HP recs: Snape/Harry medium-length fics
Posted on September 8, 2007
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Part 2: Medium-length fics (~15 to 50K words; stories you can read in one go but it will take some time)
Go to: Severus Snape/Harry Potter. Part 1: Long fics (stories over 50K words, long series and such)
Go to: Severus Snape/Harry Potter. Part 3: Short fics (under 15K words)
Fics are sorted in alphabetical order by title (articles excluded).
4×2 Series by Undun (undunoops) #
HP/SS; PG-13. After the defeat of Voldemort, Harry can’t hear anybody except Snape. Also, his vocal chords are damaged and he can only whisper when speaking.
Absolution, by Rushlight (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: Snape is forced to make a difficult decision when Harry is captured by Death Eaters, and they both have to find a way to deal with the aftermath. Warning: non-consensual sex, underage, H/C.
Acts of Will, by Iulia Linnea #
NC-17. Summary: Haunted by secrets, guilt, and a spectre, Harry searches for answers and a decent shag; plagued by Potter’s very presence, Severus finds himself investigating more than one subject with which he’s only passingly familiar. For both wizards, metaphysical philosophy is a bitch—and not the only one they have in common. Warnings: For (mentions of) character death and mild violence.
At the beginning, I thought Harry was an accidental Necromancer. But what’s happening in this story turned out to be much more interesting. Harry’s for sure powerful and rather fucked up: lonely, unhappy, carrying enormous survivor’s guilt. He can make really strange things happen — read to find out which ones and how. But it’s not one of those Superpowerful!Harry fics where he can destroy cities with a blink, pass judgement on all those disgusting guys (usually Gryffindors and Dumbledore) who ‘mistreated’ him, and probably do Kung Foo too. Not at all like that here. I really enjoyed reading this story. What I mean is, it was interesting all the way: what’s going on with Harry, and with Snape, and will they connect and if yes, how; how the situation will be resolved, etc. I’d say it has a very nice pacing. It’s full of stuff I don’t like theoretically (love declarations, sorcerers, natural magic) — which I couldn’t help liking here! The magic was so clever (for instance, the avatar giving directions! omg! :D) and there were so many original, brilliant details that I was completely charmed. Very unusual and very enjoyable!
All the Substance of His House, by Rinsbane ## (locked)
NC-17. Summary: Ten years after the end of the war, Harry decides that he’s going to rebuild and move into his parents’ old house at Godric’s Hollow. He soon discovers that he isn’t the first person with this idea.
Absolutely fantastic! If you managed to miss it, run, don’t walk. You know I love Rinsbane’s writing, but this story, as for me, stands out even among the other excellent fics of hers.
10 years after the war, Harry decides to rebuild his parents’ house at Godric’s Hollow. But when he comes to have a look at the place, he finds it already inhabited, although still a ruin. So, Harry’s legal battle for his/Snape’s house begins. The story is tense! It moves from antagonism to understanding, but the way and the very understanding are anything but smooth or easy. All of it is satisfying though. There’s magic, so clever and at the same time natural that I wanted to applaud the author. There’s wonderful characterisation: I can imagine an older Harry just like that, changed and the same at once, and Snape is simply perfect. A lot of wonderful small things make this story stick to your memory and charm you. Compassion, and insight, and passion, and excellent writing. What else would one wish? Go read!
PS: Oh yes. There’s one more thing I’d like to mention. This fic can be used for taking apart in a master class of writing on the topic of showing as opposed to telling. Take Harry’s occupation, for instance. Harry owns a restaurant. Not a single time will you see a line like “Harry bought a restaurant 10 years ago,” or “After the war, Harry decided to take up a business of his own” or something. You won’t be told that he’s a restaurateur. You’ll learn it from the context: one detail here, one there, and you come to the correct conclusion without author’s explaining things. Another way is used to get the readers to know necessary background information, also a textbook example. If there’s some essential information that readers must know, there’s no need to make an info dump; just make one character understandably clueless and another one, explain it to him. See how Percy explains to us how this legal system works, all in lively dialogue and perfectly in character.
Anything Interesting, by Barbarella (anal_cram_ink) (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: The seventh anniversary of the end of the war approaches, as does the Quidditch final of Britain’s League Cup – yet Harry Potter’s thoughts seem to be all taken up with a pub in Grimsby.
This is a wonderful story! Romantic in the best way possible, and so rich with the details of the characters’ everyday life and all. I enjoyed it a lot.
As You Wish, by Darth Stitch #
R, WIP; AU, Princess Bride x-over. Outtakes. Summary: A Snarry Fairy tale. This is a spoof of the Princess Bride.
Be Good and Don’t Make a Sound, by Naatz (sevenmes) #
PG-13, AU. Summary: How can you rush to the rescue when it’s your loved ones who stand in the way? Warnings: slavery.
I’m a sucker for such what-if AUs :) Just show me a James that lives and raises Harry, tell me how their family isn’t all ideal and fluffy, and I’ll be obediently following your tune like a rat heading to its drowning led by the piper. Naatz here changes three canon events; I’d say she changes one and the rest follows, but there are three majour changes that you’ll notice. One is: James didn’t die on the day when Voldemort attacked their house. I won’t tell you more ‘cos discovering what’s the same, what’s different and why is one of the main pleasures of reading this fic. I’ll just say that I liked Harry and his father’s relationship and loved Harry himself. I simply liked the story, I believe; it was interesting to read.
Beech Hall and its sequel, Without Ceremony, by Aucta Sinistra (also at WTP and Skyehawke) #
NC-17. Summary: This time, Dumbledore sends Snape to Harry’s manor for his own safety.
Being Snape, by gingertart #
Snape/Harry, NC-17, 20K words. Summary: When Harry Polyjuices into Snape, he finds out more about the Potions master than he ever dreamed. Warnings: Major spoilers for DH, mention of het relationship (not explicit), infidelity.
Have you ever imagined yourself Polyjuicing into another person and exploring their body in detail? I sure have! This story offers you everything you wanted to know about Polyjuice potion, its use and implications and dangers of it! It’s not a PWP. It’s a complex story, not light but neither is it hopeless. It’s mature and observant. Harry, oh Harry! I loved him here. Loved Snape too. I read it with the bated breath. And the ending! In my opinion, it’s perfect. Go read!
Between The Lines, by DementorDelta #
Snape/Harry, NC-17, 23K words. Summary: Harry discovers a secret in his Potions text and a friend in the Half-Blood Prince. Warnings: Massive spoilers for Book 6 & 7, though the story goes happily astray sometime in Book 6. Harry is 16 and 17 in the fic.
Hear me cry that I want to read DH-compliant fics and then thoroughly enjoy a 6th year AU :) But that’s because it grabbed me from the very beginning. During HBP when we all remember Harry be inseparable from the Half-Blood Prince’s Advanced Potions, he discovers a page in it that works akin to Tom Riddle diary. His misgivings are soon put aside by his anonymous correspondent, but when they introduce themselves, it’s an altogether different sort of turmoil for Harry. I liked how Harry behaved around the book — it wasn’t funny at the time but now it makes me smile — and how his view of the Prince and then Snape changed. The story is a bit easy in how the problems are solved but it’s an engaging reading anyway. I really, really liked Snape here. Regan V put it into words better than I could, but Snape is young here. Not de-aged or anything of the sort. But he’s not as mature or sophisticated as Rickman!Snape or fanfic often make him be. He’s closer to the Prince in how he acts around Harry, and found it utterly charming. Wonderful story!
Black Story, by Jay Tryfanstone (or at Skyehawke) ##
NC-17. Summary: After the war, Snape comes back to Hogwarts. Rather a lot of books, a few cups of tea, no owls. Please heed the warnings for this one. Warnings: Black Story contains scenes some readers may find distressing, in particular the explicit depiction of child sexual abuse and sexual dysfunction. Ambiguous Consent, Dark, Hurt/Comfort, Suicide/Attempted Suicide, Violence/Torture.
This is magic. Yes, the story speaks of magic but it’s not what I mean. Magic flows from under Tryfanstone’s fingertips when she writes, pure, glorious, breathtaking magic of writing and storytelling. Jay Tryfanstone takes some plot ideas and approaches that have been used in HP fiction, some several times, some many. But this is, perhaps, what it means to be a really good writer: nothing in this story is like what you’ve seen. It’s fresh. It’s powerful. It’s unique.
This is in no way a light reading; painful issues are addressed and dark things are described here. But I wouldn’t be so in love with it right now were it not so humane. All Jay’s stories are.
Just a teaser: at the beginning you see Snape crawl to Hogwarts with his last ounce of strength. You see Harry who works as the school caretaker. And the world with no memories of the last several years. And I won’t even go into what happens with books!
An absolutely amazing story! Two stars, and I’d give it more if two weren’t my utmost appreciation mark. I’ll probably add something later when my head has stopped spinning.
Blood And Fire, by Cluegirl (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: “After the deaths of Dumbledore and Voldemort, Severus Snape must learn to cope with yet another Master; Harry Potter.” Warnings: Ambiguous Consent, Bloodplay/Breathplay, Bondage, Dark, Dom/Sub Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Con, Rape.
If anything, Cluegirl is powerful. She grabs you from the very first line, drags you along, squeezes your heart, makes you cry and sit on the edge of your seat, and you won’t notice how. I cried my eyes out reading this fic. The only thing I didn’t like as much as the rest is the ending. That is, in essence, I loved it. How could I not? But formally speaking, it seems rushed. And some places in the fic seem a bit too long, if to look at them rationally. But then again, was I able to look at anything rationally, not under the Imperius of Cluegirl’s magic? Nope, I wasn’t :)
Book of Shadows, by Lux (escapisms) #
Sequel: The Unfinished Tales of Shadow Puppets
R. Summary: The final weeks of Harry’s seventh year in which he watches people have sex, skips classes, and tells Dumbledore what he really thinks. Warnings: angst, mild humor, self-mutilation, little bit of incest…sort of (you’ll understand when you see it)
The Broken Lullabies Arch, by Hanakai Mikakedaoshi / Vain (vain_chan) (or at AFF: Hush Little Baby, Don’t Say A Word, And If That Diamond Ring Turns Brass) []
Hard R/NC-17. Summary: In which Severus Snape learns a hard lesson: though there may be no other options, a bad decision is still a bad decision and the Piper must be paid. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men could not have put this together again. Warnings: Ambiguous Consent, Chan 13-15, Dark, Mental Illness, Non-Con, Rape, Violence/Torture.
Butter Mountain, Curdled Mountain, by Rinsbane ## (locked)
Snarry Severitus, also brief past Snape/James, NC-17. Warnings: Snarry Severitus, i.e., incest. Orgasm denial. Drug (potion) use. Chan (sexual awareness year 4, observed and ordered masturbation years 5 & 6, no touching). Dub-con. Mpreg (all 10 words of it). Summary: Life as a zero-sum game. If Snape has nothing else, he will at least have Potter.
Those who know me know that Snarry Severitus (in essence: Snape is Harry’s biological father; they fuck) is one of my favourite plots. So when I saw a fic with “Snarry Severitus” in the warnings, I got in the lunge position for squeeing. Then I saw that it’s by Rinsbane, one of my favourite HP authors, and my squee began vibrating in my throat. Then I started reading it and couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen until the last line. There was no squee. Because the fic is so much better than a stupid “squee” can express!
It’s perfect. Snape, while remaining very recognisable and believable, is utterly, patently insane in his perceptions, conclusions, desires, and justifications. The word “fucked up” doesn’t begin to describe their relationship. Even the word “relationship” isn’t really applicable here. It’s just something twisted and painful that Snape nurses and grows and then obsesses over, meanwhile regularly getting high on a hallucinogenic concoction of his own design. Harry, conditioned and messed up, hates him and what Snape does to him but keeps coming for more. Even more complicated with the [only mentioned but important] MPreg/fatherhood subplot, where Snape will do anything but the one last line he refuses to cross is touching, the thing is an angst fest, kink fest, but also so much more. Because Rinsbane makes you feel for the characters. They creep in on you and refuse to leave. I was wishing for Snape to touch Harry by the middle of the story and begging by the end, even taking into account all those hundreds reasons why he mustn’t. You’d think that Snape is the predator here and Harry, the prey. But by the end you can’t help forgetting who’s who. It’s terribly intense. And the last line? Killed me dead. Terrifically written. Two stars.
Clipped Wings, by Teka Lynn (or here) ##
R. Summary: After catastrophe, Harry deals with survivor’s guilt and finds hope for himself and others. Part of the From Dusk Til Dawn - The Harry Potter/Severus Snape Fuh-Q-Fest at http://www.kardasi.com/HPSS. Challenge: Auction, Snape’s for sale. Harry buys him.
After the war, surviving wizards are scattered all over the Muggle world, submitted to Muggles. They receive “treatment” and are sold to Muggles to serve them. This story offers us an extremely gloomy outlook, although not quite hopeless. I wouldn’t want to spoil the plot, suffice it to say that here you’ll meet a grown-up Dudley, Harry disguised as a Muggle, and a servant Snape. As for me, it’s one of the best SS/HP fics in the fandom: excellent writing, strange but plausible universe, pertinent cultural references and symbolism. Highly recommended.
Cockroach Clusters, Please, by Ziasudra (or here) []
NC-17. Summary: A defeat in a Knockturn Alley battle convinced Harry that he needed to learn more before he could even think about defeating Voldemort. A most unusual idea came to mind…
I can’t say that I fully believed either in the magic of the Room of Requirement or in Snape and Harry’s characterisation, but I liked the story. Some strange sort of time travel, young Severus, a dash of magical theory, awww. Gimme more :) Quite charming and pleasantly romantic even if not credible in every respect. But then again, my belief is a stretchy thing.
Coils of Gold, by Crymsyn []
NC-17, also Ron/Draco. Summary: The death of one Dark Lord brings about the rise of another. AU. Warning: slight non-con, hints of Dominance/Submission, slavery, MPreg.
Political and amusing, this is a slavery+slash+autocracy Utopia. It makes the impression of being written by the one who is fed up with democracy. It’s slightly naive because such heartfelt hymns to the all-seeing, all-understanding and wise autocrat who rules for the good of his people was the favourite idea of several centuries ago. Slavery is shown as sort of paradise of Eastern type, only the part of houries is played by masters. Critique that Harry is more girly than necessary or that Snape is too mighty shouldn’t really be applied here, in my opinion, because it’s as idealistic as any Utopia. Interesting reading.
Coming Home, by Meri (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts after 10 years in the States. Warning: H/C.
If you know and love Meri’s fics, this story is exactly what you’d expect from her. A grown-up Harry, slow relationship progress, magical bond, in other words, premium quality cliché fic we all love and treasure. Go read!
Commonplace Magic, by Sinick and Ac1d (or at PSA) #
Non-magic AU, NC-17. The next day there was a familiar knock on Severus’ door, but he didn’t get up to answer it. He sat in his chair tense and still, his arms crossed defensively and fingers clutching hard enough to bruise, until Harry called his name, once, twice, gave knocking another try and finally gave up.
This story is romance, so warm and shy and OMG please let it be more fics like this! It’s a non-magic AU of the best kind, sly, with hints and tiny details from canon hidden here and there. Harry is a uni student who works in a pub. Snape is a former Chemistry professor who frequents the place. They are different from canon, of course they are, but they are still very recognizable and, as for me, the characterisation is wonderful. How they meet and how their relationship moves is awww-worthy, so moving and engaging it is. It’s a good story told in good writing. And with London as a third main character; it comes alive in this fic as it does in Acid’s Price of Magic. Oh, and btw, the title is perfect for the story. The only thing that seemed “a bit too much” to me is a long sex scene. Strange, ain’t it? :) But it’s long and detailed and IMO it distracts from the story — just a bit, though.
Consanguinity Arc, by Jay Tryfanstone (also at WTP or Skyehawke) ##
R. Summary: Post HBP, few owls and very little magic.
All Snarry lovers, run read Consanguinity. It’s fabulous! Longish, wonderfully written. I wasn’t very happy to read the first two instalments in the series (of which Consanguinity is the third and last part) because of what happens in them, but I should have had faith! Awesome!
Consolation Prize, by Regan_V (also at Skyehawke) #
NC-17. Summary: Snape is Ever So Selfish. Warnings: Dub con.
I admit I’ve seen this fic before the fest. I liked it then, but I liked it even more on the second reading. The beginning is a bit awkward, but the further the better it becomes. I loved how unromantic it was. This is a forced marriage fic, and as for me, it’s one of a few where I was completely ready to buy the reason for it: it just seemed very logical for the characters as they were written. I loved the pranks, too. And what it all come to. All in all, it’s a long Snarry as I like it.
Containment, by Florahart #
NC-17. Author’s Note: The request was: Happy ending — I do not mind angst but leading to a happy conclusion would be preferable. I love characters as close to canon as possible, First-time, [rimming, felching — not featured - pj], kissing (lots), [collars — not featured - pj], lots of detailed hot plotty, smutty, smut, smut! . I managed about two of these things, but I think I did come up with some plot, so there’s that.
This is a pretty weird fic, but I’m very impressed — although I can’t say by what exactly ‘cos I’d spoil it if I did. I’ll just say that Flora manages to pull off two silliest and craziest concepts of defeating Voldemort, the ideas fit for the crackiest of crackfics or worst of badfics, without making this story either. Not even close. As for me, what saves it is the narrator: the fic is written from Snape’s POV, first person. It sounds good and a bit melancholic. Apart from all this, I liked characterisation and the ending. Interesting reading. I’d call the fic lovely were it not outshined with various unusual things. Go read!
Contemporary Magical Innovations, by H. Granger, by Kai (or here) #
PG-13. Summary: “The difference between History and What Really Happened.”
This fic is an example of footnote/commentary-based text. It consists of two intermittent texts. The first one is extracts from ‘Hogwarts: A New History, Chapter LXVIII: Contemporary Magical Innovations by H. Granger’ written in 2028 that speaks of the events of 2008. The other one is the “usual” fic describing those events in 3d person narration as they happen. They illuminate each other, sometimes arguing, sometimes clarifying certain details. Excellent writing, interesting plot, original magic. Go read.
Contrapasso, by Rex Luscus (or here) ##
NC-17. Summary: Contrapasso: n. the ironic cosmological law ensuring that “the punishment fits the crime.” Warnings: Dark, Non-Con, Violence/Torture.
God, I loved the magic here! It’s fabulous, all this Gulliver background, wow. But the fic is chilly, scary at times. It’s dark. Harry is really fucked up; you can see what absolute power means and what it does to a person, even in such a closed world as Amelia Bones Memorial Maximum Security Detention Facility for Dangerous Magical Persons. The scene with Snape’s introduction to Atilla made me shudder, as did several others. But there’s enough to balance the darkness, so when I finished it, I could only say, “Wow! What a ride!”
A Convenient Marriage, by Diana Williams (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: Sometimes a marriage of convenience can become so much more. Warning: Mild MPREG mentions - nothing detailed, just in passing.
The Courtship of Harry Potter, by Diana Williams (or here) ##
R. Summary: Another teacher’s interest in Harry Potter forces a reluctant Snape to compete for the young man affections.
Another highly entertaining fic. The story answers the challenge: “Suppose it were a usual thing in Wizarding culture that a young man take an older man as a lover/mentor. Mix in a flashy and ill-intentioned rival, and Snape’s machinations to ensure that he is Harry’s choice. Extra bunny - a clear period and ritual to the courtship, with the rival managing smoothly while Snape’s gestures all appear to fall flat. Of course, our Harry is a better judge of character than that…”
Just like this. It’s a sitcom and there are many scenes to laugh at. Very light reading but not silly, or, better to say, silly within reason, just slightly, as is required by the genre: there’s a false candidate who is necessarily too plain, and competition, and choices. The fic somehow reminded me of kind, ironic fairy tales for adults, charming and playful.
Dance Partners, by DementorDelta (or here) #
R. Summary: “Harry wakes up in the Infirmary, but why is Professor Snape the one acting so odd?” Team: Romance. Prompt: Last Dance.
This is not my most favourite fic of DD, but it’s a damn good one. DementorDelta + amnesia plot is a game without the risk of loss. Warm, romantic, *interesting*, what else would you want? Me - nothing :)
Dangling Conversation, by LoupGarou1750 (or here) []
NC-17. Summary: Harry has one promise to keep before his war is ended; to make Snape pay for Dumbledore’s murder.” Team Amgst entry; prompt: A Test of Wills. Warnings: Character Death, Disturbing content, Murder or Attempt, Self Harm, Sex, Suicide or Attempt, Violence.
I can’t say I liked this fic — I hated certain parts of it passionately, but I suspect this is exactly what LoupGarou wanted. The ending seems a bit abrupt or not quite motivated enough, but then again, this Harry is creepy, so the “unmotivatedness” of the ending seems rather in character for him. Anyway, I find it memorable.
Death Row, by tarte (or here) ##
NC-17. Summary: The war is rumbling to a close, Snape is detailed to keep Harry alive. He takes his job very seriously.
tarte has finished her WIP. This is one of those wonderful fics that appear when an author who doesn’t write a certain pairing comes and shakes our clichéd foundations. This year has been rich in wonderful Snarry, but Death Row, as for me, is among the very best of them: different, fresh, and powerful. I’m reluctant to tell you about the plot because — hear me who loves plot best say it — in stories like this plot doesn’t matter as much as how the author tells her story. How? Like breathing. Like singing. Loved this Snape. Loved the story!
The Devil Will Drag You Under, by DementorDelta (or here) ##
NC-17, AU. Summary: Harry must marry Snape for his own protection. Only a legality for seven years, of course. Warning: chan. A smutlet from the same universe: Just Like Breathing.
If to ask me what my favourite HP fanfic writer is, DementorDelta is among the first to come to mind. Her stories are a blessing, so warm and humane they are. And this fic is my most favourite of hers.
It’s chan, but if you don’t read it because you don’t read chan on principle, you’ll lose much more than you’ll gain holding on to those principles. If you don’t read chan because it squicks you, this is your chance of reading a non-squicky chan, because I can’t imagine a more non-squicky fic in general.
This story is loving, warm, amusing; this is my ideal comfort reading that lets me believe that everything’s all right with the world when I’m depressed and can see no light in the end of the proverbial tunnel.
As for our theme, of course Harry asks. Repeatedly. And of course Snape doesn’t comply. He’s Snape, what would you expect! So all the initiative comes from the curious imp Harry. But in the end, who could withstand the charm and insistence of such a child. So, of course, Snape teaches him, cursing his own weakness.Amazing fic, sexy and sweet. Go [re-]read!
Disenchanted, by ClueGirl #
Snape/Harry, NC-17, ~19200 words. Warnings: Chan — 16, D/s, mild CBT, and orgasm denial, sorta-kinda-but-not-really bestiality, allusions to child abuse. AU. Prompt/Summary: bondage and d/s ^.^ Bottom!Harry, and child abuse/violence with abused!Harry.
Cat!Harry, especially as charming as this one, is my bullet-proof fictional kink. In this AU, Snape is sent to check on Harry at Privet Drive where he finds a commotion and a Harry who’s not quite himself. Snape takes matters in his hands. Interesting and charming!
The Dreaming Spires, by DementorDelta (or here) ##
R. Summary: Severus Snape gets on with his life after Voldemort’s defeat.
Echoes, by gingertart #
Snape/Harry, NC-17, novella. Summary: Everyone has been given perfume for Christmas, odd things happen as a result and Harry finds himself juggling match-making children, senile household appliances and two very fraught relationships.Canon compliant including the epilogue.
Read the beginning:
Hunching against the rain that dripped from the gutter of number 12, Grimmauld Place, Harry flung open the front door. The fire alarm went off.
“Fire! Help, fire, smoke, devastation, burning and despair! Flee for your lives! Save the valuables! Fetch water –” The cracked voice degenerated into a fit of coughing.
Harry stopped below the alarm carved above the doorway to the living room. Its wooden face was screwed up as it hacked and spluttered. Eventually it drew in a gasping breath, opened eyes that oozed sap-like tears, peered at him and croaked “Fire?”
Harry shook his head.
“Just a teeny little one?”
He shook his head again.
The alarm snuffled. “A house elf might have burned the toast?”
“No.”
“Oh.” It blinked stickily. “False alarm, then.”
“Yes, I think it was a false alarm.”
“Sorry.” The alarm shut its eyes.
How could I not bite? It’ so full of magic that I was sucking it in like a cat absorbing the warmth of a radiator. I loved the crazy furniture, I loved the magic of the perfume, and I really enjoyed the story the author told: Potter children, Snape, even Harry’s relationship with Ginny. Wonderful, lovely story!
Escaping the Paradox, by Meri #
Snape/Harry, Harry/other, Snape/other mentioned, NC-17, 35700 words. Genre(s): AU and Romance. Prompt(s): Learning to Dance. Summary: After Harry is thrown back in time to 1971, he has several choices to make.
Harry accidentally travels back in time to the Marauders’ first year and is hired to teach — in this case, Muggle Studies. Cliché? Sure. Cliché that one can’t get enough of? Yep :) Lovely, long story, with complex time-travel/alternate timeline plot. We can see how Snape might grow up if some small changes for the better were made when he was a child. We can also see how he wouldn’t lose what is essential for his personality to feel the same. Harry who’s older than Snape, Harry as an authority figure — but Snape is still taller :) I don’t want to spoil the plot; let me just say that I liked that Harry’s realisations about the future he came from and the past he can’t help changing have to do with Trelawney.
James tried his patience to the limit. After getting to know the child, it had been surprisingly easy not to think of him as his parent. It might get harder as James aged, but for now, he, Harry, was the adult and James was the child .
Wonderful long reading!
Every Time You Leave, by Mia Ugly (or at kardasi, password needed) #
NC-17. Summary: Snape sees his life as a series of departures.
Exegesis, by Femme ##
Snape/Harry (other pairings mentioned), NC-17, ~49K words. Genre(s): Alternate Reality and Romance. Prompt(s): The Root of All Evil. Warnings: minor character death, religious/theological elements. Summary: Every culture has their tales regarding creatures of the night.
Pretty awesome, as for me. Plotty, original, well thought-out, and wonderfully executed. This is a vampire fic unlike any I’ve read in HP fandom. Firstly, it’s a Muggle AR. Secondly, a Muggle AR where Snape is on the brink of becoming a Catholic priest in Boston. There are thirdly and so on, but they are spoilers, so they are white on white: Harry’s a hereditary vampire hunter, a descendant of Bram Stocker, and Lucius Malfoy is a vampire. That’s just a teaser. The plot is far more interesting and complex than that!. Muggle AR and vampire!fic are among my least favourite genres of HP fics but wow, how can it keep being so when the fic is that brilliant! It simply swept me off my feet. The melding of canon and AR is incredible. Just see the roles chosen for the characters, learn the story behind the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s personal history or watch the scene of the final battle! The details are very thoroughly researched, the characters are spot-on, believable and recognisable yet unique. Snape made me fall in love with him again: his search for the elusive faith, his struggles, his self-digging and honesty, his belief and cynicism, his upbringing, what’s in his blood, in the end! The writing is so effortless and so striking, like a haunting, beautiful song. Absolutely stunning!
Fall Into Charybdis, by Nimori (or here) ##
NC-17. Summary: A tale of the further woes of the Boy Who Lived — who, having escaped the monster Scylla, has fallen into Charybdis (Charybdis being he of the hooked nose and greasy hair). Which is all a terribly pretentious way of saying out of the frying pan, into the fire. Warning: Incest, for Symmera did ask for Snape and Harry as father and son.
And now for something nicely pervy. This is so called Snarry Severitus (or Severitus Incest), meaning that Snape is Harry’s father and/but they do the naughty anyway. If you know or think that you wouldn’t like this kind of Snarry, skip this rec. Me? I like my Snarry sweet, I like my Snarry plotty, I like it gennish and I like it kinky. I like it twisted like hell too! And what’s more twisted than Snarry Severitus?
I’m always craving this plot. It’s very difficult to make believable, but if it’s done well, it could be an emotional roller-coaster — well, or a dark comedy. I know only 17 Snarry Severitus fics, and Nimori’s Fall Into Charybdis is definitely one of the best, as for me. This fic offers one of the most plausible explanations for Snape’s being Harry’s father that I’ve ever seen, and believe me, I’ve read dozens of Severitus fics. You probably have, too. There’s fabulous magic here and a plenty of those details that make a good story. And a fantastic Snape! He is such a perfect, slimy, nasty bastard, sometimes a funny bastard, too. Their battles of epic proportions are so perfectly fucked-up! Wonderful, deliciously pervy, angsty and funny in turn, and the writing itself is to die for. It’s a story you read and can only say, “Whoa!”
I loved it to bits!
The Fourth Year, by Calligraphy ##
NC-17. Summary: HBP-compliant. Snape lives as Harry Potter’s prisoner (and more or less servant). An unexpected attack changes things. Or have things already been changing?
This fic doesn’t need any more reccing ‘cos it’s recced far and wide already. But! Long. Wonderful. Snarry. Snape is punished: he’s forbidden to do magic and placed into custody; Harry is his keeper. Snape tries to keep his sanity working like a house elf. The character development is so thorough, the relationship progress is so detailed! Sex is fantastic, too. And besides, this is probably the only, or one of the rare few, fics that totally convinced me that Snape can like Muggle TV shows. Absolutely credible! Opposite to most of the fics where it looks like author’s inability to separate our everyday reality from the imaginary wizarding world. Great reading!
Ghost, by Ntamara #
R, AU. Angst/Horror/Romance. The Shrieking Shack was rumoured to be haunted. Then, after a prank went awry, that was no longer a rumour.
The Ghostwriter, by Klynie #
Snape/Harry, NC-17, ~29000 words. Warnings in the fic post. Genre(s): Postwar. Prompt(s): Hunger, Puzzles. Summary: Hiring a ghostwriter for his autobiography reveals secrets Harry would prefer to leave hidden.
I find it amusing that on the same day, in the Snarry Games and in HD Wordcup there was posted a story where Harry deсides to write an autobiography, is unfit to the task, and hires a ghost writer. Funny, isn’t it? And I liked both.
In this story, the new Minister for Magic begins to implement changes that are too reminiscent of Voldemort’s. To remind people of what it was like and what they fought for and against, Hermione persuades Harry to write an autobiography. Not being a writer type, he hires a ghostwriter named Newlin who looks like a young Snape. They meet; each of them has questions to ask. Political situation meanwhile is worsening.
I really liked the story. The concept is fascinating, both in magic involved and in plot that is soaked with suspense, and Newlin is a wonderful character. You’ll be guessing about his relationship to Snape along with Harry. Very enjoyable reading!
Gladly Beyond Any Experience, by Femme #
Stand-alone epilogue: Nobody, Not Even The Rain
NC-17. Summary: Sixteen years after the war ends, Snape is found. Warnings: past relationships, domestic violence, minor character death.
Harry is assigned to defend Snape on his trial. Snape doesn’t want it; he wants a Kiss. Fabulous magical artifacts, shadows of the past, travels through memory places. I didn’t read the story, I devoured it! The epilogue is simply “awwwww”!
Gothic Series, by Ptyx #
NC-17. Summary: Snape tells Harry a gothic story. Warnings: Creepy! And chan.
I hope Ptyx won’t beat me with a Quidditch bat, but I’m giggling while typing this rec. You see, if to take every single part of the series, there’s nothing funny. They are all creepy, disturbing or violent. In #1 (chan) Snape fucks an eleven-year-old Harry while telling him a story of one Gilles de Rais who raped, mutilated and killed children. #2 is vampire!Snape. #3 is “Severitus” Incest. Et cetera. Can you see what’s funny now? Ptyx takes Snarry clichés, wraps them in the gloomiest images possible (*Gothic* Series!), and then weaves them together like a necklace. And together, casting light at one another, they create a bizarre and very amusing picture. I won’t say I like them all, but I do like several of them very much, and I find the idea really fascinating.
Gratia Plena, by Femme (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: Memories of a drunken kiss lead two lonely souls together at Christmas.
H is for Helga, S is for Slytherin: the Apprentice and S is for Slytherin: the Master, by Draegyn (or here) []
PG. Summary: Professor Potter’s first history lesson: the books are wrong and Hermione is going to be remembered as the dumbest best friend in history.
I like the first story best. It’s a time-travel cliché fic but, although the idea used here most likely came to mind to many authors, Draegyn works with it cleverly. As a result, the fic is really amusing. I can’t say I liked everything in these fics. For instance, I didn’t care about the apprentice tests, who holds them and what Harry has in the end — such magnitude isn’t to my liking. But there are too many interesting elements in these fics that outweigh the things that seem weaker. Take Helga and everything about her from fic 1, take the way Voldemort is defeated from fic 3. So, in my opinion, the fics aren’t perfect but really enjoyable.
Hall of the Mountain Kings, by Tara Tory ##
Sequel: Hall of the Mountain Kings: The Holly and the Ivy (PG)
R. Summary: It’s another Snape saves Harry from the Dursleys story but goes in another direction almost at once. Voldemort gets killed somewhere in the middle. Ha. Serves him right.
Help Wanted: God and Executioner, by Pir8fancier (or here) ##
NC-17. Snarry Games entry. Team: Team Wartime. Genre(s): Angst. Prompt: Sanctuary. Summary: The last year of the war, and Harry’s getting a first-class primer on death, loss, the sanctity of one’s conscience, and sacrifice.
This is the sort of story that helps me regain my faltering faith in fanfiction, the power of word, and even more, humankind. This is a story about war and dehumanisation it sows; about sacrifices and death, about innocence and impossible choices. This is writing that is like breathing, natural and seemingly effortless. This is a most perfect Snape, a Snape to fall for forever, maybe the one you fell in love with all these years ago. This is Harry to completely undo you ‘cos this is the Harry that you love. This is, in the end, a magnificent story.
This is why Pir8fancier is one of my most favourite authors.
Hero Worship, by Ravenna C Tan (or here) []
NC-17. Past Snape/Rosier mentioned. Warnings: A touch of BDSM/power exchange sex. Harry is 16, top!Harry, sub!Snape. Summary: “What if…?” What if Snape did not escape at the end of Half-Blood Prince? What if Kingsley Shacklebolt caught him before he could Apparate away? Not trusted by the Order, but still determined to bring down Voldemort, Snape agrees to undergo an unusual spell.”
The story is twenty two chapters long, but I read it in one go as if glued to the screen even despite my not caring for some elements of it (such as D/s stuff) and not believing in others. Hmm, it’s difficult to explain. You see, it’s not a caveat per se. The story begins with a Snape and Harry that I quite believe in. By the end of it, there are a Snape and Harry that I suddenly find myself not quite believing in: Harry too mature and controlled, Snape too submissive. But the way between these two points was so smooth and skilfully written that I didn’t notice how or when things changed. The writing is clear, evocative and wonderfully paced. The magic — a temporary, forced caretaker bond implemented with the help of a silver chain Snape has to wear — is among the most interesting bonding spells I’ve read. All in all, it was an interesting reading and I enjoyed it.
Hollow, by Aucta Sinistra (or here) #
R. Summary: After Voldemort’s defeat, Snape comes to Harry for help.
I Dream Of Harry, by DementorDelta (or here) ##
NC-17, AU. Summary: Severus Snape finds a magical object, or does a magical object find Severus Snape?
I’m totally, utterly bewitched by this story! It’s charming, lovely, adorable, awww! It’s weird and clever. I’m tempted to spoil it, but I’ll try not to. The only thing to say is, it’s an AU, and as you’ll be reading it, you’ll soon see what the AUness is about — but you’ll be mistaken :) It’s cleverer than that. I’m totally in love with it now :)
In Thrall, by Ruhgozler # (also at AFF)
NC-17. Summary: Neville strikes again in Potions class and Harry and Severus pay. Harry thinks Sev is his “Master”. Warning: slavery.
In Want of a Wife, by Eledhwen (angeleledhwen) #
Sequel: Love Letters.
R. Summary: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Jerusalem, by Meri (or here) #
R. Summary: Harry helps Severus with a problem and realizes a few things along the way.
Kestrel, by lomonaaeren #
Snape/Harry, PG-13, ~25000 words. Summary: When his son James is wounded, Harry goes to Severus Snape for help. Snape, of course, has a price. Harry pays it—and Snape finds himself paying his own price in worry, doubt, awe, and something very much like love.
This is wingfic. A WINGFIC! A wonderful one, too. Snape is a maker of prosthetic limbs, a most renown artificial limb master. His services are extremely expensive: he asks for a lot of money or for a person to become his test subject. Harry has to do the latter because Snape won’t work for him at all otherwise. So Snape makes Harry test his most ambitious project.
I loved everything to do with the wings here! How they adjust, how they behave and influence Harry’s life. Snape is a perfectly nasty bastard at the beginning of the story, cruel and selfish. But see how the wings, his best creation, make him react to themselves and later on, to Harry, see how they start a change in him. I loved the magic here. I’m going to quote another reviewer, perverse_idyll, because she expressed this thought perfectly, as for me: It seems absolutely fitting that Severus should have created a profession for himself that’s part artistry, part healing, and part taxidermy - a combination of the spellbinding and the grotesque. It gives his brilliance at spell-crafting an outlet. It has a whiff of the mad scientist about it, and a tinge of Leonardo. (All those anatomical drawings and the obsession with flight.) Also, the magical injury you conjure for James, the descriptions of it, and the diagnostic spell, all help to ground this fic in its own magical reality. Wonderful story!
La Vita Nova, by Titti (or here) []
NC-17. Summary: Scenario # 124. Harry gets arrested for soliciting in Hogsmeade. Snape has to pay his bail. (Sezstar) 125. Harry gets a sexually transmitted disease, (can be serious or not), Snape has to cure him. (Sezstar) 137. While going through a box of his parents things, Harry finds a contract where he was betrothed to Snape as an infant. (ProfSnapeFan) Notes: Part of the HP/SS Fuh-Q Fest http://www.kardasi.com/HPSS/index.htm
The Last Dance, by Sushi (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: Once upon a time, there was a boy named Harry Potter. He died… Warnings: character death, underage.
Laws of Magnetic Attraction, by Go Seaward #
NC-17, AU (non-magic). Snarry Games entry. Team: Postwar. Prompt: Treason. Summary: Harry Potter, war hero, comes home after sustaining an injury in the service of his country-only to find that the war at home is much more dangerous.
What impressed me most is that the story seems to have its own magic even despite being a non-magic AU. Harry is a pilot who came home after an injury. He’s popular, he’s known by the entire town, and he’s pursued by his annoying old school teacher. Severus Snape’s reputation is spoiled beyond repair with an old scandal. It’s nothing like canon. It’s another country and even continent, it’s another era, there’s no magic. It reads like some classic XX century book, or maybe a film, totally original. But then an unexpected parallel comes up and makes you think of HP. Then another, and another. Very enjoyable and wonderfully written.
Le Beau et le Bete, a Fairy Tale in Three Parts: part 1, part 2, part 3, by Lydia Lovestruck #
PG-13. AU. Part of the From Dusk till Dawn Severus Snape/Harry Potter Fuh-Q-Fest at http://www.kardasi.com/HPSS/storyindex.htm Challenges: (134) Harry is given/finds a box of his parents’ mementos. What’s in it? (Downdilly); (137) While going through a box of his parents things, Harry finds a contract where he was betrothed to Snape as an infant. (ProfSnapeFan); (156) Write an adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast” with Harry as the beauty and Snape as the beast (Kira); (180) Harry’s first kiss with Severus triggers some accidental magic… (J. Lynn).
As for me, this fic presents an interesting interpretation of HP canon in the light of Beauty and the Beast. That is, you know what is going to happen, but you don’t know *how* or *why* or what roles and fairytale motivations the author will pick up for her characters. Very pleasant reading, longish.
Learning, by Spark of Chaos (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: Dumbledore’s dead, and the war is hanging above a chasm of uncertainty. A teacher and a student, as that have always been. But in what discipline? Warning: not HBP-compliant.
Theoretically I wouldn’t like a fic written like this one: long fic in first person, present tense that describes physical training. But thing is, I was captured from the very beginning because the voice rings true and fits the narrative topics very well. This is not a light fic but I’m reluctant to give warnings for torture and violence — there are both, and aplenty, but I think those who have read the story would agree with me that they are much easier to read here than in your average fic that features violence and torture. Snape is training Harry to be a perfect soldier. The training is beyond hard or cruel. There are so many different aspects to it that Harry barely manages. But as for me, the amount of detail and Harry’s voice are what makes this fic all the more compelling.
Learning the Landscape, by Beth H (bethbethbeth) #
Snape/Harry, NC-17, ~21000 words. Snarry Games entry. Genre(s): Alternate Reality & Romance. Prompt(s): Tabloid Headlines. Summary: Second generation celebrity, pop sensation, rising movie star: Harry Potter is looking for something more meaningful in his life than mere fame. However, when he inexplicably decides to make ex-con Steven Snape part of that “something more meaningful,” well…it’s too much to expect the press to ignore it forever.
And here we can see a more traditional approach: HP characters taken to Muggle America of 2006, with key events changed to suit this universe. Honestly, if I read this summary during some random surfing of fan places, I’d run away really fast :) I’m glad I know Beth because I know that if somebody can make it into a polished, lovely story, it’s her! Here the devil is in details, and I had a lot of fun tracing similarities and differences: what happened in Harry’s and Snape’s past, what roles the other significant characters play. Congressman Dore is my favourite. Their last meeting with Snape, in Snape’s rendition, and Harry’s reaction to it, they made me all teary-eyed. Where and how Snape assumes a teaching role is very amusing, as for me.
It’s a shipper’s fic ‘cos why those two could want (and have) a relationship is hidden behind cliché, ‘inexplicable connection’. I wouldn’t buy it in a non-AR/AU fic but here, in this world, it works, as for me. All in all, wonderful, warm, romantic, lovely!
A Life More Ordinary, by Lexin (or here) #
NC-17. Summary: Snape is told some bad news, and it goes downhill from there. Warning: MPreg.
Lilacs Out of the Dead Land, by Yevgenie (or here) #
R for violence, genish. Pre-HBP canon. Summary: “Potter asked, he repeated to himself. You have only given him what he asked for. It is not your fault that he does not know what he has asked for.”
Albus asks Snape to resume Potter’s Occlumency lessons. Snape does so but, taught by the past experience, decides to purchase a Pensieve and store his most humiliating memories there. One memory leads to another, and the results are more far-fetching than what Snape thought of.
I loved it! It’s the kind of story that makes me mentally transport back a couple of years to the time when there was no HBP yet and enjoy how it reaps the possibilities that OotP had opened: Occlumency, Pensieves, and such. It made me forget about HBP while I was reading it, and this I see as the true magic of storytelling. Wonderful Snape, lovely Harry, and the relationship that grows so unobtrusively that you never notice where the transfer from “not here” to “already here” was. Although it’s not slashy really, not romantic; I’d say it’s gen. War training, battles, mind magic, fiddling with memories — they all are explored in a very interesting and creative way. Captivating and thought-provoking reading.
The Living Years, by DementorDelta #
NC-17. Snarry Games Entry. Team: Postwar. Theme: Romance. Prompt: Sanctuary. Summary: Severus Snape makes the ultimate sacrifice for Harry Potter. No, not that sacrifice! The other one! And finds Sanctuary in the most unexpected of places.
As I said to the author in my comment, these are not my Snape and Harry (and Draco). I don’t see them like that. But having said that, I really enjoyed the story. Firstly, it’s my new favourite Snarry plot (you’ll find out which very soon as you begin reading; let me just say that it’s a popular cliché in its much rarer version). Secondly, it’s lovely and written with that smooth ease and skill that make so many readers love Delta’s writing. Thirdly, it contains Delta’s very recognisable humour and fine magical details (cupcakes!). All in all, a very pleasant reading.
The Love God, by Mac #
R, WIP. Summary: ” After the ‘final conflict’ Snape finds himself financially in difficulty, and fate leads him to the strange and dangerous world of late night radio….”
This is another fic that takes a ridiculous concept (a night-time DJ Snape on Muggle radio, pah) and makes it shine. Mac proves that it’s a question of how rather than what: one can write that Snape is, in fact, a cactus (or a Muggle DJ) and make it believable and appealing. It’s truly fascinating to follow Snape’s setting into his new job! And then there’s a Muggle private detective who’s hired to investigate the new, strange DJ’s past that he carefully hides. And then Harry comes on stage. The intrigue thickens.
Love, Pregnancy and Camel Riding, by Klynie #
Snape/Harry (past Harry/Ginny), NC-17, ~27600 words. Summary: 48-year-old Harry Potter is the victim of an accidental immaculate conception. Warnings: DH spoilers, including the epilogue; Mpreg; awkward sex between two middle-aged wizards.
I enjoyed the story, well balanced between angst and fluff (leaning more towards fluff but not fluffy) as it is, although I didn’t always believe that Harry and Snape (especially Snape) were their stated age here, particularly in what concerns sex. But be that as it may, it was a pleasant reading. I liked Scorpius and Albus: how Scorpius was scared of Harry, hee, and the interactions between Harry and his children in general. I liked poor Kreacher who had to pick up a new job, name choosing and Harry’s magical pregnancy, Hermione from whom people have to hide their pregnant relatives, I even liked Ginny, eventually. The story won’t shake your equilibrium but it’s a good light reading for a rainy day, with a lot of funny moments.
“That is quite possibly the most surreal comment I have ever heard,” Snape said. “I doubt that any other man in history has been propositioned by a fifty-year-old pregnant wizarding hero.”
Made-Up Lullaby #43, by FitofPique #
Snape/Harry, NC-17, ~20,500 words. Genres: Humour/Crack. Prompt: Baby Blues, Sleeplessness. Warnings: EWE, NOT MPreg. Summary: People who say they sleep like a baby don’t usually have one.
The genre note mentions crack but I don’t think the story is crack. It’s very gentle humour. Snape survived and now reaps the fruits of his heroic reputation. At one of the functions he attends, he and Harry goad each other, and Harry calls him to a dark alley for some mano a mano. With fists. Where they discover an abandoned baby. They have to take care of her while trying to discover whose baby she is.
would say that family fics are my kink and it would be true, but it’s a delightful story nevertheless, lovely but not schmoopy, with wonderful main characters and no less wonderful secondary ones. Very pleasant reading!
Magnificent Penetration, by Abstract Concept []
R. Snarry Games entry. Team: Postwar. Genre/s: Romance and Humour. Prompt: Siege. Summary: There is no fortress so impenetrable as the human heart…(unless maybe it’s the human head).
I find it amusing that I don’t remember the plot now, but let me be excused by a hell of a working week, my generally sieve-like memory, and the fact that this was one of the first stories in the games that I read. I do remember that it was light and fun and that I laughed more than once while reading it. So I think if I remember my enjoyment, it’s good enough to rec the fic :) I’ll reread it later to refresh my memory and enjoy it again, that much I’m sure of!
The Mark of Cain, by Beth H (also here or here) ##
R. Summary: After the defeat of Voldemort, the Ministry has found a way to deal with the Wizarding World’s last remaining Death Eater. When Harry returns to England, he comes up with a different plan.
I loved it to bits. Harry comes back to England, crashes in on Hermione and her kids, and meets Snape who comes to babysit/teach those kids about the theory of Potion making. Snape who has been made an example of: there’s a bright halo around him that prevents him from doing magic, people from doing magic to him, but also it prevents any contact at all. A couple more accidental meetings, and Harry boggles at the inhumanity of the punishment. It’s a fabulous story with absolutely amazing magic. If you’ve missed it, run, don’t walk!
Master Snape’s Community, by Rakina (or here) #
NC-17, AU. Summary: Harry and the Advanced Potions & Herbology group go on a school trip to a community run on monastic lines, founded by the eccentric Master Snape. Warnings: BDSM, Chan 16-18.
This fic hits my kinks so hard that I can’t be objective about it. A monastic wizarding community, shown in detail and with authorial affection; an outlandish and rather innocent Harry, masturbation, guh! :) This fic is interesting to read, hot and lovely. There are things in it that should have annoyed me to no end, like all that fertility thingies, but instead I found them charming. Some typos and grammar issues here and there don’t lessen the enjoyment, really. It’s a lovely story. And did I say hot?
The Measure of Our Torment, by Amorette (or here) #
R. Summary: Ten years ago, Severus Snape’s world fell apart. Can a returning Harry Potter put it back together again?
This fic is about discrimination and prejudice. After the war, Slytherins are made scapegoats. When Harry comes back after a long absence, he finds Severus Snape the owner of a tiny shop, forbidden to make most potions, with his use of magic strictly controlled. He learns a lot of discouraging things about the new order of the wizarding world and takes it upon himself to right the wrongs. Will one man’s effort be enough? Good story, well-written and charming.
The Medean Curse: A Romantic Comedy, by Lydia Lovestruck #
NC-17. Summary: Harry’s impotent. Snape’s got the cure. But. he wants something in return!
Memoria Secludo, by drachenmina #
Snape/Harry, NC-17, novella. Summary: Severus Snape survived Nagini’s bite, but as punishment for his crimes, he has had his memories excised and has been exiled from the wizarding world. Harry can’t resist the opportunity to get to know Snape without their past getting in the way. But what will happen if Snape regains his memories?
If you like amnesia plot (combined with ‘living as a Muggle’ plot), this is a story for you. It doesn’t offer anything new or unexpected plot-wise but is a pleasure to read nevertheless. What it does offer, which not many of the amnesia-cliché stories do, is the question of how much of personality remains about the person whose memories prior to a certain (close) point are wiped. I’m not sure I quite believe the author’s answer to it; for one, I’d imagine Snape to be more resourceful and willing to research and learn. But I didn’t find the author’s version unbelievacle. And I liked the nuances of the cliché here. Lovely story!
The Memory Box, by DragonLight #
Multiple others, NC-17. Snarry Games entry. Team: Postwar. Theme: Romance & Angst. Prompt: King’s Cross. Summary: Harry may have saved England, but it is those he couldn’t save that haunt him.
This was the best use of the prompt ever! Pity I didn’t get to read the story in time for voting. But anyway, I really enjoyed it. So many pairings, such an interesting, fragmented structure. But the Lord King’s Cross is the thing that makes me wear a happy grin even despite all the angst. I liked the concept and the execution equally. Very unusual and interesting!
Mind Games, by Arsenic Jade (or here) []
NC-17. Summary: Occlumency lessons are revealing things.
Möbius, by Mandy (geneticallydead) (or here; adult-locked post in snape_potter) ##
NC-17. Post-HBP. Summary: “Ten years after the fall of Voldermort, Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, celebrated as the saviour of the wizarding world. In the history books, Harry Potter stood over the hollow corpse of Lord Voldermort, vibrant and triumphant, and incinerated that withered old body to the depths of hell. The real truth was, Severus Snape killed Voldermort. Not Harry Potter.”
I’ll probably be preaching to the choir ‘cos everybody read and many people recced this story when it was posted, but two years have passed since, and the fic simply blew me away then. The author takes several craziest fandom concepts (not telling which ones!) and makes them absolutely believable. But what is much better, she makes it a beautiful and heartbreaking story. I read it every half a year, I cry my eyes out every time but I wouldn’t skip it for the world! As usual while attempting to write a rec for it or when seeing it mentioned somewhere, I seduced myself into rereading it, and am enjoying every single page. On every next reading, I can see so many amazing nuances that I didn’t notice the first time.
I’m really sorry but I cannot say anything about the plot or give any warnings. It would completely spoil it, so you’ll have to trust me. You can suss from my words above that it’s not a happy fic or a fluffy one. But it’s one of the most creative and striking stories I’ve read ever. Simply put, this is what you are here in fandom for. To read a story like this. Terrific. Brilliant.
Nettle Soup and Gooseberries, by Jay Tryfanstone (also here) ##
R. Summary: An old-fashioned romance, this tale concerns the trials and tribulations of the star-crossed lovers Master Harry Potter and Professor Severus Snape, being a tale of some ingenuity and divers complication.
You don’t read a fic like this; you savour it! The style is simply fantastic. I fell in love at the first paragraph. But speaking of the contents, this is the first story I’ve read that speaks of the real integration of the Muggle and Wizarding words. You know, not a dystopic scenario of how Muggles found out and then everything went bad, but of how the worlds interact and mingle. It’s beyond fascinating; I believe I was reading with my mouth open in astonishent and my eyes owl-like huge. Snape settles in a small peaceful village, inhabitated mostly by old ladies. The old ladies learn how to deal with a wizard; accidents happen on the way. It’s so charming and moving!
Night Watch, by Mia Ugly #
NC-17. Snarry Games entry. Team: Postwar. Genres: Romance and Angst. Prompt: Armistice. Summary: You cannot say it, even to yourself.
This is the example of summary that tells you nothing, so I feel compelled to say a couple of words about the plot. Harry’s a prisoner of war guarded by Snape. There are reasons why he’s imprisoned and not dead and why it’s Snape who guards him, which you’ll learn as you read on. It’s rather dark and hopeless, or so Mia manages to make me believe every time I read a fic of hers, and every time she “saves” it so that a reader like me doesn’t die of emotional exhaustion. Not a happy ending, no. But in no way an unhappy one either. You’ll just have to read to see what I mean. I liked everything about this story: Snape, Harry, their very strange “relationship” and then relationship, the very plot, in the broad sense, as something changing and moving somewhere. Didn’t like the typos, which are quite a few, but even despite them, this fic is in my top three from this round of the Games so far. Hits all my fictional kinks and reads really wonderfully. Once again, the ending in particular does!
new Nine-Tenths of the Law, by AuctaSinistra #
Snape/Harry (with a side order of Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione offscreen), NC-17, ~15K words. Summary: “Snape leaves Harry something that not even Hermione can identify.” DH but not Epilogue compliant.
Gosh, I’m stuck trying to find a way to talk around spoilers. So let me just enumerate what I liked about it. Firstly, plot :D The story’s not very plotty but everything moves with a necessary speed. You have opportunities to be spooked and cheered, sad and hopeful. I liked both Harry and Snape here, and how they moved
from being separate entitieswell, how the author made them begin a relationship. Or something. That felt believable and logical and real to me. Their dialogues were IC and a pleasure to read. And I liked the magic. All in all, a wonderful story to spend your time on!
No Place at All, by Ac1d and Sinick []
Snape/Harry, NC-17, 28500 words. Summary: “No matter where you go, there you are.” – Buckaroo Banzai. DH-compliant, set before epilogue.
This is a very, VERY strange story and definitely very memorable. My friend and I made a themed list of odd jobs in HP fics a couple of years ago. It began with a quote that said, among other things, “imagine that Snape joins a travelling circus…” But there hasn’t been a fic like that on the list–until now! Whee :) The imagery and the magic in this story are so fresh and unusual! I can’t say that I liked the writing style: it often seemed too heavy to me, and the small chapters that showed us the events from the snakes’ POV were, as for me, superfluous, not to mention that I didn’t always find the POV credible. But I sure enjoyed the story the author told! Because Snape indeed joins the circus and it’s believable! And there are lots of fascinating things there, the whys of Snape’s speaking/not speaking and the magic of the circus being only the first of them.
No Place Like, by Tara Tory (or here) ##
R. Summary: Severus Snape gets to deal with one of the least magical places on earth when Voldemort’s clever plan takes a wrong turn. Kansas, it turns out, handles magic pretty well.
No Sex, No Galleons, by Ziasudra (or here) ##
NC-17. Written for Regan_V’s “Old Clichés, New Tricks” challenge. Cliché: Snape as rentboy. Summary: Captured and convicted as a Death Eater, Severus Snape wanted death. Instead, he found himself condemned to a life of prostitution. Post-war. HBP-compliant.
I soooo enjoyed it! Whore!Snape whom nobody is willing to buy, ever hungry!Snape, Harry who has something like split personality so he’s sort of flickers between good!Harry and bad!Harry, bidding for whores, and lots of wonderful small details. It’s H/C but comfort doesn’t turn into mush at the end, and Harry keeps his wonderful ambiguity. As for me, this fic perfectly shows what this fest is about: an old cliché is taken and turned into something if not quite new, then at least rather unusual and for sure vivid. Quite delightful. I’d say “aww” were it not reserved for some more traditionally romantic or light kind of fics. Don’t mind a couple of typos, please, they don’t spoil the story.
No Words, No Sleep, by Gin_Tonic []
Snape/Harry, NC-17, ~17000 words. Snarry Games entry. Genre(s): Hurt/Comfort & Romance. Prompt(s): Sleeplessness. Summary: If you lose your ability to speak, do you lose your independence? The power to decide what is right for you and your life? If you lose your ability to speak, do you lose your intelligence, your character, or all the other features that make you you?
Two injured beings inhabit the castle. Harry has aphasia. He’s lost his ability to express himself, read, and write. Snape is insomniac to the point where it makes him a danger to himself. The author made Harry’s frustration and Snape’s exhaustion almost palpable.
“Potter,” he drawled, “It will be like this: You will wake up, have breakfast and then you will come down to my quarters. I will teach you –”
Harry shook his head wildly. Oh no, he’d not do that again. Potions had been horrible enough with Snape, but his own failure at wordless spells had left Harry scorched and he would not be taught by Snape again. It would only lead to disaster!
“Don’t shake your head - do what I say. You will come down to –”
“No!” Harry shouted. “No . . . cooking!” The words came out pressed and as soon as Harry had said them he knew they had been wrong. Sounded wrong, tasted wrong.
The writing is not flawless, and the ending is a bit rushed, but the story is interesting and the hurt/comfort part of it is done really nicely: it goes both ways here. There are many scenes that will make you feel for the characters. Overall, it’s a lovely story, even if it had a lot of hurt. ‘Cos is has a lot of nice things too.
Odysseus’s Last Days, by Amand R ##
Snape/Harry, PG-13, one-shot. Warnings: character death, stylistic frippery. Summary: “He certainly hadn’t predicted that the happy ending he’d dug out of the dirt, the blackness of his own self, the one he’d compromised so much for, would have dissipated with something as harmless as a plunge from a low bridge. Because it’s not the fall that would have killed him. It would have been the sudden stop, or the rushing water, or a sharp stone to the skull, things that any wizard worth his salt could have got out of, if he’d wanted to.”
This fic stunned me, almost literally. I was feeling after reading it as if I met a low tree branch with my head when running fast. I picked this fic as a short reading before bed but as a result, went to sleep at eight in the morning.
I can tell you that the writing is superb. I would tell you that the structure the author chose works perfectly for getting the message (one of them at least) through. I would blather for a couple of paragraphs about how well it speaks of grief and death, of those who left and those left behind. But I cannot because I’d spoil it. What I can tell you is that the story is about death, but also about love and forgiveness, and understanding. It’s by no means light: I cried and couldn’t sleep. But I don’t think it’s harmful. The opposite, in fact, it’s healing. It’s at the same time painful and peaceful. And very evocative. The images and scenes from it sink into your memory: you’ll see out of the corner of your eye coloured glass bottles and a cat warming itself in the sunlight, bright red hair flaming in the sun and a dingy room covered with dirty bandages. Next time you see dust motes dancing in the ray of light, you’ll be thinking of what it consists of. Come to think of it, the sun does play a very important role in the fic, however strange it may seem thinking back. Or not.
Go read it; you’ll learn something important. Don’t be afraid, please. This is the sort of story about which I said not so long ago that they change one’s view of the world.
Once Upon a Time-Turner, by AbstractConcept (or here, locked) #
Other pairings; NC-17. Summary: Snape decides he isn’t happy with the end results of the war, and starts over with a clean slate-and Harry Potter. But though he’s determined to change things, he isn’t expecting the biggest changes of all-the ones to himself.
I was going to say “You either like such things or don’t” but then realised that ConCept’s humour can be very, very different. So yes, this is one of ConCept’s Snarry parodies but it isn’t cracky or terribly funny. It’s just amusing and pretty unusual. Snape uses a time-turner to train Harry better than he turned to be, so an AU timeline story follows. What I find most curious in it is that contrary to most time-travel stories of this kind, Snape’s counterpart who originally lives in the time Snape travels to isn’t dead or out of the picture. So eventually we can see two Snapes in action. Which leads to much fun and many complications. Delightful!
Parseltongue-tied, by DementorDelta (or here) ##
NC-17. Summary: Harry makes friends with one of nature’s shy creatures. Warning: snake!sex.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme, by Femme #
NC-17. Summary: Harry gets a mysterious present and an STD–both in the same week.
Pellucidus, by Alexandra Dane (or here) []
Sequel: Your Humble Serpent.
AU, NC-17. Summary: Welcome to the alternate universe that is Hogwarts Wizarding Academy!
Peripheral Vision, by Alexandra Dane (or here) #
PG-13. Summary: “As Severus had so often reminded him, the simple fact of both being unattached gay wizards who through no fault of their own happened to be sharing a very small living space and developing a kind of mutual dependency did not automatically make them either compatible or attractive to one another.”
This fic entertained and bored me at the same time. The settings and the situation were what made me enjoy it: post-war, magic is dead, and those who were on the scene of the final battle suffered serious injures. They now stay in a Muggle institution, tended by those luckier than them. Harry and Snape stay in the same room. There are many fascinating details that we gradually learn about the post-war universe. But what made me bored is that it’s all told in dialogue. After a while it becomes boring. I would make the fic twice shorter, and IMO, it would benefit by it. But it’s still interesting; there’s much more to it than what I described.
The Perfect Wife, by LinW (aka Nesting Hedwig) #
NC-17; Snape/Lucius implied, AU. Also at SS/HP fuh-q fest at Kardasi.com. For password join the Kardasi-security y!group. Summary: A schoolteacher at a private boy’s school in the late 1800’s is forced into an arranged marriage by his overbearing uncle. There is no such thing as magic. This is not an Mpreg.
This fic is different and utterly charming: a non-magic AU set in the 19th century. Severus Snape teaches in his uncle Albus’s school. He’s thirty years old but still unmarried, and there are some rumours about his “unnatural relationship with his friend Lucius Malfoy.” To hush down the gossip uncle Albus orders Severus to marry. The bride is chosen and soon arrives, a tall, strong girl, innocent and poor but with a strong character.
This fic is a sitcom of sorts, only it’s not quite comedy. I’m reluctant to tell you more about the plot because its charm is in discovery and growing awareness. It’s a lovely story; even “Sev” looks OK in it — maybe not literary perfection, but a good bit of pleasant reading, ideal for improving one’s mood on a gloomy, cold day.
Polyjuice Pertinacity or The Tale of the Auror and the Whore, by Anders Svartalfurinn (svartalfur) #
Snape/Harry + others, NC-17, ~22000 words. Canon compliant except for the epilogue. Genre: Postwar. Prompts: Career Change, Infidelity. Summary: Harry and Snape’s jobs collide.
I can’t say that characterisation was the strong point of this story: I did believe in Snape but Harry, in my opinion, could have almost been anybody, with his pre-set attraction to Snape, although his course of action to get what he wanted did feel “Harry” to me. But there were other strong points that made me enjoy the story during all the time I spent reading it. For one, lots of fantastic small details: bottle labels (especially the phoenix ones, even if it was full of jokes at the expense of the opposing team), logs walking into the heath, red line at Knockturn Alley with the ward that announces visitors. They were exactly what I love about HP magic! For another, plot and pacing. All those Polyjuice and modified Polyjuice (clever!) subplots kept me on tenterhooks. Wonderfully entertaining!
Potion Commotion, by Mahaliem #
R, another pairing in the background. Summary: Post-Hogwarts. To deflect Lucius Malfoy’s unsought for attentions, Harry pretends that a love potion has caused him to be attracted to Severus Snape.
Harry was a terrifyingly powerful wizard. With the help of his friends (and the Order) he’d tracked down the horcruxes and defeated Voldemort. He could make the earth tremble with his magic.
Unfortunately, he was also twenty-one, bisexual, and unable to stop himself from becoming aroused by a proposition from an extremely inappropriate source.
It really is funny. And it is quite brilliant and wonderfully written. If you are in the mood for this kind of humour. I am now :) To wrap it up, I loved it to bits on the second reading (didn’t quite find it ‘mine’ on the first). Which tells me that I should really reread the other fics that I bookmarked.
The Price of Peace, by Snakeling []
NC-17. Summary: “Once again, Harry has to sacrifice himself for the greater good of the Wizarding world.” Snarry Games entry. Prompt: