kelly_chambliss

Femslash Friday is here again! (Sorry I missed last week; Reasons). Anyway, what would you say to a little Minerva McGonagall/Aurora Sinistra? This is one of the first McG femslash fics I read, back in my early fandom days (2009?), and it has stayed with me -- very nicely characterized. I didn't realize at the time just how rare a pairing this was, but I thought it made good sense then, and I still think so now.

Title: The Cat and the Star

Author: Hijja (aka Kennahijja)

Pairing: Minerva McGonagall / Aurora Sinistra (Note: the fic was written before Sinistra's canon first name was revealed, so Hijja calls her "Estella," which works just as well as "Aurora.")

Rating: R

Word Count: ~6000

Author's Summary: In the aftermath of the battle in the Ministry, two Hogwarts professors try to come to terms with the year’s events, their conflicting loyalties, and their own uneasy relationship.

Why I Love It: I always enjoy well-done "established relationship" fics like this one, and I particularly like how the story addresses Minerva's reluctance to have a public relationship with a staff member and the effect of that reluctance on Sinistra.

Friday! And time for more HP femslash.

As someone who spent decades as a teacher, I'm very squeamish about teacher/student relationships in fanfic. But when the student no longer is -- and when someone writes a teacher/(former) student pairing as beautifully and skillfully as the always-excellent Pauraque, I'm all over it.

Title: Nine Ways of Looking at a Book
Author: pauraque
Pairing: Minerva McGonagall/Hermione Granger
Word Count: ~1600
Author's Summary: Hermione has come back to Hogwarts to teach history. She finds herself looking to the future, too.
Why I Love It: I'm a sucker for
a) book!fic
b) titles based on poems [I confess that I've written a fic using this particular Stevens poem myself]
c) McGonagall, McGonagall, Minerva McGonagall. . . Her-r-r-r-r-MIONE!
d) And did I mention that it's beautifully written?

(Disclosure: This fic was my gift in the 2016 Kinky Kristmas fest at Daily Deviant. Thank you again for this gem, dear Pauraque!)

I've been in HP fandom for quite a while (since 2008), during which time literally thousands of fanfics have been written. Thus it's easy to lose track of all the wonderful older stories and artworks. So I thought I'd start a new tradition for myself: every Friday, I'll rec an HP femslash story or artwork that might be unfamiliar to many fans.

Most of these recs will feature the older HP women, since that's where my heart lies. But younger characters won't be absent.

Today's gem comes from the 2009 edition of HP_Beholder, one of the best fests ever to grace the fandom.

Title: A Toast to Lord Voldemort
Author: magnetic_pole
Pairing: Minerva McGonagall/Augusta Longbottom
Word Count: 4500
Rating: PG
Author's Summary: Neville joins an unexpected celebration.
Why I Love It: Not only is Magnetic Pole a fine writer, but she's also created spot-on characterizations. Minerva and Augusta are just as matter-of-fact, tart-tongued, and self-sufficient as you'd expect. Neville is a delight. And the magical world-building is exactly right.