** Fic: For the Greater Good ** for lazy_neutrino

[genficsanta]

Title: For The Greater Good
Author: snorkackcatcher
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 8,600
Character(s): Elphias Doge, Albus Dumbledore, a few OCs
Summary: "Don't believe a word of it! Not a word, Harry! Let nothing tarnish your memories of Albus Dumbledore!" Our own weaknesses are always those we criticise most harshly in others.
Warnings: None
Notes: One short direct

Comments

[snorkackcatcher]

Thank you (and thanks for the rec) -- Dumbledore's always been a favourite character. The political stuff wasn't planned, it sort of came about from the need to expand on the background and seemed a reasonably plausible way to build on what canon there was. :) Glad the non-native speakers didn't seem too caricatured -- always hard to strike a balance there.

[delphipsmith]

Really impressive piece of work: thorough, detailed, believable, well-written. This is classic Dumbledore: not manipulative, strictly speaking, but still sort of pulling all the strings behind the scenes. I really enjoyed seeing this side of him, with friends he trusts and cares about. You've put forward a logical and interesting missing piece of the story and I enjoyed it very much!

[snorkackcatcher]

Thank you -- I rather enjoy writing Dumbledore, even if he won't shut up sometimes. :)

[kellychambliss]

What a fabulous story -- thoughtful, beautifully-written, plausible, well-paced (you cover over 100 years, but the story never feels rushed or sketchy). Both Albus and Elphias are so finely-characterized, with such insight and nuance. I can definitely see this progression in Albus, from the cocky show-off of a young man who hasn't yet learned how to avoid boasting to the older, wiser, yet still morally-complex man who now understands something about his own dangers and limitations. I love that you have made him neither villain nor totally-shining hero, but a layered, believable, complicated, yet ultimately good man. And what an equally-believable, fully-realized character you have in Elphias, too. Then added to these strengths, I agree with tetleythesecond: you do such justice to the political situation.

Simply an excellent fic; I'll be adding it to my next recs post.

[snorkackcatcher]

Thank you (and for the rec) -- that was how I was trying to show Dumbledore, who has his flaws but is if anything the more impressive for trying to deal with them. Glad the pacing worked -- it did perforce have some parts where things fast-forwarded through a decade or two.

[snorkackcatcher]

Thank you -- the original request included Elphias as a character, so that's how it came to be from his POV. Mind you, it seems like half the fest turned out to be about Doge and/or Dumbledore. :)

[lazy_neutrino]

Just a quick drive-by thank you as I'm away from home. I will be back to give a more detailed thank-you next week, but for now, thank you, Mystery Author and Merry Christmas!