whew! That was long! Normally, when start reading a long story, I abandon it 1/4 of the way through, but with this particular piece, I couldn't stop! Its excellent - everything is perfect. It flows so incredibly well, and the description is perfect without going overboard. I can't wait to continue it.
Does this skip sixth year? if this takes place immediately after OotP Harry would only be turning 16.
I hope you have a reasonable explanation as to why magic cannot heal Harry's eyes or why he cannot get magical eyes, like Moody's. Most stories I have seen with Blind!Harry kind of gloss over those possibilities, so I end up stopping reading them because they go beyond believability. From the description of the injury, it seems his physical eye was the only thing damaged-not the channels to the brain or the vision centers in the brain. I would assume that magical eyes either utilize the nerves that the natural eye uses, or else works directly with the vision centers-considering this, please come up with a reasonable explanation as to why it is not a possibility (that is, if you plan on keeping him blind).
I'm having a real hard time suspending my belief with this story. I understand that Harry is blind, but what I don't understand is why the has been no wizarding medical intervention. The entire I was reading this first chapter, I kept thinking, if they can re-grow bones with Skele-Gro, why can't some healing treatment repair the damage to his eyes? And what about magical eyes like Moody has?
I think what made these questions even more troublesome for me is that the character of Kirch is a wizard and you never really take the time to explain why wizarding medicine won't work. Maybe you do this in later chapters, I don't know, but these questions certainly limited my enjoyment of the story.
Wow! This is quite the story! You had me on the edge of my chair from the beginning paragraph and it just kept getting better and better. I really feel for Harry in his new prediciment and marvel at how well (and how maturely) he is dealing with the situation. My only criticism is that he needed to tell the Weasleys and Professor Dumbledore about his accident as soon as possible after the fact. I realize that Harry felt he needed to keep his situation secret from Voldemort, but his friends could have given him the support he needed to accept his situation faster.
All criticisms aside, the details you provide about the Braille system were really fascinating to me. (I learned a lot!) They added a lot of realism to the story. I liked how you had Professor Kirch adapt this Muggle system to the Wizarding world.
Please update soon. I'm looking forward to what happens next.
I think this is really interesting. I have a couple questions: one, why would Dr. K. (who you describe as a professional doctor) want Harry to not reveal his blindness to his friends? Wouldn't it be very important to tell them? My other question is:why did you touch only briefly on the problem of Voldemort? I acknowledge your plot idea about Harry's obvious personal problems, but still...On the whole, it's GREAT!
Wow, great details with the Braille system! I'm really enjoying this story, and glad you started it before Harry's last year to avoid all the guilt-over-Sirius angst out there. Keep posting!
This is realy good. I read this story at ff.net a few months ago and realy like it then and not that it has been bataed it is even better. i hope that you write more soon
