#fic finding tips

For the best results when using Google, it really helps if you know which site you read the fic on. You can search for webpages from that site containing unique words and phrases using site search and quotation marks.

For ao3 fics, use this to begin your Google search: site:archiveofourown .org "draco malfoy/harry potter" (delete the space before .org, .net, or .com for any of the search examples in this post) Then add quotes, words, and phrases in quotation marks to narrow things down. Keep in mind that each chapter of a multi-chaptered fic is it's own webpage, so you'll want to search for specific details that would show up in the same chapter. For example, we received a request describing Draco having a T (for traitor) carved over his dark mark during the Battle of Hogwarts while he was helping to search for Ravenclaw's Diadem. We found it by googling site:archiveofourown .org "draco malfoy/harry potter" "traitor" "dark mark" "diadem". This search brought up Chapter 3 where this scene takes place, but if we had included a detail from Chapter 1 ("motorbike", for Hagrid's motorbike) it would have excluded the webpage we wanted to find.

Google site searching is most helpful when you have really specific details that are not going to be in the tags or fic summary, meaning the ao3 search feature is nearly useless with the information you have. Another example is a request we received describing Veela!Draco being protective of Harry at a picnic with their friends. You can do a search on ao3 with Veela Draco and Picnics tags, but nothing would come up. We found the correct fic by googling site:archiveofourown .org "draco malfoy/harry potter" "veela" "picnic".

This method works with FFN fics as well, with this Google search: site:fanfiction .net "Draco M., Harry P." Be aware that including the pairing in quotations will not always exclude other pairings and you will probably see plenty of Draco/Hermione FFN fics show up in your search too (and others pairings, but Dramione being popular will mean you'll see that one most often).

You can also use this method with LJ, but the pairing description may vary from fic to fic. It’s sometimes listed as HPDM, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, draco x harry, Drarry, or just Draco/Harry. You may want to just put their names separately in quotes (site:livejournal .com “draco” “harry”).

With any of these sites, remember to try different combinations of words and phrases! Get creative with your searching and try your best to remember unique details. Even adding simple words such as “beetle”, “Christmas”, or “Burrow” will narrow things down a great deal. Include reoccurring characters as well (“Luna” “Blaise” “Pansy” etc.), and if you can remember the name of an OC that information is extremely useful. Including Ron or Hermione doesn’t always do much, since they are often a staple of Drarry fanfics. But if you’re looking for a certain scene they are a part of, it wouldn’t hurt to include them. Keep in mind that Draco POV fics might refer to them as “Granger” and “Weasley” though! It can get tricky the more details you include, but too few details will result in too many webpages to skim through.

The key to a successful fic find on Google is usually combining multiple common words (“healer” “classroom” “portkey”), or remembering unique words and phrases you can recall being quoted exactly (“astral projection”, “orphanage”, “climbed over the fence”, “things change”, “Masudi the cat”).

Last but not least, when looking through a page of search results it’s usually best to skip over webpages that are just featuring tags:

Instead, focus on the webpages of fics and fic chapters. Google will often show a passage from the fic containing one or more of the words you have put in quotations. You can sometimes tell immediately whether or not the story fits depending on the context:

First and foremost, ao3 is usually our main focus. FFN, LJ, and other fanfic sites are much more difficult for us to search. The beauty of ao3 is the wonderful tagging system, filters, keyword search, and the handy ‘Entire Work’ button!

Your first step will probably be to check your browser and ao3 history, and your ao3 bookmarks. You'll have a better idea of whether a fic has been deleted if you can't find it in those places. (Ctrl + F can help you search your ao3 history more quickly)

We typically start with this page on ao3, which is already pre-filtered to include: Completed works only, Excluding crossovers, >1000 Word Count, English, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter as the pairing, and sorted by Kudos (descending). Most fics we find fall under those filters, but you would want to change them if they don’t fit what you’re looking for! (Lower word count for microfics, change completion status for WIPs, filter by date instead of kudos if you know the fic was posted very recently, etc. We usually sort by kudos because a large number of our found fics are typically located on the first couple of pages within those search results.) From there you can start adding tags, keywords, and side characters.

Keep in mind that ao3 tags can be tricky. For example, Nice Things by aideomai will show up if you add the tag “Weed”, but will be excluded from your search if you use the tag “Recreational Drug Use”. Try rewording your tags and using different combinations of tags. If you’re looking for a Sickfic, try using “Sick Character” or “Illnesses” instead of “Sickfic”. Try “Drinking”, “Drunkenness”, or “Bars and Pubs” instead of “Clubbing”. Or...

Avoid the tagging system altogether!

Many fics are not properly tagged, especially older ones or ones crossposted from other fanfic sites. Or sometimes details you remember won’t have suggested tags on ao3. The tags “Writer Draco Malfoy” and “Journalist Draco Malfoy” can be searched, but specifically “Reporter Draco Malfoy” will not be an option. You can simply type “reporter” into the Any Field/Search Within Results section and you will find results that don’t show up under those Journalist or Writer tags! Searching keywords will search for words in tags, summaries, and titles and can be extremely useful. Please click the (?) next to the Any Field/Search Within Results section to find out how to search for phrases and how to use special characters for more specific searching.

Another great example is the keyword “identity”. The fic you’re looking for could be tagged “Identity Reveal”, “Secret Identity”, “Mistaken Identity”, or “Identity Porn”, but if you were to just search the keyword “identity” you would see the results for every one of those tags instead of trying each one separately, in addition to results for fics with “identity” in the summary or title. Fics taking place in Grimmauld Place may not be tagged with the location but may show up if you search keyword “Grimmauld”. Same with keyword “Manor” instead of tag-searching “Malfoy Manor”. We've honestly found many fics by simply using one or two tags and adding keywords like “house”, “portrait”, or “godfather”.

Narrowing things down can be quick and easy! If you remember a fic where Harry has a dog (keyword “dog”), Luna is involved somehow (Character: Luna Lovegood, or keyword “Luna”), and you’re pretty sure it was rated Explicit (Rating: Explicit), you can enter those three things and you would only have to sift through 8 results. Exclude the Explicit rating and you still only get 14 results. Searching for an Eighth Year fic with Bill as a side character (Tag: Hogwarts Eighth Year + Character: Bill Weasley) will get you 22 results (these are examples using the pre-filtered search we linked). Always try different combinations before giving up, and definitely always include words you very clearly remember being in the fic summary or tags.

Arguably our most useful tip: Page Searching & The Handy ‘Entire Work’ Button!

When you’ve found a fic or multiple fics you think could be the right one, but you’re still not sure, you can search entire stories for plot points you can remember. For multi-chaptered fics, click the Entire Work button at the top of the page (FFN and LJ do not have this option). Now you can search keywords and phrases by using your webpage search (Ctrl + F on PC, Command + F on Mac, Find on Page in browser menu on mobile). Does the fic you’re looking for have a scene where the characters ride on a bus? Search “bus” and go through each occurrence of that word. Can you remember the name of an OC that wouldn’t be in the tags or summary? Search the entire fic for that name. We rely on this method to confirm found fics for almost every request we answer.

Google and Tumblr searching (*sardonic laughter*)

These are usually a shot in the dark, but sometimes when you type in fic details on google + “fanfic” or “draco/harry” you might get lucky. In most cases fics from FFN will show up. Searching tropes or plot details can even bring up tumblr or LJ reclists you can browse! Sometimes Reddit posts will pop up too. If you’re trying to use tumblr’s search feature… godspeed. Very ambitious of you! We almost never use it for good reason. You’re better off using google to find tumblr posts. We hope this helped you find your lost fic! Please let us know in the comments if you have any questions or need clarification. We may update this post with new or altered information. Happy finding!

ETA: part two of fic finding tips is up!

More resources:

tips for Google searching

ao3 FAQ

tumblr post on methods for excluding tags

how to: search within results part 1 & part 2

ao3 search cheatsheet