My first request;

Every story I come across on FFn seems to have a Manipulative!Dumbledore as the norm; true, he was somewhat dubious in his dealings and motivations in canon, but every story -even those that have him in a positive and supportive light, to Harry- has him characterized solely by the manipulative!Dumbledore trope.

Usually, this means one dimensional characterization.

Does anyone know of any decent, well-written stories where Dumbledore isn't...well, Manipulative!Dumbledore? One where he is actually supportive of Harry?

I'm not too picky, but -with slash obviously being ruled out- I would like to see Harry with a bit of brains and backbone.

My second request is a little controversial; it's likely I'm putting my bollocks in a workshop table vice.

I'm looking for stories where Ginny is characterized pretty well, and has a relationship with Harry that is a key part of the plot. After reading a story where Ginny is pretty much OC with her name, though her personality was somewhat derived from canon!Ginny, it's made me wonder about possibilities...

Now, by "pretty well", I mean not what's commonly seen in the fandom, which essentially makes up all stories with Ginny being a significant character, and unusual characterizations.

An example would be Ginny being the 'black sheep' of her family, though not with the whole 'anti-Sirius' plot-device.

It would also be good if she was with/to be with Harry, and they're both sort of 'outcasts', relying one each other - him with public pressure and from acquaintances (such as Hermione), and her from her somewhat smothering family (...and Molly).

The interesting story premise that Pers' started (Unspeakable Things), which was then was taken over by another author to become utter shite, is a perfect example of what I'm not looking for.

Dumbledore being supportive, as mentioned in my first request, would be a bonus, too.

Luna being involved in some way would be cool, too - but I'm not holding my already taxed breath on that.

So, I know I'm holding my breath, and I'm likely to end up with brain damage, making me post like Syed, but there's no harm in asking, right?

 

There are a few rather good stories that characterize Dumbledore well, I'll try and browse my bookmarks and find them.

Could you list the ones you have read, though? I mean, I could link you Dagger and Rose, off the top of my head, but I'm almost entirely sure you've probably read that.

 

Well, since you asked, I hope they will be burning you and not me. ;D

It has been quite some time since, but I have read a story The Unforgettable Fire that stuck me down as a chilling and different version of whatever I have read about Ginny. I have no idea what the DLP thinks about it and have been pondering to post it at least in the almost recommendable. I didn't only because I don't fully remember everything, and I wanted to refresh myself before posting, and it's not that high on the list. The things I remember are such:
Ginny gets sorted in to Slytherin and there she finds extremely harsh life.
There is a solution from convenience with Draco. (That's probably the weakest place of the fic)
The story mostly centers on Ginny, and some kind of a plan of Fate she is a part of, a plan, that Harry is as much as she is. But where Harry, (if I'm not wrong) has accepted it, and believes that he and Ginny are meant to be, she doesn't.

The warning is such - it's from the time (for me) when I was reading everything and found stories good that I probably wouldn't like today, so without rereading (and it's mnot high on the rereading list) I am not exactly sure if I should mention it.



On other Ginnies, isn't Backward With Purpose even in the library?

 

I have two H/G stories in my favourites that you might like, although both are now abandoned. If I remember rightly, however, both sort of got dropped between 'acts' - most plot points have been solved, and it doesn't really matter.

Learning To Breath is like Unspeakable Things - continued from a first chapter somebody else posted (I think it originated with Jeconais, but he had no input into anything after chapter one). Harry has been trained as a warrior since that Halloween, and has killed Voldemort before the story even begins. I haven't re-read it in a while, but you might enjoy it.

Deadwoodpecker's Yellow Submarine features a Ginny who was captured by Voldemort, and a Harry who felt he was too late to save her. Again set after Voldemort is dead, the problems in this one are based more on interactions than fighting, but you may enjoy it.

Spoiler

I haven't read this one in a while either, but I still get shivers every time I read Ginny's line at Arthur - "how did you not notice you were going bald".

 

Both are pretty broad requests.

One of the classics comes to mind for your Dumbledore request, Sib's The Awakening Power. (And it happens to have the best competitive duel between Harry and Dumbledore in all of fanfiction.)

A Ginny-centric series with a different take on her is Summer of the Serpent and sequels by SSHENRY (SIYE link). The story hasn't aged so well, with Ginny being a bit of a Mary Sue (a genius and a dancer and an elemental and a seer and...), and it gets a bit tiresome with the "I wuv you so much!" "I wuv you too!" exchanges in the final installments, but you might find it interesting.

 

SSHenry's soulbond series came to my mind too. But yeah, it's a Harry/Ginny soulbond. It actually is the soulbond series which inspired Sesc to try his hands on a (pre-Hogwarts) HG-soulbond XD

Melindaleo's two post OotP fics ('Power of Emotion' and 'Curse of the Damned') feature a supportive Dumbledore as well as HG, but I can't recall which role Ginny plays. I only remember that Voldemort's attacks on Harry were random and not explained at all.

I never read swishandflick's 'The Veil of Memories', but I loved it's prequel 'the Silent Siege' (the post OotP version). Ginny plays an important role in 'Veil', but not that much in the first one. And Dumbledore's role is rather small in the first one - at least he is rarely mentioned until the quite surprising end.

 

It's been a very long time since I read it, so my memory may be fuzzy, but I remember enjoying the Dumbledore in Zennith's http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5843349/1/The_Other_Side_of_the_Coin

 

I didn't mind the Ginny in The Sound of Sorcery (abandoned), but DLP mostly disagrees (3 stars, and in the Recycling Bin).

Also, its Ginny may be too close to the "mainstream" standard that you say you aren't looking for. But the interaction between her and Harry is quite good, and her overall characterization isn't so bad (if you can get over her unique talent).

 

I enjoyed KevinVoight's trilogy, which was a post-fall-of-Voldemort AU, but the first story, at least is very Ginny-centric. It's a pretty enjoyable read nonetheless -- the author is a good writer, handles the suspense and developing plotlines very well, and manages to make Ginny actually have something of a personality. Plus, there was at least one plot twist that genuinely surprised me, which isn't something I find often in fanfiction. If you don't mind reading from Ginny's POV, you might like it as well.

 

The first ones that come to mind are
enembee's By the Divining Light and Conlaodh's Song
mira mirth's On the Way to Greatness (WIP)
nos tres reges's The General (Hiatus? Abandoned?)

I swear there are more, but I'm drawing a blank right now.

It's old (written pre-OotP) and I'm sure people are beyond tired of my recommending it, but read After the End if you haven't already. It's a multiple-POV story extrapolated from the end of GoF, but Ginny is a major component, though it's very much an ensemble story. I admit it probably hasn't aged well at all (and there's the terrifically AU aspect from 3 later books of canon info) but the writing is superb and you really feel for the characters - even the excellent OCs.

The best example I have of them both being outcasts or separated is one whose name I cannot recall. It involved Harry and Ginny having a child and the three of them, along with Voldemort, being killed in one go when Voldemort attacks. The story is then about the secret of how Ginny survived and is in hiding. I don't want to give it all away here, but I liked it very much. I'll keep trying to find it; IIRC it had Phoenix in the title but a search of FFN has so far yielded naught.

There's also a First Year soulbond fic that started out not too shabby, wherein Molly, Bill and many of the Weasleys were pretty hacked off about the bond and how much the two were connected, especially since it all occurs before Harry and Ron are BFFs. It was an attempt at a realistic portrayal of the weirdness of a soulbond and them still being pre-adolescent kids, but it got old pretty quick after their First Year and Ginny was becoming a Mary Sue to go along with a diminished role for Harry. That's another one whose name I cannot recall.

If you don't mind H/G/L then Antosha is your best bet. He's an excellent, excellent writer and the smut parts are actually quite good too (for what it is). His fics are on the standard HP sites but all pairings (and the raciest versions) can all be found here.

I really enjoyed Summer of the Serpent but the sequels couldn't hold my interest. I can't say, then, about the later installments, but Ginny's characterization was quite good in SotS.

I know I read those, but I can honestly say I don't remember anything about them. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but then again I was devouring a lot of fanfic back then.

 

Seconding Portus's recommendations. The soulbond fic in question is probably The Meaning of One by Sovran. It suffers from repetitive conflict and being way too long, but if you like that sort of thing then it's not bad.

 

I remember this one! I think it was called 'The Meaning of Life', but I can't find a link.

Edit: Found it. It was "The Meaning of One" : Part 1 and Part 2