Are you kidding? Ron was awesome in this chapter, and their fight was a major step towards Ron and Harry actually becoming friends of some sort as far as I can see. It might have dragged on a little bit, but the fight was pretty important for Harry too seeing as how he hasn't fought any of his peers for a while and now he knows he can beat the best of them.

Also, Harry/Fleur is who I'm pulling for in this story. I don't care if she was kind of a bitch in this chapter or that every other potential pairing in this story has been pretty amazing so far, but the brief look we've had was kind of awesome.

From some of the hints in the 11th (I think?) chapter Fleur wasn't supposed to have entered into the competition or Maxime didn't want her to for some reason so I imagine you're going to go into more detail with her character eventually.

Definitely looking forward to seeing how you pull off the dragons in the TLA world.

 

Yeah, but I mean. Have you nearly beaten someone to death and destroyed a place? I haven't.

 

Do you have the power to make fire explode out of your hands? Harry's also under a hell of a lot of pressure - it's possible Ron just pushed too far and Harry took the opportunity to take out his aggression on someone. I imagine dealing with Moody, Crouch, the Tournament, his peers and his estranged parents would make him pretty damn frustrated.

 

I have to agree with Cheddar and Fatal on this. The chapter was great, and I enjoyed the fight. Harry and Ron are still a long way from being actual friends, but this does seem like the first step in that direction.

Also, just something that stood out to me this chapter; during the dueling class scene, you didn't have Harry "Show off," as it were, like many other authors would most likely be tempted to. It made the difference in quality between all those other authors and you more pronounced, even if Harry did end up fighting Ron later.

 

I still like the story, it's superbly written. But I dislike Harry even more after this chapter. He is really a whinny piece of shit.

 

I disliked this chapter immensely, to the point that even the great fight descriptions didn't make up for it for me. Just not my cup of tea.

 

Loved this chapter. Fighting was great, Ron and Harry were awesome.

 

No I can't make fire fly from my hands, but I still haven't snapped and went after someone with a knife or a gun because I've had a shitty day/week/month. You'd think after being able to wave your hands and kill someone, you'd know not to just fly off the handle like that.

Also Harry's constant whining and "what about me" attitude. Christ, grow a pair.

 

I thought he'd turned a corner after the fight with Crouch a few chapters back, evidently not.

 

I loved this chapter and the fight between Ron and Harry felt very natural. It was good.

I find myself disliking parts of this Harry's character, but they're the same things I hated about canon Harry, so kudos there. His "ignore a problem and hope it goes away" is especially grating. Seeing as he did the same thing during GoF though, it's good to see it here.

 

Your making it sound like no ones going to do something like that. Also, your equating Bending too easily to a knife or gun. While Harry is coming to realize that it definitely is a weapon, for benders it's such a part of them that it's more akin to fist-fighting. Hell, they fight each other in dueling class all the time, so they wouldn't have the same views on bending as we have on Guns/Knives/etc.

I remember a day when I was as old as Harry is in this story, (14) and I was having a particularly bad day. Won't go into specifics why, but I ended up taking it out on someone in a fight. This person was, coincidentally, someone who constantly annoyed me. Maybe not in the same manner as Ron, but close enough.

Harry may be one of the more mature people his age, but he's still a kid really, and liable to acts of impulse.

 

Your example only works if you and the person you're attacking are both attending a school for knife fighting, where you've both trained with unsheathed blades since the age of 11. You're also part of a society where you're taught that carrying knives makes you better than other people and that knife fighting is a pretty decent way of solving your problems and, in general, an all around good time.

Like Proudboar says, these kids fling flames and boulders at each other all the time. A life-threatening injury is never too far off, in Duelling Class. There are also people around who can heal quite severe injuries. Duelling outside the Duelling Grounds isn't allowed, but it's hardly the same as bringing a gun to school and going bananas.

Most importantly, Harry's clearly not trying to kill Ron. If he was, he wouldn't have given a warning shot before attacking. He wanted to win a proper and fair duel that day, to see if he could. And tensions have been building between Harry and Ron since the start of the year.

As for destroying a place, Harry sees the stadium as an extension of the Republic, which he doesn't think too kindly of, considering that he was threatened by one of their Aurors in the previous chapter.

More Fleur coming up, for sure.

 

I feel like part of this story is dealing with the fact that benders don't see their bending this way. The sorting cat said it above, how benders see their abilities, and I feel like he's going to spend a lot of time making Harry see how it is for non-benders. How they'd see that fight like you saw that fight.

Other than that, I enjoyed the chapter. I agree Harry's being whiny and passive and, like most people around here, I like my protagonists a bit more proactive. On the other hand, I feel like you're doing a good job establishing Harry as he is and it'll be a good reason for change when he finds out the Avatar.

 

Perhaps I'm not reading this right, but I strongly dislike the overall angstiness of this Harry (of any Harry, for that matter). I find myself skipping parts of the story due to his incessant whining, sulking and emotional problems. That said, I am very much intrigued by Ron's character and I enjoy his and Harry's interactions, especially in this chapter.

 

Seeing as Harry sulking has been commented on by characters in the story I find it hard to see this as a criticism. It's obviously intentional.

Of course, I've never needed to like my protagonists. I just want to understand them, and Harry's character makes perfect sense in this story.

 

One of the things I'm liking about this story is that Ron is actually a likable character, which is such a rare occurrence in fanfiction. Ron was great in this chapter.

 

He is 14 right? I think it's more realistic to think that a 14 year old with a shit ton of fire producing capabilities might not be the most calm and rational person around. Maybe he is a bit passive or angsty but were we all seriously these little bad-asses who ran around being more clever than all the adults and being pro-active about every problem we faced? I know we all thought we were but this is the beginning of a story and I am glad there is a lot of room for character development.

I will admit this wasn't my favorite chapter but I did enjoy it and I do enjoy this story a lot.

 

Yeah, I'm having a hard time understanding the criticism that Harry's whining and sulking is so bad it ruins the chapter. It was just last chapter that he found out his own government is using his parents' safety to blackmail him into competing in a dangerous international tournament he wants no part of. I'm not sure how we can expect a fourteen-year old to not be high-strung for a few weeks after that. I thought his confrontation with Moody was a realistic way to show an attempt at being proactive, and he even recognizes that Moody is trying to diffuse the situation and calls him out on it. Harry's trying to find a balance between obeying his instincts and being clever, and I've been getting the feeling that he's been making consistent progress over the past few chapters.

Some people have been mentioning that they want him to be less reactionary and more proactive, but other than perhaps plotting to assassinate Crouch, I'm not sure what else he could be doing that he isn't.

 

Just to toss a little different perspective in the mix, I read all of this over the past two or three days, and while Harry is definitely a very emotional character, I don't find him to be 'whiney' or even particularly sulky, given his circumstances. He's had a lot to deal with over a pretty short amount of time, but I think what makes his attitude less frustrating for me as opposed to those of you who've been following this story for a while is the fact that it's easier for me to see the huge amount of character growth that has happened.

Harry has changed a lot, and it's so nice to see a character that changes that I can forgive his rough patch. Real people don't always improve in a smooth, upward arch, and in my opinion it's a sign of good fiction when a protagonist is allowed moments to be a little less than perfect. Sure an ideal person has a good attitude all the time, is proactive, knows the right answers--but we don't want to read about an ideal, because that guy has nothing to reach for.

Anyway, this story is pretty great--it's a fantastic blend of HP and Avatar, and you have a nuanced way of handling characters that is legitimately compelling. Part of me wonders why I waited so long to read it, but another part was very happy to be able to consume all thirteen chapters at once. Looking forward to more!

 

can I do a review that says "MOAR PLZ!!"

Anyhow, interesting blend of crossover and while I certainly believed it impossible to mesh something like HP and Avatar, this proved me wrong.

Very good characterization. I like Ron! and Malfoy's not being the usual canon Malfoy whiny no-skill character.

As for shipping, give me some Harry/Fleur! nah, in my dreams only. This is probably gonna go H/HG pairing.