#drarryunder300

[the-headmistress]

Oaf course we’re reccing this

Darling, Darling by @tsauergrass​

Word count: 757 Author: @tsauergrass Rating: GA Warnings: Fluff Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20833355

“Mon cœur, yes.” Draco looks away, cheeks tinging pink. “It means you oaf.”

[bafflinghaze]

Fic Back Friday

This Fic Back Friday, I want to rec some of my old favourite fics that I love, and yet have less than 300 kudos on AO3:

No Romance (Merely That Which Is)

Harry is tired of sweet nothings and romantic comedy cliches.

Author:  AuroraExecution | Rating: Teen and Up | Wordcount: 2k

Why I love it: This fic is anti-cliche/trope-twisting (which I love to do to and read), and yet at the same time the writing itself feels soft and romantic and slice-of-life.

❤️

Stay Close to Me 

A decade after the Final Battle, after years of memories and recovering, Harry and Draco return to Hogwarts. But the memories there are stronger than anywhere else, and Harry finds himself forced to come to terms with something he’s denied for ten years.

Author: shadowofrazia | Rating: General | Wordcount: 3k

Why I love it: The relationship between Harry and Draco is so loving, and Draco cares so much about Harry, and looks out for him. And the writing is utterly soft and gentle and the steady, meaningful pacing of it is sublime.

❤️

Searching Diagon Alley

Harry’s looking for somewhere he belongs; what he finds is Draco.

Author: SapphireQuill | Rating: Mature | Wordcount: 10k

Why I love it: Firstly, Draco is an event planner! And so there are wonderful descriptions of displays. There’s also a touch of Harry (secretly) helping Draco out, and they become friends, and they start working together, and then there’s pining before the happy ending.

❤️

[writcraft]

Reccing and #drarryunder300

Having seen yet another call out about personal blog recs in Drarry fandom, I wanted to take an opportunity to say something on that topic. 

Beneath a cut because as ever, it got long.

There seems to me to be a disconnect between what people are saying they want to see and what they are doing. The #drarryunder300 initiative was set up by me at the end of 2017 to draw attention to Drarry fics with under 300 kudos. Despite initial interest and enough sign-ups to have two reccers a month through to December 2018, I became too thinly stretched and was unable to send reminder emails to chase people for their monthly recs which meant that the reccing petered out. The final list of recs made as part of the initiative was published at the start of this year and has only 29 notes, although many of the individual rec posts have significantly more. These ideas are all well and good, but they need support and, ideally, somebody driving them forwards behind the scenes so momentum isn’t lost, keeping promotion going, sending out the reminder emails, finding replacement reccers if people need to drop out and so on.

I would be more than happy to hand over the baton of #drarryunder300 to somebody else if, instead of sending anonymous messages, people who feel works are being overlooked would like to put energy into running something designed to bring more exposure to those fanworks in a way that is designed to reflect multiple tastes and reading perspectives. I’m a big believer in being the change you want to see, and channelling irritation with things you don’t love into creating space for the things you do, even if I need to remind myself to make that my focus at times. With #drarryunder300 in particular it just needs somebody enthusiastic and organised to get it properly off the ground. If there were as many new reccing initiatives springing up as there are irritated anons policing how personal blogs are reccing, there would be enough recs flying around to cater to all tastes and interests.

On reccing more broadly, the criticism of popular authors being recced is wearying for two reasons. First, because better known authors put no less time, energy, effort and love into creating works for fandom to enjoy than any other. Second, it places an odd onus on personal blogs to cater to the tastes of fandom at large and, frankly, to do somebody else’s work for them. In my view, calling out a personal blog for who and what they choose to rec is precisely the same kind of fandom policing that occurs when personal bloggers are called out for reblogging content featuring their problematic faves or ships. It could make people hesitate over reccing things they genuinely loved because they’ve already recced that author that month, or because the story is popular, or because people think they are reccing too much Giant Squid fluff and eventually the blogger will stop reccing at all. 

A rec from a personal blog is inherently subjective—it is telling you I, personally, like this author’s writing style, I enjoyed this thing, I liked reading this thing, I’m fannish about this thing—in the same way scrolling through their blog will tell you what fandoms they’re active in, what ships they enjoy. They are under no obligation to curate a reading list that’s satisfactory to fandom at large, any more than they should start reblogging fanart of a ship they don’t enjoy but one of their followers does, and nor should that be the goal. It’s why so many recs are frequently couched in disclaimers about subjectivity and why rec lists created by one person that purport to speak for fandom as a whole tend to attract backlash. 

Although some might do this, it’s not the job of the personal blogger to go on a hunt for the hidden gems or to read every link they get sent or tagged in, they are under no requirement to rec at all. The idea that one person should be responsible for alerting fandom to new things or for reflecting the tastes of every follower is patently nonsense. It’s like asking someone who primarily reads fluff why they aren’t reccing more dark fic. If you want to see recs that reflect a variety of personal tastes, follow multiple reccers, multiple blogs, submit recs to @gnarf @keyflight790 and @nifflers-n-nargles rec blog @the-headmistress designed to spotlight less well-known fics, check out the fabulous list of new Drarry author’s compiled by @lettersbyelise,  send me a message about taking over #drarryunder300 or consider setting up your own rec blog, inviting guest monthly reccers to participate in the style of One Bad Man or Crack Broom, the popular journal-based rec comms. That’s something that there’s definitely a space for in HP fandom on tumblr and if I had the time or the energy I’d set it up myself, but at least would be happy to discuss behind the scenes if you like the idea and don’t know how to get started.

Recs should be joyful, indulgent things reflecting our own tastes. We’re all ultimately here because we’re deeply enthusiastic about something. Given transformative fandom is well used to being told we like our objects of fandom too much, too vocally, too frivolously, too thoughtlessly or too problematically, it’s frustrating when fans within those spaces seek to invalidate enjoyment over something that speaks to someone personally, by suggesting excitement over the things we love in fandom space be tempered and harnessed until it is palatable to the widest audience.

[carpemermaidtales]

#drarryunder300 | January 2018 | Magic Theory Recs

Theme: Magic Theory | Rec Tag | #drarryunder300 Info Post

this high hill in a year’s turning by apollo [T, 5.4k] Summary: As the only known wizard to survive being Vanished, Draco Malfoy is suddenly very well liked in the magical community, despite that old tattoo on his arm and all of his family baggage. He gets his own chocolate frog card, and the Minister for Magic even presents him with a Medal for Distinguished Magical Contribution, for his "work in the burgeoning field of magical research."(or, the one where Draco finds himself in the place where Vanished things go, and after his findings are published, no one can argue that he hasn't contributed to the post-war society.) Reasons to check it out: This lovely fic features Harry and Draco in an established relationship and a clever, puzzle solving Draco who thirsts for knowledge of all kinds! I really enjoyed the scene where he explores the place where Vanished things go, and his subsequent obsession with the place when he returns to where he belongs.

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Lamp in the Cooling Room by Libby Drew (erin_myecourt) [T, 8.8k] Summary: Draco and Harry become snared in a trap, but they're not alone. Love guides our path for reasons we can't always understand. [Written for the 2010 LJ Harry/Draco Worldcup, team EWE. Tarot Prompt: The Lovers: A card of crossroads, tension, and a decision. Duty or your heart's desire? A test that affects the rest of your life.] [Warning: Ambiguous Ending] Reasons to check it out: This story is beautifully told through an outsider POV of a Muggle girl stuck in a cursed trap on Malfoy property. It’s so cool to see everything through her eyes from her interpretations of magic in general to seeing how Harry, Draco, and others are trying to solve the mystery of the trap. This is really such a treat of literary beauty, there’s some gorgeous imagery throughout, and it will even touch on kidfic feelings at some points. This is one that masterfully manages to pack so much into the narrative and pull at your heartstrings in under ten thousand words.

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Landslide by Libby Drew (erin_myecourt) [T, 24.2k] Summary: Harry Potter disappears, taking a sick Teddy Lupin with him. While everyone searches for their missing hero, Draco's life continues as it always has. Rumors of curses and kidnapping don't interest him. As Hogwarts' guardian, he has only one concern: the strange, miraculous events occurring on the cliffs outside the castle walls. [Warning: Temporary Character Death] Reasons to check it out: This fic is a race against time with a mysterious curse and a revenge plot that’s targeting Teddy Lupin. Harry and Draco end up working together to find the solution, while also finding a temporary fix. It also features some wonderful found family dynamics, which I’m a huge sucker for, and is a beautiful and poignant kidfic.

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There’s Something About Harry by Barry_Manilows_Wardrobe [M, 28k] Summary: Harry Potter is just your average Parapsychologist. In conflict with his Department Head, D. Lucius Malfoy, and sometimes venturing into a paranormal world in order to help people in distress. Who just happens to be surveilled by MACUSA and the Ministry. Reasons to check it out: Omg this fic was so fun!!! It will keep you guessing at every turn, making up your own theories to what’s going on in this modern american au that may or may not steer closer to canon than you’d think. It’s the first part of a series that follows Harry, a parapsychologist who has a bit of a savior complex and just happens to stumble on the wildest things. I don’t want to give away too much of the surprises here, but let’s just leave it at Harry’s always known he’s a little different from everyone else.

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Severus Snape and the Inconsistency of Time by Trogir [T, 32.2k] Summary: It's been nearly ten years since the Second Wizarding War, and just when the Ministry of Magic started to get comfortable… Hannah Abbott, Independent Magical Accountant, turns everything upside down. Starring: insubordinate Department of Mysteries, Severus Snape in the (somewhat tarnished) flesh, ridiculous portrait of Lucius Malfoy and time particles in their pure form. Reasons to check it out: This is a really neat story that follows a time/space magical continuum phenomenon where Snape ends up in 2006 where Harry and Draco help him re-adjust and re-settle into life. This will definitely bring a smile to your face!

[psych-ramblings]

Summary:

On the 6th day of Christmas I give you … Draco plotting, and Harry reaping the benefits

Review: Don’t you just love Slytherins? Their plotting is always good for us.

[tdcatsblog]

“Does this band play live, Potter?” “Yeah, probably.” “Let’s get tickets.” “You—want to? With me?” Potter splutters. Draco grins. “I want to...with you.” Potter’s eyes go comically wide and Draco watches as they drop to his lips. Potter’s cheeks are red and he is breathing shallowly. “Can I kiss you?” Potter whispers, and it’s the sexiest thing Draco has ever heard. Harry Potter wants to kiss him. Harry Potter noticed him. “I can’t stop thinking about you in this eyeliner and Doc Martens,” Harry elaborates with a lopsided smile. Draco’s grin widens. He doesn’t answer with words, but leans forward and grabs Harry’s face with his hands.

A Wound, a Placebo, a Cure by @aibidil

[mshermionemalfoy]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Auror!Harry and Ministry Worker!Draco

Summary: The Ministry of Magic is concerned with the increase of dark artifacts that are turning up, and Harry and Ron are assigned to work the case. Draco Malfoy, who now works for the Artifact Collections Department , is called in to be a consultant on the case. Both men have matured greatly since the War, but that is all put to the test when they are required to work side by side to save people they both care about.

So this story is quite intense, it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened!  This is definitely a race against the clock story after Ron ends up in St. Mungos being drained of his magic.  Lots of familiar faces from the books in this one!

This concludes my recs for #drarryunder300 keep following the tag for more amazing fics every month!

[the-headmistress]

You’re ready for this Jelly

Jelly Legs

Word count: 2299 Author: @zandragorin Rating: T Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16232024

“Really, it’s not your fault that you find my leg, well, any part of me really, irresistible,” Draco smirks with a quick shrug of his shoulder.

“Remind me again why I don’t hate you anymore?” Harry mutters.