Title: Loving Potions by Tara Tory
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Harry/Snape
Categories: angst, bonding (sort of), drama, humor (mostly in the chapter titles), virgin, romance (by Snape standards, anyway)
Length: Epic (57,000 words)
Warnings: a few typos, the non-ironic use of 'Sev', written before book five

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

Review:
Draco manages to botch a love potion, which ends up affecting Harry and Severus instead (natch). Some surprisingly (but very welcome) realistic romance ensues.

How do I love this fic? Let me count the ways: I love that the lust component of the love potion faded before any actual sex occured (because I really do prefer my smut to be consensual). I love that Snape refuses to have sex with Harry while they are still teacher and student (and I also love the choices he makes that doesn't require them to wait till Harry graduates). I love that Snape explicitly states that he would find a submissive Harry to be boring and that Harry and Severus's relationship is emphatically one of equals. I love how confident Harry is in Snape's love for him (even if Severus still has a way to go in that department). I love that Snape his his usual sarcastic bastard self, and yet his love for Harry is perfectly clear. I love the fact that the focus of the story isn't on Harry and Severus falling in love, but instead on how they'll actually manage to make a life together work. I love that sleeping in the same bed doesn't come naturally to either of them. I love Tara's wizarding world, with its layers and realities that most authors ignore. Heck, I even love that she doesn't tie up all of the loose ends at the end of the fic, leaving just a few tantalizing threads to encourage us to wonder what will happen next.

Clearly, I love just about everything in this fic. It's well-written, with solid characterizations, and an interesting (if unusual for HP fic) plot. Just a great story all around.

Loving Potions