The Year of Dramione Fanfiction
A deep dive into a surprisingly popular and powerful corner of the bookish internet
When I sat down to plot out my content calendar for the next few months, I thought about TikTok trends and sub genres and book releases, but then I had a moment of inspiration. It’s easy for me to get too deep into the minutiae of what is happening day in and out on social media and forget that not everyone else is paying attention to every little shift (and good for you - my goal with this newsletter has always been to chronicle the ups and downs of internet book culture so you don’t have to). But when I took a step back, I realized there was one trend, one sub genre, that keeps hanging on in spite of it all. In fact, I think it is actually gaining momentum.
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I’ve long predicted that this summer will be the summer of Dramione fanfic - three of the fandom’s recent canonical fics are being traditionally published as stand alone romantasy novels, the Harry Potter serial numbers filed off. And you’d think that might be the end of it. But readers, especially on BookTok but also on Twitter and Reddit, continue to be captivated by fanfiction for a non canon ship from a series that released its last book in 2007 (unless we count the script for 2016’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). I thought the publication of The Auction, Manacled, and Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Loved might mark the end of it, but I’m starting to think it might be something more like the beginning.
Why? Because it’s popping up everywhere, and not just on TikTok (although it’s there, too).
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First, as mentioned in a recent newsletter for paid subscribers, Julie Murphy started a new instagram dedicated to her favorite Dramione fics (@littlebitmean). Then, my favorite bookstagrammer, Bernie (@apaperbacklife) went down the rabbit hole, too. THEN, Sierra Simone posted a picture with her laptop, an “inappropriate use of the Malfoy signet ring” sticker prominently displayed:
That was enough for me to decide it was probably time to write about it.
Much like Twilight fanfiction trained and produced an entire generation of romance writers, and Reylo fanfiction delivered us Ali Hazelwood, Harry Potter fanfiction has already been the source of some of BookTok’s favorite authors, including Olivie Blake (dramione fic as OlivieBlake) and Alice Winn (drarry fic as gallaplacidia). And it looks set to deliver a new wave of romantasy authors this year.
But why is it that a fandom based on a 20 year old series written by a transphobic author continues to spawn stories that hit right at the center of the romance zeitgeist? I have a few theories but no firm answers. Is it that we are all still in search of escapism that manages to highlight the themes of resistance and redemption in an increasingly dark and dystopian world? Is it just the continuing cultural dominance of the enemies to lovers trope? Is it the burning desire for new romantasy reads to glom onto after finishing ACOTAR and Fourth Wing? Is it that the romances in Harry Potter are uniquely sexless and unsatisfying, driving an entire generation to furiously correct these wrongs? All of the above?
So let’s explore some of the core tropes of Dramione fanfiction through the fandom’s most popular fics and think about what they might mean for the future of mainstream romance.
Popular Tropes and Fanon
Before I give you a syllabus of some of the most popular Dramione fics, I wanted to run through the frequently used tropes of fanon of the Dramione extended universe. Many of these fics are tagged EWE, as in -epilogue? what epilogue? They disregard the epilogue at the end of Deathly Hallows, but otherwise treat the original texts as canon.
As mentioned above, Dramione fics are powered by the fire of enemies to lovers, the most dominant trope in romance for the past ten years. They could also be categorized as bully romance. Like many of the dark romances we’ve been discussing over the past few months, there are sometimes elements of non consensual sexual contact. In addition to the obvious, many Dramione fics focus on the trauma of war and shared experience. Draco and Hermione often bond over their mutual PTSD and are often seeing magical therapists in the stories, especially in those that take place a year or two after the conclusion of the wizarding war.
Dramione fanfic is popular enough to have its own sub genres, if you will. There are, of course, many darker fics that take place in an alternate universe where Voldemort won (no therapists present here) that really pile on the angst. And there are 7th/8th year fics, stories that take place in a universe where all of the students whose final year at Hogwarts was disrupted by the war are required to return and complete their 7th year after the war’s end. There are also marriage law fics, which take place in a world where the ministry requires the survivors of the war to be matched and married in an attempt to repopulate the wizarding world or encourage inter-house unity.
There are characters that are barely mentioned in Rowling’s series that have taken on outsize importance in the world of Dramione fanfiction - Theo Nott (often cast as Draco’s gay or bisexual best friend) and Blaise Zabini (often cast as a rich playboy) are two notable examples.
Finally, even more so than other fanfiction, Dramione fics tend to be extremely long, clocking in at 300,000 words or longer, giving new meaning to the term slow burn. If it takes Draco and Hermione 100,000 words to kiss, the pay off better be worth it.
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The Heavy Hitters
Manacled: Removed from ao3 but available to those with a facility with Google and a dream, Manacled will be published this fall as Alchemised. This is probably the most popular Dramione fic and synthesizes many of the most popular tropes - it has 118,000 ratings on Goodreads, more than most novels. The war has ended, Voldemort has won, and Harry is dead. Hermione has lost all of her memories and is sold as a slave to Draco Malfoy. Inspired by Handmaid’s Tale, Manacled is dark and extremely violent, with rape as a primary plot point. As Hermione’s memories return, she discovers that not everything is as it seems.
The author of Manacled, Senlinyu, has many other popular fics that haven’t yet been removed from a03 and continues to publish new fanfiction. It remains to be seen what will happen to these when Alchemised is released, but if it does well, I’d imagine more of her fic will be published. This is likely going to be the big book of the fall on BookTok.
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See! You can cry on camera about Dramione fic, too!
The Auction: Soon to be published as Rose in Chains, The Auction is also no longer available on ao3 (although it is findable if you’re desperate). This fic, written by Julie Soto of Forget Me Not and Not Another Love Song fame, is one of the foundational Dramione texts. It’s a they lose at the Battle of Hogwarts fic with a Handmaid’s Tale twist and a dash of Beauty and the Beast. After the battle, the women of the Order of the Phoenix are auctioned off to the highest bidder. Hermione is bought by Draco Malfoy. But why? “There was a drawer in Draco Malfoy's bedroom that contained a shoebox. Inside that shoebox was a picture of her.”
An interesting entry point for the Dramione curious if you want to get a sense of what it’s all about. Dark, but not as dark as it sounds, and not as dark as Manacled. You’re in capable hands with Julie Soto, who writes books that I always gobble up. And if any of my book publicist friends out there could help me out, I’m dying to get my hands on a copy of this one - I’m so curious how all of these will translate into stand alone romantasy novels.
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Breath Mints and Battle Scars: You guessed it, this one has been removed from ao3 but still exists in hidden corners of the internet. The quintessential 7th year fic. Draco and Hermione grow closer when they return to school, alienated from the others due to their difficulty processing the trauma of the war.
Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Loved: Soon to be published as The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy (they’re calling this an original debut but some of the plot sounds similar enough that I think it’s somewhere in between?), this classic fic is a slow, slow burn that stands a bit apart from other Dramione fic, with fewer fanon elements. Hermione has become a healer and a medical researcher with a laboratory at Cambridge, operating in both the muggle and magical worlds. When she draws too close to a breakthrough, her life is threatened and auror Draco Malfoy is assigned to be her bodyguard. I have a copy of the adaptation burning a hole in my pocket and I’m interested to see how this one translates!
The New Classics
Wait and Hope: An absolute banger of an amnesia fic. Hermione wakes up after an accident and has forgotten the last 6 years of her life, including the fact that she is now married to Draco Malfoy. Can he win her back? This is a great way to dip your toe in the Dramione waters, as it’s a reasonable 94,000 words long, and also great fun. I don’t usually like amnesia stories but I like it here.
Bloody, Slutty, and Pathetic: In addition to having the greatest title in the history of literature, this fic is a rollicking good time and manages to balance humor and darkness particularly well. When the Minister of Magic passes a marriage law in order to achieve reconciliation after the war, Hermione and Draco, fresh off a stint in Azkaban, are forced to marry. Hijinks ensue. Hermione’s cursed scar from Bellatrix is irritated by proximity to Draco, but they discover that rubbing his blood on it helps heal the cursed wound (?!). If any of you have the contact information for this author PLEASE LET ME KNOW. Help, WhatMurdah! I am dying to speak to you about your masterpiece.
Remain Nameless: 9 years after the war, Draco and Hermione bump into each other at a Muggle coffee shop. They both recognize trauma in the other and grow close over months of shared mornings and blueberry scones. A gentle slow burn about trauma, therapy, and unlearning prejudice that somehow manages to be 312,000 words long.
Secrets and Masks: If Remain Nameless is gentle, this is the opposite. 454,499 words of angst. The war against the Dark Lord continues 9 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, and Hermione remains on the front lines. She meets with a Death Eater mole called Medusa. Draco is Voldemort’s Demon Mask, his right-hand man. VERY DARK.
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Other Favorites
Apple Pies and Other Amends: After the war and an amicable breakup with Ron, Hermione embarks on what she describes as a PTSD Pastry Tour, learning how to bake in order to deliver treats to the other traumatized and grieving members of the wizarding community. She saves Draco for last, and when she delivers a perfect apple pie to him, it’s just the beginning. In order to help him overcome alcoholism, they begin to meet up on weekends for baking lessons.
A Hard Row to Hoe: This is sort of Mr. and Mrs. Smith adjacent? Instead of going to Azkaban for 2 years as he was sentenced to, Draco was recruited into a secret society of assassins. He has been hunting and killing dark wizards for the past several years, but when his entire team is killed in an op gone wrong, he starts therapy and reconnects with Hermione.
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Imaginary Celebrity Book Club
I wonder what Emma Watson is up to these days?
Thank you for going on this journey with me. Please drop any fanfic recs in the comments, the world is currently very hard and we need it.
FINALLY somewhere to dump all my niche dramione knowledge! There’s another actiony slow burn called Soft as It Began that everyone sleeps on and is one of my favorites. I usually recommend the Watergaw as a good entry for beginners because it is short, sweet, and light on the spice. This was a lovely read and I can’t wait to hear how you feel about the adaptations!
I started reading Dramione in October when I stumbled upon Bloody, Slutty, Pathetic and haven’t breathed since. I had never even read fanfic before, so it’s been a very interesting experience!
Some not on the list here that Ives loved are Love and Other Historical Accidents, An Ever Fixed Mark, Hot for Teacher, and Modern Romance (not exactly a Dramione, but rather lots of stories told through anonymous weekly journal entries for a magazine). There are so many good ones!
I’m reading Green Light now and enjoying it too.