There is only so much abuse a person can take before they turn around and strike back. Harry Potter is five years old when he slaughters his abusive, magic-hating relatives in cold blood. He disappears into the night, missing for six years until his Hogwarts letter arrives.
Everyone expects the Boy-Who-Lived to be the golden child of the side of Light, the epitome of Gryffindor hooliganism, to follow in his father’s marauding footsteps, and for a certain scheming headmaster with too many middle names, the ultimate weapon in his quest for eternal power and control over people who are no better than sheep.
No one expected a goblin-trained ice king, with irises as hard as diamonds and a heart as frozen as the Arctic North, to step through the doors of Hogwarts. Nor did anyone expect the great upheaval he was to bring upon the magical world.
A prophecy that supersedes everything that came before and the awakening of the elements destroy the status quo. The line between Dark and Light blurs, and the fate of magical Britain is thrown into uncertainty.
Nothing will ever be the same again.
Frozen Irises, Frozen Heart is a Harry Potter fanfic written by SilentGhostWriter2017 who also authored Jade Lightning and Fire and Water: A Magical Tale, and Way of the Aura. It can be read on Archive of Our Own here
. Unfortunately, as of late March 2021, this is now an abandoned fic due to SilentGhostWriter2017 leaving Archive of Our Own.
Tropes in this fic include:
- Adaptation Expansion: The concept of an ice phoenix – where a regular fire phoenix is reborn as one when the temperature of the world is at absolute zero - is included in the story, and the form of which Mother Magic presents herself in when she appears before Harry.
- Adaptation Personality Change: In canon, at least in the beginning, Harry was a naïve, impressionable child who is enamoured by the magical world and all things magic. Here, Harry is a stone-cold, steadfast, battle-hardened individual who has so far never smiled, and is not afraid of using extreme violence to resolve conflicts. And given his abusive childhood and training before Hogwarts, it’s not hard to see why.
- Adaptational Diversity: The main cast of characters in this story is notably more racially-diverse than in the canon franchise. See Race Lift below.
- Adaptational Badass:
- It took some time for canon Harry to display a badass side in his magical powers. Here, thanks to his training with Jacob and the goblins, Harry is extremely skilled in sword fighting and magical duelling. He is able take down enemies (real or mock) without breaking a sweat, and arguably could be the most powerful individual in Hogwarts. His increased power also allows him to perform wandless magic by the time he was eleven.
- The same could be said for Neville Longbottom. It took a very long time for Neville to become the badass hero that he was in the final books. Here, Neville seeks training from Harry quite early in the story as a means of standing up for himself, stopping others from walking all over him, and showing that he is more than the squib-like son of two useless, insane former Aurors.
- This could also be applied to five main characters of the story – Harry, Cedric, Luna, Hermione and Neville. According to the story tags, elemental magic will be a theme in the story, which implies that the aforementioned characters will bear elemental powers somewhere along the line.
- With the release of Chapter 11, Harry has become the first of the five to become a bearer of the elements, specifically ice and snow, along with being the bridge between Mother Magic and mankind.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Narcissa Malfoy makes an early cameo during Harry’s visit to Diagon Alley, when she would make her first visible canon appearance in Goblet of Fire during the Quidditch World Cup.
- Adaptational Intelligence: In-canon, Harry is no smarter than the average Muggleborn student due to his upbringing. Here, because he escaped from the Dursleys and was trained under Jacob and the goblins, his magical knowledge is equal to that of a sixth-year Hogwarts student, allowing him to excel in his classes. Also, a hobby of Harry’s is to go through potions texts and either correct any mistakes or provide better instructions, something that Snape did while he was a Hogwarts student.
- Adaptational Sexuality:
- Harry is canonically-straight, given his brief relationship with Cho and his marriage to Ginny Weasley. Here, he is gay, as his future romantic relationship with Cedric Diggory indicates, and the fact that he is not amused with girls trying to chat him up or seduce him.
- Cedric was also canonically-straight, given his brief relationship with Cho. Here, he is either bisexual or gay, given his future relationship with Harry.
- Neville was also canonically-straight, as he married Hannah Abbott following the Battle of Hogwarts. Here, while he will be paired with Luna Lovegood, he has been seen showing some attraction to Harry while watching the latter take his clothes off to begin his training. This hints that Neville may be bisexual here.
- Fleur Delacour is straight and married Bill Weasley in canon, here she is lesbian and in a relationship with an original female character who will be introduced once the author reaches the Goblet of Fire arc.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- Albus Dumbledore. In-canon, he is a mixed character who has done both heroic and questionable actions. Here, there is no hint of goodness in his heart. Dumbledore deliberately left Harry to suffer under the hands of his magic-hating relatives in an attempt to make Harry pliant and devoid of love, which in turn would lead the protagonist to seek out any semblance of affection and care. He also sees Harry as nothing more than a weapon to rid Voldemort, and has no qualms against manipulation to get what he wants.
- Severus Snape: Just like with Dumbledore, he is a mixed character in canon. Here, he is a caustic, horrid individual with no redeeming qualities. He regularly bullies anyone who is not a Slytherin, and is often the target of Harry’s ire.
- Adapted Out: Hedwig is nowhere to be seen since Harry never goes to Eeylops Owl Emporium during his trip to Diagon Alley. Instead, she is replaced by a female gyrfalcon that Harry calls Eira.
- Alternate Universe: Harry murdering his relatives and disappearing for six years throws the whole canon plotline off the rails.
- Ascended Extra:
- Cedric Diggory. In-canon, he only made a couple of appearances in the third book, Prisoner of Azkaban, and had a slightly upgraded role as a supporting character in the fourth book, Goblet of Fire. Here, he is destined to become a major character thanks to his relationship with Harry.
- Pomona Sprout: Her role in this story has been expanded from the few appearances she made in the canon franchise, mainly because of plot convenience and Harry being Sorted into Hufflepuff instead of the expected Gryffindor house, making her his Head of House.
- To a smaller extent, Luna Lovegood. She was a supporting character from her introduction in the fifth book and movie, though here, she will be a major character once she arrives during the Chamber of Secrets arc.
- Barbarian Longhair: Harry has traits of this. While Harry’s hair is far longer than in canon, matched with his cold-hearted, violent personality and impressive build from years of training would have meant that this trope could have been played straight, Harry still makes the effort to have his hair look presentable.
- Berserk Button: Attempt to cause harm to Harry or ingratiate into his good graces, and the victim will find themselves either seriously injured or coming close to death.
- Bigger on the Inside: Harry buys the trunk with the largest compartment space to hold the books he brought from his Peckham home and the ones he bought from Diagon Alley. This prompts his chaperone Professor Sprout to believe that Harry was bound for Ravenclaw house.
- Character Overlap: Jacob from the visual novel game, Hogwarts Mystery, acts as Harry’s mentor and trainer following the latter’s flight from Little Whinging. However, Jacob is only mentioned and never actually seen, given that he has already died by the time Harry starts Hogwarts.
- Child Prodigy: Harry.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Virtually all conflicts involving Harry ends up with him coming out on top.
- Cool Sword: The Sword of Gryffindor. As Harry’s birth-right, he keeps it strapped across his back with the scabbard worn by his ancestor, Godric Gryffindor, himself. Harry has used it to threaten Dumbledore, Snape and Draco whenever they cross his lines.
- Costume Porn: Harry's outfit as the bearer of ice and snow is described in great detail, with no expense spared on how both beautiful and majestic it looks. Snowflakes and diamonds are a common motif in the outfit, showing off Harry's new role as an ice elemental and bearer of an element.
- Darker and Edgier: To some extent. Harry has no qualms against physically hurting someone or even killing them if they pose a threat to his wellbeing. See Death by Adaptation below.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Dennis the Muggle dies after Harry’s magic causes a lamppost to fall onto him, crushing his head in gory fashion.
- Piers Polkiss dies after Harry indirectly causes a pair of scissors (incidentally being recklessly played with by another boy) to fly over and stab him right in between the eyes.
- Petunia and Vernon Dursley meet their ends when magically-controlled knives stabbed them over a period of ten minutes before they finally died. Their bodies are subsequently cremated to hide the evidence.
- Dudley Dursley dies when Harry uses a cleaver to decapitate him. Just like his parents before him, Dudley’s corpse is cremated to hide the evidence of the murder.
- Jacob is an exception since Harry had no part in his death, although it is currently unknown how Jacob died.
- Elemental Embodiment: The main cast is implied to become the bearers of the five elements - earth, air, fire, water, and ice and snow, the last being the bridge between magic and mankind.
- Harry is the bearer of ice and snow, and the bridge as he is Mother Magic's champion.
- Epic Fail:
- When Harry is sorted into Hufflepuff, Dumbledore tries to rescue his schemes by attempting to re-sort Harry into Gryffindor. Not only does Harry draw his sword on him, the Sorting Hat humiliates Dumbledore in front of the entire school, with Hogwarts backing his declaration as final.
- Snape confronts Harry for causing bodily harm to Draco. Not only does Harry hold his ground, he uses his sword on Snape, destroying the latter’s wand and slashing him on the cheek. As a show of support, Hogwarts prevents the staff from intervening. Harry emerges from the entire debacle scot-free.
- Draco tries to sabotage Harry’s potion, only for Harry to turn the tables and cause Draco’s potion to explode.
- Expecting Someone Taller: Inverted. Several Hogwarts students remark in shock that Harry is far taller than they had expected him to be when his name was called for his Sorting.
- Even the Guys Want Him:
- The sight of Harry swimming in the Great Lake causes a brawl to break out in one of the corridors overlooking the lake, started by two Ravenclaw prefects, a brother and sister, who each want a piece of the hot hunk that is the Boy-Who-Lived.
- Neville is seen showing some attraction to Harry when he watches the latter strip off his robes to begin his training in the Room of Requirement.
- For Want Of A Nail: Many instances.
- Harry murders his abusive relatives in cold blood for all the pain he was subjected to.
- Instead of spending ten years essentially a slave to his relatives, Harry undergoes six years of intense, rigorous magical and physical training under Jacob and the goblins.
- Harry was small and skinny as an eleven-year-old child thanks to his abusive upbringing. Here, Harry has been described as being as tall as a sixteen-year-old and had muscle mass rivalling that of professional Quidditch beaters and keepers. All this while still being eleven years old.
- Instead of Hagrid, Professor Pomona Sprout is Harry’s chaperone in his trip to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies.
- Hedwig is replaced by a gyrfalcon that Harry purchases from Magical Menagerie, which he names Eira.
- Harry’s wand is not the brother wand of Voldemort’s in this story. In fact, Ollivander has to custom-make a wand for Harry since all the available wands reject the protagonist.
- Harry has no trouble finding Platform Nine and Three-Quarters since Jacob took him there when he was younger.
- Harry spends the entire train-ride to Hogwarts alone, instead of riding with Ron Weasley as in canon.
- Harry was far from impressed with Hogwarts castle, a complete shift from the awe his canon counterpart experienced upon seeing the school for the first time.
- The Sorting Hat has a name in this story – Aldrich.
- Harry is sorted in Hufflepuff, instead of Gryffindor, much to the shock of the entire school.
- In-canon, Harry has no major titles except for being the heir to the Potter family line. Here, he is the Heir to the Gryffindor line and is therefore given his birth-right, the Sword of Gryffindor.
- Thanks to his increased intelligence and training, Harry breezes through his first-year classes, much to Hermione’s consternation.
- Neville didn’t have much interaction with the canon Golden Trio until further down the series. Here, with Harry agreeing to train Neville, the latter’s presence has been expanded and his role as a major character cemented.
- Harry essentially becomes an ice elemental in Chapter 11, something that never happens in the canon franchise and is not even discussed at all.
- Hermione is paired with Viktor Krum, not Ron Weasley like in canon.
- Good Is Not Soft: Harry. Cross his lines and you will pay for it dearly.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Draco Malfoy tries to establish himself as the alpha male among the first-years on the mistaken belief that Harry Potter was not going to attend Hogwarts, only to get humiliated when Harry presented himself to the entire school.
- In Spite of a Nail: Several instances.
- Harry is still abused by his relatives as in-canon, though this is short-lived given how Harry murders them in cold blood at the age of five.
- Hermione is introduced just like in-canon, coming to Harry’s compartment aboard the Hogwarts Express looking for Neville’s toad.
- Draco Malfoy comes looking for the Boy-Who-Lived aboard the Hogwarts Express like in-canon, though he misses Harry because of preconceived perceptions and Harry’s ability to disguise himself.
- Later in Hogwarts, Harry refuses Draco’s offer of friendship just like in-canon, though the rebuttal here is far more dramatic and violent.
- McGonagall tasks the first-years to attempt at transfiguring a matchstick into a needle during the first Transfiguration lesson of the year, just like in-canon.
- Snape uses the same difficult potions questions during the first-year class as in-canon, though his target is Ron, not Harry.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Dumbledore. Each attempt to exert influence or control over Harry falls short, either through Harry’s own retaliation, Hogwarts intervening, or other external factors.
- Manipulative Bastard: Dumbledore, again. For a while, his schemes were going as planned, until Harry murders his relatives and disappears for six years. From there, things go rapidly downhill for Dumbledore.
- Mr. Fanservice: Harry. His built physique and handsome looks grab the lustful attention of both male and female students, including upper-years.
- Obligatory Swearing: Harry swears a lot more than in-canon.
- Race Lift:
- Harry is racially-ambiguous in the books and white in the movies. Here, he is biracial with an almond-coloured skin tone, a mix from his dark-skinned father and pale-skinned mother.
- Hermione is also racially-ambiguous in the books and white in the movies. Here, she has dark skin.
- Neville Longbottom is white in both the books and movies. Here, he has Mexican ancestry from his mother’s side and his skin tone is a light brown.
- Shout-Out: The second prophecy Trelawney makes declares that the five elements will be awakened to aid Harry in ridding the Lords of Light and Dark. This is a reference to the five Spirits of the Enchanted Forest from the Disney movie Frozen II. According to the story tags, more references to the Frozen movies will be included throughout the story.
- In Chapter 11, Harry becomes a bearer of the elements, specifically ice and snow, and is the bridge between Mother Magic and mankind. This is a clear reference to the character of Elsa in the Frozen franchise, as she too has cryokinetic powers and fulfils the role of the fifth spirit, bridging people with the magic of nature.
- Slash Fic: Harry and Cedric
- Violence Is Not an Option: Inverted. Harry will not hesitate to resort to physical violence if someone oversteps his boundaries.
- Wham Shot: In this story, Harry is typically steadfast and collected. However, come Chapter 11 where Harry faces his trial to become the bearer of ice and snow, we see the first instance of fear Harry experiences in many years. Understandable really, since he is trapped in the middle of a raging blizzard, and his body is slowly shutting down as the frigid temperatures literally freeze his extremities into solid ice. It would have meant certain death had it not been for the unexpected arrival of Lily Potter's spirit, who comes to aid her only son in his hour of need.
- Younger Than They Look: Harry. While the reason for this hasn’t been revealed yet, Harry is far more developed than a typical eleven-year-old should be, though one could guess that the goblins had a hand in this.
