Benquo comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, February 2015, chapter 113 - Less Wrong Discussion
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Harry's assets:
Foreshadowing / prior hints of resources:
That seems to rule out apparition, portkeys, phoenixes, and time looping, so transfiguring a time turner into his hands is out, as is trying to get into a Phoenix frame of mind to summon Fawkes or another phoenix to send a message, or using his portkey.
This vaguely suggests a few options:
Harry can sort of wandlessly wordlessly cast something like a Patronus, he could try to do something like this to Voldemort.
This strongly suggests a Buckytube monofilament whipped around to decapitate all the Death Eaters. This is the most plausible solution, and it's somewhat compatible with the other Partial Transfiguration option, which is to tell Voldemort about it in exchange for protecting Harry's life (and to buy time). This is also compatible with Harry's glasses being a transfigured shield (or transfigured charmed magical shield, in either case there's no reason someone couldn't have just magically LASIK-ed his vision), which would give him a defense against any non-Killing Curse spells that go his way from anyone he doesn't immediately kill. Then he lunges for (or accios) the pouch and cloak, retrieving Hufflepuff (Susan) Bones and Cedric, to help him fight the remaining Death Eaters (or go for help). Then he casts a Patronus to get McGonagall (and insists she not disrupt the game).
Ah, better yet - the glasses should be his broomstick. Or his broomstick AND a shield. AND a gas mask. Fit together (since glasses are composite objects anyway).
OK, so here's the attack plan, to tear apart Voldemort's plan at every possible point of intervention:
1) While transfiguring a long buckytube monofilament out of his own flesh, tell Voldemort about partial transfiguration, demand that Harry himself be saved in return.
2) Wordlessly cast the Patronus at Voldemort to try to throw him off balance - as a bonus, if he manages a worldess wandless corporeal Patronus it can do step 5 early, OR possibly block a Killing Curse (not sure).
3) Whip the buckytube around to slice through a bunch of Death Eaters. Simultaneously, wordlessly wandlessly finite incantatem the glasses to detransfigure his broomstick.
4) Fly to (or accio while dodging curses) the pouch, extract Susan and Cedric, put on the cloak. They know from battle class that they should lift the sleep spell on their ally Hermione. (Harry shouldn't since it would be an interaction with Voldemort's magic that would be more likely to harm Harry than Voldemort.)
5) Cast a Patronus to get help from McGonagall (who can use her time turner so as not to disrupt the game), telling her to bring every competent battle mage she can get.
6) Cast Stuporfy at Voldemort to try and trigger the magical resonance, then fly straight at him to give him a hug.
I don't believe leveraging Voldemort's bargain will work the way you suggest, because Parseltongue does not enforce promises, only honesty. When Harry demands that he himself be saved, Voldemort can simply say "No."
Right - but how low do you think the probability is, and what's the best action it displaces?
Sorry - hadn't logged in for a while. I thought it would have vanishingly low probability of working, though I don't believe that it displaces any other action likely to work (though it does displace saving a person if all else fails, which has nontrivial value). Having said that, curiously enough it seems that this particular suggestion WAS implemented in the official solution, so I guess that was that. :)
This also works well dramatically - it would effectively allow Harry to explain what he's doing as he's doing it.
Is Sirius a Death Eater in this fic? In canon, he was thought to be one, but he never was. Conversely, if he is a Death Eater in this fic, then why would he be Harry's ally? (And Harry knows none of this in any case.)
ETA: Well, Harry does know the general reasons that everybody thinks that Sirius is a Death Eater. But he doesn't know why Sirius might be his ally, or why he might be called ‘Mr. Grim’ (which frankly is a bit extra-universe even to Sirius and Voldemort), or AFAICT why Sirius might not be locked up in Azkaban (since he had no reaction to hearing ‘I'm not serious!’ when he was there).