Title: The Role Reversal
Author: QuarantineClean
Rating: M
Genre: Mystery/Romance
Status: In-Progress (54k+ words)
Library Category: Almost Recommended
Pairings: Harry P./Daphne G.
Summary: Head Auror Harry Potter finds himself caught in a web of ambition, murder and hope. An enemy lurks in the shadows but help comes from unexpected quarters. HP/DG
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13604246/1/The-Role-Reversal

Popped on the fanfic page this morning. I was quite surprised to find a good story for once.

Realistically powerful Harry, not on the same level as Dumbledore/Voldemort, but way ahead of everyone else, has a personality which is somewhat similar to the one in most 'Indy!Harry' fics. There are a few hints of PTSD, although it isn't brought up much. Harry is a little angsty in the beginning, but its almost non-existent after 4-5 chapters.

Daphne is quite interesting, with her own share of issues and secrets without being extremely guarded. The fic avoids most cliches of post-war Harry/Daphne fics: no bashing, no marriage contracts, Daphne isn't an Unspeakable assisting him on a case nor is she his Mind Healer.

The murder-mystery plot looks interesting, and the action scenes are really good. Harry and Daphne's interactions oscillate between semi-informal chats between acquaintances and tentative flirting.

While Astoria, Ron and Hermione don't have a major role, they're sufficiently well-written. The political angle with Kingsley and Cyrus Greengrass is largely unexplored, but it does seem to have a vaguely specific direction.

3.5/5 so far.

 

Yeah, what you said is essentially valid, and the story is indeed entertaining enough with a lot of hinting where and how is it going to go forward, but I have an issue with writing.

While decent, the author has a problem with telling too much. In the single conversation, he often tells us what are characters thinking about and it is mostly obvious things that reader should be able to conclude on his own. The narrator seems to change from the ominous one to POV focused one and the change occurs far too often.

Author also seems afraid of the most common speech tag also know as 'said' and it becomes tiring after some time.

Harry's change of chatacter is explained in a single paragraph in the first chapter and you should just accept it because??? Such a change would be better to develop over time or due to certain happenings in his life rather than brief explanation and some short retrospective inclusions in the random places.

With that in mind, I cannot go over 3/5 and I think this story can mostly serve as something to quicken an hour of your life and than be forgotten.

I won't increase it untill author cut off tons of telling.

 

lol they take xanax

????????????

Spoiler

"How in Morgana's name did you get your hands on xans! How the fuck do you even know what those are," he burst out, staring at the bars packed inside.

Hermione's work with patients had familiarized him with the anxiety medication. While he didn't advocate its recreational use, there was no denying the value of Xanax in treating anxiety and PTSD patients. The wards at St Mungo's had been filled with them after the War, many of whom had no idea about what they were going through. In the first few months after Voldemort's defeat, he'd taken them himself and while he was loathed to admit it, they had done him a world of good.

???????????

the xans

 

I really dislike that. Don't introduce some Muggle drug into wizarding medicine. You could easily conceive of some potion that has similar effects to Xanax.

Aside from the "xans," the premise is interesting to me. I'll read this and post a review.