I had to really think on what my top five choices were! I had four that I knew for certain, but picking one to make a fifth choice was very hard for me. Even so, here goes… and I’ll point out now, that it will be listed in alphabetical order of story title.
After the End (R) by Arabella and Zsenya
Summary: It's the summer after seventh year, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the rest of the wizarding world must learn to live without fear.
Why: This story introduced me to Remus and Ginny as characters interacting together. It showed a student-teacher relationship, not romance, but it was very well done. Because this story has so much depth in all the relationships, I was drawn into everything about it. When I completed this, I knew I had to find more stories with these characters together. I could go on and on about this story because it is utterly magnificent, but I’ve done so on a different thread somewhere else on this board.
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Chainelss Soul (R) by Cinnamon
Summary: In love, as in life, we make certain choices and must deal with the consequences. Ginny Weasley’s choices and an encounter with Remus Lupin send her on a journey through hell and back, and into the arms of beasts, demons, and angels, as she learns how fine the line between monster and man really is. Is love enough to keep her from losing herself to the boy she sold her soul to in the Chamber of Secrets? Warning: Darkfic. Rape, torture, violence, mature language.
Why: This was the first true chaptered R/G fic that I read. It is like one of the pillars of the fandom, in my opinion. The writing itself is so skillful and poetic. I’ve never read “Wuthering Heights”, but this story almost makes me want to do so. Some of the images are so amazing and truly stay in the mind. One that comes to mind right now is when Remus is stroking Ginny’s back after she has run away and she smells rain in the air.
Plus, this was written from Ginny’s POV. I like stories and writers that try to take a chance and do something new. A first person tale isn’t a new thing, but it’s not done often, and when it is, it’s not done well. Further, I didn’t know until after reading and enjoying this, that Ginny-centric stories are not well-received by the HP fandom at large.
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Dream and
Leave the Lights Off (PG) by KeeperOfTheMoon
Summaries:
Dream: Ever wake up from a dream so real, you’re convinced it’s true?
Leave the Lights Off: Ever have a dream so real, you’re convinced it’s true? How far would you go to make sure it came true? For one witch, doing anything seems easy for the temptation to be with a certain werewolf is great. But not all is as it seems. Full-length sequel to "Dream".
Why: I don’t like time travel fics in Harry Potter, and I really dislike the idea that for Ginny and Remus to fall in love, she has to go back to when he was her age. Time travel fics will never really go away, unfortunately. When this came out, it was so fresh and alive. [I’m stealing “fresh” from someone else, because that’s really a great way to describe it.] When I first read this, it was like the anti-time turner fic. I loved it! I didn’t know if Ginny was sliding into a future self or dreaming or what, but it was completely original and hadn’t been done before. I include “Lights” in this nomination only because I, like many other readers, hope Keeper will actually get back on track and continue writing this to a fruitful end.
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Not Quite Love (PG) by Mrs. Niles Crane
Summary: A celebration of everything Remus and Ginny. Friendship, romance, misery drowning...
Why: I confess that I had read a different R/G story from Mrs. Niles Crane about a year ago and was not very impressed with it. She removed that story and fell off my radar until, for whatever her reasons, she came back to R/G and wrote this. I was completely blown away by it. Whatever doubts I might have had over Hannah’s writing were erased after reading this. I certainly am not trying to be rude or hurt feelings, but I was shocked that this piece of work came from the same person whose previous work I hadn‘t very much enjoyed. In this there is so true variety and an attempt at trying new things. I see great success and a person who is stretching herself and truly growing as a writer. I can say now, “I was wrong” and actually be happy about that.
Pertaining to "Wrong", that is my favorite movement of this piece. I think most of my "Oh my gawd!" is captured in that one with the great introduction and the corresponding short story. It was this movement of this story that really inspired me to stretch my own self and write something beyond my realm of comfort. I turned that in a twisted fashion to my posted-but-not-completed one-shot "Blue Moon, Blood-Red Sun". [Yeah, Hannah, bet you didn't realize that, did you? While your story has nothing to do with violence, it helped me have the daring to do mine.]
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War of Remembrances (PG-13) by AJRoald
Summary: How does Remus, Ginny, Ron, and the rest of the Weasley's deal with the aftermath of a devastating war? How does a Malfoy and a Potions Professor fit into the healing process? Will romance blossom, or will the memories of the dead stand in the way?
Why: In its own way, this matches Chainless Soul because it is a POV piece, but this time from Remus. When I had written my own “In My Voice”, I found writing a Remus POV to be very difficult. In fact, I haven’t noticed it done all that much in other fan fiction I’ve read. I have to give respect for merely trying this. There’s more here, though, in this layered story. We have characters who’ve loved and lost, and try to move on with their lives. There is a respect here for the old love and the learning of new things. For Remus to learn to love Ginny in no way demeans what he had when he was married to Tonks.
Plus, I can feel the extremely loved potential I read in “After the End” (a story so over-flowing with love) matched in this. There’ve been times after reading chapters that I feel “hugged”, and that’s a unique feeling to this. That was part of the reason why I had asked AJ to start her Neil trilogy (currently a duo, but she says she has plans for a 3rd). Now I just want AJ to heal from everything that ails her and send me chapter 18, otherwise I’ll have to go to Oregon and start doing some serious “motivating”.
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Honorable MentionsIt was hard to come up with just 5 stories. As I said, I had a solid 4 and really had to debate on which one was the 5th. Here are a few other titles--in no particular order--that have really touched me:
Forget by Bohemian Storm
The B Word by Madame Wolf
Give Her Time by KarenaElizabeth
Darkness Within by underyourstars
A Dream Comes True by Ariana Black
In the Service of the Queen by Days Like This
Cottage by the Sea by MalfoysChick
