#mentor!snape

[snapeysister]

Severus and Harry in Cokeworth. Watercolours.

[snapefics]

Looking for fic recs for mentor! Snape and Harry, where snape doesn’t have a romantic relationship? Preferably something with Harry already a teenager like GOF or OOTP? Thanks very much !

Nonny, let’s see if we can find some fics for you! It’s recommendation request time. Dust off those bookmarks, shuffle through all the open tabs, and share some recs:

Mentor Snape

Snape and Harry

Gen (Snape doesn’t have a romantic relationship)

Preferably Harry already a teenager circa Goblet of Fire (book 4) or Order of the Phoenix (book 5)

[akawestruck]

Hi, I recently read your oneshot, "If not a Potter", and I loved it!! I love Mentor!Snape and Mentor!Snape with Disguised!Harry? This is so cool!!! I was wondering if you could recommend some stories of a similar form? I have searched AO3 but can't seem to find any. I know there was one in Potions and Snitches that I read long back (I think Harry wrote letterstletters Snape asking Potions questions in green ink?) Anyway, if you could recommend some stories, I'd be forever grateful! Thanks a lot!

Oooo, that's really tough. I've seen similar elements in various fics, but few that have both...

The only one I can confidently recall is:

The Pureblood Pretense (and series) by murkybluematter on ff net

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/7613196/1/The-Pureblood-Pretense

"Harriett Potter dreams of going to Hogwarts, but in an AU where the school only accepts purebloods, the only way to reach her goal is to switch places with her pureblood cousin—the only problem? Her cousin is a boy. Alanna the Lioness take on HP."

This is an extremely high quality fic with magnificent worldbuilding, and spans across multiple books. Features fem!harry disguising herself for years and mentor!Snape (although it may take a few hundred words to get there - I don't recall). It has more than a sprinkle of magicraft and potions science. Series is ongoing with infrequent but very long updates.

For Mentor!Snape that has a similar flavour to If Not a Potter:

The Hogwarts Potion Professor (and sequel) by seekeronthepath

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15475770

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

An exploration of what a strict, unapproachable, safety-conscious potions teacher MIGHT have been like.

Featuring homework feedback, discussions between teachers, and a growing awareness that Potter is not quite what Severus was expecting...

There is no disguise, but it's not necessary. Severus is a real functional human being and a good, if overworked, teacher. Using that different premise, it accomplishes much the same thing as If Not a Potter. Only up to second year so far, but ongoing with semi-frequent, short updates.

World in Pieces by Lomonaaren

https://archiveofourown.org/works/790488

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

"Harry is summoned to an alternate universe still suffering under Voldemort less than an hour after his own defeat of the bastard. Worse, he's not the first Harry Potter they've called on this way. Worst yet (at the moment), there is no way back home. But give Harry time, and he's likely to find something that's even worse."

Harry isn't disguised but he is from another universe and Snape knows it, so they have a different dynamic. I'd say Snape is less a mentor and more an accomplice. Harry is more mature and quite cynical. Complete.

This fic is one of my favorites, and Lomonaaren makes consistently good content (>500 HP fics!) both within and far outside of canon, generally focused on the Slytherin characters and Harry.

Stargazer by Lomonaaren

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16903200

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

There is no Boy-Who-Lived; Albus Dumbledore defeated Voldemort and destroyed his Horcruxes. Harry grows up as an ordinary boy—a very ordinary boy, with barely more magic than a Squib. He sets out to prove himself, but in private, because he doesn’t want to see the disappointment in everyone’s eyes if he fails. And that leads him to a very strange relationship, mediated by stubbornness on both sides, with Severus Snape.

Another by Lomonaaren, because they are just that good. Despite being over 34000 words the pacing feels like a one shot to me. Although we only see him when Harry returns to Hogwarts, the way that Severus was able to grow up after Voldemort's defeat with Lily alive, instead of being crystalized in misery, feels very believable. It allows a similar rapport between him and Harry that you might get with strangers. From my recollection the shipping is a very minor element at the end and largely ignorable, if that's not your thing. Complete.

Notable Mention:

Fantastic Elves and Where to Find Them (and sequel) by evensentranced

https://archiveofourown.org/works/438516

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

"Harry is an elf. No, he's not a bloody house elf. He lived in a place where they had got him confused with a house elf for nearly six years. They had him doing all the chores and he slept in a cupboard. Not a particularly cheerful cupboard, either. But he's not a house elf. He's a regular elf, thank you. Come on, people. It's like you're not wizards or something. PreHogwarts, NOT a creature fic. Character study."

A high quality fic. Harry isn't disguised, but he is odd enough that it nearly counts. Moreso in the sequel, Snape is somewhat a mentor (and certainly the most relevent adult in the story) though it isn't the focus. Some fun worldbuilding with non-wizard magic. Abandoned, as far as I can tell.

[blue-the-blue-raspblue]

Hey!

I have been so not active on Tumblr lol. Since the purge, I kinda lost a lot of respect, but fuck it, here i am. I have an Ao3 account and j have been posting new chapters to my stories! I have stories of couples a lot of people see as nothing less than disgusting, and I am very insecure about my writing but I'm trying to get out there more, so give them a read and a look if youre interested! My account is under blue_the_blue_raspblue1 and I would love for you to check it out and give me a follow!

Edit: thank you @snep69 for helping me notice my name wasn't bringing anything up! You're a a miracle worker!

[sssectumsempra]

I'm in That Mood again,, the mood for good long snape fanfics,,, if you have any recs please, throw me all the feels fics :'>

[sleepydrarry]

Do you have any recs where Snape plays a parental role as well? I know he's not popular but thought I'd ask.

Wellllll, let’s just say you’ve come to the right person then because I happen to have a serious thing for mentor!Snape (i.e. when he takes care of Harry and/or Draco instead of doing what he did in canon). So yes I do have recs!

Drarry + mentor!Snape recs

• Cunning and Ambition by MinaAndChao (371k)Harry Potter has found out he’s a wizard and is on his way Hogwarts. He is found by a boy on the train. Who knew one simple sentence and one simple gesture could change history? A Slytherin!Harry AU.(I love Harry and Snape’s relationship ship in this, it’s beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking. It’s made me cry rivers. This is my favorite mentor!Snape.)

• Secrets by Vorabiza (411k)Beginning with Draco’s unexpected arrival at the Dursleys, Harry’s summer after sixth year becomes filled with activity and many secrets. As his summer progresses, Harry generates several unexpected allies as he finds himself actively becoming the leader of the Light side. (I’m a big fan of the way this author writes the characters, most especially Snape and Harry. They’re great in this, how they develop this deep trust.)

• Chaos Theory, by Tessa Crowley (102k)Chaos: when the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future. One gene varies, one neuron fires, one butterfly flaps its wings, and Draco Malfoy’s life is completely different. Draco has always found a certain comfort in chaos. Perhaps he shouldn’t. (The memory of this fic kills me on a regular basis. I lovelovelove the parental role Snape takes for Draco in it and later also Harry. Beautifully done.)

• Malfoy Flavor by Vorabiza (222k)Harry’s ready to banish the Golden Boy image and take charge of his life. Unfortunately for him, or fortunately, there are surprises in store for him. (Fic aesthetic by me featuring Snape from this fic. He’s actually Harry’s father in this. I know, I know, but don’t knock it ‘til you try it. Personally, I love this.)

• Incurable by Warholhp (125k)Harry Potter was not sent to Hogwarts at age 11 as his parents intended. Instead, when an altercation with his uncle turns violent, he is sent to St. Brutus’s Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. Four years later, he takes the opportunity to attend Hogwarts, where he learns to live a life he never thought possible for himself. (This fic is soul-crushingly sad but also amazing. Harry is so precious and inspires such protectiveness from Snape, who starts to care for him.)

• Draco’s Boy by empathic siren (186k)A mysterious little boy named Harry moves in next door to Draco Malfoy, and he’s determined to make him his friend and learn all of his secrets. Years later, he’s determined to make Harry more than a friend. (Agh, I love how Snape takes Harry under his wing in this and teaches him about their common interest, plants. Such a sad fic, such a beauty.)

• A Thousand Beautiful Things, by geoviki (104k)Draco Malfoy struggles with changed fortunes, shifted alliances, an ugly war, and an unusual spell, with the help of a concerned professor, an insightful house-elf, and an unexpected Gryffindor friend.(Snape is the only one Draco has to turn to in his time of need. He trains Draco to survive as a spy and they grow very close, it is lovely to read.)

• Right Hand Red by lumosed_quill (73k)‘Harry felt Malfoy’s breath on his lips as they came together over the bottle, hands firmly planted on the floor as though they each needed their familiar soil, refusing to cross into enemy territory. Except that Malfoy no longer felt like his enemy. Malfoy felt inevitable.’(Snape discreetly providing Harry with guidance and advice is my fave. I love how he’s there for him in this fic, grooming him to become his successor.)

Bonus:

• Azoth by zeitgeistic (88k)Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for 8th year, he realises that something’s missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one’s life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he’s too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care.(He’s not really parental in this, more of a colleague, but he’s great. I feel like this Snape truly acts his age, he has the recklessness/ambition of youth.)

[aeternumregina]

Hiii! Do you have any Slytherin!Hermione or Slytherin!Harry fics that you would recommend? Specially ones with Mentor!Snape in them too if possible :D

The only Slytherin!Hermione that I’ve read is The Girl In Green. It was interesting, but I found the pureblood culture to be gratingly sexist. I can’t remember what Snape’s role was like in this, sorry.

As for Slytherin!Harry, well, if you want one with mentor!Snape, I’ve heard about this series called Leo Inter Serpentes… Otherwise, I’d recommend The Library of Elvish Lore and Magical Relations, both series by evansentranced on AO3. The first one is more reluctantly-trying-to-get-Harry-to-behave!Snape than mentor!Snape, but he has more of a conventional mentor role in MR. Oh, and the Stealing Harryverse series by copperbadge. That one ends sometime in Harry’s third year, I think, but it sort of makes up for it by starting when Harr’s quite young. Same thing with Elvish Lore. MR is a WIP, currently somewhere in Harry’s sixth year.

[drarryshipperb]

Secrets Vorabiza (Biza) Summary: Beginning with Draco's unexpected arrival at the Dursleys, Harry's summer after sixth year becomes filled with activity and many secrets. As his summer progresses, Harry generates several unexpected allies as he finds himself actively becoming the leader of the Light side. H/D post-HBP