Review: The Bureaucratic Error by Iniga
Summary: After his death, Remus finds himself 5 years in the past, having undone Voldemort's defeat and Teddy's birth. He's going to need his old friend Sirius to help him with this one.
Drama/Friendship - Sirius B., Remus L., N. Tonks, 49 Chapters, Words: 210,082, Rated T
Status: WIP (last updated Sep. 29, 2019)
Review: I find it hard to describe why, exactly, I liked this story so much. The story’s definitely not the first to take on the time travel fix-it genre, and certain plot elements are resolved too conveniently. Nevertheless, it was impossible for me not to get emotionally invested in the story and its characters.
Iniga has created marvellously nuanced characters, that are flawed and troubled and real. There are entire chapters focused on Sirius’ PTSD, developing Tonks’, and Harry’s thoughts. The Bureaucratic Error has a fascinating blend of family/friendship tensions, vivid flashbacks and tension from playing with time done right.
Generally speaking, the story seems to spend most of its time focusing on character/plot development chapters with a few action-heavy chapters that change the conventions of canon. I recognize that this may not be for everyone, but to me, the narrative structure of the story makes sense.
The narrative is primarily driven by adult characters who are dealing with their own psychological imbalances while attempting to change the flow of canon. Remus as the time-travelling figure is a premise that suggests difficulties since his character was not privy to the detail that Hermione or Ron would know. It’s also this fact that makes it all the more thrilling for the reader – because we are the only ones who know the sequence of events that Remus’ actions are unravelling.
Overall, The Bureaucratic Error is a story that started off well and is getting stronger as it diverges from canon. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the story unfolds.