The Hands of a Healer

The Hands of a Healer by Lazy Neutrino

Summary: She has no children, and thousands of children. Drabble, 926 Words.

Why You Should Care: Because the teacher and student relationship between Pomona Sprout and Severus Snape is rich in layers, and Sprout’s sadness at the path Snape chose is palpable. The writing is top-notch, and Sprout comes alive. It’s wonderful to see Sprout interact with a student other than Neville.

Why You Might Not Care: The first phrase about Frank Longbottom is not as seamlessly tied into the others as I would have liked. The lead-in works, but I think lingers in too many words and misdirects the piece, then never gets tied off. His connection to this story seems too device-like, even though the section is beautifully written and very powerful. It feels like there’s a link missing somewhere.

Untitled

Untitled by Fernwithy

Summary: By now we’ve all got a pretty good understanding of the dynamics between the Marauders, but what about the Marauders’ mothers? Drabble, 668 Words.

Why You Should Care: Quite possibly because I’m a little bit in love with this particular characterisation of Dorea Potter, who seems to cheerfully fill the role of James Potter’s mother with style and a bag-load of zingers her son would be proud of.  It’s also delightful to see Fernwithy remember that, even though Dorea ultimately chose to be a Potter, she’s also a Black, and she shows it.  (The rest of the ladies are well characterised, too.)

Why You Might Not Care: The problem with doing this well is that now it’s too short!  I wanted more Dorea, but I suppose I’ll have to make due with what I’m given.

Ravenclaw

Ravenclaw by Fourth Rose

Summary: “It’s all there in front of you, waiting for you to discover it.” Drabble, 600 Words.

Why You Should Care: I like the idea, and the observations of Hermione and Draco are are well made, I think. We so rarely get the opportunity to explore the world through eyes that aren’t Gryffindor or Slytherin, and this Ravenclaw mind is thoughtful and nearly poetic.

Why You Might Not Care: The only problem I have with this is the same problem I have with other pieces like it, which is that I often feel we too easily stereotype Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs using the small handful of buzz words that appear in Sorting Hat songs. Having said that, the entire sorting process is rather an exercise in stereotyping, so perhaps I’m just being difficult.

And But For The Sky

And But For The Sky by WinglessFlight

Summary: And never say Sirius didn’t love them. He loved them, all of them, whatever they’d done and whoever they’d become. Drabble, 975 Words.

Guest Rec’d By: Glynnis Griffiths

Why You Should Care: Because it’s tightly written – even poetic in spots – and manages to convey a great deal of feeling in few words without going overboard into gratuitous angst. Sirius reflecting in Azkaban is hard to nail, and WinglessFlight strikes a wonderful balance between the inherent madness of the place and the thing that is keeping Sirius from completely succumbing to it.

Why You Might Not Care: Well, it strikes a great balance but it’s still angst of the first order. If you’re looking for fluff, look elsewhere.

The End To ‘Always’ Evermore

The End To ‘Always’ Evermore by Juniperus

Summary: Snape. And redemption. And Poe. Drabble, 571 Words.

Why You Should Care: It’s Poe! And unrequited angsty Snape/Lily, which you just know Poe would secretly fangirl! And just a smidgen of parody! And Poe!

Why You Might Not Care: Didn’t you hear me say there was Poe? Why are you still reading this rec and not reading Snape/Lily Poe?

Still Too Early To Dream

Still Too Early To Dream by Andromeda311

Summary: Sometimes, Molly hates Lily Potter. Drabble, 218 Words.

Why You Should Care: This is all sorts of yes, because it’s just right.  Of course — of course — Molly would feel that way.  And all this ‘of course’ fits so well in drabble form that it makes it just that much better; it’s wonderful and simple and packs a sturdy punch, just like a good drabble should.

Why You Might Not Care: I rec’d Andromeda311 yesterday, but it’s my site and I’ll double-dip authors if I wanna!

A Metaphor For Change

A Metaphor For Change by Sahara Storm

Summary: Five things Albus Dumbledore could not bring himself to say to Gellert Grindelwald. (One of them is a lie.) Drabbles, 1,000 Words.

Why You Should Care: Ah, the “Five Things” meme… what an awful lot of fic it spawned.  It is fortunate that quite an impressive percent of it turned out to be quite good.  Dumbledore is hard enough to characterise as a wise old man, and tracing him back through the years to his younger self is nigh impossible.  Sahara Storm does, I think, a reasonable job, and what’s more the drabbles she creates around her theme of things not said are well worded.

Why You Might Not Care: Obviously a Dumbledore/Grindlewald, and an R-rated one at that.  This may or may not slip over into NC-17 territory, depending on your point of view.  I would say it’s probably not worksafe.

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Untitled by Fernwithy

Summary: “Andromeda had no trouble finding Draco and his son in the waiting room.” Drabble, 725 Words.

Why You Should Care: There is something completely awesome about the Draco Malfoy Fernwithy creates in this little off-the-cuff ficlet.  Completely awesome. Draco usually leaves me feeling all *meh* inside, but this Draco I could read about at length.  There’s depth and maturity there that reach all the way through his cameo in the epilogue and down beyond into the core of the books, pulling in just enough influence from Lucius and Narcissa to makes it all add up.  Officially my favorite Draco characterization ever, and I hope all the Draco fangirls out there will remember that I avoid Draco fics like the plague before they spam me with what they think are better ones.

Why You Might Not Care: Um…. eh?  Fernwithy was rec’d here just the other day, but we could all just consider it random clumping and get over it.

The Darkness Drops Again

The Darkness Drops Again by 2 4 Joy

Summary: Knowing the Dark Lord has returned, Karkaroff awaits his punishment. 100 Word Drabble.

Why You Should Care: Because I love 100 word drabbles, and this one just oozes wonderful.  I wish I’d written it.

Why You Might Not Care: I do not dignify this question with a response.

Surprises

Surprises by Lady Bracknell

Summary: Lily likes surprises, and this thing with James Potter has been positively filled with those. Drabble, 678 Words.

Why You Should Care: Ahhh… this tops up my James/Lily metre nicely.  It’s sweet, a bit romantic, and mostly sigh-worthy fluff.  Lady Bracknell’s just damn good at finding all those impossible little nothing moments that mean so much.

Why You Might Not Care: All about James/Lily for people who ship elsewhere.

Laughter

Laughter by Emiime

Summary: There is always laughter.  Drabble, 250 Words.

Why You Should Care: I love everything about this flash fic — the character contrasts between serious baby Neville and his light and lively parents, the suggestions of real-life unromanced sex, the foreshadowing of what we know is to come for this family.  It’s a wonderful word sculpture.

Why You Might Not Care: It’s rated R but I’m not sure I’d count it as NWS, but it’s all up to you.

Variations on a Happily Ever After

Variations on a Happily Ever After by GM Weasley

Summary: All was eventually well, but it took nineteen years to get there. Drabble Collection, 7,400.

Why You Should Care: This is a wonderful series of drabbles centered around the women of the Harry Potter universe and life beyond the epilogue. Insightful, thoughtful, and occasionally even mundane, these little snatches of the painfully ordinary process of moving on after the end of the story are well worth your time. Angelina’s thoughts on her wedding are particularly well done.

Why You Might Not Care: These drabbles could have been tighter, and occasionally they suffer from awkward syntax. A couple of passes from a sharp-eyed beta would have alleviated this problem.

Patron to the Stars

Patron to the Stars by AtDelphi

Summary: The talent of Horace Slughorn. 100 Word Drabble.

Why You Should Care: It’s a neat little 100 word drabble, which always make me giddy, and it’s about a minor character largely ignored by fandom.  It really says quite a lot about Slughorn in so very few words.

Why You Might Not Care: Drabbles aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, I suppose.

Paper Love

Paper Love by Lady Altair

Summary: Gideon Prewett learns to let go. Drabble, 962 Words.

Why You Should Care: Beautiful and deceptively simplistic, Lady Altair sets us up with sweet, hopeful innocence, then sweeps it away under the harsh reality of war and what it does to people.  The use of the letter in metaphor is wonderfully used.

Why You Might Not Care: Sad ending…?  Somehow I doubt that’s reason enough to stop anyone, though if you’re in the mood for fluff you should probably save this for another time.

The Thestral Nursery Rhyme

The Thestral Nursery Rhyme by MelusinaHP

Summary: Uh. I think the title is pretty self explanatory. Poetry, 270 Words.

Guest Rec’d By: Kali (thirty2flavors)

Why You Should Care: It’s awesome: it captures the flippant tone of a nursery rhyme perfectly while remaining just as slightly unsettling as classic fairy-tales and nursery rhymes. I always think it’s neat to see this sort of thing, something that fits wholly into Rowling’s world without needing to be tied to any particular character.

Why You Might Not Care: It is mostly disconnected from any particular character, and it is rather dark humour.

Cauterize

Cauterize by Lady Altair

Summary: “In truth, Harry’s photograph is the least interesting of all.” Drabble Collection, 1, 496 Words.

Why You Should Care: This is post-DH stress syndrome written through pictures, and gives a really realistic sense of being a survivor, trying to pick up the pieces of the war. Dennis Creevey is, like every character he photographs, just trying to find a way to return to normal, and the struggles are beautifully and subtly portrayed. There’s almost no description of feeling, it’s all about the visual: show not tell to perfection. Lady Altair’s skill as a writer is clear in this well-crafted piece.

Why You Might Not Care: I don’t really know. If you can stomach post-DH writing, and most people can, if they try hard, this is well worth reading.

As Before

As Before by Atrata

Summary: “That’s the worst, I think.  When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller, but for want of an understanding ear.” Drabble, 635 Words.

Why You Should Care: Written sometime between the release of Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, this piece reflects one of so many possible outcomes of the complex relationship between Snape and Harry, had the chips of plot fallen differently.  There’s a lot of room for interpretation in these six hundred words, which makes it all the more interesting — especially when we apply what we know from Deathly Hallows about what motivated Snape.

Why You Might Not Care: In the words of the author, it could be Snape/Harry if you squint (you really have to want it, though).  Otherwise, it’s fairly clear-cut gen.

Box, Opened

Box, Opened by Halrloprillalar

Summary: Girls and politics. Drabble, 100 Words.

Why You Should Care: It’s a Harry Potter/Adrian Mole crossover. It’s a 100 word drabble. It’s by that girl that did the Snape-counsels-gay-Hogwartians drabble (recced here 07.01.08). It’s funny, and rips the piss out of canon (in a good way) and Dumbledore features.

Why You Might Not Care: No content, no meaning, no worthy messages. It’s, basically, a witty one-liner. But what’s wrong with that? Also, will make no sense if you haven’t read Adrian Mole. However, if you haven’t, do.

The Insecurity of the Wicked

The Insecurity of the Wicked by Carondelet

Summary: This argues what manner of life theirs have been: wicked and vile? Honest and just? Wasted, forlorn? With the final judgment, so their paths conclude. There are but fifteen turns to make with each of them, but can the truth be perceived from only one or but from all of their stations? Drabble Collection, 9, 637 Words.

Why You Should Care: Every time I reread these it amazes me how much thought has gone into them. These are drabbles loosely tied to religion and self-sacrifice and the words are so tightly woven that they draw you straight in to the confused humanity of these character’s minds. I would personally particularly recommend that you read carefully the Peter, Ginny, Voldemort and Andromeda chapters. Beautiful, and truly haunting, this drabbles give you a real insight at times, and a revelation at others.

Why You Might Not Care: Sometimes too many words don’t say enough here. Also, angst. Serious angst.

Awards: 2007 Hourglass Awards Best Drabble or Drabble Collections — Third Place

Cleaning

Cleaning by GM_Weasley

Summary: Kreacher is cleaning. Cleaning, and following the Blood Traitor’s spawn, walking along poor Mistress’ hall with her unnatural hair as if she owns the place, a disgrace to the noble name of Black. Drabble, 750 Words.

Why You Should Care: This fic has fluff and PG-rated sexuality and humour, and it’s all cute and light and I really do like it. But moreover, this fic is Kreacher-centric. And Kreacher is awesome. And this Kreacher is awesome, all the conflicting emotions and allegiances, and yet he’s just an elf. This author is a genius, I tells you, she’s a bloody genius. Wow. Just, just, wow.

Why You Might Not Care: Shh, I’m wowing.