Nice find Mike. That was great!

EDIT: Read this earlier today.

An Old Friend Comes Out To Play

A short one-shot. It made me grin. It's a little contrived (as Memory King pointed out in a previous review) but it was worth the 10min read. Essentially, Voldemort gets a surprise in the morning after the events of the DoM and Harry uses this surprise to his advantage.

 

Nineteen Ninety Six
Year Six, brahs. Harry Potter decides to fight a limited war. Not Orwellian in the least bit. H/Verity
Harry Potter - Rated: T - English - General/Drama - Chapters: 3 - Words: 9,417 - Reviews: 23 - Updated: 5-24-09 - Published: 5-18-09 - Harry P. & Verity


The writing is great, no problems there. Everyone's in reasonably close character, and there's something about the writing that's keeping me there.

The problem is that nothing at all has happened. Three chapters and we've got nothing to show for it. I'm still going to watch for the next few chapters and see what comes of it, if anything. However, if nothing does come of it, there's a serious problem.

Also, for the people who enjoy random pairings, Harry/Verity ftw.


EDIT: Gossip
Gryffindor table is full of loose lips, and more than one rumor is floating through Hogwarts. Implied: Harry/Mrs.Delacour, Harry/Susan.
Harry Potter - Rated: T - English - Drama/Humor - Chapters: 3 - Words: 11,670 - Reviews: 42 - Updated: 10-29-08 - Published: 9-6-07 - Harry P. & Susan B.

A surprisingly amusing piece. It appears abandoned, hence why I won't even bother contemplating putting in the For Review section, but what's there is enjoyable. This kept a smile on my face for the whole thing. Writing's great, and characterisation is spot on for a good bout of humour (i.e. slight OOC but standard humour characterisations).

Here's one part.

 

Unspoken reviews
In all things, there is balance. It is fragile, yet sometimes, the only thing that keeps us alive. Those that see this, inevitably, rise to protect it. By whatever means neccesary. AU DH. Oneshot.
Harry Potter - Rated: M - English - Drama/Angst - Chapters: 1 - Words: 5,137 - Reviews: 1 - Published: 6-8-09 - Harry P. & Augustus R. - Complete

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5121268/1/Unspoken

It's a decent one-shot. The misfortune is that it's based on the Unspeakables being secret operatives charged with the protection of Britain, who mastermind every significant event. The premise is flawed, but it is fairly well-written.

 

"Harry Potter's Army: A General's Lament"
When Harry sees Voldemort's forces attacking the D.A. as an act of revenge for his defeat at the DoM, Harry must scramble to rescue his friends and colleagues. HP/Padma.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5137052/1/Harry_Potters_Army_A_Generals_Lament
There isn't anything spectacular about this fic, the writting is solid, and the pairing is unique, even if it does seem a bit rushed.

"Rise of the Vongola"
Harry Potter was rescued from the Dursley when he was ten. Later he learned that he was the heir to one of the most powerful Wizarding Mafia factions, the Vongola family. Harry/Daphne
Rated: T - English - General/Adventure - Chapters: 3 - Words: 15,327 - Reviews: 21 - Published: 6-29-09 - Harry P. & Daphne G.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5175737/1/Rise_of_the_Vongola

I'm reading this one just because of the pairing, and am interested to see where this is going, once again, there is nothing spectacular about this fic, nothing really stands out, Harry is a little to mature for a nine year old, and this has all the elements of a completly badass harry, who is madly in love with Daphne. In fact, the whole Harry/Daphne relationship thus far reads like the relationship between Archie and Blaise Zabini in "Knowledge is Power".

Not the greatest stories, but if you're bored they are decent enough to help you pass the time.

 

Harry Potter and the Muggle Mess by DisobedienceWriter

Albus Dumbledore attempts to drop Harry Potter off with the Dursley family when things go terribly wrong. The whole universe shifts because of one man's action. Harry Potter - Rated: T - English - Adventure/General - Chapters: 1 - Words: 14,314 - Reviews: 44 - Published: 6-30-09 - Amelia B. & Sirius B. - Complete

DisobedienceWriter's latest is the kind of conflict-challenged, extended one-shot we've come to expect from him. It's set in the aftermath of 1981 and Harry's parents being struck down. He explores the aftermath in a world where Vernon blows Dumbledore's head off with a shotgun when Dumbledore tries to leave Harry on his doorstep. This was the best part of the story and went downhill from there. It's nothing special (and has a few cringe-worthy moments--McGonagall's fainting, e.g.), but is a way to kill fifteen or so minutes.

Note that the "Amelia B. & Sirius B." does not denote a romantic pairing.

It's probably about a 2/5 from me, so closer to the "barely readable" side of the spectrum. This is not because of technical aspects of the writing so much as I found it a boring story that didn't do anything for me.

 

Ex Sanguis » reviews
It's summer and Harry is whisked off to a different dimension where he finds new family and a lost heritage. It all seems too good to be true, but what is Aunt Petunia not telling him? And is everything really as good as it seems? AU from OotP; Elves.
Harry Potter - Rated: T - English - General/Fantasy - Chapters: 11 - Words: 86,649 - Reviews: 146 - Updated: 6-30-09 - Published: 1-27-08 - Harry P.

A little angsty for my liking, but the idea of a Harry who is reluctant to embrace his 'heritage' as another being intrigued me. I was also enamoured to the portrayal of Petunia, although the author does seem to have forgotten about her.

About a 3/5 for this


And on the DisobedienceWriter oneshot above, Id agree with what Pers said, I usually enjoy his writing because I don't mind the odd 'everything is ok' one shot, but this one failed to intrigue me at all

 

An Awful Shadow » by shinysavage reviews
Harry begins to train for Voldemort's inevitable return. However, there are distractions in the return of the man who betrayed his family, a killer with a grudge, and some nasty facts about some of his family... Rating changed for safety.
Rated: M - English - Adventure/Drama - Chapters: 22 - Words: 85,218 - Reviews: 76 - Updated: 9-25-08 - Published: 3-24-08 - Harry P. & Evan R. - Complete

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4151717/1/An_Awful_Shadow

The Power He Knows Not » reviews
Emotionally devastated by the treachery of his third year, Harry also has to deal with unwanted trials at Hogwarts, both legal and magical – but everything is overshadowed by prophecy: betrayal is just the first step towards Voldemort’s return…
Harry Potter - Rated: M - English - Adventure/Drama - Chapters: 15 - Words: 53,524 - Reviews: 78 - Updated: 7-5-09 - Published: 11-11-08 - Harry P.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4649911/1/The_Power_He_Knows_Not

I saw the first story in this series is in the recycling bin, for good reason too, however, I skipped to the third story and loved it, it is AU, but still sticks to some elements of canon, the best part about this story IMO is the characterization of Evan Rosier, he is bat shit insane, but in a good way, he is sick, twisted, and smart. Overall the characters are pretty well written, except for Neville, who is a pacifist, which I found very agitating, if not slightly original.

 

My Nephew Harry by Lucillia
During the two months she had watched her eight year-old nephews, Marge Dursley discovered that Petunia was a pathological liar, Vernon had somehow been brainwashed by that no good b***h, Dudley was the spawn of Satan, and Harry was actually a good kid.

Just another Alternate Guardian fic with all that entails, and fairly short chapters. Snivellus and the usual suspects are not present however, the fic has some refreshing characterisations and is fairly well written. A light and quick read with a decent update rate.

 

I second My Nephew Harry. My greatest concern, though, is that the author has a ton of stories that aren't finished and keeps starting more. I also find short chapters slightly annoying, but as there isn't much in the way of action, it makes sense in this context. I loved some of the detail--how the Aurors relate to the police was great! I just wonder where she's going to take it, since at this point, Harry is being sent back to the wizarding world.

 

From that fic:

ROTFL. Leaving aside the magical core nonsense:

 

Well, i don´t really know what to make of this story.
It was mildly amusing, but i have no idea what the goal of the story is and it does get a little boring after a while.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5118874/1/The_Other_Side

The basic plot is that James and Lily live in Death (which seems to be a pretty awesome place). They watch their son as he goes through his life and meet up with people they knew on earth.

As i said, get´s boring after a while but still worth a quick read.

 

The Resistance by kjp08
Everything is lost Voldemort has returned, he has turned the ministry into an instrument of persecution. Those who would stand against him have been cowed by one defeat to many. Just when all seems lost a muggle with an odd scar enters the scene.
Harry Potter - Rated: M - English - Adventure/Romance - Chapters: 2 - Words: 13,162 - Reviews: 2 - Updated: 7-3-09 - Published: 6-26-09 - Harry P. & N. Tonks

Checking the harry/tonks section of ff.net brought out some results today, and that one ^^, though quite short at the moment, looks quite promising and it's still only two chapters in.

I suppose because of it being completely AU and begins with a military attack, it somehow reminded me of nmb' Skitterleap, but beside the forementioned two points it has nothing else than that, that can be compared to nmb's work.

Anyways, I'm being lazy and can't bother to write more about it, but it is a nice read and the few annoying moments in it could be overlooked. Overall, it's too short to form any strong opinion, yet, but as I said it does look promising and I'll be looking forward to where the author takes it.

 

Correct, he's the guy with a bird on his avatar.

 

Redoath of the Athlete by 5andahook
A not so serious time travel story about Harry being thrown back in time and taking advantage of it to do whats really important: become the greatest Quidditch player ever.

 

Pretty sure that's in for review.

 

It's sure not going to make it into the library though, so Almost Recommended is, charitably, the proper place for the Quidditch fic.

 

RuneMaster, by Tigerman
Summary: In third year, Harry decided to quit Divination, following Hermione. Having to take a substitute course, he end up choosing Ancient Runes and discover himself quite gifted. Smarter Harry. Slightly manipulative. Rated M for later subjects and language.
Harry Potter - Rated: M - English - General/Humor - Chapters: 8 - Words: 53,607

--

Some things are waaaaay too annoying, like those looooong words the author uses - I want to strangle the author everytime I get those stretched words. Author is apparently a Naruto freak since the few references I caught in the fanfiction, a bit unnerving, but still.

Otherwise it's a nice read - probably not library worthy, but not so bad.

I'd give something like 2.5/5, maybe 3/5. But then, it's summer and I'm bored and my quality threshold could be lower than the usual.

 

I've been reading RuneMaster as well. It's not great, but there is certainly a lot worse out there. Several things that annoy me, but it's nothing too bad (for me) so I'm content. I'd probably put it around 2.5/5 as well.

 

Wow really I thought some of my dialogue was iffy but thanks for the nod. Chapter three should be out late this week or early next.