Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

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My Pet: Nightling the Black Cat
Penname:
Jan_AQ [Contact] Better be Ravenclaw!
Call me: Jan (female) Member since: 03 Jan 2005
Beta? No
About me:

Hi, I'm Jan. :D I love Snape and Harry fics, and just mentor fics in general. I first started Potions and Snitches (P&S) as a safe place to find Snape & Harry gen fics without stumbling into Snape and Harry slash (aka Snarry, or HP/SS).

Fandoms that I like to read fanfiction of include: Star Trek, Star Wars, Kung Fu : The Legend Continues, Dragonball Z, Stargate SG1, Batman, Angel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I like Gen and Mentor fics mostly. I love hurt/comfort, angst, whump, drama, raw emotions, and vivid descriptions best.

I know how to make and edit graphics, icons, and layouts (html and css). I am a master web searcher. XD

My dreams? One day I'd like to be able to run up a mountain effortlessly, or at least easily. :) I'd like to see Potions and Snitches host every single good Snape and Harry Gen fic there ever existed. I'd like to have people who post here get 100 reviews a chapter. I'd like active-to-the-bursting challenges and contests. I want the site to be a great, fun place that readers of Snape and Harry fics loved and knew as active.

Check out my site, Potions, Snitches and Unlikely Relations! It's a giant rec list of Harry Potter fics, the majority Snape and Harry Gen. Currently, there are 800+ fics listed.

Thanks for visiting my profile! Enjoy the site!

Chocolate frogs! 

 

"Think of the long view of life, not just what's going to happen today or tomorrow. Don't give up what you most want in life for something you think you want now."

Elder Richard G. Scott
Ensign, May 1997, 54 

testing website http://www.google.com

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Reviews by Jan_AQ

When Dreams Come True by LilPadfoot16 starstarstarstarhalf-star [Reviews - 11]
With Harry's knowledge of the Horcruxes it is clear that he has quite a job to do. But are they the only way to destroy Voldemort? A gift from the dead, strange new powers, and more await Harry in this re-write of When Dreams Come True.

Takes Place: None - Snape flavour: None
Tags: Alternate Universe
Categories: Parental Snape > Guardian Snape
Rated: 16+ - Warnings: Suicide Themes, Torture
Chapters: 9 - Completed: No - Updated: 28 Jun 2006 / 18 Oct 2005
Series: None - Challenges: None
Title: Chapter 3: Tears of Blood 25 Feb 2006
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)
    Woah! Cool! Poor Harry. It was scary how Volodemort had captured him in his mind, I was quite worried. But then Harry's shield- yeah not expetcing that. Neat. :)

Title: Chapter 4: Shadow 25 Feb 2006
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)
    Woah. I have a feeling it's Sirius but that may be too good to be true... Nice cliffie.

Closure by Potions and Snitches starstarstarstar [Reviews - 15]
Harry Potter has defeated the darkest wizard of his generation and is now free from the accursed Prophecy that dictated his life. There are many unanswered questions, leaving Harry confused and hurt. How will the reading of his former mentor’s will affect his new life? Will he allow anger and bitterness to keep him from accomplishing his mentor's final request? Two unlikely men are connected in more ways than one…read to find out the many surprises that await Harry Potter as he searches for the answers he thinks he so rightly deserves.

Takes Place: None - Snape flavour: None
Tags: None
Categories: Misc
Rated: T - Warnings: Alcohol Use
Chapters: 9 - Completed: No - Updated: 25 Jan 2006 / 10 Nov 2005
Series: None - Challenges: None
Title: Chapter 1: Lucky to be Alive 13 Nov 2005
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)
    I really like how to began this chapter and this story. It was nice how you got into the scene. I felt that it all seemed very plausible and something that could happen in canon the way you wrote it. I like your descriptions. however, I found that the long stretches of dialouge without and indications of tone were a little distracting. The doctor just talked normally, and when it doesn't change, even with little bits, it gets usual (I want to say boring, but it's not really boring it's just usual). Hermione's entrance was GREAT. I loved how Harry didn't know what was going on, or anyone and then he realized Hermione was there- i was with Harry, not knowing and not expecting but still so grateful once he realized who she was. I felt that the way she talked about Ron was going into depths that didn't fit quite realistically. it may be just me, but when you talk about someone, you don't talk as if you were in their heads describing, like if I were to go "Mary Jane was hurt, blah blah, she pulled through, it was tough but she felt as if she had the strength to make it," the last part is where it goes overboard. The first part is fine, but that last part went into too much detail from the wrong perspective that makes it stand out and seem more like a narration. it was still good, I just noticed that.

    I found that Harry's injuried were done very well-how you choose qhich ones. Lots of people do too little, or just list off this very long list of horrible ones, and it seems surreal. but you managed to keep it in the here and now, good job! :) I still think that you shoul dhave broken up the dialouge with some motions, or tone becasue when I look back (read back) it feels kind of blank. good job on Harry's emotions and feelings though, those got across very well. I'll give you a 7/10.

Title: Chapter 2: Black Eyes 13 Nov 2005
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)
    Two weeks. Two agonizing, slow-paced, infuriating weeks. Harry was confined to a personal room in St. Mungo’s, where he was poked and prodded, studied and discussed... it would have been better if you didn't start with a hanging thought that is disjointed to the next, some like this would have been better: Two weeks. Two agonizing, slow-paced, infuriating weeks Harry had been confined to a personal room in St. Mungo’s.... It leads you into the chapter. i really liked the nurses checking up on him, that was cute and added a bit of extra realism. poor Harry. :)

    This sentence seemed odd, you might be missing osmething: "it was distributed to try and quiet his psyche. , Harry thought bitterly. . Harry had pointed that out to Hermione, who merely sighed and said," Also, iI'm pretty sure that when you end a phrase with a comma, have narration and then start up the dialouge again you capalize the first letter. "good reason to be upset, mind you,” she stumbled slightly, then moved on. “but if that..." So "But" should be capitalized- I'm sure that's just a typo. :) Since that day, Ron nor Hermione had been to see him. Are you missing a "neither"?

    I really liked this thought: Perhaps they have more important things to do…the world can’t stop just because I can’t participate. I love how Remus visted him- i felt that their time together and all the things you wrote in it seemed very real-like, what they talked about and how Harry felt and how he had to sleep becasue he's still injured. Very nicely done. I liked the hints to the past of the battle, how you didn't just go all out and explain everything in their conversation- real people wouldn't explain everything and that made their conversation seem so much better. lovely. I absoutley LOVE LOVE the dream, that was marvelously done! the descriptions, the emotions, the hints and mystery- good job! And Snape seems so Snape-ish- really good job. :) And how you immediately went into that scene where Snape sneakily spelled Harry and did his stuff, only we didn't know who it was at first- that was such a treat. I think i felt worried when I first read it, but the second time I didn't feel anxious at all when that scene started, even though i didn't know who it was and I really liked that. I liked how Snape was like a 3rd party, watching the events- that was very movie spy-like. :) I love the mystery in the second half of this chapter. Great stuff! I can't wait until we get to the meat of it. :) Lots of people rate stories based on how much of the story is what they like- so on this site a lot of people rate for the Snape and Harry interaction. But I understand how important a setup is, even without either of them interacting so I rate setup chapters a little high. They seriously are important, because other wise a story that jumps right into it, isn't very good. Thanks for setting up your story so carefully. :) I want to give you a 7.5/10.

Title: Chapter 3: Slytherin Discretion 13 Nov 2005
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)
    Oh my gosh, I love the opening of this chapter. Your trio is so in character and when Ron kissed Hermione I was like "woah!" *_* Awesome, love it. Ron straighten from his observing position and handed Harry his glasses. Straightened. You know, I love an injured Harry. :) It's funny that i'm smiling but I really do. i like how they all helped him through his pain and how you started that scene with chaos using the unname dialouge- nice. I also really like how assertive ron is being- being in control or change, it's great and I think it really suits his character. i'm not so overjoyed at all the "love's" floating around, I'm not British so once and awhile it's okay but since i'm not used to it, they just stand out. I think that thinking about them, they are appropriate though. oh my, this is quite a setence, "She’s right…the only one that we can trust is Draco Malfoy.” Woah! Totally not expecting that one! :) i found it kind o fstrange that kingsley didn't answer Harry's question here or noticibly ignore it: “Have you been able to identify the prisoner?”

    “Ah, here we are! You have fifteen minutes, my boy. I’ll be nearby.”
     I really like Malfoy's introduction to this story. :) All your characters are in character too, great job. And in return, you will vouch for me, protect me, and defeated the evil bastard!” Defeat. He straighten his sleeping tunic and ran his fingers through his thick hair. straightened.

    Awesome, awesome circumstances in this chapter. love it. Wow. The charmed letter with the different handwriting was great! When someone mentioned the heart dots for i's, yeah imagining SNape doing that is just hilarious! I love Draco's involvement. Your writing is really great!! Thank you so much for sharing this!! Just so you know, our usual text editor here is down for a little bit, so you might have some difficulty pasting any chapters right now. I renamed the fanfiction folder and now for some reason it's not working, but I should get it back up soon.

    Author's Response: Wow...I just have to say that I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to review my first three chapters so thoroughly...I have corrected my *embarrassing* grammar and spelling mistakes, and I will try to take your advice to heart. You asked why Kingsley didn\'t answer Harry\'s question about the prisoner-there was a reason for that. Kingsely wanted Harry to meet with the prisoner-he went out of his way to interrupt Harry\'s mission to talk to him-and to be honest, I personally think that if Harry had known that Draco was the prisoner-he might have refused point blank to see him. So, I purposefully was a bit misleading-plus, the reader could guess who the prisoner was from the lead up-but Harry had no idea. I hope that makes a bit more sense now-I\'m still trying to work out the kinks in my writing style, and some things aren\'t as obvious as I would like. In the second chapter, a whole line of text was deleted for some reason, accounting for the strange sentence between Harry\'s inner monologue and Hermione\'s answer. I have corrected it! It seems as though I really need a beta-I shall try to actively search for one-maybe I can bribe my brother! Thanks again, Jan...I\'m so glad that you reviewed!

Title: Chapter 4: Lemon Drops? 16 Nov 2005
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)
    Hahaha!! I love it! All your characters are SO in character. I love dthe little heart to heart that Ginny and Harry had- they all seem so mature, and real. Very good job with that. I enjoyed Malfoy, and teh interaction between the three men, Ron, Harry, and Malfoy seemed very much in character. i loved the descriptions of the curse coming out of Harry, like black licorice. Wow. lovely writing in this chapter! Thanks so much for sharing it! I'll give you a 7/10. Can't wait until Snape is shown more with Harry. :)

    Author's Response: Thanks again Jan...the Harry and Severus action will be a while coming...but oh, when it gets here, I promise some fireworks! The buildup is taking a while, but the set up is just about done-one more chapter and I should be able to begin the journey to find Severus. I hope I can keep you guessing with this chapter-I hope I don\'t disappoint!

Title: Chapter 5: Dumbledore's Will 19 Nov 2005
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)

    Wow. Awesome opening to this chapter and awesome ending! WOW! I love your Snape- he's so in character! I love the writing around him, the motions and just everything. Great job! I noticed that Harry called his "dark mark" a deformity when he covered it up with a glove- I think that was nicely done, showing his thoughts about it and his character, poor Harry. I find it interesting that Harry speaks slightly different- kind of formal older. It intruiges me.

    I like Harry's injuries, however, you need to pay a little more attention to his leg- for example, Harry's leg probably would have been really hurting by the time he was deep into cleaning his cottage with Remus. When he went to get the groceries, he had the bag in at least one arm- what about the cane? And sitting down, lying down, putting pants on, it's all difficult with an injury with that. When you have an injury, it tends to affect almost everything. You should try doing something to yourself like tapping a long stick to your leg to see how it affects you, pretending that it's injured. It will help you be able to catch details and more realism. You did do a good job on this chapter, that one part just really stood out to me. I had and still have lots of injuries from sports, most of them were over exhertion or over use injuries and they can be just okay, a little weak and sore after a work out and a minute later crippling, worrying, pain.

    Also, the reading of the will seemed like you skipped a part. The guy started with the introductions, Harry had one thought, and then he was called up to get his part. What about the other people, were they just there to see Harry, and only Harry get something from Dumbledore?

    I really enjoy your writing style. I really do. It's really well written and I'm so proud to have it on this archive. :) I noticed that a couple of times near the beginning the structure of your sentence didn't introduce the speaker or subject soon enough. Like sometimes if you start the side comment, and it's too long or the stuff before it seemed to have been in a different direction, it wasn't moving to the subject fast enough so you're a little lost and it broke up the flow. Kind of like a skipped record in your mind, I guess. You can keep reading but you have to process the words a little more.

    Dumbledore coming out of that egg was really great, I loved that part of the plot and the feelings were done so nicely. His end request- Woah! Totally wasn't expecting that! Awesome, great story. Thanks so much for sharing it! Now write more! Hehe XD.

    Here's some little typo-type things I noticed (we all make them but if someone points them out, then it'll be easier for you to spot them if you want to change them):

     ...he did not know who long his funds would have to stretch how.

    this was a little weird with the structure of the sentence around it: he fled the letter left purposefully behind,

    plain wood cane with a well-place summoning spell.

    I will also need you're word as a witch

    "This is a charm that can be place on a necklace

     he thought to himself as he pushed opened the door.

    Harry kept his eyes closed as he controlled the rage that built up at the mention of Potions and why exactly the position needed to be filled brought up a rather painful memory…

    I thank you; you're friendship and strength has guided

    Years had been added to Harry’s life in the months were his friends



    Author's Response: WOW!!! Jan, you are SO awesome...not only do you tell me what you like and don\'t like, but you are the QUEEN of finding my stupid grammar mistakes-I think that means the most to me,  because it\'s rather embarrassing...and the only thing I can say in my defense was that I rushed this chapter-I\'m sorry...I\'m glad that you thought Severus was in character-he is the hardest for me to write, although I have to admit that my personality sometimes reflects his sardonic nature...The reason why Harry\'s speech is the way it is is because I wanted to reflect, through his vocabularly, how divided he is. What I mean is that at times he uses slang and everything, like a normal teenager...but then at times, he\'s very formal and shows a bit of his intelligence peeking through; his more ADULT side (forced upon him by the war)-I think Harry hides a lot of things, and now that the necessity isn\'t there, more of his true nature can come out...What do you think? I\'m sorry about the lack of realism in is leg injury-I have added some things to the Remus-Harry section to make it clear that he has done too much on the day he escaped was released from the hospital-little things, like using a leviation charm instead of carrying the bags (what was I thinking, I wonder...I must have forgotten that he\'s a WIZARD!!! XD) When Harry had the \'one thought\' in the will reading scene, it actually was more of a daydream...when he tuned back in, his name was being called. Each person in the will reading essentially received the same thing: a few words and an egg, with a few receiving personal items (like Harry) I figured that the readers would get bored if I went through everything...so I had Harry do something very typical for a teenager: SPACE OUT!!! (I do it all the time in Math class...which is bad...) Sorry about the mistakes again...and sometimes, when I do write my sentences, my structures are placed there to make the reader think, in a way. I love stories that don\'t just tell you everything up front-you infer things, and then you figure out at the end whether you were right or not-I, as an amatuer writer, am trying to imitate that style-and I apologise if it sucks at first-I\'ll try to refine it; after all, writing fanfiction is about enjoyment AND practicing writing and language skills. Thanks for the review, Jan...I can\'t tell you how much it means to me...

Title: Chapter 6: Severus Snape's Honor 25 Nov 2005
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)

    Awesome, awesome, AWESOME!!! Great chapter, great writing, and great plot coming up! I love it! :) Thanks so much for sharing!!!

    For some reason, when I read this line, "Harry knew precisely what Snape must be feeling…and that scared him. Harry glanced at Dumbledore, and was surprised at the hardness sketched into his weathered features." I got a shiver. It really moved me. Poor Snape.

    “I endured much in my childhood and schooldays, Albus…I refuse to relive the memories as I walk the halls of the school in my adulthood.” Wow. AWESOME line.

    I LOVED the last memory, the argument one. Nicely done, no, spectacularly done! There were two things that stood out to me in this chapter though. The first was when Harry was yelling at Snape, it was something that would probably take up more time than just a short pause of silence, so I think that you need to actually state that the pause was long enough, and/or show Snape not responding to the yell, because it is a memory. :) The second thing was in the argument scene, there was no mention of Hagrid blundering on them. I mean, I liked it without him, but that stood out to me, Hagrid is not the quietest of persons.

    Great chapter!!! And the socks at the end- great. I love that playfulness that came across, and I love that Harry was given a keepsake. You have a lovely spin on all the memories and events, and while lots of people share the belief or tale of them, I think that you’re the first to actually write them ALL OUT in a story. This chapter flowed quite well, it was riveting. Best chapter yet and I’m so looking forward to the next.
    Here’s the typo things:

    Snape was playing both sides; back in forth-
    Dumbledore’s image looked up for his knitted sock
    Together, they made there way toward the insistent voice and pounding.
    If Draco…then you must.” (it felt like an incomplete thought)
    Harry resurfaced, again in his own bed, staring intently at the pensieve.  (uh, wasn't he standing? I might have missed that)

     From your last review response:

    "...sometimes, when I do write my sentences, my structures are placed there to make the reader think, in a way. I love stories that don't just tell you everything up front-you infer things, and then you figure out at the end whether you were right or not"

    Yes, but there is a difference between letting a reader infer a plot or events, and not knowing who exactly is speaking in a normal dialogue. You want to do the first, but I'm talking about something more like the second. It wasn’t in this chapter at all though, so good job!

     



    Author's Response:

    I\'m glad that you liked the chapter! This was the one  that I had the most...apprehensive feelings about. I mean, I had a rather large lead-up to this chapter, and I was afraid that I would fall short. Hmmm...I shall fix the error with the \'short silence\'; perhaps I shall have Severus start speaking in the middle of Harry\'s rant, drowning out Harry\'s words (we will still know them, but, like you said, it woudl emphasize the point of not being able to interact with the memories.) And the Hagrid thing...As I wrote that section, I had HBP on my lap, trying to keep it as...canon as I could. Really, in my story, Hagrid only heard the first part of the conversation-Severus refusing to do something, Dumbledore saying he had already agreed, and that he needed to investigate his Slytherins...you make a HUGE point-Hagrid NEEDS to be in that scene...I shall write it in-I have an idea...LOL

    Thanks, as always, for the grammar mistakes; I am pleased to note fewer of them than last time...LOL You, of all people, deserve Reese\'s Cups...I just have to figure out how to send them!

    --Amber


Summer Before Sixth Year by Terri starstarstarstar [Reviews - 13]
The summer after the Department of Mysteries battle is a hard one for Harry, plagued by guilt but determined to make himself fit to fulfill the Prophecy. Along the way, he trains hard, and learns to trust and love. The start of a series which will eventually be a Snape mentors Harry tale.

Takes Place: 6th summer - Snape flavour: None
Tags: Alternate Universe, SuperPower! Harry
Categories: Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape
Rated: T - Warnings: None
Chapters: 16 - Completed: Yes - Updated: 14 Dec 2005 / 30 Nov 2005
Series: Sixth Year Series - Challenges: None
Title: Chapter 1: Privet Drive 02 Dec 2005
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)

    Nice begining. :) I really like how Sirius asked and got Remus to be Harry's guardian. I like how much material you covered in the first chapter, and I like how you used different things (dreams, letter) in it. The only thing that really stood out to me as wrong was "He was aware of neither the tap at his door, nor Aunt Petunia and Mrs. Figg peering in at him, as he was bathed softly in the early morning sunlight." Umm... so I guess that Mrs. Figg came over to the Dursley's house, went upstairs and saw Harry napping on his bed in his room? it seems a little off to me.


Title: Chapter 2: Grimmauld Place 02 Dec 2005
Reviewer: Jan_AQ (Signed)

    I liked lots of stuff in this chapter: First Harry's apparition lesson and how he got excited when he got his owls and apparated all over the place while doing cartwheels. That was cool. I liked how he went to 12 Grimwald place and snuck up on his friends who were planning to sneak out and see him. You know, I bet that Petunia is a witch in canon. JKR said that she wasn't a Squib but that there was more to her that meets the eye. If she was taking Harry in because she was being blackmailed and agreed only if Dudley never was contacted by the magical world.. interesting things and theories can come out of that.

    I like the relationship Harry is having with Remus. I wonder if Remus is going to die soon... hmmm, that would almost be cruel to Harry but I don't think that we writers are known for being nice anyway. XD I like your writing when Snape came in, nice tension and really interesting tense feelings strung through them. Overall, I feel that you could improve the writing, but that will probbaly something that you'll be able to see over time yourself.



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