I adored the whole carnage thing That and How minerva was panicking.

 

Wow. That's my favourite chapter yet - I was not expecting Harry to age like that in the least - it's such a brilliant idea!! And making Neville the BWL - I don't know how you come up with this stuff.

 

Hey, thanks for the comments, guys! I really appreciate it!

To IP82: Nope. Didn't plan the aging potion until I began writing this chapter. And quite frankly, I'm not sure yet how this'll affect my story in long terms. I mean, I know exactly what's going to happen as a result in the next two or three chapters--but beyond that? No clue. (I am, however, furiously outlining my story again. So, no worries, there!)

Anyway, I really hope I can do you all justice with the upcoming fighting scene between Harry and Voldemort. And don't forget, there's still Albus Dumbledore's belief in his upper hand that has yet to come in play.

You know, I have read so many stories that show a Dumbledore that is pretty pathetic--an old fool that simply manipulates for the heck of it. And while I personally don't like the Headmaster, he still does deserve some respect. I hope I've portrayed this well. Sure, Dumbles can be an idiot, and manipulative. But he's still a genius, and he's still very powerful. I hoped that showing the fact that the man knew of Voldie's plan will make it so that people can see this. Did I succeed? (I think, according to IP82, I did. Yay!)

Anywho, I have the next chapter planned out completely in my head. Now I just have to put it down in writing (which is always the hard part. I hope some day in the future there'll be a machine that can translate brainwaves or thoughtwaves into written language. Wouldn't that be cool? Think about all those homework essays that could be done with simply thought alone! Ugh, time to wake up from this silly daydream.)

So. Thanks again!

---> AH! Quick question: just had a reviewer say that he felt my story was pushing the borderline of the T-rating. And to be frank, I thought so myself. What do you think? Should I up the rating to M?

 

You should up it to M in any case. There are number of horror stories about fics being deleted for 'lower rating than required', without any kind of notice from FFN admins. If even ONE reader feels that the story is underrated and complains to FFN staff, there goes all your reviews and you get a week long ban on top of it.

Besides, it's not like higher rating means anything, seeing how there are no content rating warnings anywhere at FFN.

 

Agreed on the rating. I rate everything I write "M" on fanfiction.net. Of course I had a "T" rated fic deleted for that reason, and that's when I changed all my remaining posted fics to "M".

And I've been holding my tongue on this latest chapter because I don't know if what I'm seeing is necessarily what I'm seeing. I certainly remember the old outline that ended this first fic when Harry gets his Acceptance letter just before first year. If we get grown-up Harry now it seems like a pretty dern huge change from that early plan. I want it to be true, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see how permanent this "aging" is. Same with that seriously wicked marking of baby Neville. The prophecy says "marked as an equal" and I don't think that marking was anointing Neville his equal. And of course with grown-up Harry now, and a battle so close to us, even if he gets hit with an A.K., then Harry's not really a boy for the Boy-Who-Lived, he's a man. Ditto on Dumbledore. I didn't think he was just stupidly controlling and manipulative (like in your average manipulative!Dumbledore fic) but exactly what's going on with him and if he's an ally or threat, it's kind of we'll see where we go.

Either way. Greatly enjoying this fic still. Can't recommend it high enough.

Re-read this thread too. Completely forgot you were 13 when you wrote Rise of Chaos. That's damn impressive. Love to see you maintain this update schedule too. Keep them coming.

 

Liked the aging Harry to18 idea. And yes you did a great Dumbles. A Dumbledore that manipulates but still understanding and listening to ideas. Can't wait for the next chapter everyone’s reaction and Harry's explanations to everyone about his knowledge, power etc.

 

Yeah, I've upped the rating to M, now. Thanks for the advice! ^^

lol. Look at this one review: "ii do thak you for the time it took you to write this but after everything is said and done i am tired of the cliff hangers so without further pause good by i won't look to finish reading this fic" from Had Enough.

Are the cliffies really that tiresome? Well, the next chapter will finally end this arc of action, and the next couple will be smooth ones, filler chapters that move the plot along. But are the cliffies annoying enough to stop reading?

Hmm...

 

I don't mind cliffhangers, as long as you don't leave us hanging for too long...

 

Cliffhangers when done right are good, but too much of a good thing...

 

Cliffhang all you want. The only reason cliffies are cliffies is because people are reading it while it is a WIP.

By next chapter, they're done. And a lot of times, they're great tools to suck someone into reading the next chapter. Because they also usually are at a point where the story's about to shift.

The point is, you're only dealing with a momentary audience. When the fic is finished, there are no cliffhangers, just chapter breaks. And I'm assuming you're writing the fic to have the story finished more than to milk yourself reviews and relish in the feedback from everything left hanging. Excessive use may make people want to stop reading until there are more chapters or the fic is finished but I doubt you'll bother enough people to notice.

 

I do have a secret love for cliffhangers.

That reviewer is off their rocker. Let's be honest, cliffhangers can't put you off a story. If the reviewer was honestly annoyed it would mean they were anxiously waiting for the next chapter hence they would have to come back to finish your story. The fact that it was annonymous and riddled with errors leads me to think that you shouldn't fret at all.

 

You do the cliffhangers well. I don't mind it since you update fast

 

Nice new chapter. I cant stand the cliffies >_<! Very good story, keep updating fast and most importantly: KUTGW!

 

My review after 3 chapters:

I am spellbound. You are a talented, breath-taking author with outstanding skill. I bow down to your brilliance. Only three chapters and I'm already hooked, truly wonderful. I especially love how you've now set up the new Peter. It's bizzare that a story with Harry as a baby can be so damn good. If it weren't for the fact that I have to go to sleep as I've got to wake up extra early tomorrow, I'd read all through the night.

I disagree with nonjon (in another thread) about S'Tarkan's fic being the banner of this genre. Judging by it's unbelievable popularity, this may in fact overtake S'Tarkan's fic and become THE Harry-goes-back-to-his-younger-self fic.

 

Hey now. I said I like this one better. I don't even read Nightmares of Futures Past. I got a half dozen chapters into it and just hated that fic's Harry. I'll never be able to wrap my mind around the idea that Harry goes back in time, and just "tries to be a kid" for a few years while Sirius rots in Azkaban unjustly. Quite frankly, every time Harry goes back that should be the first thing in his mind (certainly not a ten year old girlfriend... egads).

But if you want to be impressed, I remember a while back on Jeconais' yahoo group, the discussion was on reviews per hit etc, and at that point he'd mentioned how NoFP was well under the half percent he usually hopes for and that it had 824,000 hits or some nutty number like that. Probably is nearing a million by now. In comparison, I saw liath posted in the old Stats thread and his fic has around 66,340 hits.

In my opinion, even if/when liath's fic gets up there, this sort of genre already has its banner fic. I think many here would agree with me that liath's is tons better. Of course how anyone could like pre-teen Ginny love is beyond the comprehension of most DLPers.

 

Thanks everyone! I'm very, very flattered. In fact, I'm so flattered, that my face is burning terribly red! (Although that might be from the horrible sunburn I got last week out on the beach. ^^)

Anywho, to Sree (who is, like Rain, very delusional ) : I probably didn't make it clear enough. The shield was a conjuration of something solid, like the statues in the Ministry courtyard, and that reflected the Killing Curse.

 

You're in denial, as Rain loves to tell *me*.

Anywho, I distinctly remember that one statue actually reflected the Killing Curse. It actually surprised me a bunch, when I read it. Ah, here, I found it: "But the headless golden statue of the wizard in the fountain had sprung alive, leaping from its plinth to land with a crash on the floor between Harry and Voldemort. The spell merely glanced off its chest as the statue flung out its arms to protect Harry."