Beholder Recs Post #4 (and Bonus MM/SS!)

[kelly_chambliss]

Reveals for hp_beholder take place this Sunday, and I might actually make it through all the fics before then. (Well, not the 78K novel, but I look forward to reading that next week).

I still have several more to read (Hooch/McG! Binns/Walburga!), but you might as well have some recs in the meantime. As usual, Beholder is packed with pleasures and dazzling rarepairs (though Snape is definitely the little black dress of the fest, starring in 14 fics).

My previous Beholder recs are here and here and here.

Beholder Recs

A Magical Moment in the Life of Petunia Dursley, Née Evans (Petunia/Severus, Petunia/Vernon, Petunia/Lily [of sorts]; R) by Anonymous pale_moonlite
A stunning story -- atmospheric, beautifully characterized and written, full of unexpected twists and IC darknesses and revealing moments. The characters are complex, unpretty, and compelling. This year's Beholder has produced several powerful depictions of Petunia, and this is one of the best.

Choosing the Wizard (Ollivander/Hagrid; PG) by Anonymous albalark
I loved this fic. Impeccable world-building, great wand lore, fascinating characterizations, wonderful cameos by Luna and Severus. And there's background Severus/Minerva!

Links to Build a Life (Molly/Arthur; NC-17) by Anonymous lyras
I think this story is the best depiction of Molly and Arthur and their marriage that I've read. I'm not normally a Molly fan, but if she'd been like this in canon, I might have been. Yet the story is canon-compatible and IC. And well-written, too.

Chosen and Accepted (Andromeda Tonks/Augusta Longbottom; PG) by Anonymous featherxquill
Once the author points out the canon parallels, this pairing is less unexpected than it might at first seem, and it's highly satisfying. I like the parallels of structure and character and the excellent, believable post-war background. The OLSB does it again.

Cultural Differences (Viktor Krum/Severus Snape; NC-17) by Anonymous schemingreader
I love the characterization of Viktor here and the thoughtful treatment of "cultural differences" in all the varied possibilities of that term.

The Oddity of Kisses (Severus Snape/Greg Goyle, background Harry/Draco; NC-17) by Anonymous femmequixotic
Okay, I don't really believe that Snape would fall for Goyle. But I definitely fell for the characterization of Greg in this story. The author has done a fabulous job with his pov, giving us a hilarious, touching, revealing, poignant dip into the stream-of-consciousness of a man who is both a bit thick and a bit brilliant.

Safe in Your Arms (Minerva/Severus; PG-13) by (not so) Anonymous shadowycat
I've yet to tire of looking at this lovely image of (sadly temporary) peace. Their hair, and the lines on their faces, and their protectiveness, and. . .love it.

I was also impressed by A Fire in the Deep (Bloody Baron/Grey Lady, by chantefable), which uses perfectly overdone poetic language to good effect in characterizing a self-dramatizing Grey Lady, and the two Peter Pettigrew stories: Bravery and Ambition (with Amycus Carrow by alwaysasnapefan) and The Magpie and the Rat (with Mundungus Fletcher, by wwmrsweasleydo). Both offer interesting perspectives on Peter and great characterizations of Mundungus and Amycus. (Romantic Mundungus. Twice. No wonder I love Beholder.)

My Thoughts on Authorship
As you know, I'm usually pants at guessing who wrote what in fests. But that never stops me from giving it a try. I'm 100% sure which stories were written by therealsnape and featherxquill, given that I beta-read them. I'm pretty sure I've spotted those by lash_larue, femmequixotic, and atdelphi. I'm also sure of albalark's. I'm much less sure of (but still have a guess about) the one by musamihi. I have suspicions about a couple of others, but nothing I'd take to the bank.

And I still have a few stories to read, so stay tuned. (I usually try to limit myself to no more than ten recs per fest, on the theory that recs lose their power if one makes too many of them. But I blow that rule to smithereens with Beholder. I've made 19 recs so far [out of 55 entries /g/]. But Beholder is that kind of fest -- there are so many quality works.)

Bonus McSnape Rec
This story isn't part of Beholder, but check out this vignette by astrogirl2: It's called Rest For the Weary.

Astrogirl is the one who wrote the remix based on my Adela stories. This ficlet takes place in the same universe, and my only complaints are a) that there isn't more of it, and b) that Astrogirl hasn't written another five or ten or 200 MM/SS fics.