Do You Think Harry Could Be Scary At Times? Like Put Actual Fear Into People? Because I Think I Remember

July Fic Recs

Hello lovely people! Here's another month's worth of fics that I've read and would recommend. This has been a hectic month for me (I successfully proposed my master's thesis!) and these fics have been getting me through <3

Je te reverrai (16k, E) by @kk1smet and @soliblomst on ao3

When Beauxbatons visited Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament, Draco managed to control his attraction to fourteen-year-old Harry Potter.

When Beauxbatons returns three years later for a cultural exchange, Draco's attraction to seventeen-year-old Harry Potter is impossible to curtail.

In his defence, Harry's perfectly tailored blue robes, mixed signals, and French accent do not help.

Historically, I'm a horrible sucker for Beauxbatons!Draco, but I had never considered a Harry that went there until this fic ran in and punched me in the face (in the best way possible). I absolutely love this pining, helpless Draco, and Harry is so HOT in this, good lord. This fic had me frantically google translating every little thing he said. The plot was so sweet and precious, but the smut was incredibly hot, and I'm truly obsessed. Also, this art???? like are you JOKING?? It’s absolutely STUNNING.

Higher and Higher (Temptation) (28k, E) by birdsofshore on ao3

Only Harry Potter could manage to put on a magical collar on impulse and find himself unable to take it off again. Now following Draco’s direct orders gives him intense pleasure, and Draco has a whole heap of troubles to deal with, not least the way Potter looks when the collar has him gasping with bliss. The whole situation would test the morals of a saint… and Draco’s no saint.

Despite very much not being fuck or die, this fic gives me delectable fuck or die vibes that just keep me coming back again and again. Harry is sexy. Draco is sexy. Their relationship is the SEXIEST, and yet somehow this beautiful work of art somehow has time to squeeze in some genuinely fascinating magic through Draco's job as a cursebreaker. This one's a classic for me.

White, Blonde, & British (40k, E) by @sortofshea on ao3

Prince Draco Malfoy is known all over the world as “The Modern Day Prince Charming”, ask anyone - well, anyone except for Harry Potter, first son of the Indian president and (self) sworn rival of said stuck-up, snobbish prince.

I am a massive fan of red white and royal blue, and saw this prompt for Lights Camera Drarry this year and was immediately excited. And this so lived up to how excited I was!! This was such a fun way to relive one of my favorite stories from the lens of my favorite boys, and I had never considered how well Alex and Henry match Harry and Draco until now. I love the movie in its own way, but this was an even more faithful adaptation LMAO

Yours Truly (14.8k, M) by @skeptiquewrites on ao3

Every single one of Harry’s exes has gone on to marry the next person they date, and with the upcoming nuptials of numbers six and seven to each other, Harry’s feeling exhausted by it all. It doesn’t really matter if he lets people assume Draco Malfoy is his boyfriend for a moment of peace. In any case, Draco’s been away for five years and there’s no way he would find out, right?

I mean it when I say I easily would have read 500k about this story. I love a good fake dating trope, but this accidental fake dating that one of them doesn't even know about is so fun and fresh with the best parts of the trope. One scene in particular made me gasp out loud and throw my phone across the room, which neither of my cats appreciated too much, but y'all know only the best of fics can make you react like that. Instant fave!

Buy A Heart (17k, E) by @xerised on ao3

Draco's cock hardens as he looks at the invitation to the charity auction; his golden ticket to one wild night of desperate sex with Potter to get rid of this inexplicable obsession. His heart whispers that one night will never be enough, but Draco is beyond caring. All he knows is that he will pay any price to have Potter over and over again.

.... idk how much I need to explain what appealed to me about this fic, but it goes so beyond being hot af. The background we get towards the end, the character building, the descriptions, all of it is honestly delightful. All that being said, it IS hot as fuck and I would highly recommend.

Harry/Draco/Ron

Welcome, Peasants (15k, E) by @fluxweeed on ao3

Ron was doing Draco a favour by agreeing to investigate him. Better Ron than someone who’d plant something horrific to get Draco sent to Azkaban—or some pervy Potter fanatic who’d spend the whole hour sniffing the dirty clothes on Harry’s bedroom floor. Even though Ron had to take Polyjuice and break into their flat to do it, Harry and Draco would understand. They’d appreciate it.

And if Ron had done more “investigating” and less “snogging his best friend while Polyjuiced as said best friend’s secret boyfriend”, maybe it would have all been fine.

This was so, so enjoyable. I've never really felt like reading about Ron in a ~sexual~ way (though I love some background Romione), but this might have started to change that for me. I love how desperate and passionate he is in this, and Draco and Harry's reactions really help to sell this and make it as great as it is.

i adore being confronted with the staggering breadth of what individual people can get obsessed with. there's nothing better than having That One Mutual with an advanced degree in ancient greek tragedy who writes minecraft youtube fanfiction to remind you that anyone can love anything

Monday Snippet

It’s Thursday here, woops. Tagged by @basiatlu, @valoale, and @littlewinnow, who gave us glimpses of so many goodies with their distinctive art!!

I’m sharing these two wips which are part of something. No pressure tag to @artmistersealy @itsphantasmagoria @soliblomst @gotoemopunk and @faiell whose works I also admire greatly, and to anyone who wants to join in. ♥︎

Harry is an orphan, so nothing has to be more important to him than his own sense of what is right. And having always had to rely on himself to get through life, he is self possessed and self directed enough to have a very strong sense of right and wrong. And he holds himself to that scrupulously. He always does what he sees as the right thing; he will not be talked out of it. There isn’t anybody he wants to make happy more than he wants to do the right thing.

For Draco, his obligations to others, his family specifically, is the sum total of his idea of the right thing to do. From his perspective, his social and even moral obligations are limited to safeguarding the wellbeing (and when possible the prestige) of his family.

People think of Draco as a bad boy, but he’s actually very conventional. He’s a dick, but his views are not at all controversial in his social circle. When Draco realizes that toeing the party line has brought him to a place where he has to face MUCH more violence than he is capable of tolerating, he has to start thinking for himself and. Well he gets his shit absolutely rocked.

He’s working his ass off trying to protect and uplift his family, but they didn’t show him the same courtesy, not in the ways that matter. Like he got seven top of the line broomsticks when he was twelve, but also. His parents brought home a mass murderer to live in their house and taught him that this was a consummation devoutly to be wished.

And once he meets Voldemort and gets put to work for him, it’s clear that Voldemort is volatile and capricious and his goodwill cannot be counted on as reliably as his explosive anger and vengefulness. And if Draco can see it now, he must think that his parents had to have seen it before.

He has to confront the fact that his parents will cheerfully witness and participate in a level of violence and destruction that he cannot countenance. He can’t be directed by them anymore. He can’t be like them anymore. So what’s his guiding star? Who can he be? What is he supposed to do with his life if not what they’ve asked of him?

There is such an interesting contrast between the two of them! Their characters are at odds in such a fun and fascinating way! After the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry has discharged his most significant and pressing obligation, and it’s time for him to heal and regroup and figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. And Draco is in the same place but arguably with an even more significant blow to his sense of self. Neither of them can go back to the way things were, but for Harry that’s a huge relief, and for Draco, it’s terrifying.

Harry is an extremely empathetic and generous person, and I think he would see himself in Draco’s rudderlessness and feel impelled to commiserate. And I think Draco would no longer have much reason to pretend that he hasn’t always found Harry incredibly magnetic, before he even knew who he was.

YEP you read that right. THIRTEEN. And yes, you can get all thirteen as a pack! As always, shipping is free for domestic and US$2 for untracked international (except for the big 13 card pack, that thing is CHONKY so international shipping for that is US$13)

Also running a flash sale (25% off) so you know, come see what I gots.

octave denis victor guillonnet / gordon mortensen / santiago rusiñol / raoul dufy / albert marquet / henry moret

SCREAMING.

Thank you, Liv @sitp-recs for tagging @the-sinking-ship !! My heart swells to know you liked this. And no, YOU, and your works are incredible (an understatement).

And, I just have to share the initial idea. When I was looking for references, I saw this and had to whip it up, but I knew I wanted to try and somehow project the perfect way you have always written them. So. There’s.. this, and perhaps some more, the brainrot that I share with everyone who read NMTB.

I recently finished Never Mind the Bollocks by The_Sinking_Ship. Since that day, it has been living in my head rent-free, and will remain there. Perhaps for a long, long time.

Every time I try to collect my thoughts to articulate every single thing I loved about a fic, I just end up screaming and dying with the feels. So instead of words, here’s some drawn lines (and more screaming).

Random writing thought: the best stories are often the ones that only you could have written — but also the ones that you could only write at this one moment.

I couldn't write All the Birds in the Sky from scratch now if I tried. But the me of 2013 couldn't have written The Prodigal Mother either.

Fic claim: Mirror, Me (E, 18.3k)

Read on AO3

Written for @hd-tarot fest. Thanks to the mods for all their amazing work!

@kk1smet made this incredible art. It burrowed into my brain and wouldn't leave so i had to write it down.

Tags:

EWE, Post-War, POV Harry Potter, Down and Out Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Depression, Panic Attacks, Hurt/Comfort, Belonging, Sentient Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Invisibility Cloak, Stalking, Non-consensual Voyeurism, Exhibitionism, Under-negotiated Kink, Polyjuice Potion, Explicit Sexual Content

Snippet:

“Petrificus Totalus.” Harry’s limbs go rigid and snap together as he keels over, face first onto weeds and patchy, wet grass. His nose and chin hit the packed dirt with a painful crunch. Though his shout of surprise is stuck in his throat, the sound of his body hitting the ground echoes in his ears. A hand grabs at the cloak and pulls hard. Then, he’s on his back, Draco Malfoy standing over him. “Well now, this is familiar,” Malfoy says, a smirk pulling at his mouth. He crouches down at Harry’s side, pulling at his hair so that Harry's head is angled to face him. “Harry Potter.” His voice is low and drawling and it scuttles over Harry’s skin. “I’m simply dying to know what you're doing here.” Harry’s current predicament is, he can admit, rather dire. Being caught stalking aside, he thinks his nose might be broken. Humiliation licks up his rigid spine, but along with it is a prickle of ill-advised anticipation, a foolish thrill at what Malfoy might do. “You’ve been following me for a while now, haven’t you? I thought I could hear—” Malfoy cuts himself off. Harry hardly registers what Malfoy is saying, caught up in the opportunity to finally look at him up close. Malfoy laughs and the sound crawls up over Harry, gets under his nails. “Merlin you are such a little creep, aren’t you, Harry?” Harry's sure a violent flush must be blooming across his face, not only at the insult but at his body’s reaction to the words, his cock twitching traitorously.