Title: Harry Potter and the Conspiracy of Blood
Author: Cambangst
Rating: M
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Status: Complete
Pairings: Canon
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6701647/chapters/15327019
Summary:
Many years after the Battle of Hogwarts, follow Harry, Ron and Hermione as they lead four generations of the Potter and Weasley family in a battle for survival against a shadowy puppet master who threatens to destroy the world they worked so hard to build.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. Partially because I feel its rare to stumble across a decent HP fic ive not read or decided not to read these days. And partly cause ive found it VERY rare to find a decent 'next gen' fic. This one probably works so well because while its the 'next gen' era, its focus is 100% on the trio and Harry. The kids, grandkids, etc, only come into play in how much they impact the trio as they go about things. It also probably helps that all the kids are grown and married already.

So lets see. The weak spots. The first few chapters it seemed like your standard next gen fic. Not bad but not exceptional. Then it got rolling.

The villains... well. Despite their best attempts they don't really match up to voldemort. The author does a good job of showing a society that thought it was past these things being rocked again. But you have a hard time (or I did) ever thinking that once the secrecy is pulled back and you figure out WHO these folks are that they'll be able to go toe to toe with Harry

The Mystery was well put together...but... kinda obvious. Not a *bad* obvious but sorta like a "ohh I bet its X" and it was. Still the 'pieces' meshed well.

What I think this does well though, is it shows where Harry et all might realistically be in their 60s. It keeps the focus on the trio, but does make the 'next gen' so to speak seem real. Also kudos for making this *forty* years after the books ended and not say... 20.

Also a good job of writing corrupt ministry problems alla book 5. Like super annoying to read but in a "yeah I can see these stupid politicians doing that" way.

Its well written and engaging enough. I got sucked in for several hours.

Overall a solid fic. Not the best ive ever read, but definitely solid. Its also I think gone under the radar somewhat. And is *certainly* one of the better 'post epilogue' fics ive read. I'd give it a 3.5/5 rounded up for the novelty of a decent fic in this setting. A pleasant surprise find for me.

 

Good find, Soczab!

I enjoyed this story. It reminds me of Hogwarts Houses Divided and The Aurors, two next-gen fics I really like. Harry Potter and the Conspiracy of Blood isn’t as strong as those two fics but it kept my attention and I read it in a couple days.

I agree that the side characters and next generation feel more real than in other fics, but I think by setting this story 40 years after DH there are a lot of Weasleys and Potters underfoot, which can clutter the story at times. I think cambangst could have achieved a similar story with fewer characters (e.g. the Octavia role could be filled by Lily, of whom we don’t see much in this fic). similarly, we see some of Al and Hugo, but don’t really get to know them, as the grandkids also play an important role in the story.

I really like how the fic picks up on significant themes from the series, such as love triumphing over dark magic and hate, the relationship of a wand and a wizard. Harry’s ambivalence towards living and his “saving people thing” are also in keeping with the books.

while I enjoyed these aspects of the story, at times it can feel like it recycles a lot of elements. Soczab mentions how this fic echoes the Ministry incompetence of Order of the Phoenix—it also shares themes and plot points with Deathly Hallows (being on the run) and other books. This may seem unoriginal or repetitive at times, but I think it is still a fun read.

Overall, there are places for improvement, but I enjoyed the story and tore through it pretty quickly. 4/5

 

I don't see it. I think this is bad.

The characterization is bad. Regardless from the time, there is hardly any difference in the voice of the characters and the characters themselves are not well done. It starts with Harry, being not really Harry. Mione as the nickname spouted by Ron and all that normally comes with it. Headmaster Neville Longbottom, who as a kid(17) joked about a crucio, is still afraid of Snape. I mean the portrait, because the man is thankfully still dead. These moments just make me cringe. Like if the author wanted to use the established canon characters with their First Year or "Hogwarts" character, but forgot they are older in his story.
Don't even get me started on Harry Potter, 50+ year old wizard unable to handle a boggart. Done in a bad attempt to mimic Molly Weasley, it utterly fails and demonstrates how little of canon Harry is there in this character.

Worldbuilding is shit. It strongly reeks of mugglewank. Hermione found that the magical glass of the genie used by aurors can be used to protect electrical muggle tools and George uses is then the first to take advantage of it to get rich. Harry is of course the early sponsor. Therefore, wizards got access to internet, smartphones and TV. But they still use owls!
Don't get me started on all the special funds and stipends the main characters founded.
Avada Kedavra also can now incinerate people. Ignoring the wards and all the other common fanon stuff, it just makes you cringe.

The Wizengamot trial is like a horrible episode of Law&Order or some trial movie with a horrible script. I mean you have an exact example in the books how it can go and still make it so bad after some bad movie plot.
Considering how the other reviews mention ministry incompetence, I don't think this part will improve. This negates a major part of the years in-between and makes the heroes incompetent in the aftermath of Voldemort's fall. Like SW Sequels trilogy. Not a fan of that and not a fan of this.

2/5

 

I'm not usually one to read next-gen fics, but the summary of this one piqued my interest. However, despite the intriguing premise, it was not executed well.

The characterisations were poor. Harry felt horribly out of character; the author did not manage to capture his character at all. I understand that this could be explained by 50 years of aging and the traumatic experience of losing his wife, but this Harry is so fundamentally different from the canon Harry that he might as well be an OC.

I didn't like the portrayal of magic in this fic either. The idea of the Weasleys getting rich from selling magic-proof wrapper was absurd. Harry being unable to cast Riddikulus but his young granddaughter casting it was equally absurd. Ginny being killed by a muggle with a muggle weapon was also not very believable. Having said that, however, I did find the varying strength of boggarts to be a nice touch, it's an idea that I certainly haven't seen before.

Overall it's a 2/5. Interesting premise and technically good writing, but poor execution.