Blessed be the mighty Yak!

Black Luminary is a work in progress.

First book: Houses Divided

Second book: A Veil of Darkness

Third book: Memory Lane

FAQ

Greetings!

Since I will spend most of my time on Black Luminary, I will use this space to clarify a few points and answer general questions that may arise concerning my fiction.

Dark themes

This fiction will incorporate seriously dark themes, mature topics, and graphic descriptions. I try to keep things tasteful, but if you have a strong aversion to such things - you have been warned. The first few chapters are a very light read, but you should consider them a climb before the drop.

Pacing

This work is being written with the clear intention of seeing all years through. That, however, also means that I will have to establish a firm base to build upon. The first book, Houses Divided, is a result of my efforts to bring several rather peculiar characters together, and, therefore, it heavily emphasises character development and world building. I am quite aware that the story might seem 'airy' at times, especially between chapter 9 and 15. Still, considering that the final work will contain probably at least 750k words, it's nothing, really, but a drop in the ocean.

Romance

Romance will certainly play a part, though this is by no means a love story. However, I do not see the need to reveal with whom Harry will end up eventually. Once the story is finished, I'll probably add a tag, but not before. If you only read stories for pairings, I'm not entirely sure you'll be happy with this one.

Regarding canon and Fandom knowledge

Though I doubt there will be (m)any people out there who have yet to read the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, I have elected to give a fair warning: I deliberately play with some expectations the typical reader of Harry Potter may hold and/or some clichés typically associated with fanfictions. I consider this a virtue that helps me keep things interesting, but I know some people can be obsessive about deviations.

Composite AU

Black Luminary is obviously an AU. However, I consider it rather close to canon with three major points of divergence that concern Grindelwald, Dumbledore, and Harry.
Nevertheless, I change things here and there because, let's face it, canon has some unsatisfactory elements.

Dropping the fairy tale

I was unsure how to label this point, but let me try to explain. As Harry ages in the original works, the style of writing changes progressively. This shift is fairly obvious, even without directly comparing the first and the last books of the series. Yet while the themes mature and the content does become slightly more diverse, several topoi already rooted within the story cannot be removed anymore later on. This is especially evident if you have a look at the morality of the story.

In particular, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone sets a tone and atmosphere in which the striking contrasts of 'light - dark', 'poor - rich', 'empathy - apathy' and even 'wisdom - ambition' do not rattle the cage. To moralise a story is an inherent characteristic of fairy tales, so one may argue that tone and themes fit together.

Even when Rowling enlarges her universe with the later books, the moral foundation stays the same. The result is a fairy story with somewhat mature themes, but it is still exactly this: a fairy tale.

The contrasts remain between light and dark. The sublimation of certain characters is striking evidence for the continuation of this paradigm; the absolution of Snape's (and to a certain extent Malfoy's) character illustrate how a character shifts from one category to the other.

To me, this has always been one of the unsatisfactory parts of the series. It felt like enlargening the house without buying furniture. I have trouble finding credibility in characters that fail to pick the optimal course of action from their perspective just because they have to stay 'evil', contrasting the protagonist. Therefore, this fiction will feature authentic characters with their own agenda, personality, weaknesses, strengths, views et cetera. There will at no point in time be 'good' and 'evil' (though the reader may have trouble approving certain actions).

In short, expect no cartoonishly bad antagonist – or the innocent hero.

Balancing

I have taken great strides in ensuring that the setting and story retains balanced characters, especially in terms of (magical) power. I am quite content with the results.

Even if you have the impression that Harry is fairly strong at the beginning, let me put your concerns to rest; don't worry. The average level of competency will also not change drastically in comparison to canon, though I tried to make it somewhat more realistic. Aurors aren't a joke, school children are mostly just that, etc.

Additional lore

I have been forced to expand upon certain aspects of magical theory to keep up with some points of the story. The story will not get lost in explanations, but at times there will be remarks of characters regarding e.g. certain spells.

Consequently, especially to remain in tune with my own standard of dropping the fairy tale, the Dark Arts have been reworked to make them more interesting and 'realistic'.

I will, however, not incorporate many of the, quite frankly, bad fandom assumptions when it comes to magic. Magical cores of witches and wizards, permanent magic flaring – I really don't buy into any of that.

Note (not that it helps)

All thanks and credit to J.K. Rowling for allowing me to play in her personal garden of imagination. Please do support her official works.