sad.

<filler>

 

Yup. Troll. :facepalm GTFO and be less obvious next time. Or smarter, one of the two.

 

...This thread is a forsaken hellhole of trolls.

I agree with Lord Anarchy and the others, I didnt like the H/D interactions. And I see your finally making the moves to end Kira and Viktors relationship. Now all we need is to get Calyspo out of the picture.....

 

Sadly I'm going to read Dark Lord Potter Part 1 after reading about it. What can I say I'm a sucker for H/Hr and Ron getting hexed.

 

Unfortunately, I'm deadly serious about it. This is a legitimate fanfic story Santi wrote.

 

I like the Animate the paper to walk across the line and into the Goblet.
As for Kira, I think that if Harry make it a public scene and manages to enter she will go crazy at him and Calypso (who would enter as fast as she could).

 

And we're all mocking you for your stupidity.

The story was his first, and written nearly 5 years ago. What did you seriously hope to accomplish by openly mocking it here? You think we didn't know about it? I read it way back when it was first being read, and enjoyed it. It was good for it's times. Now, not so much.

 

Moving away from the trolling, did anyone else think of a download timer when Viktor was estimating the travel time?

From a previous chapter:

I assume this was a mistake, and you meant to say age limit. I expected Harry to already be prepared for an age line based on Nathan's letter.

 

I find myself agreeing with Ellisande more and more often these days. :/

I'm of too minds regarding the update; I enjoyed it, and I like the direction the story is taking, yet I agree with a lot of Anarchy's criticism.

I felt that the ship scene was decent, but it could have been very good. It's a pretty mechanical piece of writing.

Regarding the feast, I thought the Veela thing foreshadowed some Viktor/Fleur, given the way Krum's relationship with Kira seems to be deteriorating in a conspicusously convenient manner. Maybe that's just me though, no reason why it can't be Hermione. The way Harry shouts across the table is awkward though.

I think Dumbledore's characterisation is very good, but the way Harry's immaturity is exposed in their conversation is slightly excessive. One of the story's strengths is that we can empathise with Harry even though he is growing up, but he sounds remarkably like Malfoy in their exchange.

Convergent with that line of thought, Dumbledore probably wants to avoid a situation in which Harry is rewarded for taking the easy approach. It's important to note that with that converstation, Dumbledore noticeably decreases the chance that Harry manages to put his name in, so it's likely he doesn't want Harry to enter. That said, if it were his priority he might have chosen a more efficient course.

Lastly, the situation in which Viktor enters Harry's name instead of his own without telling anyone is a real possibility. We know he doesn't want to enter, but wants to placate the media as well. He definitely has access to Harry's signature.

 

We've seen this kind of thinking several times in this story, using the old, beaten, and tired idea of 'dark' = easy, and Dumbledore wants Harry to do what is 'right' not what is 'easy'. I dislike that line of thought immensely, and it cheapens the story, especially when the parallels drawn are blatant and non-immersive.

I'm not one to try and predict what Santi is going to do next (I'm lying) but I think the idea of Harry using his animagus form to cross the age-line would be interesting, but probably over-kill. Harry would still be underage, unless you want to count his age in 'dog years' so he'd be 60 or something.

 

If that was true they would've just added an enchantment to the cup for the age limit. It's been stated on multiple occasions that combining seemingly unrelated enchantments produces unintended side effects.

When Harry sees the ward line it sounds like the fact that it's etched the stone is a side effect of it being so powerful, not a normal characteristic of the ward. Also, carving out a ring would presumably involve crossing the ward line with either a spell or a tool. If that was possible Harry might as well stick his name on a skewer and submit it that way.


##? Harry will make a paper airplane out of his name and will enter that way.

 

I was kind of hoping for a more impressive movie Durmstrang entrance with Harry, Calypso, and Viktor at the forefront. I was looking forward to it since you finished chapter three, but the story is not over yet and the other schools and Durmstang interaction is yet to come I gather. Also, they could just levitate there names into the Goblet of Fire.
"Any intelligent individual could find a big and complicated answer to a problem, but it takes imagination and a touch of genius to solve a complicated problem by using a simple solution." ruff quote from (Albert Einstein) The story is really coming along keep up the good work.

 

A thought regarding taking the easy road in this story...

[pre-emptive apologies if I'm rehashing old arguments]

During Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape, Snape claims--quoting Dumbledore--that "the best Occlumentes are self-taught." While he was being taught Occlumency by Dumbledore, Snape received little in the way of instruction and no reference material. Harry, on the other hand, DID receive a book with useful tips for the burgeoning Occlumens, and after that he made better progress in his lessons. If we assume that Snape was unaware of this book--it went unremarked upon, and Harry had a strong incentive to protect Calypso's identity--this opens up a few possibilities.

1. Snape (and Dumbledore) is wrong: you can learn Occlumency perfectly well from a book (provided you have an instructor who tests your progress). The best Occlumentes are not only of the self-taught variety, but some are only partially self-taught. Evidence in favour: Neither Snape nor Dumbledore had access to Occlumency books, so how could they know whether it's possible to learn the art adequately from study? Moreover, Snape judged Harry's progress "above average" (read: exceptional), and Harry seems to be able to employ it. Evidence against: Snape was taught by Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in the world, and is recognized to be a superb Occlumens; I think we can assume he speaks with some authority on the matter. Furthermore, since Snape didn't know about the instruction Harry received from the book, he may have been misled regarding Harry's true progress.

2. Snape lied: Dumbledore said no such thing. Evidence in favour: It's Snape, don't trust anything he says. Evidence against: It's a very silly lie, and seems pointless.

3. Harry hasn't mastered Occlumency at all; in fact, there are serious flaws in his technique. Look at the scene with Kosarev in a previous chapter, where the professor had instructed Harry NOT to read books on warding, because his head would be filled with useless notions. With that premise established--that reading from books doesn't always help you master a piece of magic--it certainly isn't far-fetched to assume that it is at least possible for the same principle to hold for Occlumency. Harry masked his imperfect technique by utilising the tricks in Calypso's book, and Snape was fooled because he didn't know about the book; he thought Harry had, through some insight of his own, developed his defence. Thus, Snape's judgment regarding Harry's ability is in question. Evidence in favour: In addition to the aforementioned assumptions and deductions, Harry's Occlumency failed him spectacularly in his detention with Ivan. He recognized his own shortcomings and endeavored to employ the technique more often, being observed with a blank facial expression and all (which seems a dead giveaway, by the way). Evidence against: Harry has shielded his mind, at least against passive and unfocused attempts (e.g. passive Legilimency, the Veela allure), and against opponents who haven't tried to break into Harry's mind by means of overwhelming and unrestrained force (Snape). However, as mentioned before, Snape was operating under a misconception at the time (Harry was in fact receiving some other kind of instruction), and he was trying to teach him, not mind-rape him (a distinction, however flimsy, that was emphasised during the detention scene).

I don't think 3 is true in story terms, but it is the most interesting alternative, in my opinion. Harry fucked up and took the easy way out by reading the book. He pays for that mistake later with Ivan, and maybe later as well. Of course, while there is no mention in the story that Harry sabotaged his own progress by reading the book, I don't think it an unreasonable inference.

It was mentioned some time earlier in this thread that wearing a blank face isn't a good method for deceiving others regarding the state of your mind. Dumbledore doesn't assume blank facial expressions, Snape certainly doesn't, neither does Bellatrix, Slughorn, or Draco (there, all the canon Occlumentes out of the way). Who ever figures out what Dumbledore's plans are? And Snape deceived Voldemort, who was known to be a highly skilled Legilimens. Yet, what do we see? When Harry's using Occlumency, his face is blank, as noticed clearly by others. Is this an indication that Harry isn't quite as skilled at the art as we would have been lead to believe? I'm not sure, but these things have not be alluded to. I think it would be very interesting if a mistake committed some time ago cropped up later in the story; it would be pretty impressive planning, depending on how it is handled.

 

And how is adding a new enchantment not changing the current set of enchantments?

About Dumbedore's motives: he doesn't want Harry to compete, but ultimately thinks that it's safe enough (remember: there was no dark mark incident in the summer). What he really wants to avoid is Harry getting used to using dirty tricks, given what he already knows about him.

 

Let's be fair. Asking someone else to put his name in the Goblet is hardly a dirty trick. As far as the Goblet is concerned, it's purpose is to choose the most worthy competitor. How it decides that is up to interpretation, but I can hardly seeing it hold Harry's actions against him were he to ask a fellow student to enter his name. After all, there is traditionally no age restriction on entering, so the age line should mean nothing to the Goblet.

Besides, if you want to really get down to it, convincing another "competitor" to willfully enter the name of competition is simply another obstacle that Harry would have to overcome that the 17 year old students don't have to. Dumbledore's assertion that this would preclude Harry from being chosen is absolutely ridiculous to me, and should be ridiculous to Harry should he put his mind to the issue.

Dumbledore has no more knowledge of the workings of the Goblet than Harry does. It hasn't been used in centuries. What I'm most upset over is that The Santi conceded the whole "ask a friend to do it for you" scheme as a viable option. It's pretty damn pathetic. If Fred and George had to resort to the sort of magic that they did in canon, which should be more than adequate to fool the type of ward created simply to keep small children away from areas they shouldn't be in, then they damn well should have asked one of their many older friends to stick their names into the Goblet and been done with it.

And frankly, if Dumbledore really believed that sneaking his name into the Goblet by way of a friend who is of age would really preclude Harry from entering, then why bother bringing him to his office for a chat in the first place? It all just seems so convoluted. There has to be a better way to prevent Harry from entering the tournament if that was Dumbledore's wish, yet if Dumbledore was convinced that Harry could handle the challenges, then why even bother trying to stop his entering?

Makes no damn sense.

 

If Dumbledore truly believes that Harry using a friend's favour to enter his name would not result in his being picked then Dumbledore calling Harry to his office very much looks like Dumbledore deliberately increasing Harry's chances of being picked.

 

@Howdy: Twins had nobody to ask to enter their names - all their friends wanted to get picked after all. Harry is in unique position, as he has a friend eligible of entering a name into the goblet and not wanting to compete.

 

Dumbledore said the Goblet chooses the best champion, not the best competitor. Dumbledore's point concerning Harry's first plan was, that while it might be fine way to enter himself for the tournament, it isn't the way of a champion.

The Goblet isn't just looking for the person that's most likely to win or survive. It's looking for the person that will be the greatest champion, which seems more about showing courage and daring than doing something in the easiest and fastest way with help from others.

I still think it's strange the Goblet would even accept someone entering another person, though, even if it would make the chance of them being chosen very small. But I digress.

As it stands, the Goblet will only chose a champion that acts like a champion and that's why Harry can't ask Krum to enter him.

 

^^

This notion is ridiculous, since simply placing one's name in the Goblet is pathetically easy. The idea that Harry would be viewed as a less worthy champion than young people who simply walk up and drop their names into a cup makes no sense whatsoever. If anything, Harry has to make more of an effort than other potential champions in order to be selected, even if he has to ask for help in order to be entered.

 

While I understand Dumbledore's reasoning, I think that ultimately he also made a big mistake in telling this to Harry. Not because he increased his chances to be the Champion, but let's think what can be taken as the moral of this lesson? It's bad to ask your friends for help. Definitely a great way to make Harry shun other people more than he did already.