Well obviously he was irritated by the fact that the correct form would actually be Homo Magus.


On a more serious note, this story is fairly entertaining, but hard to rate. I am going to wait another few chapters before giving one.

 

I still rate this story a 4/5. Still loving this story.

 

Another update completely filled with inane quidditch bollocks. I assume it is used to flesh out the world, but all the details are boring. Americans had a civil war and are a bunch of racists, Italy's catholics are bastards and something something Medici. Australia has Kangaroos!

Harry did gain another superpower to add to his stable. Now he is able to just block any bonding attempt. The fact that witches could bond wizards against their will is central to the world that he has built so far, now Harry can just ignore that pesky rule. This is in addition to the fact that he can just destroy peoples souls by touching them, break the bond leaving the witch a squib and tell the future in two different ways.

I believe the story has now completely undermined itself. You only have to think of the powers Harry now posses in the hands of a less scrupulous individual and there is no chance the world could exist the way it is being portrayed in the story.

 

Harry blocking the bonding isn't a new power - Aethers can do that. Lily Potter slept with Snape, James, and (I think) Lupin. Possibly Sirius too, I can't remember. But she only bonded James.

I do agree that most of the chapter seemed a bit fillerish. But we did learn something about Harry - he wants to win, and doesn't mind being a bit dirty to do so. This is probably going to be important later, but needed setting up now so he doesn't plunge in at the deep end. I expect we'll see him hospitalise an opposing player in the next chapter or so, and probably be congratulated for it.

I like Darth Marrs' stories, because you know what you're going to get. They're better than most dross out there, he doesn't abandon them halfway through, and he often tends to do either a twist on an idea, or something new. He also likes his Luna flakes. They aren't the best ones ever, but they're alright.

 

Did you completely skip over all the chapters about him learning Occumency specifically to be able to avoid bonding with people? It was kind of a significant part of the plot earlier on.

 

My big issue is that not much has really happened in the story. It's quite a cool concept and a very interesting dystopia... but there's been a lot of fluff to very little end.

 

I though the Occumency was to stop him freaking out and groping every passing female?

Even if it was just to stop spontaneous bonds, the very fact that he is capable of stopping them undermines the story. Occlomancy is quite a bit more common in this story than in canon, as everyone seemed to recognize the ability. Combine the common knowledge of the ability with the fact that it is easy enough for a child to learn than you have a situation where the Covens fail rather quickly.

DM falls into the common trap of trying to give Harry an arsenal that can overcome all resistance without examining the abilities in wider context. Yes Harry wouldn't use the touch soul-kill ability to kill everyone that annoys him, but there are plenty of people that would. He even did it by accident when he was pissed off. How many such accidents would be necessary for the MoM to start locking up any touch aether they come across?

 

It's more Aether + Occlomancy = being a slut (well, being able to stop bonding but we saw how that turns out) than one or the other. I don't really see it undermining the point when it's established that you pretty much have to bond out of school or else it's a gelding for you.

 

I'm genuinely enjoying this quidditch subplot. It's interestingly enough on its own, but it is building up a sense of 'normalcy' that is going to make any significant turning points more intense. Fillers aren't bad if they're used right (in fact, in canon they're used a lot).

At the same time, I'm kinda worried that at this rate we'll be waiting a long time until anything interesting happens. We're seeing some minor development in Harry (eg, he's maturing from the the little harmless kid he was at the start to someone who is willing to do things like fouls in quidditch if it means winning).

I'm hoping we see a turning point that changes everything soon. I imagine it'll be something like Harry bonding Luna, but imagine if he finds something like the Elder Wand (which I imagine not only is badass enough on its own, but falls into that category of illegal wands made by men that don't leash their powers).

Still rating it 4/5.

 

This has been specifically addressed multiple times in the story. Making it out of school without bonding results in you getting doped up with love potions.

 

Now, I'm just a simple hyperchicken from a backwoods asteroid, but the author's notes for this chapter did say this would be one of the last quidditch-only ones.

 

New chapter.

Looks like this is the start of that.

Spoiler

The Harry shattering his wand thing was pretty cheesy to be honest. I'd have preferred a Harry who consciously decided to learn about things he wasn't meant to protect his friends over him just accidentally blowing his wand cause he's too naturally powerful.

It's not a story breaker by any means, but I was really hoping we'd see an event changing Harry's attitude (to a proactive, rebellious one) as opposed to an event like this.

Still I have faith DM will make it work.

And I realized I'm actually really pumped for some H/Hr in this fic more than Luna at the moment.

 

God damn! My love/hate relationship with this fic continues.

There I was all smug and ready for the moment where my completely undermining itself theorem was to prove itself and than bam switching covens is possible.

If Harry had been forced to be bonded against his will my suffering would have been over. There are several ways for Harry to get out of a bond, but of course he wouldn't have used them. For he is too just and noble and blablabla. He might have even grown to love his forced upon wife and that would have relegated this fic to the terrible soul bond pile.

Now though he has to go through the sabbath in order to switch covens. I think this works within the story's universe. While a normal wizard would be denied the switch in order to maintain the integrity of the system Harry is a special case. He has saved the said system from destruction, thus gaining him a great deal of favor. This also isn't the usual adult steps in for Harry drivel, as granting him his request bears no cost on those capable of granting it. Although Amelia stepping in for him and rebuffing nearly all opposition with a single sentence raises some flags.

As for the

Spoiler

wand blowing up. I think it makes sense, or at least was hand waved sufficiently. This was not like Harry's other super powers, as it was instantly recognized from a warning given in the female only wizarding life class. Thus making it a known threat with a prepared contingency. Also the line about Dumbledore being capable of it.

In conclusion. I hate this fic, DM and myself, but also looking forward to the next chapter.

 

I always found obsession with "shipping" weird, but in case of this story (entire setting) some comments - that usually are merely "OK, next shipping maniac" - are quite disturbing.

 

... People actually want Harry to bond, well, anyone? Have we been reading the same fic?

Edit: By people I mean readers.

 

Well. This fic reads quite weirdly for me; like a cheap detective novel that I can't get enough of.

Really hoping that Harry will take up Voldemort's mantle later in the story and annihilate all of the social structure in Britain.

 

Yes, maesde noticed Harry-Hermione romance. I have no idea where. Additional examples:

 

Seems natural considering that it's a likable depiction of Hermione that has so far avoided the usual H/Hr bullshit, while Luna is a complete non-entity so far.

 

Pretty much, except instead of murdering all his wives and wanting to put women in their rightful place, I imagine his reasoning will be a bit more positive - protecting his friends and destroying an oppressive system.

You can also see why everyone wants Harry dealt with quickly. I can imagine in a place where women are supposed to rule, having someone like Dumbledore who can quite confidently tell a Dame that he will not allow her to still/kill Harry must be terrifying to them. The fact that Hermione lists Merlin and Dumbledore amongst the likes of Grindewald and Voldemort was quite interesting.

I wonder whether Dumbledore has the Elder Wand in this. I imagine Harry will end up with 4 bonds, and he'll end up with either the Elder Wand or one designed by men (and as mentioned earlier in the fic, one that would use the bond to strengthen instead of weaken him).