized for causing Amanda pain? They know that Meciel has some fondness for Harry but showing a similar fondness for Amanda would be even more suspicious. Obviously they would be expecting her to be trying to use them. Anyways in this scenario they all have a common or similar goals and subtle manipulations are wasted at this point in time.

 

Eh, I didn't think she was acting out of character for a second. Actually, she demonstrated a considerable amount of restraint in my opinion.

First, in her interactions with Harry, when she gets pissed off, she gets fucking pissed off. Usually though it's just Harry that sees her flipping her lid. Second, as established in Denarion Renegade, Meciel loathes Amanda to a degree. Now, it's possible that Meciel may have softened her stance slightly over the past two novels, but I don't see her being thrilled in the slightest to posses a girl who is faithful to God (although by willingly becoming the host to Meciel may call into question her faith).

Combine these two factors and it's no surpise she acted the way she did. She wasn't irrational - she made no aggressive moves towards Michael or Dumbledore. While her tone was caustic - it was very much in character.

Now I want to see some Amanda/Meciel interaction. Although...with Meciel in the driver's seat will we see it from her perspective with Amanda playing the role of incorpreal voice?

 

Interesting thought... I know that Shezza has already killed off Nicodemus, and that this timeline doesn't match up directly with DV, but Nicodemus was shocked in 'Small Favor' when Dresden let slip that Denarians had attacked Arctis Tor...

Michael is currently in possession of a bag of a large number of coins... I know it isn't logical, but wouldn't it be cool if Meciel brought the Order back, even after having just defeated them, and once again assuming control of the Order to save Harry from Winter? The might of the Fallen thrown against Winter for Meciel's love of Harry. Epic.

 

Not possible... I think they will tear Amanda into pieces instead...

 

Meciel has no reason to apologize to Amanda. She took the coin willingly and any pain that resulted was a result of her choice. She also has no reason to show gratitude or vulnerability to her current host, given that she despise her and thinks of her as garbage (Also a no on giving her control of her own body back). She is also thought of differently already since she is Harry's Fallen, and Harry has shown a pretty hefty determination where Meciel's concerned.

So all in all, no Meciel makes up with Amanda.

 

You are missing my point. It matters not if Meciel has any actual reason to apologize or if she has any blame. The point is that by ACTING that way she would have _manipulated_ Dumbledore and the Knights into seeing her in a more positive light, which could only have been usefull to her purposes in the future. Actual truth is irrelevant.

She does not actually have to believe any of that, but by spouting that bullshit she could have conned the knights into doing everything she wanted, and maintained a positive relationship which would have guaranteed that she&Harry could have relied on their goodwill and potential assistance in the future too.

Right now, Michael will help save Harry yes, but only because its the only way to save Amanda. Take that away and I expect that as a result of these events and Meciels behaviour, in the future Michael would tell Meciel to go fuck herself. He might even decide that perhaps Harry&Meciel are just like all the others afterall and that the collection of the church might benefit from one more coin. Something she could have avoided by being more manipulate and seductive in her approach.

Think of how Lash acted in Dresden Files. Cunning, manipulative and clever. Being all helpfull and submissive when in reality it was all just a plot to lure Dresden in.

I suppose my point here was that I would have expected an ancient Fallen Angel to be able to set aside the truth and act in a way that would prove most beneficial to her, now and in the future. The fact that instead she acted so harshly and potentially lost potential allies for no good reason should have some explanation.

 

And she'd do that because? Maybe to manipulate them into helping her in freeing Harry. Oh, wait, they are already. Fallen angel being nice for sake of being nice... doesn't sound that well, does it?

 

Yes because Knights of the Cross and Albus Dumbledore are easily manipulated.

And I'd expect that she'd be smart enough to know that they aren't naive enough to trust her. She's a useful ally in Harry, who can easily turn into a loose cannon if Meciel is taken from him for good.

 

Meciel is the Knight of the Cross? That's..unexpected. Great update, the torture was excellent, unfortunately for Harry.

 

I liked the more civilized Meciel, she seemed a bit more as I would have expected now.

You certainly surprised me with the fact that it was Meciel that the sword chose instead of Harry. I wonder why. I also wonder what that means with your earlier statement that the sword would never glow for Harry again. Was that foreshadowing that Harry and Meciel will not be reunited I wonder, or just that Meciel will stop being a knight.

The whole torture scene was really freaky. You managed to make it far more disturbing than the usual Voldemort Crucio thing in HP stories. Well done. I hope the cavalry will come soon before poor Harry totally loses it.

 

One of the things that's been annoying me throughout the fic is the passage of time between the Human world and the Nevernever. As far as I'm aware (and having only started reading the Dresden files I could be wrong) the passage of time is meant to be random within the Nevernever, sometimes faster sometimes slower. But so far it's only worked to the Faes' advantage, giving them months and years to plan and prepare compared to the hours and days the wizarding world gets.

For once, just once, it would be nice to see it work against them even if it isn't this time. Although it would be amusing for all the trouble Maeve has gone to to capture Harry only to have her efforts undone by the random passage of time. She's just getting started in on the torture when Meciel and Dumbledore etc. arrive to rescue Harry after having had weeks to prepare.

 

Even if they can rationally know that it's all an act they would emotionally respond better to her.

It's just like Dresden knew that Lash's job was to tempt him into darkness, possibly slavery and most certainly into evil. Yet, he kind of liked her, was even awed by her presence sometimes, sympathized with her - even when he was completely uncertain whether her free will dilemma was just an act - and generally responded to her rather favourably. This would not have happened had Lasciel acted like a bitch. Or take a look at how Sanya responded to Rosanna.

Just like Dresden, the knights are only human. Even if their minds are screaming at them "IT'S AN ACT STUPID" they are still emotionally influenced by that acting.

Because even if the Knights help her this time it will only be because of the handle that she has on them. From the being that was really pissed off that Harry would not pursue political power acting coldly towards potential allies seems out of character.

It could be as simple as Meciel no longer feeling the need to use the sword after destroying the Blackened Order. But that's weird as the sword is a potent weapon.

Maeve can control the passage of time in Winter areas, as shown in Proven Guilty.

I like the new scene and am eagerly awaiting Meciel showing just how powerful she can be. I only hope that Amanda is powerful enough to "support" a badass show of power.

 

We've already seen how powerful Meciel can be. 3 books of it, in fact.

Meciel controlling Amanda's body < Meciel and Harry working together.

I'm expecting stuff more along the lines of Meciel being frustrated at not being as powerful she's used to being with an inferior host.

 

Maeve torturing and mind fucking Harry was magically delicious:awesome