Now or Never

Now or Never by QueenB23

Summary: “Scorpius Malfoy, who was a Slytherin and a pureblood.  Who, even worse, was the son of Draco Malfoy, a man that her parents barely tolerated when they saw each other in public.” Novel Length Work in Progress, 94,000 Words (and counting).

Why You Should Care: Queen B does not go the predictable route here, spending thousands upon thousands of words in the long slow build up that at long last comes to fruition as Rose and Scorpius inevitably realize their feelings for each other.  Instead, she brings us in minutes before they come together and writes us a story that is equal parts about the now or never nature of teenage love and the complexities of loving across the Romeo-and-Juliet lines of family history and hostility.  Rose and Scorpius are fantastically realized, both as lovable and fallible as real people, and Queen B has given equal consideration to her supporting cast of youngsters and adults alike; parents Hermione and Ron are particularly wonderfully crafted, and their interaction with their daughter on the issue of the Malfoys is true to their character, personalities, and history.  A hopelessly romantic and carefully realistic portrayal of what Scorpius/Rose might really be like, and a unashamed exploration of the charming angst and desperation of teenage love.

Why You Might Not Care: I have hesitated so long in reccing this because it’s a work in progress, and I generally don’t rec unfinished works.  That is more a guideline than a hard and fast rule, however, and I feel this fic is well worth following.  At times, this fic seems to get lost in the sometimes too-passionate day-to-day comings and goings of Rose and Scorpius, but isn’t that exactly what teenage love is all about, really?  Love at sixteen and seventeen has always been that sort of I didn’t see you yesterday and it was just terrible, how did I ever endure it kind of thing, and so the silliness that frequently irks me also delights me because of its honesty.  Heads up for scenes with NC-17 content peppered throughout, starting somewhere around the ninthish chapter.

Thanks to:  So many people who rec’d this to me several times over, including most of the UR.org Roomies, especially Erin and Liz.

Stacked Against

Stacked Against by Lady Bracknell

Summary: At Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Ron seeks advice from the two people he knows who have faced the obstacles he thinks are in front of him, and finds that Gryffindors are nothing if not lucky in love. Oneshot, 3,889.

Why You Should Care: Lady Bracknell takes her well-used pen — so deft at spinning Remus/Tonks — and creates a Ron/Hermione fic that is just as wonderful.  Charmingly canon characterisations paired with canny heart-to-heart discussion, plus just enough of the Remus/Tonks interaction we expect from Lady Bracknell to be the icing on the cake.  Should prove sigh-worthy for Ron/Hermione shippers and Remus/Tonks shippers alike.

Why You Might Not Care: Written the spring before Deathly Hallows was released, and takes place at Bill and Fleur’s wedding, which in this incarnation is not crashed by Death Eaters.  Not that that’s anything close to a good enough reason.

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.

The F Words

The F Words by Antoshevu

Summary: “Remus and Tonks’s was the worst.  Not that the others hadn’t been dreadful—Colin’s, which was just unreal, Dennis pale and unblinking by the grave with their Muggle parents; Mrs. Weasley wailing at Fred’s, gathering her remaining children to her expansive bosom so that all that Harry could see was a forest of red hair and blotchy faces. And one bright, brown eye, locked on his.” 20,900 Words.

Why You Should Care: There are a lot of stories about what happens after the battle in Deathly Hallows, from lots of different perspectives and angles.  This is another, one that follows Harry through the days after, then the weeks after, then even the months after.  It’s actually a series of six fics, though for me they are more chapters of the same than they are stand-alone stories.  Well written, with much thought given to the loose ends left to tie.

Why You Might Not Care: The Dursley’s chapter is a bit far reaching, I think, but overall it’s quite well characterised.  I think people who try to write Harry are at a supreme disadvantage, because he’s the character we know the best from the series.  Out of JKR’s hands, he never seems quite right to me; this does come as close as anything, though.  There’s lots of Harry/Ginny, some Ron/Hermione, and some Luna/Dean for those with ship preferences.

Getting The Point

Getting The Point by Arabella

Summary: Hermione and Ron at the Yule Ball. Romance, 16,406 Words.

Why You Should Care: Arabella is one of the few authors who I trust with Trio-era fics. She’s got JKR’s knack for storytelling: her fic is action packed, but heartfelt, and the characters are human and flawed and lovely. Her Ron and Hermione are so meant to be. Ah. Le Fluff.

Why You Might Not Care: Le Fluff. Cough.

Along The Way

Along The Way by Elizabeth Culmer

Summary: Idealism is hard to balance against the rest of life. Oneshot, 6,000 Words.

Why You Should Care: Many times, it is difficult to write the Trio as adults; in this piece, I felt Hermione growing up, and it was beautifully done. This is a realistic story that follows her on her journey, not only to adulthood, but through it. I’m not personally the most interested person in the Trio as opposed to other characters, but this captivated me; I felt that the characters in this piece, most of all Hermione, were kept true to themselves while aging just right. The story felt honest (which is an achievement, considering the universe we’re playing in), and the end gives the most excellent feeling.

Why You Might Not Care: As the author warns, post-DH interviews are disregarded, and this may bother the greatest of canon-sticklers. Also, you may not really care about the trio, at all. Otherwise, this is wonderful, and you should definitely give it a read.

99 Problems

99 Problems by Penny-In-The-Sky

Summary: Ron’s on the couch as Dr Bill dissects his lovelife. Or something like that. Oneshot, 2,624 Words.

Why You Should Care: Because it’s a neat little piece about the advice our older siblings give us, and quite a nice introspective piece for Ron about Hermione right when things are really getting ridiculous in HBP, which is always worth a laugh.  I like the interaction between Ron and Bill in this fic — an interaction we don’t really ever get to see in canon or in fanfic, especially considering Bill is so much older than Ron is.  I also think Ron seems about the right age in this piece, and the Penny-in-the-Sky has a pretty good handle on his character; he’s becoming aware of the situation he’s put himself in, but continues to be a boy about it, which many female fic writers struggle with.

Why You Might Not Care: Ron-fic, and definitely Ron/Hermione motivated.  If your ship is a different ship, this’ll probably annoy you.

Is This The Moment?

Is This The Moment? by BelovedRanger

Summary: “Hermione looked up at him quickly, and that was his undoing — or at least what he claimed, later, made him botch it all up. The look on her face, the trust in her eyes — he had no strength in the face of all that.” Oneshot, 2,883 Words.

Why You Should Care: This seems like it might have happened. Ron and Hermione are well written, and the situation doesn’t seemed overly forced or contrived (even though it might actually be, but the best plot devices are the ones you never notice). Both characters are noticably older and more mature than they were when last we saw them as young adults in DH, but not yet as old as we saw in the epilogue, and it’s a very nice touch by an author that has a good sense of age and the transition, especially of people in their twenties. There’s a maturity in them both, but not as much as when we see them as parents. Nicely written.

Why You Might Not Care: Won’t blow you away and make you say ‘OMG WOW’, but sometimes things aren’t meant to do that to you. After all, if we were always blown away, then we’d never be blown away.

Highway Code

Highway Code by Shewhoguards

Summary: Why Hermione really wasn’t certain Ron could pass a Muggle driving test. Oneshot, 1,639 Words.

Why You Should Care: Ron learns to drive a car, and it’s a positively delightful story of a pure blooded Wizard learning to do something that’s just about as Muggleish as you can get.  Inspired by a throw-away line from the last chapter of Deathly Hallows, it’s got great characterisation of an older Ron and Hermione.  It’s also very focused and tightly written; the author resists the distracting temptation to stray from the point into other shippy things, and what we get is a funny little piece about Ron doing his best in a world he doesn’t quite understand.

Why You Might Not Care: It’s light and humourous, and doesn’t really say anything about Ron we didn’t know before.  It’s a funny little story that’s well written and well characterised about the efforts of being normal; it won’t change your world, but it’ll probably make you smile once or twice.

Summer Holidays

Summer Holidays by Penknife

Summary: After saving the world, it’s time to figure out what to do next. Oneshot, 4,971 Words.

Why You Should Care: Largely because, whenever Penknife takes the time to put pen to paper, it’s well worth the effort — most especially so when she tackles gen fic.  This is an excellent little coda for Hermione; in places just awkward enough, and filled with brief and brilliant moments from other canon characters as well.  Hermione floats through her own aftermath while at the same time bearing witness to the post-war experiences of others in her quiet Hermione way.  It’s almost a story about moving on and almost a story about getting swept by.  Either way, it’s quite good.

Why You Might Not Care: When it’s Penknife and it’s gen, there aren’t really any very good reasons not to have a read.

Rubbish

Rubbish by She’s A Star

Summary: Rita Skeeter’s first article on the Triwizard Tournament leaves Ron distressed, Hermione bewildered, and both of them particularly inclined to bicker. Oneshot, 3,073 Words.

Why You Should Care: It’s a very rare thing to find a writer who can write a decent Ron, and an even rarer thing to find one whose Trio counterparts are also decent. Ron in this fic is adorable: all his insecurities laid bare, his nuances, his mannerisms. This author really knows her character, she’s really gotten to grips with what makes him tick and it makes for a very satisfying read. Particularly impressive for having been pre-DH.

Why You Might Not Care: There’s a lot of Ron in this fic, and I know he annoys many. On top of that, it’s a little short for how much it has to say, and I would’ve liked a little more development of Harry and Hermione. But wonderfilly canon-friendly and…just wonderful, really.

Thanks to: Sara (insanguinare), for pointing this one out to me. *waves*!

Not

Not by Elektra3

Summary: If something’s just too horrible to contemplate, the mind will refuse to contemplate it. Angst. Drabble, 461 Words.

Why You Should Care: This is heart-wrenching. I don’t know why I usually feel the need to chase a light-hearted fic with pure angst, but here I go again. This is morbid, and horrible, and terrible, but it’s supposed to be and so it’s done its job well if you fall apart a little inside. I found myself falling into step with Ron, refusing to see it or believe it, reaching for some other explanation; and while this fic makes my stomach roll, I appreciate that it was done so deliberately. I hate this fic, and love it because I hate it so much.

Why You Might Not Care: This is hardcore, evocative angst, and even though it’s brief it’s almost too difficult to read. Ron/Hermione shippers will have their hearts shattered, and everyone else’s will surely crack and break in two.

After the End

After The End by Arabella and Zsenya

Summary: It’s the summer after seventh year, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the rest of the wizarding world must learn to live without fear. Over 400,000 Words.

Why You Should Care: This is one of those monumental novel-length pieces written by two well known and talented Harry Potter fan fiction writers. It was written between GoF and OotP, so by now it is — like many excellent stories written in that time period — firmly AU. The most noticeable discrepancy is that Sirius Black survives the war and emerges from it a free man cleared of all charges. I put off reading this for a long time, intimidated by the length of it, but I’m glad I finally dug into it. The characters are quite well done — Ron in particular seems accurate to me, and I find he’s one of the ones who’s difficult to find written well. The plot is considerable and well constructed, and this piece never really seems to amble or take too long. It may be difficult to believe, but almost all of the over 400,000 words are well placed. It was almost always a joy to read.

Why You Might Not Care: Ginny is edging into Mary Sue territory, which is my only real serious squabble with this fic. Harry occasionally gets a little excessively Harry (if you know what I mean) but I suppose there’s ample reason for him to be an emotional twat once in a while when you consider what he went through (and what he continues to go through at times) in this fic. Some people might take issue with Draco Malfoy’s character here, but I found him quite spot on — he’s more cuttingly canon than fanon. His dialogue, in places, is particularly well done. This is not a Draco Redeems himself sort of story; he stays decidedly ass-holeish through to the end, though there are brief moments of real pity for a boy who lost everything and only knows how to keep fighting. He’s real, but unrepentant, and perhaps not entirely the coward he’s been made to be in canon.

Awards: 2007 Hourglass Award, Novel-Length – Third Place.

Unusual

Unusual by DeeDee

Summary: How Ron comes to buy perfume for Hermione. 6,862 Words.

Why You Should Care: I’m the first to admit that I don’t usually read fiction centred around any members of the Trio, and yet the summary of this intrigued me because I had wondered, while reading OotP, why and how Ron came to give Hermione perfume for Christmas. What I found when I started to read was a delightful story about two young people very slowly discovering how much they like each other. Both Ron and Hermione are kept true to canon — I find Ron especially difficult to find properly written, so to find a fiction where he rang true was a surprising bonus. Ron is exactly fifteen and entirely a boy in this story. He doesn’t know what’s going on or why its going on, as most fifteen year old boys in love generally don’t. Very good.

Why You Might Not Care: This is a Ron/Hermione people. All Harry/Hermione shippers should immediately turn around and go elsewhere least you tear pieces of your hair out. It’s… almost fluffy. Except it’s not. Not really.