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H/D Erised is a fanfic/fanart gift exchange fest focused on the romantic pairing of Harry Potter & Draco Malfoy! 

In an exchange fest, you are creating work specifically for another participant and receiving work created specifically for you in return. Your friendly neighborhood mod team (@nv-md, @epitomereally, and @thehoneybeet) matches you with both your gifter and your recipient, based on what you want to create and what you want to receive. Gifts are posted anonymously, starting on the first of December, with everyone encouraged to read and comment throughout the month, and creators’ names revealed in early January. 

The heart and soul of this fest is about the gift exchange. If you’d like to create something special for someone and receive a gift crafted especially for you, then you are more than welcome to sign-up. 

The gift exchange element is really what makes us love the fest, and what keeps people coming back. We want to create a community where we can all celebrate each other’s work. If you’re here for the love of community and the spirit of gift-giving, you’re in the right place.

<3 your mods, Ali, El, and Honey

HP Rec Fest, Day 23

I can’t say soulmate AUs are among the things I read the most but every now and then I feel a soft yearning for that trope and I’m always open to new angsty interesting takes on it. I know this is a great comfort trope for many readers so I really wanted to do is justice at @hprecfest. I’m reccing two of my favourite authors, and I just realized that’s two Snarry recs in a row (you’d think I read this ship every other day which is def not the case as I’m very picky - I can picture Writ laughing at this 😂). Incidentally, both fics are 9k which means everyone will have two nice short treats to check before the Christmas Eve chaos. Oh, I’ve also recced a Rarry soulmate fic here, highly recommend it as well. Enjoy!

Day 23) a soulmate fic:

Drarry

swallow your words by @candybarrnerd (E, 9k)

The truth is, not many things are known about the magic that is behind soulmarks. They'll turn up when they want and not before. The truth is, you don't get a choice in your soulmark. The truth is, not everyone is okay with that.

what I really adore about this fic is that… they’re already there, right from the start. they fall for each other before Harry’s mark shows up (and of course it’s their first words to each other 🥺) and the lowkey angst comes from their sudden appearance and Draco’s not-so-receptive initial reaction to them. I say lowkey angst because the fic opens with such a gorgeous, intimate and tender lovemaking scene it’s impossible to believe they’re not already head over heels for each other - but learning that there’s someone “destined” for you out there brings implications and complications that Draco’s not yet ready to face. I love this take on the trope because that immediate panic and resistance to the whole soulmate concept is so relatable and raises a great question about predetermined x freely chosen love which I think it’s a fascinating and very mature discussion involving this trope.

Rare pair

A Universe of Searching Souls by @writcraft (Harry/Snape, E, 9k)

When the small, innocuous mark on Harry’s hip begins to cause him discomfort, he decides to go and visit the person who has a similar mark of their own. He’s fairly certain there must be some mistake, because the universe wouldn’t be daft enough to give Harry and Severus matching soul bond marks. Would it?

Title: Eager: Born to Re-Wild Author: Anonymous Recipient: @inheartofwinter Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, background Ron/Hermione & Millicent Bulstrode/Dudley Dursley Rating: Mature Word Count: ~6,700 Tags: Becoming Friends, Eventual Romance, Humor, Animagi, Environmentalism, Animals, Gay Harry Potter, Gay Draco Malfoy, Rewilding, Beavers, Bats, Flying Motorcycle, Skinny-dipping, Pencils, Drinking, Foster Children, Self-Isolation, Additional Warnings in Author's Note Summary: Harry's friends haven't seen him for a while and they're starting to worry. Draco's listless and his friends are starting to worry. Also, something's up(side down) with Theo Nott. Meanwhile, Harry's taken on a new identity and immersed himself in a project he can really get his teeth into. But has he bitten off more than he can chew? Got too far into the (water) weeds? And who (besides you, dear reader) could guess that Draco would be the one to bring him back?  Author's Notes: Hello and Happy Erised, Inheartofwinter! Thank you for giving me a fun request to write for! I hope this brings you a few smiles. (For the particular direction its quirkiness takes, you can blame my local parks department.) Many thanks also to my beta T, my cheerleader C, and the ever-awesome mods! Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.

Title: Fancy Seeing You Here Artist: Anonymous Recipient: @lqtraintracks Pairing(s): Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy Rating: Explicit Art Medium: Digital Art Tags: lingerie, photoshoot, comic, sex, flirting Summary: Harry and Draco have an unexpected encounter at a photo studio whilst doing some modelling for non-profits. Harry is surprised by Draco, dressed only in lingerie for Witch Weekly and wants to see more... Artist's Notes: Incredible prompts to work with, one of which was that Draco also moonlighted as an escort, so I've put that in and can be interpreted either way! Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.

This is my gift! Like, what did I do to deserve this absolutely scandalously gorgeous art???

The Trouble with Wanting

waldorph @waldorph

Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Additional Tags: Canon - Book, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post-War, do not copy to another site, Slow Burn, Minor Draco Malfoy/Theodore Nott, Tattoos, Bottom Draco Malfoy, Top Harry Potter, Post-Canon, Getting Together

Summary:

Draco Malfoy is cleared of all charges; this is what happens next.

Excerpt:

“This looks like chocolate,” Blaise said, holding the package up in George’s face. It was hard to tell, but George just looked…well, not furious, for a start, which was good. “Is it going to do something dreadful to me?”

“It’s going to make you want to shag,” George said.

“Oh, so no change,” Blaise said with a truly foully lascivious look as he took a bite, and Draco groaned as Potter burst into quiet laughter.

George looked a little stunned, and then intrigued.

“I refuse to watch this anymore,” Draco announced, and then looked down at his arm, which was still in Potter’s possession, and Potter was stroking his thumb over the jut of Draco’s wrist bone. “Potter you brute, unhand me.”

Potter, who Draco understood now had never properly been socialized and was also under some sort of delusion that if he wanted something he should have it, smiled and said, “No.”

Draco, who had been flawlessly socialized and was under no delusions that if he wanted something he should have it (because it wasn’t a delusion if it were true, as long as his wants were simple and easily obtained instead of outrageous things like happiness or his father’s love), stared up at him.

“You can’t just say no,” Draco informed him.

“What will you give me for it?” Potter asked, and it was so—close, here, under the stairs. Claustrophobic, really. Draco was certain the building couldn’t be up to code. Blaise would be very distraught when Draco shut down his dream of banging Weasley by bankrupting him, but Draco had a duty to his fellow citizens to—

“Oh,” Draco exhaled, because apparently Potter had decided to just take a kiss like a thief, like a terrible sneak thief and frankly Draco should have— oh . Potter’s hands were hot and settled in the small of Draco’s back and in his hair and it was.

It was—Potter pulled back and Draco took two seconds to compose himself where he absolutely did not lean in and he absolutely did not have to force his hands to unclench from Harry’s robes because he had more dignity than that.

“So do I get it back?” Draco asked, because Potter, moving like a snake, had recaptured Draco’s wrist, pressing his thumb into the palm of Draco’s hand.

“Why a snitch?” Potter asked instead, his eyes glued to Draco’s collarbone. “Are you—you’re killing me, do you know that?”

“That is demonstrably untrue and I have witn—” he broke off in a soundless rush of air because Potter had dipped his head and pressed his lips, then teeth (not properly socialized, clearly Weasley hadn’t properly trained him when they’d been dating) to Draco’s neck.

“Mate.” George Weasley’s voice broke the moment, and Draco looked up and then shoved at Potter, who moved away reluctantly and with no shame, maybe that died when Voldemort tried to kill him as a baby, too.

a little hurt/comfort inspired by 'What Was I Made For' by Billie Eilish.

cw: grief, depression

~

It takes a lifetime, and through the ash and rubble and fractured stone comes a hollow, empty sickness. Sobering to it all, it never truly feels real. When did banquets become bodies lining the floor? 

Ron leaves, Hermione holding him together. 

Harry sways with the train, the blur of greens and greys flickering in his hazed-over eyes. The compartment door slides open, then closed, and beside him, the seat bows, a warmth lining his side. 

Draco’s looking at him – he thinks, he’s not entirely sure. A hand slips over his knuckles, fingers falling into the spaces. A bend in the tracks has them tilting in time, nudging Harry a little, slumping him against Draco’s shoulder. 

When the dust settles, so does the grief. It leaves him boneless, staggering to the nearest bench at King’s Cross station as the walls begin to tilt and the ground appears in front of his eyes. Draco’s voice echoes at the back of his ears, muted by the overwhelming noise. The obnoxious conversations and the laughter. Why is there laughter? 

Draco pulls him in, guides him home – wherever that is. There’s a table in a quaint kitchen, a cup of tea and some digestives on a plate. He must’ve managed a few bites because there’s crumbs over his fingertips, but it tastes of nothing and his throat feels heavy. 

He bathes. Draco’s hands wrapped in a cloth that washes the dirt from his back, water trickling over a newly formed scar. It stings. Wounds cleaned and healed and kissed. Draco’s touch burns against the steely air of a once empty house, steam curling up around them. Harry closes his eyes and rests, his body sunken under the surface of the water, Draco’s torso fitting into the curves of his back. Lips press to his nape, and he exhales.

Summer of '98 spent lowering his loved-ones into the ground. Numb to it, too. It should be him right? It should've always been him.

Through nightmares and breakdowns and the cruellest of arguments, they love each other fiercely, endlessly. Clinging to one another, searching for what they’ve lost, praying that it’s found in a kiss or caress or a whisper of affection. Fearful that the very next tear will be the one that pushes it too far. The one that breaks them. 

Ever so slowly learning how to be loved. 

Over the years, fragments of happiness find him. The stray cat that sunbathes on their patio. Draco’s bread and butter pudding. Fresh bed sheets - the tartan ones. Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Crocheting his first pair of mittens, the left one admittedly larger than the right.

Slices of life, mundane and mild, but a life worth living for all those lost.

This is a mini "10 Things I Hate About You" AU in which I have basically rewritten the final/poem reading scene for Drarry. Enjoy this angst.

Draco stood in front of the class, surveying the room and trying his best to affect the holier-than-thou air he'd perfected over the years. Green eyes stared sharply as if trying to penetrate the facade, but he ignored them.

After this, he wouldn't care anymore.

After this, his moment of seizing the closure that Potter's stupid bet had necessitated in the first place, he would move on.

But first, it was time to indulge every Hufflepuffish instinct in his body, purging the emotion from his heart and wringing it of pain until it was shriveled in his chest.

"Mr. Malfoy? Your poem, if you please."

Draco nodded, not looking at the professor. He took a deep breath.

"I hate the way you talk

And how you take your tea.

I hate it how you balk

When I eat jam and brie.

___

I hate your stupid face

And all your too-wide grins.

I hate your rapid flying pace

And the way you always win.

___

I hate your calloused hands

And how they fit with mine.

I hate the way you dance

And how you suck at keeping time.

___

I hate it when you smirk

And when you stare maliciously.

And how it always seems to work

Every time you rile me.

___

I hate you 'cause it hurts.

I hate you 'cause you lied.

I hate you 'cause at first

I thought for once I might just try.

___

I hate it when you're smart

And how to others you're divine.

I hope that someone shares your heart

Because you ruined mine.

___

Above all, I hate the truth

That despite our violent past

I loved you in our youth

But I finally hate you, at last."

Draco felt the tears welling in his eyes as he glanced around the room. He could feel Potter staring at him in shock, lips parted as if about to speak.

Draco refused to hear it, suffer through it anymore. This moment would scar more deeply and painfully than the ones Potter'd left across his chest. His skin wasn't enough; no, Potter had to slash through Draco's heart, as well.

Draco ran from the room, ignoring the professor's shout and Potter's stare at his back.

Still Waters | Drarry | M | 4k

Coincidence brings Harry to the same alpine lake as Draco for summer field research, kicking off a month staying in a shared tent, endless opportunities for swimming and self discovery, and maybe a little studying too, if Harry has time.

This fic is a gift for the wonderful @skeptiquewrites for the @drarrymicrofic Wheel of Drarry Mini Exchange! A little bit of highly competent Draco at a lakefront setting with a side of sexuality exploration for Harry, a tiny reference to LC! ... I hope this fits the bill! (I also have to say that I had not read skeptique's brilliant entry into bodice ripper fest – which everyone should go read – until I had finished writing this fic yesterday morning, and it is so wild to me that Draco is doing ecological field research in this fic too! Deep Drarry resonance or something haha)

all my @microficmay entries are connected into a larger story. this year i’m shoving harry & draco even further north, to a seed bank in the arctic. previous entries can be read here 50 words. no rating. cw: angst. drarry

Impossibly (says Draco), it works. 

They fuck and they fight and they laugh. They cook and dance and move house, move mountains in each other’s arms.

I got this idea today while listening to "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's because I am nothing if not a fan of 2000s music. Enjoy! (also this is exactly 1k!)

beep

"Hey, Draco—you wanted me to call when I landed. And, er, I landed. I also wanted to say... I know you said that our randomly reconnecting and—what did you call it? 'sharing a night of passion?'—while I was in New York for a holiday is not enough reason to pack up and move over there with you immediately. But I'm just so bloody excited. I've never turned a week's vacation into a month before. I've never gotten off a plane only to want to turn around and buy a one-way ticket. But it's okay. You didn't say no. You just want to take it slow. I can wait. I know I can. As long as it takes."

6:47am soft mornings