how to succeed in adulthood, while kind of trying ~ mentalistecbm & Imprint of a Dream
Ignoring the jibe, Harry wipes the back of his trousers before turning around and asking Draco, ‘Do I have dirt on my arse?’
Draco coughs lightly, and when he replies, there’s clear amusement in his voice. ‘No, you’re… good.’
And then Harry realises what he’s just asked. Fuck, fuck, fuck! He swivels around, horrified. His face is terribly red and mouth hangs just slightly, because fuck.
‘I didn’t—not that way… not in any way—if—just…’ He pauses and takes a deep breath. ‘Yeah. Just yeah. Or something.’
For some reason I strongly dislike hogwarts professor!hd, possibly because it all feels a bit neat and grown up (and frankly most teachers are boring fucks) or perhaps it’s just I never really buy Harry as a teacher - but here they manage to be just as juvenile as usual. Which is always good thing when it involves duels, alcohol and inappropriate hard ons.
drarry . era:posthogwarts . c:DH . r:nc17 . l:medium . chaptered . g:humour . g:romance . g:angst . a:mentalistecbm . a:imprintofadream . professor!malfoy . professor!potter .Turn ~ Sara’s Girl
Summary: One good turn deserves another. Apparently.
Taking a deep breath, he turns back to regard the rumpled bed. The bed which belongs to him and Draco Malfoy. Harry’s heart hammers and he looks away quickly, deciding that thinking about that right now might just make his head implode. Instead, he picks up his wand and stalks out into the hallway. He makes slow, cautious progress, wand held out before him; even though he knows that he’s unlikely to be assaulted by anything disturbing in what appears to be his own house, this morning is just proving beyond all doubt that anything can happen.
This needs no explanation. Quality fanfic if the highest. order.
drarry . era:posthogwarts . c:Ep . r:nc17 . chaptered . l:long . g:humour . g:angst . g:romance . a:sara'sgirl . favourite . FINALLY .A Tale Of Horns ~ Pushdragon
He spent most of the afternoon at one of the front tables in the Cauldron and Kettle, trying to go slowly on his drinks and shooting patrons and staff alike the same cocky glare that said “I’ll be fucking Harry Potter this afternoon – what will you be doing?”
You know how I was talking model!draco - this is about as close as I’ve ever read. Harry and Draco do a charity calendar. Yes you read that right. A nudey rudey calender and it is hot fucking shit. The writing is as gorgeous as it is titillating, and there’s a great humour to it amidst the wall to wall porn! I loved how Draco’s calculated seduction of Harry is firstly - impenetrably slytherin, but secondly - a rather sweet courting because what he wants is Potter for as long as he can have him. And I can’t blame him because quidditch!harry has never been as believable or frankly lickable as he is here (and it’s utterly worth it if only for the visuals/Draco groucho marx-ing it up in the stands). Also this has a ridiculous amount of packing!charlie so there is no excuse for you not to indulge yourself.
Aw straight!Harry is like the shortest joke in the drarry fandom. Not for long sweetheart, not for long.
drarry . era:posthogwarts . l:long . c:DH . chaptered . r:nc17 . g:romance . g:pwp . t:sexuality . a:pushdragon . sports!potter . quidditch!potter . favourite . CHARLIE'S ARSE CAN CRACK WALNUTS .Snatch ~ didntyoupotter
Summary: Harry is comatose, Hermione and Ron aren’t much help, and Draco isn’t sure about anything anymore.
“Why are there two beds in Harry’s room?” Hermione asked, when she came to visit a few days later.
“Why don’t you ask Harry?” Draco said, and turned to leave.
Hermione grabbed his arm. “I won’t let you take advantage of him, Malfoy.”
“If I were taking advantage of him there wouldn’t be two beds, would there?”
OH SNAP! You just got out-bitchy-gay-logiced Hermione, how do you like them apples?! (sorry I’m in a weird mood…) This is sweet. And lovely. A great little three-part read. I love a good memory-loss fic, and even if Ron and Hermione felt slightly assassinated by the plot, I still really enjoyed it. Watch out for some classic Draco theatrics (bags by the stairs? really?), drunken fights, ill-tempered Harry and some mental *fireworks*. Also a beautifully cinema-worthy ending. Aww.
(Don’t be fooled there is angst. I never read anything without a least a little pain)
drarry . era:hogwarts . era:posthogwarts . chaptered . r:pg13 . c:OotP . AU . g:angst . t:disability . t:amnesia . a:didntyoupotter . lightside!malfoy . g:romance . l:medium .Guilty Pleasure Rec: Starts With a Spin ~ Maxine
It lasted less than two seconds, and that was too long for Harry. He pulled back almost immediately, wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve, though it was completely unnecessary because there had never been a kiss that was more tightly close-mouthed than the one that he and Draco had just shared.
Malfoy was doing the same thing, cheeks growing a deeper pink to match the color that Harry could feel burning in his own.
“Well that was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever experienced,” Malfoy finally spoke up, breaking the deafening silence that had fallen. He sneered at Harry, and the green-eyed boy scowled right back.
“Not my fault you suck at kissing.”
“Oh, sod off, Potter.”
Ok, time to get majorly side-eyed. In fic terms, this is akin to that cheap-arse red lingerie thats hidden in the back of your wardrobe. You know the one that’s too slutty, and polyester, and makes you look like something off of ’babe-station’? But even though the modern-woman in you is screaming that you should find it shallow, and debasing, it makes you feel hot and dirty, and ready for a crotchless tumble in the mud with x-tina? This is my pleather get-up. Yeah, ‘Starts with a spin’ is pretty much just an excuse for gratuitous adolescent sex and voyeuristic Hogwarts sex-parties, but you know what? It’s fun. It’s not the best written fic, nor the most original, but it doesn’t take its self too seriously and come on, how could you not find pleasure and hilarity in a smashed, mini-skirt-wearing Draco, publicly dry-humping Harry up against a wall?
(Ouch, I can already feel the multi-pronged weapons favoured by the judgemental-taste-police. But at least it doesn’t do the whole; FIRST-TIME ANAL? ~ NO IT DOESN’T HURT, YES YOU FOUND MY PROSTATE FIRST THRUST, GIVE IT TO ME HARDER, IT’S NOT LIKE I HAVEN’T HAD SOMETHING CUCUMBER SIZED UP HERE BEFORE!!%$£ and there’s also gay Seamus so — case made I think)
drarry . era:hogwarts . chaptered . r:nc17 . c:OotP . AU . g:humour . g:pwp . t:guiltypleasure . a:maxine .Your Darkest Voice ~ Ivyblossom
Harry Potter is sitting in class. He is copying down everything Professor Snape says; ingredients, antidotes, amounts. Pinch of this, ladle-full of that. His friends are sitting around him; Ron Weasley beside him, Hermione Granger in front; without looking he knows that Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom are sitting behind him. Professor Snape has begun a new list of instructions and Harry is paying attention. The nib of his quill breaks as he presses on it too hard, as he always does; always leaving a mark on the page beneath. A chair scrapes against the floor on his left, and he watches Draco Malfoy excuse himself and walk out of the classroom. But just before he slips out the door, Draco turns back, looks at someone, touches his lips, and smiles.
Harry is so filled with jealousy he can’t remember where he is.
I just read this. It was quite fucked-up. and effecting. Brillant and traumatic. I loved the Ophelia references (Hamlet is my favourite!) ~ actually the whole thing is quite Shakespearian in tone and in that there is a lot of violent beauty. Read the warnings however, as this contains some troubling themes. Don’t let that put you off though - it’s dark but recognisable if that makes sense?
(Thanks for the rec noor!)
drarry . era:hogwarts . chaptered . r:nc17 . AU . g:dark . g:romance . g:angst . t:incest . t:dubcon . a:ivyblossom . l:medium .Black Hole Circuit ~ mijeli
Human, Draco decides — that’s what Potter is. With his temper and bluntness and utter, ridiculous devotion to whatever it is he’s doing. With his foolish heroics and even more foolish vulnerability. Draco knows, no matter what he says, Potter wouldn’t have negotiated even when given the chance — saving them, saving him, that’s what he does, because it’s what needs to be done.
(Apologies as the quote does a useless job of conveying he content of the fic, I just thought it was one the best examples of ‘Harry descriptions’ courtesy of Draco, in any fic I’ve read). This is my perfect type of fic. Not to long. Not to short. Set a few years after the war. Draco is down, having to slowly except and learn from his mistakes, but does so without losing his endearing prickishness. Harry appears perfect from the outside, but is just as alone and insecure and searching. I like Draco to be strugglng a bit, enough so he grows, but not to the extent that we pity him (he can’t ever lose his poshboy obnoxiousness. It’s inherent to his characterisation.) I love that he apologises, but does it only as a last resort and because of the self-serving outcome. Also I never normally enjoy fics with a heavy dream element, but in this it is handled with skill and given enough weight and gore that the result is appropriately frightening not laboured and wishy-washy.
(related note: don’t you just love it when you read, say four fics, completely independently, adore them and then find out they all by the same author? I feel both stupid and incredibly validated in my level of taste).
drarry . era:posthogwarts . r:nc17 . chaptered . c:DH . g:angst . g:romance . t:wartrauma . dark themes . a:mijeli . auror!potter . l:long .One April Night ~ venis-envy
I’m losing myself in you. I feel like I don’t even know who I am anymore, who I used to be. Domestic is not something one associates with a Malfoy. I don’t belong here.
This piece is the perfect embodiment of the time old cliche ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till its gone’ and in that sense it’s one of the most relatable h/d stories I’ve ever read. It’s sentimental and reflective without crossing the line into weary and self-indulgent. This is undoubtedly a Draco piece. His words are astoundingly beautiful and I found myself pausing every now and then just to appreciate the writer’s extraordinary turn of phrase. I love that the journal acts as a physical mark of the distant between Draco and Harry and the mistakes made in their past relationship (many of which were Draco’s). Perhaps the three year old child incident moved me the most - I just wanted to shake Draco, wake him up to the reality of wait he stood to loose. This is a story about fear and growth, and ultimately forgiveness, (also my therapy kink strikes again!) This may not be all time favourite of mine, but has some the most resinating lines about the nature of love I’ve ever read.
I shake my head, smiling at him. “Are you saying that you can tell what sort of mood I’m in just by kissing me?”,”Draco, I usually know what sort of mood you’re in as soon as I walk into the room.”
drarry . era:posthogwarts . r:nc17 . chaptered . g:angst . g:romance . t:established . c:DH . t:therapy . a:venisenvy . auror!potter . l:long .
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost ~ bsmog
Summary:Tired of only being the Boy Who Lived, Harry disappears after the war, leaving only a mysterious letter behind. Five years later, Draco and his unlikely friends go on holiday and find magic where there is none and more on a mountain in Africa.
The door creaks open and suddenly Draco thinks perhaps the room starts to swim before his eyes. He must be seeing things. It must be the heat. But as he starts to shake his head, blinking in an effort to clear what very obviously must be a hallucination, he hears Granger and Weasley’s voices at the exact same moment his own lips move.
“Harry?”
“Potter.”
“Bloody hell!”
This unspeakably excellent. I can’t stress how much I loved this. This is one of my all time favourites, up there with Reparations/Foundations - no joke; it’s stunning. Please just go and read this. If your after a charming, sprawling, utterly unique chapter fic you’ve found your match. I’ve said before that I don’t enjoy that many chapter fic, because compared to this, most fall short. If you get bored of the same old h/d cliches read this. How many stories feature a believable union and friendship between Ron, Hermione and Draco without the Harry component? It’s increbile to watch his indigence at the forging, something he gave up his right to when he vanished. But I don’t begrude Harry that. However much I revel in Auror!Potter stories this almost feels more natural. If I had experienced loss and an unmeasureable responsibility thrust upon me like he had, I think I would want some time to re-discover who I was without the burden of the Boy-Who-Lived namesake hanging over me.
I loved watching R/H/D deal with the reality of Harry’s abandonment. There is an undeniable sense of betrayal for the two members of the Golden Trio left behind and I sympathised with them entirely, even if I understand exactly why Harry did what he did. Draco is spared the same sense of loss but in replacement is a yearning that doesn’t marry with how Harry still interprets their relationship. I love seeing how each reconnects with him in their own way, Ron through phyisical activity, Hermione through an attempt to understanding his new life, Draco in and emotional way, that because of their past, actually allows him an advantage. This has to be one of my favourite Harry’s. His story, once you learn it, will move you. The geography is awe-inspiring and the writer does an exceptional job of impressing to scope of the terrain, without it dominating the story. It infuses and reflects the beauty of the tale and a certain midnight scene will leave you breaththless.
ps Author, please continue the sequel. I need it like air. (Also I’m going to lower the tone now by saying, yay for tent-sex!)
drarry . era:posthogwarts . chaptered . g:romance . t:foreignlands . a:bsmog . favourite . alternative!potter . hiker!potter . r:nc17 . c:DH . l:long .Reparations/Foundations ~ Sara’s Girl
“He’s not ‘my’ anything, Malfoy. I can’t stand him.” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Harry wonders if perhaps he could have been more careful when talking about his boss, but it’s too late now.
“Couldn’t agree more, Potter. However, I doubt it’s in your best interests to say so. I see you’ve learned nothing of discretion since I last saw you,” Malfoy says, his derisory tone matching the now full-blown smirk.
“The last time I saw you was when I spoke at the trial that kept you out of Azkaban, you ungrateful sod!” Harry snarls, fingers clenching around the chair back until his knuckles turn white.
“Not that you hung around to hear the verdict,” Malfoy returns, scowling.
“Who gives a fuck? It did, didn’t it?”
Harry’s breathing is ragged in the silence. The grey eyes that bore into his waver and then turn cold. When Malfoy speaks again, his tone is measured and sarcastic.
“Yes, well…no one asked you to do that, Potter. What do you want, a medal? Oh, wait…they already gave you one of those.”
* I’m treating Reparations/Foundations as one MASSIVE fic rather than to separate stories. Also nothing I say here with accurately summarise the immaculateness of this fic.
On Fingers Broken Long Ago ~ oflights
“Oh shut up,” Ginny snaps. “Why should Luna and Sparrow be the only ones getting any around here? Just because you three are all gay doesn’t mean there are no straight men in this hospital.”
“I’m not gay,” Draco and Zacharias say together, and then they glare at each other.
“I’m flexible,” Zacharias explains.
“I’m open,” Draco elaborates.
“I like penis, mostly,” Harry says cheerily, and the two blonds glare in unison again. Ginny laughs and high fives him.
“Me too, Harry. Me too.”
There’s so much genius in this fic I don’t think I can put it into words. It’s currently 3.53am right now, so advanced apologies for the utter incoherence that is likely to be exhibited here..but MY GOD if this isn’t brilliant! And fun. And hilarious. With a heart. I love a bit of directionless, lacklustre Harry who find fulfilment in an unexpected place and this is the perfect embodiment of that. Favourite features have to be The Zacharias/Harry rivalry which is absolutely delicious! Ginny not being a raging bitch for once, in what I think is a great interpretation of the canon character. Group nights out/pub banter/snappy dialogue/past escapades revealed! Nice bit of Ron/Pansy side-pairing which is always excellent, especially when Pansy’s got him wrapped round her little finger. Harry being all Ryan “welcome-to-the-O.C-bitch” with his fists of fury and relentlessness. Sexual tension. CANADIAN SEX. Healer Malfoy in all his glory. Bi Draco/unapologetically Gay Harry - a little done dynamic thats completely refreshing. This is such an enjoyable read, if a little cracky in places, but don’t let that be a turn-off, it’s superb.
Link to series.
