Well! It's been a while since we've had one of these. Since these always turn into a general recommendation thread I have one rule and one rule only to make it a little more challenging: you may choose only one.


So - out of all the fanfic you've ever read, HP or otherwise, which one takes your top spot and why?

 

For me it's probably Forging the Sword by Myst Shadow. Although nothing much actually happens (yet) it's one of the few fics out there that combines a talented Harry with his canonical personality, and which maintains and expands the friendship between him, Ron and Hermione. The friendship dynamics, the character development, and the explorations of a largely canonical magic system make this the one fic that I would choose to read an update of.

 

The Game of Champions. Lamora's investment in taking the games and breathing so much creativity and life into the characters, the lore, the worldbuilding, all while retaining a silent protagonist(insofar as we never actually see Red speak like those who he is interacting with), has truly set the bar for me across fanfiction as a whole.

 

Only one, huh? Well, if you're going to impose such a merciless rule, I'll have to go with Prince of the Dark Kingdom. Yes, even though it's abandoned. Even despite all the affect/effect and other such typos.

The author spun canon into such a well thought-out world. The worldbuilding is revealed at a good pace, I learned about things as they become relevant instead of suffering a huge infodump at the beginning, but even the stuff that I didn't see at a particular moment felt like it was always taken into consideration, so there was no stuff like JKR inventing apparition after PS.

The characters here are a mix of strange and familiar that fits the world. Snape here is one of very few I can not just tolerate but enjoy as a main character. Side characters and OCs are well-developed. And what I always say is this fic's biggest draw, Voldemort and his relationship with Harry. Best Voldemort in HP fanfic. Can't say that enough.

 

I'm going with - and this kind of surprised me when I scrolled through my favorites and forced myself to pick one - A Long Journey Home.

It's absolutely not a perfect fic. I think the first chapter is one of those things that probably lost half of the potential readers up front, because it raises so many red flags. Reading the first chapter again after you've read the entire thing, though, those changes felt very, very earned.

Jasmine lived five thousand years without Ron and Hermione, and about seven years with them. And eventually the story really makes you feel the weight of that separation, the weight of that time - and yet, it's still "Harry" - albeit a female version of Harry. Some of the subtle touches - like Hermione noticing how she still hand-polishes silverware as a nervous habit - work perfectly. They make the characters, and especially the relationship between Hermione, Ron, and Jasmine have that amazing "the same, but different" twinge I get from the best HP fanfic.

The weight of that time... there's a line in the fic where Jasmine and Hermione are talking about brewing a potion, and Jasmine says something like "I've brewed enough Dreamless Sleep potion to fill the Black Lake." It's lines like that that make you feel it. Because it's not hyperbole; it's actually true.

And of course there's the 4-chapter Merlin arc, which is probably the best self-contained story arc I've ever seen in fanfic.

There's also the chapter where Dumbledore goes in search of a legend, and he's written perfectly, and the setup is hilarious, and Jasmine-as-flower-child is perfect, and really that whole scene makes me physically grin just thinking of it, and I'm literally going to stop writing this for a second just to go read it again.

Anyway. I think ideally my "perfect HP fanfic" would be more closely tied to canon - a lot of this is much more, er, historical? than the 7 years JK wrote about. And yeah, if I were going by "what fic would you want updated most of all", I'd agree with Taure and go Forging the Sword. But part of that comes from the fact that A Long Journey Home felt complete, at several points. It's a story that could keep going, or not, and it would be satisfying. The "problem" posed in the first chapter - how can Jasmine and Ron and Hermione become friends again after one of them traveled 5,000 years into the past and lived every one of those years? - has been resolved, and at this point it's just more of Jasmine's story.

This is a fic that I've recommended to people who've been skeptical about the idea of HP fanfiction being worthwhile, mainly for its "look what you can do with the lore, with the characters" quality. It's a fic for people who love stories more than they love the specifics of Harry Potter, although it's very much loyal and true to a lot of what JKR set up. Simply, it's a fic that is completely comfortable in its own skin, and it's written in a way that you can just sink completely into it and know that you're in good hands, and, well, that's my idea of a great story.

 

If I am only picking one, it has to be finished. How a story ends is perhaps the most important part of judging a story. Without knowing that, it doesn't seem wise to declare something the best of all time.

With that in mind, I am recommending The Unforgiving Minute. It is a fantastic take on time travel stories because rather than offering a second chance to do everything correct, Harry is forced to do everything in the space of 12 hours (and he wastes half of them sleeping). It is both tense and highly entertaining watching the mayhem Harry causes trying to get all of the horcruxes under those time constraints. The characterization is also top-notch, I thought Dumbledore in particular was well done.

The only complaint I have against it is the flashback scenes. I felt they messed up the story's pacing a bit too much, and had very little to offer that couldn't have simply been implied in the present.

 

Denarian Trilogy. There is no fic (or series) I have read more than it. Sure, it's got a lot of problems, but for sheer entertainment value, it delivers on every front.

 

Yeah, Forging the Sword has to be #1.

Another favorite of mine is Rectifier by Niger Aquila. Any good Riddle-centric story is worth treasuring.

 

I think A Black Comedy is the best fic that this fandom has produced.

 

A Black Comedy is probably my favorite, though I'll agree with Taure and co. that Forging the Sword is probably the story I'm least happy about being abandoned.

I'll give special note to Blank101's Son of Suns Star Wars trilogy, which might be the most overall outstanding fanfiction I've ever read. I think his version of Han Solo is my favorite realization of a character in any fandom, and his Palpatine is perfect.

E: If it's unclear, I think that the Son of Suns trilogy is the best I've ever read, but I personally love A Black Comedy more. As the latter was given just above this post, I instead encourage you to read a better dark lord story than any Harry Potter fanfic has yet created, and look at Blank101's work.

 

Newcomb, I'd never even looked at that fic before reading your endorsement of it. I'm four chapters in now, and it really is exceptional.

My own favorite would probably be one of the more sweeping AUs (Wastelands, Skitterleap, etc.). I'm going to have to go reread some old favorites before making a final decision here.

 

Definitely agree. In my opinion, Blank101 is the best writer in the Star War fandom. The long scale of the character arcs and the quality writing really makes everything he writes enjoyable. Plus the angst actually adds to the stories rather than being a pointless dramafest.

I've been enjoying the Empire's Son fics as well tbh.

 

Cheers; be sure to leave the author a review when you're done. 693 reviews ain't nothin', but it's always kind of bugged me that A Long Journey Home didn't have multiple thousands.

 

I'm going to have to echo Scott and go with 'Prince of the Dark Kingdom'. I wouldn't kill for an update, but I'd probably do something personally degrading. It's a true epic, full of characters with genuine depth, plot arcs which always feel relevant even if they aren't directly affecting the main cast, fantastic action, and magic with a real sense of wonder. And of course, easily the best Voldemort in fanfiction.

 

For me it'll have to be Harry Potter and the Forests of Valbonë (+ Epilogue) by Enembee.

He manages to take the fantastical elements of the original series and magnifies it, all the while forging an extremely satisfying coming of age arc.

The amount of character interaction he manages to include in a story primarily involving Harry and two animated magical objects is just fantastic.

 

This is tough, but for me it's Path of Decision the only HP/Sandman crossover of any worth, and kinda brilliant. It plays with metafiction and inspired me to reread the comics.

 

I have to echo Shinysavage and ScottPress with 'Prince of the Dark Kingdom'. It is how an AU is meant to be written. Every character has a different past, and is different from canon but still has a small piece of who they are. The fic has amazing characterizations of their key characters that just makes sense. Both Voldemort and Snape are pretty damn amazing as well.

And the world building is phenomenal.

I am so sad it seems to be abandoned.

 

"Female Harry Potter" is one of those things that makes people, myself included, avoid a story. Once bitten, twice shy, you know?

 

Alexandra Quick. I don't think any other fanfic can match it for the combination of worldbuilding, original characters and a good story.

 

Yeah, can't read genderbent Harry. Anyhow, mine would be Santi's the Boy Who Lived. I wish he'd finish that thing.