Hi all, if you're into Harry/Severus, you've probably read A Bittersweet Potion. Al and Bug are still around and have had a rough few years but Al is back online with a new Dreamwidth account. He's asked me to share it: https://alchemia-dent.dreamwidth.org/
The ABP site is currently down but hopefully back up at some point at http://www.intertexius.com/
I picked the best slash fic posted in each year from 2001-2021 based on what I read. We are spoiled for choice with heaps of great fics, so it's really impossible to pick a best fic by any metric. The criteria I used to select - each fic meant something to me at a fundamental level, I read it multiple times and I think about it frequently.
Since older fics often got posted on LJ or Geocities, I gave it my best effort and tried to go with the archiving dates on public websites as much as possible.
List and reviews follow! This was first posted on Reddit hpslash sub. AO3 COLLECTION LINK
2001 A most disquieting tea by Telanu
2002 A Bittersweet Potion by Alchemia and Bugland
2003 Primer to the Dark Arts by Icarus
2004 Consanguinity Arc by Tryfanstone
2005 Peripheral Vision by Alexandra Dane
2006 Snape: the Home Fries Nazi by pir8fancier
2007 In the Gloaming by RaeWhit
2008 Down the Rabbit Hole by RaeWhit
2009 Sex, Lies, and Audiobooks by RaeWhit
2010 Storytelling by kelly_chambliss
2011 The Boy Who Fell by bussaiko
2012 The Bone Mother by rinsbane
2013 The Muggles Have a Word for Them by kelly_chambliss
2014 The Judas Sextet by eldritcher
2015 Gods and Monsters by writcraft
2016 Love in the Eye of a Storm by rattlesoft
2017 A Promise Made by BeyondStarlight
2018 Almagest by eldritcher
2019 a certain optimism by hippocrates460
2020 Crooked Neighbors by ebparentheses
2021 Pandemic by eldritcher
2001
A Most Disquieting Tea
by Telanu
One of the classic Snarry fics that influenced many authors afterwards. I discovered The Tea Series through painless_j's recs way back when. (painless_j's work actually inspired me to do this rec list.) Albus Dumbledore invites Severus for tea to discuss a Harry problem. Madame Minster's Mint Madness. Dumbledore's sentient armchair is called Toby. How the author handles a complicated subject in a tasteful manner really impressed me. It was one of the first fics where I realized how writers use fiction to explore taboos. No longer available since the author took their fics down.
Severus/Harry
Angst, Romance, Pining
2002
A Bittersweet Potion
by Alchemia and Bugland
Write for yourself is common advice. A Bittersweet Potion is one hundred percent written without trying to pander to readers. Alchemia's first person Harry and Bugland's Severus are unique and lovable, but the world they are in is dark and tragic. I like the fics with Harry's narration the most in the series but both are equally good and really powerful. It is a controversial fic but it will make you feel something. The one exception to going for only completed fics in this rec list.
Hermione eyes me critically. "Maybe you should kneel."
"Is that part of the ritual?"
"No, but it'd be humble," she says, pushing me down by my shoulders.
I kneel on the cold, damp tiles, grabbing her sleeve to pull her down beside me - right into a puddle that I hadn't noticed. "Now they'll be twice as impressed," I say.
Severus/Harry
Angst, Romance, seriously dark
2003
Primer to the Dark Arts
by Icarus
Primer is the first Severus mentors Harry before they fall in love fic I have read. It is one of the fics that really convinced me about the pairing. This fic is written before OoTP and you can see that in the plot elements. There is Snape Manor. Severus is rich and pureblood. But all that doesn't detract from how unique the fic is. Severus is brilliant and loves the Dark Arts. Harry is trying to learn without getting killed. Ron gets the popcorn. This is one of the classics without a ton of angst going on.
"It's still dark out," Harry complained. The window could have been a wall for all he could see outside. "You are certifiable."
"Yes, well, collecting Cursed Artefacts is a registered form of madness in the Compendium of Wizarding Mental Disorders and Other Things That Make You Twitch," Severus said, "alongside most compulsions to collect. But it's very a popular one, and I intend to be there early to beat everyone else to it."
Severus/Harry
Unresolved sexual tension, snark, not angsty
2004
Consanguinity Arc
by Tryfanstone
Severus and Harry are trying to get a divorce. They are only married on a technicality. But are they really wanting to be divorced? A dark and complex story. Mature and brilliant. Harry claims Severus because he wants to kill him himself.
Prior claim has been made and recognised. In the case of Wizengamot versus Snape -
He looks down
possession is, by law, precedent Brown versus Lamont, 1875-
It is Padfoot's collar.
This fic is the first one where I really liked OCs in a fan work. Jonathan, the solicitor. Kate, the marriage counsellor are both written brilliantly. Incredible Severus characterization.
Severus/Harry
Dark, Angst with a happy ending
2005
Peripheral Vision
by Alexandra Dane
"Ex-wizards, Potter. Very ex. Surely you remember - one last final surge of elemental magic ripping through everything, Dark Lords dropping dead, Malfoys blasted to vapour, all the witches and wizards in the world losing their powers simultaneously?"
This fic made me fall in love with the Loss of Magic trope and Room mates to Lovers trope. Really clever writing. The first fic where I discovered what good pacing does to make the story great. The relationship progress is shown through conversations between Harry and Severus. Harry hasn't lost his optimism. Severus hasn't lost his grit. The world is a mess outside but in their room they have got books, snark and heart to hearts... and pining for each other.
Severus/Harry
Snark, Pining, Angst with a happy ending
2006
Snape: the Home Fries Nazi
by pir8fancier
The only story fanfic or otherwise I read set in Arizona. This fic made me want to see the desert. Harry and all the Death Eaters have lost their magic after Voldemort's death. Harry is on suicide watch and dealing badly with his dying magic. He tracks down Severus in Arizona where Severus is a fry cook. They don't exactly get along. Severus is as prickly as the desert plants. The desert itself is an allegory for their loss of magic. But like the desert they find something beautiful. Harry is a mess. Severus has issues. Absolutely brilliant fic that packs a punch.
Severus/Harry
Snark, Angst with a happy ending
2007
In the Gloaming
by RaeWhit
The first fic I read that convinced me about the faked death trope. Really amazing pacing. Dumbledore faked his own death with Severus's help. Let's just say that Harry isn't their biggest fan when he found out.
Snape observed as Potter walked with his friends to the door, then waited until the man was about to turn back to murmur, "Finite Incantatem."
He watched with satisfaction as Potter's eyes went wide, then feared he might faint when the color drained completely from his face. Standing, he held out a hand and guided him to a chair, then Albus Dumbledore said kindly, "Hello, Harry."
Neither Albus or Severus are happy when Harry pulls the same move on them later. I actually like this plot much better than Deathly Hallows. Not surprised! RaeWhit is an amazing author who knows how to construct not just a world but also flesh and blood characters in it with realistic motivations.
Severus/Harry
Romance, Angst with a happy ending
2008
Down the Rabbit Hole
by RaeWhit
Another RaeWhit fic! Brilliant and angsty. Nonlinear and whimsical narrative. This one made me finally read Through the Looking Glass. Sentient Castle saves Severus after the war. But Hogwarts keeps him a prisoner because he failed his duty to the Castle. Whenever Severus tries to leave his rooms, he gets agoraphobia. Harry is the only person who knows that Severus is alive and trapped in the dungeons. Binns the ghost is part of the Castle's sentience. Really complex and beautiful plot, excellent pacing. Harry saves Severus. But getting Severus out of Hogwarts isn't easy. This Harry is a savior who doesn't hesitate to go to war with the Castle for Severus's sake. Binns likes Severus and that is the only reason why the Castle saved him. It turns out that Binns traded his magic to the Castle in returning for binding him eternally to the sentience. So the Castle sometimes listens to him. A great plot and reveal, like I mentioned earlier.
"And who would you be, if I'm the Cheshire?" Harry asked him once they were seated, side-by-side.
Severus didn't even stop to consider. "Oh, I'm most definitely the rabbit. Down the hole, ever late for a very important date," he said, giving Harry a challenging smile. "You would be Alice, though, chasing after the silly rabbit."
The best sentient Hogwarts fic I have read. The best Snarry fic I have read.
Severus/Harry
Angst with a happy ending
2009
Sex, Lies, and Audiobooks
by RaeWhit
Another RaeWhit fic! RaeWhit wrote some of the best Snarry fics so definitely not surprised that her fics ended up on my list three times. I am a big fan of her pacing and plots as well as of how she conceptualizes the Snarry dynamic in a mature setting. Harry in her fics is his own man in a postwar setting. He is written as an equal to Severus in her fics which I really love.
This fic opens with Harry and Severus in Scotland in Lochdubh. They are there to settle Dumbledore's will. Harry is left a cottage with mysterious tenants. The relationship deconstruction between Harry and Severus happens as they deal with the cottage problem. Harry is now making wooden rocking chairs. Severus is now recording audio books which I really liked as a career for him. Harry is kind of lost in his life. Severus is finally at peace or so he thinks but he's lonely. They have history between them. Severus sent Harry away after one night together immediately after the war. Harry hasn't really recovered from the rejection but Severus had his own confusing reasons. They keep picking at each other's scabs and hurts but with a lot of mutual respect and love. The pacing is just perfect.
Severus made a face. "After ten years, still finding himself. For god's sake, he's twenty-eight. If he's not done it by now…" He shook his head.
Whitney rested his chin in a hand, then asked softly, "And you, Severus, had you found yourself at twenty-eight?"
Ah, touché. "Lost myself, was more like it," Snape had to begrudgingly confess.
Severus/Harry
Pining with a happy ending
2010
Storytelling
by kelly_chambliss
Hermione falls in love with Minerva. This isn't an easy fic. Brilliant and incisive, it cuts to the core of Hermione's characterization. kelly_chambliss writes female characters beautifully. So no surprise that this fic is my favorite femslash story. It starts with an obituary column Hermione is reading. Then the fic goes into a flashback through time, from Hermione's Hogwarts letter and her years at Hogwarts. Each flashback shows us an interaction or an observation by Hermione of her teacher. The progression is written in a realistic and sharp portrayal of Hermione. She knows that she is falling in love very early on. She learns to masturbate from a book. She finds out that Minerva is interested in woman when she discovers Minerva's relationship with Wilhemina Grubbly-Plank. She wants to know what attracts Minerva to the other professor. She watches Minerva through the Marauders Map. HBP/DH years are hard on everyone. Hermione marries Ron after the war. She can't let Minerva go though. She comes back to Hogwarts to teach. This fic is realistic. There is no happy ending with everything working out. Things are complex and unresolved but they make their peace with it.
She liked to think that "bewitchment" came closest. She felt like the word itself -- "be-witch-ment," the "witch" tucked inside, encased and enclosed by another's being and essence. The structure of the word was a lovely metaphor for the way the pleasures of McGonagall's presence and voice and regard surrounded her like a cocoon, like the blanket of a warming spell cast and welcomed.
The best femslash fic I have read.
Minerva/Hermione, Minerva/Wilhemina
Pining with a bittersweet ending
2011
The Boy Who Fell
by bussaiko
It's not a big secret that the best fics are in rare pair land! This fic is full of hurt/comfort and soft things that will make you go gooey in happiness. Dudley redemption but not really. He is not falling over himself to go apologize to Harry or anything like that. He thinks about Harry but he's not in touch with his cousin. He is an interior decorator. He's adult and written as an adult with brilliant characterization. His relationships with his parents are still strong. Petunia tries to set him up with gay dudes when he comes out. Vernon doesn't like queers but this is his son so he makes an exception. Things are going normal for Dudley. That's when he sees Dennis Creevey getting beaten up. He saves the younger boy. The wizarding world makes a reappearance in his love as they fall in love. Dudley is a good boyfriend even if it means going to Mrs. Figg and begging her to take him to buy a wand to replace Dennis Creevey's broken one.
"So," Dudley says. "Gay, huh."
Dennis snorts. "It was the Victor Krum at Hogwarts effect. Everyone either wanted him or wanted to be him. I was young and impressionable and madly in love, and then I figured out it wasn't just him."
Dudley waits a moment and then says, "At my school, they called it the Dudley Dursley effect."
Dudley/Dennis Creevey
Hurt/Comfort with a happy ending
2012
The Bone Mother
by rinsbane
Rinsbane has written some amazing fics in our fandom including great Snarry fics. So definitely not surprised that they ended up on this list I was making. This fic is one of the most complex and beautiful ones they have written. I am confident that this fic is older than 2012 but I just went by the AO3 posting date.
Andromeda is completely fascinated by Bellatrix. Bellatrix is cold and calculating, even if she does love Andromeda in her own way. Andromeda hates Narcissa who is equally fascinated by Bellatrix. Everything goes to hell when Bellatrix becomes obsessed with Voldemort. Things spiral from there. This is a seriously dark fic. It is brilliantly written and characterized. Bellatrix is predictably cruel. Andromeda is not far from Bellatrix in her personality. They both have a mad obsession and attachment to each other. Voldemort, Narcissa and Ted Tonks change their life but nothing breaks that bond between them even if it gets poisonous and deadly.
They pretend it’s a game, though, no matter how serious it becomes. For if there’s one thing Bella hates, it’s to be out of control. Andromeda would hate it too, if it weren’t Bella seeing her so. In the end, then, Bella thinks she wins because she usually manages to make Andromeda fall apart first, and Andromeda knows she wins because she’s getting exactly what she wants.
Bellatrix/Andromeda
Angst, Horror, dark, bittersweet ending
2013
The Muggles Have a Word for Them
by kelly_chambliss
This fic made me fall in love with the magical portrait matchmaker trope. I loved this fic because it was one of the first fics that I read which was good without being weighty, if that's the right way to explain it. The Fat Lady is a self-appointed Cupid at Hogwarts. Violet is another magical portrait of a woman who isn't famous or heroic who goes in other portraits of Hogwarts to collect gossip for The Fat Lady and helps her to do matchmaking. Their latest targets are Madam Hooch and Professor Sinistra.
"A butch. Madam Hooch is one as well. A woman who acts like a man, wears men's clothes, cuts her hair short. No adornments. Not even the lightest touch of rouge."
Oh, one of those women. Well, I don't know why Violet thinks I need to know some vulgar Muggle term for them. We have such women in the wizarding world, too, of course; we call them "hitches," for "he-witch," a much more tasteful expression, if you ask me. Why Violet doesn't know this, I can't imagine, I mean, she did receive a fine magical education.
Madam Hooch/Sinistra
Humor, Romance with a happy ending
2014
The Judas Sextet
by eldritcher
This fic is the first Voldemort pairing that actually worked for me. He is completely barking mad and somehow a kind lover to Severus. Severus betrays him anyway. After the War, Harry falls in love with Portrait Severus. The sparse but deeply emotional and intense writing style works for Severus. He feels everything so much but he doesn't have the words. And Harry! Harry is brilliant here. The flesh and blood of the characterizations is very much three dimensional and present. Voldemort's madness is written without holding back. Really, really powerful fic.
Perhaps she had expected Harry to call the dead man Severus. He didn’t know why he would. It wasn’t as if he had ever known the man without smokes and mirrors. He was not sure that he mourned the loss of a beloved as the Daily Prophet declared often. He had happened to fall in love with a dead man, after the death had happened.
Severus/Voldemort, Severus/Harry
Pining, Romance with a bittersweet ending.
2015
Gods and Monsters
by writcraft
This fic made me restless and uneasy for days. Umbridge manages to curse Harry through the scar she gave him on his hand with the quill. Years later he is dying because of that. He is plagued by dreams. Severus is affected because he has some of Harry's blood. They are both dying slowly. The author does a great job of showing the layers of their relationship here. They have a lot of emotional unresolved issues between them. Sexual attraction. Bonded by Umbridge's curse. Slowly dying without being able to do anything when their entire life was about doing things. This is a great fic but definitely not an easy one to read.
Snape pointedly ignores Harry and continues. “I am now certain that Potter was cursed before the end of the war. I believe my final interaction with Potter resulted in some of his blood entering my system. The result is, unfortunately for me, that Potter and I appear to have developed some kind of connection which means my life is now inextricably bonded to Potter’s.” Snape finishes with a snort, avoiding Harry’s eyes.
“You didn’t tell me any of this.” Harry clutches his wand and stands, ignoring Kingsley’s attempts to calm him. He shoves his chair backwards. “I’ve been in your company for days and you’ve been stalking me all over the place and you didn’t think to tell me we were bonded?”
Severus/Harry
Angst and horror, dark, Ambiguous ending.
2016
Love in the Eye of a Storm
by rattlesoft
This fic didn't stay with me because of the femslash. It's honestly one of the best divorce and midlife crisis related fics I have read. Narcissa's divorce from Lucius doesn't happen with arguments or fighting. But it is unpleasant and leaves scars.
All of it could be blamed on Lucius. He hadn't been happy about the divorce. That had been clear from the beginning. But, and this was the part that stung now, he had been civil. He hadn't fought over money or possessions. It helped that Narcissa had money of her own. All that civility had dried up or had never really been there at all.
His suggestion of Autrey Island was no longer an olive branch. Narcissa saw it now for what it had always been: a way to get her disconnected from the world so that he could manipulate the public's view.
Narcissa/Hermione
Romance with a happy ending
2017
A Promise Made
by BeyondStarlight
One of the best fics I have read showing Severus's Imposter Syndrome when he comes back to teach at Hogwarts at a young age. This fic is intense. Albus failed the promise to keep Lily alive. Severus still comes back. He doesn't know why. He is tired. Albus makes him swear to live for him. Severus isn't attracted as much as he is clinging to the last thing that's keeping him standing. Albus teaches him Occlumency and their lessons go every bit as disastrously as the time Severus tries to teach Harry. Albus isn't a kind teacher. But there is something between them. It grows and grows. A beautiful and powerful fic. It made me cry for both of them.
Before his eyes, Albus had become another man. He was no longer the Albus he had met first – the Headmaster to his student self. A man not unlike the god Severus had learnt about at home. A distant god, with the power to change the ways, and judge the people. Not always a fair god. And he had seen Albus as the Devil too. More powerful even, but on the other side of the war. A man who believed in his own righteousness and his own justice more than anything. And, not long ago, Albus had become a god once more. A personal god. A father. Who forgave and guided. Now, Albus was no longer an Almighty Being. He was no longer part of a dichotomy – either all virtue, or all sin. Albus was, finally, just who he was. A man. Flawed and beautiful. Strong and soft and warm to the touch.
Albus/Severus
Romance with a tragic ending
2018
Almagest
by eldritcher
Another eldritcher fic! This fic makes me feel everything I am capable of feeling and then some. I am not a fan of Voldemort/Harry fics because of the tropes they usually have and the characterizations they go for. Almagest does the impossible. Beautiful writing, mature characterizations, brilliant plot. Canon divergent after OoTP. Albus is spectacular as the beating heart of the fic. Voldemort is brittle and cautious but he can't really hide his love for astronomy. Harry is true to himself here. Kind even when he doesn't want to be. He can't look away from the wreckage of the relationship Voldemort and Albus had. He falls in love with astronomy just like Albus and Voldemort. Albus sacrifices himself to save the world. Voldemort breaks. Harry puts him back together.
He had not minded incorporeality; he had not felt corporeal in his body for most of his life. In Albania, as a spirit, his existence had been simpler. What would he do now? There was no end to this, he knew. Take my triumphs, Albus had said, and had omitted to tell him that he was placing a world upon his shoulders, a world Albus had not wanted to deal with. Death danced in his veins now, and he struggled to overcome being pulled into its mysteries. Mastery was not a single day's combat. He fought the hallows into submission each day, with his will, knowing that the mantle would fall upon Harry if he failed.
The best slash fic I have read.
Albus/Voldemort, Harry/Voldemort
Romance with a bittersweet ending
2019
a certain optimism
by hippocrates460
hippocrates460 writes an amazing Snarry. I love all their fics but this one is special to me because it made me fall in love with Snarry again. Definitely different from the earlier classics but absolutely beautiful. The first secret identity conversations in a book fic I loved. The characterization for Severus is amazing. What he feels, how much of that he is willing to share (not much). The book is a lifeline for both Severus and Harry during the war. This isn't a surprise given what they were doing. But after the war they need it just as much to stay afloat in The New Life.
The person that has the other book, Severus has started thinking of them as The Person That Has The Other Book, writes as often as they did during the war.
Severus/Harry
Romance with a happy ending
2020
Crooked Neighbors
by earlybloomingparentheses
Set during PoA. Remus is appointed to teach at Hogwarts. He gets along with the staff just fine. Albus asks Severus to make Wolfsbane for him. Things are going well...until he hears about Sirius Black put on the line to be Kissed. Albus tries to show connection by sharing a memory with Remus. Instead of getting the comfort, Remus gets fascinated by seeing Albus as a man. It snowballs from there. The author is really good at hinting about the complicated motivations Remus has. But things don't become easier for Remus. Sirius has broken out of Azkaban. Harry is in danger. Remus finds out that Sirius is at Hogwarts but he doesn't tell anybody. It is a predictable tragedy from there but that doesn't make the blow land softer.
Remus/Sirius, Remus/Albus
Angst with a bittersweet ending
2021
Pandemic
by eldritcher
Another eldritcher fic! Not a surprise given that the author is really good at mature psychological characterization that shows instead of tells. I am a big fan of how they balance grand saga plots with intimate relationship progression between the characters. Pacing is brilliant. Their fics take unique directions especially when it comes to relationships and sexuality.
Pandemic can quickly trip you up at every turn if you aren't paying attention. Brilliant, layered, subversive and packs a punch. Yes, it's set in 2020. Yes, there is the pandemic and its tragic effects in the community. But there's also Harry, who is now a 40 year old single gay man waiting for the spark with a midlife crisis. We find out they ended the war in the 90s by dividing the country into two. Voldemort appointed Griselda Minister in his half. Dumbledore is still the Headmaster and Fudge the Minister in their half. The Pandemic response brings them together after two decades since the war was ended with this pact. It feels at first look that it's a standard slash fic around Gellert, Albus, Voldemort and Harry. The fic peels the layers to show us four pandemics (Spanish Flu, Polio, HIV, Coronavirus) and four women (Ariana, Minerva, Narcissa, Delphi) and how they changed the course of the Wizarding World. A story told in motifs of rivers, astronomy and wandlore.
"I had an epiphany on the nature of viruses."
"Pray tell."
"They spread by touch, by proximity, by intimacy. How clever of them to know that we, in our imperfections and desperate loneliness, crave to seek and hold and be held, as is the course of human things."
