Probably because 50% of the story is Harry pining after Ginny. Ugh.

 

Well, when I was still actively trying to find new good stories I tried all stories from recycle bin. I even found some good ones.

And The Wizard of Harrenhal by DisobedienceWriter is terrible. It is like really bad log of unbalanced computer game. The omake is merely bad.

@Wrath of Merlin - can it be really considered completed?

there is

I encountered such things on stories that were completely unfinished and ones without obvious continuation.

 

ya ok

Anyway besides that it's bad.

 

Which story were you reading again? I've read about a third of the story, and Harry's mentioned Ginny, what -- four times? Exactly how does that compute to 50% for you? After the first 3 or 4k words from Ginny's POV, there's little to no angst at all.

I like the story. I like the idea of Shacklebolt and the new ministry being utterly ruthless in crushing the remaining DEs, I like the idea that the DEs, with nothing left to lose are orchestrating terror attacks on the general public and I like the idea of Black ops Harry. The beginning is admittedly rough -- the story seems to be little more than a few disjointed action scenes pieced together with so-so writing.

But as the story goes on the writing gets better, the politics gets complicated, Harry's moral conflict is expanded upon and the story finally gives some sense of direction. Y's character intrigues me. Oh, and Hermione is getting nosy, and the ministry is considering assassination, and wouldn't that make for some delicious conflict? Best of all, there are hints that Harry is part of some bigger plot that he knows nothing of, although that may just be me reading too much into a single conversation.

I like Shacklebolt's characterization, and I like Y. X is meh. Harry's fine, even though he's OOC -- I can't see him killing people regardless of how dire the situation is. Ginny's just there. I hope she does something of note soon.

Overall, the story has potential despite the rather rough start. Then again, many stories do before they crush it with monumentally stupid endings. I have a feeling that I'm setting myself up for inevitable disappointment. 3.5/5 for now.

 

I dont know very much about vBulletin, but maybe theres a way to auto template submissions, rather than just "new thread"?

Either that or start swinging the banhammer, because we're already on page 40...

 

Oh for fuck's sake.

Thread.

 

Somewhat amusing oneshot. Reminds me a bit of Out of the Fire and into the Cupboard.I chuckled a couple of times.

Maybe : Ron and Hermione might be getting married, Harry ponders justifiable homicide, Ginny battles puce robes, and Bill's going to kill them all. Really he is.

 

Here's a story with a neat start. It's only two chapters and ~9k words, but I found myself interested in seeing where the author decides to take the story. It's a fem!Harry who has traveled back in time to help Merope Gaunt. Not entirely sure how this will fare with DLP's tastes, and it's really short for now, so I figured Almost Recommended was a good place for it.

Spoiler

It also is a fem!Harry/TMR story, so even more reason to put it here.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11255094/1/Rumpelstiltskin
By: Gallonsofthestuff
Summary: He was all she ever wanted, and she knew exactly how she could have him - even if it would not be real. Then a stranger made her an offer she could not refuse, for a price that seemed like a joke at the time. Was it really just a teasing remark though? Or would her deal cost her more than she ever wanted to give up?

 

Pretty good reason to not even post it at all. Doesn't matter if it's Sr. or Jr., just no.

 

Honestly, as it's only two chapters in, it hasn't really even played much of a part. We haven't even gotten anything from fem!Harry's POV yet. Just Merope and Riddle Sr.

 

I just read it, and I actually enjoyed it. Of course, the basic concept won't win any trophies for innovation, or even for outstanding writing, but still- it was a guilty pleasure for me.
The two chapters from Meropes' and Tom Riddle Sr's. POV were somewhat amusing, and the basic premise (the 'Rumpelstiltskin' fairy tale in the HP-Universe, even thought it's limited on the sentences: For what price? Only your firstborn, of course) is interesting.
We don't get to see much about Harry (or Harriet *shudder*), and there don't seem to be any connections between her and the Canon-Harry: Her personality is completely different, we aren't told anything about her background, and the wand seems to be the only connection between the two characters.
Despite all this, I enjoyed it and would like to read more of it.
It would get a 2.5-3/5 from me

 

thé à la grenouille
In which Harry goes to Beauxbâtons instead of Hogwarts. Butterflies ensue, with Voldemort reviving without opposition from Harry, Dumbledore trying to save the situation and Fudge making everything worse. Meanwhile, Harry learns French. (Twist on the cliché and a slow-going Independent!Harry)

Discovered this today while browsing through FFN. Tried it on a whim, and so far it's actually kept my interest well.
The divergence here is that the Dursleys go on a vacation to France when Harry is eight. The French Ministry takes this opportunity to make Harry go to Beauxbatons, and the story goes from there.
Now, there are a few pitfalls the author's managed to avoid thus far: for one, the French aren't portrayed as saints who can do no wrong, nor does everyone look down on Britain. Harry's new life is far from idyllic, as well, and his new minders (parents doesn't really fit) aren't sues, nor do they really take a central role in the story so far. For another major pitfall, Dumbledore is portrayed as a flawed man who tries to do the best he can in his circumstances, which I believe gels with canon. Every character seems to have their own plans and interests at heart.
There's also more going on with the plot than just Harry acclimating to Beauxbatons. The author camouflages having English as their second language well - though it shows occassionally, like 'eating a tomato soup'.

On the other hand, it's far from perfect, which is why I'm posting it here.
The author has a tendency to do infodumps in paragraphs at a time, whether the information he's sharing is canon or not. Most chapters are also rather short, which explains why there are 28 already. There's also a possibility that this'll become slash, but they've said it could go either way. Harry also seems to be a touch too forgetful for my liking.
In general, the story is quite slow going so far.

I'd give it a 3.5/5. First year just finished, and the author's said they'd be skipping ahead to the canon Fourth Year now for the Triwizard Tournament. I'm looking forward to it.

 

Well, he is 8 years old or so in the fic. Kids get distracted rather easily at that age.

 

According to the author the first couple of chapters are supposed to be set up and then a time skip to GoF so I'm going to save my opinion until then. The dialogue with Harry is a bit rough though or maybe it's just me.

 

Yeah, you're right. There's a balance to be found, though.
I for one get annoyed when 11-year olds talk like adults, but a certain maturity makes for better reading, y'know? There's a balance to be found.

Not that it's too much of a sticking point for me. There are definitely worse problems to have.

 

Hmm even if the forgetfulness on Harry's part is meant to show him being young, the rest of the kids still have the standard slytherin!Harry sidekick infodump abilities. So by comparison Harry looks a bit retarded.

 

At 80k+ words, I think there's enough to open a proper story thread instead of posting here (and risking a banning).

 

Ah, yeah, forgot that for a moment. I've submitted it in For Review.

Edit: The reminder is literally on THIS PAGE. Lucky I only just got home. -Sesc