The only twinge of pain I have reading this chapter is in knowing that Hermione is from a magical family and NOT born to muggles. Otherwise, experiencing some of the normal family fun and harmless drama around the holidays was just as fun as when I read it years ago.

If Quirell actually is hosting Voldemort, then shouldn't the protection spell Lily cast on the boy kept him away, that was a major point in the beginning of Deathly Hallows

Well, that was both unexpected and a bit surreal.
The world does seem to continue to dance to Riddle's tune, and I continue to not quite be able to make out the notes until the dancers have moved on - sometimes several steps :/

I shouldnt like Querril yet you make it impossible not to.

I LOVE THEM ALL. How do you even do that?

Quirrell is a big mistery.

Alright Quirrell that is an enormously creepy breach of privacy

I don't think that you can track someone to their house and show up in the middle of the night and have just, just a look at the wonder of space excuse all that creepiness

Please... I sincerely hope, beyond it all, even though the story is long since finished, that Quirrell is NOT possessed by Voldemort. I just don't want to see him go... :(

Also, Herimone kissing Harry was charmingly sweet. I can imagine Harry going red as a tomato: anime-style, before he shouts in embarrassment.

Roger Bacon? I feel I missed something.

Somehow, listening to Yiruma's Kiss The Rain made the starlight bit feel more magical than it should be, all things considered.

Why is Quirrel so hard to hate? I love his character so much in this story, my only worry is that eventually, he and harry have to fight each other at some point of the story

I know he's really Voldemort, but Quirrell is *cool*.

Considering what we know about Quirrell, it's probably not a good thing that he can find Harry's home so easily. At least it was a nice Christmas moment for them...

I think Riddle wants Harry by his side, as his successor. I mean, he could have killed him! And yet he gave him that wonderful gift!

Hopefully Harry figures out the source of that doom feeling soon, I'm guessing it's not an obvious explanation but I don't know what it is.

What is Quirrel up to?

I really don't trust Quirrell, and if Harry thinks he can turn Quirrell to the side of good than he is either delusional or extremely stupid for a child genius.

Hmm ... still waiting to see what's gonna happen with Quirrell.

This is so weird. Especially if Quirrell is willingly and knowingly sacrficing himself to Riddle.

That would have been one awesome gift to receive.

The image of Harry in the universe on deviant art is sublimely perfect.

This chap is going to buy it by the end of the year, I can tell...
Probably will go out with a whimper too, not a bang.

Whoever the dude is that called Harry a sociopath is being silly. I mean, Harry annoys me a lot of the time, he's kind of a jerk who thinks he's better than everyone else, but he also VERY OBVIOUSLY had morals and was capable of empathy and caring about others. It annoys me when people throw the word"sociopath" around; people should try doing some basic research before using words they don't understand.

At any rate, Harry isn't looking for people to admit defeat out that they aren'T as smart as he is; so he wants is for people to stop treating him as subhuman and acknowledge the truth of his intelligence, something I can relate to - I can't count all the times grownups have talked

*sniffs* Ah, secon-uh, third fathers.

harry is the sort to stay up late to conclusively prove wheather or not santa exists: im surpirsed that he didnt construct some sort of elaborate trap

I gotta make this quick, so I'll get to the point. Use of a Phillip K. Dick quote- 13 Watcher Points
Use of the word Perspicacious- 8 Watcher Points
Use of the Prisoners' Dilemma- 27 Watcher Points
HPMOR- Win

- The Watcher (the one with 3 favorite numbers)

I so want to see that spell.

That... is some gift. Quirell has come a long way to redeeming his canon selfs actions AND his own, and has earned my total respect. Even if some of his ideas are not so smart.

Quirrell is really friendly, that makes is so sad.

Wow, the last few paragraphs of this chapter were truly majestic. I could imagine it all in my head, and I love how Professor Quirrell snuck into Harry's house when he was asleep and gave him a present. It was almost like Santa Clause, and I have a feeling the tone was meant to evoke that conclusion in the reader based on this line:

It would have been nice if there had been a mysterious figure who entered your house in the night and brought you presents...
A chill went down Harry’s spine then.
An intimation of something dreadful approaching.
A creeping terror.
A sense of doom.
Harry sat bolt upright in bed.
He looked at the window.
“Professor QuirreIi? Harry shrieked very quietly.

That was also cute

A nice short little chapter.

Harry does need schooling when it comes to politics, so I'm glad to see he's starting to understand the game a bit more. Go, Professor Zombie! I mean, Quirrell! :P

...creeper stalker

I love that spell of starlight...

Do we ever get to know WHY Quirrell is basically a different character in this story? Why not just name him something else?

OK, if Harry is intelligent AT ALL, he would tell Dumbledore about this.

Quirrel is back to his creepy canonical self

I know that Quirrell did it for a good reason, but if someone enchanted my own parents, I'd view their actions as distasteful if not overtly aggressive. It *freaked me out* that Hermione cast a spell to make her own parents forget her, rather than telling them to go on extended holiday in Guam. In canon, people enchant Muggles left, right, and center, without thinking about what it means. You'd think that Hermione and Harry, both Muggle-raised, would be more leery about cavalierly taking away someone else's free will, just because of the society into which they were raised. (Or just because of their unmagical allele(s).)

-K

Aww. Happy smile.

Hi! I read your fic in french (and sorry for my english, which I don't speak very well) since quite a long time, but I've never let you a review before... And then, maybe two weeks ago, I finished the last chapter of the traduction of AdrienH and, this time, I needed to know what was going to happen then... That's why I started to - try to - read your story in english, and I realized I had never told you how nice this fiction is! Your style is really pleasant, your Harry learnt me lots of thing and, moreover, interested me in a lot of subjects, which is, I think, the best aspect of your story. Also, reading your story gave me back the will to write myself, in a moment where I was kind of discouraged, not really motivated, where I had no inspiration... I'd really like to develop more than that, but I don't know how to express how nice and funny the story and the charachters and the action and the rationality and everything are! I then wanted to thank you, thank you very much, and congratulations!

This and the previous have been my absolute favorite chapters so far. I've been enjoying HPMoR for quite a while, and it's kind of like reading the Feynman lectures on a collision course with Harry Potter, Biases and Heuristics, Godel, Escher, Bach, all on a computer screen and with the entirely unique component which is Eliezer's brain, which is hard and I should probably procure an E-book reader so I can better absorb the text. I absolutely love that this fic exists.

Basically, I can empathize with being a brilliant child and being not understood (quite literally, not in the damp and semi-sentimental way many young people mean it,) and being angry so often and that feeling right but in retrospect causing all sorts of chaos and bad action, and feeling about-to-cry when there is no reason except, you know, 155,000 deaths a day and all the rest. I feel like you're telling my story here, or parts of it that also show up in the global narrative of that experience. It's important to hear one's own story, out there, from other people, because being alone feels very frightening and being alone and marginalized is actually terrible.

Actually, the nonexistence of a slider-bar Silencing charm makes my world feel a small bit emptier. And this, well, this chapter is lovely, it feels like a small gift.

With regard to specifically this chapter: I have this meandering thought that you've perfectly captured what it looks and sounds like to wake up at night and see heavy snowfall outside. I enjoy the dynamic between Quirrell and Harry. I enjoy this chapter. There is not much more which is articulate which I can say.

I also like the HarryHermione dynamic, especially in the last chapter. There's a solidarity there which is really peaceful and kind. And of course, the way their parents totally fall into the "True Love and Marriage Choices are nascent between our eleven-year-olds!" frame of mind is reminiscent of Dumbledore and the rest of the Potterverse, it's amusing. :)

"It was almost midnight."

always a good start, way more ominous and dangerous-sounding than twilight

I love double meanings, thanks Ron for giving this a third

"and the Defense Professor had gone"

it reminds me of a story, but I can't remember which

very cute though

if your story were a book then this would have been a oneshot by a dedicated fan, the description would have said: "...because while he'd never been young enough to believe in Santa Claus, he'd once been young enough to doubt." a little bit of fluff for Christmas Eve; NOT slash

and the fanfic would have started with: a present for my dear friend CurlyWizardly, I'm glad I got this finished in time

Aww! I hope Quirrell isn't evil in this one.

(or my slow internet connection) wouldn't let me review the last chapter iirc, so this is for both 36 & 37~

Awesome and lovely chapters :3

I've read this far, and I would like to go ahead and review before I read any further.

This fan fic is absolutely wonderful, of course that goes without saying.

I would like to say that I like what you are doing with Ron, treating him just like one of the background students.

I also like how you are treating Harry and his friendships with Hermione and Draco, especially, but also his friendships with Neville and the Weasley twins. I'm looking forward to seeing how those relationships pan out.

On the topic of Lily, as that is clearly controversial, I think you hit the proverbial nail on the head. Lily and James never stood right with me in their treatment with Snape, and you very clearly showed me exactly what I was thinking.

Quirrell, though disappointingly supposed to be the bad guy, is still rather awesome in your story. His ideas tend to make a good deal of sense, even if they are rather dark by our current society's moral standards.

This fic is at it's best when Harry is spouting science, particularly social science which is my favorite kind, especially when the science corresponds to the story and not just random trivia.

We really must break Harry of thinking that a creeping sense of doom is a *good* thing... but awww, Quirrell.

That was a nice little chapter, it almost could have been part of the last one though. It was really short.

No comment on this chapter, just a belated thought about Harry's outburst at the Grangers.

If you had to boil down Harry's character to one essential moment, that would be it. There is a gaping black hole at the heart of him that will not be satisfied until *everyone* acknowledges that he's smarter than they are. It wasnt even about Hermione - it was the implied slight to the value of his own intellect that enraged him.

I have been hesitating to say it so far, but the Harry you have created is a sociopath to the core. I'm starting to really hate his guts again. Prisons were created for people who believe themselves superior to others and ought to be allowed to do whatever they please. Harry is capable of doing *anything* to preserve his sense of superiority, and it scares me, frankly, that you seem to be basing him on your own experience as a child prodigy.

'...he'd never been young enough to believe in Santa Claus, he'd once been young enough to doubt.'

I vowed for a while I would never lie to my kids about Santa. I now think I probably will, if only to feel like a secret agent as I sneak about :)

Professor Quirrell remains mysterious as always :)

Excellent chapter

Excellent chapter

It's chapters like this that make me wonder how it could ever be possible for Voldemort to lose. "Hey Harry, I know where you live and could probably kill you in your sleep. But instead I'm going to gain your trust and potentially pull a crazy Palpatine gambit to make you my new evil apprentice." The fact that Harry himself has no idea it's going on makes him kind of screwed.

Trying to get caught up on this...

So Quirrelmort can get past the wards on Privet Drive. Different ward scheme? Or is his parasite status not accounted for in Dumbledore's ward plans? Likely the latter, if this were a more canon-compliant universe; it's a very unusual condition, one Dumbledore would have no reason to suspect might obtain. But this Dumbledore is different than canon, along with Quirrel, so we are left at sea about what Quirrel can get away with.

Renumbering chapters does throw me off. Please try to avoid it.

Is it can be moar story tiem now plees?

Agh! Withdrawal symptoms!

Yo, homie! Keep up tha good work in da hood, man! This shit is tha hardest of tha core mothafuckah!

Wow Holy Cow :O This is incredible. My mind is practically blown, and I've been on the edge of my seat almost for pretty much the whole story :]

I love it. You're amazing. This is amazing, and I can't wait for more :P

Please tell me that this isn't going to turn into a Harry/Hermione romance. There are enough of those already, and Hermione is NOT the only intelligent female in Hogwarts - there's a whole HOUSE full of them in Ravenclaw.

This is one of the most fabulous stories I have read. Ever. Amazing! Can't wait for more. I'm so impressed with the real world theories and experiments you put into them, and by how different it all is from canon! Truly, this is magnificent. Thank you so much for writing.

Please, loverboy! Update for the sake of your gal!

i cant believe why peeps wuold read this stry in favor of other c00ler fix cuz it aint got nuthin on the real ting babe. hey i wrote a story once and its soooo likee beter then urs fag.

This is probably the most brilliant thing I've ever read. I am totally on Team 'Harry for Dark Lord' - or Light Lord. Whatever he deems prudent.

Dear Missy! If you have not noticed, it has been several days since your last update! I find this very disturbing, and I cannot settle before you have confirmed that you are not in any way in mortal danger, or in danger of becoming in mortal danger, or in danger of becoming in danger of becoming in immortal danger, and so on and soforth. In other words: Give us a sign that you are still alive and well! We are really worried for you, and I think you owe us an appology. After all, it's not unheard of that readers feel a stronger attachment to the author than the other way around, and I believe you should have thought of this before, Missy. Now that we've gotten that little bone out of the way, we can get on to the real review: tis stry izz likee super awesome and stuff!

This story is to the original _Harry Potter_ as _Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead_ is to the original _Hamlet_: more entertaining, more satisfying, snappier to read, more enlightening, and just generally more fun. In other words, you rival Tom Stoppard. You're my hero for writing this. Thank you.

An amazingly detailed look into a whole array of areas I would not expect from a piece of fan fiction. You, sir, are a very smart person and an amazing writer. I hope to see more from you in the future.

Also, quite an impressive and believable look into the mind of a genius. Quite inspiring.

I just keep expecting him to find some universal constant or rossetta stone to unlock and explain to idiocy of magic.

I am very confused by Quirrel, I cant quite decide what his game is...

good chapter.

There's a question that Harry hasn't asked that he really, really, should have: does the starlight spell break the ftl barrier for informaiton transmission?

I love this story. You bring up a lot of the stuff that somehow gave me irks when reading the books. E.g. Transfiguration. Your rules for liquids and gases. Also the breakdown of transfiguration step by step to the quark level. I was always wondering how they changed sizes of stuff during transfigurations without e.g. also changing the density of matter itself.

And there are so many priceless scenes in this story. The battles step by step from hilarious scene to hilarious scene without missing a beat, every word fits, every sentence conveys something. Lovely.

And Hermione and the bats ... Oogely boogely with the timing of 3-2-1. I couldn't help but had to try that myself. So I took my wand which is red paint with a core of white pine (in other words: a chopstick :D), stood in the kitchen with my wand firmly pointed in the air, speaking with purpose and solemnity over and over that spell, trying to get the timing correct. Of course, no bats. Probably because ... I was giggling too much. Otherwise it of course would have worked! Certainly yes! Ahem... :D

Your story is just awesome. And I love all scenes with Professor Quirrel. In the first book he represented a "certain character", so we should probably watch his actions. He is such a powerful and intense character in your story. So much better than in canon. It must be fun to be in his DADA class. He sounds both good and evil. And he has all good reasons for his evil. They are so good, that he sounds almost good. And that makes him very evil. :D

Thank you for this lovely story. Please continue with it. And have fun at the conference!

Both are excellent chapters

Dear Eliezer,

We love you.

Marry us along with Harry, Quirrell and the time turner?

We're your biggest fans for a relative value of biggest,

Yours,

Us. (Who are perhaps slightly obsessive fan[girlsboys]).

I wanted to say thank you for writing this series. If magic were real and I were aware of this, many of the things Harry has done I would have done myself; something I fervently wish I could.

Also I have learned much from this and hope to learn even more which again I thank you for. I can't wait to see what happens next.

This is one of the most confusing stories I have ever read. Maybe that's why I like it. Maybe it would make more sense if I ever re-read it. Anyway, continue onwards!

(\/)

( . .)

c(")(")

BUNNY

I have really enjoyed this story so far, such exellent writing. I have discovered a new intrest in science. I can't wait for the next chapter.

Voldemort, even this Voldemort, strikes me as the kind of guy who needs to put narrative to catastrophe. Despite his obvious brilliance, I suspect part of his attraction to Harry is that he believes he was struck down at the height of his power for a reason. I like how he styles himself as a benevolent dictator, and is willing to spend significant time and effort molding Harry so that when the time comes, he's ready to win the war the way Voldemort would want it won. Course, Voldemort being Voldemort, this is just a backup plan, no doubt he fully expects to win. Still, any man who makes seven horcruxes is a man who is willing to make contingency plans.

It is a bit creepy that Quirrel broke into his house, even if to apologize. Nice chapter all the same.

I must say - this isn't as enjoyable as it was pre ch. 20. Before that it was hilarious and nicely thought-provoking. Chapter 20 - 30 was very fun too. But 34 to 37 it has really hasn't been so enjoyable as it was before. the hilariousness of teh first thirty or so chapters is what has kept me here.

Great fanfic.

Delayed review, finally incoming.

More self-stealing is always fun, no? Still, did our dear Professor Quirrell have any investment suggestions to offer? I don't think anything was mentioned, but maybe those two talked about it, while subtly subduing the Christmas spirit.

Phone books are a frightening prospect, really. And that's not only when you consider dark lords looking you up.

I also have to say, disregarding the danger of saying what was said by other before me, that the interaction between Hermione and Harry was indeed quite wonderful. Thanks for writing that.

As always, great work. For now, I wish good luck for that certain summit... and please update soon anyway.

*sniffs*

That was beautiful. Thank you.

Oh, and thanks for that fact about time machines and antimatter. I was actually writing a paper on time travel recently.

Good luck at your conference.

I like this story very much. usually long story with gen rate bore me, but this not.

I had such a great time reading this. laugh so much that my face hurt. Thank you very much for your story.

You interest me so much. SO much.

I'm not even upset that you're trying to subliminally educate me through the art of Harry Pottering. In fact, i have since wandered off and continued to educate myself after reading the entirety of your story three chapters ago (but i didnt review, then, because i was too busy educating myself. Less Wrong is also a blog, you say? Innteresting..)

You write very, very well. Like, WHOO OMIGOSH well. The first few chapters of your story were interesting in content but not so amazingly strung together, i have to say, but once you got into the swing of things (and we bypassed a small phase in which you theorized at us more than you story-told) it all smoothed out. And anyway i didnt mind being theorized at a little. Even if it DID make me look up what Bayes' theorem was, and then try to read through something that claimed to be a 'gentle introduction' to Bayes' theorem, and then have my brain explode outwards through my ears messily when all that pesky maths tried to sneak in through an unguarded section of my skull. I am a designer - i believe that statement is pretty self explanatory. I'll leave it to you to decide how well i mesh with even the simplest of mathematics. (Though i like to hope that i at least understood the theory behind the practice and how it's supposed to be applied, i think. Maybe.)

But that, too, is okay i guess. At least i now know what it is that i dont know. And that's better than not knowing at all, isnt it?

Anyway, moving on. I am loving your characters, ESPECIALLY with this weird fantastic thing you've done to the previously boring Quirrell - as i'm sure most of your readers would agree. He's extremely dynamic and i guarantee we're all sitting here reading about him and feeling vaguely guilty for sympathising with Voldemort. But only vaguely. I personally try to read through some aspects of your story (such as the Quirrell aspect) as if i've never read Harry Potter before. I have a feeling like this might actually leave me feeling less surprised at the end of this. Stop expecting to see something, and you might actually see whats there, right?

I have no idea where you're going with this story, and this excites me to no end. You have excellent characterisation, an EXTREMELY excellent sense of humor and timing, and your Harry is so Super Special Awesome Cute sometimes, that i could just lock him in a little cage and keep him in my room indefinitely.

Not to mention that all this rationality babble is . . with a capital EVERYTHING. I wonder how many doe-eyed, innocent fanpoodles have been sucked in by your story and accidentally converted to the art of Not Being Too Much of an Idiot? I at least like to hope that by the time you finish this, i'll be able to walk away and truthfully claim that i'm at least a Logical dumbass. I may not know much, but education via magical elves and sparkly ponies is better than education via learning. I almost feel like i'm sneaking into some lecture by some awesome professor guy, taking notes in a shady corner and not paying for it.

Honestly, this story WINS. I cant decide what thrills me more; the awesomeness of the writing, the INTERESTINGNESS of what's being written, or Harry's sparkly throne.

All i can say is OMIGOSH WHOO. LIKE, TOTALLY WHOO. FOR REALZ.

YEAH.

"And it did take considerable effort to cross the wards that the Headmaster put around this house"- What's this, Quirrel stretching the truth? The wards are to protect against any who would wish Harry or his family harm and are bound in blood through the protection Harry's mother left him... if Quirrel wished any harm, considerable effort or no he would have been unable to cross them...

Clearly he had no such wish and would have simply crossed them without any 'effort' as many have done before- Harry's friends, Lupin, Arthur Weasley, Tonks, Moody, Hagrid, McGonagall etc.

Awesome chapter...awesome story.

Great work!

I Love You. The well thought out plot-line; the thoroughly researched science; the bright, charming, complex, flawed, REAL characters; the way everything was changed, but in a deliberate, Consistent manner (the sign of a truly great AU Artist). Everything. The witty banter and clever words drew me in. When you started dropping hints about Armies, I totally geeked out when you chose Dragon. It was weird because I was reading and trying to apply Draco's tactics to "Dragon" when Harry was over to the side, Dragon in everything but name (a little mind boggling). Harry's comment in the woods probably would have settled it for me and I would have sqeee-d in contentment. But as soon as you mentioned an underwater battle. Woah. That whole chapter. I practically had a conniption! No Kidding (I got some weird looks from my family). There's so much going on! I don't know what to think! Luckily, I pretty quickly realized that trying to apply canon plots and ideas was useless. Should I still worry about Quirrell? What about the Mysteriously Misguided Benefactor? Or Draco? Or even Harry's Experiments! Gahh! Sooo confused...but that's ok, 'cuz this is Fantasy...Right?

:) DuskUmbrella

TL;DR: You're the best. I like Ender's Game and your writing. Keep it Up (Please) :D

these few chapters were good. but it's often better to leave a break between them and save them for later.

:)

Indi

That's... that's so sweet. Harry being the first to receive a Christmas gift from Voldemort. He's such a sympathetic character now that it's going to tear me apart to see Harry and he on different sides. 6/5.

wow. i am starting to REALLY like professor quirrell. even if he is voldemort (which i am sitll not sure of at the moment), i do believe he is my favorite character in this story...!

One of the most absurd things for me about reading this Fanfic, is that it pretty much mirrors how I would imagine my own encounter with the Hogwarts universe, minus a good bit of cognitive ability. Just based on the references, you can see that Harry's Genre Savviness is defined by Anime like death note, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and others, science fiction including enders game and the star wars expanded universe, game theory, and an interest in computer science. if he was around in the 21st century, I would not be surprised if harry regularly read through TV tropes, and this actually makes him the most relatable character I have ever read about. It would be lying to say this is how I would act if I had gone to Hogwarts when I was 11, in spite of shared interests. However, if my seventeen-year-old self were in Hogwarts, I honestly would not be suprised to see things play out like this. (BTW, they do seem to reference series that do not exist yet surprisingly often in this story... a malfunctioning time turner incident, I assume? maybe harry should not have relaxed about them so quickly...)

Too many characters (no matter how intelligent they supposedly are) behave like complete morons most of the time, so that the author can easily pull together a coherent plot without the trouble of coordinating the lives of dozens of rational beings. but this story almost completely surpasses that. All i can say is, please continues updating.

Also, I think I figured out Fred and Georges plot... are you ever going to give a final explanation of it? I would really like to know if i got it right...

There are no words that can adequately express the combined awesomeness of all these chapters. I'm just reviewing so I stop checking on your profile every single hour in hopes you've updated this fabulous story.

very very interesting. more please

Wow. So much for the blood wards! Harry's in for one nasty shock when Quirrel is outed.

This last chapter reminds me of _Prince of the Dark Kingdom_ (the scene where Voldemort shows Harry old magic in a pagan ritual over Christmas - book 2 chapter 18). Very nice.

Absolutely fabulous.

I've been reading this story since very early on, so I'm sorry for not reviewing earlier. The two most recent chapters show your ability to write emotions quite beautifully, not just plotting and humor. The fic (I don't even want to call it a fic, it's too good) has sent me reaching out for my copy of Machiavelli's The Prince more times than I can count, as well as to the website Less Wrong. I'll own up to being a bit of a plotter all along, but now you've got me hooked on rationality and deductive logic. So I just wanted to give a belated thanks to you for writing such a fic, and let you know that it's not only enjoyable but opening new doors to others who had never heard of such things before (I've ruminated on what I now know to be fundamental attribution error for quite some time). Thank you! Keep writing!

Great updates, I can't wait to read more! Keep up the good work. Thanks for writing!

Interesting Christmas, I can't wait to see what happens when Harry returns to Hogwarts.

While the dinner with Hermione was a nice bit of fluff, his meeting with Quirrell was profoundly chilling in many ways.

Just one quick question I would like if you could answer in one of your Author's Notes:

Is this story going to be a One-Year fic, a Seven-Year fic, or are you just going along with the flow and see where you end up?

I would appreciate if you could take the time to answer this, even if your answer isn't definite.

Aiee! I hate Quirrel. I hate him because he is turning out to have so much more depth, more cunning, more color, more gravitas than anyone else that I have to remind myself who is the nice guy here. If Harry's Tom Cruise does not step up soon, he runs the risk of Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owen Davian outshining him.

What supreme feat of intelligence or bravery or compassion must the hero perform in what monumental confrontation he will have to have with his arch-nemesis in order for his character to put out a performance as captivating as that given by the villain so far?

Whatever further contortions the plot takes, it is safe to say we have seen one of the richest portrayals ever of the cunning anti-hero.

* * *

Hope for fluffy goodness is not lost. The 'Hey, no kissing' line is a sweet humorous touch in just the right place; much welcome after so many chapters of thick plotting.

It seems like there are two ways to go when comparing the wizarding world to the mundane world. Either the wizarding world is hopelessly out of date with mundane advancements, and suffers the lack of a host of knowledge in such areas as astronomy, medicine, civil rights, etc. Or, the wizarding world ignores these things because they have had, for centuries, spells and enchantments that far surpass anything the mundane world has, indeed the mundanes are merely playing catch up.

However, you appear to have mixed these two possibilities, leaving the wizarding world woefully behind in the areas of logic and scientific thought, yet more advanced in terms of medicine (if only because of their innate hardiness), general cleanliness, and convenience (Harry's observation about the motion sensitive light, for example). On reflection, this seems like a more reasonable middle ground than either of the two extremes I've encountered before.

I felt overtones of Flowers for Algernon in Harry's return to the mundane world; he realized that he had left his old world behind for one of infinitely more possibilities, only to return to the old world aware of its deficiencies, and what he was losing. Thankfully Harry's story will have a happier ending, since he will return to his world of possibilities. Perhaps, in the fullness of time, we will see Harry integrate both worlds, raising both to heights previously unimaginable. Thanks for writing!

i LOVE Quirrell.

Yep I'm creeped out by your Quirelvort...sneaking into little boys rooms is hard to pass off.

~Tobang

Great couple chapters. Loved the Hermione/Harry interaction, as well as with her parents.

I figure Quirrell is still possessed by Voldemort, but I'm wondering of the extent. Could their personalities be blending, some of Quirrell's original drive to be a teacher rubbing off on Voldemort, if Voldemort is carefully manipulating Harry into where he wants him, or if, crazily enough, Voldemort actually feels he's doing Harry a service/feels connected with him?

I don't know, but I'm eager to find out.

I never really considered it before; but I'm now wondering if you are planning to redeem Voldemort in this story. Usually redemption in this fandom is reserved for characters like the Malfoys in this fandom. Voldemort is more commonly portrayed as the personification of evil itself and therefore irredeemable. I have read stories where Voldemort is considered right all along and/or that he is a victim of propaganda (those usually make me feel uncomfortable.) but I can't recall anyone attempting a story where he is considered evil in that universe and then is redeemed. There was maybe one or two where he is reraised from infancy to just not be Voldemort; but then again, those probably don't count. I once imagined a scenario where he might be partially redeemed in canon, but that didn't play out. JKR in general, proved to be a bit resistant to the idea of redemption IMO. I don't know if that's where you are going at all or if Voldemort is just attempting to manipulate Harry back into his fold after realizing he was losing him bit. Either way, their relationship sure is interesting!

I'm going to say this before I say anything else: I very rarely review any sort of fanfiction. I am fairly certain this is something you hear a lot. It would seem that your story is beautiful enough that I (and many others) can not avoid mentioning to you how well you do that voodoo you do.

/David Bowie

I just want to thank you for the story you have written, not from a fanfiction standpoint or even from a Harry Potter OMGILOVEHIMWTF place. I want to thank you for the purity with which you write, and the goddamned science. I love science. My husband and I are science junkies, even if my eyes cross when he talks about physics for long periods of time.

So thank you for the effort and the time; thank you for something that brightens my saturdays after 10 hours of work so very much.

All three great chapters. I thought the battles were good too, but you seemed to enjoy writing these new ones more.

I could be remembering wrongly, but in canon wasn't Harry safe because there was magical protection from him living with relatives? I didn't think it was because no one knew where he was. The protection ended when he moved out of the house permanently (beginning of book 7), so that's when he was attacked.

Quirrelmort as Santa. Very nice.

This is the single most utterly confusing story I have ever read, and yet I find I can't stop reading it :D Keep up the good work!

Yeah, that was a little creepy. I'm still waiting to discover what Quirrel's deal is, and where Voldemort has inserted his meddling spectral hand in the whole mess.

Harry is very cute, and Quirrel is very scary, so I suppose all is well with the world. It's nice to see Harry and Hermione as kids again after seeing them as generals.

Are you sure Quirrell is, or was, a dark lord?

He seems to subscribe more to the benevolent dictators list than the evil overlord list.

That last chapter was very cute.

I'm greatly enjoying this story. I'll admit that at times it sends my mind spinning of into the abyss, but still an enjoyable story. At times I find myself laughing uncontrollably, especially at certain author's notes. Thank you for your time and this story.

Always brightens my day to see an update. And poor Hermione! :(

It really must be a beautiful sight that spell. I wish i could see it in real life.

Now I'm curious.

Great I love your story!

I like this story. I am wondering how much more canon will change, and how quickly. Harry still has character faults, rather large ones in some cases, and this makes for good writing.

I don't know much about science, but I still love this fan fic. Quirrell is creepy though.

One question. Wouldn't Quirrel's spells set off the Ministry's magic detectors like Dobby's did in canon?

Can somebody explain what just happened? Voldemort/Quirrell went to Harry's house and showed him the stars?

That's cool.

and dare I say it, Nice of Quirrell.

Finally, someone else understands to true horror and spinechilling creepiness of Santa.

This is so lovely~~ Haha, Quirrell coming as a sort-of Santa...it's nice that they were able to make up here. And the previous chapter's cheek kiss is so great! The reactions afterward are just precious. Please write more soon!

~fd97

Professor Quirrel seriously freaks me out.

Also, as a member of fanfictioners against world hunger, I have just donated 1500 grains of rice (for free) by playing at freerice dot com. To learn more about the group, go to Gryffindor777's profile. If you would like to join the group, send him a message.

okay, i really like your story! and it seems you decided to go on the creepy part in this chapter eh? i swear i would have probably got a heart attack if i was in Harry's place...

I do wonder how their relationship would end... i think a super nova explosion would be more peaceful...

oh and i adored the HHr moment in the previous chapter! those two are adorable and i can't wait to see what is going to be in their future! (lol, i even more want to see Ginny's reaction, that would be pure gold)

i also like how you show what thought's parent's probably should have in the book...logic didn't really prevail in J.K books...

you are really an amazing writer! i hope you will keep up with your excellent work!

Three new chapters! What a lovely birthday gift for me today. :) Great job!

It's a brilliant story! I love it very much, though some things confuse me. Like, what about Pettigrew - where is he? Or what is going on with Professor Quirrel? Draco's characterization is awesome. Well, all of them are awesome:) I wonder how Sirius is going to react to Harry, though. Personally, I think he will be horrified.

It makes me wonder, though, how come I easily understand all those concepts - even physics ones - but had so much trouble with the same physics in school...

o.o Kind of creepy. Thanks for the updates. :D

D'aww. So sweet. And kind of creepy.

CREEPY. Creepy creepy creepy. Scary. Now I definitely question whether Harry's parents are going to make it through this story alive and unharmed.

Quirrel's really excellent at planting the seeds of doubt.

owling him a magically triggered hand grenade.

at last somebody else's realised it as soon as I heard of the concept of owling mail I would've killed my enemies no magical spell would detect it in many stories you always have them using spell check for any harmful magic but making the owl Swallow

c4 and when the maill goes separated BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

No more stupid wizard it wouldn't be in the mail it would be in the stupid bird

I did find it quite funny that Tom Riddle didn't just give the Dursley's a phone call and persuade them to bring him Potter or magically control the police and make them pursue Harry Potter

I presume then bit of magic Quirrell did to see the space was basically was what the distant satellite could see or otherwise he could see any part of the planet or anywhere in existence

you might have already sad it was but there's so much wonderful stuff in this story I cannot keep track of it all or even half of it

Best story of 2010 have fun at that conference of yours I did find it on Google

good chapter.

Very Nice chapters.

I am quite creeped out by the Quirrell appearance at Harry's house. Of course, it also makes perfect logical sense that all Voldemort would have had to do is look up the Dursleys in a phone book after possibly doing a little bit of research to locate Lily's Muggle relatives' names. It really is too bad that Rowling didn't consider rational ideas, but then, this is what this fanfic is for.

Your writing style really forces you to think hard to be able to understand most of the subtle things that happens in your story.

Usually, it's a matter of having a stupid author who hasn't really thought his story through. I think that in this case, though, it's more a matter of the writer being ingenious. :P

I really wonder where you're going with the Harry/Quirrel relationship.

Oh thanks for the new chapters! I loved all of them. The manipulation and christmas dinners and Prof. Quirrell sneaking in the middle of the night- creepy - all were brilliant scenes. Thanks so much for the new chapters!

-curledruler

Nice.

Those few chapters were really good. I'm still confused about Professor Quirrell- now more than ever- but I'm also even more excited for the next chapter than ever.

I really can't wait to find out whether Quirrell is a smarter version of Voldemort or actually his own character or what he has in store. This is great.