Yes, he is powerful but all the others are too so it evens out. Mostly.

 

Four years later...

And thousands of new stories. I'm curious as to what answers DLP gives now for their Ultimate Harry.

Mine is, without doubt, Harry in On the Way to Greatness. It's been said before: Everything a Slytherin Harry should be.

If only JKR's Harry had a tenth of the cunning, self-preservation insticts and strategic thinking that this Harry does...

 

I still favor Big D's Harry in WWSHD. I'm also partial to nonjon's Harry in A Black Comedy. (Anymore, I prefer reading about adult Harry more than kid Harry). Tinn's Harry in Song of the Trees and C. K. Talons's Harry in The Human Condition are probably the two most interesting Harry characters.

All these are older stories, though. Few newer stories, it seems, have a truly memorable Harry characterization (perhaps a function of the ossified fandom).

 

Ectomancer has a very well characterised Harry. Not ultimate Harry in terms of power, but a very good blend of in-canon character development with awesomeness.

 

Jono. I always say Jono in these threads, but honestly, he captured a characterisation with almost everyone that's so akin to canon but simultaneously more refined that I'd rather build my own characters around his vision than JKR's. (At least in my head, I haven't re-read them recently enough)

Newish fics though? Some I consider in the top-tier of Harry characterisation: GL's Assassin's Creed has an awesome Harry in it, completely nails the wonder and naivety of the early books. Averis' WAFATYB is essentially nothing like canon Harry, but awesome for all the reasons that he's different. Love Joe's Harry, obviously. Ectomancer is gold.

But fundamentally though, the best 'new' Harry characterisation has to be the one from Renegade Cause, because he's a completely ugly character but with a logical progression and just sheer awesomeness.

 

Seeing this thread I instantly thought Big D’s villain protagonist too, because let’s face it, that’s the guy I always wanted to be when I grew up! Still this probably comes across as bandwagoning…

How about the Harry from a short I think was written by Tinn Tam; ‘To Reach an Open Space.’

It was only a 10k oneshot, but the whole thing came across as a single character establishing moment in and of itself… As far as I remember that Harry basically embodied the concept of Freedom perfectly

 

I know I always say this sort of thing in these threads, but Hero Trilogy Harry writing quality and cliches aside is very much my favorite, specifically Twilight Harry, which is how I think of him on the transition in Defiance when he wanders for a hundred years across reality because the Guardians told him to.

 

My favorite comedy Harry is probably "The Harry" from Most Electrifying Man. It makes absolutely no sense, but seeing Harry act like a professional wrestler and use The Rock's catchphrases makes me laugh like a little kid.

My favorite serious Harry...that's a tougher one. There are a lot of good ones, but no one that stands out as best to me. I guess I'd go with...I really don't know. With more serious Harry(Harries?) generally what makes me enjoy them is the plot surrounding the characters, not the characters themselves, if that makes sense. Generally I like Harry to be as close to the books as possible but in a completely different situation, which makes "Ultimate Harry" kind of a hard question for me.

Then again, that said, I still enjoyed Harry from A Study in Magic a lot even though he was pretty different from canon Harry.

 

Amen to that. That Harry is the most complete, competent Harry ever written that can be easily be traced back to his honest-to-god canon counterpart. It's just the most believable divergence, IMO, and that's one of the reasons I like it so much.

^THIS.

You know, I was gonna disagree and say that the awesomeness of the story itself has colored people's perceptions of the Harry in it, but thinking back now - yeah, the version of Harry, getting kidnapped, being forced to fight for his life, learning new and possibly unique magics, becoming a whole lot more self-sufficient...

Definitely awesome.

If you mean Joe's newest Harry, the one from An Unfound Door, then yes. Otherwise, well, no.

I also agree about nmb's Harry, specifically the Harry we see in BtDL's sequel, Conlaodh's Song. The way nmb wrote Harry as Dumbledore's trusted apprentice but still able to be his own person was a joy to read, and nmb, if you're reading this, please consider writing the next installment.

I'll try to add some new ones that I thought were pretty awesome and/or memorable. Let's see...

Harry as the Master of Death, written by Nuhuh in The Stalking Bloodsack. I can't WAIT for the beatdown he's going to deliver to those AB sissies...

Future!Harry from VotN's The Unforgiving Minute. He's completely broken and this desperate mission is literally all he has left. Good stuff.

MattSilver's Harry in Breach of Contract. The snarkiness and casual, matter-of-fact badassery are some of the best I've seen.

Harry as portrayed in As Yet Untitled by bellerophon30. This Harry is not so much ruthless as he is just no-nonsense and with a well-honed, take-no-prisoners attitude towards any threats to him or those he cares about.

Harry mixed with Dresden in Uncle Stojil's When He Finds Out. I think it's a really good mix of both Harrys from their respective canon selves, and I wish Stojil would get his ass back on it...

It's short, but I really liked what I saw of Harry in Pers' Negotiators. It's obviously AU since Hermione never attends Hogwarts, and Harry is depicted as a very capable wizard who, when pushed, lays down the gauntlet.

I'm sure there are a ton of others I'm forgetting right now, but those were off the top of my head.

 

The Hero Trilogy has a fairly awesome characterisation of Harry. The Wastelands of Time/sequel isn't exactly Harry, but is still an interesting character.

 

Joe's Crazy!Harry is still my all time favorite. He was such a pompous and unlikable arse, it actually made him likable.

 

Ultimate Nick Fury > Ultimate Harry Potter. Trufax.

 

Jono. Jono, Jono, Jono.

I'm hoping that, like the Taboo or Beetlejuice, saying his name will summon him. But at any rate, the Harry from the Stranger Trilogy is my Ultimate Harry.

 

I think Harry's characterizing is the true weakness of his work because the self aggrandizing and posturing gets stale and boring. I enjoy his stories for the journey but that doesn't help while rereading it. For instance I'm not motivated at all to reread Wasteland at all and that's surely not the case because of the fantastic scenery and locations.

 

That's pretty goddamn nerdy.

I'd have to go with Nonjon's Harry from A Black Comedy. I think I need to reread it one of these days.

 

SSC's Necromancer!Harry from Innocence is Fleeting is one of my favorite Harrys. Hes so matter of fact and yet badass at the same time..

I'm going to go ahead and jump on the bandwagon for On The Way To Greatness and As Of Yet Untitled (which I'm probably going to re-read now).

WWSHD still bets a bi-monthly re-reading from me.

 

Bi-monthly? That’s hardcore!

Anyways, I’ve just thought of a second one, can’t believe I missed it…

Clell Harmon’s Harry from ‘A Chance Meeting.’

Badass, intelligent, likable, hell it even checks the adult!Harry box Perspicacity pointed out… There’s a reason it’s one of my favourite Fics, an awesome portrayal of Daphne and Neville helps too