I'm so excited to claim something that I wrote, after a year of no-fic.

Title: Sex and the Art of Castle Maintenance
Author: birdsofshore
Pairing: Harry / Draco
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~15k
Summary: "Come on, boys," Zabini drawled. "You're only delaying the inevitable."
Trouble always had a way of finding Harry, and eighth year was obviously going to be no exception.
Content notes: Consent issues, Eighth year, Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Mistletoe, Matchmaking, Antagonism, Smut, Antagonistic Smut

So this was written for 8c  / PukingPastilles  for hd_erised , which was a fantastic experience for me! Thanks so much to lq_traintracks who saved me from utter panics and made brilliant suggestions, bixgirl1 who was super-encouraging and helpful, who_la_hoop  who gave me the title (without having read the fic, hah), and the mods, gracerene , dicta_contrion  and firethesound , who not only picked a superb match for me, but were kind and patient and calm (to my face, at least) when I kept messing up and then was horribly late. You are all THE BEST. 

Thank you also to everybody who has read and left comments already. After a year of being in a bit of a lonely place with fandom, it's been such a joy to share something with everybody!

I've decided the best summary would actually be a quote from one of  8c 's comments:

"I'm just... letting Malfoy suck my cock... to figure out what he's up to."

I also need to mention, again, the asdfghjksdfghjkl art I got for my gift, Heat of the Moment, by isinuyasha , which has made me SO HAPPY and is an utterly breath-stealing moment of romance and desire. <3

Aaaand I need to nudge you to look at the so-hot-it-should-be-illegal art which 8c drew to illustrate my fic, which you can see here on AO3, now with rather NSFW preview (but it is 100 times more SFW than the actual art):
( Preview under the cut )( And lastly a mini update about my writing )

I still have no idea how to use Dreamwidth and I forgot half the html I knew, so if I cock this up just ignore me, please! I don't think my spoiler cuts worked, or maybe they worked too well because I lost a lot of the post?? I'm so sorry if this looks awful on your feed.

Here's my erised fic. It's long and full of tropes and quite ridiculous in places, (plus! Bonus pretentious title!) But there's also rimming and sentient Grimmauld Place and plenty of fanon!Draco. \o/

Title: You open always (petal by petal)
Author: birdsofshore
Recipient: bixgirl1
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, background Ron/Hermione
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~65,000
Warnings: Homophobic slurs and attitudes, internalised homophobia, derogatory attitudes to sex workers, some mentions of sadistic violence, brief thoughts of sexual activity with a sleeping partner, rough sex, brief mention of Harry with a woman (past relationship), mentions of dubious consent in connection with sex work
Content/Enticements: Post war, Rent boy!Draco, down-and-out!Draco, top!Harry, inexperienced!Harry, Grimmauld Place, house magic, house-elves, portraits, first times, antagonism, hurt/comfort, coming out, antagonism, pining, angst, UST, kissing, wanking, frotting, blow jobs, rimming, intergluteal sex, anal sex

Summary: Harry’s not the kind of person who pays for sex. He really isn’t. Until he is.
Author's Notes: bixgirl1 , I was equal parts delighted and intimidated to receive my assignment to write for you. Your sign up was a treasure trove of inspiration and I dearly hope you find plenty to enjoy here.
Thank you so much to my betas, lq_traintracks , and dicta_contrion , for their extraordinary patience, kindness, and skill. Any remaining mistakes are entirely down to me. Thank you also to the mods for their support and their tireless work running this beloved fest.
The title comes from e.e. cummings’ poem, somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond.

You open always (petal by petal) on AO3

I wanted to say a very heartfelt thank you to everyone who left comments on this. I appreciate it so much.

I also wanted to blether a little bit and basically post pretty pictures I found inspiring while I was writing.

The amazing and talented agentmoppet has made a podfic of my story, Aural Gratification, in which Harry gets hooked on the sexy voice of an audiobook narrator (GUESS WHO) and *cough* has a bit of a sexual awakening in the process. They did a fantastic job! I love their eloquent and dryly humorous delivery, which imo was perfect for this frankly ridiculous story. Also, I am DELIGHTED at the concept of someone making an audio recording of my smutty story about Harry listening to smutty stories. :D How perfect is that?

You can listen to it here on AO3. Please leave agentmoppet lots of love if you give it a try.

hd_fan_fair finished posting this week and I was incredibly lucky, I had some gorgeous things written and drawn for my prompts and I feel super-spoiled. I am going to rec every single one of those, not because I feel obliged, but because I loved them A LOT. ♥

(Ugh, I got so excited I missed one out! If you saw this post earlier, please check back now so I can tell you about all 6 of them ♥)

Title: Professor Potter and his Magical Menagerie
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Harry Potter descends on Hogwarts with a horde of magical beasts. Professor Malfoy is not amused.
Word Count: 7,500

Gosh, this is so delightful. I've been longing to read a story based around this prompt (Harry is the Hogwarts gamekeeper who brings chaos to the castle) for ages and the MA did such a charming job with it. It's smart and funny, and Draco trying, and failing, to be a menacing, unpopular professor is hilarious!

Title: Art: Eldritch Horror Seeking Same
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Something is wrong with the Giant Squid, and Hermione is not going to rest until she’s figured this out. She’s not planning on letting anyone else rest either, but that’s ok, because Pansy likes an adventure, Ginny likes whatever Pansy likes, Ron didn’t have anything better on that weekend, and Harry and Draco needed to get out of bed soon anyway, before Teddy broke anything else.
Word Count: 681

Ahhhhhh, this is just about the most glorious thing I have ever seen. It's so warm and wonderful and funny and has touched my life with joy. It's quirkily beautiful, and if you haven't seen it yet, PLEASE go and leave the artist some love, it's astonishing.

Title: Under the Same Sky
Rating: NC-17
See fic for detailed warnings: non-sexual puppy play
Summary: “It wasn’t…” Malfoy stops and there’s something tentative in his voice, the hint of an apology in his words. “It was never about you, Potter.”
With memories of the war still fresh on his mind and Malfoy back in London, Harry's past refuses to stay buried. As Harry tries to grapple with life and love, Malfoy seems determined to make him confront his deepest desires and Harry has to try not to lose his heart all over again.
Word Count: 38,695

This completely floored me. I wasn't sure what to expect from a 40k exploration of non-sexual puppy play, but it's WONDERFUL. The kink side of it is so sensitively and thoughtfully done, and the sex (which is completely separate from the pet play) is SMOKING. I adore stories about two people finding their way through a new kink and this is one of the best I've ever read. It was so satisfyingly insightful.

Title: Whoo Knew?
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Despite having had a crush on his Auror partner for years, Draco's been biding his time and waiting for the perfect opportunity to make his case. But when Harry subscribes to a new wizarding personals service, Draco gets a wake-up call. With each new message that arrives for Harry from a hopeful suitor, it becomes more and more clear that the time to act has arrived.
Word Count: ~19k

Whoa, this is a dream of a fic. Such gratifying pining, and the snarky banter, and so bloody funny and hot as well! Harry was particularly irresistible here, and Draco's characterisation is smart and sharp and made my heart ache for him. Gorgeous stuff.

Title: Winging It
Rating: NC17
See fic for detailed warnings: non-magical AU
Summary: When Draco accidentally bonds with a newly-hatched dragon, and a queen no less, his life will never be the same.
Word Count: 17,700

I was so intrigued to see this prompt claimed (a Pern/HP crossover) and the MA really nailed it. There are so many little details here that make the story work in the Pern verse but with recognisable canon characters, and the two worlds are meshed together beautifully. And then the slight dub-con brought on by the dragonriders' telepathic bond with their mating dragons really hit the spot for me, with a delicious dynamic between Harry and Draco. I don't think you need to be familiar with Pern to enjoy this story, btw, it makes sense as a stand-alone.

Title: Art: Auror Peacock Extraordinaire
Rating: PG-13
Summary: As part of a new departmental initiative, Harry finds himself with a partner he never asked for... and Draco Malfoy.

OH. MY. WORD.

OK, so my prompt was for Harry to get a highly intelligent, trained animal to help him with his Auror work. A PEACOCK. And for Draco Malfoy to be the peacock trainer.

SO. The MA has taken this utter nonsense and made it a thing of beauty and wonder. And costumes. And shirtlessness. AND GENIUS. I was waiting for this to post allllllll through the fest, and of course I had to wait until the last day because that's how good it was. But it was worth it. ENJOY.

There was so much wonderfulness at fan fair that I was not able to keep up as much as I'd have liked. There are several more entries over there that I have my eye on for when I get a chance, so tell me if I missed something which you loved?

I also want to note the fact that the amazing hp_nextgen_fest has started posting with some absolute corkers to enjoy, and the hd_fanart fest has also begun! I hope you get time to enjoy all of the lovely things people have created for us, and leave tons of comments instead of using that shitty 'like' feature which I am gutted to see appear.

This is one of my all-time favourite H/D fics ever. A conversation about the art on the hd_fan_fair banners (you can see the beautiful original here on isinuyasha's LJ) made me realise that some of my newer friends might not have read this glorious story, and I need to do all I can to rectify this terrible possibility!

Author: saras_girl
Title: All Life is Yours to Miss
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione [past Draco/OMC and past Draco/Pansy implied]
Summary: Professor Malfoy's world is contained, controlled, and as solitary as he can make it, but when an act of petty revenge goes horribly awry, he and his trusty six-legged friend are thrown into Hogwarts life at the deep end and must learn to live, love and let go.
Rating: R
Word Count: 115,000
Warning(s): Nothing serious. Flangst, original characters, lots and lots of talking.

I just reread All Life is Yours to Miss this week and it hasn't lost a bit of its genius. It took me right back to Hogwarts as if I was discovering it for the first time. It's deliciously Draco-centric, but Harry is also present on every line just by the wonderful, warm, vivid way that saras_girl evokes his character. Draco breaks my heart a little in this fic, he has so little self-worth and finds it so hard to open up and let any intimacy or joy into his life. But Harry mends it a thousand times over. He's so stubborn and determined and alive and loving and smart and honest and HARRY, even when an accident occurs and he is unable to move or communicate. It's the most wonderful thing to watch Draco slowly blossom and make connections within the castle, and then when Harry starts to recover, the relationship between them is funny and moving and frustrating and amazing and sizzles with UST.

The supporting characters are just brilliant. Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid and McGonagall are a delight, as are the pissed-off house-elves who start to serve up things like raw turnip sandwiches due to their unhappiness with Draco. And as usual with saras_girl's writing, there's a great cast of original characters too, including the unforgettable Stanley, the oversized mint beetle who is Draco's pet, and stole my heart completely in this story.

I know it's long, but it's super, super worth it. I can't recommend it enough.

There is another reason I wanted to rec this today, and this is because the fic has just tipped over 100,000 hits on AO3. WOW! \o/ I think this deserves much celebration, not just for this fic, but for our wonderful, vibrant fandom, that still has so many passionate readers. ♥  If you've already read All Life is Yours to Miss, I'd love you to comment and tell me what your favourite part was (I think mine might be the exchange You can't argue with the Sorting Hat!/ I can argue with anything.) And if you've yet to read it, you have a massive treat in store, I promise.

Title: Dueling
Author: amorette
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3,200
Content: Blow Jobs, Dominance & Submission, Hair-pulling, Rough Sex, Fighting Kink, Duelling, Dominant Harry, Bottom Draco
Summary: Draco is an Auror trainee. They have dueling practice every week. All dueling really amounts to is a game of domination and submission.

WHOOOOOOAAAAAA this was wonderful. There are so many favourite things of mine here: the antagonism, the duelling,the UST, the forced proximity and the D/s themes.... but I must admit, my heart sank one notch when I read bottom Draco on the content. I don't care too much who tops or bottoms, but I *do* like a powerful, smart Draco.... Imagine my joy when I found that this fic gives us a FABULOUS strong, snarky, competent, manipulative, fierce Draco. Who just happens to love it when Harry beats him at duelling.

ASASDFGHJKLDFGHJKLFGHJKLGHJKL!!!

This fic is super hot, super smart, and super well-written, especially considering it was written in 24 hours for wand_in_a_knot.

Gogogogogo! Enjoy!

Title: Unexpected
Author: birdsofshore
Pairing: Harry / Draco
Word count: 5 x 100
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Nothing really
Summary: For dicta_contrion, a little recreational hair-pulling for your birthday. Thank you for being the wonder that you are: weaver of amazing words, beta extraordinaire, brilliant commenter, and creator of the hottest, dirtiest, most deliciously brain-melting smut ever. ♥

Thank you so much to lovely lumosed_quill for the help.

( Unexpected )

IT'S JUST THAT GOOD. I always say I don't care who takes it up the arse. But OMG I care SO MUCH about a Toppy, Dommy Draco. And the dracotops_harry fest always delivers.

asdfghjkl;dfghjklghjklghjklghjksdfghjklkl;khgdssdfghjkhdfghjlkkkkl

The art and fic from the first day have just about slayed me. SERIOUSLY. Have you SEEN them? I think the rest of the fest will finish me off. There's fic and art coming from some of my favourite people. And two of my prompts got claimed and whoever is writing them, I love you already.

That first fic just has me wanting to follow the writer around forever with a soppy look on my face. I NEED AN INTERVENTION HERE.

Meanwhile, have some recs:

( 2 from DTH and 2 general H/D )

I feel like I've been quiet lately; I've not been in the best state of mind and have been feeling a bit low in mood and confidence at times, but I'm trying to be around more. I'd love to hear if you've enjoyed any of these, or what you've been reading/writing, or what you're excited about, or ANYTHING.

This was my gift for anemonen:

Title: I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor
Author: birdsofshore
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, brief Draco/OMCs
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~28,000
Warnings: Homophobia (internalised, plus verbal and physical abuse). Draco has off-screen sex with other men before he and Harry get together. Harry attempts sex with another man but changes his mind. Plenty of antagonism. Fashions and music are not necessarily contemporary to the time period of the story. I sincerely apologise to anyone who lives in Walthamstow; I hear it's quite a nice place these days.
Content/Enticements: Clubbing, the Muggle world, coming out, first times, virgin!Harry, experienced!Draco, voyeurism, semi-public sex, jealousy, antagonism, pining, UST, flangst
Summary: Harry felt lit up from inside as soon as he entered the bar. There were blokes dancing together, their bodies close to one another, not keeping a wary distance as Harry was always careful to do when he was near another man. God, he wanted this – wanted it so much he could taste it, a metallic tang of heat and desire. He suspected nothing would ever be the same again – especially when he saw who else was in the room.

I'm so so excited I can finally talk about this, and most importantly, shout my head off about the amazing ART which anemonen drew for it. LOOK AT THIS: Live here in the moment. I can't tell you how chuffed I was that Ane was inspired to create this stunning Draco. The whole picture fits my imaginings of the Tube scene from the story perfectly. And then I had to keep quiet and not say anything about it for WEEEEEKS! I nearly DIED. It's a gorgeous standalone picture of Draco so it won't spoil anything if you haven't read the fic, by the way. Please do leave anemonen all the love if you go and take a look.

( Wafflings about writing, with pictures and videos and stuff )

I've been drowning in all of the glorious things that have been posted over the last month. I've hardly had time to comment properly, let alone rec, but I was determined to get at least one rec post in before hd_erised reveals. Are you going crazy waiting like me? WHO WROTE MY GIFT FFS? I thought I knew, but I was wrong, and it's driving me up the wall, LOL!

( Recs: fics and a podfic )

Title: Golden Age
Author: Anonymous
Inspired by Pottermore entry: B8. The Hufflepuff Common Room
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco; off-camera: Hermione/Pansy
Warnings/Content Notes: Environmentalism, alternative religion (or lack there of), unshakable socialism, food, hugs, a secret society, and perhaps some very interesting Muggleborns – it’s just a huge, liberal, Hufflepuff party.
Summary: The Celtic druids once made a decision that kept magic in abundance in Britannia, but they couldn’t account for the technological advances Muggles would make centuries later. Now magic is dying on the isles, and this is not a dark lord that Harry can fight. OR: Harry Potter doesn’t save the world this time, but he does get a lot of hugs.

( Golden Age )

I hope Rectober is going well for you? I apologise for not having time to do much Rectober housekeeping at all this year, but I see wonderful recs here, there, and everywhere, and I still hope to come through with a list of contributors when it's all over.