I'm reading lots of fics that are not HBP-compliant (though they often contain some HBP-spoilers), several of which were started after HBP came out.
HBP - while I actually like the book - severely limits a lot of choices for a Seventh Year story taking place at Hogwarts. As an author expressed it so well in his summary, it leaves us with a half-played chess match. There are basically only two possibilities open to an author who continues after HBP: story takes place very far in the future, with Harry having found the Horcruxes and defeated Voldemort already, etc. Or you write a story focussed more or less on Horcrux-hunting.
Also I love stories where Dumbledore plays an important role - both as Dumbledore as the leader of the Light and a mentor to Harry and well-written manipulative Dumbledore. HBP basically kills the latter interpretation of Dumbledore's character. (I know of only two post-HBP stories that present Dumbledore in an unfavorable light.)
So, if the story is well-written and the author wants to write a plot where HBP is in the way, why not discount parts of it? I myself actually have a plot-bunny which only works post-OotP. If I actually ever wrote it, I'd use the facts we learn in HBP (Snape's ancestry, the fact that Snape overheard the prophecy, the Horcrux-stuff) but nothing that actually happened in HBP (Unbreakable Vow, Dumbledore's hand and death, etc.)
Concerning Sirius and OotP, that's harder for me. Few authors can write Sirius decently (his only job in life sometimes seems to be arguing with Snape pages over pages), and as such I'm usually glad that he's dead. I prefer stories that follow OotP and where - if Sirius is alive - they actually had an original idea for a comeback. Also OotP is the one book which gives you the broadest possible jumping board for your fics - as it gives many characters the most depths to their descriptions. Moreover it's been out so long, it's hard for me to discount.
As to warnings, I don't need AU in the summary. But a quick Author's Note in the first chapter (as it usually won't fit in the summary) telling me what I can expect. Something along the lines of "Post-OotP, some HBP-spoilers".
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-08-04 06:09 am (UTC)HBP - while I actually like the book - severely limits a lot of choices for a Seventh Year story taking place at Hogwarts. As an author expressed it so well in his summary, it leaves us with a half-played chess match.
There are basically only two possibilities open to an author who continues after HBP: story takes place very far in the future, with Harry having found the Horcruxes and defeated Voldemort already, etc. Or you write a story focussed more or less on Horcrux-hunting.
Also I love stories where Dumbledore plays an important role - both as Dumbledore as the leader of the Light and a mentor to Harry and well-written manipulative Dumbledore. HBP basically kills the latter interpretation of Dumbledore's character. (I know of only two post-HBP stories that present Dumbledore in an unfavorable light.)
So, if the story is well-written and the author wants to write a plot where HBP is in the way, why not discount parts of it?
I myself actually have a plot-bunny which only works post-OotP. If I actually ever wrote it, I'd use the facts we learn in HBP (Snape's ancestry, the fact that Snape overheard the prophecy, the Horcrux-stuff) but nothing that actually happened in HBP (Unbreakable Vow, Dumbledore's hand and death, etc.)
Concerning Sirius and OotP, that's harder for me. Few authors can write Sirius decently (his only job in life sometimes seems to be arguing with Snape pages over pages), and as such I'm usually glad that he's dead. I prefer stories that follow OotP and where - if Sirius is alive - they actually had an original idea for a comeback.
Also OotP is the one book which gives you the broadest possible jumping board for your fics - as it gives many characters the most depths to their descriptions.
Moreover it's been out so long, it's hard for me to discount.
As to warnings, I don't need AU in the summary. But a quick Author's Note in the first chapter (as it usually won't fit in the summary) telling me what I can expect. Something along the lines of "Post-OotP, some HBP-spoilers".