The third year progressed to what feels like at least the halfway point by now, so I'll write a bit about it.

The pace of the story is as slow as ever and the update frequency isn't great either. But at the same time, there's clear progress with both the overarching story and the characters. Previously I mentioned some of them (e.g. Lestrange siblings) feeling underutilized, but year 3 managed to flesh them out. And as for the overarching story, I feel like at this point I can make a guess what it's gonna be.

Spoiler: Year 3 Details + Overarching Story

The title for the year 3 is Memory Lane, so I expected it to be about Harry recovering his memories of the Potter assault and pursuing Dolohov, one of the perpetrators. I was quite surprised when Dolohov was done in by Bellatrix in chapter 60. But at the same time there are hints that Bellatrix was involved in the assault as well, so Harry realizing this and confronting her and/or Arcturus about this might still be year 3's endgame.

There's also the question of which girl will Harry end up with. As of the newest chapter, he'd so tighly bound to Daphne that I don't see any other girl having a chance. Then again, she's the most obvious, and perhaps the most boring choice. If the author intends to be more crafty about romance, he'll have to somehow get rid of Daphne, so I can imagine the possibility of her dying at the end of year 3. I remember the author posting in an A/N or somewhere that people can guess about the pairing. Would he really encourage guessing if the answer was the most obvious choice?

Edit: I want to add that the "Harry being afraid of women" crap is pretty much gone by now.

As for the overarching plot, my guess is that Aenor Rose is Grindelwald's granddaughter. His aim is to get the Deathly Hallows and she's helping him by keeping an eye on Harry. And the assault on the Potters was an attempt to grab the cloak.

There's a chapter around the end of year 1 or the beginning of year 2 where Aenor reminiscences about her own grandfather. My initial guess was Tom Riddle (he would probably have to be a bit older than in canon, but that's a small change), but after year 3 unceremoniously revealed that Grindelwald has been free for decades, he became the obvious guess. Aenor being his granddaughter and being tasked with getting close to Harry would explain her interest in him and the Blacks. There's also Dumbledore and Snape learning about Aenor looking into British fairy tales (Deathly Hallows) during her studies at Durmstrang.

This kind of plot could also answer the question of what happened to Tom Riddle in this AU by introducing him as the person holding the Ressurection Stone.

There's of course more to it, for example Harry seems to have some mysterious abilities (seeing magic, something about Legilimency), but I feel confident about Aenor - Grindelwald - Hallows being the overarching plot. Who knows how long will it take for the author to fully unfold it. I can say I seriously doubt year 3 will be the last.

 

Update by update, I'm liking the story more and more. I was aware of it since long ago, read the first few chapters, was intrigued by the author's AU and somewhat put off by Harry's wimpiness. But now, I really feel like it was worth it to power through the overly eccentric early bits. I did so only few months ago, after I've seen year 3 has progressed to a certain extent. It really helped that I could read years 1 and 2 in one swoop. I still maintain that the first two years are too long for what they ultimately accomplish, and year 1 has some bad parts like wimpy Harry and the "I'm avoiding you to protect you" plot point, which is good exactly never, but mercifully it gets resolved relatively quickly. Year 2 is already interesting by itself and it pales compared to year 3.

At this point I wish I had the time and will to go through the entire fic again, with a notepad to make memos about all the possible foreshadowing sprinked throughout the chapters.

And now onto the spoilers and guesses.

Spoiler: Latest Chapters and Overarching Plot

You know how you start most fanfics with the knowledge of Harry's ultimate goal? Be it explicitly stated in the beginning of the fic, or simply being obvious from the fic's setting, you can tell Harry will have to deal with Voldemort somehow. Black Luminary had no such goal set, until now - it's Grindelwald being somehow related Blacks, later legitimized and as the result having hold over the family due to of a curse. Even though he hasn't been using it, Blacks want out and Harry's the one meant to accomplish this. Took long enough, heh? I still think it'll ultimately loop to the Deathly Hallows though.

Aenor's the key to it all. In my previous post I said she's probably Grindelwald's granddaughter on a mission to observe the Blacks. I still think she's Grindelwald's granddaughter, but perhaps not explicitly on a mission from him. She acts too freely, even in the chapters from her POV, not like she has a goal set from someone else. This was the case even before the newest chapter, and became even more obvious in it. So if she's not on an explicit mission from Grindelwald, perhaps he's using her and her realization of this could be what in the end makes her side with Harry and the Blacks over Grindelwald.

Some time ago some people proposed a theory that Aenor's a descendant of one past female Black that was too trigger happy with memory charms and made everyone forget about her. Indeed such piece of worldbuilding exists in one of the chapters and it would be very much like the author to have it be foreshadowing. It even gels well with the Grindelwald theory. This past Black could very well be the origin of Grindelwald's relation to the Blacks.

The newest chapter has some reveals and hints. Aenor's real name is apparently Aenor Eydís and she's from Jutland. So Grindelwald had a daughter, she married some Eydís dude and together they had Aenor Eydís, Grindelwald's granddaughter. And apparently Jutland's known for very lax government oversight over wizards and great personal liberties given to them. Where else should have Grindelwald hidden after escaping Numengard, eh?

There's a line where Dumbledore's thinks this about Aenor's approach to magic:
He had seen this kind of clinical approach to Dark Magic twice before, and never had it boded well. Neither for poor, defenceless Hogwarts nor for Magical Britain – or his conscience.
One's his pal from youth Grindelwald, but who's the second? Tom Riddle seems like the obvious guess and it only makes me wonder more and more what happened to him. Perhaps Dumbledore saw him gather people around himself, sort of proto-Death Eaters, if you will, and put a stop to it? Who knowns where Tom's now and when he'll appear in the fic. As Thomas Gaunt, holder of the Ressurection Stone, is my guess.

Also Daphne. She and Harry are getting together more and more. And I'm more and more convinced she'll be toast before the year ends. Edit: My main reason for thinking this is what I mentioned in my previous post - the author encouraging guessing about Harry's pairing in an AN. Yet Daphne's been the obvious choice since like chapter 5. And moreover, at this point Daphne's main character purpose/arc (getting together with Harry) is completed and her secondary one (getting some closure over her dad Regulus's death) seems to be heading towards completion too, if my following guess is true. The newest chapter has Daphne reaffirming that she'll follow Harry everywhere and will face everything with him, and then Harry roping Aenor into visiting Sirius in Azkaban with him. I can see Daphne learning about this, insisting she wants to go too, going, confronting Sirius about Regulus, getting some answers, getting involved in the kerfuffle when the entire thing goes awry and being killed. This would complete her as a character. None of the other characters with apparent arcs (Harry, Aenor, Tracey, Hermione) seem to be heading toward similar completion. Draco, Leo and Amy are more of ascended extras, and you can say Draco is a part of Hermione's arc.

Edit: Smoothed out some mistakes, added a bit more about Daphne.

 

And the ride continues.

Spoiler: This chapter + the overarching story

First I have to say I misinterpreted why Harry wanted to break into Azkaban. He went to meet Pettigrew, not Sirius. Sirius has already escaped. It must have been mentioned before and I must have forgotten about it. It's the stuff like this that makes me wish I could do a reread of the whole fic and make notes.

The author says in an A/N that the "finale [is] slowly approaching". In a review someone asked whether the finale of the current arc or the whole fic. I think the author is being clever here and that it's in fact both. Not in the sense that the current arc will be the last, but that it finally hinted the endgame, compared to the previous two arcs that are served mostly as character introductions and set the stage. This is something I spoke of before and the current chapter only reinforced that impression.

The author also says that the next chapter will be "Finality II". Finality I is where Bellatrix killed Dolohov, after he made it seem like Bellatrix also took part in the assault on the Potters. This chapter gives further hints to that. Specifically, when Aenor wanders into Harry's memories, one of the assaulters is described like this:
'Open his eyes! Make him see!' cried a voice with utter glee. 'Make him look!' called the voice of manic sadism that Aenor loathed the moment she heard it. 'Even this lavatory is so wretchedly cheerful and bright,' the voice continued. 'It makes me sick. Sanctimonious Samaritans! Prude philistines, the lot of them! This place stinks of hypocrisy! But don't worry, little Harry. We'll improve it. It'll all be better, you'll see.'
...
The female figure at the far end raised a ceremonial knife with a distinct recurve. 'His eyes open, Antonin? Good! Good. Come, Harry; let's see how muddy your dear mother's blood really is! As they say – blood will out!'
If this isn't Bellatrix, I'm going to be really surprised. Remember, it was also her who called Dolohov by his first name in Finality I. The next chapter will likely have Harry at least learning about Bellatrix's role, possibly confronting her. This is the main arc of year 3, the journey through the titular Memory Lane, if you will.

My guess of the overarching story makes Grindelwald the driving force behind the Potter assault. This chapter gives us the following about the person who paid Pettigrew to get out of the picture:
And here, the stranger in the pub, with almost star-like, mesmerising eyes twinkling from behind his hood like sparkling ice, speaking with some accent Peter couldn't place, offering gold – mountains of gold – for leaving Britain without any questions asked, the honeyed words and his companionable voice eating away at Peter's self-esteem, innocently baring the hateful, festering wounds like a true master.
...
The one time he returned, reluctantly following his guilty conscience like a stray tottering home – only to be confronted with the twinkly-eyed stranger from before, who now didn't seem even remotely companionable, whose presence alone bent perception and space, whose polite words sent shivers down Peter's spine.
The news of James' and Lily's death the very next day, remorse dulled with pain and conserved in alcohol.
Twinkling eyes are a fandom-accepted sign of Dumbledore. This is gonna be Grindelwald though, Dumbledore's dark mirror. A cold, icy twinkle.

It's pretty impressive how the author manages to weave these two mysteries (or rather, two levels of the same mystery) together in this chapter.

He also continued the pattern he set with Daphne. She didn't go with Harry to Azkaban, but I still maintain that she's likely to die at the conclusion of this arc, because her own character arc, getting Harry, is pretty much finished. Possibly this will happen at the Harry - Bellatrix confrontation.

One more point - this arc has a notable duality in its chapters. On one hand you have ones that portray Harry and his friends partying and getting drunk and then you have serious ones dealing with Harry's problems. Or, like in the case of this chapter, both types of content in the same chapter. It might seem jarring, almost like two stories that don't mesh. But I believe the author is doing it on purpose. When Harry confronts Bellatrix, his friends will have to react to it somehow, perhaps even get involved in the case of Amy and Leo. The two stories will crash together. Bellatrix herself will probably just be like "whatever, Potters weren't family, neither were you back then".

Edit: some typos.

 

Well, Finality II was something else than I expected. Hopefully its fast release means the author is back to a faster schedule.

Spoiler

Anyway, one mystery got solved. The one I always considered less interesting than the ones I mentioned in my previous posts.

All the fuss about Daphne's grandmother sure is suspicious.

Also, I think it's really important that Harry got Pettigrew's memories corked in vials. Perhaps he'll show them to Aenor and she'll recognize the person with twinkling eyes in them, the one that made Pettigrew leave the Potters. I doubt she'd outright tell Harry it's her grandfather Grindelwald, but she could react to it in some way.

 

This was my second attempt to read this fic. Previously stopping at the kids getting to Hogwarts. Inspired by this thread I decided to power through the rough start and I'm honestly glad I did it. So far it has become one of the best fanfics I've ever read. Someone compared it to Renegade cause and Denarian trilogy but I think this ones up there with them and still unfinished.

The mystery is is great, the characters are great and the writing is in my opinion great for a fanfic. Harry isn't perfect all the time and even has deficiencies in his magical expertise. I loved the slice of life parts which enchanced the more serius parts of the fic and vice versa. Too much slice of life and it becomes meaningless but too much death and despair makes you numb to it. I agree though that the fic drags on in some places but binge reading almost in a one sitting, there weren't that many parts I would trime, it almost never felt like I was reading filler. Also one thing I disliked at the start was the extreme bullying but it gladly disappeared to the background, almost unnoticeable.

PS Daphne is best girl pls no kill, while she is the vanilla choice there honestly isn't any better (except perhaps Rose but she wasn't included in the AN about guessing the pairing).

Spoiler

Unfortunately I think the final girl will end up being Tracy, as it would subvert expectations by Harry not getting the beautiful childhood love but the mousy girl who somewhat dislikes the blacks and harry.

 

I'm interested in hearing what's your guess about the main mystery.

 

Some erratic thoughts on the story.

Spoiler

I agree on Aenor's grandfather being Grindelwald as he's too much talked about and referenced by Aenor to be an oc, also it makes sense with the timeline and the thoughts Aenor expresses to have come from Grindelwald.

At first I thought Harry's legilimency ability was connected to lethifolds as he was driven by hunger and loses control of himself, also he felt as if the room was filled with a "oily, gaseous darkness". I thought the next confirmation came in the form of Harry killing Pettigrew, as he died with "bloodshot eyes wide open ... his mouth gaping in what looked like a scream frozen in time." it reminded me of the lethifold victim descriptions. Also there have been the numerous mentions of Peeves being afraid of Harry, I don't remember if any other ghosts have shown similar fear towards him. I assume the fear is derived from Harry being able to in some way consume Peeve's or that Peeve's at least thinks so and fears harry for that, also the lesson Aenor had about ghosts talked about ghosts fearing death. This is debunked by aenor though by tying Harry's ability to experience magic with his talent at legilimency but we don't know everything yet.

I assume there was a reason for the killing of the Potters and what in my opinion seems like a ritual they were performing to him in the recent flashback "64 ML: Synthesis I". Grindelwald might have orchestrated the whole thing, somehow knowing about harry's talents or giving him those talents as he drove Pettigrew out of England for a reason and actively stopped him from returning so there has to be a reason. This brings me to Bellatrix which I agree was most likely part of the attack, what I don't know is whether she was willingly there or under the imperious. Why Harry hasn't realized this when he immediately realized Dolohov's voice is because he subconsciously refuses to admit that what he considers to be a family member could be behind the murder of his parents and his condition. I think the year will end with Harry realizing this and killing Bellatrix, ironically finally making her in a way happy that he was able to use the killing curse (which she had tried to teach but he couldn't perform).

The main big bad is going to be Grindelwald, Aenor on the other hand is operating alone although most likely an unwitting pawn of Grindelwald. My thinking that Aenor assumes to be free is because I remember in her pov she thinks about her grandfather saying something like that she is free to do her own thing. Aenor will most likely turn to help Harry against her grandfather as she has started to like Harry more and more, she will most likely die though. I'd assume she would die giving her life for Harry, redeeming herself, the loner sociopath who didn't care for others learning to care for him, not necessarily in a romantic way.

The story is about the Blacks rising back to glory from being social outcasts. With the revelation of Grindelwald being legitimized, the overarching goal becomes tied to Harry in some way defeating Grindelwald as it understandably would make the Blacks quite popular were they the ones to defeat him. How Harry will manage this is quite unclear as this story tries to be balanced in it's power levels and realistic, as such Harry will never be able to fairly fight one on one, assuming the story ends in seventh year. I think Harry will end up defeating Grindelwald thanks to his powers, how he would do it is another question. He can't just consume Grindelwald as Aenor proved in the latest chapter that his attacks can be blocked. What might end up happening is that Harry will over time consume more people in his journeys and as a consequence become stronger or gather more knowledge than is naturally possible and as such climb to Grindelwald's level (which I doubt). I think Grindelwald's defeat will have some form of trickery involved in it, as it was talked about in first year that magically greater individuals could be brought down by trickery and human error.

So here are my "quick" thoughts on the story and plot, I most likely will end up rereading it at some point and if I realize I missed something I might update my thoughts on the matter. I'm glad there's plenty of mystery still surrounding the story and I honestly can't guess what might happen in the future years. Also nice to get my thoughts on the story out of the system. I have paid for books that were worse than this fanfic so there's that.

Edit. I completely forgot to write about Daphne so here comes the important bits. She is most likely going to die as she pretty ominously said, "'I'll always be with you Harry,' she vowed, her hot breath melting away doubt and rationality both. 'Forever and always, until the end. I promise.'". With Grindlewald as a Black family elder I predict she will be at some point forced to do the same as Prewett's wife was forced to do against Prewett. It will have sweet irony in it happening to Harry who used it as slander against him. My hope is still that Daphne will not end up dying as I really don't like Tracey that much. Still the drama would be too good to not write it. Besides who says that the girl who Harry ends up with needs to be alive by the end of the story.

Edit. Added my thoughts on Daphne.

 

Great stuff.

Spoiler

I like your idea about Bellatrix's end. It's something the author could go for.

What's your opinion about the Deathly Hallows angle? I'm pushing for it mainly because of the following scene about Aenor in chapter 53. I'm putting it in another spoiler cause it's somewhat long.

Spoiler

Albus inclined his head. 'Any news about Rose, Severus?'

'None. None of my contacts were able to find anything. There is nothing about relatives, relationships, activities, hobbies … I haven't found a single picture of her – anywhere. There's not a single recording of her on Muggle security tapes either. It's not even like her files at the Ministry or ICW were destroyed; I assume they never existed in the first place.'

'Does this include the source we discussed?'

Snape nodded. 'The only thing we have is, well, it's hardly a trail. But there is one student about her age who disappeared after graduating from Durmstrang.'

'Indeed,' said Albus, his brow furrowing. 'And that was Miss Rose?'

' … I couldn't say, Headmaster.'

'Excuse me?' asked McGonagall. 'How could you not?!'

'The person attending apparently looked nothing like her, performed religiously average, and was registered under a name that might or might not have been fake. The trail of that person vanishes from the face of the Earth as soon as she took one step out of Durmstrang, and she hasn't been seen ever since.'

'Relatives?' asked Albus without much hope.

'None.'

'And did that person attend Durmstrang for the full duration of her education?'

'No, she only transferred for her NEWT equivalent, passing just barely. Kept to herself, the very image of a loner.'

'Has Kingsley researched the Muggle photographs we have of the late Blacks, Minerva?'

'Yes, Albus. And he told me that he couldn't find any special likeness – not that he could search more than one or two generations back with that detestable law still in effect.'

'I expected as much,' Albus admitted with an apologetic nod, 'given how close the resemblance is between most recent Blacks, excluding young Harry. But that is hardly proof – I know for a fact that Arcturus Black looked nothing like what I have concluded to most likely be his late brother. Any other evidence of a relationship with the Blacks?'

'None,' said McGonagall grimly. 'The things that tie her to the Blacks are Lord Black's push for her to teach at Hogwarts and her apparent friendship with young Harry.'

Albus hummed thoughtfully, leaning back in his seat. 'Severus?'

'Yes, Headmaster?'

'Did anything happen at Durmstrang during the stay of your mysterious student? Accidents, confrontations, blackmail, students dropping out, political shifts – anything at all?'

Snape consulted a little folder in his hand, sorting through the pages. 'Nothing noteworthy. There were a few thefts from the library, but they happen often enough whenever a particularly talented student passes through their last years. The Durmstrang board puts up with it as a … rite of passage.'

'Did anyone achieve special commendations two years preceding or following our mysterious nobody's stay?'

Again there was the shuffling of papers. 'No, Headmaster. The best person to graduate within a two-year-window became a Polish Auror, swearing the traditional oath of office. They wouldn't have taken someone confessing to stealing school property.'

Albus allowed himself to smile. 'What books did vanish?'

Snape's brow creased. 'A rather motley assortment. Fairy tales, books about myths and legends. Nothing worth more than a few dozen Galleons except one rare first edition of British children's stories.'

McGonagall scoffed. 'Just another juvenile prank, I should think!'

Albus Dumbledore felt his gaze being drawn to the wand that lay on his desk. 'A possibility, certainly.'

"Rare first edition of British children's stories" certainly sounds like the Tales of Beedle the Bard that include the story of Deathly Hallows.

And "Albus Dumbledore felt his gaze being drawn to the wand that lay on his desk" pretty much confirms it and also effectively confirms that the Hallows exist in this world and that Dumbledore has the Elder Wand. From that it's easy to say he got it from Grindelwald, thus Grindelwald knew about the Hallows. Hollows are strongly connected to the Potters, so the attack on them could be an attempt to get the cloak.

I think the Deathly Hallows could be a possible explanation for Harry's powers. Not in the sense that everyone who has one of them gets powers, but Harry is coming from the Peverell bloodline that could carry something connected to the Hallows in some way. Of course it depends on what the Hallows, Lethifolds, Dementors etc. are specifically meant to be in the author's AU, but he has a free hand there to connect it all together.

And the subtle hints about Tom Riddle in the story also make me think about the Deathly Hallow, cause having him be the person with the Resurrection Stone would be a good way to introduce him to the story.

 

Spoiler

Honestly I forgot the whole existence of Deathly Hallows. The excerpt you quoted is the only time they are alluded to. Because of that I think the Deathly Hallows will play a role but the timing will be much later. It will probably become part of the larger narrative, with no specific year for chasing them. Might be Grindelwald's goal to get the Hallows. About the attack on potters being about the cloak is possible but I'd say unlikely as they didn't seem to be seeking anything during the attack.

Peverell blood on the other hand might play a part but I have my reservations as they haven't even been mentioned, could be possible having Peverell's be related to Emeric the Evil for the source of Harry's powers but that would be somewhat lackluster in my opinion.

I took Dumbledore's thoughts about Aenor's approach to magic and his conscience to mean that Riddle is dead or neutralized from ever becoming a threat. I might have missed the hints about Riddle so not sure, at least I don't remember. I read so fast that I might have missed something

On the other hand I read the first chapter again (I read it last time like 2 years ago, started this time at chapter 5 or 6) and my god it gives an horrible first impression. The story starts with Harry reading advanced charms and warding, living in luxury, introduction to harry experiencing/seeing magic, getting ancestor wand. All the cliches that I try avoid and while the impact is lessened by knowing the context, it really is a terrible way to start. It gives an impression of a Gary Stu story when the most important thing for a fanfic to retain readers is to give good first impressions. No wonder so many stop reading, sadly this story gives an bad impression but gets better and better. Also Harry being scared of women wasn't good but I guess it makes easy character progression and I'm glad it's gone.

Realized I didn't give this story a rating before so it's going to be 4.5/5 rounded up to 5 for me, minus for before mentioned parts but it gets worth it by year three.

 

Jaska

Spoiler

The mention of Dumbledore's conscience could mean that Riddle is somehow out of the picture, perhaps even dead, true. In any case, I agree that Hallows would be an end goal for Grindelwald, only really coming into play at the very end of the story. We should know more once Harry confronts Bellatrix. I'll be on a lookout for anything that hints to the cloak being a possible goal of the attack.

Sesc
Now all this is just my opinion, but I don't think it's really possible to write a plot synopsis that would be conductive to enjoying the mystery in the year 3. Year 1 and 2 serve as self-contained plots that introduce the setting and the characters while sprinkling hints and world-building on the backdrop. So a synopsis of them conductive to enjoying year 3 would have to go like:
In chapter X there's hint Y, in chapter XX there's YY and together they can be interpreted to hint at ZZZ.
and
In chapter A character B does C, in chapter D they do E, etc. and all together it makes them a likeable and/or compelling character.
Even if someone were to write out a long list of all that's possibly there, I don't think it would have the same effect as reading and finding/judging it yourself.

I won't pretend that year 1 is good, cause it isn't. It's full of cringy stuff like Harry's weakness to women and Blacks seeming way too over the top with their wealth and influence. On top of that, its plot is a mystery that's only mysterious because it's told from the clueless eyes of Hermione. Ultimately it just serves to showcase that the Black family has rivals, which is mentioned later as well. (Edit: And probably even before.)

Year 2 though has an interesting plot, even if it's self-contained. So if you really can't stomach wimpy Harry in year 1, I'd say it's possible to just read chapters 11-15 in year 1 and then skip to the start of year 2. The setup for chapter 11 is that Blacks have a ball and Harry invited Aenor Rose, the defense teacher. Overall these chapter showcase the characters' traits and their dynamic and also some aspects of the Blacks. Then year 2 should do the rest of the introduction, while having an interesting enough plot on its own, and you should be ready to enjoy year 3. Wimpy Harry is gone in year 3 and I don't remember it being prominent in year 2. Presumably the author got the hint that people don't like it and toned it down, before completely erasing it through plot progression.

 

I agree with Sowaka, chapter 11 is the latest chapter you can really start on and still stay on the map, but I would still recommend reading the whole thing, even if skimming the bad parts because there are some interesting tidbits and stuff you need to appreciate the fic more.

I skimmed the early parts through again and the worst offender on the Harry vs women stuff is between the train ride to Hogwarts and the day after. I would still recommend skimming through that if only to get a touch on the characters and Harry's realization that he really experiences magic + the reader is told that blood magic is quite illegal.

I think that's what turns most people off and that's what turned me off as well to begin with. Harry's female trauma and him arriving at Hogwarts to get the magic experience overload create a really bad experience and impression on the reader as they happen at the same time. Harry's woman problems though are fixed in the summer after year 1, by year 3 he's on his way to becoming a melancholic lord Black.