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Draco Dormiens (2000)

by Cassandra Claire(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Wattpad

series

Draco Trilogy

review 1: As far as fan fiction goes, Draco Dormiens is actually pretty solid. I quite enjoyed it. The plot was interesting and the pacing was good. My real objections come from being a diehard Potterhead. The deviations existing Harry Potter canon grated on me in strange ways.I know that this is Alternate Universe fanfic, but so much of the smaller elements deviate so drastically from the source that it took me out of the story. For example, why in heaven's name would you characterize Hermione, arguably one of the best written and strongest female characters written in the last decade, as a love sick, nitwit? Add to that, am I really supposed to believe after 6 years of animosity, she fell in love with Draco Malfoy in a week? Nonsense. Absolute nonsense. And that's the other thing.... more The timeline isn't very well explained. The fanfic was published following HP#4, so initially I thought the story took place in their fifth year, but it wasn't until halfway through the story that we get confirmation through internal monologue that we're actually in year 6. Sloppy. And very confusing initially. That said, if you can suspend disbelief long enough to accept that Hermione is daft enough to "fall in love" that quickly, the love triangle is actually pretty well explored, and nicely written. Towards the end, I actually did believe that Hermione was struggling with her feeling for both boys, and it was sweet to see the way that the boys' adventure had made them into better people.Aside for viscerally hating nitwit Hermione however, I thought Cassandra Claire really managed to capture the essence of the other characters. Ron behaves almost exactly the way I imagine he would had Harry and Hermione actually been mid-flirtation. Fred and George are also perfectly as cheeky and mischievous as they are in canon. Even Sirius's actions (besides his engagement to his first cousin Narcissa, although I believe wizards do tend to marry that closely due to waning numbers) seem perfectly in line with how I imagine him to have been had he lived. Dumbledore especially I think was really well written. I completely believed that had the tone of the novels been as lighthearted as this fanfic, Dumbledore would have behaved this way. There were a lot of plot holes though. Harry and Hermione are missing from Hogwarts for a week and no one notices? They just waltzed out of the castle with no opposition? Arthur Weasley let his teen sons blackmail him into taking a flying car to his archenemy's house? Lucius Malfoy is a sex maniac? Details... I did like that there happened to be allusions to canon plot points. From the magids as a connection between Malfoy and Harry versus Harry and Neville's prophecy to the charm Lucius has on Malfoy's life versus Horcruxes, it was kind of fun to see Clair draw some of the same conclusions that Rowling eventually came to.I did really like the exploration towards the end of Hermione's female relationships. In canon, she never does seem to spend much time away from Ron and Harry and I liked the idea that she confided her "girl problems" in other girls, and had to be guided in the ways of "girl code." I thought it was sweet, however out of character. Hermione has always been the character of the main three who was most perceptive to emotions.In the end, I really liked it. It basically read like the last 5-6 chapters of a typical Harry Potter novel (problem, climax, Harry gets into hijinks, resolution) but that also gave me the sense that I'd stepped into the middle of the story. If there was more of what happened during the rest of the year, the Draco/Hermione flirtation might have been more believable. It was also unexpectedly funny in a lot of places. I especially did like the idea of humanizing Draco. I've always maintained that Draco is a product of his environment and my sympathy for him began during HP#6 when it was clear that his terror at the inevitable fate of his family resting on his teenaged shoulders weighed very heavily on him.It was a fun little ride. I would definitely recommend it to any fans of the canon Harry Potter franchise, and I'm looking forward to reading the next two installments.
review 2: I really liked this. For fanfiction it is really well plotted, fast paced and in the end you do like Draco a little bit more than before. As this is fanfiction, I have no issue with the lines taken from buffy, black adder etc. It adds an element of familiarity, makes it cozy. I have to admit though, I prefer Hermione to be paired with Draco than with Harry. My personal opinion is that Hermione and Harry just don't work as a couple. But sure what the bleep do I know!? less

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