Thematic Rec Masterlist

1.01 | 2.06

David Tennant as the demon Crowley

Crowley being a dramatic bastard (season 2 edition)

fight club (kinda), but it’s hogwarts

severus snape saw himself as a realist, honestly. the other hogwarts staff members saw him as way too pessimistic, but, frankly, he believed they were just too optimistic.

severus was shocked at how intently the rest of the professors truly believed that the declining animosity amongst the student body was a secret, unanimous agreement of inter-house unity.

severus, of course, knew otherwise. being, shockingly, the youngest member of staff had its perks, you see.

the room of requirement wasn’t the well-kept secret that the other staff members believed- knowing of its existence but not it’s location. the room was used widely by students in severus’ time in hogwarts, primarily as a duelling room- where students settled their quarrels with an audience, away from the watchful eyes of their professors or even just practiced duelling for fun.

having, naturally, been challenged to countless duels during his time in hogwarts, severus recognised the decline in aggression between the houses for what it really was- this well-kept secret has been passed down from parents to students again once more.

severus knew that these duels should be running along proper duelling etiquette, but he also knew that any curse bar the killing curse was free game. if someone could heal it, or cast the counter-curse, you could use it. if not, you couldn’t. simple as that. most students have the common decency not to use the remaining unforgivable curses- but the key word was most.

severus could tell the rest of the staff, but where was the fun in that? all students present at a duel, not just the duellers, likely will have taken a vow of silence so it couldn’t be revealed to staff. multiple students with a solid grasp of healing would be present at each duel. different nights held different year groups. it was surprisingly well-organised.

most importantly, though, it severely lessened the amount of detentions severus had to give out.

maybe it truly was a good thing, severus mused, as he rounded a corner in the dungeons on his way to his next class. double potions with the slytherin and gryffindor fifth years.

there had miraculously been a slight improvement in inter-house relations between the two usually feuding houses. it seemed that this duelling had sparked a grudging respect and severus had noticed a steady decline in the amount of his students in the hospital wing for gryffindor-related incidents.

severus had also noticed an obvious distance between potter (potter-black, he amended in his head) and granger and weasley since that demented sorting hat had demanded his resorting at the beginning of the year. the combination of potter-black’s change of legal name, his sorting into slytherin, his certain involvement in illicit duelling (which granger was very against- her loud protests outside his classroom was half the reason severus worked it out) and his close friendship with nott and zabini (and shocking civility with malfoy) had certainly spelled the end of the golden trio.

severus heard the chattering outside his classroom abruptly stop, and he swiftly disillusioned himself despite not being in sight yet.

“heir theodore nott. i, hermione jean granger, challenge you to a wizard’s duel at 8pm tonight on the grounds of the horrific injustice you and your housemates are doing by corrupting one hadrian potter-black to your dark magic ways. i nominate ronald weasley as my second.”

oh merlin, severus thought. out of all the students granger could pick a duel with, she goes for the death eater’s son who reads dark arts books like they’re bedtime stories.

“and what’s in it for the winner?” came nott’s voice.

“if i win, you stay away from harry. if you win, i- i’ll leave harry alone,” granger said.

“granger,” severus recognised potter-black’s sharp tone, “renounce it. you can’t duel.”

“what, harry? you think a mudblood like me can’t handle myself against one of your new death eater friends?”

“get your head out of your arse, granger,” zabini chimed in, “that’s not what hadrian’s saying and you know it. you hate the duels because the dark arts aren’t off limits, yet you want to duel someone who can wield dark spells when you have no duelling experience? you’ll get hurt, hadrian’s trying to stop that from happening.”

“sounds like a threat, zabini. you won’t scare me. nott, do you agree?”

there was a pause, and severus was sure he could hear a harshly whispered warning to nott from potter-black. similarly, he could hear weasley pleading with granger not to go through with this. severus imagined the latter was down to his fear of potentially having to duel nott himself.

“i, heir theodore tyr nott, formally accept hermione jean granger’s challenge to a wizarding duel tonight at 8pm on the grounds that she needs to mind her own sodding business. i nominate hadrian potter-black as my second.”

severus felt a rare twang of pity for granger, as he recognised the barely suppressed glee in nott’s voice- clearly, he had been itching for something like this for a while. whatever happened tonight would not be pretty, and, as he cancelled his disillusionment spell and set off towards his classroom, severus decided he would brew some quick speciality healing potions to send up to poppy in the hospital wing as a little gift.

for the first time in all his years of teaching, severus almost wished someone would create a disaster in this classroom. that way he could throw out as many detentions as remotely possible, and hopefully prevent this disastrous duel.

he was almost tempted to ruin granger and nott’s potions himself as an excuse to punish them, despite the fact granger was competent in potions and nott was top of the class, but he soon scrapped that idea upon remembering exactly what kind of father nott senior was. young theodore, as terrifying and powerful as he may be, would not survive a summer with his father if he failed even one potions class.

severus sighed to himself as he stalked around the classroom towards its end, pretending not to hear the furious whispers or see the rapid hand gestures that potter-black was directing to nott beside him or nott’s hands held up in innocence as he swore he wouldn’t try to kill granger. severus also really ignored the quick kiss nott pressed to potter-black’s cheek when he was focusing on the gryffindor side of the classroom, and he also ignored the way potter-black stopped his protests and settled for merely glaring at the boy beside him.

he did, however, deduct fifteen points from gryffindor after weasley’s hands shook hard enough for him to mess up his potion to the point of the cauldron melting through the table.

severus sighed to himself, as the last of the class left the room. he wouldn’t say he had ever been particularly impressed with potter-black in potions, but he did have to admit- he had never seen a functional draught of peace brewed with quite so much aggression.

he shook his head as he readied himself for his next class, telling himself that whatever happened in that duel tonight was not his business to stop. he was, however, quite eager to see just how it would turn out.

oh, to be a fly on the wall of the room of requirement.

hello! would you have any protective draco recs?

Hi there! Sure, hope you enjoy these:

Sharing a Pack by sugar_screw (2016, E, 2.8k)

A fight. A fuck. A smoke. A small love story.

My Hands Are Of Your Colour by @ohdrarry (2020, E, 8k)

Sometimes spilled blood lingers on guilty hands. Draco sees red and Harry washes it clean.

The Eighth Tale by @letteredlettered (2012, E, 12k)

Draco Malfoy tries to fix the past, but instead mucks it up some more. For Harry, it all becomes quite clear.

Under Pressure by VivacissimoVoce (2014, M, 21k)

Harry Potter has quit magic and left the wizarding world. Draco, a top-notch Tracker, has been hired to find him and save his life.

The Snitch-Maker by Omi_Ohmy (2014, T, 21k)

Draco is content with his Snitches, with the tap tap tap of his hammer, and the tiny gears and sharp scent of metal in his workshop - until one day Harry Potter appears, asking for help to solve a rash of Snitch-tampering in the Quidditch world.

Nice Things by aideomai (2020, M, 22k)

The first thing that happened was Theodore Nott came back from France.

At the Crossroads There We’ll Meet by @firethesound (2014, E, 24k)

Potter keeps dying; Draco keeps saving him.

On Our Way by dynamic (2016, E, 30k)

Draco is trying to spend the summer keeping his head down, but a repair project and a certain snowy owl have other plans for him.

The Wand Slipped by @unmistakablyoatmeal (2019, E, 35k)

After a messy, public divorce and a disgraceful exit from the Auror Department, Harry is trying to rebuild his life as a private investigator. But when his ex-wife ends up in St. Mungo's, and Harry's tasked with finding her attacker, he'll have to confront the mistakes of his past, and rely on an old enemy, in order to get closure and move on, and incidentally, solve the case.

(Un)wanted by aibidil (2020, E, 36k)

Ginny's pregnant, then she's not and Harry's single. Harry, again with no family, doesn't know what to do with this turn of events, or how to find a new life—post-war, post-Ginny, post-abortion—in which he belongs. He doesn't expect that life to include dancing to the Backstreet Boys with Hermione and Draco Malfoy. A story of finding belonging in the unexpected.

Breathe In (and Feel No Hurt) by Constance1 (2019, E, 39k)

A tale of love, loss, and of finding hope again. Or the story of how Draco turned into a house-cat in order to secretly bother a depressed Harry Potter until he was no longer feeling sorry for himself.

The Four Doors by @fluxweeed (2020, E, 48k)

It’s been four months since Harry lost his memory. Four months of dead ends and no answers. With time running out until his memories are gone for good, Harry agrees to a course of Legilimency therapy with a renowned specialist: Mind Healer Draco Malfoy.

Chocolate and Pastry by agentmoppet, anemonen (2018, E, 50k)

When Pansy bets Draco that there is no chance he and Harry could carry out a genuine romantic relationship, he and Harry form a plan. But as their fake relationship progresses, Draco sees a side of Harry he never expected. Harry is struggling with something, pushing it far down inside him where he doesn't have to acknowledge its existence. Draco starts to worry, and then he starts to care, and then... horribly... he starts to fall in love.

Of Fates Entwined: A Story of Love Lost and Found by taradiane (2014, E, 51k)

Harry Potter vanished without a trace from his home on a warm summer morning in June 2004. This is the story of how a random visit in a cafe on the other side of the world, six years later, proved that the ties which entwine our fates together can never be broken.

Meet Me at Midnight by @the-starryknight (T, 57k)

Harry was beginning to wonder if he’d ever make anything again when Malfoy stormed through the door of Harry’s furniture shop. Now Harry’s got an impossible Ministry commission to finish, and even less energy than ever to deal with his elusive muse. That is, until he stumbles upon the surreal and beautiful world of a mysterious fae creature…

A Room Up There (And You In It) by @the-starryknight (2020, T, 59k)

When Preservationist Draco Malfoy was assigned to work on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he was excited to delve into the gorgeous Black family antiques. His excitement quickly ended when something in the House decided it did not like his presence one bit. Featuring a grumpy antiques lover who most certainly did not sign up for this, encounters with a vengeful apparition, and a healthy application of Christmas spirit.

I Am Not Who I Became by mab_di (2019, E, 93k)

Draco left England after the trials and has travelled the world meeting wizards and Muggles from different cultures and with vastly different relationships to magic, each other, and the natural world. Now he's a fisherman in Finland on commercial vessels. Harry has been struggling since the war and has become a recluse while trying to write his autobiography. An invitation to the Hogwarts class of 1998's 15th reunion isn't welcomed by either of them, but neither could predict how the night, and their reunion, will upend their lives.

Who we are in the shadows by @quicksilvermaid (2019, E, 100k)

What happens when you’re forced to become the very thing you despise? Ex-Auror Harry Potter, tossed out of the Ministry for something he had no control over, has been looking for a way back to his former life. When he comes across Draco Malfoy in the criminal underbelly of Wizarding London and in need of protection, Harry figures bringing him in to face the Ministry's justice is his ticket back to everything he's lost.

A Thousand Beautiful Things by geoviki (2004, M, 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.

Any Instrument by @dictacontrion (2015, E, 131k)

Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.

By the Grace by lettered (T, 140k)

Harry is an Auror instructor. Malfoy wants to be an Auror.

Away Childish Things by lettered (2018, T, 153k)

Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.

middle aged moms gossiping we love to see it

I hate when I say things like "oh I want an ipod classic but with bluetooth so I can use wireless headphones" and some peanut comes in and replies with "so a smartphone with spotify?" No. I want a 160GB+ rectangular monstrosity where I can download every version of every song I want to it and it does nothing except play music and I don't need a data connection and don't have to pay a subscription to not have ads and don't have popups suggesting terrible AI playlists all over the menus.

Gimme the clicky wheel and song titles like "My Chemical Romance- The Black Parade- Blood (Bonus Track)- secret track- album rip- high quality"

crowley used the metal tool in season 1 to start time, and we learn that he's used it first to start space. to create the stars -- he still remembers how. he still remembers all of heaven's passwords: in the book crowley is described as an optimist because he has the "utter surety... that the universe would look after him". not god, but the universe. and of course he does: he helped create it and he's looking after it, too.

think about it: aziraphale had a sword, but crowley is about to face satan who wants to destroy the world, and crowley's only weapon is a tool of creation

neil gaiman: good omens is a love story!

the fandom: omg a love story 🥰

neil gaiman: *writes a plot line about miscommunication and how that leads to the main pair temporarily "breaking up", which is very much linked to the romance genre*

the fandom:

Plot Bunnies, Plot Chickens, Etc.

As a lot of people aren’t familiar with plot creatures, I thought I’d shed some light on the members of the mental menagerie…

The Plot Bunny - Story ideas that come bounding in and start multiplying.

The Plot Chicken - They squawk, flap around, and shit everywhere, but when you actually need to do something with them, they scatter.

The Plot Sloth - Takes its sweet goddamned time turning into something useful.

The Plot Mule - When you mash two plots together and get something cool, but you can’t get a sequel out of it to save your life.

The Plot Cat - Lazy little bastards who take up your headspace, scare away all the other plot bunnies, but won’t actually do anything except lay there.

The Plottweiler - Barks loudly and viciously so you can’t ignore it, distracts you from everything else you want to write, but leaves you too paralyzed with fear to actually put words down.

The Plot Squirrel - Cute, distracting, full of nuts, and just TRY to keep up with that train of thought.

The Plot Bedbug - Shows up during the night, chews on you so you can’t sleep, and disappears in the daylight.

The Plot Tick - Burrows in, bleeds you dry, and leaves you with the creepy-crawlies. Mostly preys on horror writers.

The Plotroach - Totally unappealing, but so tenacious they’ll survive anything until you finally give up and write them.

What Plot Creatures have you encountered?