Harry Potter and the Mind - TV Tropes
- ️Sun Jul 14 2024
Harry Potter and the Mind
is a finished Potterverse Dark Fic written by Overdog in 2012.
After the events of The Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter lies broken (both mentally and physically) on the floor of Number 4 Privet Drive. With no help coming, he manages to heal himself with a mix of accidental and wandless magic. By the time he returns to Hogwarts, his trust in adults and authority figures is absolutely shattered.
Tropes:
- Cop Hater: Harry's musings in the narration reveal that after his experiences in both the wizarding and muggle worlds, he's reached the conclusion that cops are either government-endorsed bullies or incompetent dundearheads. As a result, he's none too fond of Aurors.
- Dark Fic: Harry reaches his psychological breaking point after the compounded trauma of Cedric getting murdered and the Dursleys' abuse escalating. He becomes a merciless Anti-Hero willing to murder his way through victory.
- Dirty Cop: Harry has a rather cynical view of law enforcement in general, as he states that other than a few starry-eyed youngsters thinking they can change the world for the better, the people who chose that career tend to be schoolyard bullies all grown-up and/or lazy assholes who seek an easy job in which they can go on power trips and generally harass the population.
- Downer Beginning: The fic starts with Harry lying beaten on the floor of Privet Drive, musing on all the abuse he's endured at the hands of both his muggle relatives and authority figures in the wizarding world. It gets so bad that the only one who responds to his cry for help is Dobby. He then proceeds to spend several days unconscious as a Healer nurses him back to health.
- Feel No Pain: Downplayed. Due to the savage beating down he's received from his uncle, Harry's mind gets detached from reality enough to not feel pain anymore so long as he isn't experiencing an intense emotion such as anger. It's heavily implied there's magic involved in the process, as just before developing that ability, he starts seeing his own magical aura.
- Friend to All Children: Alastor Moody is described as "little children saw through the crust and thought him wonderful—mostly because he talked to them as equals and took them seriously when other adults dismissed them".
- Least Is First: The only one who responds to Harry's cries for help is Dobby, a free House Elf. Neither the members of the Order of the Phoenix nor Harry's friends and godfather do anything. If we disregard that the latter are aware that the events at Little Hangleton's cemetery were traumatic to Harry, they might be excused for not knowing what was going on. The former, however, were in constant rotation to keep an eye on Harry and them not noticing that his Uncle nearly beat him to death is either incompetence or neglect. Dobby, on the other hand, ensures Harry is treated by a Healer even though he's not the boy's bonded elf.
- Polyamory: Harry engages in a consensual relationship with both Luna and Hermione because he feels he loves both of them equally. The girls remain close friends, though, and are not attracted romantically.
- Suspiciously Idle Officers: While the Order of Phoenix was formed to oppose Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the fact it counts Aurors in its ranks makes said members fall squarely into this trope. Tonks and Shacklebolt are indeed told to maintain their positions, they are shown willing to bend the rules and not do their jobs properly if an Order member is involved. When Harry calls Aurors to arrest Snape for assaulting him, Tonks and Shacklebolt are implied to only be making a show out of it, as they'd rather question Harry where the hell he's been instead of apprehending Snape. Also, Harry has to quote-unquote remind them they ought to put anti-Apparition manacles on their detainee.