Title: Behind the Bookshelves
Author: Silvestria
Rating: T
Genre: Romance/Angst
DLP Category: Romance
Pairing: Harry/Hermione
Status: Oneshot
Summary: A chance meeting in London in the summer before sixth year between Harry and Hermione leads to sparks flying... or at least Hermione wishes it did. Can any boy really be THAT oblivious?
Link: Behind the Bookshelves

I read this fic long time ago, probably when I'm still in High School. It was written pre-HBP, a HHr fic that was written in a lighter tone than most of fics with those pairing out there these days. No bitter tone toward anyones, no bashing, and no cliche H-Hr-R love triangle.

Set in the summer before Harry's sixth year. It was holiday, no magic was used here. It focused mostly on the Romance-Fluff b/w the two main characters, but with some touches that are rare to be found in another stories:

The writing style. It's unique, and felt strange for me, especially when I read this for the first time. But it's decent, nice, with literature-touch kind of descriptions, without any grammatical error.

Then the story. It's interesting, and I couldn't really guess the storyline until it was near the end. Beautiful and logical at the same time.

Characters are decent. Harry and Hermione characters were described nicely, although their conservation were felt a little weird at some lines.. but maybe it's just me. English is not my first language.

Overall, it's good. Written in 10k words, touching, and in no-nonsense way really romantic. It's also nostalgic to read, especially if you're a HHr shipper that miss some old stories about them like this one. Really worth your time.

EDIT: 4.5/5 from me

Spoiler

Maybe I'm biased. I once had personal liking toward HHr fics, far before HBP came. After JKR and Spartz did their 'interview of doom', and HHr militant fans were raging in FFn, I lost my interest in it. But, reading this fic again, I remembered why I liked those pairing in the first place. It's sweet, sensible, fluff, and really strong. They're also always there for each other, they are nice match for each other, they had one of the best friendships that I'd ever read in any fiction novels.

And that's exactly what this fic said: Harry and Hermione are best friends, they love each other and always there for each other, always.

 

Ahahahah-

No.

__

The main problem with this story is the dialogue. I can see how someone not entirely familiar with English could miss this, so I won't fault you for liking it...

But the dialogue is so awkwardly written that I found it incredibly entertaining. I had to go find some of my favorite lines.

It begins with Harry entering a bookshop, asking the owner about a book. The bookowner calls his assistant, who turns out to be Hermione. Harry is introduced to the owner.

Then, out of nowhere:

Other fun parts:

 

While I have a not-so-secret soft-spot for these kind of cute old-school HHR stories . . .

. . . I stopped reading after they started to sing a duet from Grease. Yeah.

 

You... you're making that up right?

EDIT: He's not making it up. :facepalm

2/5

 

I read a little and then scanned the rest, I couldn't bring myself to read more then that. 2/5 because it's theoretically readable, even if it failed in practice.

 

Jesus Christ, was the author/authoress high on meth when he/she wrote this?

 

No. She's just a 13 YEAR OLD GIRL. Or close enough anyway.

EDIT: Even worse, she's a period drama fan according to her profile, so anything she writes is going to be blatantly full of 19th century romance clichés that only other period fans will enjoy them.

 

I lost my shit at this line XD

 

That can't actually be in a story, right?

... right?

:fire

 

I am amazed at the quality of this story. It certainly showcases some of the best ideas of what Harry Potter fanfiction has to offer.

Not the best, mind you. That title belongs to My Immortal. Still, an excellent addition to the fandom.

Eleventy/10

 

Oh yes it is - and I'm still LOLOLing.

EDIT:

​

 

Well, I'm not quite sure how to rate this.

On the one hand it falls short of what the author was shooting for, a little cute romance story. Inspiration mirrors what little I've read of some romance novels. On this hand I would rate it a 2/5. It's readable.

On the other hand, like many here, I was dying laughing at numerous points. I wasn't facepalming like these kind of fics make me do, but its light nature I think triggered the chuckles. So on this hand I'd probably give it a 5/5 for humor.

So 3.5....huh.

Fuck it, I'm giving this a 4/5 because it entertained me.