The Eyes
is a crossover fan fiction between Harry Potter and the Cthulhu Mythos. Harry somehow spends his childhood in Arkham Asylum, from where he is rescued by Albus Dumbledore. However Harry's ability to perceive certain things set into motion a series of unfortunate events.
The Eyes provides example of:
- Anti-Hero: Snape...as might be expected. He has traits of both type-2 and type-3 anti-heroes.
- Blatant Lies: Harry consciously invokes this in an attempt to avoid or minimize certain encounters, and in chapter seven Flitwick unknowingly invokes this to avoid the horror of actually understanding Harry's words. It might actually have worked:"The Human mind, for all its flaws, had one thing that excelled beyond all doubt and comprehension. It could lie to itself, it could ignore that which was the horrible truth of the world."
- Big Damn Heroes: Invoked; Snape stumbles across Harry outside of his office after the latter is driven to follow a voice into the dungeons. After some initial hostility, Snape gives in to Harry's pleas for help and takes him up to the castle, but a sound from behind them makes him take the stairs two steps at a time.
- Cerebus Retcon: Sybill Trelawney is not a fake seer at all, her visions are all too real, because in this version, she got her second sight from the Necronomicon as a child.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Harry threatens Zacharias Smith with this after the latter makes fun of him."I will pluck your arm, Zacharias Smith, and then I will not give it back."
- Driven to Suicide: Dumbledore commits suicide after he begins to see what Harry sees.
- Eldritch Abomination: Each chapter is named for one. Cthulhu briefly awakens in chapter 5, though he remains dreaming.
- God Is Evil: Subverted; in true Lovecraftian fashion, the Great Old Ones or the Outer Gods or the Elder Gods are all described as neither good nor evil, merely indifferent.
- Humanoid Abomination: Harry's description of the people at the Asylum."They are puppets. The old lady stinks of oil and ricin is empty inside. The man who brought me here is not Human. The man next to the door is a monster. They are all creatures. They devoured their innards. They aren't meant to be. They do not blink, they do not breathe, eat, properly talk or walk. They walk, but not well enough. They are not real. They are more than real. I see them, I see their shadows at night dance under the pale light of death's candle, and I'm afraid. Afraid..."
- Ignorance Is Bliss: In the final chapter, Snape Obliviates himself after killing Harry, forgetting everything that had happened throughout the story, and allowing him to live out his life in relative peace
- Madness Mantra: Harry mutters a variety of these from time to time.
- Mercy Kill: Snape kills Harry (by sending him through The Gate in the Ministry) both as an act of mercy, and to stop whatever role he was meant to play in the coming End. As a result, the world is saved, however temporary that might be
- Mind Screw: Dumbledore's attempts to see what Harry sees results in this, as did Flitwick's attempt to make sense of Harry's excuse for coming to class late. Flitwick bounces back, but Dumbledore on the other hand...
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Harry may accidentally have awakened Cthulhu because of his attempts to convince himself that it still lies asleep.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When Harry pleads with Snape for help in chapter two, Snape notes the expression on Harry's face isn't so different from his (Snape's) when he was begging for help from Dumbledore in the past.
- Pet the Dog: Snape actually shows concern for Harry's well-being.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Chapter five invokes this."In the deep dark city of R'lyeh, where Cthulhu slept and lay dead, the darkness disappeared. Someone had turned on the lights. In the deep bright city of R'lyeh, where Cthulhu slept and lay dead, an inhuman sound that was and was not, that could rend the soul from its mortal coil with the ease a scorching knife had cutting butter, soon emerged. In the deep bright city of R'lyeh...Cthulhu dreamed."
- Ultimatly averted, atleast for now, with Harry's death. Cthulhu returns to his slumber, and all that remains is the memory of a strange day of madness that engufled the world, yet disappeared as quickly as it had come
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: The Necronomicon finally makes an appearance in chapter nine.
- Villainous Breakdown: Lily or whatever nightmare is pretending to be her has one of these when she realizes what Snape is about to do.
