I'm not sure if you got dark fic. If you didn't, I'm asking it! 🥲
Hello TBC! Thanks for the ask :)
But oh dear, I feel bad for usually avoiding dark!fic 💕 That means on the grading scale it would generally be a D for me.
But to be honest, I'm not entirely sure if I'm defining dark!fic the same way you are (or anybody else for that matter!)
99% of the time when I read fanfic I want there to be an eventual unambiguous happy ending. I enjoy it when there's plenty of angst along the way, but that HEA is important to me.
But I feel like it's probably the case that there can be dark!fic with a happy ending? Or a happy-ish ending? I'm not sure I'm the best person to suss out what dark!fic *is* 😂
(Like I'm pretty sure you like dark!fic but I know you don't like MCD, so I realize that dark =/= sad)
That being said, I did comb through my notes to find the closest fics I can that are what I think might constitute dark!fic that I would rec. (I've been in fandom for long enough now that I've read pretty widely, even tropes I normally avoid, so I do find dark things I like from time to time.)
Don't know if these will be your cuppa, but here goes:
Briar Path by Ladycat
I think this one is legitimately dark, and yet I still really like it. It's a snapshot of a Harry/Draco relationship where Harry has been using Palovian techniques (and a bit of mind control) to manipulate Draco into being his submissive. Harry is Not Nice at all in this, and it's kinda twisted, but it manages to push my buttons.
The Rogue by @dracogotgame
Not an author I usually associate with dark!fic, but this one has a dark vampire!Harry taking advantage of Auror Malfoy to keep the ministry from finding him. DGG has range :)
And So Death Took by @icmezzo
A dark retelling of the Tale of the Three Brothers, with some time-travel twisty-ness. Really well done.
What Love Is by @novembersnowflake
Not very dark for the most part, but there's a small twist at the end which changes your perspective of the conversation they've just been having, and makes things a tiny bit dark-ish. And it's a good fic, so.
And two more dark!fic recs that are HP, but not Drarry:
.
Got it So Good by blissed_bess (Harry/Bill/Draco)
This is seriously twisted. Draco is the purchased sex slave of Harry & Bill (who are werewolves in a relationship in a dystopian future). Harry thinks they're treating Draco so well, but Draco very much does not feel the same. The writing here is amazing.
You Change My Mind by @akashathekitty (Draco/Hermione)
Hermione has to make an agonizing choice whether or not to trust Draco in a dystopian future, and well, Draco is not very trustworthy here.
~~~~~~~~~~
My previous answers for trope grades can be found here :)
