The simple fact that he didn't begin the lesson by telling them all to repeatedly say 'Voldemort' over and over again while giving out hundreds of points is a major plus.

 

Is there actually a story where Harry does that? :facepalm

 

Yes - yes there is.
You also see it in fics that have the DA in it frequently, usually in indy- Harry fics.

 

I'm pretty sure it was Robst.

 

Is Harry the new master of the Elder Wand now? He took it by force from Dumbledore in Chapter 5 when he took him hostage. Dumbledore did take it back, but only when Harry decided to willingly step down after receiving assurance from Shacklebolt to keep Moody in line, so it didn't seem like a true defeat. (Compare to how Harry said that Snape couldn't be the master of the Elder Wand in canon because Dumbledore's defeat at Snape's hand was planned between them)

 

You might could make an argument for it being a true defeat since the presence of Dumbledore's allies forced a situation in which he had to hand the wand back. But then the entire canonical system of wand lore is pants-on-head retarded, so you could probably force it to mean absolutely anything if you wanted.

 

Update. I like the Howler thing, but it seemed a bit childish. I don't like the way the romance with Tonks is progressing, or that it is progressing. I like Hooch.

 

This is certainly worth reading, despite its flaws.

 

I read it upto chapter 15 as of writing and is interesting.
But I felt that it was too bad of a decision to reveal him to what's-her-name Potter, the girl who lived.
I also still feel that divination is too much of a strong point in this fic
4/5

 

Read this today. The beginning is hard to get through, with me coming very close to quitting twice: first when Harry started hyperventilating, second when Harry physically assaults Dumbledore successfully.

(The first of these actually did force me to quit when I first tried to read the fic some months ago)

Overall the fic is interesting though. Its prime redeeming feature is the presence of genuine conflict and difficult situations for Harry. It reminds me almost of Breaking Bad, where everything that can go wrong does go wrong, where villains are smart and don't pussy-foot around, where logistical problems aren't glossed over but rather become plot points. Like Breaking Bad, however, sometimes this can go slightly over the top, where something incredibly minor snowballs into a massive sequence and the pace of plot progress is stalled because of it.

The exploration of Divination is also interesting and I like a lot of where the author has taken it. However, it has that same problem of most fics that focus almost exclusively on a single (new) branch of magic: in falling in love with the new and interesting, it forgets to balance it properly with the old and established. Divination is an optional subject and is considered niche. That means you can't raise it up to the same sort of practical utility as the core wand classes without unbalancing the magic system, even with explanations about forgotten practices. If it was so practically useful and reliable, it wouldn't have fallen out of usage in the first place - it would have been a core class.

I like the idea of Divination magic involving wands, of it gaining a measure of practical utility and reliability, but with the level of use we've seen so far, it makes no sense that large numbers of wizards aren't using it - especially as we've only just scratched the surface. This version of Divination feels like a fundamental part of magic, not an interesting and occasionally useful "add-on".

Overall, fic is probably a very solid 3/5. Without such a one-dimensionally evil Order, emotional wreck Harry in the early chapters, and the Dumbledore beard assault it would probably be a 4.

 

I personally do not like your Tonks as I was hoping for an OC......but your writing style and caracterisation are enjoyable to read.

 

I tried it, and I got as far as "Amanda", and it really just ended there for me. I couldn't get past that part; "Amanda" absolutely reeked of Mary Sue. I just couldn't. All those special qualities, and she drinks a ton of Firewhiskey, and I just can't.

 

If that's your only problem, I'd keep reading if I were you...

 

It seems as if Harry does not have the knowledge from the previous world. He won the war and knew the people, so those things combined would have taught him how to deal with these people, at leas It seems that way to me. I also have to question the like ability of the Order. I'm almost rooting for Voldemort to come and obliterate the organization.

 

Recently updated. Some promise of more Divination fun, but not much happens overall. I have to wonder when the payoff is going to occur -- I mean, at this point Harry has been used and abused by Dumbledore, the Order, Tonks, Madam Bones, even Dobby and Ollivander of all people.

The question isn't what has gone wrong for Harry -- the question just what has gone right? He probably had a chance to do something nifty back when he snatched the Elder Wand from Dumbledore, but he didn't do much besides proverbially spit in Moody's eyes. Harry's taking too much lying down, despite his discontent with his situation and currently seems far too passive.

 

This chapter was okay. The story's fundamental problems remain, however. No matter how many readable chapters are posted in the future, the story itself still won't be good. Still, this chapter was good, so there's that.

 

The story is excellent, I really do enjoy it, though I do find myself a bit leery about how divination is suddenly a viable and very useful class.

 

I'm actually somewhat curious. I'm finding his reaction to be a believable one of someone who was quite literally ripped out of his comfort-zone and forcibly thrust into a rather dangerous situation. I would personally be rather bitter about it all and probably take all the opportunities to be passive-aggressive (or just aggressive) about it.

At the same time, I do agree it's somewhat tiring to see him and the other characters run in circles on the issue.

I was wondering how any of the other authors might approach the issue from a narrative standpoint.

-SK