I picked 10 recs for short reads. One fic each for one Albus slash pairing.
A Summer Romance, Albus/Alastor Moody, by Rivulet027 (2018)
Writ, Albus/Argus Filch, by Delphi (2004)
The Unspoken and Unsent, Albus/Elphias Doge by hollycomb (2013)
The Weighing of the Wands, Albus/Garrick Ollivander, by PurpleFluffyCat (2020)
A Fejedelem, Albus/ Gellert Grindelwald by nathalieweasley (2014)
Open at the Close, Albus/Harry Potter, by allthegoodnamesaretakendammit (2017)
What the Mirror Showed Him , Albus/Horace Slughorn, by smallbrownfrog (2016)
Alone and Palely Loitering, Albus/Nicolas Flamel, by Squibstress (2013)
In Infinite Remorse of Soul, Albus/Severus Snape, by perverse_idyll (2011)
As an entire ocean in a drop, Albus/Tom Riddle, by eldritcher (2018)
A Summer Romance
by Rivulet027 (2018)
Pairing - Albus Dumbledore/Alastor Moody
Length - 2K
Genre - Fluffy and light fic. Happy ending!
Blurb - A short friends to lovers type fic. This is set during the Second War. Moody is out of the trunk. He doesnât want to waste time to seduce Albus. Albus is overthinking it before Minerva helps him decide. Itâs got some angsty parts.
Writ
by Delphi (2004)
Pairing - Albus Dumbledore/Argus Filch
Length - 2K
Genre - Introspection, soft ending.
Blurb - A beautiful fic. Albus watching Argus. The story is written in nonlinear style. Deep and introspective. We get to see what Albus thinks about The Castle. What the Castle wants from the Caretaker and the Headmaster. The teachers. One of those fics where itâs not really about the plot. Super focused on the characters and making them come alive with words.
When he thinks of his arrival at Hogwarts, what he remembers is Argus Filch. Some days, he nearly believes it to be a coincidence.
Rec note - The author has more rare pairs fics. Definitely check out their AO3 page.
Blurb - A beautiful fic. Albus is in love with Elphias. It takes a lot of stuff happening before they get on the same page about it. The Albus characterization is YMMV. High maintenance. But the fic works. I really loved Elphias here. Heâs trying so hard to make this high maintenance Albus happy.
Blurb - Lots of original ideas! Garrick is coming to the Weighing of the Wands ceremony at Hogwarts. As he looks at the wands, he gets flashbacks about his relationship with Albus. Itâs angsty in some parts. I really love this fic. Wandlore used for relationship progression!
Rec note - The author has more rare pairs fics. Definitely check out their AO3 page.
A Fejedelem
by nathalieweasley (2014)
Pairing - Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald
Length - 1K
Genre - Canon compliant, Sad ending
Blurb - Beautiful writing. Itâs got nonlinear narration. The first part of the fic is about Albus visiting Gellert in Nurmengard. The last part is about Albus meeting him for the first time in Godricâs Hollow.
Blurb - This fic has a great concept. Dumbledore is teaching Harry Occlumency in his 6th year. He gets to see how much Harry loves him. Definitely unusual. Harryâs characterization was pretty interesting. Dumbledoreâs characterization is YMMV.
Dumbledore is old and possibly dying if that weathered black hand is anything to go by, but Harry loves him, loves him in a bunch of different ways that are hard to hold in his head all at once, but Dumbledore knows now, could probably configure them into meaningful constellations and name them.
What the Mirror Showed Him
by smallbrownfrog (2016)
Pairing - Albus Dumbledore/Horace Slughorn
Length - 2K
Genre - Pining, Requited love, Happy ending.
Blurb - Why did Dumbledore see socks in the Mirror of Erised? An Albus centric fic where heâs thinking a lot about his old lover, Horace. Dumbledore keeps seeing signs of Horace at Hogwarts after Horace leaves teaching.
Blurb - An interesting and clever fic. Nicolas centric. Nicolas is dreaming about killing his wife a lot. He is tired of her. He falls in love with Dumbledore. He gets pretty sad watching Dumbledore get old. Dumbledore convinces him to give up the Stone. An interview with the vampire kind of vibe.
Rec note - The author has more Dumbledore pairing fics. Definitely check out their AO3 page.
Blurb - This fic is complicated and brilliant. Itâs definitely not an easy fic to read. But itâs totally worth it. Intense and unique. Both Dumbledore and Snape have strong characterization. YMMV on whether the characterizations are going to work for you because it can be pretty polarizing.
Disgust.
The word radiates power, a power he associates with reckless, contemptuous laughter and golden curls, but most of all with the sight of his sister falling dead. Disgust is the name for what Severus represents, what he provokes. What they have in common.
Rec note - Itâs got a great sequel And Mine the Gall
As an entire ocean in a drop
by eldritcher (2018)
Pairing - Albus Dumbledore/Tom Riddle
Length - 25K
Genre - Pining, Requited love, Happy ending.
Blurb - Strong fic with the classic teacher/student trope. Albus doesnât have the patience to teach average students. He loves teaching Tom but heâs pretty suspicious of Tomâs motives. The fic has this Snarry type vibe of fatal attraction going on. I really liked their characterizations here. They are both kind of weird. They get each other.
âYou laugh when he surprises you with swift mastery in what you teach him. You watch him fondly when he practices his spells. You duel him as if he were your perdition and your final reward, your heartâs fate and your willâs test.â
Rec note - Itâs got a great sequel Almagest
AO3 Collection
Selection criteria
One fic limit for an author. Recs are subjective and based on what I read.
Excluded the fics on
21 slash recs from 21 years
A-Z recs for unforgettable, delicious, intense recs
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In Part 2, we cover different takes on the character of Petunia Evans: as a parent, a reluctant adventurer or a refugee.Â
3. A Different Fate by lordhellebore
Premise: What if Harry was affected by surviving the Killing Curse?
Status: Complete
Read it on ff.net
Proportionally speaking, there arenât many stories that encompass disability in the magical world. This story isnât so much a character study on Petunia Evans as she was in canon, but instead how her character could have been if she was the parent of a special-needs child.
I love that the story was told through a series of drabbles - it allowed the characterâs journeys to feel poignant without becoming too angsty. I also really liked how it managed to do quite a few sub-plots within its short word count - it helped fulfill my own curiosity for how surviving the killing curse would affect Harry, his family and the Wizarding World.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
4. flowers and time: An Evansâ Story by smolder
Premise: AU - Petunia has a miscarriage, which makes her take Harry in differently than in canon.
Status: Complete
Read it on ff.net
This is a slice-of-life story with Petunia accepting Harry as her own. The love and support that Petunia and Harry provided each other was done so well, and it was nice to see both characters have that.Â
It has sadly, not been updated since 2014, so I wouldnât recommend this story for anyone who prefers completed works.
Rating: 3 / 5
5. We Would All Be Happier by TheDivineComedian
Premise: How Petunia comes to accept Harry living with her
Status: Complete
Read it on AO3
Thereâs something so fun about stories that take one-dimensional characters and make them someone compelling and thoughtful. The way this story is written, it makes Petuniaâs story plausible and somehow more thrilling because it feels as if it could slot right into canon.
Other things I really liked: how flawed (but likable) all the characters in this story were, Petuniaâs relationship with Vernon, and the cattiness of the residents of Privet Drive (anonymous notes about crying babies, honestly!)
Rating: 4 / 5
6. The Peculiar Resilience of the Refugee by Squibstress
Premise: After the war, Petunia lives at the Three Broomsticks
Status: Complete
Read it on AO3
This was the story I was least excited to read, but somehow the one I ended up enjoying the most. I really liked how Petunia (and Dudley) got a second chance at life and found their own place within the magical world. Stories like this are the ones that make me so grateful for fanfiction - the creativity, the passion that fanfic writers have for their stories is always so heartwarming.
I donât want to call this story happy, but it certainly has a tinge of hopefulness running through it. This is the story Iâd point to for my favorite examples for heart-warming stories.
Authorâs summary: After the war, Petunia takes refuge in The Three Broomsticks and finds an unlikely friend in Rosmerta. Nominated for Best Hero/Heroine, Fall/Winter 2012 HP Fanfic Fanpoll Awards.
Content warning: A brief, non-graphic mention of child sexual abuse
Main characters/pairing: Petunia Dursley, Hestia Jones, Rosmerta
Length: 8126 words
Place in canon: Does not contradict anything in the books, but may contradict interview/Pottermore info
My comment: Fanfics focusing on Petunia are relatively rare and this does it so well. The Petunia in this fic has such a beautiful, sad inner life and seeing her friendship with Rosmerta blossom as she finally finds her place in the (wizarding) world makes for a beautiful read.
