Entry tags:

lists : fic, meta, recs : hp : slash

Guide to SS/HP fandom
Update, 2008: I believe all of these links are working now. If I couldn't find a working link, I left the name of the story and just removed the link part.

This is an expanded version of the SS/HP guide I posted at ship_manifesto. It's very much a work in progress, and doesn't account for anything written after the release of HBP. I haven't included full warnings, but it should be pretty clear what you're getting into by the category the fics are in. But, as usual, please read the headers before you read the fic. I have not listed works-in-progress. Please feel free to suggest additions; I know there are many stories and authors not on the list who really, really should be. So let me know what I'm missing, and I'll add it when I get the chance.

Fic: At Hogwarts
The vast majority of Snape/Harry stories are set while Harry's still at school. Their dynamic here is at its most volatile and interesting, and there are many factors that are fun to play with.

• The tutor. Harry goes (or is forced to go) to Snape for private lessons in DADA/Occlumency/killing Dark Lords. They reach an understanding. In these, Harry is usually between 15 and 18. This is one of my favorite genres because of the shifting of power—in most, the student surpasses the teacher, and angst ensues. Or smut. Usually both. Crucius by Delores Crane; Scratch by Aucta Sinistra; Mind Games by Arsenic
  
• Chan. My personal definition of chan is 14 or younger, and that's reflected here. You've been warned. Dragon-Blind by Thamiris; The Life Debt by Rushlight; Idle Hands by Nimori; The Devil Will Drag You Under by Dementor Delta; If That Mockingbird Won't Sing by Aspen (comm locked); Butterfly by Switchknife; A Man of Habit by Switchknife
  
• Miscellaneous. Truth by thisveryinstant; Twelve by Isis; A Choriambic Progression by Mairead Triste and Aristide; Pale Green by Torch; Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme by Femme (password required); Aqua Fresca by Stella Hobbit; The Miseducation of S. Snape by Swill Merchant
  
• The potions accident. Harry sneaks into the potions lab to make some mischief and something goes wrong. Alternately, something goes wrong in class. Sanguis-Vinculum by Meri Oddities (also a bondfic); The Familiar by Resonant; Loving Potions by Tara Tory
  
• The classics. The Snape/Harry novels & series that everyone's heard of. They take place at Hogwarts, but don't fit neatly into any of my little categories. The Tea Series by Telanu [not a direct link]; the Civil War-verse by Sushi; If You Are Prepared by Cybele; Primer to the Dark Arts by Icarus (also fits in the 'tutor' category).

Fic: Post-war
There's a huge variety of post-war fic, probably because there are so many options to play with. Who won the war? Did Harry succumb to the dark? What kind of baggage is he going to have? In most, Harry is a bit lost, and there's almost always some underlying angst. Still, this is probably where you're going to find the most light-hearted stories in the ship. (Unless, of course, Voldemort wins. In which case this is where you're going to find some of the darkest fics in the ship. Most of those are multi-pairing, though, and not listed here.)

• DADA Harry. After defeating Voldemort, Harry returns to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. These stories tend to feature an adult Harry who's on more of an equal footing with Snape. They're not usually about the power dynamic, because both men are teachers. For Services Rendered by Minx; The Same Coin by Meri Oddities; A Nick in Time and Growing Pains by Tiranog
  
• General post-war Harry. The Liar and the Auror by Trismegistus; The Conduits of Sorcery by Penumbra; Clipped Wings by Theresa Ann Wymer; Too Wise to Woo Peaceably, Look Pale With Love and A Kind of Merry War by McKay [series]; Severus and the Crup by Josan; Clay by Kass; Give me an Inch by Llama; Pariah by Aucta Sinistra; Fidelius and Secret-Keeper by Tradescant; Gratia Plena by Femme
  
• Needs-a-favor Harry. These usually go like this: Harry, in his exciting post-war adventures, is hit with some kind of curse that's going to kill him. The cure is a potion only Snape can brew, and of course it takes months, during which they reach an understanding. The Medean Curse by Lydia Lovestruck; Quid Pro Quo by Aucta Sinistra
  
• Slave Harry. Voldemort won, and Harry's a slave. Obviously dark, usually non-con. A Spell to Turn Tigers to Butter by Amanuensis; Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent by Cluegirl
  
• Dark Harry. Harry won the war but became the new Dark Lord in the process. And Severus Snape Goes To... by Starkindler.

Fic: Somewhere in between

• The warfic. Warfics are usually set after Harry leaves Hogwarts, but not always. They usually set up Harry and Severus as partners, although sometimes they have to go into hiding together. These are often transitional stories, where Harry is only starting to come into his power and ends up turning to Snape to guide him. Returns of the Day and Within the Pale and Noons of Dryness by Ellen Fremedon; And Tell Me Who is Victor by Switchknife; So Lonely Without Me by Caligryphy; Down, You Lie Down Too by Resonant; In Between Days by Atrata; Making Due by M.J.; The Rain Keeps Falling by Luthien; Caged by Sparrowhawk
  
• The bond/marriage/courtship fic. Harry and Snape are compelled, forced, thrown accidentally, or asked very nicely to enter into some sort of arrangement that will bond them for life. Sometimes it's a spell gone wrong, sometimes Dumbledore talks them into it, sometimes it's necessary to protect one or the other from Voldemort. These stories are often long and involved, focusing on the negotiations and adaptations the two of them have to make in order for the relationship to work. Sometimes they take place while Harry's a student, sometimes they don't. The Courtship of Harry Potter and A Convenient Marriage by Diana Williams; Dumbledore's Folly by Dementor Delta; The Wizard's Bond by Devi the Wynter Wytch; Courtship Rituals by Meri Oddities

Fic: Something completely different

• Weirdness. Stories that don't go anywhere else. Read the headers when you get there. The Impossible (Fear) by Libertine; What He Wants by Debchan; Closing Time by Delores Crane; Knockturn in the Rain by Dayse; By the Light of Lesser Stars by Abaddon; Parseltongue-tied by Dementor Delta; Contemporary Magical Innovations, by H. Granger by Kai
  
• MPreg. A Life More Ordinary by Lexin; A Necessary Evil by Kai.
  
• Severitus. This is the name for AU fics in which Severus turns out to be Harry's father. I've chosen to include them for those of you interested in the dynamic between the characters but not necessarily the sex; many Snape/Harry shippers I know will read Severitus stories for the same reason: these two have such a great dynamic, we'll take it any way we can get it. Blood Magic by Gateway Girl. There's a complete list here.

Archives

• Walking the Plank, a huge Snape/Harry archive. WtP is mostly open; stories are checked for grammar and spelling and whatnot but not turned away on the basis of 'quality.'
  
• After Class, a smaller Snape/Harry archive (and mailing list). Again, After Class is a mostly open archive.
  
• From Dusk Till Dawn, the Harry/Snape Fuh-Q-Fest. The quality can be a bit dodgy at times, but this FQF has been running since the fall of 2002. Almost 500 stories have been written for the various waves (wave eight just opened up) and many of them—particularly the early stories—are not archived elsewhere. You'll have to join the yahoo group to get the password.
  
• Snape/Harry is a popular pairing, and there is A LOT of fic out there. Check the Potter Slash Archive and Ink Stained Fingers [open] for stories that aren't on Detention or After Class. Note that both of those archives are password protected.

Recs
As I've mentioned, there is a HUGE amount of Snape/Harry out there, and navigating it can be hard. Any recs list I compile would be ridiculously incomplete, so I've listed some reccers who can fill in the blanks.

• switchknife. I probably don't need to point anyone at Switchknife's Slash Recommendations, but I'm going to do it anyway. It was the first recs page I found, and I read every Snape/Harry story recommended there in something like a week. Switch is probably the reccer with taste most similar to my own: if you're looking for dark and angsty, this is the place for you. The website hasn't been updated in a while, so be sure to check Switch's LJ for more [relatively] recent recs. Many of the links are broken but the stories are easy enough to find: anything linked to Walking the Plank is now on the new site, and for stories on Ink Stained Fingers, you'll have to use the mirror site to find them.
  
• ptyx. Ptyx's SS/HP recs are well worth checking out, too. As this is a pretty angsty ship, there are plenty of angst recs, but she does tend to stay away from violence and non-con.
  
• snarry_reader. This recs list is large and updated regularly; it's compiled by Snape/Harry fanatics regan_v, gaycrow and painless_j. The three of them have widely differing taste in fic, and so the list has a little bit of everything, from light-hearted romance to heavy, gut-wrenching angst. There's even a handy sidebar to help you find the sort of stories you're looking for. Note that the LJ is no longer being updated; check IJ for recent updates.
  
• Others who maintain recs pages with a fair bit of Snape/Harry are amanuensis1 (here), kaiz (here), meri_oddities (here) and saturn92013 (here).
  
• crack_broom's Snape/Harry recs and hp_flashback's recs are also good places to look if you're just diving into the pairing.

Art
Update 2008: Due to various events (both on and off LJ), I'm taking down links and just listing the names of artists I love. You can probably google for them, or click around to find their work. snarry_reader also maintains a list of art recs.

yukipon, saridout, kaptainsnot, installmentplan, glockgal, lizardspots, linnpuzzle, the_gwyllion, ponderosa121, nix___, spaggel, ac1d6urn, nimori, brevisse, undunoops

Other stuff

• sshp_prophet. Snape/Harry ship newsletter. Published several times per week (now over on IJ).
  
• snape_potter. Open, active community with fic, art, icons, fic searches and assorted Snape/Harry-related announcements. Most stuff is locked these days.
  
• Lada Hitam's lists of complete HP/SS stories, except they've been run by auxelle for a few years now.
  
• painless_j. I wasn't sure whether to put her here or under recs, but she's really an all-round resource for all things Snape/Harry. Her SS/HP recs are here [other HP recs here], and her themed lists are well-known and extremely useful.
  
• Snape/Harry thoughts by various people [link to my memories].
  
• Snape essays by various people [link to my memories].
  
• The Snape/Harry ship manifesto by Atrata