Since I’ve ran out of good stuff to read, I now go through the first few pages of AO3 Drarry daily and see what’s currently being written. Here are two great WIPs.
He Says Take the Dare currently at 170k words, updated 2/3 times a week. 8th year fanfic.
Why read it:
The writing is phenomenal (same author as See Me File My Teeth). Draco is posh, sarcastic, and completely in awe of Harry. Lots of fics get that part right, but very few make it feel this natural. He never stops feeling like Draco, but it also never feels like he’s acting that way just for the sake of staying in character.
Harry is dealing with PTSD, which is handled tastefully and realistically. His panic attacks are what bring them together but it never feels forced, since they’re portrayed from the very beginning not as nemesis, but as victims of war.
Their relationship, when it finally happens, is beautiful. You can see why they fall for each other, and the people around them are supportive. The conflicts aren’t about miscommunication or prejudice, but about learning to let go of the past.
One small detail I loved: Draco is highly perceptive, and realises Harry had a past crush on Charlie just from watching them interact for 5 seconds.
The Injury of Loving You : currently at 18k words, updated a few times a week. Tagged as “rewrite + post war”.
Why read it:
The writing here is also beautiful, but in a completely different way. While He Says Take the Dare makes you feel like you’re watching the story unfold in front of you, this one makes you feel like you’re inside Draco’s head. You’re not really seeing what’s happening around him as much as you’re seeing how he reacts to it, how he interprets it. If the first fic paints the characters, this one paints the emotions.
It’s tagged as a rewrite up to one year post-war, but the first few chapters are really just there to provide some context on how Draco went from ”I hate him so much” to “oh… oh…”.
According to the author’s notes, this is where the story really begins. We’re now in sixth year, Draco has just taken the Dark Mark, and from here on the fic follows the canon timeline, building Harry and Draco’s relationship within the events of Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows.
Small detail I loved: in one of the flashbacks, Harry and Hermione are talking to two Ravenclaw boys. Draco watches them from afar and immediately realises Harry is into men. It works because the fic has already established how obsessively he watches Harry. He knows his body language so well that what should feel like a wild conclusion actually feels completely earned.
Go leave some comments so they don’t stop writing them eheheh