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Complete Manacled by senlinyu

Discussion in 'Trash Bin' started by sombrero, Apr 13, 2023.

2.5999999046326/5, 5 votes
  1. sombrero

    sombrero First Year

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2011
    Messages:
    39
    Apr 13, 2023 #1
    Title: Manacled
    Author: senlinyu
    Rating: E
    Genre: Drama/Romance
    DLP Category: Dark Arts/Restricted
    Pairing: Hermione/Draco
    Status: Complete (77 chapters - 370k words)
    Summary: Harry Potter is dead. In the aftermath of the war, in order to strengthen the might of the magical world, Voldemort enacts a repopulation effort. Hermione Granger has an Order secret, lost but hidden in her mind, so she is sent as an enslaved surrogate to the High Reeve until her mind can be cracked.
    Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454174/

    Beware, it's sick, and it's perverse. It's definitely smut, but it's not really either.

    The story is set from Hermione's point of view, post-war, but the bigger portion is one big flashback during the war. The war is going bad for the order, it's much darker than canon and most fanfic I've read. War is heck. There's some torture, a LOT of death and misery, kinda over-the-top with it but that's what makes it fun. The smut itself is part of the story and subdued. It's shying away from description and takes a couple paragraphs at a time. The author is very much in love with the perfect bad boy she moulded her Draco into, so you've been warned about that. Get ready to read about his eyes and how tall he is all the time.

    At its heart the story sells itself as a mystery, slowly unravelling as Hermione progresses through it. It's kickstarted by the cheapest device: amnesia (of the magical sort, of course) but I really didn't care. It worked well and I got really interested in seeing where it goes. Eventually it becomes a more straight-forward romance/thriller.

    I think the writing was good. There's a lot of repetition but it's by design, and goes with the theme of amnesia and recovering lost memories. There's a little bit of sway in the accuracy of the pacing, but nothing that put me off.

    If anything, this is a fic you will remember. Maybe it's just a genre for teenage girls that I've never forayed into before, but the hyper-intense drama and romance did a number on me. I felt my withered old man's heart quiver.

    Give it a try if you dare.