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Tis the fest season, and I've been reading all of ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif) snapelyholidays (which is also the only fest I wrote for this year), and most of snarry_holidays (one of my favorite Snarry fests), and picking up others here and there.
My gift was posted this past week--a bonus of fic and art.
Title: A Holiday With Old Friends
Artist/Author: IT'S A MYSTERY!
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
There are no warnings to speak of, and you can read the summary in the header.
I really did ask for Snape/Lupin. One of the things I love about this fest is that Snape's always there, and that's the most important thing. It's interesting to read him in pairings I wouldn't usually tackle, and like the snarry_games, I'm finding the exposure to new things a pleasurable one. The ficlet before this art sets the stage. It's Christmas, and Snape can't bear to stay in Spinner's End, so he's alone in another place. Lupin seeks him out, and they have a history, it's clear. But what's so poignant is how shut in and brittle Snape is, while Lupin is almost pitifully in character here. He knows what would be the right thing to do, but it's others who make his choices for him. The art that accompanies the ficlet complements it so well. A great hooked nose, a glimpse of intimacy, then finally a pathetic cameo of what Snape would never show anyone. So far as fest gifts go, I'm thrilled with this one! For reals!
There's one fic I want to rec from snarry_holidays. Mostly because it's one that's stayed in my head; I even dreamed about it.
Title: In the Beginning
Author: HAAAA
Pairing: Snarry
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: See the header, nothing noteworthy.
Summary: Harry finds Snape de-aged after the war.
Ever see the movie 'Memento'? God, I hated that movie, mostly because the folding back in time, moving in reverse chronological order confused me. Time travel and deaging fics do that to me a bit, but this story (a deaged Snape) challenged me, but I kept my head on straight. The author does this clever thing with her story segments, terming them as the 'possible' beginning. Moving backwards in time for a while, you see how they started out, but then the present, starting with Snape's death, turns up a BIG surprise, and then the agonizing search for an answer, a way to re-educate, find something that was, but now appears lost. Hmmm, I just reread what I wrote, and I'm not sure I'm doing the fic justice. There's beautiful writing, raw honest and awkward emotion, and at the end, I scrolled right to the top and put it in my memories.
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Title: L is for Love
Author: Scaranda
Pairing: Snape/Surprise!
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Summary: L is for Love, and Letters, and Lots of other things too. One shot of Halloween fluffy nonsense.
One of the best things about working the Sycophant Hex queues is that I occasionally come across a gem of a fic that I want to share with my f-list. This is a one-shot Snape, and the pairing is only revealed at the end. It's a woman, but the rating is low and there's nothing very specific. It centers around Snape at a Halloween masquerade party, where he becomes enamored of an invitee. What I like about this is Snape's obsession with the unknown woman, revealing a bit of his past, and present associations. Superb writing and characterization. And the reveal and conclusion are delicious.
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Title: Tracking Changes
Author: ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) montana_dan
Team: Snitch!
Prompt(s): Spinning Wheels
Genre(s): Alive and Kicking and Severitus
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: Rated PG13
Word Count: ~21,700
Summary: When Harry Potter finds out he is really Severus Snape’s son, he runs off to America to race cars (yeah, you read that right). What will Severus Snape do when he finds out someone is using his name and his face?
This is the first post-DH Severitus fic I've had the pleasure to read, and what an excellent read it is. This is a well-known Snarry author who always delivers, and she's not disappointed this time. All those lovely Severitus elements are here: the stunning revelation, the change in appearance, the reckoning between the two of them. Harry flees to the US of A and ends up racing cars, and it's obvious the author's either done her research or has some firsthand knowledge of this. It's a fascinating, original plot, replete with Harry's life being in danger from a darker element, as well as watching a cautious but satisfying relationship grow when Harry's father finds him. Also one of the most original takes on James and Lily that I've seen in a while. It's a fast read (even at 22,000 words) that I couldn't stop once I'd started.
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Title: D For Defender
Author: amand_r
Team: Snitch
Genre(s): Alive and Kicking (EWE)
Prompt(s): Green Lantern, Enemy At The Gate
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: NC-17
This is a great humorous Snarry, filled with hot sex-ay scenes, a mature Auror Harry who's a bit insecure about his husband's unexplained absences, a kick-ass Ginny I fell in love with, the twins at their best (and yes, Angelina is their keeper again! Yay!), a mysterious plot that pulls in Draco and Percy and other familiar faces, as well as a fascinating blending of Muggle technology into the crime-fighting sector of the wizarding world. My ribs hurt from laughing by the time I finished reading this. Not many authors manage to sustain humor throughout a fic, and then to instill tender moments and introspection to the extent this author did, was the icing on the cake. I'll be rereading this one, and not just because of who the author is.
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Title: Without Sound of Bells
Team: AU
Author: scarlet_malfoy
Prompt: 22. I think I saw a Pensieve like this once...
Wordcount: 20,000
Rating: R
Warnings: Angst, hurt/comfort, frottage, mutual wanking, time travel, language, spoiler warning: major character death
Summary: What would the world be like if Harry and Draco had been friends since the beginning?
Last entries of the World Cup, and this one delivered a final gut-punch. The author examines an AU/canon scenario where Draco and Harry started out as friends. But then, in an unexpected twist, we're back in the canon timeline, with a stunning conclusion and a Draco whom I dearly loved. Excellent writing and a captivating, novel idea.
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Title: In Summer Grass
Team: AU
Author: maja_li
Prompt: 15. He who can, does. He who can't, teaches the Dark Arts.
Wordcount: ~6700
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Character death, angst.
Summary: The people Harry loved had a funny way of dying—so why should it be so strange that he fall in love with a dead man?
So there's a death at the beginning, a developing relationship between Harry and Draco that's very IC, but one that also tells the story of how the crossroads of life can fundamentally change a person. There's great original magic, and a wonderful blending of canon with the AU that makes you feel at home but AHA! not quite. A face-off with Voldemort, and an in-between place where dreams can come true, sort of. Anything else will spoil it for you, and this is one TEAM AU fic you won't want to miss.
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Title: Alpha and Omega
Team: AU
Author: thesamanthahope
Prompt: 21. A butterbeer a day keeps the mediwizard away.
Wordcount: ~8000
Rating: R
Warnings: Non-graphic sex, angst, character death (not Draco or Harry)
Summary: Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end ("Closing Time" by Semisonic)
This fic does something fairly rare, I think. It makes Astoria a sympathetic person. Someone is ill, and someone is an end of life healer. The author handles all of it tastefully, showing how big a heart Astoria has. In this magical world where death is usually so sudden and unplanned for and tragic, it's nice to find a story where 'death as a natural part of life' occurs with dignity. It's an angsty journey, but well worth the read!
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Title: Non Faux Pas
Team: AU
Author: thesamanthahope
Prompt: 3. A poisonous toadstool never changes its spots.
Wordcount: 6000
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Non-magic, slight OOC, graphic sex, rimming, top!Draco
Summary: When Harry agrees to take etiquette lessons with his best friend, he learns much more than he planned.
This is one of the most romantic stories to come out of the World Cup so far. Draco as an etiquette instructor to a clueless Ron and Harry, a gradual attraction, a misunderstanding, UST that will make you race on to the next part, and then the ending, all make for a wonderful, satisfying read.
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Title: Gamble Everything For Love
Team: AU
Author: incognito
Prompt: 13. Magic is 1% inspiration and 99% incantation.
Wordcount: ~10,500
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Implied underage.
Summary: When charged with the task of killing Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy is desperate enough to search for any way out. After stumbling upon information about parallel universes, he decides that if he goes to a world where he's friends with Harry Potter, then he will be safe. What he doesn't consider is what will happen once he arrives.
God, I love original magic in fics (I know, I know, you're tired of hearing me say it), and this one has the added feature of...not so much as time travel, but a time swap. Of course, only one of the characters is aware of what's occurred, and what follows is that delicious tension of waiting for the shit to hit the fan. Well written story, with an endearing scene that features two canon characters I've always wanted to see more of, and an ending that's surprising but satisfying.
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Title: Enchantment; Loss
Team: AU
Author: dracofiend
Prompt: 23. A snitch in time saves nine hours of Quidditch.
Wordcount: 11,589
Rating: R
Warnings:Implied chan.
Summary: Harry wishes for one thing only.
First, I love the way this author writes. It hits me every time; honestly, she could do her own version of the phone book and I'd read it. This is also one of those times when there's not much I can say about the story itself without spoiling it, so ask yourself, when was the last time I steered you wrong? I will say that the author explores Harry's neediness as a young child, and very discreetly addresses how he forms an attachment to Lucius. There's a friendship with Draco, of course, a meeting with You Know Who (in a surprise twist that makes you say, "NO!"), then a resolution that feels right, hopeful, and yes, I think, happy.
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Title: Interpreting Draconis
Team: AU! (YES! We rock!)
Author: dacro
Prompt: 2. "Time is Galleons, little bro, time is Galleons."
Wordcount: 11,043
Rating: R
Warnings: Implied minor character death.
Summary: Draco, the Deaf son of a wealthy businessman, has always had the best of everything, including a habit for rapid signing and a reputation for having a short fuse. When his father disappears, the interpreters who have been on the receiving end of Draco's attitude and temper refuse to work for him. Enter Harry, our 'new on the block' interpreter with a heart of gold, exemplary skills, and a few secrets in his pocket.
I have a really soft spot for this particular story; not only is the author a writer whose stories I've enjoyed immensely in the past, but she's done something extraordinary here. Of course this is AU, Harry being the unfortunate interpreter who ends up being assigned to Draco. There is IC Harry and Draco here, but they're adults; Draco is shrewd about people, and Harry is patient and keenly perceptive. The look into Deaf culture--how they communicate, what they feel, how they're treated by the hearing, the misunderstanding of their disability, and ultimately how we are all the same underneath--is what's made this stand out for me, not to mention that it's Harry and Draco who are the messengers. There was a slight ache in my heart as their two stories unfolded, which only resolved when, at the end, the two of them....(AHHHHAAAA spoiler!)
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