Select Guide to SSHG WIP (Classic era)
For renitaleandra and silburygirl
I searched through FanfictionNet, AdultFanfiction, Restricted Section, Fiction Alley, Obscurus Books and Witchfics.
Below are notable SSHG WIP posted before June 21, 2003. It's often impossible to search for incomplete stories on sites, so I’ve listed any I recognized as having a following and by awards and rec sites like the Multifaceteds, Quill to Parchment (QtP), Know It Alls (KIA) and crack_broom, as well as the sshg_awards to highlight those that you might find worthwhile checking out.
If there are any WIPs from this era you follow not listed, please let me know and I’ll add it below.
I also did guides for the Classic Era of other lengths:
Classic-Era Epics
Classic-Era Novels
Classic-Era Novellas
Classic-Era Shorts
Classic-Era Drabbles
So, in the order in which they were posted:
Classic-Era SSHG WIP
1) Textualsphinx, A Decoding of the Heart (R) 42,804 words
Publish Date: 6/19/01
Genres: Drama, Romance
Alt Link: http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/textualsphinx/TDOTH.html
Summary: It's the prequel to the sequel of another writer's fic/Of a pairing (Snape 'n Granger) that still makes some people SICK/ Dare to visit Snape's strange quarters almost sunk in Hogwart's Lake/ Where he patterns out sad days observed by Salomé, his snake.
Note: The story is a prequel to Letter from Exile one Merciful Morning, based on what is reputed to be the first SSHG ever to appear on the net, lupinlover's Beyond the Silver Rainbow. There is a gentle, whimsical satire of the prologue to Decoding by mundungus42, Westward Hoe.
Recs: fangirl_tour
) Riley, Pawn to Queen (R) 57,712 words
Publish Date: 9/24/01
Last Update: 10/8/01
Genres: Angst, Romance
Alt Link: http://www.witchfics.org/riley/ptq/index.html
Summary: A somewhat Nietzschean twist on Snape/Hermione. The Potions Master and his best student find themselves entering into a partnership that neither of them could have expected, courtesy of Lucius Malfoy.
Note: There is a "friendly parody" of PtQ by McTabby, PtQ in a Nutshell
Recs: KIA
) CJK1701, Omnia Vincit Amor (R) 20,529 words
Publish Date: 9/29/01
Last Update: 12/4/01
Genres: Angst, Romance
Summary: This is a prequel to my Visions snippets, and as such contains or will contain a Snape/Hermione relationship. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Note: You need to be a member of WIKTT to access this fic. If you have any problems with the link, go to the group then click on "Files" then "Fanfiction" then "CJK's Fiction". Prequel to Visions
)
clare009 and Domina (Anne), A Higher Price (NC-17) 34,416 words
Publish Date: 11/5/01
Last Update: 3/15/02
Genres: Angst, Romance
Summary: Set in the larger universe of 'A Higher Price' which is set in JKR's Harry Potter universe, Hermione finds experimentation can lead to unexpected ends.
) maidenolivia, The Hourglass (R) 20,233 words
Publish Date: 12/8/01
Last Update: 5/26/02
Genres: Angst, Romance
Summary: A tall glass of water with a twist of lemon. A Severus & Hermione story. *A Change in Events*
Note: Time-turner
) pigwidgeon37, The Sybil's Oracle Trilogy (R) 740,672 words
Publish Date: 3/20/2002
Genres: Romance, Drama
Summary: Severus Snape's life from 4th year, to his DE years, to the third book: Voldemort is back. Hermione Granger has to learn her true identity, and the wizarding world will fight the Final Battle
Recs: crack_broom
) Scorpio Grudge, The Coachwhip (PG-13) 62,881 words
Publish Date: 11/9/01
Last Update: 3/25/02
Genres: Angst, Romance
Summary: Hermione returns home to visit her parents and takes along a guest.
Recs: fangirl_tour
) Serpentina, A little of your time (PG-13) 85,089 words
Publish Date: 1/1/02
Last Update: 7/29/07
Genres: Romance
Summary: At the beginning of her 7th year, Hermione has an accident with her Time-Turner. Without intending to, she affects the future in several ways...
Time-turner: Time-turner
) ChelleyBean, Antigone (PG-13) 37,522 words
Publish Date: 9/1/02
Last Update: 5/25/05
Genres: Romance
Summary: A little twist on the Time Turner idea brings a most surprising student to Hogwarts.
Time-turner: Time-turner
Recs: fangirl_tour
)
KazVL (kaz2), Falling Further In (R) 220,464 words
Publish Date: 1/5/02
Last Update: 8/10/05
Genres: Drama, Angst, Romance, Adventure
Alt Link 1: http://www.obscurusbooks.org/html/KazVL/FFI
Alt Link 2: http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/kazvl/FFI.html
Summary: Hermione begins to learn something of the man behind the dark sarcasms of the classroom.
Recs: KIA, crack_broom, fangirl_tour, sshg_awards (nominee - Romance, Winner - Fear Abandoned)
) Serpentina, From this day on (PG-13) 51,841
Publish Date: 1/8/02
Last Update: 10/21/02
Genres: Romance
Summary: Snape has to fulfil a task in the future. Hermione accompanies him as an assistant and - most of all - because she is familiar with the correct use of a Time-Turner. They are to face a surprise in that different time...
Note: Time-turner
) Auror Borealis, Lightning Strikes (R) 20,930 words
Publish Date: 1/14/02
Last Update: 1/31/02
Genres: Drama, Romance
Summary: A young girl flees her deepest fear, and finds herself face to face with the Potions Master in the dead of night.
Note: Time-turner.
) kalinalea, Desperate Measures (R) 117,817 words
Publish Date: 2/7/03
Last Update: July 2004
Genres: Drama, Romance
Summary: A young mother employs a Dark spell in a desperate attempt to save her son, and the repercussions of her act complicate the lives of Severus Snape and Hermione Granger.
Note: Abandoned. There are a few chapters posted only to her Live Journal.
Recs: crack_broom
) Auror Borealis, Tell Me Lies (R) 8,436 words
Publish Date: 2/21/02
Last Update: 4/14/02
Genres: Drama, Romance
Summary: An object lesson in the hazards of Veritaserum
) Auror Borealis, Le Sorcier (PG) 2,797 words
Publish Date: 4/20/02
Last Update: 4/20/02
Genres: AU, Romance
Summary: Completely, utterly AU. The Potter characters in a Regency setting. If you don't know what I mean, this fic isn't for you.
) Ehann, Hermione's Dilemma (NC-17) 11,943 words
Publish Date: 5/8/02
Last Update: 4/17/02
Genres: Romance
Summary: Hermione remains undecided over which shall lead--Her heart, or head.
) Ehann, Good Deeds (NC-17) 8,359 words
Publish Date: 7/10/02
Last Update: 4/17/02
Genres: Humor, Romance
Summary: The Fairy Godmother Conglomerate has decided to give Snape the Good Deed of True Love. Now to find a suitable mate for him.
)
lillithj, Golem (R) 118,919 words
Publish Date: 7/13/02
Last Update: 12/30/04
Genres: Mystery, Romance
Alt Link: http://www.witchfics.org/lillith/golem/index.html
Summary: Murder, mayhem, cryptography, Paris, Prague and books.
Recs: KIA, fangirl_tour, Multifaceted (Winner - X-Over), sshg_awards (nominee - Fear Abandoned)
tartpants (MissMoppet), Faster, Mudblood! Kill! Kill! (R) 75,276 words
Publish Date: 7/23/02
Last Update: 12/30/04
Genres: Mystery, Adventure
Alt Link: http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/missmoppet/FMKK.html
Summary: The sweetest kittens have the sharpest claws! A dirty and clever romp based on a pastiche of B-movies and pulp; featuring spies, zombies, and guns (Hr/S, H/D) CHAPTER 8 is now up! NOTE: now re-edited to represent the new OotP Canon.
Recs: KIA, crack_broom
) Strega Breva, The Price of Redemption (R) 71,859 words
Publish Date: 10/2/02
Last Update: 7/9/07
Genres: Drama, Romance
Summary: A man and a woman discover a love that will either destroy them or redeem them. SSHG...several years after graduation.
) mavidian, In One Spirit (PG-13) 149,500 words
Publish Date: 11/16/02
Last Update: 11/16/04
Genres: Romance
Summary: Voldemort and Dumbledore prepare for war and survival. Plans go awry, intrigues abound and nothing is what it seems. Snape created the Dark Mark but that mistake may cost him everything. Can Hermione be his saving grace?
) silburygirl (Marston Chicklet), Perfection (R) 155,484 words
Publish Date: December 2002
Last Update: 5/12/07
Genres: Romance, Angst
Alt Link: http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/marston_chicklet/perfection.html
Summary: A woman fights to save her crumbling marriage, leaving her daughter to become caught up in the crossfire where she discovers that love comes from unlikely places. Meanwhile, another must reconsider everything that she has believed to be true.
) Sinister Papaya Fondue (FlowersBecomeScreens), Amphitrite (R) 84,719 words
Publish Date: 4/14/03
Last Update: 1/10/08 (ch 17)
Genres: Romance, Adventure
Alt Link: http://hp.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=544200516
Summary: A cavein on a beach along the coast of Greece reveals a perfectly preserved ancient school of magic. Hermione is asked by her University professor to assist in the excavation. Severus Snape is the last person she expects to see there...
)
coldcoffeeeyes (Anna), Last Tango in Paris (NC-17) ~112,000 words
Publish Date: 12/30/02
Last Update: 8/19/05
Genres: Romance, Drama, Adventure
Summary: The sequel to Jewel of the Nile.
Recs: fangirl_tour, Multifaceted (Winner - Hermionefic), crack_broom, sshg_awards (Runner-up - Fear Abandoned)
Unlike the case with most of these posts, I haven’t tried all of these-I starred the ones I have that I’d follow if they were ever updated, which, admittedly, with this bunch, is not likely. (Although Lilith has promised to finish hers... *whistles* And Clare, I know where to find you... And Falling Further In had gone years between updates... *hopeful look*)
I only know Textualsphinx’s A Decoding of the Heart, pigwidgeon37’s The Sybil’s Oracle Trilogy, Scorpio Grudge’s The Coachwhip, kalinalea’s Desperate Measures and tartpants’ Faster, Mudblood! Kill! Kill! by reputation, but each has passionate advocates among people I whose judgment I trust that say reading them is well worth it despite their incomplete status.
And then there’s Riley’s Pawn to Queen. Again, haven’t read it, and not sure I ever want to try-but it’s a formative fic. People tell me it was the first well-written long frequently updated WIP out there, and as such drew many people into the ship. It’s also notoriously responsible for the “Dark Revel,” Ars Alchemica, and the “rape-to-save” trope in the ship, as well as the wank of all wanks on WIKTT which I’m told bitterly divided the ship. And having gone through just about every Classic-era fic I can find, I can’t tell you how many references I found to it on author's notes-obviously, an incredibly influential story.
The stories I’d eagerly rush to if updated are clare009 and Domina’s A Higher Price, lillithj’s Golem, Anna’s Last Tango in Paris-and KazVL’s Falling Further In.
I’ve mentioned again and again that Falling Further In was my first SSHG fic, and still my favorite. When reading it, I felt myself falling in love with the Snape in a way rare with a fictional character. I know some are put off that in this fic Snape has a glamour, but I didn’t feel like KazVL was glamorizing him, just making a point about appearances versus reality that is a major theme of the fic. This story has so many elements I love that are either very rare or not otherwise to be found in the ship: a wonderful exploration of the relationships among the staff and a fleshing out of their characters, a story that uses canon references to dig under House stereotypes and for me turned Rowling’s vision upside down, a great Ron I wish Rowling’s had grown up to be, explorations of dark implications of HP such as the common use of Obliviate, a rationale of Snape as a teacher and a lovely way of showing leadership possibilities of his position as Head of House. Well worth the read even if *sob* it’s never finished.
I’m relaxed because I have over a thousand words of my Exchange fic now. Thanks to silburygirl’s constant prodding and dangling the reward of excerpts for excerpts. I think some of the curse is slowly being taken off my fic. *Harmony hopes she's not jinxing self*
I searched through FanfictionNet, AdultFanfiction, Restricted Section, Fiction Alley, Obscurus Books and Witchfics.
Below are notable SSHG WIP posted before June 21, 2003. It's often impossible to search for incomplete stories on sites, so I’ve listed any I recognized as having a following and by awards and rec sites like the Multifaceteds, Quill to Parchment (QtP), Know It Alls (KIA) and crack_broom, as well as the sshg_awards to highlight those that you might find worthwhile checking out.
If there are any WIPs from this era you follow not listed, please let me know and I’ll add it below.
I also did guides for the Classic Era of other lengths:
Classic-Era Epics
Classic-Era Novels
Classic-Era Novellas
Classic-Era Shorts
Classic-Era Drabbles
So, in the order in which they were posted:
Classic-Era SSHG WIP
1) Textualsphinx, A Decoding of the Heart (R) 42,804 words
Publish Date: 6/19/01
Genres: Drama, Romance
Alt Link: http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/textualsphinx/TDOTH.html
Summary: It's the prequel to the sequel of another writer's fic/Of a pairing (Snape 'n Granger) that still makes some people SICK/ Dare to visit Snape's strange quarters almost sunk in Hogwart's Lake/ Where he patterns out sad days observed by Salomé, his snake.
Note: The story is a prequel to Letter from Exile one Merciful Morning, based on what is reputed to be the first SSHG ever to appear on the net, lupinlover's Beyond the Silver Rainbow. There is a gentle, whimsical satire of the prologue to Decoding by mundungus42, Westward Hoe.
Recs: fangirl_tour
) Riley, Pawn to Queen (R) 57,712 words
Publish Date: 9/24/01
Last Update: 10/8/01
Genres: Angst, Romance
Alt Link: http://www.witchfics.org/riley/ptq/index.html
Summary: A somewhat Nietzschean twist on Snape/Hermione. The Potions Master and his best student find themselves entering into a partnership that neither of them could have expected, courtesy of Lucius Malfoy.
Note: There is a "friendly parody" of PtQ by McTabby, PtQ in a Nutshell
Recs: KIA
) CJK1701, Omnia Vincit Amor (R) 20,529 words
Publish Date: 9/29/01
Last Update: 12/4/01
Genres: Angst, Romance
Summary: This is a prequel to my Visions snippets, and as such contains or will contain a Snape/Hermione relationship. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Note: You need to be a member of WIKTT to access this fic. If you have any problems with the link, go to the group then click on "Files" then "Fanfiction" then "CJK's Fiction". Prequel to Visions
)
clare009 and Domina (Anne), A Higher Price (NC-17) 34,416 words
Publish Date: 11/5/01
Last Update: 3/15/02
Genres: Angst, Romance
Summary: Set in the larger universe of 'A Higher Price' which is set in JKR's Harry Potter universe, Hermione finds experimentation can lead to unexpected ends.
) maidenolivia, The Hourglass (R) 20,233 words
Publish Date: 12/8/01
Last Update: 5/26/02
Genres: Angst, Romance
Summary: A tall glass of water with a twist of lemon. A Severus & Hermione story. *A Change in Events*
Note: Time-turner
) pigwidgeon37, The Sybil's Oracle Trilogy (R) 740,672 words
Publish Date: 3/20/2002
Genres: Romance, Drama
Summary: Severus Snape's life from 4th year, to his DE years, to the third book: Voldemort is back. Hermione Granger has to learn her true identity, and the wizarding world will fight the Final Battle
Recs: crack_broom
) Scorpio Grudge, The Coachwhip (PG-13) 62,881 words
Publish Date: 11/9/01
Last Update: 3/25/02
Genres: Angst, Romance
Summary: Hermione returns home to visit her parents and takes along a guest.
Recs: fangirl_tour
) Serpentina, A little of your time (PG-13) 85,089 words
Publish Date: 1/1/02
Last Update: 7/29/07
Genres: Romance
Summary: At the beginning of her 7th year, Hermione has an accident with her Time-Turner. Without intending to, she affects the future in several ways...
Time-turner: Time-turner
) ChelleyBean, Antigone (PG-13) 37,522 words
Publish Date: 9/1/02
Last Update: 5/25/05
Genres: Romance
Summary: A little twist on the Time Turner idea brings a most surprising student to Hogwarts.
Time-turner: Time-turner
Recs: fangirl_tour
)
KazVL (kaz2), Falling Further In (R) 220,464 words
Publish Date: 1/5/02
Last Update: 8/10/05
Genres: Drama, Angst, Romance, Adventure
Alt Link 1: http://www.obscurusbooks.org/html/KazVL/FFI
Alt Link 2: http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/kazvl/FFI.html
Summary: Hermione begins to learn something of the man behind the dark sarcasms of the classroom.
Recs: KIA, crack_broom, fangirl_tour, sshg_awards (nominee - Romance, Winner - Fear Abandoned)
) Serpentina, From this day on (PG-13) 51,841
Publish Date: 1/8/02
Last Update: 10/21/02
Genres: Romance
Summary: Snape has to fulfil a task in the future. Hermione accompanies him as an assistant and - most of all - because she is familiar with the correct use of a Time-Turner. They are to face a surprise in that different time...
Note: Time-turner
) Auror Borealis, Lightning Strikes (R) 20,930 words
Publish Date: 1/14/02
Last Update: 1/31/02
Genres: Drama, Romance
Summary: A young girl flees her deepest fear, and finds herself face to face with the Potions Master in the dead of night.
Note: Time-turner.
) kalinalea, Desperate Measures (R) 117,817 words
Publish Date: 2/7/03
Last Update: July 2004
Genres: Drama, Romance
Summary: A young mother employs a Dark spell in a desperate attempt to save her son, and the repercussions of her act complicate the lives of Severus Snape and Hermione Granger.
Note: Abandoned. There are a few chapters posted only to her Live Journal.
Recs: crack_broom
) Auror Borealis, Tell Me Lies (R) 8,436 words
Publish Date: 2/21/02
Last Update: 4/14/02
Genres: Drama, Romance
Summary: An object lesson in the hazards of Veritaserum
) Auror Borealis, Le Sorcier (PG) 2,797 words
Publish Date: 4/20/02
Last Update: 4/20/02
Genres: AU, Romance
Summary: Completely, utterly AU. The Potter characters in a Regency setting. If you don't know what I mean, this fic isn't for you.
) Ehann, Hermione's Dilemma (NC-17) 11,943 words
Publish Date: 5/8/02
Last Update: 4/17/02
Genres: Romance
Summary: Hermione remains undecided over which shall lead--Her heart, or head.
) Ehann, Good Deeds (NC-17) 8,359 words
Publish Date: 7/10/02
Last Update: 4/17/02
Genres: Humor, Romance
Summary: The Fairy Godmother Conglomerate has decided to give Snape the Good Deed of True Love. Now to find a suitable mate for him.
)
lillithj, Golem (R) 118,919 words
Publish Date: 7/13/02
Last Update: 12/30/04
Genres: Mystery, Romance
Alt Link: http://www.witchfics.org/lillith/golem/index.html
Summary: Murder, mayhem, cryptography, Paris, Prague and books.
Recs: KIA, fangirl_tour, Multifaceted (Winner - X-Over), sshg_awards (nominee - Fear Abandoned)
tartpants (MissMoppet), Faster, Mudblood! Kill! Kill! (R) 75,276 words
Publish Date: 7/23/02
Last Update: 12/30/04
Genres: Mystery, Adventure
Alt Link: http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/missmoppet/FMKK.html
Summary: The sweetest kittens have the sharpest claws! A dirty and clever romp based on a pastiche of B-movies and pulp; featuring spies, zombies, and guns (Hr/S, H/D) CHAPTER 8 is now up! NOTE: now re-edited to represent the new OotP Canon.
Recs: KIA, crack_broom
) Strega Breva, The Price of Redemption (R) 71,859 words
Publish Date: 10/2/02
Last Update: 7/9/07
Genres: Drama, Romance
Summary: A man and a woman discover a love that will either destroy them or redeem them. SSHG...several years after graduation.
) mavidian, In One Spirit (PG-13) 149,500 words
Publish Date: 11/16/02
Last Update: 11/16/04
Genres: Romance
Summary: Voldemort and Dumbledore prepare for war and survival. Plans go awry, intrigues abound and nothing is what it seems. Snape created the Dark Mark but that mistake may cost him everything. Can Hermione be his saving grace?
) silburygirl (Marston Chicklet), Perfection (R) 155,484 words
Publish Date: December 2002
Last Update: 5/12/07
Genres: Romance, Angst
Alt Link: http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/marston_chicklet/perfection.html
Summary: A woman fights to save her crumbling marriage, leaving her daughter to become caught up in the crossfire where she discovers that love comes from unlikely places. Meanwhile, another must reconsider everything that she has believed to be true.
) Sinister Papaya Fondue (FlowersBecomeScreens), Amphitrite (R) 84,719 words
Publish Date: 4/14/03
Last Update: 1/10/08 (ch 17)
Genres: Romance, Adventure
Alt Link: http://hp.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=544200516
Summary: A cavein on a beach along the coast of Greece reveals a perfectly preserved ancient school of magic. Hermione is asked by her University professor to assist in the excavation. Severus Snape is the last person she expects to see there...
)
coldcoffeeeyes (Anna), Last Tango in Paris (NC-17) ~112,000 words
Publish Date: 12/30/02
Last Update: 8/19/05
Genres: Romance, Drama, Adventure
Summary: The sequel to Jewel of the Nile.
Recs: fangirl_tour, Multifaceted (Winner - Hermionefic), crack_broom, sshg_awards (Runner-up - Fear Abandoned)
Unlike the case with most of these posts, I haven’t tried all of these-I starred the ones I have that I’d follow if they were ever updated, which, admittedly, with this bunch, is not likely. (Although Lilith has promised to finish hers... *whistles* And Clare, I know where to find you... And Falling Further In had gone years between updates... *hopeful look*)
I only know Textualsphinx’s A Decoding of the Heart, pigwidgeon37’s The Sybil’s Oracle Trilogy, Scorpio Grudge’s The Coachwhip, kalinalea’s Desperate Measures and tartpants’ Faster, Mudblood! Kill! Kill! by reputation, but each has passionate advocates among people I whose judgment I trust that say reading them is well worth it despite their incomplete status.
And then there’s Riley’s Pawn to Queen. Again, haven’t read it, and not sure I ever want to try-but it’s a formative fic. People tell me it was the first well-written long frequently updated WIP out there, and as such drew many people into the ship. It’s also notoriously responsible for the “Dark Revel,” Ars Alchemica, and the “rape-to-save” trope in the ship, as well as the wank of all wanks on WIKTT which I’m told bitterly divided the ship. And having gone through just about every Classic-era fic I can find, I can’t tell you how many references I found to it on author's notes-obviously, an incredibly influential story.
The stories I’d eagerly rush to if updated are clare009 and Domina’s A Higher Price, lillithj’s Golem, Anna’s Last Tango in Paris-and KazVL’s Falling Further In.
I’ve mentioned again and again that Falling Further In was my first SSHG fic, and still my favorite. When reading it, I felt myself falling in love with the Snape in a way rare with a fictional character. I know some are put off that in this fic Snape has a glamour, but I didn’t feel like KazVL was glamorizing him, just making a point about appearances versus reality that is a major theme of the fic. This story has so many elements I love that are either very rare or not otherwise to be found in the ship: a wonderful exploration of the relationships among the staff and a fleshing out of their characters, a story that uses canon references to dig under House stereotypes and for me turned Rowling’s vision upside down, a great Ron I wish Rowling’s had grown up to be, explorations of dark implications of HP such as the common use of Obliviate, a rationale of Snape as a teacher and a lovely way of showing leadership possibilities of his position as Head of House. Well worth the read even if *sob* it’s never finished.
I’m relaxed because I have over a thousand words of my Exchange fic now. Thanks to silburygirl’s constant prodding and dangling the reward of excerpts for excerpts. I think some of the curse is slowly being taken off my fic. *Harmony hopes she's not jinxing self*