Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness



Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness began as a one-shot, 4,000-word Harry Potter fanfic story entitled Dumbledore's Army: Still Recruiting. According to the author, he soon found himself "up to [his] pointed hat in the most out-of-control one-shot in the history of the wizarding world."

DAYD, as it is known, is a POV Sequel that happens at the same time as the story of Deathly Hallows. It follows one of Harry's friends, Neville Longbottom, as he takes control of the underground group Dumbledore's Army, who soon begin a revolt and prepare for an all-or-nothing war against Lord Voldemort.

The tale continues in Sluagh. It is now five years later, all the survivors have moved on to civilian life, each nursing his and her own trauma scars. Neville is senior Auror and Simon Wiesenthal-in-residence (so to speak) for the rebuilt Ministry of Magic, tasked with rounding up the remnants of Voldemort's henchmen. For his final assignment, he is dispatched to track down a mysterious serial/vigilante killer in Ireland and ends up fighting an even more sinister and brutal dark lord than Voldemort.

The concluding novel of the trilogy, A Peccatis, picks up in 2008. Strapped for money (the recession rippled into the wizarding world too), Neville is finally talked into joining the Wizarding legislature just as a vote on officially breaking the masquerade is pending. All the while, Dumbledore's darkest secrets are coming to light. Posting of chapters recently (Jan 2012) restarted after a three year hiatus, only to be halted again.

DAYD exploded into a Fan Verse, the DAYDverse, and now comprises more than half a million words by the original author in the form of the two complete novels (Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness and Sluagh) with a third novel in progress (A Peccatis), along with numerous one-shots and short stories exploring various other characters. Other authors have come to play in that world as well, most notably Ceirdwenfc, who has written stories about Ernie and Susan and is currently working on a novel, Bittersweet, which is yet another POV Sequel and follows Ernie's experiences during DAYD.

There is an extensive, and ongoing, YMMV discussion.

Tropes applying generally:
""Tell you what. You say one word, and I'll make it worth your while. I've smuggled in a bit of the real good stuff – Muggle-made Irish pure – and I'll slip you a tot. Or if you'd rather, I'll work my charms and score you a kiss from that lovely Miss MacDonald you've been castin' eyes at all year. What say you?" (DAYD, Chapter 11)"
 * Adaptation Expansion: Of Deathly Hallows. Pretty much the whole point.
 * Anyone Can Die: In the Battle of Hogwarts, the brutal deaths of  come as shocks. Continued with alarming enthusiasm in the sequels. Basically, anyone who did not get an explicit name check as being alive and well in Rowling's epilogue can be presumed to be dead by the time the trilogy has run its course.
 * As Long as It Sounds Foreign / Hold Your Hippogriffs: The author (in imitation of Rowling) has an occasional tendency to make up "wizarding" idioms, like "witches' instinct" for "women's intuition".
 * Babies Ever After: A recurring theme in Neville and Hannah's relationship.
 * Badass Bookworms: Terry Boot and Michael Corner. For that matter, all of the D.A. Ravenclaws. Also Icarus Utterson, who worked as The Smart Guy for Seamus' group in Sluagh, and Anthony Goldstein in A Peccatis.
 * Big Bad: As in the books, ultimately, Voldemort. Memories of the horror of his reign and the extremes required to end it echo through the sequels.
 * Bloodier and Gorier: This fic series has a LOT of very explicitly described violence, rape, gore, and torture. It's based on Harry Potter, a Young Adult series.
 * Breather Episode: The author does attempt to put a few comic episodes in between the doom and gloom. Like a Fish Out of Water scene where Neville and co. attempt (with more success than most wizards) to navigate the byzantine mazes that is British Rail and Marks & Spencer to get to a wedding. And a similar episode in the sequel where Neville and Utterson try to pump a muggle cultural anthropologist for information on magical sites in Ireland.
 * Also during the run-up to the battle of Hogwarts, persecution by the Death Eaters has driven most of the student body into the safety of the Room of Requirement, which quickly assumed the atmosphere of a rather morbid slumber party. The students noted how ironic it is that the only time they got to relax in the whole year was the week before they will go into a suicidal battle.
 * So far every such episode in A Peccatis has ended in tears, bodybags or both.
 * Call to Agriculture: Neville's potential for incredible badassery and his love of herbology are in even bigger contrast with each other than in Canon. He often declares how much he would prefer simple gardening over leading an army. He eventually gets it, with interruptions.
 * Cannon Fodder: But since every dead character is a person with a name and a backstory, this trope is used to a heartbreakingly sad effect.
 * The Cameo: Peripheral characters from previous books tend to drop by for a scene or two, and most likely, get killed in the process.
 * Crapsack World: The wizarding world is becoming this. And Sluagh somehow managed to mesh the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland with the worst of Voldemort's reign of terror.
 * Crazy Prepared: Hermione, whose method of dealing with PTSD involves carrying around enough supplies to stock half an army in her magic purse absolutely everywhere.
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Neville, you ARE this trope.
 * Darker and Edgier: DAYD itself compared to Canon; Sluagh, goes even further with a few sections with very detailed descriptions of the rape and torture of . And A Peccatis seems determined to examine all the warts and seams of the wizarding world in general.
 * Did Not Do the Bloody Research: If you speak British or Irish English, be prepared to hit stuff a lot. Thanfiction's ignorance about European languages is painfully obvious.
 * Doorstopper: Longer than Order of the Phoenix by quite a bit. The 'verse taken together is already longer than the entire SERIES.
 * Fan Verse: This POV Sequel has spawned POV Sequels of its own.
 * Fire-Forged Friends: The D.A. through all three stories so far, although cracks have shown up from time to time.
 * Gorn: Doesn't even begin to describe the Battle of Hogwarts. Gory descriptions include.
 * Sluagh ups the ante, with
 * The author seems to be backpedalling from this, people are still dying left and right in A Peccatis but a lot more bloodlessly.
 * Kill'Em All: The Battle of Hogwarts put up a valiant attempt to carry out this trope on the protagonists, while the Battle of Druim Cett in Sluagh . A Peccatis seems to be doing this to the previous generation.
 * Nakama: The D.A. turns into one of these.
 * National Stereotypes: Seamus and the other Irish characters pretty much cover all of the major Irish stereotypes, and by Sluagh, Thanfiction starts to resurrect some of the stock Irish characters from the Victorian era.
 * The stereotyping covers the spectrum: starting with Cho, a Chinese girl who is indistinguishable from her English neighbour; to Parvati and Padma, who are attracted to some superficial trappings of their Indian heritage (e.g. the cooking and Yoga); to Ernie, a fully-rounded character who is just happens to be quite Scottish; to Seamus, who looks like he wandered in from an Irish epic and the author spends every other chapter making sure you get that.
 * Never Mess with Granny: Augusta Dorsett Longbottom (Neville's ill-tempered grandmother) and Minerva McGonagall....
 * Oireland: This fic's version of Seamus Finnegan reeks of this trope. JK Rowling has said that naming the character "Seamus Finnegan" was pushing it a bit, but Thanfiction takes the Irish stereotype Up to Eleven:


 * POV Sequels: To Deathly Hallows.
 * Self Fanservice: In the books, both Neville and Hannah are a bit pudgy. In DAYD, Hannah's hotness was concealed by the school robes, which made her - but none of the other girls - look fat, and Neville replaces all of his fat with muscle, helped by him being starved for weeks as part of a punishment.
 * Tear Jerkers: Of epic magnitude...
 * There Are No Therapists: Lampshaded, the students of Hogwarts survived a year of genocidal torture and war, and all they have at the end are each other for comfort. The only thing the wizarding world at large tossed them is a bunch of nosy reporters. Everyone ended up learning to deal with his or her PTSD themselves. Some retreated into domesticity, some became lawmen, one became a, another , and everyone had nightmares.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: Neville becomes more and more of a Jerkass Stu as the fic goes on. Mostly this is due to the fact that he starts to see himself as a military leader and begins to expect military discipline from his underlings, while the said underlings still see him as their fellow classmate.
 * Everybody Takes A Level in Jerkass at some point (or points) in the original books. It's just that this fanfic dials it Up to Eleven.

Tropes applying specifically to Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness:
""Din't you know ol' Dumbledore din't tell them anythin'? They were out there, tryin' not ta get killed, wanderin' around for better part o' a year on a little breadcrumb scavenger hunt, no bleedin' idea o' what they were doin', or what they'd do when they were done." 'There has to be a reason, Seamus.' He fought to keep his voice calm, reasonable, but he could hear the tremble of fury and newly-awakened pain at the edges. 'I'm sure he had a reason.'"
 * Abuse Is Okay When It Is Female On Male / Yandere: Hannah Abbot (Neville's future wife) tries to set him on fire and then throws several potted plants at him (one of which suffocates him to unconsciousness, while she does nothing to stop it). All this because of a bad case of Poor Communication Kills leading her to believe he was making out with Ginny--even though Hannah and Neville aren't even dating. Either this is supposed to be justified by the "fact" that girls are just crazy like that or a bit of comic SlapStick horribly clashing with the deadly seriousness that violence is portrayed in the rest of the fic. It is possible that this is a Continuity Nod of sorts to the scene where Hermione sets a flock of conjured birds on Ron, albeit a ridiculously over the top one.
 * A Day in the Limelight: Most of the supporting characters get a few stories about them. The original novels are also this.
 * Terry Boot and Michael Corner (in various short stories)
 * Ernie Macmillan and Susan Bones (in Bittersweet and other works by Ceirdwenfc)
 * Colin Creevey and Demelza Robins (Breaking Eggs and Snapshots)
 * The various 20 Random Facts About...
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Ginny rattles off a list of equipment she's managed to smuggle into the castle, finishing with "and some Pygmy Puff treats for Arnold".
 * Artistic License Geography:
 * Scotland does not have a Himalayas-like climate, despite the assertion while explaining a hidden Demiguise farm. Also, demiguises are described as wild and ape-like in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; the fic treats them as some sort of invisible domestic sheep.
 * In one scene, Neville and several characters use a National Express East Coast train as part of a journey to Gretna Green. In 1997/98, the route from King's Cross to the North was controlled by Great North Eastern Railway...and the far more convenient way to get to Gretna Green by train is via the line from Euston to Carlisle.
 * Artistic License Medicine: The blood transfusion in Chapter 10 of DAYD, done without any attempt at cross-matching bloodtypes, and with two people donating blood, was quite risky, with about a 35% chance Colin would die from bloodtype incompatibility.
 * Ascended Fanboy: Colin, an out-and-out Pop-Cultured Badass who loves Star Wars, plays Dungeons and Dragons, and even says he's "living the fantasy." It also explains his hero-worship of Harry and general hyperactivity throughout canon.
 * Becoming the Mask: From the perspective of Hogwarts students in 1997-8, there's no real difference between Severus Snape pretending to be evil so as not to make Voldemort suspicious, and Snape actually being evil.
 * Big Damn Heroes:  have one of these, though it doesn't end well.
 * Broken Pedestal: Harry is... confusing, when viewed through Neville's eyes. While Neville and the D.A. had spent the whole year planning, drilling, accepting the likelihood of their wholesale slaughter against the Death Eaters, they've also been relying on each other for friendship, love and support. Harry, on the other hand, has experienced isolation, panic and dread with barely any respite, so when he finally stumbles back into Hogwarts, he has all the disconnect and PTSD you'd expect. But from the D.A.'s perspective, Harry has none of the spark of revolution or excitement they'd expected.
 * It's strongly implied that Neville's summoning of the entire D.A. and allies from the wizarding world for the final battle is less a function of his gee-whiz enthusiasm (as presented in the official canon) and more a tactic to keep the D.A. from imploding out of disappointment.
 * Also, a different pedestal breaks in Seamus and Neville's horrified reactions when they find out that Dumbledore's "plan" was a lot more of Gambit Roulette than Batman Gambit:

""I did just fine with the Muggle girls on holidays, thank you very much, because they think I'm cute and mysterious and know I go to some kind of exclusive and super-secret private boarding school.”"
 * The Casanova: Jack Sloper.
 * And apparently, Colin Creevey of all people.

"”I’m the only girl in a family of seven! I could belch the entire Chudley Cannons fight song by the time I was four, but Katie Bell had to tell me when I needed a bra and show me how to put the effing thing on, so don’t act like I’m supposed to be some sheltered little flower about how boys are put together.”"
 * Child Soldiers: Used in a realistic and very depressing way. Many underaged Hogwarts students fight in the final battle and are killed in gory ways.
 * Cold-Blooded Torture: The Cruciatus Curse is used as routine punishment,  and that doesn't even begin to compare with what.
 * Death Seeker: Most of the D.A. slips into this. At the beginning of the story they decide that they will all go on a suicide attack as a protest/revenge/hopeless last stand at the end of the year rather than continuing to live under the current regime. Some of them were also talking, even joking, quite detachedly about their upcoming deaths.
 * Deconstruction: What would the events of DH look like if you think about them in the context of our world? (torture in school, child soldiers, etc.)
 * Most notably, the same Battle of Hogwarts is portrayed as an actual battle, with lots of Gorn, as opposed to Rowling's lighter portrayal of the house elves, ghosts, Sybill Trelawney, and Neville throwing stuff at the Death Eaters' heads.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: When, gets caught with a copy of the Quibbler in his bag, he 's story was one of the greatest Tear Jerker moments in the fic.
 * The Death Eaters respond to the the students rebelling by inviting Hans Belsen (a cross between Mengele and Tomás de Torquemada) to make an example out of a few students.
 * Evil Teacher: Oh, god. Snape and the Carrow siblings.
 * Fake-Out Make-Out: An extremely touching example in the short story The Perils of Studying Outdoors.
 * Five-Man Band:
 * The Hero: Neville
 * The Lancer: Seamus/Ginny
 * The Smart Guy: Justin
 * The Big Guy: Ernie
 * The Chick: Susan
 * Flanderisation: OK, Snape was always a dick, but he was never THIS much of a dick...
 * Glamour Failure: At the worst possible moment, leading to Neville and Hannah being dragged before a Kangaroo Court then sentenced to death by beheading.
 * Heel Face Turn: Renny, son of a Death Eater who joined the D.A. after Voldemort tortured his father for a minor failure. See "Noble Bigot".
 * Heroic Build: Much attention is paid to the boys' rippling muscles and the girls' curvaceous fragility, even where the original books had hitherto failed to mention fragile curves or a penchant for rippling.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Terry Boot and Michael Corner, since there are more fics written about their relationship by both the original author and others it's almost gotten to the point of If It's You It's Okay with the two of them.
 * Heroic BSOD and Heroic RROD: Neville goes through both of these when.
 * Hive Mind: The female characters, who are capable of communicating on a 'frequency only other girls could understand'. This is mostly used for facilitating the rapid spread of gossip.
 * In Medias Res: In canon, Neville's a bumbling, timid boy with a hidden core of steel that comes out when the shit hits the fan. During his 7th year, the challenges force him to grow up, and the awesome qualities hinted at before come to the forefront. However, DAYD skips over this Character Development completely: The fanfic starts with him having already grown up, and he then gains everyone's respect over the course of a single speech in the first chapter. Presumably, Thanfiction just wasn't interested in that part of the story, but it produces rather a disconnect from canon. Luckily, the fic's main story starts immediately after that Hand Wave.
 * La Résistance: Dumbledore's Army.
 * The Ladette: It was hinted at in HP canon, and this fic makes it explicit -- Ginny Weasley:


 * Les Collaborateurs: Sometimes, but not always, Slytherin House. Most of them hate the Carrows.
 * Loves the Sound of Screaming: The Carrows.
 * Male Gaze: Just about ALL the time.
 * Men Act, Women Are: Totally.
 * National Stereotypes: Marks & Spencer is not the stuffy and upper-class department store presented in the fic; in reality M&S is closer to J.C. Penney. (The author might have confused it with Harrod's, which is that stuffy and upper-class, and more.)
 * Noble Bigot: Various DA members who happen to believe in pureblood supremacy. Rather oddly handled, though - in many cases, their only noble quality is being willing to fight Voldemort, and they still seem to hate all the mudbloods and non-bigots they're fighting with.
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: The first fic itself commits a variant. It makes a credible effort at imitate Rowling's own style, but American spellings such as "mom" and "curb" and words such as "sweater" spoil the effect.
 * Precision F-Strike:
 * Dennis: "Avada Kedavra, you SON OF A BITCH!"
 * Ernie: "That’s my wife, you BITCH!"
 * Neville: I know my BLOODY plants!
 * Rape as Drama: is primarily used as a Kick the Dog moment to further motivate Neville and company.  has very little agency in the Roaring Rampage of Revenge that follows. The reader is left with the feeling that it wasn't as much about the rape victim's feelings, as much as Neville's male honor being sullied. The revenge squad consists only of men, and after their vengeance is over, the rape is barely mentioned at all.
 * Real Person Cameo: Natalie McDonald, a real girl that Rowling cameo'd in Goblet of Fire. So, basically, she is here as a cameo of a cameo.
 * Reality Ensues: Let's face it--those kids never really stood a chance of doing anything but keeping the Death Eaters busy while Harry dealt with Voldemort. Teenagers against adults who have spent the better parts of their lives learning to use magic designed to inflict pain, suffering, and death? The D.A. is lucky they lasted as long as they did.
 * "Take That!" Kiss:  to
 * Token Evil Teammate: Malcolm Braddock, Renny's Slytherin friend; his only reason for joining Neville was that he is a student of history and understands that Voldemort can't win in the long run.
 * Took a Level In Badass:
 * Torture Technician: The Carrows regularly try new torture methods on rebellious students.
 * Never mind Professor Hans Belsen, brought in (if briefly) to demonstrate his research on unruly students. Given that he is plainly based on real Nazi scientists.... * shudder*
 * Understatement: "Nah, [the Carrows] make Umbridge look tame."
 * Specifically, it's a line from the original Harry Potter books which, since this fic is a Bloodier and Gorier version turned Up to Eleven...
 * War Is Hell: The main message of the story.
 * Wartime Wedding: Susan and Ernie. It's also part of Professor McGonagall's backstory (DAYDverse only).
 * You Don't Want to Die a Virgin, Do You?: It was noted that both times when Voldemort was in power, nearly half of the Hogwarts graduates got married as soon as they left the school (indeed, some got married before).

Tropes applying specifically to Sluagh:

 * Anti-Hero:, whose method to defeat the Big Bad in Sluagh is.
 * The Alcoholic: Seamus, due to untreated PTSD.
 * Bilingual Bonus / Meaningful Name: The Big Bad in Sluagh is The Diabhal Dubh, explained In-Story to mean 'The Black Devil' in Gaelic. What isn't explained is that Dubh can also mean several other things, including 'Hidden'. Given his nature, this is very appropriate.
 * Bi the Way: Icarus Utterson, as revealed in his 20 Random Facts...
 * Celtic Mythology: It influences Sluagh enormously.
 * Enemy Mine: Apparently a Wizard Big Bad is exactly what's needed to get the Real IRA and the Unionist militia to work together.
 * Fantasy Gun Control: Averted, as Seamus is equally adept with a firearm as with a wand, and the muggle militiamen stand their own against the onslaught of magicians during the battle of Druim Cett. As Seamus noted, waving around a machine pistol in wartorn Belfast attracts far less attention than brandishing a wooden stick that shoots red thunderbolts.
 * Flashed Badge Hijack: Neville attempted to do this to a Muggle with his wizard Auror badge. It worked the first time as it was too dark to see the badge properly. The second time the Muggle assumed it was a joke until Neville transfigured a teacup into a gerbil in front of her.
 * Funetik Aksent: The Irish, in a ridiculously exaggerated way.
 * Genre Roulette: The first half of Sluagh reads like a hard-boiled detective story, morphs into a war epic, then into eldritch horror around the Battle of Druim Cett, and then turns into high fantasy (complete with mythic landscapes and Gods), all of which clashed quite a bit with Rowling's brand of Urban Fantasy. Also, there are shifts within the shifts and they occur with little to no warning.
 * Going Native: Neville, working undercover as an enforcer for the Real IRA, starts to accept their tactics and goals.
 * Mind Screw: Sluagh.
 * The Mole:.
 * Oh Crap: After suffering heavy losses breaching the outer defenses at the Battle of Druim Cett, Neville and company realizes that the Big Bad is surrounded by a magical army of hundreds (not to mention a homicidal sentient forest), not the seventy men as previously reported, cue trope.
 * Reset Button:.
 * Retirony: Played with, as is on his last case with the Aurors. Needless to say, He dies.
 * Sacrificial Lamb:, the nicest member of Seamus' group of.
 * Sequel Hook: Epilogue of Sluagh.
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran: Absolutely everyone, as noted in Slaugh; some had it worse than others.
 * Stroke Country: Large parts of Sluagh takes place in and around grimy Belfast, where the rabid remnants of the Unionist and Nationalist militias are still fighting a bloody gang war - in 2003, despite the fact that The Troubles basically ended in 1998.
 * The Troubles: hangs rather heavily on the backstory.
 * The Unmasqued World:.
 * Viewers Are Geniuses: Non-UK/Irish readers are advised to brush up on the history of the Irish/Northern-Irish independence movements and Irish slang.
 * The Unmasqued World:.
 * Viewers Are Geniuses: Non-UK/Irish readers are advised to brush up on the history of the Irish/Northern-Irish independence movements and Irish slang.

Tropes applying specifically to A Peccatis (unfinished):
"It is my duty that you be made aware of your standing under the Provision of Magical Rights and Liberties. You have been apprehended by officers of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement while engaging in activities reasonably believed to be criminal in nature, and there is intent to hold you in violation of the law. Your wand has been confiscated and may not be returned to you unless you are exonerated of charges by the Wizengamot or equivalent legal due process. Officers of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement may use physical or magical force against you, including such as may cause permanent harm, injury, illness, incapacitation, or death if and only to the degree as is necessary to retain you in custody and to safeguard their own welfare as well as that of others. Any statement or incantation you may say or perform, including via non-verbal means may be used as evidence in a criminal proceeding. You are considered to be innocent until such time as guilt is reasonably proven, however your apprehension in situ is considered temporary grounds upon which you have waived your right to liberty at this time. You have the right to refuse to answer questions, however any false or misleading answers given will result in additional criminal charges. If you believe yourself to be operating under a curse, hex, jinx, or otherwise engaging in your current activities under magical coercion, you may indicate as such at any time. Additional rights and exclusions under wizarding law will be explained to you fully and completely as relevant. Do you understand these rights and exclusions?"
 * Altum Videtur: A Peccatis, where all the chapter titles are in Latin.
 * Broken Masquerade: Wizarding England has realized that muggle technology is rapidly catching up and that the War killed or exiled too many of the wizards who are needed to maintain the magical infrastructure, and they are going to call a vote on breaking the masquerade, True Blood-style.
 * Da Chief: Harry Potter, as the head of the Auror Office.
 * Genre Shift: A Peccatis keeps switching unpredictably between police procedural and political conspiracy thriller.
 * Reading Your Rights: Aurors are saddled with a wonderfully verbose version of the British police caution in order to plug in the extra legal loopholes that being magical might present. Legal buffs might care to notice that in the Wizarding version, the right to remain silent (which is front and center in the Caution and Miranda) is the second-to-last thing mentioned. Also please note that unlike the caution, this one is to be recited upon arrest (or when the suspect wakes up from all the stunning spells), not interrogation.
 * For those of you who want to see it:


 * Secret Diary: A Peccatis starts with Neville and Harry receiving, and having to figure out the meaning of, isolated pages from Dumbledore's diary.
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: A Peccatis.  It's especially blatant when   And