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The Problem Universe #1
Harry Potter and the Problem of Potions
Fandom: Harry Potter
Relationship: Gregory Goyle/Luna Lovegood
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Once upon a time, Harry Potter hid for two hours from Dudley in a chemistry classroom, while a nice graduate student explained about the scientific method and interesting facts about acids. A pebble thrown into the water causes ripples.
Contains, in no particular order: magic candymaking, Harry falling in love with a house, evil kitten Draco Malfoy, and Hermione attempting to apply logic to the wizarding world.
Relationship: Gregory Goyle/Luna Lovegood
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Once upon a time, Harry Potter hid for two hours from Dudley in a chemistry classroom, while a nice graduate student explained about the scientific method and interesting facts about acids. A pebble thrown into the water causes ripples.
Contains, in no particular order: magic candymaking, Harry falling in love with a house, evil kitten Draco Malfoy, and Hermione attempting to apply logic to the wizarding world.
738 pages, ebook
First published June 11, 2017
3 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 19, 2019
Oh, hey, this was *good*!
...except, well, you kind of need to remember the original Harry Potter novels quite well, or it won't make much sense.
"Harry Potter and the Problem of Potions" takes the original story and throws in a spin:
So now, Harry is in love with the idea of potions (but has no talent for the subject), and thus thinks professor Snape is the most amazing teacher there ever was, because he teaches Potions. This leads to hilarity, a closer relationship with some Slytherins and fewer people dying in the war overall.
On the minus side, if you don't happen to know Harry Potter pretty much by heart, this fanfic will be confusing as hell - you only get the scenes where the story differs from canon, and it assumes you know everything else, so it barely drops a mention here and there about what we already know happened because J.K. Rowling wrote it.
On the plus side, it's hilarious, fun, and complete crack at points.
...except, well, you kind of need to remember the original Harry Potter novels quite well, or it won't make much sense.
"Harry Potter and the Problem of Potions" takes the original story and throws in a spin:
Once upon a time, Harry Potter hid for two hours from Dudley in a chemistry classroom, while a nice graduate student explained about the scientific method and interesting facts about acids. A pebble thrown into the water causes ripples.
So now, Harry is in love with the idea of potions (but has no talent for the subject), and thus thinks professor Snape is the most amazing teacher there ever was, because he teaches Potions. This leads to hilarity, a closer relationship with some Slytherins and fewer people dying in the war overall.
On the minus side, if you don't happen to know Harry Potter pretty much by heart, this fanfic will be confusing as hell - you only get the scenes where the story differs from canon, and it assumes you know everything else, so it barely drops a mention here and there about what we already know happened because J.K. Rowling wrote it.
On the plus side, it's hilarious, fun, and complete crack at points.
July 18, 2025
man i'm such a sucker for these "redoing the entire series with one minor difference only it becomes a bigger difference over time" fics!! very wholesome
August 6, 2024
I started this a while back and DNF'd it. Mostly because the characters seemed to be floating in this weird haze and made me feel absolutely nothing. This time, I persevered, adapted to the strange tone and started to enjoy it quite a bit. The author did the alternate AU thing and added bits of canon to it. Many many horrible rips in canon are repaired thank goodness. First and most important is Harry being actually competent. His povs underplayed this, but you could see it from the povs of the others. He was the one to come up with solutions to most issues and actually escaped Voldie more than once without any deaths. He worked at potions until he was the best in the class (quote by Hermione). This led to an apprenticeship with Snape. He was even better than malfoy which i enjoyed immensely. Malfoy gets an apprenticeship with McGonagall, a nice twist in the story, that leads him to saving Snape's life. Harry also made a breakthrough with Occlumency and kept Voldie at bay very easily. There was even banter with the two. Built up Voldie's character. I felt kinda bad that he died, he was scary smart. It also relieved Hermione of the burden of carrying everyone and they got through the horcruxes quite quickly.
The Luna/Gregory relationship was adorable af. They just fit and I will not be convinced otherwise. Snape & Harry's relationship was fun to read and made hogwarts 10× better. It started out rocky and then Snape became the first adult that Harry trusted. This made him avoid some of his dumb choices and many people lived. At some points when brewing, they literally became one mind. It was fascinating! Dumbledore is still the WORST but here Harry fit very easily in the space he left behind. Even sirius started giving him reports. The reclamation of the elder wand was awesome! Oooh and Draco was a wonderful addition. He basically kept Harry sane and kept the trio in check. Overall, great vibe, so 4⭐️
The Luna/Gregory relationship was adorable af. They just fit and I will not be convinced otherwise. Snape & Harry's relationship was fun to read and made hogwarts 10× better. It started out rocky and then Snape became the first adult that Harry trusted. This made him avoid some of his dumb choices and many people lived. At some points when brewing, they literally became one mind. It was fascinating! Dumbledore is still the WORST but here Harry fit very easily in the space he left behind. Even sirius started giving him reports. The reclamation of the elder wand was awesome! Oooh and Draco was a wonderful addition. He basically kept Harry sane and kept the trio in check. Overall, great vibe, so 4⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2018
Given up after, finally, chapter 106 (though pretty random). I just can’t like this as a story. It’s fragmented, discombobulated, crazy, crack, confusing, and just wrong.
Nevertheless, I had quite a few laughs, which is probably why I held out for so long.
Nevertheless, I had quite a few laughs, which is probably why I held out for so long.
October 2, 2019
I'd like to thank not only God but also Jesus etc etc etc
April 12, 2024
This is a really entertaining read.
I enjoyed it very much
I enjoyed it very much
June 24, 2017
3.5 stars.
October 24, 2020
One of my favourite HP fanfic....
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews