So The Apprentice is currently in For Review and experiencing some good positive reviews. I read it and enjoyed it a fair amount. Silens indicates that the Snape re-do is a fairly common bunny; further, it sounds like The Apprentice is not the best of them.

I would very much like to see these stories. Anyone (especially Silens) got any recommendations?

 

I just finished Wrath of the Half-Blood Prince and I actually enjoyed it. Realistic romance, and good combat scenes.

 

I'll give it a read, but I should clarify: by re-do I mean traveling back in time to your younger self, not AU divergence.

I really don't see how the action in Wrath could ever be considered even approaching good. It's like the author has only seen the movies. Every single spell does the same thing: blast people off their feet, and nothing else.

 

Okay, well, the fic that started the whole damn trope is 'The Moment It Began' by Sindie, which is the first major fic, along with 'Wrath of the Half-Blood Prince', that started the Lily/Snape ship in any significant way. Recommendation is a bit tentative here, because I have some major issues with the way Sindie ended the story, but overall it's pretty good, and given Dumbledore's involvement, you'll probably enjoy it Taure.

I'll leave that one for starters - although upon a quick search, there are a couple fics that are experimenting with Lily do-overs where she ends up picking Snape, but I'm extremely hesitant to rec those.

Also, regarding Wrath of the Half-Blood Prince - that story may not have the 'creativity with magic' that you might see early on, Taure, but trust me when I say it gets far better.

 

Yes, there is The Moment It Began, which started it all, but the one I am currently reading and enjoying is Second Start (link below)
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5270674/1/Second_Start

 

I've shied away from reading that particular fic, primarily because the author also writes Twilight fics - is the story actually worth a damn, or would I be wasting my time?

 

"We Sort Too Soon" by onoM isn't horrible.

 

"The Moment it Began" is meh at best. Snape is an idiot beyond belief, Potter is an asshole beyond belief (when its implied that in canon Snape fucks with Potter as much as Potter does with Snape)...
"Apprentice" is great, but the others...
I haven't read your's, though, Silens.
/me goes off to read it.

 

I'm interested in seeing any fics that are as good/better than The Apprentice as well. I couldn't get past a few chapters of Sindie's fic because Snape kept acting incredibly retarded, and all the other fics recommended are AU divergences and I don't care to read about a 16-yr old Snape, really. I'm taking a look at Second Start though, will post back if it's any good.

 

...uh, well, my fic isn't exactly a Snape do-over, so it really doesn't fit the category... and the writing in that story isn't that great at all, I was working on it two years ago...

 

I think I read Silens' a while ago. Some of it anyway. It wasn't too bad. It sort of reminded me of those older "Harry trains over the summer" sort of fics though.

 

Silens: Story is definitely better than "The Moment it Began". I like Snape, and his friends are done well, but the whole reinventing of himself that he's doing...not to my taste. I'll keep reading because I like your writing and characters, but that part of the story feels a bit forced.

 

That's a problem with the story, believe me. Rereading the fic, it does come off as extremely forced... I'm sincerely tempted to try a rewrite once I've finished RC, but then again, that story has never had the same readership as RC, so I'm not entirely sure it'd be worth it.

 

Yeah, I stopped reading Second Start when Snape went all pedo. Ah, well.

 

You mean like ten paragraphs in the story?

Anyway, I read a few chapters and can't say I'm impressed. Eleven years old Super-Snape is not what I'd like to see in his re-do stories.

Also, people on DLP asking for fics where Snivellus is a main character? Who will be next? Ron?

 

Snape is a great character, it's just his shitty usage in terribad Severitus and buttsex fics that turn people off, similar to bad Manipulative!Dumbledore.

 

Thanks for the recommendations everyone.

I hated "The Moment it Began". I felt the characterisation of Snape was all wrong. But the author's favourites list was useful for guiding me towards more fics.

I just finished "To Shape and Change". It's a time travel where Snape goes back in time to his younger self, not to fix things with Lily, but to make sure Harry Potter fulfils his potential. It's mostly Harry centric, though there are also Snape portions and Dumbledore potions.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6413108/1/To_Shape_and_Change

It's all right. There are some clichés and it's only really in the last 5 chapters that any kind of conflict has appeared. A very slow moving fic. But it reminds me of Knowledge is Power (in a good way).

And we've got healer!Harry.

 

I'll never understand the fascination with Healer!Harry. Unlike he's like Unohana cause that would be awesome.

 

The fascination is that it's a path that requires skill, intelligence, vast amounts of knowledge, and deals with creation and not destruction.

Further, because of the requirements Healers are likely to be skilled in not just healing but a wide range of magic, which is also desirable. Notice how Dumbledore uses a wide range of magic to duel, not just offensive and defensive spells but also general purpose spells adapted to duelling. Also notice how all of the greatest wizards in the Harry Potter series aren't dedicated fighters but rather people with an altogether more intellectual approach to magic.

Finally, Healers should know a lot about Dark magic, as that is essentially what they fight (at least, the most serious cases they deal with are Dark magic). The knowledge that Healers have of Dark magic likely goes much deeper than that of Aurors, and probably extends to areas that are far more obscure. As such, it's an ideal profession for one who wishes to fight Dark magic.

 

That story you recced, Taure, is horrible. Every cliche possible is present in the first parts of the story.