76.A Most Dubious Honour

“You know me, Alastor. I’m always careful.”

Dies immediately, lmao.

The wand tip lit up with green light as it pressed against his breast. At the same time, Albus spat out a glob of blood and magic and spite at Tom’s outstretched hand. His student’s face twisted in horror, but he was too close to move away. The Killing Curse struck true, and Albus Dumbledore was no more.

Down to his last, and still able to spite his enemy. Very Leto Atreides of Dumbledore.

Shit just got real. As mentioned above, subterfuge is the only way Voldemort beats this version of Dumbledore. The slow decline of his mental state in the past chapters foreshadows his guard dropping. Aberforth is the perfect trap. Sad to see him go as I think he was your best character. Took what you had from canon and made it incredibly compelling yet true to what little we know of Dumbledore.

“They are doing more than well on their own and don’t trust me with their lives,” Albus said. And they are right not to trust me.“But perhaps it would be wise to at least coordinate our efforts. Keep in touch with them, Alastor, and let me know how things develop.”

Has Moody been in contact with Harry and Juno at all? Maybe I’m missing something from any of the previous 75 chapters but I don’t remember them interacting much outside of Moody teaching and Harry sleeping. Took me out of the narrative. May make more sense for Dumbledore to ask Moody to keep tabs on them, rather than in touch.

Curious how Voldemort plays Dumbledore’s death. He’s unannounced as of yet, and will likely learn quickly from Dumbledore’s last second blow. Doubt he publicizes it, meaning Harry and Juno will be in the dark unless Aberforth is inexplicably both alive and able to break the imperius. Harry + Juno + Amelia + Moody + the DA against the world.

Speaking of Harry and Juno, nice to see how they complement each other in this chapter. Juno is the brains, political acumen, and ruthlessness with skill to hang. Harry is the charisma and muscle with brains enough to not have rings run ’round him.

Residual comments:

But there was no need to, nor would there ever be. Which witch could ever compare? Even the best of those sultry blonde harpies were her inferiors in all things.

“Sultry” is usually not an inherently bad thing. Juno wouldn’t consider her rivals for Harry’s affection/attention as such; she disdains those girls. She’s also not a prude, so “sultry” feels off here.

Within half an hour, they could all produce at least a shield. With Padma and Ron, the shield was bright and just one step short of forming into a corporeal guardian.

I get that most of these folks are a solid step up from their canon counterparts, but the Patronus is ridiculously hard to cast. That Harry can in canon is a testament to the strength of his emotions and ability to tap into them. For everyone to be significantly better than pretty much all adult wizards inside of 30 minutes is a bit of a stretch. Minor quibble, but stood out to me.

Thanks for writing.