Special Feature: Fic Spotlight
Fic Spotlight
Title: Macbeth
Author: cyropi
Length: 115,185
Rating: T
Warnings: Nil
Summary: 'Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.' Voldemort's second rise to power and a part in Shakespeare's infamous Scottish Play make this fitting for Hermione - especially when she discovers a darker side to Draco Malfoy. PreHBP.
Editor’s Thoughts: My love for Dramione takes me all the way back to 2004, when most of the favourite fics then had Draco and Hermione falling in love at masquerade balls or as Head Boy and Girl. Fairly innocent, fairly lighthearted.
But Macbeth was/is different. Staging a Muggle play in Hogwarts might sound dubious, but the author brilliantly layers the setting with other great storytelling techniques. Characterisation is given a new definition when a less glossy Draco appears on stage, real life terror and confusion channelled into his portrayal of Macbeth. Hermione, known for her confidence which led to her clinching the role of Lady Macbeth, starts to falter when she uncovers the truth of what Draco is afraid of. Harry, upright and suspicious, takes on the role of Macduff to investigate. As it is, Shakespeare's Macbeth had been my literature text that year, and I was blown away by the stunningly accurate parallels that the author had drawn between the play and the characters of Harry Potter.
This classic fic is probably well-known to most Dramione readers, but I encourage new readers to be transported back to a time when dark fics were not altogether common, and for those who've read and enjoyed this fic, to revisit this special piece.