http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DeconstructedCharacterArchetype/PrincessOfTheBlacks
The story serves to
deconstruct several archetypes in Harry Potter fanfiction.
- Sexually active at a young age? The protagonist, Jen, is revealed to have been raped at the age of 6 and Word of God states that becoming sexually active was simply her way of trying to maintain a level of control after the trauma. Being sexually active at a young age is not only considered disgusting and disturbing by plenty of people, by characters both good and bad (as opposed to some fics where it isn't even touched upon or even accepted without question by the "good guys"), the only use for it would be for prostitution, which Jen was doing prior to the start of the series. In fact, when Sirius meets her in the beginning of the series and tells her that he is her godfather, she expected that he simply wanted her to "entertain" him and other people, much to his disgust and horror. And when Narcissa Malfoy is revealed to have been a former client of Jen's, Sirius flips out on her while Tonks and her mother are creeped out before it turns out that Tonks altered her sexual organs during sex and Sirius practiced bestiality.
- This also gets Jen in trouble in the second book, where she has begun a relationship with Luna, but didn't achieve the sexual aspect at that point. Growing frustrated with Luna's chastity, Jen ends up having sex with someone else while she waited...right as Luna walked in on the act. First off, it nearly destroys their new relationship. Second, because she's unaccustomed to mutual romantic relationships, it never occurred to Jen that sleeping with someone else was considered cheating on your boyfriend/girlfriend. Thirdly, it takes a talk from Flickwick and another one with Luna for both parties to come to an understanding on the situation.
- "The Potters Giving Up Harry/Fem!Harry despite surviving Voldemort's attack" is shredded to pieces as well. Lily states that she and James believed that Jen was a Squib and thought that she would have been better off living with Muggles like the Dursleys. Not only were they proven wrong when they meet Jen many years later, Jen also states that the reasons they gave were particularly flimsy and no better than the mindset of a Pureblood supremacist in the Wizardry World.
- Harry/Fem!Harry taking on awesome new name after Dark and Troubled Past? Jen's real name was Jennifer. Her no longer identifying herself as that or Jenny isn't a sign of badassness, but of That Man Is Dead and Broken Bird. She doesn't even declare herself as Jen outright; her mentor prior to the series, Elsie, declared that was her new name after Jen enacted revenge on her rapists.
- Harry/Fem!Harry getting awesome powers? Jen sacrificed her Magical Core (which was already weakened due to Dumbledore sealing off her magic) in exchange for unlimited connection to the Earth's energy. While it means she is capable of magic impossible for wizards or witches her age, it also comes at the cost of making her even more vulnerable to other spells or curses directed at her. It is later revealed that no one other than her could have survived the ritual she had to go through to attain her new power, as Death specifically made that possible for his own purposes.
- Harry/Fem!Harry's childhood abuse being brought up a notch? Word of God states that the reason Jen went through worse abuse opposed to canon was because the Dursleys were angry that she was dumped on their doorstep despite the Potters being alive, seeing that as a sign of laziness, combined with the fact that Jen wasn't a Squib like the Potters believed her to be and still had outburst of accidental magic.
- The Wrong Boy Who Lived trope also comes into play. And... Danny isn't exactly a Jerkass like stories would portray him. While he is Innocently Insensitive, Danny is essentially what Harry would have most likely been like if the Potters weren't killed on Halloween when he was a baby. He's skilled in magic... but only better than the average 4th year and is completely outclassed in the Triwizard Tournament in each Task by the older, more experienced Champions. In fact, he isn't even a real Attention Whore, as Jen finds out from reading his mind. After the experience of discovering Peter Pettigrew was Scabbers and a Death Eater in his third year, Danny reacted as any rational person would and sought to avoid any more adventures for the time being, seeing as he was practically within arm's reach of a potential killer for three years. It doesn't change the fact that most of the school still see him as an Attention Whore due to his standoffish behavior and offer No Sympathy when he is selected for the Tournament.
- It also deconstructs Ron's Jerkass Ball from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when he gives Danny the same cold shoulder he did with Harry in canon. While it is implied that Ron and Danny do reconcile after the First Task per canon, Danny doesn't choose him as his ally in the Fourth Task due to his lingering distrust of his best friend's actions and selects Neville instead, wanting to use the Task as an opportunity to try reconnecting with his godbrother. Easily Forgiven is hardly in play.
- Stupid Good is also tackled. Many of the members of the Order of the Phoenix have qualms against killing Death Eaters, seeing it as "Dark", which infuriates the likes of Mad-Eye Moody, who had to kill Death Eaters to prevent more disaster. Not only that, but the Order actually makes things worse for the Ministry of Magic with their clashing beliefs and interference. It also goes the other way, too. With the example above, Danny is also an example of Stupid Good in that he follows the same beliefs, but isn't above being rational at times, as demonstrated with his legitimate anger and distrust of Ron for getting jealous of him at the worst possible time and for the dumbest of reasons.
- Hermione's Awesome by Analysis in determining that Jen murdered the Dursleys with only a few clues is impressive, but according to Jen, Hermione needs actual proof if she is going to go around accusing a member of a respected Pureblood family of any crimes, especially when Hermione is considered second class due to being Muggleborn.
- Locked Out of the Loop also comes into play and picked apart. In the final book, Jen tells Hermione's parents more about the current war than their daughter did. When Hermione tries to justify not telling them anything, that they wouldn't understand, Jen simply asks what is so hard to understand about a race war, which is essentially what the situation is. Because Hermione decided not to tell her parents anything about the Wizardry World "for their own good", she is unable to persuade her parents of anything after Jen talks to them since Jen told them more in a few conversations than Hermione did in her entire time at Hogwarts.
