Well, this reader, for one, definitely loves the flashbacks and appreciates the way they illustrate how the abused Harry with the Dursleys grew into the much more confident young man we see at Hogwarts. "Arrogance"? Really, Albus, given who and what Tony Stark deals with and has dealt with, you're small potatoes in his book, even with your victory over Grendelwald, and he's got the self-confidence that goes with success; you should research people much, much better. Given that, you should also expect that Harry's going to acquire a similar attitude. To presume to try and shape circumstances to fit your preconceived plans is arrogance of the highest order. Besides, to generalize one of "Murphy's Laws of War", "No plan survives contact with reality!". Unfortunately, Dumbles has been the "top dog" for too long and doesn't realize that basic laws still apply. I'm sure that Amelia will be all too glad to help remind him and I don't think he'll appreciate further lessonings anymore than this one.
The discussion with Draco was interesting and 'twill be worth it if it, and similar discussions, actually make him think rather than parrot, though I suspect his father would disagree.
I almsot feel sorry for the Weasleys, being such pawns of Dumbles. I wonder if this kind of embarassment will wake them up? I rather doubt it given Molly's blindness on all things Dumbledore.
Finally, I liked the developing demande for commercial versions of the magic-safe electronics; methinks that the joint Patil/Stark concern is going to make themselves very, very popular with the Goblins when they start bringing in large amounts of cash. Of course, this could lead to teh Goblins "slipping" and mentioning Harry's vaults, at which point it could get real interesting all around.
Finally, that's for the mini-who's who at the end of this chapter. I recognized most, but it's good to see the info all in one place.
BTW, would attending Hogwarts, or a similar school, help Franklin Richards? I can just imagine him getting sorted into Gryffindor and joining up with the Weasley twins. Wanna bet on how many of the staff would get gray hairs from that?
Author's response
- The 'arrogance' came from daring to talk back to the great and powerful Dumbledore. Albus has been the big fish in a small pond for so long he doesn't recognize a shark when he sees one.
- For the purposes of my story, Draco isn't going to learn a thing, other perhaps how to better phrase his positions. As I had Harry say, the purpose of the discussion is to sway others, and it has.
- That was the only planned appearance of the Weasleys (other than Ron, Ginny and the Twins. They aren't part of the story.
- It will be a subplot, but the merchandising of magic compatible electronics is going to make quite a few people very rich.
- Franklin's powers really wouldn't be understood by the BWS, nor helped. He is (at the time of the story) damped down so that he can't inflict major owies on the universe, quite frankly I suspect hat Frank would scare the bejeesus out of even the twins...