Why hello there, Harry Potter fandom!
extemporally commented recently-ish that reading Harry Potter fic is what every fannish person does when they're between fandoms. Actually lately I've been reading so much HP fic I'm practically back in the fandom, which I never thought would happen. Anyway, what I found was that once you've been out of it for a while, HP is actually really hard to navigate when you're looking for new fic. So this is in the nature of a public service, for anybody else doing the in-between fandoms what-ho-HP-I-hardly-know-you thing. Here are some excellent things I missed the first time I was here.
Marauders-era
(... in which I attempt to read all of the Remus/Sirius fic on the Internet and fall over.)
20 Facts About Sirius Black by nopejr
Sirius gen. Short ficlet. 20 things Sirius told Remus. Scattered and random, and you can’t always tell which facts belong together in the same scene, but also charming and heartbreaking and then smile-making too. Although I think I hope the cousin Sirius was talking about wasn't Andromeda. (PG)
Necessary Supplies by xylodemon
Remus/Sirius. One-shot. Valentines Day's coming up, and whatever James and Sirius are planning, Remus is sure he wants nothing to do with it. There's not much plot, but this is charming as all get out, and I love the last line.
Accidents of Natural History by ignipes
Remus/Sirius. One-shot. Remus has been sent to drag Sirius out of his bad mood; he chooses to do it in a boat on a lake in a cave in the quiet under Hogwarts. This is lovely; good snippets of Sirius and Remus at a particular time, and really great sense of place and mood in the setting. (PG-13)
The Problem with Eggnog, Uncommon Thoughts, and Sharing a Bed with Sirius Black by xylodemon
Remus/Sirius. One-shot. Remus wakes up to find himself sharing a bed with Sirius, and panics. Delightful schooldays morning-after fic, with a darling Remus-voice. Also some pretty great Marauder dynamics on the side. (NC-17)
Scenes from a Hogsmeade Pub by beedaily
Lily/James. Novelette. Five turning points in the Lily Evans/James Potter saga that took place at the Three Broomsticks. At the end this doesn’t let you forget what’s coming, and you end up feeling a little bruised in the chest, but it’s in character and witty and meaningful and most of it’s really fun. It follows a slightly different path for Lily and James’s relationship, not James pursuing until Lily gives in but something with shifting dynamics and distinct stages, which I really enjoyed. I would have loved the far-more-epic version in which we got to see all of the development in between the pub scenes, but this managed to convey the development really well with what it had. (PG-13)
shuffle: pair by sodomquake
Sirius/Remus. Novelette. It was Remus who started the joke, but it was Sirius who refused to put it down. Charming and darling and hilarious. I love this Marauder dynamic. And I love the way that Remus is both tormented and a tiny bit delighted by the whole farce. (R)
Dirty Laundry and the Airing Thereof by xylodemon
James/Remus/Sirius + Lily. Novelette. James, Remus and Sirius definitely got off together that night, but the way it went down, well, everybody has their own story. In the end this isn't quite as happy as I wanted it to be - partly because the last voice is Peter's and Peter-POV is never going to be that happy, but also because the emotions don't tie up neatly. But the different ways the stories unfold put me in delighted fits of hilarity, and the threesome - however it happened - is hot and affecting. (NC-17)
being an historical record of events surrounding the unfortunate truth-or-dare game of february the twenty-second, and consequences thereof by sodomquake
Sirius/Remus. Novella. Remus should have known better than to trust James an inch in a game of Truth-or-Dare. A romp of a schooldays Marauder fic - serious bits around Remus's lycanthropy and Sirius's family, but ultimately a kind of madcap joyful. It doesn't exactly resolve everything you expect it to, but I think that works best for Marauder fic, given everything. (NC-17)
shuffle: of a kind by sodomquake
Sirius/Remus. Novella. An AU in which Remus is a professor and still a werewolf, Sirius is a student and also a werewolf, and neither knew about the other until the welcome feast. God damn this is good. It didn't feel like Marauder fic, or even like Sirius and Remus particularly, and I know that should be a point against it, but for me it just meant that I wasn't bothered by the fic messing with the characters' canon for age changes etc. Really, this is heart-stoppingly amazing. It doesn't go in the direction I expect for teacher/student fic or for werewolf fic, in at least a dozen places. It has incredibly appealing characterisation for both of them. It kicks like a fucking mule sometimes, not so much with plot twists as with emotional ... honesty, I suppose? Emotional something. Just, really well written, a really beautiful story. (NC-17)
Juvenilia by sodomquake
Sirius/Remus. WIP novel following the Marauders (especially Remus and Sirius, but also James and Peter, and Regulus and Lily too; the Lily/James so far is great) from first to seventh year at Hogwarts. Only first to third years are completed so far (coming in at something like 89k, so this is already epic), and the last two updates were two years apart, but the WIP-ness is not too painful, possibly because this is a year-by-year narration rather than an arc building to a particular resolution. It's worth braving, anyway, because it's amazing; I'd have to reread The Shoebox Project to be sure, but this may be my favourite schooldays-Marauders longfic. Sirius in particular really, really works for me: his relationship with Regulus, his approach to Remus, just his voice, twist me up inside and delight me. (PG-13 so far.)
Hogwarts-era
(... in which there are rare pairs. Oooh.)
Calm Before the Storm by magentabear
Luna/Dean. Short one-shot. Luna and Dean in the cottage by the sea, after Malfoy Manor. I like this one for the last scene, which is lovely and effective. (PG-13)
The Glorious 10th of May by vissy
Dudley/Piers. One-shot. Piers seems to be the only one who remembers Dudley; miserably, Piers is pretty sure he's actually dead. Shit. This is actually excellent. Not in a dutiful 'unpleasant minor characters deserve love too' way, but in a way where it caught me almost from the first word, and then just went on being great. Piers and Dudley aren't airbrushed, and they're entirely recognisable as themselves, but from the inside there's so much surprising affection. Piers' voice is funny and aching and unique, and the way they see each other is fantastic. And Dudley's last word made me make a sort of delighted noise out loud. (R)
The Relative Truth by rotaryphones
Luna/Neville. Novelette. Luna was already sleeping in the Room of Requirement when it became the rebel student HQ; her dorm room had forgotten she was a girl, and she couldn't get in anymore. This is thoughtful and well written and just the most heartwarming story. Luna is trans, and the way that this works with her worldview, the ideas about things that are true even if nobody else can see them, is perfectly done. Also, I haven't read nearly enough fic about the trio of Luna, Neville and Ginny leading the students in Hogwarts' darkest year, and I want to; it was great to get it here. (PG-13)
Talk to Me by saras-girl
Harry/Draco. Novella. Harry's flying when the hex kicks in, and suddenly the world is dark and silent and a long deadly way down. This kind of sensory deprivation plot, the silent isolated world and the way the main characters' POVs are so sharply differentiated by the different things they can perceive, basically manages to be two of my bulletproof plot kinks at once. And it's done in a really lovely way here. (PG-13)
Post-Hogwarts
(... in which there is mostly Harry/Draco, because a shipper ships on, I guess. But also: femmeslash! One. Yes, well.)
Liaison by nopejr
Harry/Ron. Short one-shot. The stakeout's a bit of a bust, it's looking like. This is more friendship than slash; it's funny and fond and random, and I really liked it. (PG-13)
An Undying Passion for Cupcakes by ignipes
Sirius/Remus & Trio. One-shot. Hermione is making cupcakes, and she wants to do them the Muggle way because that's what her mum did. Post-war, shadows of the war on everyone, but this is so lovely. Funny and a little off-kilter and a little heartbreaking but more smile. (G)
On a Clear Day by saras-girl
Harry/Draco. Novella. Draco, trying to rebuild the Malfoy image through charity involvement, needs Harry's presence at a gala benefit for war orphans; the problems are that Harry dislikes him and, more startlingly, that Harry doesn't actually leave his house anymore. This is really lovely. Draco's rather mild, for him, but there's still some snark, and his internal POV is great in general, you feel for him immediately. And there are real emotional stakes in the story that get you where they're supposed to. (R)
Of Hoof Picks, Centaurs, and Flight by blamebrampton
Harry/Draco. Novella. As Head Auror, Harry is trying to get along with the new Head of Magical Creatures, even if it is Draco Malfoy - but heading off together on a work-related wild centaur foal chase is a bit much. There's little in the way of emotional tension, but this is witty and delightful. (PG-13)
Homecoming by novembersnow
Harry/Draco. Novella. Taking a two-week teaching position at Hogwarts was a way for Harry to distract himself from the way his life was falling apart; he didn't think Potions Master Draco Malfoy was going to be an issue. Harry's revolution in feeling could have had more scope to develop, but this is a well-written and satisfying fic, with a good post-DH Draco, changed and quietened and maturer but still able to be broken into spitting furious constituent parts by Harry Potter. (NC-17)
Unbreakable by seedee
Hermione/Millicent. Novella. When investigative researcher Hermione Granger finds a note outside her office door about a string of suspicious elf suicides, she immediately decides to take the case and then worry about finding a paying client to justify it. This is pretty great. It's a tad hardboiled-noir-detective, and Hermione is not exactly what you'd call in-character, but she and the plot are both firmly grounded in the HP universe. The mystery is really effective, and I didn't guess it despite a couple of really obvious clues, so that was cool. And even more than the solution to the main mystery, I liked the solution to the Elf Agency's sudden wealth, and the reasoning behind it. I'm not sure that I was shipping Hermione/Millicent as such, but the fic was quite hot, even the one scene that ... well, you'll see what I mean. Basically I really enjoyed this. (NC-17)
Creevey at Large by nopejr
Harry/Draco + developing Dennis Creevey pairings. Novel. Five years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Colin is still dead, Dennis still isn't okay with it, and Harry and Draco are both making odd comments about time travel that only might make more sense if Dennis wasn't so drunk. That's just the beginning of things. Parts of this are really excellent, and all of it is charming and warming and well written. There's a strain of self-conscious Douglas Adams-ian meta-humour throughout, which about halfway through broadens into a strong core of fanon crack, which never quite leaves the story, and I think weakens it. Still, taken all in all it's pretty amazing, and hits a bunch of my narrative kinks. This Dennis is excellent. (PG-13)
Epilogue-era
(... exciting new characters! With ridiculous names!)
20 Facts About Lily Luna Potter by nopejr
Gen. Ficlet. In which Lily is a victim of a society that privileges her surname over her individuality, and also, she didn't do it. Funny and brilliant. I would read epics about this Lily. (G)
A Compilation of Things that Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Severus Potter Have in Common, and Some Things that They Don't by moonythestrals
Albus Severus/Scorpius. Short one-shot. What it says on the tin, divided into thematic sections and starting from their first fight on their first night in the dormitory. This is adorable and charming, and I really love the terms on both sides of their deal. (PG-13)
A Small Spark Neglected by gyzym
Teddy/James. Novella. In the middle of an investigation into a harrowing series of arson attacks, Teddy's boss tells him he's going to have to get married, possibly to a Potter. A well-written and engaging next gen story. I didn't feel as though there was enough to sell me on Teddy's feelings, but James is heart-breaking and pretty great, and the whole family cast is used to good effect. (R)
Snatched by blamebrampton
Albus Severus/Scorpius. Novella. A post-Hogwarts story about the Epilogue kids, in which golden boy journalist James Potter is kidnapped, and everybody else tips into crisis mode. This is excellent. In this setup, Scorpius and Al were inseparable for a few years at school, then they fell out and it was Lily who adopted Scorpius as her best friend, and Al and Scorpius have been estranged ever since. Which I love. The romantic resolution itself could have had more emotional payoff, but the characterisation is great and the dialogue is great and the diplomatic/journalistic/investigative process of the kidnapping resolution is really well done. I won't pretend I wouldn't have preferred a more sympathetic treatment of Ginny - less in her actions and more in the other characters' responses to her - and the absence of Teddy also made me a bit sad. Definitely great overall, though. (PG-13)
Seasons of the Witch by nopejr
Victoire/Teddy. Long novella. Four seasons from four consecutive years in which Victoire tries to work out what she wants to be doing, and an old enemy creeps closer. This follows grown-up Victoire and Teddy, but also the quartet of Albus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, Pia Patil and Fred Weasley from first to fourth year, and it's excellent - funny and touching characterisation, brilliant dialogue, good things generally. (PG)
Marauders-era
(... in which I attempt to read all of the Remus/Sirius fic on the Internet and fall over.)
20 Facts About Sirius Black by nopejr
Sirius gen. Short ficlet. 20 things Sirius told Remus. Scattered and random, and you can’t always tell which facts belong together in the same scene, but also charming and heartbreaking and then smile-making too. Although I think I hope the cousin Sirius was talking about wasn't Andromeda. (PG)
Necessary Supplies by xylodemon
Remus/Sirius. One-shot. Valentines Day's coming up, and whatever James and Sirius are planning, Remus is sure he wants nothing to do with it. There's not much plot, but this is charming as all get out, and I love the last line.
Accidents of Natural History by ignipes
Remus/Sirius. One-shot. Remus has been sent to drag Sirius out of his bad mood; he chooses to do it in a boat on a lake in a cave in the quiet under Hogwarts. This is lovely; good snippets of Sirius and Remus at a particular time, and really great sense of place and mood in the setting. (PG-13)
The Problem with Eggnog, Uncommon Thoughts, and Sharing a Bed with Sirius Black by xylodemon
Remus/Sirius. One-shot. Remus wakes up to find himself sharing a bed with Sirius, and panics. Delightful schooldays morning-after fic, with a darling Remus-voice. Also some pretty great Marauder dynamics on the side. (NC-17)
Scenes from a Hogsmeade Pub by beedaily
Lily/James. Novelette. Five turning points in the Lily Evans/James Potter saga that took place at the Three Broomsticks. At the end this doesn’t let you forget what’s coming, and you end up feeling a little bruised in the chest, but it’s in character and witty and meaningful and most of it’s really fun. It follows a slightly different path for Lily and James’s relationship, not James pursuing until Lily gives in but something with shifting dynamics and distinct stages, which I really enjoyed. I would have loved the far-more-epic version in which we got to see all of the development in between the pub scenes, but this managed to convey the development really well with what it had. (PG-13)
shuffle: pair by sodomquake
Sirius/Remus. Novelette. It was Remus who started the joke, but it was Sirius who refused to put it down. Charming and darling and hilarious. I love this Marauder dynamic. And I love the way that Remus is both tormented and a tiny bit delighted by the whole farce. (R)
Dirty Laundry and the Airing Thereof by xylodemon
James/Remus/Sirius + Lily. Novelette. James, Remus and Sirius definitely got off together that night, but the way it went down, well, everybody has their own story. In the end this isn't quite as happy as I wanted it to be - partly because the last voice is Peter's and Peter-POV is never going to be that happy, but also because the emotions don't tie up neatly. But the different ways the stories unfold put me in delighted fits of hilarity, and the threesome - however it happened - is hot and affecting. (NC-17)
being an historical record of events surrounding the unfortunate truth-or-dare game of february the twenty-second, and consequences thereof by sodomquake
Sirius/Remus. Novella. Remus should have known better than to trust James an inch in a game of Truth-or-Dare. A romp of a schooldays Marauder fic - serious bits around Remus's lycanthropy and Sirius's family, but ultimately a kind of madcap joyful. It doesn't exactly resolve everything you expect it to, but I think that works best for Marauder fic, given everything. (NC-17)
shuffle: of a kind by sodomquake
Sirius/Remus. Novella. An AU in which Remus is a professor and still a werewolf, Sirius is a student and also a werewolf, and neither knew about the other until the welcome feast. God damn this is good. It didn't feel like Marauder fic, or even like Sirius and Remus particularly, and I know that should be a point against it, but for me it just meant that I wasn't bothered by the fic messing with the characters' canon for age changes etc. Really, this is heart-stoppingly amazing. It doesn't go in the direction I expect for teacher/student fic or for werewolf fic, in at least a dozen places. It has incredibly appealing characterisation for both of them. It kicks like a fucking mule sometimes, not so much with plot twists as with emotional ... honesty, I suppose? Emotional something. Just, really well written, a really beautiful story. (NC-17)
Juvenilia by sodomquake
Sirius/Remus. WIP novel following the Marauders (especially Remus and Sirius, but also James and Peter, and Regulus and Lily too; the Lily/James so far is great) from first to seventh year at Hogwarts. Only first to third years are completed so far (coming in at something like 89k, so this is already epic), and the last two updates were two years apart, but the WIP-ness is not too painful, possibly because this is a year-by-year narration rather than an arc building to a particular resolution. It's worth braving, anyway, because it's amazing; I'd have to reread The Shoebox Project to be sure, but this may be my favourite schooldays-Marauders longfic. Sirius in particular really, really works for me: his relationship with Regulus, his approach to Remus, just his voice, twist me up inside and delight me. (PG-13 so far.)
Hogwarts-era
(... in which there are rare pairs. Oooh.)
Calm Before the Storm by magentabear
Luna/Dean. Short one-shot. Luna and Dean in the cottage by the sea, after Malfoy Manor. I like this one for the last scene, which is lovely and effective. (PG-13)
The Glorious 10th of May by vissy
Dudley/Piers. One-shot. Piers seems to be the only one who remembers Dudley; miserably, Piers is pretty sure he's actually dead. Shit. This is actually excellent. Not in a dutiful 'unpleasant minor characters deserve love too' way, but in a way where it caught me almost from the first word, and then just went on being great. Piers and Dudley aren't airbrushed, and they're entirely recognisable as themselves, but from the inside there's so much surprising affection. Piers' voice is funny and aching and unique, and the way they see each other is fantastic. And Dudley's last word made me make a sort of delighted noise out loud. (R)
The Relative Truth by rotaryphones
Luna/Neville. Novelette. Luna was already sleeping in the Room of Requirement when it became the rebel student HQ; her dorm room had forgotten she was a girl, and she couldn't get in anymore. This is thoughtful and well written and just the most heartwarming story. Luna is trans, and the way that this works with her worldview, the ideas about things that are true even if nobody else can see them, is perfectly done. Also, I haven't read nearly enough fic about the trio of Luna, Neville and Ginny leading the students in Hogwarts' darkest year, and I want to; it was great to get it here. (PG-13)
Talk to Me by saras-girl
Harry/Draco. Novella. Harry's flying when the hex kicks in, and suddenly the world is dark and silent and a long deadly way down. This kind of sensory deprivation plot, the silent isolated world and the way the main characters' POVs are so sharply differentiated by the different things they can perceive, basically manages to be two of my bulletproof plot kinks at once. And it's done in a really lovely way here. (PG-13)
Post-Hogwarts
(... in which there is mostly Harry/Draco, because a shipper ships on, I guess. But also: femmeslash! One. Yes, well.)
Liaison by nopejr
Harry/Ron. Short one-shot. The stakeout's a bit of a bust, it's looking like. This is more friendship than slash; it's funny and fond and random, and I really liked it. (PG-13)
An Undying Passion for Cupcakes by ignipes
Sirius/Remus & Trio. One-shot. Hermione is making cupcakes, and she wants to do them the Muggle way because that's what her mum did. Post-war, shadows of the war on everyone, but this is so lovely. Funny and a little off-kilter and a little heartbreaking but more smile. (G)
On a Clear Day by saras-girl
Harry/Draco. Novella. Draco, trying to rebuild the Malfoy image through charity involvement, needs Harry's presence at a gala benefit for war orphans; the problems are that Harry dislikes him and, more startlingly, that Harry doesn't actually leave his house anymore. This is really lovely. Draco's rather mild, for him, but there's still some snark, and his internal POV is great in general, you feel for him immediately. And there are real emotional stakes in the story that get you where they're supposed to. (R)
Of Hoof Picks, Centaurs, and Flight by blamebrampton
Harry/Draco. Novella. As Head Auror, Harry is trying to get along with the new Head of Magical Creatures, even if it is Draco Malfoy - but heading off together on a work-related wild centaur foal chase is a bit much. There's little in the way of emotional tension, but this is witty and delightful. (PG-13)
Homecoming by novembersnow
Harry/Draco. Novella. Taking a two-week teaching position at Hogwarts was a way for Harry to distract himself from the way his life was falling apart; he didn't think Potions Master Draco Malfoy was going to be an issue. Harry's revolution in feeling could have had more scope to develop, but this is a well-written and satisfying fic, with a good post-DH Draco, changed and quietened and maturer but still able to be broken into spitting furious constituent parts by Harry Potter. (NC-17)
Unbreakable by seedee
Hermione/Millicent. Novella. When investigative researcher Hermione Granger finds a note outside her office door about a string of suspicious elf suicides, she immediately decides to take the case and then worry about finding a paying client to justify it. This is pretty great. It's a tad hardboiled-noir-detective, and Hermione is not exactly what you'd call in-character, but she and the plot are both firmly grounded in the HP universe. The mystery is really effective, and I didn't guess it despite a couple of really obvious clues, so that was cool. And even more than the solution to the main mystery, I liked the solution to the Elf Agency's sudden wealth, and the reasoning behind it. I'm not sure that I was shipping Hermione/Millicent as such, but the fic was quite hot, even the one scene that ... well, you'll see what I mean. Basically I really enjoyed this. (NC-17)
Creevey at Large by nopejr
Harry/Draco + developing Dennis Creevey pairings. Novel. Five years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Colin is still dead, Dennis still isn't okay with it, and Harry and Draco are both making odd comments about time travel that only might make more sense if Dennis wasn't so drunk. That's just the beginning of things. Parts of this are really excellent, and all of it is charming and warming and well written. There's a strain of self-conscious Douglas Adams-ian meta-humour throughout, which about halfway through broadens into a strong core of fanon crack, which never quite leaves the story, and I think weakens it. Still, taken all in all it's pretty amazing, and hits a bunch of my narrative kinks. This Dennis is excellent. (PG-13)
Epilogue-era
(... exciting new characters! With ridiculous names!)
20 Facts About Lily Luna Potter by nopejr
Gen. Ficlet. In which Lily is a victim of a society that privileges her surname over her individuality, and also, she didn't do it. Funny and brilliant. I would read epics about this Lily. (G)
A Compilation of Things that Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Severus Potter Have in Common, and Some Things that They Don't by moonythestrals
Albus Severus/Scorpius. Short one-shot. What it says on the tin, divided into thematic sections and starting from their first fight on their first night in the dormitory. This is adorable and charming, and I really love the terms on both sides of their deal. (PG-13)
A Small Spark Neglected by gyzym
Teddy/James. Novella. In the middle of an investigation into a harrowing series of arson attacks, Teddy's boss tells him he's going to have to get married, possibly to a Potter. A well-written and engaging next gen story. I didn't feel as though there was enough to sell me on Teddy's feelings, but James is heart-breaking and pretty great, and the whole family cast is used to good effect. (R)
Snatched by blamebrampton
Albus Severus/Scorpius. Novella. A post-Hogwarts story about the Epilogue kids, in which golden boy journalist James Potter is kidnapped, and everybody else tips into crisis mode. This is excellent. In this setup, Scorpius and Al were inseparable for a few years at school, then they fell out and it was Lily who adopted Scorpius as her best friend, and Al and Scorpius have been estranged ever since. Which I love. The romantic resolution itself could have had more emotional payoff, but the characterisation is great and the dialogue is great and the diplomatic/journalistic/investigative process of the kidnapping resolution is really well done. I won't pretend I wouldn't have preferred a more sympathetic treatment of Ginny - less in her actions and more in the other characters' responses to her - and the absence of Teddy also made me a bit sad. Definitely great overall, though. (PG-13)
Seasons of the Witch by nopejr
Victoire/Teddy. Long novella. Four seasons from four consecutive years in which Victoire tries to work out what she wants to be doing, and an old enemy creeps closer. This follows grown-up Victoire and Teddy, but also the quartet of Albus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, Pia Patil and Fred Weasley from first to fourth year, and it's excellent - funny and touching characterisation, brilliant dialogue, good things generally. (PG)