Title: Harry Potter and the Eye of the Storm
Author: Jane99
Rating: T
Genre: Drama
DLP Category: General
Pairing: Harry/Hermione (It's Portkey, what do you expect?)
Words: 140,014
Chapters: 27
Published: October 16, 2004
Updated: June 2, 2008
Status: Abandoned

Summary: My take on sixth year. Glacially slow, so if you like fast-paced fics this isn't for you. No Mary-Sues or exchange students or long-lost twin sisters...

Link

I am very hesitant about posting this here for a few reasons. For one, this story features a H/Hr pairing, which isn't very well-received around here. For another, this doesn't contain fanfic elements that DLPers typically enjoy, like a confident, independent Harry with a backbone and a will to learn.

No sir, while the Harry in here is not a useless pussy, he is still very much canon-like, with his reluctance to apply himself to learning all he can about magic. The author has assured me that this applies mainly to theoretical knowledge and Harry is much more a practical wand-waving person. I am still waiting to see if Harry shapes up, something he haven't really seem to have done in 27 chapters.

Also, the updates can be very sporadic. Updates are generally posted about once every month or two, though the last chapter was preceded by a staggering nine months hiatus.

So what's good about this story? The writing is definitely above-average, and the story just flows from chapter to chapter, from what I've remembered. I would liken it to reading one of the canon novels itself. There are some interesting elements, such as animagi and the author's focus on the relations between different magical creatures and their involvement in the upcoming conflict.

Undoubtedly though, the biggest draw to this story - for me anyway - is the way the author handles the romance aspect. When the author says "glacially slow", she really means glacially slow. Harry and Hermione only begin to realise their attraction in the 24th chapter, to give an example. If you can stomach H/Hr and are a fan of a slow and subtle build-up to the romance, like I am, you should definitely give this a try. The romance is certainly one of the best I've seen in any fanfic so far.

I'd give this a solid 4/5 anyday, with the potential to go higher, depending on how the author handles Harry's character. It has impressed me more than most of the H/Hr fics I've read in the Library.


Checked by Minion, August 20, 2013

 

Interesting. I read the first chapter and I like what I see. I like how it doesn't seem to be building up to a complete 180 (HARRY GETS SUPER MAGIC POWERS AND KILLS HIS ENEMIES WITH BLINDING FURY). It just seems pretty reasonable. I'll rate when I read more.

 

It's VERY canon-like with the exception of the H/Hr elements (which are really minimal for the first 100000 words). Which is to say, Hermione is annoyingly know-it-all, Ron is a jealous git and Harry is a weak chump.

The author also obviously has views on certain things (Kreacher shouldn't be punished, it's wrong if you refuse to give duelling training to Slytherins who publically declare the greatness of Voldemort) that are quite annoying.

It's a well written story, but the glacial pace, lack of action and the fact that I want to punch most of the characters in the crotch in every chapter prevent me from giving it a good rating.

 

Um, I for one enjoy the glacial pace. Not sure about you, but I don't particularly enjoy reading about Harry professing his undying love for ____ (insert female character here) by the third chapter.

 

Glacial romantic pace is good. Glacial pace of plot developments, ungood.

 

I can understand how you see it like that. The plot isn't moving terrible fast, but the interesting tidbits throughout the story are really entertaining. It reminds a lot of why I loved the Harry Potter books in the first place.

 

24 chapters till the actual Romance starts? No matter how much of that masterful subtelty is there, it's not worth it, at least for me. What is it about people and extremes? I agree that there shouldn't any undying love by chapter 3 but 100.000+ words untill something starts building up will make me hate the pairing in question. Can't you authors just hook them up a bit earlier and use your writting finesse to subtly develop the existing relationship? It's usually enjoyable and doesn't distract from the main plotline.

Of course, you may not have much happening in your story besides the non-existent relationship in the first place...

P.S. The above rant doesn't necessarily apply to the story in question, seeing as I didn't even start reading it yet. I just had to get it out of my chest.

 

Interesting. Well written and thought out, but slow as hell in regards to any conflict. I'll give it a 3.5/5 for now.

 

This story is good. My thoughts generally go along with those of Zombie and yhelo. I'll say 4 stars.