snowgall

The final

hds_beltane reveals are now up, so I can finally post the stats I've been collecting on this fest!

First off some fun trivia:

megyal wrote a fic (or two!) for every single hds_beltane fest from the beginning. That's 11 fics over 9 fests!

Two other authors have been nearly as prolific:

lomonaaeren wrote 12 fics over 8 fests. The only year she missed was 2007 (the first year).

twistedm also wrote for every year but one, missing 2009. She produced 10 fics over 8 fests.

The longest fic written for hds_beltane was

annafugazzi's 52K Volunteers, written for the 2007 fest.

Since this was a fest that welcomed Drarry, Snarry, & Snaco pairings (as well as variations and threesomes) I was interested in knowing how many fics fell into each of these ships. Unsurprisingly, Drarry is the most popular ship for the fest, but I was surprised to find that threesomes and variations (which I counted together) were generally more popular than either of the other two ships, though Snarry came close. Snaco is rather the unloved second cousin, however, as some years there were no Snaco fics at all!

This is all much clearer to see with pretty charts and graphs. As I mentioned, trying to tease apart variations on Snape/Harry/Draco (is this a Snarry fic with a one-off Draco threesome, or a Drarry fic with a brief Snarry fling, or...you get the picture) was too complicated, so anything that involved all three boys in some way or another I called "Multi" and counted together. Many years included Gen fics too, so I counted those separately.

( Beltane Ships Chart )
( Beltane Ships Graph )

It is also nice to see that 2015, the final year of the fest, had more fics than the previous two years, which is a great send-off.

The

hds_beltane fest has now concluded; 2015 was its final round, but it went out with a great set of fics! I'm reccing my favorites from 2015 here, but see the end of this post for links to recs from past years as well.

Authors are currently anonymous. Names will be added after the reveals.

Note that this fest also includes Snarry, Snaco, and threesome combinations, but I'm just reccing Drarry.

Green Beans and Fedoras by twistedm, R, 3,450 words (fest link)
Summary: Harry runs into someone unexpectedly, gets some weird advice, and decides to take it. What could possibly go wrong?

Let me tell you, I never knew how much I needed matchmaker!Snape until I read this fic :) Snape only plays a very small part in this fic, but it's a delightful part. He runs into Harry five years after the war, immediately sizes him up as lonely and bored, and proceeds to suggest he look up Draco Malfoy, who - as Snape informs him - is likewise gay and equally pathetic and lonely.
What I really love the most about this is how frank and forthright everyone is. It's SO refreshing to have the characters actually say what they mean instead of wallowing in miscommunication. Harry decides to take Snape's advice, and goes to ask Draco out on a date. The rest is snark and banter and delicious flirting. It's a short fic, but so very fun. (extended rec at hd-storyroom)

Our place on the path unwinding by thisgirl_is & bakaknight, PG-13, 9,100 words (fest link)
Summary: Harry Potter goes looking for a fight and finds one. And possibly some other things along the way.

Cool story! I loved this Draco - confident and perceptive and droll - the perfect characterization :) And how he and Harry kept being drawn together, like they couldn't help themselves. And Harry! and how subtly we learned what he was! The imagery of the Beltane festival was perfect; it grounded the characters and the story but never got in the way. Them snogging against the tree was super hot, as was the slight morning after awkwardness that they both powered through. So enjoyable!

The rain has gone (I can see clearly now) by bakaknight, PG-13, 3,300 words
Gen: implied future Draco/Harry
Summary: To die would be an awfully big adventure, someone had said in a Muggle book Severus had once read with a friend at his shoulder, in a park, in a sunset, long ago. Right now, it's an adventure he wants absolutely no part in. Which makes it rather awkward that he’s already dead.

This was SUCH an interesting and moving story, beautifully written from the perspective of ghost!Snape right after the battle. We see ghost!Snape's initial interactions with McGonagall, Neville, Harry, and Draco, and it's a look at how these people would feel about Snape which is quite a bit different than usual. I think in most stories Harry is assumed to have reversed his opinion towards Snape, but here he is still resentful, and understandably so. And so is Neville, who wow, really gives ghost!Snape a dressing-down! Very cool.

As a retrospective, I have also gone back and recced some of the best Drarry fics from all of the past nine years of the fest. Enjoy!

2007-2009

2010-2011

2012-2014

Stay tuned for stats from nine years of hds_beltane :)

The

hds_beltane fest is about to end, and 2015 will be its final year. As a retrospective, I have been going back through and reccing some of the best Drarry fics from all of the past nine years of the fest. The recs are divided into ~~three~~ four posts: 2007-2009, 2010-2011, 2012-2014 (this post), and 2015.

Note that this fest also includes Snarry, Snaco, and threesome combinations, but I'm just reccing Drarry.

2012
Harry Potter and the Missing Malfoy by treacle_tartlet, R, 6,000 words
Summary: The War is over, Tom Riddle is dead – properly this time – and Harry Potter has not exactly met the expectations of the Wizarding World. Instead of joining the Aurors, he tends the bar at the Leaky Cauldron and plays Quidditch pick-ups on his days off. And he’s perfectly happy, thank you, until Draco Malfoy goes missing…

Really this was delightful. The author has such a deft touch with banter and light back-and-forth humor. Draco has gone missing, and people keep asking Harry where he is - as if he should know!

2013
Turn Alight by strawberryroseg (aka girlythingsforgeekypeople), NC-17, 6,500 words
Summary: "So, how do we fix this?"
Hermione pursed her lips as she thought. Ron leaned into the table to look around her at Harry, a cheeky smirk on his face. "Do Beltane properly next time?"

The best part of this story are the flashbacks to the developing relationship between Harry and Draco, starting immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts, and continuing for a year until the following Beltane. Draco's state right after the battle is heartbreaking, and his and Harry's tentative steps towards more are wonderfully sketched.

2014
As good a reason as any by thisgirl_is, PG-13, 8,600 words (fest link)
Summary: For something Harry had never heard of before he had joined the Wizarding World, he really hated Beltane.

I really enjoyed this. Their conversation felt so realistic and adult and in character and interesting, and then the kiss, wow! And even though all they did was kiss, it was a bloody fantastic kiss :)

Skulking by teshara, R, 8,000 words
Summary: When Harry follows Draco out of the castle, the last thing he expects is to become caught up in a bonding ceremony. When they realize they’re going to have to learn how to live together neither of them is happy, but sometimes things have funny ways of working themselves out.

Clever story, as the idea of being 'bonded' through companion animals is unusual. The nature of the bond isn't well explained, but that is sort of the point: Harry and Draco misunderstand it as well and assume more is required of them than actually is :)

Links to my rec lists from all previous hds_beltane fests. Enjoy!

2007-2009

2010-2011

2012-2014 (this post)

2015

2015 is the last year of the

hds_beltane fest, so I am going back through and reccing some of the best Drarry fics from all of the past nine years of the fest. I've split the recs up into four posts: 2007-2009, 2010-2011 (this post), 2012-2014, and 2015.

Note that this fest also includes Snarry, Snarco, and threesome combinations, but I'm just reccing Drarry.

2010
Sex Ed for Aurors by curiouslyfic, R, 8,700 words (fest link)
Summary: Some things, you need to learn on the job. | Harry is dosed with a lust-potion and he desperately wants Malfoy, who is trying hard to reverse the effects and stave off Harry. When it wears off, Harry still goes after Malfoy, who realizes he wanted him anyway.

So well done. Very funny and also surprisingly very moving. Harry's thoughts while under the effects of the potion are hilarious, and Draco's flustered reactions are priceless.

The Slytherin Maypole Conspiracy by treacle_tartlet, NC-17, 2,500 words
Summary: It’s Beltane at Hogwarts; the bonfires have been built, the May Queen chosen, and the Maypole erected (ahem), but there have been rumours circulating about a Slytherin Conspiracy to steal the Maypole. Can Harry prevent Draco and his cronies from ruining the Beltane celebrations?

Perfect amount of lighthearted fun and heat and boys figuring things out. I only would have wanted more :)

2011
The Pensieve Project by curiouslyfic, PG-13, 7,300 words (fest link)
Summary: Of the 116 Hogwarts students who took part in the final battle, only five are officially invited to the Ministry's first annual memorial. For everyone else, there's the Pensieve Project.

Gorgeous story, feels like what should be the epilogue to the books. Draco/Harry is just a background pairing in this fic, which is more about the surprising friendship that developed between Draco and Neville at Hogwarts while Harry and friends were off Horcrux hunting, and the suffering of the student body under the Carrows. Draco is trying to find a way for everyone start to heal, and the insights we get into the past through the memories he collects are just stunning.

The Door to May by noeon, NC-17, 5,000 words (fest link)
Summary: An emotional intervention at the Beltane fires in Ottery St Catchpole occasions a fierce row between the partnered Aurors Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Unlike their usual disputes, neither of them can walk away from this one.

There is so much emotional depth at the start of this fic - I really felt for both of them and Draco's quiet dignity in particular. And then the sex is really hot, so that's just a bonus :)

Defence Mechanisms by aquila_star, NC-17, 13,000 words (fest link)
Summary: Harry and Draco are in love. But love doesn’t sail smoothly when you’re too busy putting up walls to see that it’s in your hands. A series of episodes that, hopefully, tell their story.

Harry and Draco have been sleeping with each other for months, each sure the other wants nothing more than an easy shag, and each carefully shielding their heart from pain by convincing the other they feel nothing. So of course it all blows up. This story is told in a series of non-linear vignettes which draw you in and keep you wondering how they got where they are and how they'll ever figure it all out. It's hot and intense and totally entertaining.

Links to my rec lists from all previous hds_beltane fests. Enjoy!

2007-2009

2010-2011 (this post)

2012-2014

2015

As 2015 is the last year of the

hds_beltane fest, I thought I'd go back through and rec some of the best Drarry fics from all of the past nine years of the fest. I'll be splitting the recs up into four posts: 2007-2009 (this post), 2010-2011, 2012-2014, and 2015.

Note that this fest also includes Snarry, Snarco, and threesome combinations, but I'm just reccing Drarry.

2007
Volunteers by annafugazzi, PG-13, 52,000 words
Summary: Harry, Draco, and a volunteer position that was supposed to be quick and easy.

This is such a lovely story. Draco has been living as a muggle for several years after having spent 9 months in Azkaban, while Harry is a widower with a small child; both are terribly lonely and turn to volunteer work as a way of venturing back into the wizarding word. They find themselves partnered together as Ministry liaisons for the upcoming Beltane celebrations and in the course of working together learn to see each other in a new light. Wonderful characterizations, a slow burn and hopeful, hesitant beginnings make for an excellent read.

All I Want by luthien82, R, 1,600 words
Summary: He loves the way Harry feels under him, how their bodies fit together like two puzzle pieces.

Well-written, and an interesting idea for non-canon post-HBP, though I did wonder just how Harry and Draco were able to get together if it's wartime and everything must be so secretive.

2008
Cerulean Blue by annafugazzi & scrtkpr, NC-17, 28,000 words
Summary: When Potions Professor Draco Malfoy has an accident that costs him the last four years of his memory, Harry Potter, with the grudging assistance of Severus Snape's portrait, is the only one who can help him.

Everything about this was excellent--Draco's attitude when he had lost his memories, the memories themselves as Potter explored them, and the awkwardness afterwards. And I love how portrait!Snape is written here. The fantasy of a threesome with Snape isn't realy my thing, but then, this is an HDS fest, and it was short and easily skipped :)

The Rabbit and the God by who_la_hoop, PG-13, 19,000 words (fest link)
Summary: When Draco Malfoy goes missing, in the most peculiar of ways, frustrated Auror-in-training Harry Potter goes on a search for his absentee enemy that leads him to Muggle Japan – and to a mystery that will take more than magic to solve.

The relationship development is excellent and lovely, the hesitancy and the depth of feeling well portrayed. And their discussions about the past and Draco's role and his mark are all wonderful connections to canon.

2009
An Inconvenient View by curiouslyfic, PG-13, 5,700 words (fest link)
Summary: There is, by Merlin, some Slytherin future that's not all raging fires and death. She knows because she's seen the porn.

Wow, this fic. It's very different from your typical HD story. It's all Pansy's POV--she's taking divination in 6th year and is getting (real) glimpses of the future. Some scenes she sees we know about from the books, and some scenes take place after the war showing Harry and Draco together (which Pansy is less surprised about than you might think). But it's frustrating for her, and a little bit for us, because she only gets glimpses and can't control what she sees or understand when it takes place and what she should do about it. But it's fascinating. The way the author shows us fractured scenes makes the reader feel just as impatient and eager for more as Pansy. Beautiful, poignant, and hopeful too. And Pansy (and Trelawney!) feel totally in character. (extended rec at hd-storyroom)

Sex On Fire by gypsyflame, NC-17, 11,875 words
Summary: A life-threatening injury brings Malfoy back into Harry’s life.

I liked so much about this--their dialogue, the connection to the fiendfire event in DH, the subtle humor, and how she set up and fired her Chekov's guns. And the ending was nice and hot, even though it seemed to arrive a little too quickly.

Links to my rec lists from all previous hds_beltane fests. Enjoy!