#kedavra does gritty themes so wonderfully

[hephaestiions]

day 11 of @hprecfest — an underrated fic | previous recs

but, in dreams series by kedavranox / @kedavranox (E/T, 28k) check tags!

Harry is a Seer, with a particular affinity for speaking to the dead, but this comes at a price he’s slowly killing himself to pay.

harry's a seer who can talk to the dead, but his control of these abilities is tenuous at best. substances make the ordeal easier, or so harry has come to believe. draco is his partner, keeping him grounded on his trips through the astral plane. things eventually come to a head.

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in my early h/d days, i binged many, many works featuring addiction & substance abuse, and kedavra's but, in dreams & breathe me (E, 73k) were two of the best i read.

the premise of this fic & the specific ways these characters and their circumstances are written are heartbreaking. harry is overwhelmed, bitter and can't seem to catch a break, his need for escapism and relief is viscerally rendered. draco, incredibly uncertain of his footing in harry's life & desires while aching to help, is so obviously and irrevocably in love that it almost hurts to read. this work is suffused with pain, grief, and the fallout of bad decisions, concluding on a note of hope and support that demands catching and holding with both hands.

the follow-up fic is a detox sequence, the process of getting through the first, long night of shaking, clammy, feverish withdrawal. harry astral projects without control, the tether between his body and mind on the cusp of severing. kedavra never shies away from the bodily physicality of the process, but i found the magical section a brilliant metaphor for how dependency compromises the body's coherence, how withdrawal is difficult and dangerous, how extreme addiction can be.

while i'm not sure what classifies an underrated fic (kudos? comments? how often i see something recced?), most fics dealing with potentially triggering themes (infidelity, non-con to name some others) see understandably less engagement. kedavra is a fairly broadly read author in this fandom & this fic has been around since 2013, but i'm guessing the addiction tag can make some folks wary. that said, this is an instant recommendation if you're willing to take a chance on a difficult topic rendered with honesty and empathy. go and show this fic some well-deserved love, and as always, if you love it, let me know!

[sidenote: kedavra is one of my favourite authors, their works are a reliable fix of complex premises paired with fantastic characterisation and emotionally astute writing. i may do an author rec later, but in the meantime, please check out this wonderful list on kedavra from @sitp-recs' hidden gems series!]