what dramione (or HP fics in general) inspired you to write Lionheart? would love to hear about your favourite dramione fics (and general recs) as well 🍵
Hello! What a juicy question. I got the idea for Lionheart during a summer reread of ATYD, and though I don't think that fic necessarily inspired the idea, it prompted a lot of the thoughts about theme and character that were percolating in my brain at the time. Specifically, I was thinking about the parallels between Sirius Black/Draco Malfoy/Severus Snape; what could have gone differently, the points where each of them could have made different choices, and why they didn't. In particular, I was thinking, who is Sirius Black if he's not a Gryffindor? And what is Gryffindor, exactly, to this story? Because the further back in time you go, the more it seems like Slytherin House might be the poison at the heart of these books — it's what breaks all these boys, right, it's how Snape finds his cruel little Death Eater group, it's the reason Draco ends up surrounded by cronies and liars instead of people who could save him from himself. And I thought: the more you think about it, Slytherin becomes this time capsule of old and poisonous ideas. It's a lockbox of children who have no idea that they're growing up breathing toxic air, a literal dungeon, dooming to grow up and become the same kind of narrow-minded people that their parents were. But none of them are ever going to leave, because it's their home, and it's where their families are. Which is the great tragedy of Slytherin House.
And then I had this idea, like: "What would it take for Draco to be actually redeemed? For him to not just fall in love with Hermione, but to become someone worthy of her?" And Lionheart is, essentially, one long argument for my answer to that question.
Oh! Forgot fic recs, which you asked for:
In terms of style, the boy with a scar series is brilliant, and understands things about the universe in a way that's quite honestly inspiring.
The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy, for a canon rewrite that does Draco justice and treats his redemption arc realistically. "Realistic" is maybe the name of the game here, because not only is it one of the best Dracos, but the author also leans into mimicking Rowling's style, so it really feels like it's another installment in canon (versus Lionheart, for instance, which is very much its own creature, stylistically). Also, one of the few (finished) Dramione pieces that is actually interested in the plot of the books, i.e., winning the war. And I think it's a much better version of the Horcrux hunt, which is honestly way less interesting on a reread of Deathly Hallows then it seems; Disappearances opens up the world and adds new dimensions to it in the way you'd expect from a Harry Potter book. Also, I'm a sucker for the Golden Quartet, and this is the blueprint.
Batmobile, as it's affectionately called in the fandom, is one of my favorite humor-verging-on-crack fics. Like, a glance at the tags will tell you what you're signing up for. But I think the dialogue is crispy and nails the sort of stiff-upper-lip Jeeves-and-Wooster patter that the purebloods can fall into, plus it's set partially at Oxford, which I love as a setting.
Until the Ink Runs Dry, too, is a great piece for getting the rhythm of Draco/Hermione's banter. An epistolary format is both a constraint and (as most constraints are) a liberating device, because the voices are the story. Also, it's a great concept. I tend to prefer D/H fics that are reasonably related to the world of Harry Potter, i.e., ones that I could see happening in the same timeline as canon; it's not a hard rule, and I definitely enjoy some others, but this is a scenario where I'm like, "oh, yeah, that's totally feasible." Which is a lovely plus.
There are some shorter pieces that I like to come back to, but these are the ones that have always moved me.
