By Ishtar
Reviews
Patches posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 5:15pm
Wow! What a wonderful week of mayhem and destruction to agravate Dumbledore. Grandmama Addams was the frosting on the cake! I love it. I also love Gomez ways of dealing with Harry's problems. That was really good. I look forward to more of your story. Thanks for writing. pms
IamNotawriter posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 1:54pm
JOY, OH JOY, OH FRABJOUS DAY SHE'S BACK!
Thank You!
Jamie46 posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 12:36pm
YAYYYYYYYYYY FOR AN UPDATE!!!!!!! :) hehehehe. So excited to see an update. I won't say "finally" b/c I understand about muses. But I'm just so happy to see an update to this awesome, awesome story. Thanks so much! :-D
raquelalexandra posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 12:14pm
This has been a wonderful story so far. I am enthralled with it and cannot wait for new chapters. thank you very much for this fresh look at Harry Potter.
Fyrwulf posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 12:11pm
Huzzah! I love this story and I love that it's back on track.
Hannah3 posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 11:23am
So, I saw the title of the chapter, and that nearly made me utter week. (Sorry, my boyfriend did make my week already.)
Kortir posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 10:05am
Despite having never cared much for the Addams Family as a TV series, I really am enjoying this fic- and I would imagine that right there should be an appropriate measure of how good it is. So... very nice, looking forward to more in the future!
Bobboky posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 9:59am
so very excellent i reread it again... and again
Darryn posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 9:30am
Just though I'd say I'm very much enjoying reading this story, I like your portrayal of the Addams' especially.
Thanks
Jujuberry posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 9:20am
Yay, another chapter of family values!!! I loved it (and what a great chapter title too!).
Thanks so much for sharing. I can't wait to see where this goes next :)
0x517A5D posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 7:55am
A great chapter. I giggled or cackled at least four times while reading it, and I seldom laugh out loud at any fiction, pro or fan.
"interrogating the pomegranate." "Plagues it is, then." "it’s like falling off a broom." "Maybe part of several house elves." Classic, simply classic.
The break seems to have recharged your batteries, as I found this chapter much better than the last few. I was very glad to see the chapter show up, proving that the fic is not abandoned. Moar PLZ!!1!
Gomez, and indeed the entire Family, seem too able to effortlessly defeat, turn aside, or avoid any conflict. It strikes me that this is somewhat out-of-character -- in the show, they win their battles, but not without some effort. And they can't use their eccentricities as they do in the show, because the wizarding world is at least as eccentric as the Family. (In different directions, to be sure.)
Dumbledore seems too passive -- my impression of him is that he would be reacting to these changes in his life, probably in odd ways, rather than just bemoaning them.
Harry's worry: while I would consider it in-character for canon HP, it seems to me that this Harry should be more hard-headed and clear-minded about a problem like partial possession.
Technical C&C: While the individual scenes ranged from good to brilliant, the whole didn't gel completely. I think you're following too many plot threads, and might want to move some of them to the back burner. Perhaps have two primary actor-threads that are in every chapter, plus a guest-thread or two chosen from the B-list.
On the other hand, I do see that you're throwing everything you can at Dumbledore that will make this week any more "very bad." So this observation may not hold in the future.
I didn't get the Sesame Street disclaimer. After the fact, I see it must have been the "duckie" song. I wasn't familiar with it.
Incidentally, nice pen name. My sister's real name is Istar, without the h.
Now I feel the urge to read the whole fic again, start to finish. (And I'm already in the middle of rereading Black Heir, A Black Comedy, Vox Corporis, and Blessed Do Over. Thank goodness it's a weekend.)
Ishtar replied:
The Family took the Wizarding World by surprise - even Dumbledore, who should have known better. They weren't prepared for someone kicking over their complacent little apple-cart. Once they figure out what's happening, the wizards will fight back. I do have to go back and rewatch the shows, but it did seem to me that in most of their dealings with the outside world they went serenely on doing their own thing and the OW generally crumpled before the gentle assault; they had more problems in dealing with their own sort - like trying to talk Fester into not joining the Peace Corps.
Essentially the first sequence was following Dumbledore, showing how he is just being bombarded with things from left field. He will eventually start fighting back - he's already resolved the house-elf problem, and his legal difficulties will also be dealt with shortly.
As for Harry, I am having a little trouble finding his "voice" for this fic. He doesn't seem to be Addams-ish enough. But I'm hoping that will work out soon.
The duckie song comes from Sesame Street, and was performed, among others, by Paul Simon, one of my favorite musicians. In a concert of his that I attended some years ago, he told a story about how his personal assistant brought her six-year-old son to a rehearsal, and introduced them. "This is Mr. Simon, who plays 'Put Down the Duckie'," she said. The kid said, with one of those world-weary sighs befitting a much older person, "That song has seen me through so many bad times." Once Gomez started singing, I knew I just had to use the line.
noylj posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 7:37am
Need more Lurch. Thanks for getting him involved. Why does Minnie complain about the good stuff the house elves were doing? What a meddlesome fussbudget anal-retentive witch. Sounds like she would approve of Morticia cutting off the flowers and keeping the thorny stems.
Ishtar replied:
Thank you. You will be happy to know that there will be lots more Lurch - including a heroic role - in the future. Minerva wasn't really complaining about the food and the table settings, but she did find the snow sculptures to be over the top and didn't want to know what was going to happen next.
noylj posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 7:00am
I love Wednesday. Thank you for another chapte (had to re-read this to get back in the story)r. Wish the updates were a bit more frequent, but as long as you are active, I will wait for the next chapter.
PS: they are being too kind to Snape. He has abused their children. Of course, the abuse might not bother them as much as the lack of purpose.
Ishtar replied:
Snape has done far worse to the Family, and he will get what's coming to him once they are in a position to dish it out. In the meantime, Grandmama has him under her thumb for the next seven years.
Greg Johnson posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 6:14am
Great Chapter. Can't wait for the next one. Keep up the good work.
AnnaTigg posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 5:07am
Hurrah, you updated, I'm so happy! Another great chapter, I hope the muse sticks around so you can keep producing more...
Mary Morley posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 4:59am
This was a lovely surprise!
Alorkin posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 4:06am
Nicely done and welcome back.
Somehow, I have a hard time feeling 'too' sorry for Dumbledore, given his propensity for stupid 'mistakes'. Being inundated with Addams' would likely be just barely higher on his wish list than having an audience with Voldemort.
I discussed your choice of teachers for the subjects with my sister, who is a huge Addams Family affectionado. Our only disagreement is Fester. We both felt Daisy might have been a better choice, being mmore in tune with current muggles, but then she really is shy, and with Fester's effusive personality, (much like Gomez) not to mention he's nearly as large as Lurch, he would have better control over unruly students, so it's all good.
The great house-elf war, was a brilliant touch of fun. They're dedicated and devoted, and deserve more screen-time than they get.
Grandmama's arrival was the topper of for Dumbledre's terrible, horrible, no goood, very bad week. (And to think, I got to read it!)
As always, I eagerly await the next chapter of 'Family Values'.
Alorkin
Ishtar replied:
Daisy, alas, is not here, and Fester is. With his approach to science (and some judicous borrowing from the Mythbusters), I thought he was perfect for Muggle Studies.
Ian Morgan posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 3:49am
fantastic an update please update sooner
yak posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 3:30am
There is something terribly lacking in this story. I'd enjoyed it at first, but lately its been pretty 'meh'.
The problem is Harry. All the bizarre wonderfulness of the Addams' and all Harry seems to get out of it is money, a bride, a mature personality, and a few other odd perks. He gets nothing quintessentially Addams' out of the experience at all. He almost reads like a bland Marty Stu character... which puts his character at odds with the rest of the story.
I suppose I also dislike Remus' character in this. His role in the story seems too contrived. I'm worried that Wednesday's role might diminish to 'token future wife' and Pugsley to 'token faithful sidekick'. It's just a feeling I get. The rest of the Addams moving in to Hogwarts just exacerbates the problem. Every character seems to become a token piece revolving around Planet Harry.
Yeah, Harry is only eleven. Eleven year old boys are weird and pretty out-there. They do that by themselves, even without the influence of the Addams family. Harry, in contrast seems pretty reserved. I'd like to see him emulating his heroes and other Addam's family members, perhaps with continuously disastrous or disappointing results until he finally hits on some creepy Addams-ish quality that works for him. Perhaps spluttering on a cigar, manfully struggling to suck down another toke and setting his fake waxed moustache on fire. Or trying out some epic body hair growth potion only to keep on tripping over it or running into walls because he can't see past his fringe. Or silently following a stoic Lurch around all day, attempting to mimic his gait and speech...
Eleven year olds do and say all kinds of bizarre things to try to fit in socially.
Thanks for the fic, it's been entertaining. It's made me want to read more fics involving the Addams Family.
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That is a modified version of a comment I made in a readers review thread for this fic. I don't know if you're already aware of it: http://forums.darklordpotter.net/showthread.php?t=3818
Ishtar replied:
Thank you very much for your comments. I will take them into consideration.
I agree, in some ways, Harry hasn't yet tapped into his "inner Addams." At eleven, he's mostly modeled himself after Gomez (bad suits, fencing, cigars, etc.) and hasn't found a unique voice. Likewise, Pugsley takes after Fester, and Wednesday mimics her mother. This really isn't unusual for younger children, and they're just at the age when they are becoming more independent. Pugsley and Wednesday are already more than a little upset by the parental units becoming fixtures at the school, and Harry will join them once he's gotten used to the whole Voldemort-in-his-head things. The Tribe of the Snake will strike back, never fear!
Evan Mayerle posted a comment on Sunday 8th June 2008 7:34pm