Pick It Up, Pick It All up and Start Again

Armistice #1

by Annerb

Fandom: Harry Potter
Relationship: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
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The thing about war is that it never ends. Not really. The battlefields just change locations. Harry and Ginny after the war. Sequel to The Changeling.

Cover art by Amiril

Genres: Fan Fiction, Fantasy

181 pages, ebook

Published August 17, 2017

Reviews

[mia ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3)


sequel series to the changeling???

[Irishiwasirish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the "first" book in the Armistice series, but technically it covers the time between the last two chapters of The Changling, a story about Ginny's time at Hogwarts if she had been sorted into Slytherin. So it covers the summer between the Battle of Hogwarts and the start of Ginny's 7th year. I strongly recommend reading The Changling before reading this.

It also changes from a Ginny-only story to alternating viewpoints of Harry & Ginny, which is great since this series is supposed to focus more specifically on them and their relationship. I think the intro to this is fantastic, especially Harry's inability to stop thinking The diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, the diadem, the snake... And me. And me. And me which highlights just how much mental stress Harry undergoes in the 7th JK Rowling book.

A lot of this book feels like a setup for the 2nd and 3rd books. After reading the entire series and looking back, it really is, which is one of the reasons have a hard time rating it. One one hand, it's is extremely well written for a fanfic, one of the best. On the other hand, I like stories to be self-contained, and this one just...isn't entirely that. While it's supposed to be the start of a series focused on Harry / Ginny, it spends a lot of time exploring some loose ends from The Changling, following up on Ginny's friends and laying groundwork that will be built upon later. That's ok, sometimes the slow burn is the best, but these friends start to lose focus as the series progresses, and I'm not sure if all of their stories really needed to be explored as much as they were. Perhaps the better way to look at Annerb's books is a series of 4 which start off exclusively focusing on Ginny and slowly transition to Harry & Ginny. If that is the case, then this is one of the transition books. We're not quite at the pure Harry/Ginny story, but we're getting there. Don't think that there isn't a lot of interactions between them, there are, but it's definitely not a fluff piece.

One thing I expected to see but didn't was Harry having a PTSD breakdown or something. I know everyone handles stress differently, but I would have thought his Horcrux litany would keep coming up in his head and eventually cause an outburst and I would have liked to see how he and Ginny worked through that. They do have some conversations and Harry seems to say the trauma just doesn't affect him like that, but considering how this entire book focuses a lot more on what characters would really experience in these situations, I was a bit surprised Annerb doesn't expect the trauma to have a bigger impact on Harry, similar to how it impacts Ginny. Perhaps it's simply emphasizing that what Ginny has gone through is worse, but I don't think that's the case. It's also possible that Annerb is just showing how different people react to trauma, but I still felt Harry should have had more than just getting sick from overworking. Sure you see the anger that comes up, but it doesn't feel like it ever really explodes

This book does a great job of showing how people process war and loss and trying to move on while also setting up Harry and Ginny's relationship. However, if I really think about it, you could almost go from The Changling to the 2nd Armistice book and not miss too much of the Harry/Ginny storyline (but don't. Don't do that, you'd be doing yourself a disservice.) Regardless, the quality of writing, captivating look at trauma and tender moments between characters gets 5 stars by me.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

post canon story, the one that you want to read if you are ever felt discontent with how HP ended. great continuation.

great plot, well thought out characters and a newer take on the post war magical world. you are in for ride with the start of a new story like this one. part 1 is building up towards some really great stuff. please do check it out.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread. A good portrayal of the healing in the summer after Deathly Hallows.

[Jaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Cameron R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is just so well done. (4.25)

[Manon · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You can't know what could have been. You can only know what is now.”