Dan > Recent Status Updates

Honoria Pemberley! I remember liking her a lot so we’ll see if I still do.

I really like the way Connor has grown in this book, and I can’t get enough of him and Draco teaming up for Harry’s benefit.

Much of this story has come back to me as I’ve read—I remembered the ritual to free the southern goblins right before it happened, for example—but I must have blocked this Whitecheek thing out. Jesus Christ.

I wish we knew more about these corrupt rituals Voldemort likes to use. I never felt like we got a decent explanation for the justice ritual he used at the end of COoDM, which for me undercut the certainty of that ritual that had been so emphasized earlier in the story. I’d like an explanation for this corrupted truce dance too.

Glad Harry noticed kids of other Houses attending Walpurgis this year. Also I find this whole Dobby thing pretty silly

I keep expecting them to refer to Light or Dark as minhag.

I get Harry is an abused child going through it but Jesus Christ is this “nobody can love me because my soul is inherent garbage :’(“ shit obnoxious. Get over yourself

I forgot about this empathy thing but I love it. I like the concept of a magical heir but think it’s cheap that a person can double their power (or whatever) when their parent dies. Very glad Julia didn’t make Draco lord-level strong.

For years now I’ve been excited for Taglit Animorphs to hit this book.

I would read a series that was exclusively following Rufus at the Ministry.

I get Draco is under compulsion, but it is so obnoxious of him to think Harry doesn’t care about his interests when Harry explicitly is trying to find out what’s up with his new book. That IS interest, idiot.

My money is on store-bought meatballs.

I’m surprised neither Harry nor Snape (IIRC, anyway) considers challenging Parseltongue’s legal status as a Dark talent. Make the Ministry defend why talking to snakes is evil while talking to, say, dogs, wouldn’t be.

I love this author. Easy, fun Halloweentime stories.

God this book is so slow

I was wondering if the holidays were going to come up when the author started describing the official transitions to fall, and I was not disappointed.

The first time I ever read the goblin/Evan Rosier scene, I had to stop in the middle because my family went out to get dinner and then go to Spirit, so every time I’m in a Spirit I think of Rosier spouting poetry on the hill. Glad the timing has worked out that I’m there at Halloweentime again.

While I appreciate the speed with which the author is knocking out horcruxes, I think it’s disappointing that the ultimate plot of the book ended up being the exact same as the second.

I wish kids from other Houses joined in on Walpurgis night. There’s a lot of talk about how Slytherin isn’t just the evil house, but showing Dark-aligned Hufflepuff or Gryffindor would go a long way toward showing that.

The idea that it’s important for Harry to respect the free will of the wizards who want to keep their slaves makes me roll my eyes so hard. My grandma always says “Your fist ends where my nose begins,” and adopting that philosophy that would really benefit Harry, IMO.

One thing that drives me crazy about the series (most fics actually) is the author doesn’t get the nuances of names right. Especially a bummer here considering the pureblood dances make deliberate use of names as evidence of power dynamics. Specifically, McGonagall and Snape should be calling the boys by their surnames, no misters, and Lupin should use the kids’ first names.

I cannot really wrap my head around Harry not telling Connor what exactly Lily did to him. Their family dynamic is different from mine, obviously, but IME one of the most important functions of siblinghood is shit-talking your parents.

Jesus, Harry, shut the fuck up. My ex used to say this same shit (stuff like no, I must secretly hate him in my heart because he was inherently unlovable and he just manipulated me into caring about him this whole time, my feelings were all a lie, etc.) and it’s fucking annoying to be on the other end of that.

Scrimgeour!!! I remember loving this character, and this is a great surprise since I thought we wouldn’t be meeting him till book four.

And here we begin what I recall being an exhausting plot thread: Harry does something dangerous to protect someone, and Snape and Draco get mad at him for not valuing his own life.

Connor is an exhausting idiot, but I’m finding myself liking that aspect of him this time around—he’s stupid in a way that feels genuinely 13. “When the war ends, Dumbledore will make a speech.” It’s kind of fun considering Harry is so far in the other direction.

After so many chapters will very little Draco involvement, I’ve realized that so far, Draco is the part of the series I find least interesting.

This library scene with Ron is one that’s stuck with me since my first readthrough twelve years ago. I love the portrayal of Gryffindors in this fic (except the first book’s insistence that fairness is a Gryff trait when it’s actually explicitly Hufflepuff) and appreciate what little we get of Ron in particular.

Ooh, I forgot about this Black Plague curse. This is the kind of dark magic I want to see.

“However, I sincerely hope the third story doesn’t grow as much as the second, because this makes me worry for how long the sixth and seventh years are going to be.”

Ended up being an extremely valid concern.