OMG! I love this! Parental Snape is always awesome.
I'm iffy on how defensive/defiant Harry is though, but that might be natural. I'm not so sure of the mannerisms of a child of abuse/neglect has.
Is it weird I miss Erebus? Especially the cuddly scenes with Snape XD
Author's Response: Not odd at all. Cuddly Cockatoo is fun. It almost makes me want to get one myself, only I know better. They have the capacity to go from cute to evil in 0.6 seconds with no warning.
The defensive/defiant thing has another aspect to it as well. At least it does in my head. Harry and Snape are basically forming an entirely new relationship from what Snape had with Erebus. Sure, it's founded on the affection shared between wizard and familiar, but Snape has to deal with a child differently than he would deal with an animal, and Harry has to adjust to these new rules and expectations. The defiance in this chapter, however, was mostly motivated by fear. He was rather traumatized by his transformation back to human and the passing of time hasn't dulled the fear.
So far, I cannot judge Dumbledore, for he has not actively done anything to sway me from one end of the spectrum or the other. (And believe me when I say that I've seen some spectacular Evil!Dumbledore examples. Then again, there are a lot of things in Canon that took me years to pick up on and realize that things were not being copacetic. But, in the end, he's human. I have no doubt that he'll have a moment of Genuine Reaction when he finds out what has Really Happened under his nose this entire time. I just hope that Dumbledore KEEPS his word when he finds out.
Author's Response: Human. I hope that you still think he's human at the end, because that's what I want all my characters to be. Not perfectly good or perfectly evil, but human. :D
| Title: Staff Meeting Redux
| 30 Jun 2016 8:03 pm
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| Reviewer: Fmh (Signed)
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I do not trust Dumbledore where Harry is concerned, although Severus has done a good job!
I can see him as a combination of the first three.
Don't make him evil, please dont. Make him misguided, a fool, but not evil. I don't think I can handle it, as I'm knee deep in this story. That chapter where Severus took control nearly did me in. I'm not in the mindset for an Evil Dumbledore.
If you decide to do it anyway, because one reader's opinions doesnt matter to an Author, can you shoot a note so I can stop reading. I'm not up for that disappointment.
Author's Response: I dislike caricatures generally, so I try not to write them. (Whether or not I succeed, that's another question.) And horribly evil characters too often end up as unbelievable caricatures. The question at the end was not so much a hint at where I might be going as it was an attempt to see if what I wrote was coming across the way I wanted it to. I'm trying to keep Dumbledore fairly close to his canon persona, or my interpretation of his canon persona. That is somebody who is used to being obeyed (thus why he reacted so poorly when Snape did not) and who has a tendency to consider personal sacrifice a reasonable price to pay for ensuring the good of the many. His actions may be hurtful, but they are not malicious.
| Title: Staff Meeting Redux
| 27 Jun 2016 4:43 am
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| Reviewer: Baghi (Signed)
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I'd say closer to leader than any of the other choices. He is, as Severus said, a General, a Warlord of sorts. The kind that willingly follows his men into battle, indeed leads the charge, but still has to put people into certain positions that they would make the most difference, but may end up sacrificing them for the "greater good". However, the ends do not always justify the means.
Author's Response: Sadly, a general cannot protect all his men from harm. Big picture and all that. It must be difficult to be Dumbledore.
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