hot take UGH more of this, loved all parts of this, can’t wait to read the trad pub debut of this author, this is how you make me trust you, you treat the golden trio’s friendship with the respect it deserves in particular ron “i’m the EQ glue that holds these two together” weasley, did i control+F for the word “ron” and confirm that there wasn’t blatant bashing yes i did
Actual Review: I feel like putting a disclaimer out there is necessary: JKR is a tragic menace to society. I don’t agree with what she thinks, I don’t think that trans women pose some huge unreported risk to society (society poses a huge underreported risk to them), and it’s really annoying that people feel like they can enjoy her work without consequences. Fanfiction of HP that picks over the good bits of canon and disregards all the rest? Probably my limit. I’m happy to discuss and my views on this change from time to time, but I did read this and enjoy it and so that’s where the situation stands.
Herein we have a story that highlights one my favorite recurring bits:
“Why did you kill MAURICE LENNOX?” she asked reproachfully.
“He was the villain,” protested Anne. “He had to be punished.”
“I like him best of them all,” said unreasonable Diana.
H/T the incomparable writer of teenage life, LM Montgomery.
Draco makes for such an engaging lead because of his tragic past. He was a kid, like all the rest of them, and he did some terrible things but he struggled to do them, and so if you so wish–and many, many people do–you can impose on him a really interesting character arc that moves you through self reflection to being a good person. And when it’s done against the backdrop of some really interesting reflections on the wizarding world and its many MANY logical inconsistencies, you end up with a solid, super enjoyable story.
Hermione is, as the blurb promises, highly competent. She’s doing her normal, super smart thing (in this case, combining CAR-T therapies and magic to do some wizarding healing no one has ever made possible) and being targeted as a result, and so Draco is assigned to make sure that the wizarding world’s star smartypants stays safe.
When it says slow burn, it MEANS slow burn. As we don’t need to get pages of characterization, this is the equivalent of a 600 page romance novel, I imagine, where we can see our main characters interact in hilarious and longing ways, until suddenly someone snaps. But in the meanwhile, Hermione maintains her friendships with Harry and Ron which, as I noted above, is my absolute catnip. While yes, I do wish that Hermione hadn’t “not like other girls” ‘d the entirety of her year, I will always be a sucker for stories that include as a fundamental premise the centrality of strong, interpersonal friendships.
I am indeed very excited for the traditional publishing under nom de plum debut of this author, which I have on hold (ofc). Learnt afterwards that she’s an actual published author as well, which doesn’t surprise me in the slightest!