dicta_contrion

Title: Any Instrument
Pairing: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 131,000
Warnings:Magical disability and the diagnosis and treatment thereof, addressing mental health issues, explorations of identity and self-worth in the aftermath of war, attempts (some successful) to manipulate Harry for the sake of politics, brief accidental voyeurism, coming to terms with sexuality
Enticements: Slow build, mystery, medicine, politics, angst (but not forever!), wandlore, wandless magic, drapples, Slytherins, Unspeakables, the Ministry, an asexual secondary character, dinner parties, coming out, awkward first times, long walks, Wiltshire, Paris, kittens, breakfast, snark, and a happy ending
Summary: 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.


In lieu of Author's Notes, extended flailing in three parts!

First, to my incredible recipients, femmequixotic and noeon. Writing for you was truly an honor and a pleasure. Your work, together and individually, is at the heart of my HP fandom origin story. I was amazed, blown away, in awe, and enraptured to discover your stories, which build beautiful worlds and give these characters extraordinary complexity and depth. I've often taken comfort in them in rough moments, escaping to your worlds for an evening to visit other countries, or be reminded that change and love are always possible, or to experience the beautiful, complicated, human love that your characters discover for themselves. To call that a gift is a massive understatement, but I'm at a loss for a better word, so: thank you for the many incredible gifts you've given to fandom, and me, over the years. And for giving me a good reason, with this story, to try stepping up my game. Having you as recipients was the kick I needed to take a risk and try something bigger, deeper, more elaborate, something that I hoped would give the characters a chance to grow and the world to develop. I'm absolutely thrilled (again, understatement!) that you enjoyed it!! And thank you for your lovely comments, too! ♥

Second, I know it's corny to say it takes a village, but it does. Huge, massive, oceans of thanks to my beta and brit-picker disapparater, who saw this through from infancy to posting, who answered a million questions and caught all my Zs and let me ramble on endlessly and replied thoughtfully and who, most importantly, really is my editor, and told me what wasn't working, when scenes needed more depth, when I needed to stop being lazy and do another rewrite. You were right, and this story wouldn't be what it is without you. No question about it. More village!! Many, many thanks go to eidheann_writes for being The Fixer (Ficser? Ficxer?) and talking about this way into the wee hours and for telling me to explore the relationship between Harry's emotions and the wand. Wound up being kind of important!! To firethesound for use of her dining table and for visiting mine and for lots of very productive word-making and excellent conversation. To ani_mage for great conversations and for pre-reading the first 2/3 and, among othe things, reassuring me that they weren't secretly terribly offensive w/r/t disability and asexuality. To sophie_french for entertaining a ridiculous number of questions about France, including some urgent last-minute inquiries that must have seemed truly bizarre ("Urgent!! In Paris, in 2008, did Starbucks cups have logos?") but that were always handled with aplomb and kindness and reassuring speed. To everyone who joined me in chatzy sprints for keeping me on task and for cheerleading and support. And to the mods, capitu, sassy_cissa, and gracerene, for being encouraging and patients, for giving me an extension (or three...I'm sorry! Thank you!) so I could edit this behemoth properly, for catching stealth typos, for uploading to AO3, and for making hd_erised the incredible event that it is. And to all of you, for moments of support and friendship that have ben more valuable than I can ever say. And to everyone who has left comments on Any Instrument, or who left bolstering comments on other stories while I was in the process of writing - thank you!

( Third, a few thoughts about process and writing. )

Erised recs to follow soon - what an embarassment of riches this fest was!! And, again, unending thanks and love to everyone who helped this story come into existence, or who read it and left comments and kudos, and to everyone who will. Goodness, do I love fandom.

SO MUCH GOOD FIC. So much good fic that reccing is hard because narrowing it down is so difficult. Just go over to hd_erised and read everything. Everything.

Some things to start with:

Another Mask Behind You by lettered - NC-17, 120k - Draco is a high-end prostitute who hides his identity. Harry unknowingly hires him. And then there is porn, questions about identity, domestic bliss, more porn, and truth as seen through a web of lies. (And then more porn. Seriously, if you don’t want sex scene after sex scene you probably shouldn’t read this. And please read the warnings.)
If anything, I think this summary sells the story short because while the sex is hot - and hot damn the sex is scorchingly, meltingly hot - there is so much more to this fic than the sex. The hidden identity component becomes a fascinating device for exploring the evolution of these two men's beliefs about themselves and each other. Draco, especially, is explored in such beautiful, complicated ways as he sees who he could be without the baggage attached to being a Malfoy post-war. The whole story is moving and engaging and the end had me quite literally gasping out loud. It was so easy to get invested and so worth it, and even at 120k (which really flew by) I would've been happy to read more.

House Style for Gryffindors by femmequixotic and noeon - NC-17, 11.5k - The Slytherins have always ruled the Sortilegus, a wizarding society magazine popular since the Middle Ages which lost most of its staff during the recent Unpleasantness (informally known as the Campaign against Noses). Pansy Parkinson has just been made the youngest witch ever to head the publication and has been charged with livening up the magazine and helping it move into post-war society whilst maintaining tradition. Which is all fine by Draco until she brings Harry Potter on staff, an obvious attempt to force Draco into a nervous breakdown by requiring him to work cheek-by-jowl with his arch nemesis.
This fic is so brilliant snarky. Draco is delightful - snappy and clever and just a bit hilariously oblivious, and his interactions with Harry are fantastic. There's an excellent cast of secondary characters - Blaise and Pansy are everything wonderful you could imagine about Slytherins running a fashion mag - and the hilarity that ensues at the big main event at Hogwarts is, well, hilarious. To say the least. One of those fics that is seamless and lovely and feels like such good, indulgent fun. Like a good cocktail in fic form.

On the Turning Away by blamebrampton - PG, 25.5k - It's one thing to be good at not making a besotted fool of yourself over a man when he's busy being the most famous wizard in the world and you're tucked away quietly in Wiltshire. It's quite another when you have to see him every morning.
This story was positively lovely. It was full of fabulous lines and descriptions that were funny and warm and clever. Every line of dialogue hits the nail on the head; I could read these conversations forever. Harry and Draco are both more adult, in a really charming way - they have a different sort of appreciation for each other and come to slowly enjoy each others' company on new terms, but without forgetting the past. There's also a fabulous OC, a fabulous Luna, and a moment with Lucius that is positively priceless. The whole experience of reading was a pleasure.

A Private Reason for This by femmequixotic - NC-17, 92k - When the wife of a star politician in the Scottish Ministry turns up dead just outside Hogsmeade, Draco Malfoy and his murder investigation team are called in from the Edinburgh Auror force to find her killer. What DCI Malfoy doesn't expect, however, is to have an ex from two decades past end up in his murder room, cocking up not only his case, but also his heart.
I don't even know where to begin. As evidenced by the at least half a dozen lengthy comments I've left? (*cringes* Sorry, MA!) Anyway. Whew. Deep breaths. This was my gift, so perhaps I'm biased, but jfc, it's perfection. It's so beautifully written that it felt less like reading a story and more like taking a trip into another world. Every setting and every character felt so perfectly, amazingly real. The way they speak to each other and know each other, the complexity of everyone who is in this story, is mindblowing. And I haven't even talked about the plot yet, right? Well. It's a murder mystery, and it's a really good one. There are interesting, viable suspects and the pursuit of the killer is excellent. Draco's team - Pansy, Susan Bones, Lee Jordan and, in this case, Harry Potter - are all motivated to solve the case by different and equally compelling reasons that tell us so much about them, and seeing how they work together is a pleasure. (The whole cast of secondary characters is a thing of beauty.) And the relationship between Harry and Draco...holy shit. They're brought together by the case, but it goes so much further. Their relationship becomes - already is, in some key ways - really close, and they challenge each other and know each other. And the sex is fucking steamy as hell, and there are also not-quite-sex scenes that blew my mind for the sheer intimacy between these two. There's no amount of flailing I can do that will really convey how much I love this story. I will say, though, that this is one of those stories that I wanted to read all in one go but also had to ration out so it wouldn't end, and then when I got to the end just started reading it again. Which I highly recommend doing, and then we can be speechless together.

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop - NC-17, 70k - It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always. At first, though, the time loop seems liberating. For the first time in his life, he can do anything, say anything, be anything, without consequence. But the more Draco repeats the day, the more he realises the uncomfortable truth: he's falling head over heels for the speccy git. And suddenly, the time loop feels like a trap. For how can he ever get Harry to love him back when time is, quite literally, against him?
I was not necessarily expecting to get totally sold on the time loop premise. I got totally sold on the time loop premise. It's brilliantly done. Draco's reactions to repeating the day are so telling. He evolves slowly and beautifully over time as he rethinks/re-imagines his options and gets to know Harry. This characterization of Draco in general felt really wonderful and spot-on. There's snark and cleverness, but also that desperation and frustration that we see in the books, and his evolution in this story is one I can absolutely see as an extension of canon. And the depiction of Harry is brilliant as well, as is the whole world of the story. Thoughtful and skillful and wonderful.

Un Noël Très Parisien by noeon - NC-17, 14.5k - When Draco crossed paths with Auror Potter at a political function in Paris, he was not expecting their former animosity to change into something rather more intriguing. But he could be certain their casual flirtation would not last more than the night, couldn't he?
Somehow, someway, this fic came out feeling like the best parts of the holiday season. It's got a wonderful, festive, glamorous feeling in parts, and really moving warmth and nostalgia in others, and loads of humor and wit all the way through. Harry is fabulously (hotly) confident, Draco is both wonderfully skillful and doing Slytherin proud in moments of sneakiness. Hermione and Pansy, as their besties, are a delight as well. And while it's going along being funny and charming, the feels are building and building, towards a conclusion that is hot, then gut-wrenching, then sweet.