This story is amazing!

Uh, the School of the Bear is based in Amell, at Haern Caduch. Kaer Almhult was never the base for any Witcher School.

Gaunter o dim really is probably next to geralt my favourite character in the witcher well played

Man, I forgot how much I missed this. The camaraderie between Harry and Cedric is so good. The descriptions are so good. After watching the Witcher and playing the wild hunt again, I'm glad you're bringing something new and exciting.

If she had read my mind, I would have killed her right then and there.

Awesome chapter and awesome arc!

I never really felt sympathetic for the non-humans in the witcher series. Games and novels alike. Ignoring the fact the humans, for all they are said to be bigoted assholes who are hateful of outsiders, are portrayed as largely not caring about your race or whatever and just living normal lives.

If anything, they seem to generally treat non-humans (except witchers, but those are made like various horrors so...) better than Civil Rights era American whites treated blacks. Probably because part of the racism against blacks was based on blacks coming from primitive societies. The races of the witcher universe are mostly advanced, so that difference and disdain from it is missing.

The non-humans, however, seem to be largely bigoted assholes who are surprised and offended when humans don’t take well to their shit. Like when elves murder a village and play victim when more humans show up to kill them “for no reason at all” or when dwarves swindle humans due to their great greed and think themselves victims when the humans get pissed about it.

Let’s all not forget that the species that don’t shit on humans are either ignored, on peaceful terms with humans (I think Nereids and Naiads are the only ones for the most part), or are actively protected by humans (the lizard people whom I think are extinct were, IIRC, protected). Yet, elves and dwarves think that somehow they’re just special exceptions? Yeah, sure. And the Wild Hunt totally isn’t an example of how the elven empires used to behave (sarcasm alert!).

I think I'll refrain from commenting on characterization, as I would simply be repeating myself, and you have your own ideas on how Harry and Hermione should act and interact, with pertinent plans for their AU past and future that I'm obviously not privy to. I'll try to make up for it with the rest of my thoughts.

There were several funny lines this time around ('skinflint'). The bit where Harry nonchalantly helps himself to the thugs' meal was amusing and fitting of him. I liked to feel the easy camaraderie (for the most part) between Harry and Hermione on this little investigation. It's ever clearer that Harry's got bitter feelings toward his parents and his lot in life. It makes me wonder about his relationship with Sirius, and that of Sirius with his parents; how much (or little) does Harry really understand about them? I look forward to reading more on it.

It seems the thieves had it all planned out. The implication at the end about Harry's own theory seems likely to be that Cornelius had colluded with the thieves and been double-crossed. This leads me to think it was Lucius Malfoy, possibly with his son. The large bribe paid to the thugs indicates comfortable wealth and perhaps a lack of 'street smarts' in trusting such people to hold to their word. I wonder what the scope of their plans are. What are the limits of djinn?

A great chapter as usual, but if I would suggest something to consider, it would be that the entire investigation felt too quick and easy. I would have liked to see the witcher-detective angle played into more heavily, a more obscure trail necessitating more keen observation and leaps of deduction akin to that moment on the beach where Harry reasons the direction and method of the thieves' escape. There are two things which don't make sense to me, though I've likely missed something; I don't understand how Harry immediately correlates the scent of food spices to the thieves, or how he extrapolates from tracks on the beach that there had been two men in the office (it would have made more sense for Harry to realize this inside the room, in my opinion). I'd have enjoyed a bit more in the way of environmental description in a few spots as well, but that's me.

Till the next!

Here we are again, another fine chapter! I really like how your writing embodies the advice you gave me before; concise and effective, laid in with further details to notice in the contexts beneath the surface (and fail to notice, in my case).

I continue to appreciate your background citizenry characters, that exchange with the innkeep at the end of the first scene was amusing. Nice tidbit to add with Harry hearing what I assume is Viktor's heart rate picking up on being addressed by Hermione? I realize this very likely hasn't/won't happen, but I think it'd be a neat subversion if Viktor did end up winning her over. He hasn't said much as of now, but he's still very entertaining in the way you write his mannerisms.

I like the way you write the introductory passages that transition us into different locales (this description of the market square, or the one of Oxenfurt in the previous chapter being examples). Those parts always manage to paint a nice, clear picture and simultaneously set a tone.

I was glad to have some light shed on Harry's feelings for his parents, I suppose I should have inferred that they didn't have the same manner of tragic death as canon, and were alive when Harry was taken. Harry's emotional distance from them makes more sense, especially in light of Sirius as an alternative father figure. I'm curious to know what else about the relationships of the 'Marauders' have changed . . . I don't imagine Remus is very well off in this universe. All in all, another fun episode. I'm wondering already which HP character might be this arc's antagonist, if any. Malfoy seems like an obvious guess, especially given one would expect someone of his social standing to be exactly at a prestigious university or somesuch institution.

On canonical character: No glaring issues that I can see, though I do have more suggestions/comments this time around. This may be an odd idea, but canon Harry did (I think) read quidditch/broom-flying/broom care related material for fun on occasion, and maybe that could be translated into an affinity for horses and riding (and related reading), thereby filling out their conversation a little more and providing a chance for development. Following that, where Hermione is 'very interested' in Harry's 'djinn' encounter, she didn't particularly show that, barely asking anything about the matter. Likely this is because based on Harry's initial answers she realizes it wasn't, in fact, a djinn, but I'd still expect her to pursue the tale a bit more for her desire for knowledge of a being she's almost certainly never heard tell of, rather than walking in silence. Hermione's ruthless streak came out well in her cowing of the guards thereafter. Given her sympathy for marginalized beings, indignance on Harry's behalf makes sense, so her initial 'I wasn't doing it for you' felt a little odd. Shortly following that is the teasing part about being a 'giant', a minor thing, but it's an example of a bit where I would have Hermione less playful, more businesslike, in general, at least until they're more familiar. I got a laugh out of the way Harry dismissed Dumbledore on the subject of his parents, that felt very much in character.

That's what comes to mind for now, until next time!

Alright, here goes! Sorry this came later than expected, I didn't have as much privacy as I thought I would this weekend.

Only two quick non-character related notes: I like the bodyguard Viktor Krum, that's pretty funny. (What on earth was he stepping forward for after Harry's initial refusal? Was he going to accost a witcher for something so benign?) Second thing, there's a bit of a jarring transition for me from when Hermione enters the inn to when she grabs the medallion, with no indication I could see that she had already closed the distance to Harry.

On the Harry/Hermione interaction: I've already mentioned Harry could be made a bit less curt in general until there's particular reason for it, and in my opinion, that reason would be the mind-reading in this instance. I feel Harry could've been more indignant there, especially in light of his family being possibly the most fraught subject to have been intruded upon (even peripherally, though who knows how deep Hermione could or would delve past his surname?), if the background is at all similar to canon there. Possibly it isn't, though, and he doesn't feel much at all for his parents, as the line says he has 'forsaken' the name, implying it was his choice to do so. There's also the 'calming feeling' being impressed on him, but it's a defining trait of Harry's to have strong enough will to throw off mental manipulation, as he appeared to have done there. But even regardless of those circumstances which may or may not be mitigating the anger I would expect, I personally think the mind-reading is treated a touch too casually by both parties, though I appreciate that Harry does call her out on this. I know that this is in part because, as you've said, you're emulating the Geralt/Yen dynamic, which I vaguely remember from the third game, and to be honest I wasn't thrilled with their relationship either, particularly Yen's utterly shameless thought-reading and the withholding of pertinent information until the last minute for no apparent reason. I could accept the mind-reading situation in the game easier, though, because it was clear they had known each other a long time and been through a lot, thus giving Geralt some measure of acceptance for this familiarity, but that isn't the case for Harry and Hermione here.

Regarding Hermione, she's obviously quite different in terms of appearance. She didn't bother about her looks in canon, partly because of the effort involved, but I think it's perfectly in character for her (and most people, besides) to perfect her looks with magic, like the incident with her teeth showcases. It feels like she has more social confidence here, which follows from having her ideal outward appearance coupled with mature adulthood. As I mentioned, the elf analogue for her muggle birth is a perfect idea, I hope to see this touched on. You've exhibited the essence of her well, I think: the most familiar part to me was after Harry's refusal, where her eyes 'flashed with the fervor of a merchant beginning the haggling process'; that readiness to tackle a challenge was very Hermione to me. The dialogue between them is very natural and flowing in general, and I particularly like their exchange immediately after the quote above. Harry doesn't think Hermione remembers him, but I'd bet anything she does.

I think that's all I've got now and sorry if it's a bit scatterbrained, I'm a little preoccupied today, but I hope this is of use.

This was a fun little chapter. From how I remember Geralt and Dandelion from the game, your portrayal matches perfectly well, and I could picture it all like a cutscene. It was nice to see this bit of interaction between them and Harry. I'll have to look back at this after I've read the books to better appreciate the references, though again, the contextual notes at the end are appreciated.

Good story have you ever thought of pairing Harry with Geralt? hope you update

What a surprise! I was following favorited stories from authors who'd written stories I'd enjoyed and stumbled across this. I read through all the current chapters then looked at the author name and thought to myself it sounded familiar.

To think you're the one who wrote King of Limbs, one of my favorite spy-type fanfics here. Always thought it was a shame that never continued, especially since it convinced me to finally watch Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy all those years ago but at least you're still writing.

I'm so glad that you updated again! I love your writing style, and every time I would go through my favorites and see this story I'd get bummed out that it was seemingly dead. I'm really excited to see where you go with everything, as I have very little experience with the books and the games.

Thank you for the update!

Man I love this story. I hope we see more of Hermione.