Part I.a of II: Harry Potter recs (a prompted rec set)
For my policy on things such as spoilers, warning, and ratings, please see [ my policy post].
If you'd like to see this rec set with all cuts intact (nicely hiding everything), clicky clicky: [This rec set with cuts intact].
I am immensely, totally, completely, terribly, horribly, and utterly sorry that this has taken so long in coming. I can only offer my apologies and hope that the existence of a rec set does something to make up for it.
And actually, it isn't even a full rec set *facepalm* It's the first half of one though! That has to count for something, as does the fact that it's so bleeding long that it's in two LJ posts, right? (To be honest, I'm not sure if that's a positive or a negative at this point...) The rest of the rec set will be up at some indeterminate time in the future and will be linked here when it exists.
So at long last, I present you with:
Part I*.a** of II: Harry Potter fic recs since HBP(ish)
*because otherwise it would have taken even longer and been even longer
**OMFG, what the fuck, I had to split this up into two posts to fit in LJ's character limits, I'm pretty sure this means I fail at something. Probably knowing when to shut up? *facepalm of ridiculousness*
The prompt for this rec set went something like: (begin prompt)Requirements: Harry Potter fandom; about Harry Potter's generation; very strong preference for fanfic rather than other forms of fanwork; really good writing; written since the publication of HBP, or only just a bit before [for WIPs, the completion date was used ~Fish].
Likes: threesomes; UST and the resolution thereof; teamwork and friendships; both low-key and angst (in their separate ways); medium and long stories preferred but the elegance of a character glimpse or a sharp what-if also appreciated; gen is fine; all gender permutations of romance and sex are fine.
Dislikes: spoilers for the story being recced; 7th year fics.
Do not includes: incest, chan, bestiality.(end prompt)
Since I had to go and look them up (thank you, wikipedia), here are the British dates of publication:
*drumroll* And now onto the recs proper! *drumroll*
Story: Aftermath
Author:
shocfix
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, NC-17, 2700 words
Posting Date: 2007-11-28
Contains: [ skip] Occurs immediately post-Book 7, so potential references to/consequences from that. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: The Battle was won and the Good Guys were busy. Was anyone paying any attention to Harry, any more?
My Notes: A lovely moment between Harry and Draco on the morning after the Battle. (And I think elements from how the Great Hall is described here have snuck into my personal canon.) I enjoy reading fics with 'ships which are not the author's ships-- I find it often makes for an interesting and satisfying approach, and here Shocfix has done quite well at showing Harry/Draco (despite being an ardent Harry/Ron shipper the rest of the time *g*).
Why it fits: This is one of those fics that makes me want to consider it a happy ending, even though the ending itself is less happy as it is perfectly fitting and satisfying (and thus makes the reader happy at the skill of the author). So yeah, short and well-written.
Note about fic access:
shocfix's journal is locked; to read the fics, comment on the one public post. Getting added to the flock is painless and worth it, imo :) I know I don't usually rec locked work, but I first ran across
shocfix yonks ago when the fics were open and I couldn't resist including these despite the flocked status.
Note about this rec: I am making this public post, with its link to and rec of flocked fic, with the author's knowledge and explicit permission.
Story: From the Ashes (AOOO)
Author: fourth-rose //
fourth_rose //
fourth_rose // [Fourth Rose (archive at the end of the universe)] // [Fourth Rose (fictionalley)] // [Fourth Rose (skyehawke)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, R, 60K words
'Ships: Current Harry/Pansy with past Harry/Draco and Draco/Pansy. (Nothing felt like infidelity to me. Hmm, *ponders*, actually, I'm really inclined to say that it's Harry/Draco/Pansy in spirit.)
Posting Dates: 25 October 2004 to 2007-07-05 (The story was editted to bring it in line with HBP canon but it is not Book 7 compliant.)
Contains: This is done from memory, not from re-reading; caveat lector. [ skip] character death pre-story, character injury and death during the story (not of Pansy or Harry or Draco) (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Voldemort is dead. The war is over, but moving on can be harder than expected, especially if you're not sure to which side you belong anymore. Harry and Pansy don't have much in common, but they find themselves in an uneasy alliance in an attempt to save what's left of everything that was dear to them.
My Notes: Basically, I absolutely love this story for the relationship between Harry and Pansy (including not only what it develops into, but for its development as well). This is, I maintain, a love story between these two people who never expected to find themselves in this relationship and would, at the beginning, quite rather prefer /not/ being in it at all. And from that it evolves into something which makes me gooey from the mushiness of it. (Possibly I have strange definitions of 'mushy', but building love and learning how to talk to someone when they speak an entirely different language** is one of those things that I find so very very very sweet and mushy. Plus, I love how eventually there's words which Pansy and Harry use which have shared and precise connotations which are specific to them. That's actually a major mushy-button-pusher for me. [**Here 'language' is used as a short-hand for that complex combination of background/assumptions/world-view/thought-patterns/diction/etc/etc which I don't have any cleaner way of describing. It's how people can share a nominal language and yet be completely muddled and talking right past each other when they try to discuss things.] Aaaand now back to your regularly schedules non-parenthetical) There's a blend of rashness and planning to this Harry that I think is very in character for him post-War. Somehow I'm always surprised by the word count on this story-- I somehow expect it to be only 20K-ish, rather than it's full 60K, which I think is a testament to how easily it flows and how well it moves forward in time. There's also a slightly more complicated view of Wizarding politics than is seen in JKR's work and yet the story doesn't get bogged down in politics, both of which make for a happy Fish. The story was begun years ago and in the beginning you can see the occasional sign that Fourth Rose was a younger author then. However, these smooth out as the story progresses and, regardless, the story is completely worth ignoring the occasional roughness.
Why it fits: I think you might enjoy the understatedness of this story, with Harry and Pansy building a life (and quietly building thier own love-story in the process) together as they navigate around Draco's absence. And perhaps some of the other elements I discuss above would be attractive to you.
Alternate links: LJ entry offering [ 'From the Ashes' as a PDF] // [ epilogue of 'From the Ashes' (LJ)], contains links to all chapters // [ prologue of 'From the Ashes' (LJ)], only contains link to the first chapter // [ 'From the Ashes' tag at LJ] // [all 'From the Ashes' posts, LJ memory] // [From the Ashes (skyehawke)] //
[prologue of 'From the Ashes' (IJ)] // ['From the Ashes' tag (IJ)] // [all 'From the Ashes' posts, IJ memory] // [From the Ashes (fictionalley)] // ['From the Ashes' (the archive at the end of the universe)] // [Fourth Rose at ff.net, only includes Bones fanfic]
Story: Oath Breaker (LJ)
Author: kc-anathema // [Goblin Cat KC (ff.net)] // [kc-anathema (personal site)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, R, 182K words
Posting Dates: 2005-07-06 to 2007-11-25
Contains: [ skip] Character death (on and off-screen). Battle scene(s). Schoolchildren violently beating up on other schoolchildren at school (and thus school not being a safe place for said school children). On-screen preparation of killed animals for potion ingredients. Mindrape (in the sense of: references to past non-consensual use of Legimens on Draco by Voldemort and one instance on-screen of Harry doing the same to Draco). (End of hidden text.) Caveat: I think this list is complete but as this story is very long, I didn't have time to reread it whilst specifically paying attention to this category.
Author's Summary: At the start of seventh year, the Malfoys perform a dramatic doublecross and Draco educates Harry in dark magic.
My Notes: I love the depth of the world-building in this story. I love how there's a reason (beyond simple xenophobia) for the philosophical split in the wizarding world and I love how neither side is entirely morally blameless correct. I love how the there's reasonable and believable character growth (especially the evolution of the Trio from 99.99% distrustful and snappish into allies). I love who Pansy is in this story, and how she's based in canon but how she's so much more than a one-dimensional bitch. The battle section is great! (It was years between when I read this story for this rec and when I had previously read it, but I still remembered my favourite image/scenelet of the battle scene exactly, and at least a bit of much of the rest of the battle section.) There are the occasional wandering POV issues, especially in the first few chapters. But it's totally worth overlooking them in order to be able to read this story.
Why it fits: Long, plotty, intricate story with very well-realised world-building. I know that you're not so much a fan of Seventh Year stories and that this fic takes place during the seventh year at Hogwarts, but FWIW, it doesn't feel like A Seventh Year Story to me.
Story commentary by the author: AFAIK, only the first two chapters have been annotated by the author. [ Ch 1 of Oath Breaker, author's commentary] and [ Ch 2 of Oath Breaker, author's commentary]
Works in this universe: I'm sure after reading 0.2M words the first thing you want to do is read more in the universe, right? Excellent, then you've got a good thing going with this one! Because there's so much in this section, I'm formatting this a little differently than normal, but hopefully it works? (FYI, the author's LJ profile has a nicely charted masterlist, if you'd rather navigate via that.)
Oath Breaker: The Pond at Arviragus [far prequel][The Pond at Arviragus (ff.net)] // [The Pond at Arviragus (personal site)]
Oath Breaker: White Roses Under Snow [parental generation prequel][White Roses Under Snow (ff.net)] // [ White Roses Beneath Snow (LJ)]
Oath Breaker [this rec!]Alternate Links: [ Oath Breaker, chapter 1 (LJ)] // [Harry Potter section (personal site)], scroll to find chapter links for this story. // [ Oath Breaker (LJ tag)] // [Oath Breaker (ff.net)]
Oath Breaker: Grudges Over Wine [missing scene][Grudges Over Wine (ff.net)] // [ Grudges Over Wine (LJ)]
Oath Breaker II: Dawn and Twilight [sequel][ Oath Breaker II (LJ tag)] // [Oath Breaker II (personal site)]; only first three chapters are posted; scroll to find chapter links for this story.
drabbles [assorted times][ Ouroboros (LJ)] // [ Tea Time (LJ)] // [ Bubbles (LJ)]Art: There is fanart interleaved with some of the chapters.
Translations: [Russian translation of Oath Breaker] by Weis // [Chinese translation of Oath Breaker] by Persiancat // [ German translation of Oath Breaker (fanfiktion.de)]|[German translation of Oath Breaker (ff.net)] by [Xera (fanfiktion.de)]|[Catia la Mar (ff.net)].
Story: Lines Undrawn (tasteofpoison)
Author: Arsenic Jade // [Arsenic (tasteofpoison)] // [Arsenic (skyehawke)] // [Arsenic (the archive at the end of the universe)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape (past Hermione/Draco), NC-17, 16K words
Posting Date: 2006-12-30
Contains: HBP spoilers. [ skip] Character death, rape, and torture-- most of which happen off-screen or in the past, but they and their affects are discussed on-screen (and one character death does happen on-screen). (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Snape unknowingly does Hermione a favor.
Prompt: The prompt for this story contains spoilers for plot and/or theme of this story. [ skip] a light slightly angsty, romance with a baby, a grey Snape and a fluffy ending. (End of hidden text.)
My Notes: This is another story which wins an award for having useless summary (actually, I'm not even certain what the summary is referring to! *confusedfish*). The prompt is a much better summary of the story but as it's also somewhat spoilery, I've put it behind hidy-text. This story is set in a world where the war against the Death Eaters has drawn on and now Dumbledore's Army/Order of the Pheonix/etc are pursued by the Ministry as well as by the Death Eaters, and the war (or guerrilla action, as it might be considered now) is going poorly. I love the grit and messiness of the world that is implied by this story (I wish so many more HP fics went the route of letting the war go longer and let it be a little less children's-story-ish). I love watching Hermione and Snape's relationship develop slowly and I really love watching them tell each other the truth by saying things which are falsehoods (because sometimes it's easier to say the words which aren't quite right and to know that the other will fill in the implications/meanings.).
Why it fits: I think I would characterise this story as angst, low-key, and being a romance. So yeah, seems like something you might like :) Rereading this story for this rec set, I was struck by how differently this story reads if one considers Hermione (and other characters as well, but her especially) a reliable narrator, instead of the unreliable narrator which I had previously done (originally it hadn't ever struck me to *not* do it thusly for this story). I do very prefer the unreliable narrator view-- it makes for a much more understated story where there are complex intertwinings between what one says and doesn't say and says-but-doesn't-mean and where the character motivations & decisions make a bit more sense. I like the depth that is brought to the conversations by using an unreliable narrator. I'll stop rambling now.
Alternate links: [ Lines Undrawn (LJ)] // [Lines Undrawn (skyehawke)] // [Lines Undrawn (the archive at the end of the universe)]
Story: Drink Up Thy Zider: A South Hams Pomona
Author: wemyss // [wemyss (fictionalley)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, BBFC certificate 15, 40K words
Posting Date: 2009/10/04
Contains: What follows in the hidden text is a straight copy and paste of the warnings given by the author; it is to some extent spoilerish and to another extent amusing and to a third extent informative. I have not re-read this fic for content, so it's possible that it contains topics which aren't listed here, in contradiction of my usual policy.[ skip] Aberforth's goat; Anglicanism; anti-Semitism on the part of a villain; campanology; church choirs; church fêtes; clotted cream; comedy of manners; cream teas; cricket; the Deathly Hallows; dubious persons from the Continent; Euroscepticism; farm animals; 'Free speech, free passes, class distinction, / Democracy and proper drains' (Betjeman); French, Greek ... and Latin; intemperate language by characters who really must know better; the Matter of Britain; middle-aged persons shagging like recent school-leavers (and contrariwise); ministerial skulduggery; Muggle and next-generation original characters; past character death (referenced); past terror attacks, post-War (referenced); Peter Mandelson (referenced); puns (awful); quotations from most of the corpus of English literature; real cider, real perry, and real ale; remarriages; rude songs sung by drunken village cricketers and choristers; rural accents; the Shipping Forecast; social consciousness; tea; tobacco use; wealth, unabashed; Wurzels. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Harry, like Draco a widower, their children being adults or soon to become so, has retired to a South Hams village, where he farms and makes cider in a gentlemanly way, not that the Ministry accepts that he's not a political threat. When Draco is accused of huge losses and malfeasance in his position at Goldstein & Zabini, the private and merchant bank that straddles the Muggle-magical boundary, Blaise and Pansy arrange for him to escape to South Devon whilst awaiting the investigation. Naturally, Draco's friends -- and his mother and his son -- have a hidden agenda.
My Notes: Steeped in Britishness, this is a delight to read. I read this fic and just fell into it. Despite the characterisation of Harry here being not my favourite -- basically, this Harry is more put together than the Harry in my head (my Harry characterisation was, I think, strongly formed by his behaviour in the early books and as such, he always flails about in my head even as an adult), but it works. Oh, how this story works! It reminds me of AJHall's works in the steeped-in-England aspect and in the way that the Wizard and Muggle worlds overlap.
Why it fits: Long and plotty story, I think it's in a style you will like. Probably the easiest way to tell if you'd like it is read the 'this story contains' that the author wrote-- if it makes you laugh and want to read the story, that's a good sign. If it makes you sigh in annoyance, then save yourself the time and skip the story. Also, whilst the author's header contains spoilers for story contents, it doesn't terribly spoil the story itself, if that makes sense?
Author's Commentary: [ 'Drink Up Thy Zider', author's commentary]
Alternate links: [Drink Up Thy Zider: A South Hams Pomona (direct link to the story sans header info)]
Story: The World of the Living (AOOO)
Author: fourth-rose //
fourth_rose //
fourth_rose // [Fourth Rose (archive at the end of the universe)] // [Fourth Rose (fictionalley)] // [Fourth Rose (skyehawke)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, R, 17K words
Pairing: It's billed as Harry/Draco but it feels more like Harry/Draco/Luna to me, YMMV.
Posting Date: 2007-06-24
Contains: [ skip] Voyeurism, Parselsmut (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: A traumatised war hero and a convicted criminal under the roof of an eccentric journalist make for a rather odd ensemble, but Luna has never had a problem with oddities as long as they make sense.
My Notes: I'm having a horrible time trying to write notes on this for some reason... I think because the story unfolds so naturally, it's like a time-lapse video of a fern, that I can't easily pick any one aspect that sticks out, because it all fits together so well. Ah well, I'd best try to say something, hadn't I. So. Luna's POV is wonderful for this-- just the right amount of understated and invested and aloof. There's realistic tension and resolution of tension. And Fourth Rose has done wonderfully, I think, at building up the relationships between the characters and their emotional connections.
Why it fits: This feels like a poly story to me, as it has Harry and Draco learning to live with each other and themselves, but under Luna's roof, and Luna herself seems important to them. *flails hands about* I'm not sure I'm articulating myself well on this, so I'll just assert that it's L/H/D to me and then drop it. *drops it* (*picks it back up again* I'll try one last time: I claim romantic triad with a sexual duo.) Right, where was I? Triad story, understated, shows the evolution of relationships, Harry's generation. So yeah, perhaps relevant to your interests...
Alternate links: [The World of the Living (skyehawke)] // [The World of the Living (fictionalley)] // [The World of the Living (the archive at the end of the universe)] // [ The World of the Living (personal LJ)] // [ The World of the Living (hd_holidays LJ)] // [The World of the Living (IJ)]
Story: Blood and Brimstone
Author: Calanthe // calanthe-fics // writing comm: calanthe_fanfic
Fandom: Harry Potter fused with Ginn Hale's "Wicked Gentlemen"
Etc.: NC-17, 42K words
Pairing: According to my memory, this is a story primairily focused on the action/plot and not on the Harry/Draco aspect.
Posting Date: 2009-10-28
Contains: What follows is from the author. I didn't have the time/brainpower to reread this fic closely before making the rec, so it's possible that my memory is not precisely faithful to the story. Caveat lector. [ skip] Character death (not Harry or Draco); Harry/OMC; Draco/OMC; creature!fic of sorts (Draco is a demon); blood play (broadly); religion. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: The Inquisition claims it reforms an cleanses Prodigals of their demonic heritage, but Captain Harry Potter learns that the Church has lost its way and is worse by far than the devils in Hells Below.
My Notes: I devoured this story in one sitting-- I'm fairly certain I had intended to break it up over several days, but there was no chance of setting it aside once I started. I quite enjoyed figuring out the elements of the crossed-over world and tracing out how characters and the relationships/ties between characters were modified by the fusion. I remember creating in my head very detailed and lush/rich/elaborate pictures of the setting-- I can still recall some of them now-- and I quite like it when stories can do that for me. The comment I left when I first read it said, "I love how you've made so many changes and yet not actually changed the character of any of these people-- it's so fascinating what's able to be done by simply changing the situation a bit." (I don't think knowledge of the other canon is needed-- indeed, I hadn't even realised that there was a fused canon until after I had finished reading it as I had somehow not noticed that line in the fic header (sometimes I am a silly Fish, yes). However, I very much enjoy picking up world-building and background via osmosis; if this is not your cuppa, you may wish to find a short summary of the world of the other book before reading this piece.)
Why it fits: Very gripping story of medium-ish length that does excellent world-building and world-merging. As you like both angst and UST, I think you will enjoy the slow build to the climax of the story (it's entirely possible that I hissed 'yessss' and did a fistpump at the very end of the story, just out of the shear pleasure of having reached it and having it be just as satisfying as it was.)
Associated fanworks: [artwork by raitala for Blood and Brimstone] (artist links: raitala // [raitala (DeviantArt)])
Alternate links: [ Blood and Brimstone (flocked, LJ)]
Story: How To Be Dead
Author: Circe (circe_tigana)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Major Characters: Harry, Draco, Ron.
Pairings: um, confusing.
Rating: Teen? Adult? (Look, it's a confusing story!)
Length: 6 short LJ posts
Posting Dates: 2005-01-21 to 2005-01-23
Contains: For all the good that it'll do, I did read this story whilst checking for content. However, since there's a lot variablility in what different readers could interpret, I'm not sure if my content notes will be complete for all readers. /o\ Caveat lector! [ skip] Stuff. *hands*. Um, it's post-War, discussion/mentions of wartime casualties, possibly other things too? This is a mind-trippy story and can pack quite a punch, but I'm not sure which elements different readers will pick up on, so I'm not quite sure what this story will contain for different readers. (This is the downside, of course, to reccing stories which are told in not-quite-conventional styles.) (End of hidden text.)
First line: "Why is Draco Malfoy in our spare bedroom?" Ron stands in the doorway, scratching distractedly at the two day's worth of red bristles on his chin. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: This is an odd little story and quite wonderful for being its odd self. I'm not quite sure how to best describe it or summarise it (which is probably obvious from the number of times I handwave in this header, yeah?), but I love the sketch-like quality of the writing (I'd call it spare or minimal, except there are some wonderfully evocative descriptors); it suits the story very well. And I love that even whilst being short with words, the descriptions are not lacking. Perhaps I'm filling in the gaps in my own mind, but if so, it's only at the guidance of what's already in the story, and it makes for a rich world. It's neat how the very minimal/sketch-like style (whilst still containing wonderfully evocative descriptors) both reveals so much and hides so much. Also fun is how if when I read just the first part (before reading the rest), it actually hangs together as a story quite well, but the conclusions I reached about what was going on were different to how I thought by the completion of the story. I have been told that to say that this is a brainfuckytwisty story is to in no way spoil it as a mindfuck of a story, so in summary: this is an excellent mindfuck of a story, I stand amazed by it.
Why it fits:I don't think this hits anything on your list aside from 'about Harry Potter's generation' and 'really good storytelling', but it's got both of those and I think it's excellent.
Note: The story link I gave goes to the last part, which contains links to all parts.
Story: Truck Driving with the Dead
Author: Hijja // kennahijja //
kennahijja // [Hijja (skyehawke)] // [Hijja (archive at the end of the universe)] // [Hijja (restrictedsection)] // [Hijja (fictionalley)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, gen, PG-13, 7K words
Posting Date: 2007-03-03
Contains: [ skip] Some potentially disturbing content. Character deaths. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Isn't it weird how joy can have you almost come apart just when things are at their most perfect?
My Notes: This is another story which has stuck with me from the very first time I read it. It lives in my head as images which were conjured there by the story and which are so very beautiful. It was interesting to reread this story when preparing this rec list as it meant reading the full story associated with the frozen frames which had been kept in my head, so it was odd to see movement and hear dialogue happen to what had previously been several nearly-motionless images which had a soundtrack perhaps (but one which contained no voices)... Anyway, memories and/or brains are weird. But the point is, this is a wonderfully done story. (Sadly, there is no podfic version of this story even though I think it could transform well-- it has the sort of lots of imagery that I think translates well to the spoken word.)
Why it fits: An excellent story. I think you might like the style of it?
Alternate links: [ Truck Driving with the Dead (author's LJ)] // [Truck Driving with the Dead (author's DW)] // [Truck Driving with the Dead (skyehawke)] // [Truck Driving with the Dead (the archive at the end of the universe)]
Story: The Long Black Coat
Author: Blood Cult of Freud // [BloodCultofFreud (digital-quill)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, Teen, 2500 words
Posting Date: 2005-08-13
Contains: [ skip] Voldemort-has-won, so lots of past character death implied (only a few mentioned) and mentions of rape (not graphic and not on-screen). Perhaps there's more that belongs here but if so, I'm not really sure what to say. *makes confused face*. The rating is due solely to thematic content not sexual content. Caveat lector for certes. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Inspired by the song 'The Man in The Long Black Coat'. A future where Voldemort has triumphed, narrated by Hermione's mother. Not a cheerful story.
My Notes: This is a bleak piece which I absolutely adore. The world-building is fabulous, the emotions are strong, I am convinced that Hermione and Snape have a love match here, and it breaks my heart to see what background Hermione doesn't tell her mother. I'm very sad that there isn't transformative work for this story. I think it could make a really wrenching podfic (and it could be fascinating to listen to various readers' performances, there's so much that readers brings to the stories they read...). And there's a number of really nice possible visuals here, which it's probably very obvious by now is something that I love.
Why it fits: You said you hadn't read it, which is a travesty! The choice of Hermione's mother for the narrator in this story is brilliant. I love the sharp revealing look which Hermione's mother brings to this story.
Alternate links: [The Long Black Coat (ashwinder)], note that this link requires an account to access the story.
Story: Red Ink Remains (LJ)
Author: Lady-Altair // [Lady Altair (ff.net)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, gen, PG-ish, 300 words
Posting Date: 2008-01-12
Contains: [ skip] Allusions to character deaths. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: To the girl in the card shop in Ottery St. Catchpole, Fred Weasley was never anyone more than a nice young man who made her laugh one day, but even that's worth remembering.
First line: Fred Weasley's card tricks are like real magic. He finds the Queen of Hearts for her over and over, smiling broadly across the counter as she examines the cards again in disbelief.
My Notes: This is an amazingly short piece to have spawned such wonderfully descriptive images in my mind. What's said and what's not said, what is left to my mind to supply, what is conjured by allusions and half-sketches, all of these are used well here. If I could be tenth as good at telling a novel in less than three hundred words, I would be quite pleased with myself. Plus, I love playing cards being used as a symbol, especially since it's the Queen of Hearts, and especially also that the red ink is emphasized (yeah, *shrugs*, I don't know why either). In slightly more explicable (maybe?) praise, I have to give points for a lovely title-- I love the sound of it in my ears and not only does it sound pretty but it also very nicely ties into the story. Sadly, I know of no other transformative works based off of this story; I would love to see how different folk captured this visual story in art.
Why it fits: This is short enough that if you hate it with the burning passion of ten thousand suns you will have only spent a few minutes on it. And why not give it a read on the off chance that you don't hate it with the burning passion of ten thousand suns *g* ? But more seriously, I, as is probably obvious from what I wrote above, think this is an excellently-written story and a lovely example of what can be accomplished within a short span of words.
Alternate links: [Red Ink Remains (ff.net)]
Story: One Last Lullaby (LJ)
Author: Lady-Altair // [Lady Altair (ff.net)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, gen, G (aside from the 'punch to the heart' part), 1100 words
Posting Date: 2007-08-03
Contains: [ skip] Canon character death. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Andromeda sings one last lullaby to her daughter.
First line: The Great Hall has long been quiet when Narcissa sees Andromeda. // Her sister is still beautiful after all these years, soft as Bellatrix never was, warm as Narcissa will never be. There is an infant in her arms; her grandchild, Narcissa remembers with a start. The werewolf's son.
My Notes: On family and loss and just a bit on comfort. An incisive, emotionally-compelling punch-in-the-heart. This one needs a hanky warning.
Why it fits: Fits your qualifications for a short piece.
Alternate links: [One Last Lullaby (ff.net)]
Author: Lady-Altair // [Lady Altair (ff.net)] //
Fandoms: primarily Harry Potter (also Fairy Tales and Heroes, according to ff.net profile)
My Notes: I contemplated reccing more of Lady Altair's work, and then decided I might as well pick two and then point you to the rest of her catalogue :) She tends to write intense/gripping short-ish one-shots. She's excellent about writing stories which I hadn't thought of, and often writes about minor characters (often in Harry's generation). Her ff.net account looks like it have more stories posted than her LJ, judging from the 'stories posted' versus 'entries made' in the respective profiles.
Why it fits: I think her work meets your listed criteria for short stories.
This rec set is continued on in the next post: [ constellations of fanworks (or 'An orgy of storytelling'. Which is different than 'storytelling of orgies', FYI.)]
As always, if anyone spots any inaccuracies/dead links/missing info/additional transformative works, please let me know.
If you'd like to see this rec set with all cuts intact (nicely hiding everything), clicky clicky: [This rec set with cuts intact].
I am immensely, totally, completely, terribly, horribly, and utterly sorry that this has taken so long in coming. I can only offer my apologies and hope that the existence of a rec set does something to make up for it.
And actually, it isn't even a full rec set *facepalm* It's the first half of one though! That has to count for something, as does the fact that it's so bleeding long that it's in two LJ posts, right? (To be honest, I'm not sure if that's a positive or a negative at this point...) The rest of the rec set will be up at some indeterminate time in the future and will be linked here when it exists.
So at long last, I present you with:
Part I*.a** of II: Harry Potter fic recs since HBP(ish)
*because otherwise it would have taken even longer and been even longer
**OMFG, what the fuck, I had to split this up into two posts to fit in LJ's character limits, I'm pretty sure this means I fail at something. Probably knowing when to shut up? *facepalm of ridiculousness*
The prompt for this rec set went something like: (begin prompt)Requirements: Harry Potter fandom; about Harry Potter's generation; very strong preference for fanfic rather than other forms of fanwork; really good writing; written since the publication of HBP, or only just a bit before [for WIPs, the completion date was used ~Fish].
Likes: threesomes; UST and the resolution thereof; teamwork and friendships; both low-key and angst (in their separate ways); medium and long stories preferred but the elegance of a character glimpse or a sharp what-if also appreciated; gen is fine; all gender permutations of romance and sex are fine.
Dislikes: spoilers for the story being recced; 7th year fics.
Do not includes: incest, chan, bestiality.(end prompt)
Since I had to go and look them up (thank you, wikipedia), here are the British dates of publication:
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: 30 June 1997
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: 2 July 1998
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: 8 July 1999
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: 8 July 2000
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: 21 June 2003
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: 16 July 2005
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: 21 July 2007
*drumroll* And now onto the recs proper! *drumroll*
Story: Aftermath
Author:
shocfix
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, NC-17, 2700 words
Posting Date: 2007-11-28
Contains: [ skip] Occurs immediately post-Book 7, so potential references to/consequences from that. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: The Battle was won and the Good Guys were busy. Was anyone paying any attention to Harry, any more?
My Notes: A lovely moment between Harry and Draco on the morning after the Battle. (And I think elements from how the Great Hall is described here have snuck into my personal canon.) I enjoy reading fics with 'ships which are not the author's ships-- I find it often makes for an interesting and satisfying approach, and here Shocfix has done quite well at showing Harry/Draco (despite being an ardent Harry/Ron shipper the rest of the time *g*).
Why it fits: This is one of those fics that makes me want to consider it a happy ending, even though the ending itself is less happy as it is perfectly fitting and satisfying (and thus makes the reader happy at the skill of the author). So yeah, short and well-written.
Note about fic access:
shocfix's journal is locked; to read the fics, comment on the one public post. Getting added to the flock is painless and worth it, imo :) I know I don't usually rec locked work, but I first ran across
shocfix yonks ago when the fics were open and I couldn't resist including these despite the flocked status.
Note about this rec: I am making this public post, with its link to and rec of flocked fic, with the author's knowledge and explicit permission.
Story: From the Ashes (AOOO)
Author: fourth-rose //
fourth_rose //
fourth_rose // [Fourth Rose (archive at the end of the universe)] // [Fourth Rose (fictionalley)] // [Fourth Rose (skyehawke)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, R, 60K words
'Ships: Current Harry/Pansy with past Harry/Draco and Draco/Pansy. (Nothing felt like infidelity to me. Hmm, *ponders*, actually, I'm really inclined to say that it's Harry/Draco/Pansy in spirit.)
Posting Dates: 25 October 2004 to 2007-07-05 (The story was editted to bring it in line with HBP canon but it is not Book 7 compliant.)
Contains: This is done from memory, not from re-reading; caveat lector. [ skip] character death pre-story, character injury and death during the story (not of Pansy or Harry or Draco) (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Voldemort is dead. The war is over, but moving on can be harder than expected, especially if you're not sure to which side you belong anymore. Harry and Pansy don't have much in common, but they find themselves in an uneasy alliance in an attempt to save what's left of everything that was dear to them.
My Notes: Basically, I absolutely love this story for the relationship between Harry and Pansy (including not only what it develops into, but for its development as well). This is, I maintain, a love story between these two people who never expected to find themselves in this relationship and would, at the beginning, quite rather prefer /not/ being in it at all. And from that it evolves into something which makes me gooey from the mushiness of it. (Possibly I have strange definitions of 'mushy', but building love and learning how to talk to someone when they speak an entirely different language** is one of those things that I find so very very very sweet and mushy. Plus, I love how eventually there's words which Pansy and Harry use which have shared and precise connotations which are specific to them. That's actually a major mushy-button-pusher for me. [**Here 'language' is used as a short-hand for that complex combination of background/assumptions/world-view/thought-patterns/diction/etc/etc which I don't have any cleaner way of describing. It's how people can share a nominal language and yet be completely muddled and talking right past each other when they try to discuss things.] Aaaand now back to your regularly schedules non-parenthetical) There's a blend of rashness and planning to this Harry that I think is very in character for him post-War. Somehow I'm always surprised by the word count on this story-- I somehow expect it to be only 20K-ish, rather than it's full 60K, which I think is a testament to how easily it flows and how well it moves forward in time. There's also a slightly more complicated view of Wizarding politics than is seen in JKR's work and yet the story doesn't get bogged down in politics, both of which make for a happy Fish. The story was begun years ago and in the beginning you can see the occasional sign that Fourth Rose was a younger author then. However, these smooth out as the story progresses and, regardless, the story is completely worth ignoring the occasional roughness.
Why it fits: I think you might enjoy the understatedness of this story, with Harry and Pansy building a life (and quietly building thier own love-story in the process) together as they navigate around Draco's absence. And perhaps some of the other elements I discuss above would be attractive to you.
Alternate links: LJ entry offering [ 'From the Ashes' as a PDF] // [ epilogue of 'From the Ashes' (LJ)], contains links to all chapters // [ prologue of 'From the Ashes' (LJ)], only contains link to the first chapter // [ 'From the Ashes' tag at LJ] // [all 'From the Ashes' posts, LJ memory] // [From the Ashes (skyehawke)] //
[prologue of 'From the Ashes' (IJ)] // ['From the Ashes' tag (IJ)] // [all 'From the Ashes' posts, IJ memory] // [From the Ashes (fictionalley)] // ['From the Ashes' (the archive at the end of the universe)] // [Fourth Rose at ff.net, only includes Bones fanfic]
Story: Oath Breaker (LJ)
Author: kc-anathema // [Goblin Cat KC (ff.net)] // [kc-anathema (personal site)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, R, 182K words
Posting Dates: 2005-07-06 to 2007-11-25
Contains: [ skip] Character death (on and off-screen). Battle scene(s). Schoolchildren violently beating up on other schoolchildren at school (and thus school not being a safe place for said school children). On-screen preparation of killed animals for potion ingredients. Mindrape (in the sense of: references to past non-consensual use of Legimens on Draco by Voldemort and one instance on-screen of Harry doing the same to Draco). (End of hidden text.) Caveat: I think this list is complete but as this story is very long, I didn't have time to reread it whilst specifically paying attention to this category.
Author's Summary: At the start of seventh year, the Malfoys perform a dramatic doublecross and Draco educates Harry in dark magic.
My Notes: I love the depth of the world-building in this story. I love how there's a reason (beyond simple xenophobia) for the philosophical split in the wizarding world and I love how neither side is entirely morally blameless correct. I love how the there's reasonable and believable character growth (especially the evolution of the Trio from 99.99% distrustful and snappish into allies). I love who Pansy is in this story, and how she's based in canon but how she's so much more than a one-dimensional bitch. The battle section is great! (It was years between when I read this story for this rec and when I had previously read it, but I still remembered my favourite image/scenelet of the battle scene exactly, and at least a bit of much of the rest of the battle section.) There are the occasional wandering POV issues, especially in the first few chapters. But it's totally worth overlooking them in order to be able to read this story.
Why it fits: Long, plotty, intricate story with very well-realised world-building. I know that you're not so much a fan of Seventh Year stories and that this fic takes place during the seventh year at Hogwarts, but FWIW, it doesn't feel like A Seventh Year Story to me.
Story commentary by the author: AFAIK, only the first two chapters have been annotated by the author. [ Ch 1 of Oath Breaker, author's commentary] and [ Ch 2 of Oath Breaker, author's commentary]
Works in this universe: I'm sure after reading 0.2M words the first thing you want to do is read more in the universe, right? Excellent, then you've got a good thing going with this one! Because there's so much in this section, I'm formatting this a little differently than normal, but hopefully it works? (FYI, the author's LJ profile has a nicely charted masterlist, if you'd rather navigate via that.)
Oath Breaker: The Pond at Arviragus [far prequel][The Pond at Arviragus (ff.net)] // [The Pond at Arviragus (personal site)]
Oath Breaker: White Roses Under Snow [parental generation prequel][White Roses Under Snow (ff.net)] // [ White Roses Beneath Snow (LJ)]
Oath Breaker [this rec!]Alternate Links: [ Oath Breaker, chapter 1 (LJ)] // [Harry Potter section (personal site)], scroll to find chapter links for this story. // [ Oath Breaker (LJ tag)] // [Oath Breaker (ff.net)]
Oath Breaker: Grudges Over Wine [missing scene][Grudges Over Wine (ff.net)] // [ Grudges Over Wine (LJ)]
Oath Breaker II: Dawn and Twilight [sequel][ Oath Breaker II (LJ tag)] // [Oath Breaker II (personal site)]; only first three chapters are posted; scroll to find chapter links for this story.
drabbles [assorted times][ Ouroboros (LJ)] // [ Tea Time (LJ)] // [ Bubbles (LJ)]Art: There is fanart interleaved with some of the chapters.
Translations: [Russian translation of Oath Breaker] by Weis // [Chinese translation of Oath Breaker] by Persiancat // [ German translation of Oath Breaker (fanfiktion.de)]|[German translation of Oath Breaker (ff.net)] by [Xera (fanfiktion.de)]|[Catia la Mar (ff.net)].
Story: Lines Undrawn (tasteofpoison)
Author: Arsenic Jade // [Arsenic (tasteofpoison)] // [Arsenic (skyehawke)] // [Arsenic (the archive at the end of the universe)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape (past Hermione/Draco), NC-17, 16K words
Posting Date: 2006-12-30
Contains: HBP spoilers. [ skip] Character death, rape, and torture-- most of which happen off-screen or in the past, but they and their affects are discussed on-screen (and one character death does happen on-screen). (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Snape unknowingly does Hermione a favor.
Prompt: The prompt for this story contains spoilers for plot and/or theme of this story. [ skip] a light slightly angsty, romance with a baby, a grey Snape and a fluffy ending. (End of hidden text.)
My Notes: This is another story which wins an award for having useless summary (actually, I'm not even certain what the summary is referring to! *confusedfish*). The prompt is a much better summary of the story but as it's also somewhat spoilery, I've put it behind hidy-text. This story is set in a world where the war against the Death Eaters has drawn on and now Dumbledore's Army/Order of the Pheonix/etc are pursued by the Ministry as well as by the Death Eaters, and the war (or guerrilla action, as it might be considered now) is going poorly. I love the grit and messiness of the world that is implied by this story (I wish so many more HP fics went the route of letting the war go longer and let it be a little less children's-story-ish). I love watching Hermione and Snape's relationship develop slowly and I really love watching them tell each other the truth by saying things which are falsehoods (because sometimes it's easier to say the words which aren't quite right and to know that the other will fill in the implications/meanings.).
Why it fits: I think I would characterise this story as angst, low-key, and being a romance. So yeah, seems like something you might like :) Rereading this story for this rec set, I was struck by how differently this story reads if one considers Hermione (and other characters as well, but her especially) a reliable narrator, instead of the unreliable narrator which I had previously done (originally it hadn't ever struck me to *not* do it thusly for this story). I do very prefer the unreliable narrator view-- it makes for a much more understated story where there are complex intertwinings between what one says and doesn't say and says-but-doesn't-mean and where the character motivations & decisions make a bit more sense. I like the depth that is brought to the conversations by using an unreliable narrator. I'll stop rambling now.
Alternate links: [ Lines Undrawn (LJ)] // [Lines Undrawn (skyehawke)] // [Lines Undrawn (the archive at the end of the universe)]
Story: Drink Up Thy Zider: A South Hams Pomona
Author: wemyss // [wemyss (fictionalley)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, BBFC certificate 15, 40K words
Posting Date: 2009/10/04
Contains: What follows in the hidden text is a straight copy and paste of the warnings given by the author; it is to some extent spoilerish and to another extent amusing and to a third extent informative. I have not re-read this fic for content, so it's possible that it contains topics which aren't listed here, in contradiction of my usual policy.[ skip] Aberforth's goat; Anglicanism; anti-Semitism on the part of a villain; campanology; church choirs; church fêtes; clotted cream; comedy of manners; cream teas; cricket; the Deathly Hallows; dubious persons from the Continent; Euroscepticism; farm animals; 'Free speech, free passes, class distinction, / Democracy and proper drains' (Betjeman); French, Greek ... and Latin; intemperate language by characters who really must know better; the Matter of Britain; middle-aged persons shagging like recent school-leavers (and contrariwise); ministerial skulduggery; Muggle and next-generation original characters; past character death (referenced); past terror attacks, post-War (referenced); Peter Mandelson (referenced); puns (awful); quotations from most of the corpus of English literature; real cider, real perry, and real ale; remarriages; rude songs sung by drunken village cricketers and choristers; rural accents; the Shipping Forecast; social consciousness; tea; tobacco use; wealth, unabashed; Wurzels. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Harry, like Draco a widower, their children being adults or soon to become so, has retired to a South Hams village, where he farms and makes cider in a gentlemanly way, not that the Ministry accepts that he's not a political threat. When Draco is accused of huge losses and malfeasance in his position at Goldstein & Zabini, the private and merchant bank that straddles the Muggle-magical boundary, Blaise and Pansy arrange for him to escape to South Devon whilst awaiting the investigation. Naturally, Draco's friends -- and his mother and his son -- have a hidden agenda.
My Notes: Steeped in Britishness, this is a delight to read. I read this fic and just fell into it. Despite the characterisation of Harry here being not my favourite -- basically, this Harry is more put together than the Harry in my head (my Harry characterisation was, I think, strongly formed by his behaviour in the early books and as such, he always flails about in my head even as an adult), but it works. Oh, how this story works! It reminds me of AJHall's works in the steeped-in-England aspect and in the way that the Wizard and Muggle worlds overlap.
Why it fits: Long and plotty story, I think it's in a style you will like. Probably the easiest way to tell if you'd like it is read the 'this story contains' that the author wrote-- if it makes you laugh and want to read the story, that's a good sign. If it makes you sigh in annoyance, then save yourself the time and skip the story. Also, whilst the author's header contains spoilers for story contents, it doesn't terribly spoil the story itself, if that makes sense?
Author's Commentary: [ 'Drink Up Thy Zider', author's commentary]
Alternate links: [Drink Up Thy Zider: A South Hams Pomona (direct link to the story sans header info)]
Story: The World of the Living (AOOO)
Author: fourth-rose //
fourth_rose //
fourth_rose // [Fourth Rose (archive at the end of the universe)] // [Fourth Rose (fictionalley)] // [Fourth Rose (skyehawke)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, R, 17K words
Pairing: It's billed as Harry/Draco but it feels more like Harry/Draco/Luna to me, YMMV.
Posting Date: 2007-06-24
Contains: [ skip] Voyeurism, Parselsmut (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: A traumatised war hero and a convicted criminal under the roof of an eccentric journalist make for a rather odd ensemble, but Luna has never had a problem with oddities as long as they make sense.
My Notes: I'm having a horrible time trying to write notes on this for some reason... I think because the story unfolds so naturally, it's like a time-lapse video of a fern, that I can't easily pick any one aspect that sticks out, because it all fits together so well. Ah well, I'd best try to say something, hadn't I. So. Luna's POV is wonderful for this-- just the right amount of understated and invested and aloof. There's realistic tension and resolution of tension. And Fourth Rose has done wonderfully, I think, at building up the relationships between the characters and their emotional connections.
Why it fits: This feels like a poly story to me, as it has Harry and Draco learning to live with each other and themselves, but under Luna's roof, and Luna herself seems important to them. *flails hands about* I'm not sure I'm articulating myself well on this, so I'll just assert that it's L/H/D to me and then drop it. *drops it* (*picks it back up again* I'll try one last time: I claim romantic triad with a sexual duo.) Right, where was I? Triad story, understated, shows the evolution of relationships, Harry's generation. So yeah, perhaps relevant to your interests...
Alternate links: [The World of the Living (skyehawke)] // [The World of the Living (fictionalley)] // [The World of the Living (the archive at the end of the universe)] // [ The World of the Living (personal LJ)] // [ The World of the Living (hd_holidays LJ)] // [The World of the Living (IJ)]
Story: Blood and Brimstone
Author: Calanthe // calanthe-fics // writing comm: calanthe_fanfic
Fandom: Harry Potter fused with Ginn Hale's "Wicked Gentlemen"
Etc.: NC-17, 42K words
Pairing: According to my memory, this is a story primairily focused on the action/plot and not on the Harry/Draco aspect.
Posting Date: 2009-10-28
Contains: What follows is from the author. I didn't have the time/brainpower to reread this fic closely before making the rec, so it's possible that my memory is not precisely faithful to the story. Caveat lector. [ skip] Character death (not Harry or Draco); Harry/OMC; Draco/OMC; creature!fic of sorts (Draco is a demon); blood play (broadly); religion. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: The Inquisition claims it reforms an cleanses Prodigals of their demonic heritage, but Captain Harry Potter learns that the Church has lost its way and is worse by far than the devils in Hells Below.
My Notes: I devoured this story in one sitting-- I'm fairly certain I had intended to break it up over several days, but there was no chance of setting it aside once I started. I quite enjoyed figuring out the elements of the crossed-over world and tracing out how characters and the relationships/ties between characters were modified by the fusion. I remember creating in my head very detailed and lush/rich/elaborate pictures of the setting-- I can still recall some of them now-- and I quite like it when stories can do that for me. The comment I left when I first read it said, "I love how you've made so many changes and yet not actually changed the character of any of these people-- it's so fascinating what's able to be done by simply changing the situation a bit." (I don't think knowledge of the other canon is needed-- indeed, I hadn't even realised that there was a fused canon until after I had finished reading it as I had somehow not noticed that line in the fic header (sometimes I am a silly Fish, yes). However, I very much enjoy picking up world-building and background via osmosis; if this is not your cuppa, you may wish to find a short summary of the world of the other book before reading this piece.)
Why it fits: Very gripping story of medium-ish length that does excellent world-building and world-merging. As you like both angst and UST, I think you will enjoy the slow build to the climax of the story (it's entirely possible that I hissed 'yessss' and did a fistpump at the very end of the story, just out of the shear pleasure of having reached it and having it be just as satisfying as it was.)
Associated fanworks: [artwork by raitala for Blood and Brimstone] (artist links: raitala // [raitala (DeviantArt)])
Alternate links: [ Blood and Brimstone (flocked, LJ)]
Story: How To Be Dead
Author: Circe (circe_tigana)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Major Characters: Harry, Draco, Ron.
Pairings: um, confusing.
Rating: Teen? Adult? (Look, it's a confusing story!)
Length: 6 short LJ posts
Posting Dates: 2005-01-21 to 2005-01-23
Contains: For all the good that it'll do, I did read this story whilst checking for content. However, since there's a lot variablility in what different readers could interpret, I'm not sure if my content notes will be complete for all readers. /o\ Caveat lector! [ skip] Stuff. *hands*. Um, it's post-War, discussion/mentions of wartime casualties, possibly other things too? This is a mind-trippy story and can pack quite a punch, but I'm not sure which elements different readers will pick up on, so I'm not quite sure what this story will contain for different readers. (This is the downside, of course, to reccing stories which are told in not-quite-conventional styles.) (End of hidden text.)
First line: "Why is Draco Malfoy in our spare bedroom?" Ron stands in the doorway, scratching distractedly at the two day's worth of red bristles on his chin. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: This is an odd little story and quite wonderful for being its odd self. I'm not quite sure how to best describe it or summarise it (which is probably obvious from the number of times I handwave in this header, yeah?), but I love the sketch-like quality of the writing (I'd call it spare or minimal, except there are some wonderfully evocative descriptors); it suits the story very well. And I love that even whilst being short with words, the descriptions are not lacking. Perhaps I'm filling in the gaps in my own mind, but if so, it's only at the guidance of what's already in the story, and it makes for a rich world. It's neat how the very minimal/sketch-like style (whilst still containing wonderfully evocative descriptors) both reveals so much and hides so much. Also fun is how if when I read just the first part (before reading the rest), it actually hangs together as a story quite well, but the conclusions I reached about what was going on were different to how I thought by the completion of the story. I have been told that to say that this is a brainfuckytwisty story is to in no way spoil it as a mindfuck of a story, so in summary: this is an excellent mindfuck of a story, I stand amazed by it.
Why it fits:I don't think this hits anything on your list aside from 'about Harry Potter's generation' and 'really good storytelling', but it's got both of those and I think it's excellent.
Note: The story link I gave goes to the last part, which contains links to all parts.
Story: Truck Driving with the Dead
Author: Hijja // kennahijja //
kennahijja // [Hijja (skyehawke)] // [Hijja (archive at the end of the universe)] // [Hijja (restrictedsection)] // [Hijja (fictionalley)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, gen, PG-13, 7K words
Posting Date: 2007-03-03
Contains: [ skip] Some potentially disturbing content. Character deaths. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Isn't it weird how joy can have you almost come apart just when things are at their most perfect?
My Notes: This is another story which has stuck with me from the very first time I read it. It lives in my head as images which were conjured there by the story and which are so very beautiful. It was interesting to reread this story when preparing this rec list as it meant reading the full story associated with the frozen frames which had been kept in my head, so it was odd to see movement and hear dialogue happen to what had previously been several nearly-motionless images which had a soundtrack perhaps (but one which contained no voices)... Anyway, memories and/or brains are weird. But the point is, this is a wonderfully done story. (Sadly, there is no podfic version of this story even though I think it could transform well-- it has the sort of lots of imagery that I think translates well to the spoken word.)
Why it fits: An excellent story. I think you might like the style of it?
Alternate links: [ Truck Driving with the Dead (author's LJ)] // [Truck Driving with the Dead (author's DW)] // [Truck Driving with the Dead (skyehawke)] // [Truck Driving with the Dead (the archive at the end of the universe)]
Story: The Long Black Coat
Author: Blood Cult of Freud // [BloodCultofFreud (digital-quill)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, Teen, 2500 words
Posting Date: 2005-08-13
Contains: [ skip] Voldemort-has-won, so lots of past character death implied (only a few mentioned) and mentions of rape (not graphic and not on-screen). Perhaps there's more that belongs here but if so, I'm not really sure what to say. *makes confused face*. The rating is due solely to thematic content not sexual content. Caveat lector for certes. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Inspired by the song 'The Man in The Long Black Coat'. A future where Voldemort has triumphed, narrated by Hermione's mother. Not a cheerful story.
My Notes: This is a bleak piece which I absolutely adore. The world-building is fabulous, the emotions are strong, I am convinced that Hermione and Snape have a love match here, and it breaks my heart to see what background Hermione doesn't tell her mother. I'm very sad that there isn't transformative work for this story. I think it could make a really wrenching podfic (and it could be fascinating to listen to various readers' performances, there's so much that readers brings to the stories they read...). And there's a number of really nice possible visuals here, which it's probably very obvious by now is something that I love.
Why it fits: You said you hadn't read it, which is a travesty! The choice of Hermione's mother for the narrator in this story is brilliant. I love the sharp revealing look which Hermione's mother brings to this story.
Alternate links: [The Long Black Coat (ashwinder)], note that this link requires an account to access the story.
Story: Red Ink Remains (LJ)
Author: Lady-Altair // [Lady Altair (ff.net)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, gen, PG-ish, 300 words
Posting Date: 2008-01-12
Contains: [ skip] Allusions to character deaths. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: To the girl in the card shop in Ottery St. Catchpole, Fred Weasley was never anyone more than a nice young man who made her laugh one day, but even that's worth remembering.
First line: Fred Weasley's card tricks are like real magic. He finds the Queen of Hearts for her over and over, smiling broadly across the counter as she examines the cards again in disbelief.
My Notes: This is an amazingly short piece to have spawned such wonderfully descriptive images in my mind. What's said and what's not said, what is left to my mind to supply, what is conjured by allusions and half-sketches, all of these are used well here. If I could be tenth as good at telling a novel in less than three hundred words, I would be quite pleased with myself. Plus, I love playing cards being used as a symbol, especially since it's the Queen of Hearts, and especially also that the red ink is emphasized (yeah, *shrugs*, I don't know why either). In slightly more explicable (maybe?) praise, I have to give points for a lovely title-- I love the sound of it in my ears and not only does it sound pretty but it also very nicely ties into the story. Sadly, I know of no other transformative works based off of this story; I would love to see how different folk captured this visual story in art.
Why it fits: This is short enough that if you hate it with the burning passion of ten thousand suns you will have only spent a few minutes on it. And why not give it a read on the off chance that you don't hate it with the burning passion of ten thousand suns *g* ? But more seriously, I, as is probably obvious from what I wrote above, think this is an excellently-written story and a lovely example of what can be accomplished within a short span of words.
Alternate links: [Red Ink Remains (ff.net)]
Story: One Last Lullaby (LJ)
Author: Lady-Altair // [Lady Altair (ff.net)]
Fandom, etc.: Harry Potter, gen, G (aside from the 'punch to the heart' part), 1100 words
Posting Date: 2007-08-03
Contains: [ skip] Canon character death. (End of hidden text.)
Author's Summary: Andromeda sings one last lullaby to her daughter.
First line: The Great Hall has long been quiet when Narcissa sees Andromeda. // Her sister is still beautiful after all these years, soft as Bellatrix never was, warm as Narcissa will never be. There is an infant in her arms; her grandchild, Narcissa remembers with a start. The werewolf's son.
My Notes: On family and loss and just a bit on comfort. An incisive, emotionally-compelling punch-in-the-heart. This one needs a hanky warning.
Why it fits: Fits your qualifications for a short piece.
Alternate links: [One Last Lullaby (ff.net)]
Author: Lady-Altair // [Lady Altair (ff.net)] //
Fandoms: primarily Harry Potter (also Fairy Tales and Heroes, according to ff.net profile)
My Notes: I contemplated reccing more of Lady Altair's work, and then decided I might as well pick two and then point you to the rest of her catalogue :) She tends to write intense/gripping short-ish one-shots. She's excellent about writing stories which I hadn't thought of, and often writes about minor characters (often in Harry's generation). Her ff.net account looks like it have more stories posted than her LJ, judging from the 'stories posted' versus 'entries made' in the respective profiles.
Why it fits: I think her work meets your listed criteria for short stories.
This rec set is continued on in the next post: [ constellations of fanworks (or 'An orgy of storytelling'. Which is different than 'storytelling of orgies', FYI.)]
As always, if anyone spots any inaccuracies/dead links/missing info/additional transformative works, please let me know.