I agree with most of the criticisms in this thread, but I have really appreciated the relationship between Harry and Natalia.

Spoiler

The speed at which their relationship developed felt off, but for once it's because it actually was off -- a rare occurrence in fanfiction.

Harry seems to approach the relationship in a believable, intelligent manner; perhaps he comes across as a bit too mature, but I certainly prefer this to the other extreme. In the latest chapter, the two essentially sit down and talk about their problems instead of making assumptions that may or may not be correct. I realize this isn't exactly unheard of in fiction, but after reading enough bad fanfiction, it's a very refreshing change of pace.

The latest plot development --

Spoiler

"How can I trust you?" "Let's dose each other with veritaserum."

-- could be handled well or handled very badly, but at this point I actually have some confidence the author will handle it well.

Early parts of the story are a 1.5/5, but I'm changing my score to 2.5/5 in light of the later chapters. Rounded up based on personal enjoyment.

 

This story has always been uneven, but this latest chapter took a sharp downturn in quality. There was no plot progression to speak of. Instead, the entirety of the chapter was spent on characters partaking in banter which I'm sure the author thought was amusing, but which actually came across as forced and painfully juvenile. While this has always been a part of the story to some extent, it has never been this pervasive before. There were also far more spelling errors and general sloppiness than I can recall there being in previous updates. If this trend continues, the annoyances will force me to downgrade this from a 3/5 to a 2/5.