I heartily agree with your opinion of Deadly Halitosis, it is also inline with my feelings towards Half Blood Ponce. For me the series pretty much ended with the fifth book.
That said fan fiction has done an admirable job of bringing it back to life. The variety and imagination of some writers has kept HP alive and well.
I'm to the point of including your rendition of Harry's world in that collection.
I enjoyed your setup, it was clean, had good flow and the transition was both humorous and enjoyable. It was also fresh in that you had both Harry's existing at the same time for a short period.
Your handling of the Dursleys was delightful. My only question is, did you leave them their memories as humans? Leaning towards yes myself, strikes me as more appropriate.
Giving Dudley a second chance was good. He was only 4 when Old Harry returned so he should have a second chance.
All and all this is a good, solid story and a delight to read. I thank you for sharing it.
Author's response
Heya Tax!
~Deadly Halitosis~
Snicker!
Yeah, those two books are the only stories I’ve ever read where the canon characters are out of character…in canon! I believe the last two books support my long ehld view that she gave some thirteen year old female fanauthor with an Alan Rickman fetish, a hundred pounds to write both, while she went on tour.
On the other hand, she did give us such loverly plotholes to fill!
Fanfiction: It’s funny, actually, I was involved in the very first fandom. Many of those authors ended up in writing careers of their own. Star Trek was a trend setter in more than a science fiction way. Some of the authors would never have become so well known had they not begun wiritng their own adventures for Kirk and his crew.
~I'm to the point of including your rendition of Harry's world in that collection.~
I’m humbled.
I try to set my stories up in a (mostly) logical and reasonable manner. It helps to avoid confuusion. I’ve always believed that details are what make a good story great…especially in time travel stories. You can only rely so much on Deus ex Machina.
The two Harry’s actually violates a basic precept of the time travel paradox, but then, so does time travel. ‘Sides, it felt right.
While leaving them their memories would have been evil, twisted and absolutely despicable, (and I still can’t believe I didn’t think of it!) there’s no reason for them to be anything but what they became. Vernon has a room-temperature IQ, and a top speed of three Knots. Petunia is in a group of critters as nasty as she is, (And I’ve seen alpaca in a herd. They’re not very nice to the junior members.)
Dudley: I agree. While in canon he made some really bad choices, he was conditioned to make them by his father. Here, I’ve simply removed that conditioning. If things go as I would expect, he’ll grow up as a well-rounded Aussie, who’s been taught right from wrong.
Thank you again. I’m glad you’re enjoying the ride.
Alorkin