merelyn | HP Recs for Gilene!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

gilenaki!

This is really late from when I promised it to you, but I figure it can count as a birthday present. :) Enjoy!!

Wow. This totally takes me back. Um, keep in mind I haven't keep too much up with HP fandom recently, and my pairing interests are slightly contrary. But since you asked.

I'm going to go at this by pairing. One for each one of note.

Remus/Sirius:

Ah, Remus/Sirius. Even the het people find this one relatively undeniable.

The Love Song of Sirius Black by

kaydeefalls

This is a Five Things That Never Happened fic, and it has T.S. Elliot in it, and it's about Sirius. This fic was like hitting the HP fanfiction trifecta I never knew I wanted. A heartbreaking, breathtaking character study with a side of everyone's favorite pairing thrown in. (There are spoilers for OoTP in it, though I'm assuming you've read it.)

(Of course, I can't rec this one without throwing in its counterpart, the OoTP denial fic: Beyond the Veil by

brightwanderer.)

(Also, if you haven't read

shoebox_project, you're probably the only one who hasn't. :)

Harry/Draco:

The other pairing juggernaut in HP slash. I was never that well read in this pairing (or Remus/Sirius either, for that matter) mostly because everyone else liked them and apparently I'm a big non-conforming 13 yr. old when it comes to this fandom.

Irresistible Poison by

iscaris (Rhysenn)

Rhysenn was the BNF for this pairing back in the day. All her stuff is pretty, good, though this is her major work. Takes one of the big cliches of this fandom (Love Spell gone wrong!) and turns it into a gripping angsty little epic.

Harry/Ron:

This was the first pairing I got seriously attached to in HP fandom. It has that whole "best friends become something more" thing that always gets me. This pairing is generally full of the warm fuzzies.

i said, maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me: five things that never happened to ronald bilius weasley by

throughadoor

That said, this fic isn't so much with the warm fuzzies. It's absolutely 100% brilliant though. It's five small AUs, one for each of the the first five books. Read it. Now.

Harry/Ron/Hermione:

This is the only OT3 I've ever shipped in my life (see Icon). Probably the most canonically based pairing here. Why choose between Ron/Hermione, Harry/Hermione, and Harry/Ron (all three of which I can see), when you can just have them all together? Even completely platonically, the three of them just belong together. <3.

Bed and Board by

resonant8

This is my favorite Trio fic. Resonant's a fabulous author, and lucky for me she's written in all three of my major fandoms. I love it for showing their relationship as balanced, rather than focusing on two of them and leaving the other one out. Also, I love this vision of the post-War wizarding world.

Snape/Black:

Snape/Black is one of my great pairing loves in HP. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it has that 'we hate each other but we're fucking' vibe that I love. These characters have so much history that it takes a deft touch to pull them off well. I've (unsuccessfully) tried to pimp literally everyone into this pairing, so you get to be next. Give this one a try, and if you like it, seriously let me know and I will provide a whole slew of further recs. Seriously.

Rat's Alley by

fabularasa

fabularasa is the undisputed Queen of Snape/Black, and all of her many stories are wonderful. (She also has written some SGA, which you can find on her site.) This one, Rat's Alley, is arguably the best of hers- long, plotty, utterly gripping. Give it a shot. Seriously.

Snape/Lupin:

I was really into this pairing for a while. Most fics tend to take place during the books, with both of them damaged and lonely.

Thirteen Ways by

eponis

This one is just lovely. That's all I can say about it.

Ron/Draco:

This pairing is one of my other enduring HP loves. They're kind of like Snape/Black lite.

I'm Not in Denial by

mamalaz

Again,

mamalaz is arguably the Queen of Ron/Draco. I started reading this one when only 4 parts were up, and obsessively followed it to its completion. (Though actually, there a WiP sequel that she's still working on.) It's full of wonderful banter, and mamalaz's Draco is so fabulously snarky that every other one you read will pale in comparison. This one is quintessential R/D.

Percy/Oliver:

Okay, I would be remiss if I didn't mention this pairing, if only because they are (but for one exception) the only pairing I've ever been able to write. Go figure on that one. Though I'm not reccing my own fic here, and that's for a reason. :) Anyway, I could talk forever about this pairing (and I have over here at

ship_manifesto) The short version is that, even though there's no canonical basis for this pairing, I love Percy (yes, even recently) and Oliver too and together they've got a jock/geek vibe that makes me happy.

Out of the closet, into the frying pan by

cairnsy

Okay, even if you have no interest in this pairing whatsoever, this fic is utterly adorable and hilarious, and just a great riff on coming out of the closet in general.

Hermione/Ginny:

For a fandom with very few striking major female characters, HP has a lot of good femmeslash.

Sundress by

rhoddlet

This one is quiet and intense and a really good Ginny voice, which is hard to find.

Snape/Lockhart:

Yes, you read the pairing right. A rarepair I got strangely attached to. They've definitely got the complete opposites attract thing going on. Which can be pretty amusing.

Potio by Seeker (Brenda Antrim)

Seeker is probably more well known for writing a ridiculously prolific amount of very very NC-17 Snape-centric pr0n in this fandom, but this is one of her serious endeavors that comes off very well. One of the more serious takes on this pairing, this fic is suprisingly affecting. (For a lighter take on Snape/Lockhart, I also recommend Photo Perfect by Predatrix.)

Gen:

Unfortunately, I don't read a lot of gen fic, which is a shame, because I tend to miss wonderful fics like this:

First Signs of Magic: Hermione Granger by

icarusancalion

This gives a perfect window into Hermione's family. It's feels like Hermione's version of Book 1, with all the ordinary becoming magical.

(Incidentally, Icarus also has two unrelated but equally excellent takes on Draco and Snape’s first signs of magic: First Signs of Magic: Draco Malfoy and First Signs of Magic: Severus Snape)

Um...that's all I got for now. For more recs, I suggest the HP memories section on

crack_van is pretty comprehensive- you'll probably have to hit refresh a few times, as it is the lj memories function. Also

switchknife has a large, widely focused set of recommendations here, though it's heavy on the heavy stuff.

(Also, if you want any more Snape/Black, Ron/Draco, or Percy/Oliver recs I can most definitely furnish you with some. Seriously.)