Moar Fest Recs

The excellent stories just keep getting posted. My only sorrow is that comment numbers seem to be way down this year, at least in the fests I'm following (Kinky Kristmas, Snapely Holidays, HP_Holidaygen, Mini-Fest [except for the Harry/Draco fics, which generally have made it to double-digit comments]) -- in quite a few cases, superb stories are getting only three-four brief comments. (One exception, at least so far, is the wonderful hoggywartyxmas, where the per-story comments have already climbed into double-digits after only two days of posting.)

So let me continue to do my part to promote excellent rarepairs and femslash:

From snapelyholidays (I'm behind on my reading for this fest, so I'll probably have more recs to come):

ART -- A History of Two Wars by Anonymous (Snape/Moody; NWS)
Beautifully-rendered in a sort of woodcut style, with a mysterious, dangerous, spooky atmosphere that I find really effective. This pairing is a favorite of mine, and it's rare to find it at all, let alone done so well.

From hp_holidaygen:

For the Greater Good by Anonymous (Elphias Doge, Albus Dumbledore, OCs; PG-13)
A taut, insightful, well-characterized look at the Grindlewald years traced through the experiences of Elphias Doge. The author does a wonderful job creating a fully-realized, believable Elphias, and her Albus is equally strong: a man with many shades of gray, yet genuinely committed to the good and aware of his flaws. We get a glimpse into what it might be like truly to be much, much smarter than almost everyone you know. It's a handicap in many ways, and I feel I understand the character of Albus better after reading this exploration of him.

From hp_emofest:

A Tragedy in One Act by Anonymous (Septima Vector/Charity Burbage; PG-13)
A little gem of a story, with a well-imagined Septima mourning the loss of Charity. Yes, it's emo, but hey. . .check out the name of the fest. I found this fic very powerful, with a pairing that makes a lot of sense.

This last rec is not from a fest, but is from one of my favorite new Snape/McGonagall writers, whose angsty angst is beautifully angsty:

Beyond Mending by tea_for_lupin (Minerva/Severus; PG-13)
Argh! In this painful, believable story, the author gives us a plausible take on how a Snape/McGonagall relationship might break on the rocks of the DH year.

(Another Kinky Kristmas rec post coming soon. . .)