Being a historian, I have a hard time finding historical AUs that manage to get their chosen period right. That’s why I decided to put together a list of recommendations of fics that did a very good job at emulating their historical setting.
Fic Recs - Favourite Historical Fics
1. The Legacy by eilonwy [25k words; Rated M; medieval Occitane/Southern France; Complete]
Facts: Time travel/Medieval Dramione set during the Albigensian Crusade (1208–1229) in Longuedoc (Occitane/Southern France).
Notes: Kudos for historical accuracy. Remix work of Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. Summary: When Draco finds himself partnered with Hermione Granger at work, he decides to make lemonade out of the obvious lemons and use the situation to impress his boss with his brilliance and expertise. Very suddenly, however, things take an unforeseen and dangerous turn, throwing their very lives into the balance.Written for Round 5 of the Dramione Couples Remix. My chosen, real-life couple were Raymond-Roger Trencavel and his wife, Agnes de Montpellier.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/2326217/chapters/5124026
2. A Muggle-born Magic by musyc (@willhavetheirtrinkets) [50k words; Rated M; Regency-era; Complete]
Facts: Regency-era Magical AU set during the 1850s.
Notes: Exellent piece! Musyc does very well emulating period language and style.
Summary: Regency-era AU. Physician’s daughter Hermione Granger finds herself in need of a way to pay off her father’s debts after his death. Draco Malfoy, retired from the politics of the Isolationists, a group of pure-bloods bent on separating ‘true’ magic from lesser folk, finds himself in need of a tutor for his son, Scorpius, who appears to be incapable of magic and must learn to survive in a world without it. Draco also needs a wife and mother for Scorpius, to satisfy a promise to his unwell father. After she saves his son from an attack by Isolationists, Draco hires the Muggle-born Miss Granger for the former, and after a riot in Vauxhall Gardens and a scandalous discovery made by his mother, weds that selfsame Muggle-born for the latter. While making the best of her marriage of (in)convenience, Hermione discovers that Scorpius’ history of wild imaginings and dreams is more than just imagination. As she attempts to teach him about magical abilities no one expected he would ever have, she and Draco work together to raise Scorpius and learn to trust each other.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/21214
3. The Making of Draco Malfoy - Love, War, & Marzipan by bionically ( @bionicallywriting) [14k words; Rated G; Georgian era; Complete]
Facts: Historial Magical AU set during the Napoleonic wars.
Notes: Funny and fluffy with the right amount of (accurate) historical facts.
Summary: Meet the Honourable Mr. Draco Malfoy, rich, entitled, and bored, and the adventures that just might turn him into a reluctant hero. Regency England AU featuring the Napoleonic Wars.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17949074
4. The Captive’s Dream by elysium66 [17k words; Rated M; Complete]
Facts: WWW induced Magic Dream/19th century romance.
Notes: Not too many historical details but it works really well with its reimagined genre. Bonus: smut.
Summary: When Hermione agrees to try the Weasley Twin’s newly renovated Patented Daydream Charms, she doesn’t expect her irksome co-worker to join her on the adventure. Nor does she expect the impact of their sojourn to Regency Era England to bleed into reality.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6397218/1/The-Captive-s-Dream
Side note: I’ve curated an AO3 collection for Hermione-centric historical fics I enjoyed that includes other ships - in case you’re able to read Hermione with someone else than Draco ;) https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Through_All_Time
If you think I missed something or would like to recommend a fic, send me an ask!