Title: Certain Dark Things
Author: eirajenson
Rating: M
Genre: Adventure/Drama
Status: In-Progress
Library Category: Alternates
Pairings:
Summary: Harriet Potter has always been odd. Between having a shadow that moves on its own and chatting with snakes in the garden, learning she's a witch really isn't the strangest thing that's happened to the bespectacled girl with a lightning scar on her neck. [Fem!Harry, Slytherin!Harry, AU Retelling]

Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13135713/1/Certain-Dark-Things
https://archiveofourown.org/works/16940712

Author notes: Certain Dark Things is an AU retelling of the original Harry Potter series, in which Harry Potter is born a girl and later Sorted into Slytherin House. The book covers the original seven years and beyond, featuring a magical Britain that has succumbed to a silent coup. The fragments of Voldemort's soul have gained their own sentience, their own agendas, and have their own methods for attaining power. Facing insurmountable odds in a world that has already lost the war, Harriet must find allies in new places, form new friendships, and learn skills that will let her persevere against more than one version of the same Dark Lord who killed her family.

I'm surprised this hasn't been posted yet. It's already 224 chapters in and currently in the summer between fourth and fifth year. One of the few stories I've read recently that I genuinely enjoyed. The horcruxes running around being more or less charming psychopaths bring a certain sense of constant danger that most Harry Potter fanfics can't seem to generate. Dumbledore is no longer the master in his own castle and has to constantly maneuver around his DADA professor to protect Harriet, while Neville is the decoy-BWL. The OC is Elara Black, daughter of Sirius and Marlene, who comes with her own messed-up backstory. Muggleborns like Hermione are taken from their parents and fostered with pureblood families like the Malfoys. Overall, the story is pretty dark while still having a main character who is genuinely likeable.

I'm giving this one a 4.5/5 and highly recommend reading it.

 

I've been following this fic for a while now (since third year, iirc), and while it's competently written, it's not anything I would call excellent.

The majority of its enjoyability for me comes from the tropes it employs (specifically, Slytherin!Harry and Fem!Harry), and its writing, characterisation, plot, and worldbuilding does little to take away from its premise. That being said, little of the fic's composition does anything to add to its premise either. The prose is adequate, the worldbuilding is intriguing, the characters are convincing, and the plot... exists.

I personally find the highlight of the fic to be its political worldbuilding, but it plays a regrettably minor part in the narrative as a whole (so far, at least—I have hopes for future books). I'll reiterate that the prose is fine, more than, if we consider the average fanfic, but it does nothing to elevate the fic to anything beyond enjoyable. I suppose, however, that the sheer amount of fic that exists in conjunction with the (more or less) consistent quality is a rare boon. Some have praised the fic for its realistic characterisation of teenaged girls, and while I don't necessarily disagree with that (at least once we get into the later years), I also don't regard that as anything praiseworthy, but I suppose the standards for fanfiction in general makes it such that "realistic characterisation" is somehow not a baseline requirement for adequacy. Finally, there is the plot (the last criterion I'm considering for the rating of this fic). The plot is something that I believe the author plans to deliver. Perhaps I shouldn't use the word believe, because faith would be a more appropriate term. Things happen in the story—many things, even. However, they also happen quite slowly, and the serial nature of the story's publication renders many potentially interrelated plot events rather less connected than perhaps the author intends. The fic suffers from significant pacing issues, some of which I'll ignore since I suspect the type of problems it has is exacerbated by update speed. I'm sure if someone binged the entire thing in one go, it might be more palatable, but even then, the author should really reconsider her chaptering practices. For fuck's sake, the series function on AO3 serves a purpose, and that purpose does not entail the publication of four (five now) individual narrative arcs within the same overall work. Whatever.

All in all, I'd hesitate to rate it as a 4/5 for everyone, since I don't think anyone who doesn't find the premise immediately attractive would find this fic as anything more than a 3, but it's a 4/5 as far as I am personally concerned, so I'll probably vote that.

Edited to add the ao3 link, since I've realised OP only posted FFNet.

 

How has this already been put into the almost recommend section?

 

Well, the story's strength mostly lies in it's characters. I did notice the pacing issues, but since I read the whole thing in one go, it wasn't as much of an issue. The plot mostly follows the original books, but tries to put a new spin on it each year.

Spoiler: Years 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

First year, Quirrel spontaneously kidnaps Harriet when he goes for the stone in Dumbledore's office. Voldemort learns that she's the true GWL and the Mirror of Erised is destroyed with the stone inside, which prompts her to reach out to Flamel and befriend him.

Second year, Luna gets possessed by the diadem and the basilisk uses Rawenclaw's moon mirrors and her Eyrie to move around and hide. Elara torches it and the horcrux with Fiendfyre.

Third year, Fenrir Greyback escapes Azkaban after Sirius Black and comes to Hogwarts as well. They end up capturing Pettigrew with the time turner and lure Greyback into a centaur ambush. Black is exonerated afterwards.

Fourth year, Neville is put into the tournament as the fourth champion, but Harriet gets abducted by Crouch Jr. posing as Krum. Voldemort is resurrected, assisted by another horcrux. Harriet barely manages to escape via portkey. Also, Harriet becomes Slytherin's apprentice.

Now, before fifth year, Gaunt's aurors snatch her off the train station and Slytherin and Flamel break into the Ministry archives to falsify her record while she awaits trial.

 

Eh, I think this belongs in almost recommended. I got around 150 chapters in before I had to drop it.

I have likes and dislikes. I like how the *incredibly* tiresome burden of writing Harriet's Slytherin friends in a realistic way was sidestepped by the OC and Hermione replacing their role, except for Pansy bitching at them as she occasionally walks through the dorms.

I quite like the worldbuilding, and I enjoy seeing the ripples that multiple Voldemorts of varying degrees of sanity running around subsequently causes.


I dislike the old, tired trope where *dark magic* is like heroin or whatever, and that's used here.

I like how Dumbledore and Snape are portrayed, mostly - Except that I can't buy that they'd just sit back and let "Slytherin" get as far as he has, missing arms and eyes or not. Even more vague hints that they're actively working against him would be enough, but since they're consistently shown as competent I can't buy the end result we're seeing.

Most of all, I can't stand the OC. She's almost reasonably written, very nearly a decent character, but that just makes her inevitable failure as a believable character more galling. Without going too much into the problem, it just feels as if the author couldn't be arsed to write an SI!OC story and just tried to stuff their insert persona into the empty space where a different character should be.

Aspects and roles that should have been given to the primary character were given to her, and their absence can be seen in Harriet, who can occasionally feel more like the Ron of the trio, and the other two are both alternate universe versions of Hermione. With two variant Hermiones expositioning at her, Harriet's strengths are reduced essentially to "ME NO KNOW WHY BUT ALL ME SPELLS BIIIIIIIIIIG", like a magically inclined version of Hagrid's brother.

The story isn't bad despite my complaints. I'd give it a 3/5.

 

Yeah, but whether or not it belongs in the Almost Recommended section, it didn't get its time in the review board or the votes or reviews for it to be moved anywhere. I didn't think that you could still post to here directly.

 

Whoops, my bad. I wasn't aware of the regular process and the review board. Perhaps a helpful moderator could move the thread over there? Pretty please?

 

@Zombie

 

This is my new favourite work.
It's excellent in every aspect, thank you so much for sharing it.

The writing is actually top tier. Sometimes I stop to re-read a paragraph and marvel at the poesy therein. To me this reaches perfection in how the author threads the line between simplicity and depth. No, I'm serious about this. I have never read fanfiction crafted like that. And it's not just the prose, it's in the flow of the scenes and chapters as well. It's so easy on the brain, it's so right that you don't even realise you've read three quarters of a million words. It's imaged and pretty, in a very magical way, without going overboard with it. The writing, in and of itself, sells the magical world already. Just wonderful. Also, the author must be British, or I'll eat my hat. There are so many words and idioms that seem so British and I've never heard before.

But enough about that, the strong point of the fic itself for me is the characters. I think Harriet is about the cutest and most lovable little gremlin fem!Harry could be and I wouldn't have it any other way. I like that she's a child from year one to four, and being a girl really doesn't change a thing. I like that her main trait is goodness of the heart and genuine humility. I like that she cares about people like Harry does. I like that she's foul-mouthed and always dirty and messy. I like that she's lugging around in her pockets little snakes that bite her hands. I like that she doesn't really care about academics but Elara and Hermione pulled her into their world enough that's she's quietly reaching her potential. I just really like her character, and it's been a while since I read canon but I feel like this is the closest to canon Harry, maybe more mature and a bit more competent.

Then there's her mates Elara and Hermione. I think they're done well too, Elara is needing an arc at some point but we aren't there yet, Hermione is just canon Hermione with her own depth. The star character is Snape, really, and he's excellent. The current four years do a pretty thorough job of going in-depth in his character, his situation, his gradual transformation, and I found it very well done. He's extreme but believable, and you cannot help but root for him. Dumbledore is portrayed well, he's got more of a supporting role but he's hitting all the right notes for me, especially in this darker world and premise. The Flamels kind of come out of nowhere, but the author is really good at making characters feel like people, so they turn out great too — and make for some cute magical scenes.

Magic is depicted in a pretty canonical way if I'm not mistaken. The author goes from his headcanon a couple times like for the duelling-relevant properties of spells, and the bit where they build the Atlas. Overall it's never too much and just serves as a inkling that there can be a lot going on behind the scenes. You can tell there's an effort in making magic beyond wand-waving interesting and whimsical. I particularly love the off-hand lines about a class of Potions or Herbology where they wore welding glasses to cut Erumpent skin and whatnot.

The few action sequences are really good, I'm thinking of the werewolf chase, and of the first task of the TWT. Harriet is well above average at thinking on her feet, and that's half the battle already. But she's still a little girl so mostly useless. There are so many specific spells to remember, and to remember and find the right one, then perform it quickly is hard. In a duel, there's that but also trying to stay one step ahead, and to do so, get a read on the opponent simply from their personality. I love how simple the complexity of casting spells is. There're no powerful witches and wizard as much as there are witches and wizards with the right sets of skill for the right situations.

When it comes to the plot, the familiar beats of canon are here, and the author revels in distorting them just enough to keep you on your toes — though, things are taking a real turn now that fourth year is done. I do love how everything from canon is used and recycled in some clever, relevant and engaging way.

I could blabber on about it for hours, and I don't know how I will handle the Harriet-shaped hole in my heart now that I'm caught up...
Easy 5/5 from me.

 

Polished this off in the last few days, been aware of it for a while but I was quite daunted by the wordcount. So the author tends to visit the stations of cannon, but manages to twist and change it enough that it does not feel in any way like a rehash. I feel that elara needs some work, the way she is written sometimes is frustrating but understandably so, in particular I find her interactions with her father at times quite interesting. I do think the characters are fairly well written and even if dealing with them sometimes can be a chore I am pretty sure its intended.

Harriet herself has her own identity, but the secondary characters have a fairly surprising amount of depth and things going on in the background, sometimes chapters will be dedicated to various characters to develop them and sometimes just rewrite an event from their perspective.

The action scenes are fairly good, the world building so far is great, the general atmosphere is well done and the author is still finding ways to surprise me.
4.5/5

 

This was surprisingly good. It’s definitely become one of my favorites of anything published recently. The characters are strong and having the horcruxes come to life is a great plot point that really changes the political dynamic of Britain. The writing is also smooth; the only criticism I have is that the chapter length is a little too short. The fic literally has 260 chapters lol

4.5/5

 

Usually, longfics take half an arc to get past the Early Installment Weirdness and get into the groove of the story. This fic surprised me by starting strong and maintaining the quality level over the course of the published chapters. This fic has what I normally look for in HP fanfic: Polished, literary-style writing, developed characterizations, steady character growth and plot development, setting and tone that balances whimsical magical setting with the encroaching darkness.

Once I sunk my teeth into the story, however, I could see past that rosy first impression glow. Because while the story has excellent prose, the story tropes are ones you've all seen before. It's slightly above the pack because it does the tropes well, but that doesn't change the fact it's a bundle of not particularly original tropes. Obligatory disclaimer: Tropes are not bad, etc.

• Fem!Harry
• Sirius Black child OC
• Multiple Voldemorts, including a young Tom and established Minister Riddle
• Interfering Minister/Politician Riddle
• Mentor Snape
• Slytherin politics
• Blood status legislation worldbuilding (eg, Muggleborn kids have to be fostered in wizarding homes or forfeit magic.)

TROPES

As I read, I couldn't help but compare this to the fem!Harry Pureblood Pretense fic that takes the same bundle of tropes in a different direction, and honestly, when it comes purely down to a choice based on personal enjoyment, I found Pureblood Pretense series more gripping. For various reasons:

Pureblood Pretense is a huge AU/Crossover-verse setting. Certain Dark Things is a Canon Divergence based on the circumstances of how Voldemort's AK backfired on the Potters, which led to Neville as the fake "Boy Who Lived". But its divergence from the canon-verse relies on certain narrative railroading steps that are that much more glaring due to its basis on the canon foundation.

Eg, Tom Slytherin becomes DADA Professor, despite Dumbledore's resistance. It's implied that Professor Tom is the Diary Horcrux, and Minister Gaunt is the Ring Horcrux, both made when TMR was a teenager. Dumbledore is nerfed to make this happen, which I find it grating every time Dumbledore's impotence is mentioned in the story. Dumbledore is beatable on a political front because AD is not a politician, he's too secretive and quietly manipulative to be the decisive leader like Kingsley Shacklebolt, but Certain Dark Things has him beaten on the political AND magical front to make the plot happen.

Sorry, but I hate it. Dumbledore is NOT afraid of student Tom Riddle. He's not afraid of 1970's rising Voldemort. He's not afraid of 70-year-old resurrected Voldemort. Voldemort is afraid of him, because AD is just that powerful. Dumbles is the Only One He Ever Feared, and Dumbles gets away with a ton of shit no one else does. Hate the Dumbles nerf required by the plot. LOOK AT HOW THEY MASSACRED MY BOY!!!

[Screams MY BOoOOooY in Amos Diggory's voice]

Voldemort applies for the DADA job age ~40, Half-Blood Prince. He hates Dumbledore but has to play nice because Dumbledore is that strong.

Okay, it looks like I'm doing the Unforgivable Sin of complaining that fanfic is not like canon, which is fair enough. But this a symptom of the greater issue within this fic, which is to make contrived events happen out of plot necessity, not because it's a natural evolution of characters and character decisions. It devalues the characters, especially the ones that we are told are exceptional. Rather jarring.


POINT OF VIEW & PACING

Another issue with the story is perspective format. Pureblood Pretense has Harriet as the MC, whose adventures are the bulk of the story. Other PoVs show different perspectives or reactions to Harriet's adventures, but Harriet is the lead star of the action. Certain Dark Things, as far as my impression goes, has four lead characters: Harriet, Elara, Hermione, and Snape. Then the chapters are so short (average 3.2k words) that a major plot development has to be split among multiple PoV's instead of rising and falling and resolving within one character's perspective, which I found to be annoying. Although others may enjoy the dramatic tension of "What happens next to this character? Stay tuned while we cycle around again to their PoV!", I don't like it.

The short chapters are the price of constant, consistent updating, but I would rather longer breaks and longer chapters, if that means a less choppy and a better-paced story.


CHARACTER

The fic has well-defined characters with a strong sense of internal voice. Harriet isn't an effortless pureblood princess, she's a grungelord tomboy. Snape is the harsh and pragmatic counterweight mentor to Dumbledore's optimism and Flamel's detachment. The many shades of Voldemort are prima donna drama queens with an ego as big as their sense of entitlement. Sirius comes out of Azkaban with a YOLO mentality.

However, I think Pureblood Pretense has better OC's. Certain Dark Things writes strong characterizations, but does this through the technique of the angsty, melodramatic traumatic backstory. Every one of the MC's has one, and I know this fic is on FFN, but LORD JESUS the "Trauma Snowflake" trope where every character has a uniquely terrible backstory is such an AO3 affectation. Harriet has the cupboard boogeyman, Hermione has Muggle parents alienation going for her, Snape has the most repetitive self-loathing complex known to wizardkind, and Elara has the bingo card childhood abuse.

I am a curmudgeonly asshole because Elara's childhood abuse is just so goddamn trope-ridden. A magical child who gets sent to a Catholic orphanage and goes through the whole religious exorcism ceremony where a group of priests shackle her to a wall and burn a crucifix scar in the very visible part of her neck, for the Greater Good, of course. I may be jaded because I've read too many "Bible freaks exorcise a magical child" stories to see it as anything but the ol' standby for when you need a sympathetic character with a dark origin story. It's Ebony Dark'ness Dementia approved level of edgy.

Note that England is majority secular Anglican after Catholics lost in the 1600's civil war. Orphanages wound down by the late 1970's for social, cultural, and economic reasons. During that time period, western couples who wanted children couldn't find them domestically and adopted them from Korea and China. So a healthy British baby girl gets kept and tortured by nutters For Reasons.


WORLDBUILDING

But it's necessary for the Ye Olde Pagan Ways wizarding religion. England was Christianized in 700 AD. The Wizarding World separated from Muggles in 1690 AD. Hogwarts has a Fat Friar house ghost for Hufflepuff. Godric Gryffindor was named to respect God. But wizards are totally Neo-Wiccan #WitchTok pagans. Seriously, where did this trope even come from? I know it's to make "Pureblood Culture" a thing, but I don't see how it fits in a world where rich wizards like Sir "Nearly Headless" Nicholas and the Malfoy family were firmly integrated in noble society before 1690.


3.5/5. I would have liked this more if I'd read less fanfic. It's still a good fic, but it had potential to have been better, and that's what bothers me.