Epic Recs - Let's Pretend the War is Over by pir8fancier (PG-13)

Let's Pretend the War is Over by pir8fancier (PG-13)

Mar. 17th, 2014 at 11:00 AM

It's Hurt/Comfort / Angst Theme Week!

Title: Let's Pretend the War is Over
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Categories: Post-war, angst, emotional hurt/comfort, mental illness, recovery
Length: Medium (7,914)
Warnings: Serious mental illness. Mention of secondary character death.

Author on LJ:

pir8fancier
Author Website: On AO3

Author's summary: The war is over and Draco is alone, fighting demons of a different nature. This is obviously an AU by now. Written after "The Half-Blood Prince" came out.

Review:
Here's a classic that somehow hasn't been recced at ER before. I'm glad I get to add it, because pir8fancier's story packs a lot of thought and emotion, tackling grief and serious mental illness while letting us see glimpses of humor in Draco's matter-of-fact point of view. For instance, there's the absurdity of Draco believing himself to be insane, so he ignores the very real Harry, who he thinks is a hallucination.

The roses sat. And sat. Draco reasoned that if he didn't see them or smell them, then they didn't exist. Then by association, the elaborate hallucination of Potter-cum-florist-delivery-man hugging him, making him a cup of tea, and insisting he eat the soup he'd brought didn't happen either. Unfortunately, Draco wasn't able to stop those imaginary roses from filling the flat with their sensual aroma as they bloomed or the sickly sweet perfume as they died, withering from lack of water.

The odor of the roses was so overpowering that he ended up spending the entire week in his bedroom with the door closed, holding his nose as he Accio-ed crackers from the kitchen when his stomach rumbled.

There seemed to be a host of rules about this insanity business, rules that Draco didn't know, but he was damned sure you didn't put non-existent flowers in water.

I enjoyed the way Draco contrasts the care and attention he receives from the Harry he thinks is a hallucination, with the abuse he's sure he'd receive from the "real" Harry he imagines. His fear of the outside world is stark and believable.

Draco takes small steps toward acknowledging a deeply concerned Harry, but he's got a long way to go, so the friendship, care and plan to get him some help are much needed. There's romantic interest on both sides as well, though nothing physical can come of it until Draco's mental health improves.

As

capitu (who keeps an extensive, categorized list of HD recs at

my_drarry_recs) says, "This story is beautiful. And you're going to fall in love with both Harry & Draco, and the author."

Let's Pretend the War is Over (AO3)
On FFn | On skyehawke | On LJ: part 1, part 2
Podfic read by

leemarchais | Podfic read by

raitala

Comments

( Leave a comment )

mekare: Doctor Who: Jack Harkness saluting (jack salute)

mekare wrote:

Mar. 22nd, 2014 09:14 pm (UTC)

Thank you for the rec! I have never read any Harry/Draco but chose to give this a chance and I was rewarded. This was a beautiful fic, thank you for reccing it!

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mothlights wrote:

Mar. 26th, 2014 04:57 am (UTC)

I'm happier than I probably should be that I tempted you to read my favorite pairing. So thanks for letting me know! And glad you enjoyed it too.

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mekare: Flower patterned Japanese paper (doctor who brilliant)

mekare wrote:

Mar. 26th, 2014 09:40 am (UTC)

Thank you for the rec! I try to leave my well-trodden fan-pathways from time to time and it is almost always worth it! I completely rely on recs for these forays and the more detail they include the better I know whether to follow that turning or not. :-)

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