While I think Hermione might have been the best for Harry in canon, that's just the best of a lot of bad choices in my eyes. In the books I didn't see her as actually thinking Harry as much of his own person. Biggest example was the Firebolt in PoA - she went behind his back and went to the Profs to tell them about a possibly jinxed broom from Black, didn't come to Harry about it, didn't tell him she thought it might be cursed. She just automatically made the decision that Harry isn't allowed to make his own decisions and did it for him. She does this throughout the series - another is the pressure she puts on him to run the DA by inviting far more than the "few people" she promised. She knew once it was that many and that big of a deal then he'd cave.
She doesn't care much for others either - jinxing the paper she had all the DA sign. Obliviating and relocating her parents, etc. Hermione does what Hermione wants and will roll over those in her way. Harry had enough of a life being beaten down by the Dursley's and at Hogwarts, I feel he should be with someone who lifts him up, not stamps him down. If anything Ginny is better because she'd elevate him on a pedestal and help him get over his utter lack of self-esteem and self-worth. Not as a fan-girl pedestal, but someone who thinks "Just Harry" is someone worthy of being devoted to. Harry wants to be "Just Harry" as if that's some normal nondescript thing that isn't anything special, Ginny could help show him that Harry is and always be special - not because of prophecies or hyphenated nicknames or public opinion, but because of his morals and his actions. He will always do what he can to save people, and he'll never stop trying to be a good guy.
And that, is special.

As for Ron always having Harry's loyalty here, I always hated that. "Ron was my first friend" as if that is any kind of justification. Honestly, who is really still close to their first friend? One out of a thousand people? Less than that?
You make friends, you lose friends, life moves on. Ron doesn't need to fill some permanent friend slot, Harry, and a lot of your problems stem from insisting that Ron is a friend of yours. He's famous as fuck etc., and somehow manages to only have two friends his entire life? There's lots of fics where they are deliberately driven away, but honestly with Ron's personality, eating habits etc., I could see a lot of people just not wanting to be around Ron / someone who would want to keep Ron around. Ron consistently displays no manners or tact at all, and there is a lot to be said for judging someone by the company they keep. If all you know of Harry is that Ron is his "best mate" . . . would you really go out of your way to befriend him?

As for giving to Voldemort - just because Harry used it to bring those he cared about back, I don't think it's stated that you actually have to use it for that. Voldemort could bring back people to learn magic from them or something.
Beyond that though, in complete privacy and secrecy, I can see Voldemort bringing his mother back to ask her some questions. Whether it's enough to drive him to suicide, is another matter.

What this points out to me is why Harry always goes back to the Dursley's. Here you have it as child abuse is par for the course, but in the books? He's Harry fucking Potter. He'd barely have to say anything and they'd remove him - so long as he doesn't keep telling Dumbydore and trying to have HIM remove him from the Dursley's. Harry, mate. Dumbledore is not your family, he's not your guardian, he isn't your protector. He is your headmaster. Why the fuck do you listen to him on everything and allow him to dictate your life?!

The oblivation part of things was nonsensical in its entirety anyway. Unless it is paired with legillimency it's useless to enforce the Statute. How many of those shut-in nosey neighbors that write everything they see out of the window while spying in a notebook/notebooks have seen magic happen? It doesn't matter that they were oblivated - they have written evidence of it. That HAS to cascade into more problems for the magicals, but legillimens are supposedly quite rare. How does that work?
'cause JKR says is does. 'nuff said.

The facade of calm isn't evidence of anything imo. You're forgetting, I think, that Dumbledore has been heavily involved in politics for 50 years, let alone whatever Mind Arts he could potentially be using. Dumbledore cultivates the all knowing persona and maintains it - regardless of if he knows anything. I think that conversation reads more as Dumbledore pulling it all out of his ass as he goes along. That's why he keeps interrupting Harry before Harry can question and poke any holes in what he says, and why he asks Harry leading questions and focuses him on his house and the cool badass sword than the whole "Voldemort is inside you" part of things.

I'm just glad you portrayed Hermione as the "Why the fuck do we keep giving you second chances?!" type here. I hated that in canon. Ron does this again and again - fourth year was brought up. Betrays Harry when he isn't popular, comes back without even apologizing after Harry is in the limelight again, suddenly is Harry's "thing you'll sorely miss," moreso than Hermione? Honestly when the four were described I wanted Harry to grab Hermione and complete the task. Let Krum be confused. If Dumbledore tries to say Harry grabbed the wrong hostage, Harry would just ask why the fuck he would miss Ron more than Hermione. While she isn't the best character and is far from perfect, a choice between the two? Ron should lose that every time.

You focus on the Order and Snape here, but I'd also point out that Hermione is depicted as the worst friend ever in this chapter - and it's why I never liked her as a character in the books.
"Honestly Ron, he's a teacher!" - Hermione, if you are the brightest witch of your age, all female magical users have to be mentally incompetent. It astounds me that Harry ever thought Hermione was even remotely intelligent.
Quirrell tried to kill Harry first year.
Lockhart tried to kill Harry second year (wiping him of all memories - "tragically lost your minds" counts as killing in my eyes.)
Lupin tried to kill Harry third year (he has been a werewolf for what, 35 years or so? It's the full moon and he ran outside after them without taking his potion. He let himself be around them whilst extremely dangerous and out of control.)
Barty Crouch/Moody tried to kill Harry fourth year.
Umbridge tried to use an unforgivable on Harry fifth year, as well as use veritaserum on him and countless other children, blood quill as well. Snape was torturing and mind raping him this whole year as well.
Honestly, teacher at Hogwarts, and trusted by Dumbledore sounds to me like RESOUNDING bad reviews. And Hermione thinks it is a justification to trust Snape? Assuming no memory charms etc., I can't see Hermione as anything other than unintelligent. High functioning autism maybe? Smart in some ways, knows a lot of stuff, but more idiotic than any other character in the books in others?

The Harry Potter books are predicated on the complete lack of cameras being a thing - besides single shots. As well as isolationism as a concept. Nevermind that Harry should have fled Hogwarts and Britain itself ages ago, bringing in help from outside? Well, the Supreme-Mugwump of the entire fucking world's worth of magicals doesn't want to. The literal leader of the entire world's magicals thinks this is a Britain-only problem.
And isn't it a good thing he was write? God forbid Voldemort hide a Horcrux in Bolivia. They were all nice and close by.

Personally I never thought Snape was redeemed at all. The seventh book was full of characters that Rowling suddenly flipped over and made entirely different. Suddenly, Malfoys are repentant good guys. Snape a good guy all along! . . . nevermind the evidence of the entire 6 previous books that says otherwise. Author says good guy therefore fact takes a back seat. Molly suddenly turns from dotty housewife into single handedly killing Bellatrix with seeming ease. Harry turns from fighting for his life at every chance to suicidal depressed teen. And so on. The seventh book read to me as her just writing the ended she wanted, nevermind what the road leading up to that ending was like. She strongarmed things to be how she wanted because the author gets to play god and ignore concepts like cause and effect and free will. They happened because JKR said so, not because they actually happened.

Rowling seems to truly hate killing, and wanted punishments to apply to the good guys but never the bad guys. Dumbledore espoused the glory and righteousness of second chances - yet nobody ever pointed out that Dumbledore doesn't give out second chances. He gives out third, and forth, and fifth, and sixth chances. Dumbledore subscribes to the ideology of every bad guy deserves infinite retries - but good guys can't kill because that's wrong. Best example is Draco Malfoy: he was never punished beyond measly detention in canon for anything ever. And the result is he bullies and tortures and probably rapes and ruins the life of dozens of other kids. He only grows more and more horrible as the series progresses because Dumbledore assures Draco that there is no consequences for his actions - so feel free to bring consequences to all the innocents around you!
Until the end where Rowling spontaneously decides that the entire Malfoy family are now repentant good guys. Despite Lucius never caring about his son's life before - chamber of secrets please? - he's now so concerned that he will abandon Voldemort for him.
Consequences are things that Rowling like to apply only to other people. Love potions, also known as rape in a bottle, completely okay. Memory charms, that kill as surely as a dementor's kiss, also fine. So long as the body itself still has a heartbeat, free reign to do anything. Can't risk the bad guys not having a chance for redemption afterall.

I was always confused as to why Harry went along with as much as he did. After being raised by the Dursley's, you'd think he would be suspicious of adults by default. He wouldn't blindly trust and follow them and do anything they say - possible werewolves in the forest and whatnot, and he just goes 'cause he might be expelled otherwise? Fuck that. Harry would take the expulsion. Especially if he had an ounce of smarts and realizes that they wouldn't expel a student, let alone the boy who lived, over refusing to enter the forbidden forest to hunt down something killing unicorns.
The first book was really nonsensical as all hell, it's only the fact it was primarily a children's book and children don't care about such things that the series did well at all.

This chapter brings to mind for me how lax they are about drugs. Oh you just went through a lot of trauma, let's just force you to relive it immediately and then drug you to the gills with mind altering substances.

Best explanation for why the name Albus Severus would be inflicted on a child that I've ever seen.

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