snowgall

What follows is a list of my picks for the best Drarry fanfiction of 2012
(23 fics, sorted by date published)

Updated February 10, 2016

Note: There are so many lists of favorite Harry/Draco fanfiction, but I wanted to do something a little different. Rather than create a list based on genre or length or era or whatever, I've decided to do a series of "best-of X year" lists. This means the year the work was published not the year I read it.

More lists:

• Best of 2015
• Best of 2014
• Best of 2013
• Best of 2012
• Best of 2011
• Best of 2010
• Best of 2009
• Best of 2007-8
• Why am I making these lists?

Title	Author	Rated	Length	Original Post	Pub Date
Discretion is Key	thusspakekate	NC-17	14,000	hp-intoxicated	23-Jan-2012
In the months following their return to Hogwarts for their 8th and final year, Harry and Draco bond over a shared interest in marijuana, snack foods, and other boys. Link to my rec
Glory	Digitallace	NC-17	12,500	AO3	28-Jan-2012
What happens when Draco and Harry each find the opposite end of a hole in the locker room wall? Oh, stop it with your dirty minds. Oh wait. That's exactly what happens. Link to my rec
Sardines (sequel to Anyone for Scrabble? 2011)	fr333bird	NC-17	5,700	livejournal	27-Feb-2012
Another inter-house unity night brings Harry and Draco even closer. Link to my rec
Ask Me a Question	beckybrit	NC-17	7,200	livejournal	1-Mar-2012
When Auror partners Harry and Draco get stuck in a cellar together, will a game of twenty questions reveal more than they were expecting? Added 10 Feb 2016
I'll Show You More (remix of I'll Show You Mine 2010)	dysonrules	NC-17	7,900	hd-remix	3-Mar-2012
Draco is angry and unsettled after a brief sexual encounter with Harry Potter. Harry cannot be found, but Draco's Slytherin housemates want to know what's going on. Link to my rec
Denude	faithwood	NC-17	4,200	livejournal	12-Mar-2012
This is a HBP AU. It's set a few days after the Sectumsempra scene and takes the story in another direction, asking the question: "What if the Sectumsempra scene had a greater impact on Harry and Draco?" Harry and Draco are sixteen. In medias res beginning. Non-linear storytelling.
Three Little Words	ad_libitum	R	450	hd-writers	13-Mar-2012
They've been together for a year, but Harry's worried because Draco's never said 'I love you.'
Desire Unveiled	frayach	NC-17	15,200	harry-submits	14-Mar-2012
Harry is emphatically NOT a pouf, and thus his reoccurring fantasies involving Draco are due to his Occlumency lessons with Snape, NOT to his sexuality. Or so he tries to convince himself. Meanwhile, Voldemort has returned, and Harry is about to learn that he is the Chosen One--whether he's ready or not.
The Veela Codec	curiouslyfic	PG	3,000	hd-remix	20-Mar-2012
Potter wants obvious. Draco wants Potter. Clearly, some sort of plan is required. Link to my rec
The Wand	faithwood	NC-17	1,400	livejournal	5-Apr-2012
Something's not right with Draco's wand. Link to my rec
Salt on the Western Wind	saras_girl	R	60,500	hd-smoochfest	31-May-2012
When the war isn't quite as over as it first appears, a guilt-ridden Harry is sent to a mysterious safe-house. Among sandwiches, insomnia, and Mills & Boon, he discovers something quite unexpected.
You're My Exception	treacle_tartlet	R	6,000	hd-smoochfest	21-Jun-2012
In which Harry is unlucky in love, Draco is a bit of a manipulative bastard, and we all get what we want in the end. Added 28 May 2015
My Own Worst Enemy	dysonrules	NC-17	22,000	hd-smoochfest	29-Jun-2012
After a night of heavy drinking, Draco wakes up fully-clothed to find that his flat is a wreck and several things are missing. Things only get worse from there. Link to my rec Added 28 May 2015
Not Your Face	khasael	R	26,000	hd-smoochfest	29-Jun-2012
After an unusual late-night encounter with the Mirror of Erised, Harry finds himself with the unexpected (and rather unwanted) ability to see aspects of everyone else's deepest desires. Harry really wishes things like this didn't happen to him.
Storm in a Teacup	faithwood	NC-17	8,400	serpentinelion	11-Aug-2012
For reasons he'd rather not think about, Draco is obsessed with Potter's hair. This cannot end well. Hogwarts!fic.
Harry Potter and the Alpha-Omega Bond	Becstar7	NC-17	20,200	hexfiles	22-Sep-2012
Harry goes into heat unexpectedly. Malfoy stakes his claim. Contains bonding, knotting and Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics (and the dub-con inherently implied). Link to my rec
This Charming Man	thusspakekate	NC-17	41,000	hd-fan-fair	4-Oct-2012
Harry doesn't understand how he's supposed to learn the genteel art of pureblood etiquette from the rudest arsehole he's ever known.
Non-Breakfast, Breakfast	holly_hearts	PG-13	3,700	livejournal	29-Oct-2012
Harry tries not to panic. He is not entirely successful. Link to my rec Added 21 Feb 2015
Unhook the Stars	jad	NC-17	62,500	hp-sexstars	2-Nov-2012
"Love is like a Rubix Cube: there are countless wrong twists and turns, but once you get it right, it's perfect no matter how you look at it." Sixty-thousand words of pornographic discourse between two boys-turned-men that still haven't learned how to communicate like normal people – with words. Guest appearances by Pansy Parkinson, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Blaise Zabini, Teddy Lupin, Gregory Goyle, the Weird Sisters, ex-wives, several Weasleys, a Boggart, and a Honey Badger. Added 14 Jul 2015
Turnbout Is Fair Play (Sequel to How to Handle an Enemy 2008)	who_la_hoop	NC-17	11,000	livejournal	4-Nov-2012
After a--cough--revealing game of truth or dare instigated by his fellow Slytherins, Draco Malfoy finds himself in possession of a) the interesting knowledge that a certain Gryffindor horror may not be as immune to his personal charms as hitherto suspected and b) the password to the Gryffindor Tower. But Draco makes a fundamental error when he decides to make use of these facts... Link to my rec
After Hours at the Ministry of Magic	birdsofshore	NC-17	11,500	mini-fest	7-Dec-2012
It isn't precisely how Harry planned to spend Christmas Eve: trapped in a lift with his ex-boyfriend, somewhere between the third and the fourth floors of the Ministry of Magic. Link to my rec
Feelings	leo_draconis	NC-17	5,000	hd-holidays	18-Dec-2012
Upon returning for their 'eighth' year, Draco notices Harry doesn't look well. He also notices that Harry's best friends are too busy exploring their new relationship to see something is wrong, so he decides to take it upon himself to fix things. Link to my rec
Quietus	novembersnow	PG-13	17,600	hd-holidays	29-Dec-2012
To save himself and his family, Draco must disappear in plain sight--of Harry Potter, that is. Link to my rec

General notes:

• The "original post" column provides links to the first place I can find evidence of the work online. However, it can be really tough to determine when and where a work was first published (see my rant here: Dates Matter). So it could be that a fic was actually published earlier somewhere else and I didn't know it. Corrections are welcome.
• I've read a lot of HD fiction, but I certainly haven't read it all, so if I've left off something you think I shouldn't have, I'm happy for you to let me know.
• I may continue to add works to this list but I will try to keep the total number to 25 or less. (On the challenge of maintaining lists)
• My goal is to add lists for other years as well, time permitting.

How my fic preferences will skew the lists:

• I tend to like fics which contain explicit sex, so the list will probably skew that way. However, I prefer that there be an actual plot, not just sex, and I read PG rated fics too--just fewer of them.
• I like almost all the standard tropes, but I don't usually go for non-magical AUs, unhappy endings, dark!fic, or threesomes
• I don't give a toss who's on top or bottom, so you'll find both here.
• I shy away from epic-length fanfiction unless I'm very confident in the author, so most of my recs will be less than 100,000 words.