Now that was a good chapter (82). I find myself becoming attached to the story once more. It's a shame summer has the potential to stop many people from reading.

I must admit I'm actually a sucker for redeemed-in-the-end-Snape. Have been since canon ended. That's not to say I don't enjoy his vileness in the beginning and middle of the arc. I would actually like to see him indirectly convince Harry to spare him and for him to actually be significant in some way to the end of the war, rather than quickly killed somewhere down the line in the name of revenge. We have enough of that.

It would also help Harry's character a bit which recently - and again I blame summer - became quite two dimensional with his lack of attachment to anyone but Fleur or any care for their existence. I have no problem with people being killed, especially in creative and gory ways, but something about it felt off in this story recently. I'd like to see a bit of restraint in some cases instead of him just indiscriminately eliminating people.

It would also be a nice reference to Dumbledore's belief that everyone is redeemable, in this case Harry would learn where to draw the line and perhaps come back a little to who he was until recently.

 

Also, any chapter than has Harry daydreaming about using the Basilisk corpse in the Chamber of Secret to create a Basilisk inferius to unleash on Snape is a good chapter. I don't think I've ever seen that idea before, and it's well done kept to just an idle fantasy.

 

Using someone's first name without permission is rude, especially when there's an age gap and the relationship between two persons is professional or none at all. It's also a sign of familiarity, be it as colleagues, friends, peers, mentors, what have you.

Snape is none of those. He has already established himself as the teacher bully and now Harry knows that he was the one to set up Harry's family for death at hands of Voldemort. Harry clearly doesn't consider him a friend.

Do you really not see how trying to establish a - clearly fake - friendly connection with Harry is not only jarringly out of his character, but also doomed to fail? If his goal was to confuse Harry during one conversation it could be the way to do it, but apparently he's playing the long game: to get out of Harry's hit list. I don't see how antagonizing him further can help.

 

I just cannot imagine Harry being upset at someone calling him by his name. He's been called far worse.

He got his attention with the name drop, and has now convinced Harry that he needs his help to get through all the NEWTS in that year. So yes, he is playing the long game. Not sure that it made much sense, but the long game is there.

And I have never been part of any sort of institution or setting where we did not use first names to communicate with each other. Perhaps we just grew up in different cultures and therefore see things differently.

I called all my teacher's from middle school up by their first names, I've called all my bosses by their first names.

 

Malfoy was forced to do all that and never wanted it which is in my opinion the only reason Dumbledore offered him that chance.
And Snape came to Dumbledore, not the other way around, and Dumbledore downright forced him to work as a spy for him - because he needed a spy, not because he wanted to redeem Snape. I don't think that the usage of a good opportunity counts for "always giving second chances".
I remember one particularly bad attempt at SecondChances!Dumbledore which portrayed Dumbledore as a complete and utter moron trying to be good to everyone except his allies - I'm probably slightly traumatized by that
And this fic seems to go into the same direction because Snape himself implies that Dumbledore's ideas are the utmost extreme of opinions.

One additional point: Snape's reasons for defecting from the Death Eaters did NOT disgust Dumbledore. He simply wasn't ok with his blatant disregard for the rest of the Potter family, but he never judged Snape because of his love for Lily.

 

Dumbledore couldn't have been any other way, or else Harry would have been the one in real trouble. After all, there was no concrete evidence against Malfoy trying to kill people, but Harry cast sectumsempra on Malfoy who would likely have died without Snape's intervention.

 

It's not about the name. It's about Snape acting insidiously friendly when he is clearly the enemy - at least from Harry's perspective.

Do you see that happening in the HP books at all? Who, friends and peers aside, called Harry by his first name? Slughorn and Fudge, when they tried to suck up to him; althouth Fudge went back to Mr. Potter the moment he decided that association with Harry would be bad for his political career and I'd love to see Harry's reaction to Fudge usign his first name past book 5. There was also Voldemort, when he tried to fuck with his head.

BTW: did you just start to use your boss's first name, or have you, perhaps, agreed to be on a first-name basis?

BTW2: on a first-name basis: Quite familiar and friendly, as in Practically all the guests were on a first-name basis. This idiom alludes to the fact that using a person's given name betokens familiarity.

 

2/5

A New Harry is fine, but no one changes drastically over summer.

 

Those two are strangers. Both Slughorn and Fudge are people Harry does not even know. So yes, I guess on first meeting it might be weird to have so much familiarity. But after knowing someone for four years, I just can't imagine any rational person being upset at being called by their first name, regardless if it's from someone you dislike. They do know each other, in fact they probably know each other better now than at anytime before.

 

Leaving aside the technicalities of usage of first names, Snape calling Harry by his first name was just creepy.

 

Maybe Snape is playing a different type of long game.

 

He's not John-117 that he's going to get pissed everytime someone calls him by his first name.

Despite living in the UK, I've always found it weird how Rowling had characters referred to each other by their surnames. It might be because it was the 90s but even in the early 2000s kids were referring to each other by their first names. Even if you had less than cordial relations with a person you would still call them by their first name. It might be because they're in a boarding school or because their society is still at the point where that was the norm.

No matter the reason though, it's still a bit ridiculous that calling someone by their first name would garner that kind of reaction.

 

It's funny I thought the opposite. I get called by my first name by most people (if they know it) but I always assumed in Britain they're a little bit more formal, so they tend to use last names.

 

I'm in this boat, must be a cultural thing. To be referred to as my last name would be extremely uncomfortable - doesn't help I'm not a fan of it.

 

First, Surname and Nicknames were all in common use in my social groups growing up. None was the norm.

 

I grew up in Ireland, and, from what I've seen, it is slightly more formal back home when compared to North America.

Ie. acquaintances and peers use first names everywhere. Close friends use whatever they want. But parents and superiors are addressed formally in Ireland where as in Canada I haven't used Mr in years. My girlfriends father is a doctor and when I met him I called him Dr *****. He laughed and said some of the nurses don't even address him that way anymore. Which shocked me. But yes, a teacher addressing me with my given name would be off-putting enough to question what he/she wants from me.

I do use first names at work, even when meeting board members for the first time, but that has more to do with the casual environment cultivated there.

Regardless, I've tried to read this twice, and can push through the outrageous development in the first few chapters, but it is so very inconsistent in both quality and plot development that something always makes me cringe and turn away. 2.5/5

 

Hagrid called Harry by his first name, before even introducing himself

Dumbledore called Harry by his first name upon first meeting as well.

Neither have had any prior conversations with Harry, so neither were anything but strange men to Harry, yet neither creeped him out by using his first name. It's harder to find more examples for when Harry was older because he lived a pretty sheltered life, only really conversing with people he already knew.

 

Err... both were familiar with Harry as a baby even if Harry didn't know it. Very first chapter of PS.

 

How does being familiar as a baby matter to Harry when we're talking about Harry's reaction to being called by his first name by strangers.