Post-OotP used to be my go-to HP launch point. But increasingly I enjoy alternative versions of GOF.

What are some examples of this sub-genre? Fics that tell the story of GOF and stick to the central points (e.g. there has to be a Triwizard Tournament) but give it a twist? Usually with a stronger Harry.

- A Lie I've Lived

- Cadmean Victory

- Euphoria

Others?

 

Deprived by the Crimson Lord is one that I remember liking quite a bit, though who knows how it's aged. The fic starts around GOF iirc, but diverges well before that.

The Unforgiving Minute is a time travel fic beginning at the start of the third task, so that's probably not exactly what you're looking for either.

We ditched the Graveyard early is as the title implies set at the end of GoF, but still, you might find it interesting.

I dug through my FFN and AO3 favourites, and aside from a surprising amount of Yule Ball fics, that is all I could find. I remember seeing one in your FFN favourites years ago that was quite good actually, though I was never able to find it again after looking quite a few times. The basic concept was that Dumbledore started tutoring Harry after his name came out of the goblet.

 

Is it coincidence all of these are Harry/Fleur?

 

There's also Magicks of the Arcane by Eilyfe.

Feels like there's more I'm missing here...but nothing springs to mind

But why not year four fics that forego the tournament altogether?

There's an incomplete Harry x Padma which begins a little before year four, and in that one, the tournament is cancelled if memory serves. It's in the library.

I see the tournament as a trigger to push Harry towards becoming a more powerful wizard, and winning the tournament represents a stepping stone towards becoming a more complete wizard, one on the way to defeating Voldemort...

But I'd also enjoy reading alternate fourth year stories, which pick up where Harry left off in PoA with the patronus charm.

I'd like to see something sinister involving death eaters in hiding, something that doesn't pertain to the prophecy and the department of mysteries.

But I digress.

The Tournament could do with more dangerous magical beasts. Not just swish swish kill, but something involving a ritual or series of symbolic acts to defeat the big bad beast.

Also, more political scheming, stuff that's more insidious than Harry realising all the other headmasters are helping their champions with the tasks. More deliberate evil from the likes of Barty Crouch Jr...

Or a series of events, running parallel to the tournament, which build up to a different comeback for Voldemort, an alternative to the cauldron ritual and snake!Mort, something not involving horcruxes

 

I'm pretty sure this was the one I couldn't find, so thank you for that.

 

There was this Groundhog Day-type fanfiction called forever in a day on AO3 where Harry is trapped in a time loop, repeating the Yule Ball over and over. It's smut, so the focus is less on plot and power progression. I remember reading only the read the first chapter; it had no Dumbledore bashing and featured above-average writing.

There are many time travel GoF fanfics as well, though most are rip-offs of the original The Girl Who Lived fic by Silver Aegis(was it the name?). The one I remember enjoying the most was "Time and Again," though I read it years ago when my taste might have been questionable. I think it was a harem, which might be a turn-off.

Also, there was this fanfic with very cool elemental magic. In it, Harry practiced elemental magic, and the elements were determined to kill him because they hated being controlled by a human. It was a WBL fic with good Potters and Dumbledore, where Harry attended a different school before going to Hogwarts for the Goblet of Fire. I don't remember its name, though.

 

I've actually read this whole story (as loathe as I am to admit) somewhat recently.

I will say, it's basically half roguelite, half porn. Basically, the author keeps introducing ways for Harry to advance his magic and try and break from the loop. So, like he gets a passphrase from Flitwick, Dumbledore enchants a journal to exist outside time, some french OC is a master legilimens so she will understand Harry's curse within a minute on every reset. All while inviting a different girl to the yule ball every reset (eventually he gets hundreds of resets in and even the "hard to unlock" dates get less special - yeah its kinda cringe but it is fanfiction.