I had to read the last sentence twice and I was glad I did. What a beautiful way to end the story of two love hungry kids. Thank you for making me smile today and I hope someone has done the same for you.

This is not for me. Reviews are making it sounds like a genius story. Pretty mild/simple from my point of view. There are quite a few good ideas tho.

Unlike many reviewers I found this story to be very bland and in many ways was very unoriginal. I was expecting some sort of relationship between Daphne and Harry but there was a total lack of development and it just happened. It really didn't need the first fifteen or so chapters that were little more than book rehash with slightly different charasycters. Overall I couldn't fault how it was written just the whole concept of what was written was so frustrating.

Great story. Actually loved your version of Dumbledore! Thanks for sharing!

This is a really good story and I enjoyed it! My only criticism is the overuse of the "Always" phrase.

When was Harry's smashed arm healed ?

I wonder what the Queen would do if She found out about a king in Her Kingdom?

This really fell apart at the end too much farce and cartoon villain behaviour.

An alright story that'll serve if you're really hankering for some Haphne, but I feel that the reviews I read severely overstated it's quality. The dialouge is odd and the characters are OOC with no real explanation. Dumbledore showed Harry his duel with Grindelwald in their first real conversation, Flitwick shows no scruples about training a 13 year old to kill (beyond asking if he is okay with it), Dumbledore WANTS Harry to be taught Dark magic by Snape (I could understand this if it was a "know it so you can defend against it", but it isn't), etc. Harry's power scaling is also compleatly out of wack. He's a dap hand at both Transfiguration AND Charms, so much so that Flitwick approached him to offer extra classes. I could understand that provided it had some grounding, but the small interactions and incremental gains are gutted from the story. In that vein, ALL gains are gutted from the story. The only progress that stood out by chapter 14 was him managing the Patronus on the train (his escape from Pettigrew I agree with), then by chapter 15 he's puncturing through dragon hide during the First Task and cowing it into submission with no effort. Daphne and Harry's relationship is extremely odd. There is zero interaction between them, beyond a few stilted conversations, by year 3. There may be more, which I think there is considering not even puberty bound teenagers would act like this, but Daphne is underdeveloped and feels like an acquaintance. She is relegated to sidecharacter status, which is terrible considering she's the main love interest. Then when they reconcile in fourth year, immediately after Harry pounds a dragon into the ground, Daphne declares Harry one of the most powerful men in the world and reconcils all her mental trauma and agrees to date Harry. There might be other events that make this seem more acceptable later on in the story, but I had to stop at chapter 15. I do like some portions of the story. I feel that there's expressions of logic that were sorely lacking in cannon (and even in many fanfics as well). Fawkes flaming three professors into the Chamber instead of just the Hat, for example. Harry hating Ginny and blaming her for allowing Riddle to posses her is also a good story element. It makes Harry seem more like a child, and a particularly dimwitted one at that, but childish expressions of anger are something that should be present in this situation. Really, I'm sorry to say it (since I was rooting for a good Harry/Daphne story), but I personally wouldn't even spare this more than a few chapters to see if you can stomach it.

TL;DR
The story is terrible by almost any metric and is drastically overestimated by some of the more excited reviewers. Read a few chapters to see if it appeals to you, but don't expect anything good.

Enjoyed the story. Sad about some deaths but war takes no prisoners. Realistic view. Shame about Snape.

This was...where do I begin? I'd long since thought myself well versed in what fanfictions had to offer. I've been part of this community for 3 years, and as a voracious reader I've read millions of words of fanfiction, most Harry Potter. And yet I am reminded time and time again, I have yet to scratch the surface. Earlier this year, I read The Prisoner's Cypher, easily one of the best fanfics to exist for Harry Potter. Shortly after, I read Stages of Hope. This one also excellent, and my preference between the two. Today, I have sat down and read this start to finish on a whim. It wasn't recommend to me, nor had I heard it before. I just took a chance, a blind leap of faith. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed in the slightest. This easily stands on the same grounds as the two I just mentioned. I did just reread those two earlier in the week so my memory is incredibly fresh on them. This is overall my second favorite fanfic of all time. While it easily had me more emotional than the previous two, Stages of Hope is beautifully written in a way I can't even begin to describe. That is not to say this is not, it's second place is well earned and I can easily see me giving the gold medal on a different day. If you are reading this now, unsure of if you should take that venture, that blind leap of faith to read this tale, I encourage you to do so. You will not regret it. This story has a little something for everyone, and it is not one I will forget. I will be coming back to this story for ages to come, rereading like I'd never seen it before. Because that is the magic of these stories. They are always available for you to return to. And this one easily deserves to be read by many from all places over and over again.

I think it was a most excellent journey. I realize it's over 9 years since you finished this, yet for me, it was fresh and new. I hope you are still checking in with FF from time to time. As I wish to say Thank You for this tale, irregardless of how late it is that I came to find and enjoy it. Take care.

I agree with Old Crow's comments. Nicely done

A very interesting and new! twist on the ritual for giving moldishorts a new body. Very refreshing.

As I suspected, Harry did have to save Daphne from the mirror. Her response fits, as does her own going fear of allowing another in. It is something I am sadly quite familiar with. Rejection, no matter what form it takes, can be one of the most damning of experiences, and the most harmful.

Interesting changes to original. I find myself wondering if Harry will have to save Daphne from the mirror. With her being so afraid to start a new relationship with anyone after her grandmother's death and the indifference of her parents it's like she is at the bottom of a pit and is not afraid to crawl out.

And now you've allowed Harry to finally find true happiness with Sirius, I can easily see him becoming more open to others.

A most enjoyable read.