By Mike [FP]
Reviews
MrRobertsIII posted a comment on Monday 21st January 2008 11:56am
Just a note to say that I'm hoping you are still working on this wonderful fic.
Full_Pensieve replied:
Thanks for the note, Mr. Roberts. In fact, I am still working on it. In my line of work, January 1 is the biggest day of the year. I have been absolutely slammed since the middle of October and am only now beginning to dig out... just in time for a big six-week project in preparation for a client coming on in 2009! [sigh] Still, I've had a little more free time of late. CH 38, "Rue Britannia", is going to the readers on the FP Yahoo group and FP Chat tonight or tomorrow for a good tire-kicking. Sometime after that is completed and I've made the appropriate corrections, it'll be posted here.
Cheers,
Mike [FP]
Casey299 posted a comment on Saturday 29th December 2007 7:35am
Just wondering when you're going to update????
Good Story, i got hooked, just waiting for more
The Crow posted a comment on Thursday 20th December 2007 9:09pm
Amazing work. The last time that I'd read this was on portkey. When it dissapeared I was dissapointed in the portkey fans for pestering off a great author and great work of fiction.
Glad that I eventually found here with a little retooling going on and such too.
It's sad to see your muse/ HP enthusiasm took a blow with HBP and then DH.
This is an amazing piece of work that I would have much preferred to have read over HBP of DH. HBP was a blow to many and to find this post HBP was great. A great engaging read, wordy - which I don't mind in the least, and just plain cool.
Long haired, biker Harry for the win.
Noteworthy is the lack of bias. Even the greatest writers of fanfiction seem to be clearly orientated to Harry/Hermione or Ginny, Luna hate so and so etc. Often you can see this character brought forward or another one treated with some inherent lack of disrespect.
If so or so acts like they do in this you tells us why, not that they simply do. Not just "Harry's chest monster roared" or whatever. You even managed to pour character into the Dursleys the fairytale evil step parents.
Basically, just amazing. Bravo man.
Now, the latest chapter...
Wow, you've left us with a thirst for more like you're gorging us on seawater or something.
The predjudice of wizarding culture.
Leaves a few questions, and a few more things in the mix in the already rich plot.
At the end of DH I wanted to se beyond Voldermort and what was going to happen so many wasted plotlines in the mix.
Even if you are trying to wrap this up smartly still one on the best pieces of fanfictionI'll ever read. Thanks for writing.
Steve Stephan posted a comment on Sunday 18th November 2007 9:57am
I read this in about two days with a bit of on and off again reading. The thing that sticks out in your dialog for me it the use of yes or yeah at some of your sentences is spot on, as well, as the use of right, but it's more scottish than english, however english are guilty of using it as well.
I like the story until you get to the hormonal bits with Harry put into the situation of having to choose between Heather and Hermione. The way that you have Harry written, in regards to his emotions regarding the two is a bit confusing and ultimately in the scene with Ron following Hermione's birthday kiss, has him making a hasty choice.
You have taken time with this story to develop some rather interesting original characters to the canon scene. Some things that I would have done different are:
The interaction between Harry and Remus in post OOTP fan fiction has been him referring to Harry as Cub. You had a conversation where Harry comes to the realization that Remus thinks of Heather as his cub, now, but that leaves Harry out in the cold. This may have been motivation for Harry and McLeish(sp) to come to the arrangement to have Heather on tour, and it's a rather biased approach to that.
There has to be something happen at the get together in your next chapter which will lay a further foundation for Harry and Heather's relationship, whatever it is that you intend. I know that you have this set as a general fiction, but at the same point it's really clearly a Harry/Hermione pairing, unless she does something that will break the relationship further.
Nice bit of work in giving Hermione Snape's potion's book. Would have been better had that happened in canon, but still nicely done.
Nicola's story is a bit heart-breaking in that this is a classic situation that happens in real life in dealing with children that have mental impairments, but an interesting play of events.
I'm curious on your approach with Luna and whether or not you have the explanation to her flightiness while at school.
I think that it was absolutely hypocritical of Harry to be giving Ron a hard time about womanizing only to have Harry put himself into a similar situation, even if the relationships never did progress beyond kissing.
I look forward to your next update but it seems that you've been in a holding pattern on this one for a couple of months now and I do hope that you have not given up on it.
Steve Stephan - aka Geovanni Luciano
Banner posted a comment on Sunday 18th November 2007 1:39am
I spent most of the last twenty-four hours reading this story - I couldn't stop until I was completely worn out last night, and I've been reading since I got up this morning. It's riveting. I love the concepts and the characterizations. I love this view of Harry; he screws up, but he's learning and maturing. Every scene just flows. Everyone has depth and colour.
Dumbledore isn't evil or selfish or omniscient; he's an intelligent and sophisticated and perceptive man whose mistakes are simply writ larger than most. Lupin has been overwelmed but is essentially himself. Ron is growing up (unlike JKR's characterization of him.) Hermione is SO much more than the "bookworm token girl."
The Bad guys are competent and ruthless. They are worthy of being feared. The only time they seem to fail is when Voldemort and the DE confront Harry directly.
The pacing is perfect, the descriptions are clear, the interactions are believable. This is a great story in every way.
Steve Stephan posted a comment on Sunday 11th November 2007 2:10pm
I like the story, but when you carefully laid Harry's plan about Snape and knowing that Wormtail was the secret keeper, you fell short. You had the plan there, and you let it fall when Harry looked into Dumbledore's eyes. It's as if he was bewitched and couldn't say anything but at the same point you didn't let it be known that he was bewitched. It's really as if you abandoned your reader for a much needed rant to only leave then wanting. It was a bit hard to read that. I do hope that you acknowledge it because there's no real outlet for a reader to say anything to you directly. sstephanjx@comcast.net if you feel like a retort.
Full_Pensieve replied:
Honestly, I'm going to have to go back and read the section in order to properly respond. As for discussion, that's the purpose of the FFA Forum. Anyone can start a thread, and I do look in on the Forum at least once daily. I do check full_pensieve@yahoo.com periodically, but do occasionally fail to catch actual messages in the midst of the spam clutter.
Cheers,
Mike [FP]
callie posted a comment on Wednesday 7th November 2007 11:44am
it has taken me ages to read this but i absolutly love it
can't wait for the next update
Rosiebuds posted a comment on Tuesday 6th November 2007 4:42am
An excellent story so far.
Rosiebuds posted a comment on Saturday 3rd November 2007 11:35am
Loved it,the arguements were great. I Like the fact that Harry questioned Narcissa Malfoy and she then asked him about Draco. Setting up to be a great story.
Minerva Granger posted a comment on Wednesday 31st October 2007 4:23pm
Um, What?
Full_Pensieve replied:
Er... I don't know...?
Minerva Granger posted a comment on Wednesday 31st October 2007 3:36pm
What on earth is Niminy-Piminy, if you don't mind my asking?
Full_Pensieve replied:
Niminy-piminy means 'affectedly dainty or refined'. It's a very obscure Victorian reference. It actually entered the story as a challenge on the part of one of my betas at the time, who insisted I couldn't find a way to incorporate the word. ;-)
Cheers,
Mike [FP]
Fenris Ulf posted a comment on Monday 29th October 2007 9:02pm
Hrmm interesting chapter. This whole story so far has been highly entertaining and I look forward to the next chapter. The Charecter of Niki seems like she has some interesting possibilities.
Hope you update soon,
Thanks for the entertainment.
argentumangela posted a comment on Sunday 28th October 2007 4:54pm
absolutely, absolutely brilliant! I couldn't stop reading. Simply one of the best if not the best harry potter fanfic I've read. I really hope you update soon.
mekareami posted a comment on Sunday 28th October 2007 8:38am
I am enjoying this epic tale emmensely. I hope your muse speaks soon and there is an update. Thank you very much for writing.
Muirnin Cocan posted a comment on Friday 19th October 2007 5:54am
Good Heavens!
I can't believe it has taken me so long to finish this up to here! I do hope that there will be more of the story!
Great work (re-work?) of the story. I like how you have added a few bits and pieces from HBP in the mix.
I look forward to reading more.
As Always,
Muirnin - who has only been getting to read from work!
hholidays posted a comment on Monday 15th October 2007 9:35am
I can't believe you let her say that. That's so horrible!
Anyhow, this was an excellent chapter, and I'm thrilled to have see new material. Thanks for writing, as always.
hp4all posted a comment on Tuesday 9th October 2007 12:00am
I found the topic of this chapter to be too controversial and mature for HP fanfiction. I usually read it as light fiction, and the last part with Lucia's opinion was anything but. I would have expected a heated debate if we had an active Yahoo group.
The heavy topic aside, the chapter was a true revelation about both Lucia and her ex. Perhaps she felt such attachement to Hermione because of her daughter? Was it a case of saving a lost lamb after failure to save one in past?
MacLeish, like media, tells his own version of truth. He conveniently editted out some very relevant facts, and put Harry in a position where the latter would have completely emphasised with Keith's reasoning and motivation.
Now that I know it was not a light reading, I will come back to this chapter at a later date, with my thoughts more collected and attention turned full on. I have a feeling that I missed most of details and some of them are very substantial.
Anyway, it was nice to see some new stuff, and may I say that the chapters have been getting more and more philosophical as time goes by.
hp4all
Full_Pensieve replied:
A fair bit of HP fanfiction is rather far from light. YoR is definitely not a young teens fic, which is why it's rated as it is: teens+, which is equivalent to the PG-15 rating used in some places around the globe.
Adolescent fiction takes on many serious issues, some equally or more serious than the scenario posed in YoR CH 37. I've started a thread in relation to this at the FFA Forum. We'll see how that goes.
Cheers,
Mike [FP]
Patches posted a comment on Saturday 6th October 2007 3:01pm
This is such a great story. I read the original a long time ago and I thought it was good at the time but this is excellent. I know it is hard to keep up the momentum when writing but I really hope you finish this one. I have enjoyed everything you have written and this story is the best. Thanks so much for writing. I look forward to the rest of the story. pms
brad posted a comment on Monday 1st October 2007 4:52pm
Very satisfying to have things laid out so clearly by MacLeish; I think Harry needed a plain-speaking Aussie to lay it on the line for him. :-) Although, like Covelli, I think he's simplified the matter of Nicola too much; the way you've set things up - no way to suppress her magic, her powers continually growing, out of control - I think she's a danger to society too. But locking her up is preferable to killing her, and it seems that containment is working for her and the Swiss.
Is Nicola extremely powerful, or just as powerful as a normal witch her age? Is unconsciously-directed 'accidental' magic more powerful than properly-cast magic? Covelli is worried about 'someone of ill intent' using Nicola's magic for nefarious purposes, so I gather her power is exceptional. Unless she's a super-powerful witch by chance - which is unlikely, a Dumbledore or Riddle only comes along once in a generation or so - then does this mean every trained wizard deliberately hobbles their power when they learn to use a wand? Is wandless magic more 'powerful' as well as simply convenient? It's just a bit puzzling/confusing ... we've had Dumbledore and Riddle up at the top of the magic ladder for 36 chapters, Harry hopefully somewhere up there as well, and then a mentally handicapped girl eclipses all? Why not wheel out Nicola and get her to wish Voldemort away? :-)
'Bluey' ... great name for a house elf ... or an Australian cattle dog ... :-)
Refreshing to have MacLeish lay things out for Harry. This helps firm up the political side of things that you've touched on in past chapters, such as how Hermione might be treated by the Ministry. The sudden broadening of the scope of the story to the international setting was a bit of a surprise, though, as was MacLeish's calm assertion that 'the rest of the world will eventually rise up and eliminate [Riddle]'. Hmmm. That might be one of the 'simplifying things too far' things, given the prophecy (which MacLeish didn't really know).
Interesting take particularly on how Harry's upbringing had been so constrained as to expose him only to people 'in Dumbledore's pocket'. "I'll wager that the girl looks up to him as a grandfather or something of the like". Ouch. Although Hermione had something of a wakeup call on that back in Italy ... but I'm not sure where she stands on Albus now. He did a good job of pacifying her there, and swore the magical oath 'not to fail [her/them] again'. If it was a true oath. So much to try and remember in this story :-(
So ... an agreement is struck ... exit Heather, to an international music tour. That will help Harry say goodbye when he sees her!
I've only just noticed that you cast a distinction between 'pureblood' wizards and 'full-bloods'. Or maybe that's just MacLeish. In any case, I fully agree; I first read of that latter description in one of Mr. T's stories. I find JKR's insistence that Harry is a 'half-blood' silly, as there's a clear and significant difference in heritage between him - with two magical parents - and Seamus, say, with one Muggle parent.
I'd seen your picture of the girl and the dragon before; now at long last I know what it's all about. "Harry the Bear" - very cute.
I don't know how far you are going to go - or were going to go - with YoR. I would have been happy with the vanquishment of Voldemort and Harry and Hermione happily married :-). But then you've got the ministry, the politics, and now a grand plan - at least on MacLeish's part - to see the magical world assimilated into Muggle society!? I dunno; I think MacLeish might be taking things too far there. Wouldn't we poor Muggles be likely to suffer enormous inferiority complexes if we discovered we were living side-by-side with humans blessed with all these powers and three times our life spans? I know I'd be jealous!
Thanks for continuing the story!
Zaz posted a comment on Monday 21st January 2008 9:01pm
Full_Pensieve replied: