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[HARRY POTTER]

In the Bleak Midwinter

After escaping from Merope in London and fleeing back to Little Hangleton, Tom Riddle had thought he was free of witches. 

He wasn’t expecting yet another witch to turn up on his doorstep. This one seems different, but she too smells of Amortentia. 

Can he trust her when she tells him that she has brought him his baby from a London orphanage? 

By TheLoud    

General

Summary: After escaping from Merope in London and fleeing back to Little Hangleton, Tom Riddle had thought he was free of witches. He wasn’t expecting yet another witch to turn up on his doorstep. This one seems different, but she too smells of Amortentia. Can he trust her when she tells him that she has brought him his baby from a London orphanage?

Alternate Universe/Time Travel - [Hermione G., Tom R. Sr.] - 17 Chapters - Words: 147.580, Rated General

Read it on AO3 or ff.net

Status: WIP (last updated Jan.11, 2020)

Review: Having gotten tired of all the time-travel stories that focus on Hermione, I was excited to try out a time-travel story where the time-traveller is not the protagonist. Instead, our protagonist -Tom Riddle Sr works with Hermione to help fix the upbringing (and so much more) of the future Voldemort. As a protagonist, Tom is both frustrating and compelling - and it’s interesting to see how his charm and mannerisms feel in tune with that of his son’s. Furthermore, Tom’s morality and characteristics are often at odds with Hermione’s beliefs so it makes the idea of the time-travel fix it even more interesting.

In the Bleak Midwinter has been a surprisingly enjoyable read, just because of how it both stick to its time but also experiments with expanding the HP universe. For example, the story goes over the idea of consent and PTSD in a way that doesn’t feel like 2000s topics were just shoehorned into the 1900s. I think it’s this aspect that really helps ground the story to feel like a more realistic take on how one would go about fixing the past.

The story also does a great job in avoiding typecasting its Pureblood/Muggleborn characters into a category of good and bad. In fact, I’d say that almost all characters in the story feel well-rounded and nuanced because of their own unique idiosyncrasies. It makes them more interesting to read about, even if one does not agree with the character’s beliefs/actions.

I do have one small criticism about this story, and that’s just that its pace is quite slower then I would have expected (even for a slow-burn). The story’s really building its foundation on how Tom Riddle Sr will change the wizarding world, and while I love reading that, I find myself unsure about just how long this story will be - the author mentions that the plot will span decades, so I wonder if a time jump will be used to accomplish this or not.

Take a walk on the wild side. Viola Push wearing the Rose Hoodie - available online at www.theloudbrand.com

Keep it weird.

model: Natasja

That pale and rare winter sun..

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