Just finished this story, and it is definitely one of the most original takes on Time Travel I've seen in the fandom. Most time travel stories have an almost apocalyptic original timeline, with the protagonist(s) going back to make a much happier future. This one has Harry pressurized by outside forces to go from a more-or-less happy (canon) future to muck things up things up in the past, making things much, much worse in the process.

The story starts one year after the epilogue, with the public celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Voldemort's defeat. While the public celebrates, Ginny cries for her brother Fred, Teddy realizes that he's going to get married without either of his parents present and Al asks for his dead grandparents. Harry, lost in reminiscence and guilt, wishing he could do something, meets a mysterious old man with very suspicious timing who gives him a potion that would takes him a few hours back to any time period of his choice.

Harry makes the journey. Things go bad. And then from bad to worse. Now Harry has to deal with a world very different and much worse compared to his previous one, all because of his few hours of meddling. Of course, Harry won't give up and tries to go back again to fix things, but the world has already changed for the worse, and there are paradoxes to consider. To make things worse, Time-travel does not come without a price of its own....

The plot is really good, and utterly unique. I don't think I have ever seen anything like it in the fandom. The story is very fast-paced -- its sort of like The Unforgiving Minute in that respect. There are twists and turns almost every other chapter, and just when you think you've got the story figured out, the author introduces yet another plot-twist that completely changes the whole situation. Lots of major character deaths as well. Another thing I love is the melancholic atmosphere of this fic -- right from the first chapter the story seems set for a tragedy. Really well done.

Of course, the story is not without its flaws. The writing, while pretty good by fanfiction standards, is still a notch below DLP's best. Harry's characterization can be a issue -- he is very emotional and reckless throughout the story, which is necessary for the plot and quite understandable given his situation and how everyone around him just keeps dying, but can be uncomfortable for a lot of readers. Despite being an adult, he is more like DH Harry in his mindset and competence. While most changes in the new timeline are logical and believable, there was one change that made me shake my head -- but since the character in question doesn't even appear in the story, that isn't much of a problem. The ending can also be rather confusing, and takes some thinking for everything to make sense.

5/5 to the story for originality, plot and atmosphere. 4/5 for the writing and characterizations. Together, 4.5/5. In the end, the story premise is utterly unique and deserves a read just for that, if nothing else. It helps that the execution is also great for most part. A hidden gem of a story. Definitely recommended, and a can't-miss if you like time-travel fics.