Wise One

(1) Becoming (Harry Potter)

By Unexpected Inspiration
Reviewed by Kathryn A on 31st January 2011 (3)
Tags: Novel, AU Divergent Timeline, Abusive Dursleys, Adoption
Characters: Harry Potter, Sirius Black
(536K)

Summary: When Sirius Black escapes Azkaban and 8-year-old Harry Potter disappears, the world is thrown into upheaval. What will Britain and Harry be without each other, and who will face the Dark? You only THINK you've read this before. I guarantee you haven't.

An intriguing what-if, with some nice wrinkles in it and some good original characters.

The characterisation of Sirius strikes a good balance. It acknowledges that he has to recover from Azkaban, but he still has strengths, too. This Harry is given encouragement and strong affection from Sirius, and his hunger for learning blossoms. He isn't a Super!Harry, thank goodness; the author understands that strengths can also be weaknesses.

We also see the effect that Harry's disappearance has on the other HP characters; some dramatic, some not so much. Harry may have a better (if peripatetic) life, but some people are worse off. In balance, this universe is simply different, neither better nor worse than canon.