The Best of: Harry Potter Fanfiction

*sheepish wave*

Hi everybody! I’m back from the realm of writer’s block, traveling, and moving madness.

Sorry it’s been so long since the last post, but life has been insane recently (when isn’t it though??!).

Anyhoo…. I’ve been wanting to write about this subject for a long time, but wasn’t sure how well it would be received amongst all of you. Eventually, as you can tell, I just bit the bullet and decided I’d go ahead and do it anyway!

Fanfiction is one of those beautiful realms that I have been an avid follower of since I first discovered the magical world of Google searches, and I’ve been hooked ever since. And by “hooked” I mean, guilty pleasure worthy,  make a note to check Fanfiction.net after a good movie or book to see if there’s been any good stories written on it, and almost obsessively checking for new stories otherwise type of hooked. Eh… there are worse addictions, right??

All that to say, (and this should come as no surprise to anyone) my FAVORITE category of Fanfiction is Harry Potter stories.

Why yes, students – that is EXACTLY what my inner nerd looks like whenever anyone brings up my favorite series ever. Thanks for expressing that for the lovely readers! (^_^)

HP Fanfiction is great for all those who like to explore the “what could have been.” With such an expansive, beloved realm full of an endless array of relatable characters, it’s easy to imagine things going a little bit differently for our favorite witch or wizard. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever discussed the books (or movies) with anyone where they haven’t questioned why the plot went one way or another. Not that JK Rowling didn’t do an amazing job, but it’s always fun to look at how other creative minds work things out.

That being said, venturing into the wide world of HP FF is… daunting to say the least! By far and away the most popular category on FF.net, there are over 700k stories to date just on this platform, with more being added every day!

*Whew* That’s…. a lot of reading!

Never fear! A Little Bit Bookish is here with my carefully curated, highly selective, best EVER list of HP stories on FF.net. (Yes, I know there are other sites out there and I have explored most all of them, but FF.net is the most stable of the websites and is free to read, so we’re only listing those stories in this list)

Just a few notes before we begin:

• This is by no means my complete list of HP FF. Please let me know if you’d be interested in seeing that as I have a lot more to recommend, these are just the main highlights to get you started.
• I have them sorted by the main pairing or characters in the story for easy reference. THIS DOES NOT ALWAYS REFLECT ROMANTIC PAIRING. I may gravitate to those stories, but I do appreciate all genres of HP FF.
• I ONLY chose complete stories for this list. There are many more great ones that have been started, but it’s always heartbreaking to get behind a story to have the author abandon it halfway through.
• I do not own any of the HP characters or wizarding world. All credit/rights go to the amazingly talented JK Rowling, and writers of these pieces.

Without further ado….

The BEST of: Harry Potter Fanfiction

• Hermione Granger
  • Oh Hermione, how I adore thee. Quite possibly my favorite character in the whole series, if not one of my top three. She’s the brilliant, studies-oriented, book-loving child my parents wanted me to be.(with a dash of rule-breaking rebel child sprinkled on top) Is it any wonder why most romantic fanfiction centers around her in some way?
    • Hermione/ Draco (or Dramione)
      • I love Hermione and Draco together, but maybe that’s just because I have me a love for a good “Bad boy.”  In all truth, I’ve always thought there was so much left unsaid when it came to Draco, and pairing him with Hermione gives him a good redemption arch which is hard to pass up.
      • We Learned the Sea : “Draco Malfoy turns himself in after a very successful career as a Death Eater, then enlists Harry and Hermione to help him in a scheme to bring down the Dark Lord. DHr. A story of forgiveness.”
        • My favorite Dramione ever. Just drop everything and read it- you won’t be sorry!
      • Static : “The Order rescued Draco and Lucius Malfoy after Lord Voldemort turned on them. All the safe houses are full, and Hermione Granger is the only one who can take them in. Will she agree after having suffered a drastic nervous breakdown?”
        • Hermione’s a little bit broken, Draco is a little bit snarky, and Lucius put his foot in his mouth per usual. A wonderful read!
      • La Cerise: The Sweetest Cherry : “Draco Malfoy visits a Masked Gentlemen’s Club and meets a new courtesan making her debut – a beauty known only as The Princess. She’s up for auction to the highest bidder, and Draco’s determined to win her! Regency Era A/U.”
        • You don’t often see period alternate-universe pieces done well in HP FF, but this is definitely one of the top contenders! A delightfully unique premise, this is one you can read again and again!
      • Isolation : “He can’t leave the room. Her room. And it’s all the Order’s fault. Confined to a small space with only the Mudblood for company, something’s going to give. Maybe his sanity. Maybe not. “There,” she spat. “Now your Blood’s filthy too!” DM/HG. PostHBP.”
        • Probably one of THE most popular HP FF pieces out there (for a good reason), this story proves that falling in love can be crazy, scary, intense, and sweet, but definitely never easy!
    • Hermione/ Snape
      • I have to admit, I held out on reading any stories with this pairing probably the longest. It was hard for me to get my mind around a 19-year age gap, but the following writers made their stories so compelling I couldn’t resist!
      • The Gilded Cage : “Clever Miss Hermione Granger believes that by marrying Azkaban prisoner 11652 she can effectively skirt the new Ministry Marriage Law requirements. A story about morality, mortality, and pickled walnuts.”
        • Oh my goodness, if I wasn’t already a Severus Snape fan, I totally would be after this story! Snape didn’t die in the final battle, and a grown-up Hermione needs a fiancee, FAST! A story about love blooming in the most…unlikely of places.
      • Pride of Time : “Hermione quite literally crashes her way back through time by roughly twenty years. There is no going back; the only way is to go forward. And when one unwittingly interferes with time, what one expects may not be what time finds…”
        • I Loooooooove time traveling Hermione stories! It’s always interesting to see her in the Marauder era, and this story is definitely NO exception. Five stars!
      • One Step Forward, Two Steps Back : “Hermione Granger gets erased due to a badly phrased, vague, and bitter wish. She is Hermione Granger no more. Now, thanks to Ron, she is Hermione Ankaa Black, sister of Sirius and Regulus Black, and member of the Noble and Most House of Black. Now what is she going to do?”
        • I really enjoyed seeing Hermione in a sister role to Sirius and Regulus. Definitely recommend to anyone to anyone who loves the Marauder era!
    • Hermione/ Sirius
      • This pairing isn’t one that I saw happening at first, but the “bad boy” trope hit me again and I have willingly surrendered to its spell!
      • The Debt of Time : “When Hermione finds a way to bring Sirius back from the Veil, her actions change the rest of the war. Little does she know her spell restoring him to life provokes magic she doesn’t understand and sets her on a path that ends with a Time-Turner.”
        • SUCH a clever take on the “time-traveling Hermione” premise. We get to fall for an older AND younger Sirius Black, what a treat!
• Harry Potter
  • AKA: The Chosen One, or The Boy Who Lived. Harry (obviously) has the most FF written about him, as he IS the main character of the series. I like Harry, but I do think that he can read a little flat at times in FF – hence why I have so few five star stories listed below. Most of his stories I rate at a 3 – 4 star level.
  • Harry/Hermione
    • Vox Corporis : “Following the events of the Goblet of Fire, Harry spends the summer with the Grangers, his relationship with Hermione deepens, and he and Hermione become animagi.”
      • *Note: it seems the author has taken this down from FF.net since I last checked, but the link above will take you to a downloaded copy that you can read.*
      • Funny the chain reaction that Harry spending time at Hermione’s house can cause! Love this one- superbly written and just a joy to read.
  • Harry/Sirius
    • A Marauder’s Plan: “Sirius decides to stay in England after escaping Hogwarts and makes protecting Harry his priority.”
      • Non-romance. Sirius actually thinks for himself after escaping Azkaban and jumps in to take care of Harry. Love this one!
• Remus Lupin
  • As much as I love me a “bad boy” from time to time- my true love is smart, bookish boys. ❤  For all Remus’ faults, he is a truly good person who was dealt a hard blow early in life. It’s nice to read stories that give him a true happy ending.
  • Remus/ OC
    • Living with Danger : “AU, first in the main Dangerverse series, now complete. Lone wolf. Dream-seer. Bright child. Scarred child. Singer. Prisoner. Dancer child. Dragon child. Eight semi-ordinary people. One extraordinary family, and how they became one.”
      • Ahhhhhh I LOVE the Dangerverse series. So good! I think there are five “books” in total and this is just the first one. The whole series is complete and I love how the author truly incorporates the strengths of each of the main characters. (*ahem* example: Ron is brilliant at strategy, as was built up in the first few books with his tactical prowess relating to chess, but never really went anywhere) You won’t be sorry to spend the time it takes to get through this one!

And there you have it, reader! If you’ve lasted this long, I commend you! This was a longer post than my usual concise review. Like I said before, let me know if you want to see any of my 3 & 4 star HP Fanfic recommendations! I have to admit, they still are really good reads, but we’d be here all day if I listed them on top of these.

Wishing you all your favorite things, from butterfly wings to golden rings!

A Little Bit Bookish