Title: Secrets by Vorabiza
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Categories: Angst, Action/Adventure, Kid!fic (slightly), Harlequin, h/c, sort of AU (not Book Seven compliant)
Length: OMG!Epic (400,000+ words)
Warnings: a few grammar issues, mainly in the early chapters

Author on LJ: n/a?
Website: n/a?

Review:
Shortly before his birthday, Harry gets a surprise visiter: Draco Malfoy. With a baby. Thus is the beginning of a remarkably snarky beautiful relationship.

This story impresses the hell out of me for a ton of reasons. The plot is amazing, being both intricate and well-planned, and resulting in a fabulous (if entirely different from canon) final battle. Vorabiza also did an brilliant job handling the kid aspect of the fic -- Victoria (the baby) is an integral part of the story, but at no point is there any danger of her taking it over. She is a catalyst and an important element, but the world does not revolve around her.

Finally, you have some truly great characterizations, with Draco and Harry both recognizably teenagers, but also not nearly as bratty as they are in canon. Harry is especially well done, encompassing both the volatile emotions of his canon character and the gradually emerging maturity necessary for him to be a believable leader of the light with a real chance at defeating Voldemort. The secondary characters aren't shortchanged either: unlike most H/D fics I've read, Harry's friends are not turned into judgemental shrews, Draco's parents are not drawn as saints, and Severus does not become a marshmallow. Instead you have flawed, human characters who grow over time and who make mistakes just as often as they succeed.

With a fic this long, there will be issues, and I have to admit that the story does have its slow spots. Personally I find this to be a positive side of the story, since even I can't finish 400,000 words in a single day and I need the slow spots to give me an excuse to go to bed. (I also have an issue with Fred and George, but this is entirely due to the fact that Vorabiza wrote them exactly as they are in canon and I find their canon versions to be highly irritating).

Final verdict: long, beautifully plotted, and full of rich, well-drawn characters. A highly entertaining story.

Secrets