Still going through my Great Fics folder
Feb. 27th, 2007 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valis2Conduits of Sorcery by the lovely and much-missed ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pen_and_umbra is one of my very favorite fics. It's Snarry, NC-17, adult!Harry, Harry POV, approx. 70k, written pre-HBP, and you're unlikely to receive a response to any sort of review you leave, because Penumbra has pretty much jumped off the face of LJ sometime ago, much to my sadness. Though that generally shouldn't stop reviewers...it's nice to leave that memento anyway, like a memorial, I think. ;) And if/when she returns, I'm sure she'd like a bouquet or two.
Summary: It's a Triwizard Tournament year and Harry returns to Hogwarts as one of the Tournament organisers. What he had hoped would be a quiet year with old friends turns to something quite different when Lucius Malfoy shows sudden interest in wizarding sports.
This fic is really fantastic. I can't say enough about it. Penumbra is an absolutely amazing writer, and in her hands this story glows. It is all about the little things, you see, the little details that draw us together and weave us into a relationship. Her loom is beautifully arranged. The plot isn't overpowering; it's the background that establishes a place for the two to connect, and they do so by degrees. Her Snape is a wonderful creation, sly and cruelly intelligent and still risking his neck with little hope of reward. He's extremely well-spoken, moreso than canon, I'd hazard, but it makes this a better piece, because it's really interesting to follow his machinations. Her Harry is a bit thick, just like the real thing, but he does catch on when it's required, and he pursues Snape without even understanding why. He's wondering and awestruck and forthright. Their verbal sparring is terrific.
Also, the adult content is very well-done. It's developed in a delicious slow-burn arc. Their relations are very nearly a duel. And it's definitely NC-17, I'm warning you.
I think one of the reasons it always draws me is the feeling of a palpably malevolent, adult HP world. It's as if we're in JKR's universe, but the few rose-colored glasses we've been spying through have been removed. I mean, her world is already pretty violent and frightening, but in this, there is a real sense of danger and alarm, and there are Very Bad Wizards involved, and it's absolutely thrilling.
The ending segment is extremely gripping, and I think about it at least once a month. I'm serious. If you have a bit of time to devote to this marvelous, understated piece, I believe it would be time well-spent.
pen_and_umbra is one of my very favorite fics. It's Snarry, NC-17, adult!Harry, Harry POV, approx. 70k, written pre-HBP, and you're unlikely to receive a response to any sort of review you leave, because Penumbra has pretty much jumped off the face of LJ sometime ago, much to my sadness. Though that generally shouldn't stop reviewers...it's nice to leave that memento anyway, like a memorial, I think. ;) And if/when she returns, I'm sure she'd like a bouquet or two.Summary: It's a Triwizard Tournament year and Harry returns to Hogwarts as one of the Tournament organisers. What he had hoped would be a quiet year with old friends turns to something quite different when Lucius Malfoy shows sudden interest in wizarding sports.
This fic is really fantastic. I can't say enough about it. Penumbra is an absolutely amazing writer, and in her hands this story glows. It is all about the little things, you see, the little details that draw us together and weave us into a relationship. Her loom is beautifully arranged. The plot isn't overpowering; it's the background that establishes a place for the two to connect, and they do so by degrees. Her Snape is a wonderful creation, sly and cruelly intelligent and still risking his neck with little hope of reward. He's extremely well-spoken, moreso than canon, I'd hazard, but it makes this a better piece, because it's really interesting to follow his machinations. Her Harry is a bit thick, just like the real thing, but he does catch on when it's required, and he pursues Snape without even understanding why. He's wondering and awestruck and forthright. Their verbal sparring is terrific.
Also, the adult content is very well-done. It's developed in a delicious slow-burn arc. Their relations are very nearly a duel. And it's definitely NC-17, I'm warning you.
I think one of the reasons it always draws me is the feeling of a palpably malevolent, adult HP world. It's as if we're in JKR's universe, but the few rose-colored glasses we've been spying through have been removed. I mean, her world is already pretty violent and frightening, but in this, there is a real sense of danger and alarm, and there are Very Bad Wizards involved, and it's absolutely thrilling.
The ending segment is extremely gripping, and I think about it at least once a month. I'm serious. If you have a bit of time to devote to this marvelous, understated piece, I believe it would be time well-spent.