Hoggywarty continues and the Snapecase begins
hoggywartyxmas continues its splendid flow of gifts. The little Snape here was inspired by Winter by a still Anonymous author who isn't Mysterious at all. There has been a couple more splendid Snape portraits in the exchange.
The Bauble (assorted Hogwarts staff, G) is an outstanding piece that features one of the strongest description of Snape I've read in the last months - it reminded me of perverse_idyll's writing, only that PI didn't participate to the exchange. He's bitter, angry, angsty, all in the right spots. Place a dangerous Snape in a Christmas party featuring a Devil Santa game and the result will be a true wonder of a fic.
Into the Silence (Snape, other HP adults, G) is a compelling re-telling of Snape's last year at Hogwarts, and presents a truly original depiction of the friendship between Snape and Narcissa, a side rarely explored even in fics.
Narcissa spares him a glance of relief and steers Draco toward the door.
Severus watches them go. They have turned him into a murderer, these two, but any anger he harboured has dissipated over the months.
Besides, was it not Dumbledore himself who turned him into a murderer? He has jumped between these two lines of thought all year, never quite sure at whom to direct his frustration.
As for other characters/pairings, I'd suggest you Abydos (Rolanda/Narcissa, PG), a subdued love story poignantly told from Rolanda's point of view, and Rita-Good (Rita/Severus, NC-17) a naughty and completely in-character tale of how Rita Skeeter handle her business.
In the meanwhile, the first two stories of the snapecase have been posted. I haven't had the time to read them yet, though; I'll probably save them for the weekend.