Manacled

Have I ever read Harry Potter, no. Am I 100% invested and emotionally attached to this story, 100% yes. Damn I didn't know this story was going to wreck me. I'm not a fanfic person, but just read this. It's so freaking dark, but so so good. I feel like if I even knew a little bit of the HP universe that this would be even better.

such a bittersweet ending.. i wanna cry.

This book really surprised me. I really loved the writing style and all the narrative choices that described a world that fell into terror, completely different from the one described in the canonical books of the series. Sometimes it was all too brutal, mainly because, like everyone else, i grew attached to most of the characters that made this story one of the most beautiful ever told since my childhood.

This was the first fan fiction I’ve ever read, and although I still don’t believe in an actual possibility of a dramione ship, I really enjoyed reading a book from this new perspective. Hermione has always been my favorite protagonist and certainly one of the most interesting personalities in this magical world.

I read it all in one breath, much recommended!

The only reason I’m revealing to the world I read this fucking fanfic is because I just realized it was equivalent to almost 700 pages and if you think I’m not counting that towards my book challenge this year you are MISTAKEN.

The writer is talented. The fic is extremely overhyped. I’d read their original material any day of the week tho should they publish any

“You have no idea how many of your Resistance fighters I’ve killed because they believed the lie that goodness is an advantage in war.”

“But as she tried to unravel him, he grew increasingly tragic and terrifyingly human.”

“I suppose no one realises how light one set of manacles is until they have two.”

“Everyone who wins say they were good, but they’re the ones who write the history. I haven’t seen anything indicating that it was actually moral superiority that made a difference.”

“I have warned you. If something happens to you, I will personally raze the entire Order. That isn’t a threat. It is a promise. Consider your survival as much a necessity to the survival of the Resistance as Potter’s. If you die, I will kill every last one of them.”

“Love isn’t always as pretty or pure as people like to think. There’s darkness in it sometimes.”

“She was a non-active member of the Order of the Phoenix and did not fight.”

Wow. I kinda don’t know what to even say. I swore to myself long ago that I would never read a fanfic, but here we are. I’m wondering how I could ever read another book because I fear the emotional intensity won’t compare. Reading the last line of the book, I had full body chills and cannot even describe the way it made me feel. I respect that the ending was so incredibly bittersweet considering the tone of the book- any other ending regarding wouldn’t have felt right.

This is such a sweeping and heartbreaking tale about how the good guys don’t always win, and how the winners are the ones the write history. I really appreciated the dedication to portraying the effects of war and trauma in a realistic light rather than assigning character behaviors simply to move the plot along.

A lot of people talk about redemption but I think this was more about revenge. Morally gray is an understatement here, but it goes to show that morals aren’t quite so black and white as we hope. The depiction of Harry as misguided and borderline a villain in his own right to everyone around him was fascinating to me. The level of detail in this book was honestly astonishing in a way I’d never be able to capture in a short review.

I feel like the best part was not knowing what Draco’s intentions are/the mystery of it all and that ended about halfway through. Some of the twists, turns, and reveals didn’t hit as hard as I’d anticipated. I don’t know if that’s because I wasn’t particularly emotionally invested in characters other than hermione, Draco, and snape. Do I think this could’ve been 200 pages shorter? Yes. Did I eat up every word. Yes. Would I read it again? Yes.