Harry Potter was my fanfiction gateway drug. I was OBSESSED with the books, rereading them at that point more than any other books I’d reread in my life. I couldn’t quench my desire for HP. I wanted to consume every single stitch of story Rowling could produce, but I kept having to wait years between my fixes to get anything new.
Until.
Until I stumbled upon an expanded, endless world of Harry Potter online: the world of fanfiction.
Nowadays I’m a huge fan of fanfic and a writer of it myself. Click here for all of my reviews of THE BEST romantic fanfiction out there that you can read right now for free!
What became my fanfiction drug of choice as a burgeoning romance lover and HP fanatic?
Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, cringey internet couple nickname—Dramione.
In addition to my cliche love for Pride and Prejudice, Dramione really brought me over to the Dark Side of the love/hate romance trope. I’m an absolute sucker for it. There’s something so irresistible and romantic about a couple overcoming all odds and overlooking all flaws because they fall in love. No matter how much of this trope I read, it will never be enough.
And Dramione has it in spades. He hates her heritage. He’s just about the biggest prat in the world. She’s brilliant and witty and a challenger. He’s a “rebel.” She’s the teacher’s pet. They always address the other with a sharp bark of a last name. They can be thrown together in endless situations. The pairing is such a Deal online that it’s developed its own tropes and almost . . . culture. The look of Malfoy and the personality of Malfoy has taken on a stereotype all its own that diverges from the original character. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read about Hermione’s honey-colored eyes. As with all things beloved, it can become a parody of itself, but it’s also called forth diamonds of writing.
Dramione writers create some of the best damn romances I’ve ever read, hands down. The Best. I even wrote two (completed!!!) Dramione fanfics myself wayyy back in high school that are insanely riddled with errors but remain online regardless. I don’t think I’d recommend them now though, but I also don’t have the energy to go back and edit them.
ANYWAY, the rec.
The Fallout by everythursday is known as The Dramione Fic, and the epic length alone merits the title. Taking place during the Second Wizarding War and totally diverging from canon, everythursday produced a slow burn, believable romance between these former enemies. Hermione is separated from Ron and Harry, fighting on the front lines where needed and living nomadically between safe houses with fits and bursts of time spent with whatever Order acquaintance may be around. Malfoy defects to the Order. They end up in the same places and spaces. They’re still at each others’ throats, verbally sparring in their spare moments. Until, Malfoy loses someone. He’s maturing and growing up. And, it’s all agonizingly angsty in the best way.
Since it’s so long, there is a lot of romance-free filler that I quite honestly skip over. It can be a slog to get through at times, but the highs are SO HIGH and the depiction of these two hostiles getting together is sooo realistic that it’s worth it.
Basically, you should read it. But read with caution. A Dramione story just may be the thing to hook you on fanfic forever. It definitely did me and inspired the longest original romance I’ve written and continue to try to finish writing.
What do you think of The Fallout? Do you like it? Do you like the Dramione pairing?
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