WRITCRAFT

Happy birthday, darling @wolfpants! I’m bringing you a banner with Draco on it since you share a birthday with him, what a fun coincidence! When deciding how to celebrate you and your writing, I knew I wanted to do an author’s reclist but wasn’t entirely sure how to go about it because every single fic in your catalogue is worth a rec of its own. So I took inspiration from an ask game - a list of categories I could fill with my rambling. I hope you have a wonderful birthday full of nice things! ILY! 🤍

🤍 A fic I want to read again for the first time: Under Giant Mountains (Drarry, E, 34k)

I thought about it for a long time because I would give anything to experience all of them for the first time again but eventually, I landed on Under Giant Mountains. It feels a bit sacred to me and I think it’s because I relate to this Harry a lot; because it’s a gentle story about healing; because it made me cry but in that really good, cathartic way. I think it will do the same regardless of how many times I read it.

🤍 A fic I reread the most times: Pages of You (Drarry, E, 102k)

According to AO3 the fic I have visited the most is Pages of You, which is no surprise. Do I share how many times I clicked on that fic? Is it embarrassing? Probably. Oh well, here it is:

Look, it’s my comfort fic, okay? What can I say - an 80s coming-of-age story? Sign me the hell up. In all honesty, I don’t really have words to describe how this fic makes me feel - it’s like a safety net for my inner child maybe, or something similarly, horribly cheesy. It’s a book I want to own, have on my bookshelf, and return to it over and over again. Maybe one day it will be.

🤍 A fic that made me (re)consider a ship: Spellbound (Draco/Albus, E, 2k)

So here is the thing - I’m pretty faithful to my favourite ships and don’t often read outside of them, except when it’s a rarepair that catches my eye and then I’m happy to be persuaded. And Wolf is brilliant at that, honestly, they could talk me into anything. And so even when it comes to a ship I didn’t know I needed, like Draco/Albus for instance, I just know that in their hands, it’s gonna be layered and thought-provoking and just so, so delicious. Here is the proof: Spellbound, a Dead Dove fic that is just the perfect flavour of dirtyhotwrong. Yum.

🤍 A favourite rarepair fic: Galvanize (Scorpius/Ron, M, 1k)

Speaking of rarepairs. Wolf has a whole collection of kinkuary fics, which is a rarepair heaven, go forth and pick your poison. I’m gonna go with Galvanize, in support of Hot Ron Agenda ™. It’s an M-rated Scorpius/Ron fic and the dynamic here is unmatched - so innocent and yet. Gah!

🤍 A line from a fic that’s haunted me: Waiting for the Moon to Rise (Drarry with a hint of Bill, E, 9k)

This is hard because I can think of many (see QQR) but if I had to choose just one, it would have to be this masterpiece:

—his voice had been thick, Draco remembers that, because he’d been eating an apple stolen from the kitchens on their way outside. He kept trying to get Draco to eat it too, playfully pressing the bitten edges to his mouth, damp like a kiss, until Draco had pushed him off him with a laugh— “stop that, Potter, or I’ll shove it someplace where it’ll hurt ”—and all the while, his lips had tingled with sweetness, a phantom caress he would take to his bed later that night and think about with his hands while the rest of the Eighth Year boys would sleep and snore, none the wiser—

Which is of course from Waiting for the Moon to Rise, featuring an intimate friendship, lots of UST and Bill the matchmaker 😏

🤍 A fic that ripped my heart out (but it hurt so good): The Hollow (Remus/Draco, E, 12.5k)

Oh boy. We’ve all read The Hollow, right? Right. It’s one of those fics I think about so often it can’t be healthy and yet I can’t go anywhere near it again because I don’t think I would survive a second read. It’s so, so, so good. It’s so painful. It’s everything I want from the pairing. I never want to see it again. It carved itself into my heart and will stay there forever.

🤍 A fic that made me laugh: Romp and Circumstance (Drarry, E, 33k)

So. Many. Wolf’s banter in fics is unmatched but for the sake of this game I have to say one, so I’ll go with Romp and Circumstance - and as much as this fic is hilarious, it’s also so full of love and longing and romance. It’s so vibrant! A perfectly executed AU with characterizations that are just chef’s kiss!

🤍 A song I now associate with a fic: Everybody Hates a Tourist (Drarry, E, 52k)

I will always associate Common People by Pulp with Everybody Hates a Tourist. I remember sitting in a beach cafe last year and the song started playing and immediately transferred me into the holiday vibes of the fic. I’m obsessed with both Harry and Draco in this story: with who they are, separately, and eventually together. Their characters are written so brilliantly here; they’re both given space to grow into themselves, into what they want out of life and their getting together feels like the most natural thing in the world.

🤍 A fic that’s between me and my AO3 history: Seat You Higher than the Stars (Ron/Harry, E, 1,8k)

Ha! I have no secrets or shame. Nothing is just between me and AO3, I’m an open book and will shout about it, and especially about this fic I thought was fitting (pun intended) for this category - just look at the tags: emotional vulnerability and fisting (elmo fire emoji). This is Seat you Higher than the Stars, a Ronarry fic that has got to be one of my favourite things ever written. It’s so tender and beautiful! 

🤍 A fic that feels like a warm blanket: Thickets (Drarry, E, 17k)

That is *exactly* how reading Thickets feels. Oh, this fic. So gentle and mature, full of soft, quiet pining and second chances. It’s so atmospheric and nostalgic. Layered with complicated grief and vowed with humor and warmth, this fic is simply stunning. It’s a getting back together story that feels like a deep exhale. It’s melancholic and hopeful and it has one of my favourite characters of all time - a portrait of Young Draco to perfectly illustrate just how far current Draco has come.

🤍 A fic I want to be made into a film: Led by Light of a Star Sweetly Gleaming (Sirius/Remus, E, 53k)

Another year of Snarry-a-Thon has just wrapped up! What a fun season this has been. There was a lot to love, but as usual, I've narrowed it down to my Top 5 favorites! But first…

Disclaimer: my rec lists are created based on my personal experiences and preferences. There are plenty of other stories and authors who are quite good and deserve just as much love. This is not meant to be an objective “best of the best” list, but the subjective opinion of a longtime reader and fangirl.

Cat-astrophe

by blackwhitelight (@loneamaryllis). Rated: E. Words: 13,972. Fluff & humor. Cat!Harry. Cat!Severus. Idiots in love.

"It's a door," Harry said. "I killed Voldemort. I can manage a door." "Can you?" Snape said, with such smugness it was dripping off his whiskers. Or the adventures of Harry and Snape as cats after an unfortunate potion accident.

Turning Back Time

by cruisedirector, Dementordelta. Rated: T. Words: 8,455. Time travel. Domestic. Established relationship.

Harry and Snape are equally sure about who made the first move. They just disagree about which of them it was.

Symmetry and Murder

by salizarinadress. Rated: T. Words: 21,795. Murder Mystery. Severus has OCD. Trust issues. POV Severus.

Severus has been going steady with Potter for six months now, taking what pleasure he can from what is clearly a sting operation to uncover his non-existent illegal brewing enterprise. Then Harry confesses his love. He insists that he really did retire as an auror, and that he thought they were dating for real this whole time, and he's willing to go public to prove it. He organises a last-minute Murder Mystery night and invites Severus as his official date. Hijinks ensue.

The Bubbling Brew

by Trueliarose (@trueliarose). Rated: T. Words: 35,540. Coffee Shop AU. Muggle AU. Fluff. Idiots in love. Mutual pining.

Harry works at a café. Everyone warns him about the grumpy regular who always occupies the table in the far corner. Except, Harry doesn't know what everyone is on about; he likes the sarcastic man.

He Who Lives More Lives Than One

by Writcraft (@writcraft). Rated: E. Words: 24,041. Curses. Hurt/comfort. Falling in love. Vampire Harry. Immortal Severus.

Harry is in trouble again. When immortality is forced upon him, there is only one person who can help. Severus Snape, the wizard who refuses to die.

Bonus: Art Rec

A Hissy Fit

by sillybeans (@sillylittlebeans). Rated: G. Comic. Cat!Harry. Cat!Snape.

Here is a collection of songs I listened to death whilst creating my piece for @writcraft for this year's @hd-erised. Suffice to say, Patrick Wolf, who has been a constant in my life since a very young age, was a huge influence. The title comes from his song of the same name, the concept from my love of his album The Bachelor.

You can find the whole playlist on spotify

List of songs:

Patrick Wolf - Thickets Johnny Flynn - The Box Nick Drake - Cello Song Orange Juice - Blue Boy Johnny Flynn - Raising the Dead Owen Pallett - Lewis Takes Off His Shirt Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal Smashing Pumpkins - Thirty-Three M. Ward - Poison Cup Patrick Wolf - Blackdown listen on spotify

Reveals are here and I can finally spill the beans! Thank you so much to the @hd-erised mods for organising a brilliant fest; to my beta team @thehoneybeet @getawayfox @citrusses for being the most encouraging friends; and of course to @writcraft, my giftee - it was such a joy writing for you. Thank you for the inspiration, and for your wonderful comments!

Thickets | E | 17.3k

Tags: EWE, POV Draco, Drarry in their (late) 30s, artist Draco, ex-Auror Harry, FWB, exes, exes to lovers, minor character illness, parent death, caring for a terminally-ill parent, homophobia, homophobic language, Malfoy Manor, flashbacks, falling in love, smoking, drinking, walking, countryside, painting, magically powerful Harry, pining, miscommunication, portrait Draco, drinking and talking, rain, thunderstorms, forests, nature magic, explicit sex, outdoor sex, semi-public sex, dream sex, forest sex, blow jobs, facials, anal sex, sleeping together, switching, pillow talk, happy ending

When Draco returns to the UK after two decades of building his career as an internationally-renowned artist to look after his ailing, estranged father, he crosses paths with his former flame, Harry Potter, in the most unexpected way.

Harry wanders in and out of view from an upstairs window, pushed open to let the fresh air in. He stops, obviously sensing a stranger in the vicinity of his wards, and Draco grips the handle of his rucksack hard, his head tilted back, his face flushed from the rain and the sun, his lungs tight. It’s as if Draco knew where, exactly, to look. It’s as if he knew, where, exactly, he’d find the still point of the turning world—Harry, who at thirty-nine is rose-golden and everything and too much and at this moment, too close and too far away, somehow. Harry leans out of the window. His hair is as wild and curly as ever, his beard dark. He’s filled out a little, but his glasses are the same, his scar is the same, and his stunned expression is the same expression Draco recognises from a lifetime ago, and when Harry opens his mouth to speak, nothing comes out. Draco feels the magic around him sizzle, then slip off, like a wave approaching the shore only to disappear again. “It’s you,” Draco breathes.

Ahhhhhhh!!!! I had a sneaking suspicion this might be you @wolfpants and I have been itching to see if my instinct was right on reveals. I have said this before in comments on other fics of yours, but I absolutely love, love, love your writing and this was no exception. The cadence of the story was sublime, you have such a talent with words. Both Draco and Harry are beautifully crafted, the story was captivating and immersive from start to finish and it was so easy to just sink into the rich and expansive post-war world you so cleverly created.

HP Rec Fest, Day 30

Here we come with more @hprecfest! Today I’m only reccing rare pairs since I couldn’t think of any pre-canon Drarry fics 🤔 I wonder if canon divergent / canon rewrite applies?? I don’t read them often either way, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to boost lesser known fics. I think this is my favorite rec post for the fest so far - there’s something so poetic in reccing these two specific fics alongside each other since Little Compton Street verse was my first (unforgettable, devastating) contact with Prongsfoot and 5 years later here I am reading them again - this time welcoming the pain. More embarrassing emosh blabbing below!

Day 30) a pre-canon fic:

empire builders by shecrows (James/Sirius, E, 25k)

Say, James, he rehearses in his head. Remember that time we were both roaring drunk at the end of term, and you put your cock in my mouth, and I came so hard I still get tingly thinking about it? Was that just a one off, d’you think, or did you want to do it again sometime?

Prongsfoot my beloved 😭😭😭 sometimes I feel like I’ll never feel as strongly about a ship as I feel for them which sounds so crazy because I don’t even read it! or, well. after being utterly ruined by Winter of ‘79 (curiously a fic within LCS verse as mentioned below) I promised myself I wouldn’t look for this ship anymore bc the inevitable tragedy of it depressed me way too much. I locked them away in a secret space deep within my heart and only allowed myself to re-awaken those feelings this year, with the brilliant empire builders. what a fic! a few lines in and I was hooked and completely obsessed with Sirius’ unbelievably spot on voice, the peak friends to lovers dynamics, and the unbearable sexual tension mixing guilt and devotion (my favorite shippy combo btw). fuck, they are so young and so lovable, and so attuned to each other it makes me wanna cry. never before a 25k fic has felt so short, I’ve read it in a frenzy and couldn’t stop thinking about their love for days. the best word to describe my state after this fic is “tormented” which might as well be the best compliment I’ve ever given in a rec.

Play Me Like A Love Song by @writcraft (Minerva/Will, E, 67k)

Minerva McGonagall doesn’t believe in love at first sight, which is why her instant attraction to drag king Wilhelmina ("Will") Grubbly-Plank is so unexpected. War tears apart the wizarding world and as one battle ends Minerva and Will must fight once more, this time for the lives of their friends on Little Compton Street. A love story spanning five decades defined by music, laughter and tears, in which love is not always easy, but it’s always worth fighting for.

How is 2023 almost over?? This fandom year was a mixed bag for me; in good news, I managed to shake the awful writer's block of 2022, but sadly that definitely meant that I spent less time reading. In the first half of the year I kept up with Dronarry fest, and Wireless, but since the summer I've been working on a longfic and have definitely found that it's impaired my ability to read longer stuff. With that in mind, the lovely @drarrymyheart very kindly offered to step in and help out, and so in addition to my own recs, I present a few of her recs that I've heard great things about, but haven't got round to yet myself <3 these are denoted by stars (⭐)! There are some absolute bangers on this list (imho), and it features such a wide range in terms of length and tropes, that I really hope there's something here for everyone. All Drarry unless otherwise specified. Wishing you all a 2024 full of joy!

I Fall On Grass by @tackytigerfic (T, 3.1k)

AITA for being "obsessed" with my childhood nemesis? by @rainstormradish (M, 4.3k)

Under the Table by @xanthippe74 (T, 4.3k)

Team Building for Dummies by InnerLilith (E, 6.9k)

Muscle Memory by @corvuscrowned (E, 7.7k)

Can't Start a Fire Without a Spark by @writcraft (E, 8.9k, Ron/Harry)

A Saviour’s Guide to Manners and Decorum by @wolfpants (E, 13k)

I only want the ones I envy (I envy) by @porcelainheart3 (E, 14k)

The Sun, Shining Above You by @oknowkiss (E, 15k, Dronarry)

What’s Mine is Yours by @fluxweeed (E, 17k)

⭐ if the bees know by @oflights (T, 20k)

O Come, All Ye Faithful by toomuchplor (E, 20k)

HP Kinkuary 2023 Collection by @sorrybutblog (E, 20k, various pairings)

Nothing But You On My Mind by @moonflower-rose (M, 29k)

⭐Half Sick of Shadows by @starquestingfordrarry (E, 40k)

Winner Takes It All by @skeptiquex (E, 41k)

⭐how we were taught to love by @tigerlilycorinne (M, 42k)

Shine On, You Crazy Diamond by @lagerloutfic (E, 42k)

⭐A pulled down shade by fast-brother (M, 43k)

LA, Who Am I To Love You? by @epitomereally (E, 43k)

Our Objective Remains Unchanged by @citrusses (E, 46k)

Polar Night/Midnight Sun by toomuchplor (E, 54k)

along each garden wall by @oflights (E, 61k)

On the First Day of Christmas, a Pureblood gave to me... by @maesterchill (E, 65k)

The Discreet Gentleman's Connection by pluto (E, 80k)

Twenty-Two Cards series (starting with Rookie Moves) by peu_a_peu (E, 109k)

⭐Symptom of Your Touch by NoxNoir (E, 116k)

I have a feeling that beneath the little halo on your noble head There lies a thought or two the devil might be interested to know You're like the finish of a novel that I'll finally have to take to bed You fascinate me so

Hello darling @sitp-recs ❤️❤️❤️ I would love to do this for you!😘

For @writcraft 💕 happy holidays!