Every hero, self-styled or otherwise, must undertake a quest, and Harry Potter’s quest has already been set for him by those older and wiser than he. Where there is prophecy, there is also destiny, but there are forks in the dark path that Harry and his friends now walk. There are allies they know not, and enemies they’d know but for their smiles. There are lessons in the past that Harry would do well to learn, and guidance in the present from unexpected sources.

Written for the second wave of the Big Bang H/D challenge this is a novel length story with a kick. Long and plotty, a great take on what a post-Half Blood Prince world would be like.

Abide the Sleeper

Non-magic AU. One small town, two murders and countless suspects. Police Chief, Severus Snape, and his reluctant side-kick Draco Malfoy must discover the truth behind the crimes before anyone else loses their life. Circumstances become even more complicated when new kid in town, Harry Potter, turns out to be the biggest mystery of all.

This is a really good read, long, around 86,000 words, and filled with intrigue.

Paying the Piper

This one is long and funny and hot. I love how distressed Harry is in social situations, and seeing him and Draco running amok in the Ministry of Magic is fantastically fun.

One Night At the Ministry

This is a lovely post-war romance. Harry and Draco are mature in ways that make sense and their old rivalries can’t really apply to them anymore. I love the pacing of the story, it’s slow and mellow and hits every note right.

Fidelius

Oh. Oh this is wonderful and funny and really, really hot. And clocking in at over 13,000 words it’s lengthy enough to be very, very satisfying. I love the inclusion of post-Half Blood Prince canon. This is really lovely.

Sweet

Okay so I’m probably the last person on earth to read this but I wanted to read it once it was finished and it is now. So if any of you were like me, you should go read it now, and if you weren’t like me, go read it anyways because it’s Harry and Draco in Italy with beautiful descriptions and lots of buildup and good sex. Yum. note: story is linked about halfway down the page.

Momenti Diversi

In the summer before Harry Potter’s sixth year, he confronts a frightfully suspicious wizarding world, where friends are strangers, mirrors hide secrets, and enemies become lovers.

Hmmm, I’m, you know, I’m sort of ambivalent about this one. It’s a good story. Some of the plot ideas, and the buildup are dead creepy, but I don’t feel like the scenario is all that realistic. I guess I’ll just leave it at that. It’s definitely worth reading.

Hall of Mirrors

In the summer before Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts, something relatively inconsequential causes him to wonder if he’d been barking up the wrong tree the whole time, as far as girls went. As the year progresses – amongst activities geared towards house unity, nefarious Slytherin plots, and dealing with the loss of loved ones – Harry begins to wonder if perhaps giving people a chance isn’t so scary, after all. What does all that have to do with Draco Malfoy? Why, everything, of course.

This is a good story. I have a few issues with it, but over all, the writing is solid, it covers the entirety of their 6th year, and I really like the author’s ideas for implementing the sorting hat’s plea for inter-house unity.

Beyond Wild Moor and Fen

The seeker who draws the Wheel of Fortune card is at the beginning of a cycle. He is able to change at a moment’s notice, but the wheel will turn with or without him. An opportunity may present itself; the seeker must take action or the opportunity will be lost. This is a turning point in his life.

This was written for the Big Bang, Baby challenge so it’s long and plotty and all about the H/D. CJ Marlowe is a really talented writer, and this story is no exception, I fully recommend reading her popslash and lotrips too.

Wheel of Fortune

Harry’s characterization is vastly different in this story than your average fandom incarnation. But I’m having trouble deciding whether that’s a good or a bad thing. Part of what I love about rps is the fact that characters can vary wildly from story to story but if the writing is good, all incarnations are equally believable and real. That’s not really the case with fiction-based fandoms and I’m not sure these writers have sold me. This is a really cool story though, the side characters are all really well fleshed out.

Queen of Hearts

In which Harry and Draco continually run into each other.

What are the odds, really? Zarah has always been one of my favorite fandom writers (she does amazing lotrips too) this story is another great example of why I love her, interesting characterization, and a unique ability to make every story’s progression natural.

Ode To Life

This story is in 3 parts. Every so often you’re lucky enough to stumble across a truly unique story in a fandom full of cliché plots. This is defintely one of them. It’s a Post-Hogwarts, post-war story that is just this side of dark and disturbing. It’s also very, very cool.

to go wherever dreaming goes

What a man wants makes him vulnerable. It is the mismeasured ingredient in his potion, the spy in his House, the rat-nibbled hole in his invisibility cloak. It is the way in. Or so Lucius had always taught Draco, and Draco had never failed to make good use of that particular truth– Especially with a particular person.

This is a really great story. It’s interesting and just feels inevitable.

Mismeasured Ingredients

Voldemort’s final victim resides with the other spell-damaged wizards in St. Mungo’s Hospital. Harry suffers survivor’s guilt and finds an unusual beta. Cream-colored knee-high leather boots make a brief appearance.

Evidently, this story is the author’s first attempt at slash. The plot is pretty cool, the premise original, but the writing is somewhat faulty. It’s heavy on the exposition in the beginning, but if you read past the fist scene I think she makes up for it by the end.

The Waters of March

I resisted this one at first – it’s set in the US and there seemed to be an awful lot of bad clichés, but it ends up all coming together pretty well. It’s got the added bonus of being extremely long with some pretty hot sex.

Left My Heart

Written for the merry_smutmas challenge this is a long, plotty story that really takes the time to develop Snape in a way that I love and shows the evolution of his relationship with Harry. Also, this is a future-fic set after the end of the war.

The Fourth Year

This is lovely and complex and perfectly paced. It goes AU somewhere in the 5th book and it feels natural and not at all squicky the entire time. I like this Severus and this Harry a lot, they’re mature and hesitant and interesting.

Split Tongue Spirit

This is sort of a qualified rec. I enjoyed the story – to a point – but there were definitely some aspects that annoyed me in terms of characterization. 6 years after the war ends Harry takes a teaching postion at Hogwarts and decides to spend his off hours seducing Severus Snape. (Pre-Half Blood Prince.)

Filtered Past Boredom

Another lengthy, plotty post-war fic. I like the buildup to Harry and Severus’ relationship, and the side cast, especially Hermione, is particularly good.

The Mark of Cain

This is a lot darker of a story, there’s sex magic, and plans to end the war, and it all comes together in this intense, fascinating package.

Elemental Magic