Snarry-a-thon 2021 has just finished posting it’s second week of fic and art. The fest is posting to three journals (including Dreamwidth) and AO3 and you can find the entire fest here:
All works are currently anonymous. There’s lots of good art this time to go with the fic, but these are the stories I enjoyed the most:
Reveal Your Secrets - NC-17, 14,751 words
Harry wants to wash Severus’ potion-fume-infested oily lank hair. And Severus, because of some meddling by one of his masters in the past, doesn’t recognize his obsession for what it really is. This all leads to some surprisingly sexy shampooing (you’d never guess how many different shampoos it takes to clean Severus’ hair every Friday), some porridge eating and some Harry Potter pub trivia (Severus wins). I loved the premise of the story and loved the odd bits of magic (like the Recollectoscope) and Severus’ retirement gift from Minerva. A fic that made me smile and one I’ll definitely remember.
Aftermath - NC-17, 18,180 words, underage (Harry is 17)
A lovely, quiet falling-in-love story that starts off with an unexpected connection just after the Battle of Hogwarts then slows down and lets Harry fly away – but not too far – as the two woo each other, Harry working at a Muggle pub and Severus waiting for him to get off work, drinking whiskey on a barstool. It’s so intensely Harry-Severus focused, without protesting friends and people telling Harry what to do and what not to do, and I cheered a bit at the inevitable end. Many kudos for this one.
Hawthorn Branches in Spring - PG-13, 37,500 words
This eighth-year fic has Harry returning to finish his education and Severus back in the Potions classroom. A slow build to a relationship-to-be with lots of school detail, familiar friends and characters, a surprisingly understanding Ron (hooray!) and Harry getting to return to a peaceful Hogwarts and making friends across the aisle. Lots of good potions and ingredients info including the language of flowers, and a more realistic student/teacher relationship with some nice pre-UST. You really never completely see Severus’ perspective, but the implications for the future are clear enough. A good eighth-year story, a really interesting career path for Harry and the promise of more to come.
The Sheltering Trees - G, 7800 words
A non-traditional Severus/Harry, very Severus-centric, but a really good read and very well told and constructed. At a Hogwarts in an alternate universe without a Dark Lord and a Harry Potter, Severus collects potions ingredients in the Forbidden Forest and encounters a Fae named Harry. The lore is excellent, the plot engaging, and I was left wanting to no more about this mysterious fae and his last words to Severus. Really nice writing.
Lost and Found - E, 38,646 words
Lost and Found is a memory loss story which managed to wrap in a senior dog (yes!), a used bookshop (please!), an acerbic Severus (of course!) and a lonely and pining Harry in a lost and found story that is really very satisfying. Harry has supportive friends, Severus as a Muggle is still very much Severus, and the scenes in the bookshop are particularly nice. Snuggle up with this one on a rainy day.