It's a corollary of the inverse cannon fodder law*: All cannon fodder for a major force of evil is fundamentally connected to their commander in such a way that they will die if he does.


*The inverse cannon fodder law: The effectiveness of any group of nonessential evil cannon fodder characters is inversely proportional to the number of people in the group.

 

All the Dobby stuff really pissed me off, because it's become such a cliche nowadays. Why the hell wont Harry, just for a change, let Dobby be his stupid servant if he wants to be? Harry constantly refusing Dobby being his servant and saying he's his friend is just pointless, it only serves to turn Dobby in to Angsty!Dobby and honestly is just a chore to read, IMO. Looking forward to the next chapter, though. Simply didn't like this one.

 

i hope the story starts moving towards something because it feels like the steam is gone. the story did startoff kind of kickass and i am hoping it stays that way.

 

Not much happened in this chapter. The quidditch game was well written, though. I agree with cmuylistoooo in the sense that there was not much action the last 5 or 6 chapters. The fic is still a good read, but if there isn't some new developments soon, I may lose interest.

 

Hmm... I don't read all that many fics, and the ones I read are largely well known and written post-OTP. The Dobby thread is actually my response to what I saw as the cliche of Harry calling Dobby his friend but still treating him as a servant. As for it being tiring, I wholeheartedly agree. The story thread was intended to be a minor thing, but I let it get out of hand and then felt like I needed to close out the thread for continuity's sake. That said, the Dobby friendship/servant stuff is done.

This is a disheartening thing to hear because I feel like the "steam" is picking up over the last two chapters. (I think the criticism was well justified after chapter nine.) This story is not an adventure/action story and the plot will be dominated by Harry's coming of age. The story is about politics, quidditch, trust, and Susan. At the risk of alienating a lot of readers, I would suggest your disappointment comes from the story not conforming to your expectations rather than an actual lack of plot movement.

 

I actually thought the Dobby-stuff was quite different from the 'cliches.' I've seen many where Harry wants Dobby to be his friend and all, but not one where Harry will readily hire a different house elf, refusing to hire Dobby, and then introduce house-elf-angst.

In fairness, I didn't care for it much either, but that's more because I like Dobby so much and Dobby-angst is just plain... wrong (in my eyes).

And admittedly, with the start of the fic and the build-up to the climactic battle in chapter five, it may seem to be dragging a bit with some of these other chapters. But I think this is simply the effect of reading a WIP while being written. Regular updates should not all be as exciting, plot-filled, dramatic, romantic, or funny as each previous chapter. As slow as these may appear, they all feel necessary to where we're going. I suspect that the vast majority of conflict in this story is going to be internal, or in classrooms, courtrooms, and boardrooms. Not the pitched battles or tension that was built up in the first few chapters.

I love action and adventure, but they're not what I'm expecting from this fic. And I am looking forward to more.

 

I really liked this, after i finally got round to reading it anyway. At first i found it really hard to read but after about the middle of the first chapter it settled down and i enjoyed it alot more.

 

Very well said, Nonjon. The conflict in this story is about Harry coming to grips with the loss of his friends, Harry's figuring out how to deal with "the public" and how he responds to people's demands on him, and how Harry learns to wield his political power. The general populous might love themselves a hero, but what happens when that hero has the audacity to challenge the establishment?

Aack! I've rewritten that damned first chapter about six times now and nothing... NOTHING... I do with it can make people like it.

Alright, an opportunity for a little DLP interactive. I'm trying to come up with a name for one or two books that Harry gets about Quidditch. The first book is about ways to maximize your speed on a broom. It isn't necessarily a Quidditch book, in fact I was thinking the author of the book may have won that Sweden dragon broom race nine years running. The second book would be a more specific book about Quidditch. Perhaps an autobiography of a famous Seeker. My ideas so far include "Life's a Snitch" or "Son of a Snitch"... so you can see I need help. Ideas?

 

If you're going to be punny, don't go halfway: Life's a Snitch and Then You Dive.

And sexual puns about the stick between your legs and going faster or longer are cliched, but humorous (i.e. It's not the size of your broomstick but how you use it or the typical Polishing your handle: When speed is and isn't your friend). If you're looking for something other than the usual phallic references that are always good for a chuckle then just go for a play on key words like Stranger than Friction: From dry eyes to splintered thighs, a how-to guide on quenching your need for speed (and scratching your itch for snitch).

 

Chapter Twelve Posted

So, after much too long, I've posted Chapter Twelve... if anyone is interested. Also, thanks to Nonjon for his book title suggestion.

 

--Bump--

This was recently updated, if anyone cares.

 

I read the update a day or two ago, and I'll be honest--I'd forgotten so much of this story that I had to reread a few chapters to get remember it. It was good to see you get back to it, and I hope you'll keep with it.

 

I just read this for the first time and really enjoyed it. I like reading the occasional post-war story, and this was about as well-done as I've seen.

Oh, and welcome to DLP, Cubdom. I'll look forward to future updates.

 

Holy smokes - this was updated.

The Harry/Susan interaction on the train was a little forced - but I liked the Hogwarts scenes. I'm not sure if I've read a fic where Harry has returned to Hogwarts after the vast majority of his year was killed off.

 

Wow, this is ... unexpected ?

 

Yeah, it was nice of Cubdom to update for the first time in a year and three months... But the chapter was decent enough, and I'll still read the next one come 2011.

 

I just found this story and it's dazzling. It's intelligently plotted, with wonderfully nuanced characterization, and the politics and backstory are sophisticated. There are no easy fixes, and no purely good or purely bad guys. Yet. Everyone and everything makes sense. There's an awareness of many different and competing forces trying to push their own agendas, and Harry is caught in the middle. Everyone sees a way to use him or his reputation. Harry is rapidly coming to appreciate the people who simply *say* what their plot might be. He's growing up rapidly, and I love a smart, independent Harry.
This is one to watch. A high 4/5 for me, and it could go higher if it doesn't get abandoned. I confidently suspect that "Remnants of the Soul" will do well on the reread. That's always worth a point for me.

4/5

 

I just finished this last night, and I found it great. It's the only fic where I've seen Harry go back to Hogwarts after

Spoiler

losing Hermione and Ron, not to mention every other boy in his year.

 

I've finished reading this a few hours ago and, after thought, I think this fic currently sits perfectly at 3.5/5.

I agree with much of what Banner says two posts above mine. However, I have a complaint that others have already expressed. We're yet to see an overarching plot. There are shadows of foes, but nothing more. There's been a few references to Harry's torn up soul (Voldemort used the Soul-Splitting spell on him during their fight), but nothing more has been spoken about it since chapter eight or nine or so. It's still an interesting enough read, but it feels like it's missing something at the moment.

Elsewhere, the Harry and Susan interaction is moving slowly, thankfully. It has no right to given the situation. Daphne may or may not present a possible rival, but I can't say at this stage. Probably just a friend.

All in all, I did enjoy the read, have enjoyed the characterisations (Daphne in second most recent chapter was very different from the norm), and will read the next chapter. I just hope we have more direction in the next few chapters.

 

Updated.

Wat

Just... wat