Fic: Survival Instinct (NC17)

[hd_inspired_mod]

Author: lavillanueva
Title: Survival Instinct
Pairings: Harry/Draco (minimal Ron/Hermione and Neville/Ginny)
Rating: NC-17 for sex and violence
Summary: Voldemort has issued a proposition: if Harry Potter will return to Hogwarts for his seventh year, no harm will come to the students’ families. Harry’s saving-people-thing won’t let him say no.
Warnings:

Comments

[tomatoe18]

This is GENIUS. And because of that, this review is going to be long (sorry). :P

The whole fic had a genuine canon feeling to it. In fact, it felt like reading something that JKR herself wrote. It evoked the same emotions in me that the seventh book did. I loved how everything fit in perfectly with the original, especially Snape's ambiguity and dubious loyalty to Dumbledore until the very end.

I've always wanted to know more about what happened in the school with the Carrows as teachers, and you sated my curiosity with this. Everything about them frustrated me. I was literally shaking in anger at everything that they said. And the resistance coming from the students - especially the Polyjuice!Snapes - were amazing; made me want to jump and cheer for them. And I nearly spilled tears over Harry getting tortured for hours... that was just cruel.

I also think that, had Harry and Draco been a real canon pairing, this is exactly how they would be in the books. Even their sex act seemed perfectly in place. The sex scene was, to me, intense, necessary and it didn't feel gratuitous at all. I loved how their relationship is described using these expressions:

he said, and couldn't help but think being on civil terms with Malfoy was worth a Crucio or two.

Totally mind-boggling!

"For God's sake, Potter, stop staring at me! I can feel it from here."

Very good point. You know, I really love it when Harry stares at Draco like this. I personally think that Harry staring at Draco is the reason why they would end up being together.

Lastly, I would just like to point out that the penultimate scene in the fic (the one that started with "You just had to give them the Cloak, didn't you?" and ending with And then it all went black) is the most brilliant climax of a story I've read in ages. I loved that scene the most and I would worship this fic just from that scene alone.

In conclusion, this is definitely my favorite fic in the fest so far. This fic is more than just following the prompt - this fic is a masterpiece. I personally don't find anything wrong with the original seventh book and the epilogue, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't wish this fic to be the real canon. Excellent job.

[lavillanueva]

Oh my goodness, what an amazing comment. I'm all smiles right now!

I'm so pleased to hear you say it had a canon feel - I was really trying to explore what might have happened if just a few things had gone differently. Snape in particular was fun to write, keeping him ambiguous enough that he appears to be on Voldemort's side even as he helps Harry.

Yes, the reality of what went on at Hogwarts always intrigued me, as well - that was the main reason I snatched up this prompt. It was criminally fun getting to write the evil, evil Carrows, and I'm glad to hear they bothered you so much. They had to be really awful to inspire the open rebellion from the students - which, incidentally, was also much fun to write. Okay, so the whole thing was fun. :D

I wanted so badly to make the H/D seem convincing, so I am glad you thought it felt that way! And I agree with you - Harry staring at Draco has always felt like evidence of an underlying attraction. It just takes a little push to make him see that.

Oh, the climax. You have no idea how happy I am to hear that you liked it, because it was so tough to write. I was so nervous that it wouldn't be exciting enough, but your comment made me breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank you so, so much! I'm absolutely thrilled that you liked this fic. And I want to thank you also for your lovely rec on your journal, it was incredibly sweet. Hearing what you thought just made my day. :D