I don't read much fanfiction these days. In fact, it's been more than two decades since I've last indulged. But I still remember vividly the joy of finding stories that bring to life characters and worlds I thought had reached their conclusion and of which nothing more was forthcoming. The chance to experience everything one last time and to have it develop new multitudes never before seen is a thrill beyond compare. And Manacled totally delivered, surpassing even my wildest expectations.
I went into this not expecting much. I'd previously never read any Harry Potter fanfiction. In fact, until this story crossed my awareness, I'm not even sure I'd ever contemplated their existence. And it's certainly never crossed my mind that Hermione and Draco could be a pairing. So the emotional force with which this story hit me really took me by surprise.
I loved that this story made Hermione front and center. As a bookish gal myself, I couldn't help but love Hermione in the original series. And if I were being honest, I think the one thing I found lacking there was that it didn't feel dark enough to me. Yes, bad things happened, but by and large, everything worked out for everyone. So this story took my favorite character and moved it in a direction I'd been secretly longing for.
And make no mistake, this was dark. When you think about what being on the front lines of any war, let alone a war with magical capabilities, would mean and what sort of sacrifices would be required of everyone, I feel like this book captured it. Probably every trigger warning you can think of is in here, so please tread carefully.
But the darkness didn't snuff out the readability and addictive nature of this story. Even though this was such a long read, I absolutely inhaled it. It had the sort of immersiveness that made the imaginary world within feel so real, the actual world outside dimmed in comparison. I thought about the story constantly, perpetually waiting for next moment I could forsake my responsibilities just to read a few more pages.
I was left in awe. This was so well plotted and so well written, taking not just what already existed in the series, but also adding to the lore and fleshing it out to such a degree, I don't think I will ever look at the original series the same way again.
My only complaint is that this is a bit too long, especially towards the end. The epilogue went on and on for what seemed like hundreds of pages, spelling out in excessive detail how everything turned out for everyone. It even included scenes decades later of children growing up, which was ridiculous in the original series and is still so in this one. But since this is fanfiction, I understand the appeal. If the goal is to revisit a beloved world one last time, then some wallowing is to be expected.
Fanfiction has always been a bit looked down upon, as if being the original creator of a lore somehow equates to being the best and only storyteller of it. But I scoff at such a notion and this story proves why. Fanfiction can help elevate the canon they are based upon to more lofty and imaginative heights, and I'm all for that.
I can see why this story got an offer to be traditionally published (with all the Harry Potter elements removed and reworked, of course), and I'm definitely adding Alchemised to my TBR. I'm going to wait a bit until this version isn't so fresh in my mind, and then I'll dive into this tale again from a fresh perspective.
Readaroo Rating: 4.5 ⭐
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