It probably went downhill right around the time when Harry "died"

As a consequence of being out of the "spotlight" as it is Bellatrix became the lead role.

Except perhaps the writers have forgotten that readers didnt exactly go to that fic to read about Bellatrix as the main character but Harry as the focus.

For me I'm going to wait one more chapter before dropping it.

 

Updated.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5511855/38/Delenda-Est

 

Well, at least it's got a bunch of Harry stuff this time.

 

But he's still walking around looking like Bellatrix. Does that count?

 

This used to be my favourite work in progress, I literally fanboy'ed over updates. The premise was pretty interesting and could have made it gold standard.... And then the second Time Travel thing happened.

It killed the entirety of the original premise for one and introduced seer!OC and prophecy!OC and countless other clichés for two. I still stuck around for the good ol' harry action (It's a damn good Harry, Harry Ashworth will forever remain as my favourite Harry persona ever), but as you all know Harry seems to be increasingly sidelined.

3/5 for sheer nostalgic value and kick-ass Harry Ashworth action. Oh and decent writing. The writing flows nicely even if the plot doesn't these days.

 

Th author is weaving one plot after the other. I lost interest after Harry started Polyjuicing as Bellatrix.

Actually no, I lost interest as soon as the second timetravel triggered.

 

Why is it so necessary for Harry to remain hidden from everyone?

 

Tension bro, tension.

 

Updated again. Really liked this chapter. Plot advances considerably, ashworth revealed, decent action, and almost entirely Harry centric.

 

Nice chapter .
The best thing about the chapter is Harry is back in open again.
Cant wait to see reactions of order and ministry.

 

Harry answers this in the most recent update, though not satisfactorily in my opinion as he hasn't seemed to be bothered by his injury for several chapters. I assume that there is also the fact that they wanted a seat on the Wizengamot for Bellatrix, as Harry had no interest in politics and the Minister of Magic would never give her the seat if Harry was alive and he could give it to him.

His response when asked why he pretended to be dead:

 

Updated again

 

I re-read this recently and my opinion of it has improved. The first half of the story [ie. before the second time travel] is the most interesting part to me, but then it always was.

The second half of the story is a bit of a drag, but since re-reading I've really come to appreciate the characters of Rose and Sidra much more.

I'd been reading Delenda Est as each chapter updates, and so Rose, Sidra, and Leo just became the author's not-Harry replacement kids. There's such a long wait between chapters that I'd forget about them as characters by the time the next chapter came out and just thought of them as 'those OC kids'.

Rose and Sidra actually have very strong personalities. They're both brats, but they feel like sisters, and their characterisation is well done. Leo's not as well defined beyond being a companion of Rose's.

The latest chapters of Delenda Est don't interest me that much, and the most recent chapter [42. The Ghost of Bellatrix's Past Future] is a travesty. The author pulled a supremely cheap move and handed Harry the retard ball. It's easily the worst chapter in the entire fic. Lord Silvere should scrap it and re-think his approach to getting Bellatrix's hands on the truth of her canon timeline self.

Overall, 4/5. Barely. If I'd stopped reading at chapter 41, I'd be far more confident in that 4/5 score.

 

You've just convinced me to reread this.

 

Well, you convinced me to read this fic in it's entirity. I read it way back when it was first being written, up to chapter 15. After that I just followed this thread of hatred, and never bothered it pick it up again.

It's... I understand why so many people are disappointed in this. It had the potential to be incredibly awesome. Instead however, we got something that was 'decent' or 'ok'.

It's decent enough that I'll barely give it a 4. It's worth a read. And it looks like it'll be completed within the next 3-4 chapters, according to the author. I wouldn't really mind if it was barely accepted into the library, but in no way should this be in the DLP C2. That's how I'd it.

 

Everything before ch 26 is interesting and well-executed. Instead of being sent to the future, the story could have just continued the natural course, with Harry killing Voldemort. The story would be over at something like chapter 35. Sure, it'd be a little more predictable, but I could say it was a well executed timetravel story that was actually finished and had a cohesive plot and reasonable characterization of Harry, Bellatrix, and the various political families.

Chapter 26 was a surprise. I wasn't expecting another time jump. It's not a bad plot idea in theory but in execution it's just awful.

I did like that Harry did marry Bellatrix in quite a literal weak moment, but ever since that scene Harry changed from cautious-time traveller with snark and reluctant methods to obedient, devoted, deeply loving husband of a manipulative two-dimensional mary sue.

The dyanamic of Harry/Bella was actually pretty interesting pre-26, I was curious to see how an actual marriage might develop. Instead, the marriage was forced by the plot and Harry just became the perfect husband as a result.

Everything plays out too conveniently and it's hard to care about the story by chapter 35 or so, because everything goes Harry's/Bellatrix's way. Too many scenes are about Dumbledore going, "Gosh darnit! Is Harry Ashworth alive or dead?" It was just awkward, reintegrating Harry into the magical world again.

What killed it for me is the scene that always kills time travel stories for me. Harry shared his memories and came clean. I think that any time travel story that has the protagonist reveal and provide proof for his travel kills the story outright. He abolishes all tension and mystery between the Order and him. It's fine if he does it in the last chapter of the story, but now that there's no conflict between him and the Order, scenes that involve those characters are utterly meaningless fluff.

It doesn't help that all of the children-characters (Leo, Rose, et cetera) are one-dismensional and without any compelling conflicts of their own. It's hard to even see Leo and Rose as potential lovers, with as little characterization as they get.

And that's what doesn't make sense for me. Why send Harry into the future for no other reason than for him to interact with people like Luna, Neville, the Potter scions, et cetera - there is no reason. None. So when they are very minor players in the plot against Voldemort - who the fuck cares? And when they have no meaningful characterization or conflicts that even concern Harry or Bellatrix - who the fuck cares? There was no advantage to sending Harry to the future if the author had no intention of making the children integral to the story. None. There wasn't even any foreshadowing that he would be returning to the future; all the writing in the beginning suggested that Harry didn't want to go back and never would. It's frustrating the potential this had all went down the drain.

pre chapter 26: 5/5, post chapter 26: 2/5 ; I'd say 4/5 as a final score, this could be in the library as it will be complete soon, and it's still a well-constructed time travel story... in places. The first part of great enough to be included on its own merits.

 

Updated

Interesting new chapter by the way, which also hints at Lily discovering that Harry is actually her son from an alternate timeline.

 

Like many others I thought this fic had potential and certain chapters and concepts are great. However, it has descended quickly from the beginning. Then the romance between Harry and Bellatrix seems to be based on Bella abusing and or controlling him and not any chemistry.
Started off well, I don't bother reading it anymore.

 

This just finally finished.

 

Solid writing throughout and definitely an interesting epic. I enjoyed the ending but am disheartened by the fact that the author is going to write a sequel, I wish he'd focus on his Harry/Helena story.