Title: Harry Potter and the Ticket Backwards
Author: viciousmouse
Rating: K+
Genre: Drama
Status: Complete
Library Category:
Pairings:
Summary: When the most powerful magics collide due to Harry Potter's desperate, last sacrifice, he creates for himself a chance to fix up the wrongs in his world. Yet going back in time isn't everything that he expected: Voldemort is a threat, but it is Harry himself who no longer fits comfortably in the world. Time has changed him, he just hasn't yet figured out how.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13123883/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Ticket-Backwards

I have read a huge amount of time travel fanfics, since I started reading HP fanfiction. Even the best ones I have read have always been about extreme angst, weird pairings or unnatural pining for a 11-12 year old when they themselves are over 18. This one is very well written without too much angst or pairings. It is mostly Gen. Furthermore the fic shows a mostly competent Harry Potter without making him the second coming of Merlin. The knowledge growth is believable for a 17 year old mind and the jeopardy is real with his changes. No manipulative Dumbledore, no bashing and excellent storytelling. No major problems with grammar. The only issue I have with this fic is that most of the story is from Harry's POV and very isolated. Less character interaction means long paragraphs of thoughts and planning which is tedious to read.

I definitely enjoyed binging on this series. There are 2 other books. 3rd one is WIP.

A solid 3.5/5 from me.

 

I've finished the first fic in the series and have started the second in the series. This is easily one of the best time travel/canon rehash fics. It is in part, due to the lack of competition in the category, but the fic is solid.

The time travel aspect is not too overdone. I do feel that time travel done this way hampers any fic, my reservations on which I'll explain later, but this fic manages to do one of the best jobs I've ever seen with the time travel. Harry does not manage to fix everything and does not suddenly turn into Dumbledore. He doesn't find some long-lost inheritance because he did something different in Diagon Alley this time around. I was pleasantly surprised when goblins remained the complete assholes they were in canon, even when Harry got himself into a private meeting with a goblin that seemed to have some stature at the bank. The author chooses to have the memories of Harry's first life integrate with near 11 year old Harry uneasily. The fact that Harry does not have perfect recall adds to the story and prevents it from feeling as if Harry is actively hampering what he could do with his memories. And the time travel doesn't mean Harry becomes invincible. Many of Harry's plans do not succeed due to changes in the timeline; Harry's changes are not always what he intends.

However, as I said before, I do still find that the very premise of the story requires some suspension of disbelief. Harry chooses to attend Hogwarts to improve his mastery of magic for the sole purpose of killing Voldemort. But why doesn't he tell someone like Dumbledore? Why is he so accepting of the restrictions placed upon children? Why is he choosing to spend time befriending eleven year olds? Sure, the author tries to play it as if Harry is taking inspiration from his friends. But what 17 year old, even if imperfectly integrated back into his 11 year old body, takes inspiration from an 11 year old's character traits?

The writing is competent. The style is nothing to get excited over. It's a story that focuses on magic, instead, it focuses more on the plot and the characters. But from what I've read, the magic system is decent enough. There's a "magic is a muscle" system which is essentially the author's explanation as to why practice improves spellcasting.

The plot is entertaining enough, but sticks a little too closely to canon. Harry's changes don't change enough of the broader plot. To be fair to the author, however, I've only read the entirety of first year. The pacing of the first year is decent enough, around the actual word count of PS. Still, it did feel like it dragged on a little bit too much especially given the canon rehash of the fic.

It's still a good story with a lot of promise, and I would have liked to seen what the author could have done with a different, less shitty premise which would have forced them into a plot less unrealistic and into writing something that mimicked canon so closely. 3.5/5 rounded up from me and I am continuing to read the series.

Edit: I'm not quite sure how library ratings for series work here on DLP but the following fic is not as good. There's a very stupid scene that's a play on "the talk" that's all too common in fanfiction where Harry is apparently an insane prude incapable of grasping the basics of anatomy and a very stupid plot point revolving around wizarding culture where Harry must personally respond to every gift that the entirety of wizarding Britain has deemed fit to send to him. I'd rate the following fic 3/5 for a significant drop in quality.

 

This was a pleasant surprise. Took me a couple of chapters to be hooked, but then i gobbled down the first book. I got all disappointed thinking it ended in year one and was abandoned... when i saw sequals up and being written.

Randy hit it on the head. There is some minor suspension of belief needed. But thats always the case with these sort of fics. OVerall one of the better time travel fanfics i think ive read. It manages to walk the line well between keeping Harry true to himself (i.e he doesnt turn into a dumbledore hating indy. harry) while also showing how its not simply a retreading of canon.

If you like time travel redo harry stories this is a solid addition and worth reading. Basing that on the first story, about to dive into the seuals

 

About the second book, it is true that there is a drop of in quality. But the part about the talk and wizarding customs. I just shrugged them off as comedy or character interaction mechanic between Malfoy and HP. I am still not sure about the reason behind the train scene between Harry and Hermione.

 

It's a solid attempt, that much is true, but for a canon rehash, IMO, there is by far too many words of nothing. The author has 78k words of time-travel, canon rehash where HP&PS has 76k, and, sigh, are they 78k words of seventeen but eleven years old Harry thinking and talking with a bunch of kids.

The things as they look like to me are that the author wants Harry at a certain place with a certain power (magical? friendship? love?), but instead of just starting at that point, they decided to do 100ks of words long arc to bring him there, and in my book, that's just pointless if there's not more to go with it. And there isn't.

Now at the end of this fic, the author politely noted that the changes would be more prominent as Harry goes on, and bully for that, but as I said, they could've just started there and then, with less nothing and more something. Dunno, not impressed, and I've skimmed most of it anyway so I'll give it a solid 2/5.

Yeah, I went to read a bit more into it, and it should've picked up in both engagement and quality, but it failed on both counts.

 

I'm in the third book of the series right now, it's readable at points, mostly a guilty pleasure though if the Author keeps this pacing they might finish all seven years before burnout so 2/5 I guess.

 

This is pretty shit. I've picked it up and dropped the series several times and still never got through it. It does avoid some of the more egregious problems of a peggy sue, but kept enough that it easily becomes more annoying than enjoyable to read. 2/5 Because its shit, but not as shit as most.

 

Honestly, I got to halfway through chapter five and gave up because he was still shopping in diagon alley.

The only thing I can say is that reading this story was like being stuck in a train station waiting room, uncomfortably aware that your train is never going to arrive.

1/5

 

I finished the first book last night, and I definitely agree with everybody who is saying that it starts to become a bit of a slog at some points.

I personally don't mind slow paced stories that much, so I would tentatively place this at something like a 3.5 so far, though it's possible that the other two books may change this rating.

 

I stopped with the first book. My initial impression was favorable.

I liked the manner of time travel. I was on board with Harry missing Hedwig and with how canon Harry was being. I expected the author to make a lot of changes and liked how Harry dealt with Mrs. Figg and his aunt.

I disliked the handkerchief plot point as it is a common trope. I recall reading the choices of trunks (almost word for word) being offered in fanfiction, I'm not sure if I read this fiction earlier, but the whole scene was rather suspect.

Everything considered, I would have given a 3/5 if I had stopped before the sorting.

The author then proceeds to write the rest of the chapters with basically no changes. It was a massive let down from the sorting onwards. The whole "youngest seeker" made no sense as it happened in this story.

I've got to give it a 2.5/5 rounded down to 2/5