Went through a period where I obsessively searched for great Harry Potter fanfiction, actually. Trawled through thousands, found maybe six worth reading, one of which was HPMoR. Quickly realized it was unlike anything I had ever read, fanfiction or fiction, and dove into Yudkowsky's Sequences -- still descending -- and some stuff that gets linked on r/hpmor fairly often, like Worm.
Holy shit is ESY trying to make Harry a huge unlikeable asshole? 11 year olds dont act like this:Pointoutthatyouhavearighttoknow: Failure. Eleven-year-oldchildrendo
nothaverightstoknowanything,inMcGonagall’seyes.
Say that you will not be friends any more: Failure. She does not value your
friendshipsufficiently.
Point out that you will be in danger if you do not know: Failure. Plans have
already been made based on your ignorance. The
certain
inconvenience of re-
thinkingwillseemfarmoreunpalatablethanthemere
uncertain
prospectofyour
comingtoharm.
Justice and reason will both fail. You must either find something you have
thatshewants,orfindsomethingyoucandowhichshefears...
Ah.
“Well then, Professor,” Harry said in a low, icy tone, “it sounds like
I have something you want. You can, if you like, tell me the truth, the
whole
truth, and in return I will keep your secrets. Or you can try to keep
me ignorant so you can use me as a pawn, in which case I will owe you
nothing.”
McGonagall stopped short in the street. Her eyes blazed and her voice
descended into an outright hiss. “How dare you!”
“
Howdareyou!
” he whispered back at her.
“You would
blackmail
me?”
Harry’s lips twisted. “I am
offering
you a
favor.
I am
giving
you a chance
to protect
your
precious secret. If you refuse I will have
every
natural mo-
tive to make inquiries elsewhere, not to spite you, but because I
have to
know!
Get past your pointless anger at a
child
who you think ought to obey
you, and you’ll realise that any sane adult would do the same!
Look at it
frommyperspective! HowwouldyoufeelifitwasYOU?
”
Harry watched McGonagall, observed her harsh breathing. It oc-
curred to him that it was time to ease off the pressure, let her simmer
for a while. “You don’t have to decide right away,” Harry said in a more
normal tone. “I’ll understand if you want time to think about my
offer
...
but I’ll warn you of one thing,” Harry said, his voice going colder. “Don’t
try that Obliviation spell on me. Some time ago I worked out a signal,
and I have already sent that signal to myself. If I find that signal and I
don’t
remember
sending it...” Harry let his voice trail off significantly.
One of the primary "problems" of HPMOR is that ... is that ... spoilers. Dammit. Well. Keep reading if you want. According to Yudkowsky, the first ten chapters are often considered the weakest, but if the story doesn't grab you after that, don't bother. I will say that I have met many exceptionally intelligent, slightly robotic 11 year olds who lacked a formula to fall back on in social situations, and, yes, they did act kind of like that. The author was one of those kids. He's writing partially from experience. If you only read fiction in which you like the protagonist, it is quite possible you won't want to read HPMOR.