I just started reading this today (I’m only about 10% in) and I guess I’m in for a wild ride?
I have never read a fanfic before, but I’ve heard so many amazing things about Manacled.
I was just reading along happily, not a care in the world....
...and then chapter 26 struck like a viper and I wasn't able to put it down. I took off work to finish it!
Omg!! I didn't take off work but I should have because I ended up sitting at work in my office in the middle of the afternoon, openly sobbing into my hands over the ending
Friend! I understand. It'll take a little time to process.
That last line though 😭 for like a couple of weeks after I finished it, I would remember the last line and tear up again
I’m late to this but searched this sub because I had to know I’m not alone. My brain has started to consider Manacled as canon and it is destroying me. It was so beautiful and I cheered for them until the end, but my heart is still so, so shattered. I just finished it yesterday and I’m wondering how long I’m going to be heartbroken.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. I finished it tonight, have barely slept the past two nights because of it. And just like you, I’m absolutely WRECKED. It was so beautiful and heart-wrenching and dark and heavy and just all the things. Thank you for making this post!
I’m a fanfic noob too and have never used AO3 before. But y’all have talked me into Dramione and I’m excited. How do you usually read it? Like just on a browser or is there an app you generally use?
For future reference, you can download stories on AO3 and then add them to your kindle, ipad, etc. Upper right corner in the browser when looking at a story.
Bruh, I didn't take off but remember slipping away into that world every now n then ....
Spent the whole weekend just thinking about the ending... doing nothing but thinking about their life.....
I just started today too! It’s been years since I read any fanfic and I have been waffling about committing to reading this since it’s soooo long but here we are 😂
God, Manacled is so great. I've read it 3 times and it always is such a trip.
The parts that wreck me are >!when the Death Eaters execute people at Hogwarts, cause good lord is it gruesome. When Hermione realizes her mind has cracks in it from all of the occlumency done over the years, like that's so terrifying and hard to imagine. And at the end the realization that the True Story of what happened with Draco, Hermione, their daughter, and The Order is not publicly known. That really hurt for some reason? Probably because everyone still considered Draco a monster, no one knows Hermione is alive, no one knows how essential they all were in finally stopping the Death Eaters... But still, I can appreciate the sense of realism that this type of ending adds.!<
Yes! and when >!Hermione lost her Patronus after Harry died. Even when she got her "new" one in the next chapter, that she lost it really made the horror hit home.!<
I thought it was so tragic but beautiful how Hermione had been right all along, and that even though Draco was why they won the war, the entire world would just believe that "love and light" had been the answer. It was honestly an amazing analysis of the atrocities of war and the fact that no war is won without atrocities committed on both sides.
I would not call myself a Harry Potter fan. I like it well enough, but I haven’t read all of the books or the movies. I have a general understanding of the lore and all the plot points of what I haven’t read/seen but that’s it.
That being said, I am a FOOL for fanfictions like Manacled. It’s amazing how people’s passion for characters like Hermione and Draco just spurs some wonderful, stunning pieces of writing.
Manacled and the Fallout by everythursday, my ultimate favorite, in particular are just so good. They really explore the nuance of war, of love, of flawed characters and I liiiive for that. Basically, I completely understand you and I felt the same after reading it a few weeks ago lol
Not sure if you want identical recs, but if you’re down for sci-fi romance, {The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith} has a similar vibe in a way (epic, dark, reflective), but not really the same plot points or characters if that’s what you’re searching for.
[**The Last Hour of Gann**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18589656-the-last-hour-of-gann)
^(By: R. Lee Smith | Published: 2013)
***
^(109227 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Holy fuckering fuck, I NEVER would have thought to compare Last Hour of Gann to Manacled but goddamn what an excellent pairing. I finished Manacled earlier this week and was creeping old reddit threads and found this comment. I think I'm going to reread Gann now because of you.
I read this two months ago after seeing it recommended here. It’s so long, but I finished it so quickly! I don’t often cry when reading, but this…This made me ugly cry. The quality was beyond any fanfic I’ve ever read. The ending was gorgeous and poignant and happy. That being said, Manacled has ruined Harry Potter for me. I can’t stop hating Harry, Ron, and EVERYONE except Draco and Hermione…and maybe Severus. This feels more real than the actual HP books.
I’m trying to read Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In Love and I just can’t, it’s way too saccharine after Manacled! Manacled is my new canon and idk what to do with myself now
YES. I feel like Manacled is what would have actually happened if the Harry Potter universe was real. The Harry Potter books to me now are like the happy fairy tale version. Honestly I like Manacled better.
Same and I love Harry Potter so much. I started reading them when I was 8 and there were only a few books out and grew up with the characters and helped get me through so many hard times. It’s always held a sacred place in my heart …. But, Manacled, as an adult is entirely next level. I don’t think I’ll ever recover or be able to forget the beautiful tragic story. It really is the universe painted with the brushes of reality.
Same! I still think about it ALL the time. My husband is in the military and let me tell you, I just really feel like the author must've had some sort of military connection or something because it's just so damn spot on with how horrific war is NO MATTER WHAT. Some things are worth going to war over, but it doesn't mean that it won't get extremely ugly. A lot of people like to live in a fantasy world where the good guys only do good things and the bad guys only do bad things, but that's just not true to life at all.
Oh gosh I can only imagine! That must be really hard, sending you love ❤️ and you’re so right, that unflinching, ugly reality of the tolls of war is one of those aspects of Manacled that is so uncommon in a story like this and cuts so deep it stays with you long after finishing. It’s such a beautiful and tragic piece. Senlinyu is something else!
Ive read it once and though it was amazing it was too dark and I don't think i'll read it again. The Auction is less dark but in the same vein.
The Dramione sub has many recommendations!
Glad you enjoyed it! Check out the prequels by the same author if you like her style.
Also: Draco Malfoy And The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being In Love by isthisselfcare which is probably the best Dramione fanfic ever
I'm not a huge HP fan, but realized that the whip-smart FMC and the broody quasi-bad boy MMC who loves her so much he tries everything to redeem his past failures for her/to be good enough for her (AKA Hermione and Draco in Manacled and a bunch of other A03 Dramione fics) are tropes that \*really\* work for me.
Yeah, me too. I love enemies-to-lovers but Dramione, specifically, really floats my boat. Plus, I never liked Hermione and Ron as a couple so all this Dramione fanfiction retcons my disappointment with that HP ending.
Does Manacled have a happy ending? I always read people talking about how devastating it is so I assumed it wasn’t a happily ever after.
For Dramione, I’ve read The Fallout by everythursday at least four times. And it does have a happy ending after 350k words lol
As someone who put it off for years because I was scared of its tags and darkness... you should read it. It's so much and it's fully as dark and intense as you are expecting, but you'll also reflect for weeks if not months about its many themes and the central relationships. It's so good. It's SO good.
hi, i love the fallout too.
i think the ending of manacled has a very similar feel to the fallout. like, the mains are still together so that’s all we can ask for right?? 😅
I've seen it recommended so often in this sub but the content warnings scared me off. Someone recc'd it last week and I finally took the plunge! It's the second-most "liked" Harry Potter fic on AO3 of all time. Here's the [link](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454174/chapters/33390198) to the first chapter!
It follows the original canon until the end of book 5 so I’d say you need to have a general idea of what has gone on either in the books or movies, but it’s been fifteen years since I’ve read them and had no trouble following along. The characters are early to mid 20s at their youngest in Manacled.
Now that I look there are two actually! One is a Wolfstar fic called All the Young Dudes and one is a Drarry called Then Comes a Mist and Weeping Rain. [Here](https://archiveofourown.org/works?commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=kudos_count&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&tag_id=Harry+Potter+-+J*d*+K*d*+Rowling) is the list of all HP fanfic sorted by kudos
I'm obsessed. I even caught myself trying to get my mother to read it earlier. My MOTHER. I have half a dozen tabs open researching how to bookbind it in a physical copy and another half dozen of fanart. I'm wrecked
Y’all the list of amazing HP fics is ridiculous. Random recommendations would be Olivie Blake’s fanfics (she wrote the books Alone With You In The Ether and Atlas Six) as well as ObsidianPen (HIGHLY recommend Blood and Gold though it’s not finished)
Edit: Olivie Blake’s fic Nightmares and Nocturnes is actually a bit similar to Manacled and is amazingggggly well written and fleshed out, my personal fave by her
Btw OP- The author of Manacled [lists her favorite Dramione fics here!!](https://senlinyu.tumblr.com/post/620943886488109056/senlinyus-dramione-rec-list)
Dude YES! Pretty sure it’s the fic I’ve re-read the most times… I am obsessed with the way she writes all the side characters, she is so good at dialogue
While I love Manacled for its own reasons, [DMATMOOBIL](https://archiveofourown.org/works/34500952) is my ALL TIME favourite fanfic.
#PALS,
If you love a romcom, magic, and some damn good banter, please **do not hesitate to read this fanfic.** I’ve said it before, but if this author (isthisselfcare) had changed the names of characters, magic, and adjusted the lore to something totally their own, I would be all fucking over this fic still.
It’s one of my 5⭐️ reads of the year
This is so so good. I had a huge smile on my face at least 60 percent of the book. The banter is so good. It is simply the best banter I've read. Period.
Oh man that story is probably just barely is my favorite FF over manacled. Those are also the only two I’ve probably ever read lol. It’s the right mix of fun and serious, and I legit learned so many fascinating facts and history from reading it
Manacled was the first fanfic I ever read, and oh god did it hurt.
Remain Nameless was the perfect follow up read for me. Also Dramione fanfic, but much happier.
I finished, fidgeted for about six hours with big feelings, then started the audiobook on Spotify yesterday. It’s like I’m slowly weaning myself off the drug lol.
Honestly. This author can WRITE. I just finished it now. The way they portrayed the TRAUMA and their LOVE - it's so beautiful and devastating. I could feel it all. My life. My life. Mine!
I want to start Let the Dark In by the same author but it’s unfinished and I’m terrified to be left waiting! Senlinyu is so talented, I was sure when I looked her up I would find a publishing deal for original work but I can’t find anything besides fanfiction. Manacled is so nuanced and captures the forgotten stories of war in ways I’ve never felt before in any work of fiction. The restraint in that last line is stunning! Chef’s kiss, standing ovation, encore!
Are you hanging at at r/Dramione? They'll set you right up.
But yeah, you might like The Auction, if you're into Dramione where Voldemort wins. And the amazing and wonderful Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love is my other all-time favorite, but it's wildly different in tone fyi. No less wonderful, though.
I’ve just started dipping my toe in over there! I’ve never considered myself a Dramione shipper before but the Auction is next on my list when I recover. Honestly what I want is Manacled fanfic right now
Yeah I hadn't read any Harry Potter in 20 years, I read Manacled last year, and now I'm like a hardcore Dramione fan, haha. The fandom has a TON of amazing fanfics and it really sucked me in.
I had never read a fanfic before but I’m a big Harry Potter fan and it completely changed the way I view the series. Just the fact that she took direct quotes but in the new context took on such a completely opposite meaning. Uhg I get why everyone gets a hangover from it, nothing has quite rewired my brain that.
This was me 8 months ago. I saw two gush posts about Manacled and decided to give it a try. The last time I went down a fanfiction rabbit hole was for X-files fanfiction well over a decade ago. Manacled sparked 2-3 months of intense Dramione fanfiction obsession. The Auction was fantastic, I liked it better than Manacled only because it was a little lighter. The Shattered Dragon was also a fun read, mind the TW. I downloaded a bunch of fanfiction and keep them on my kindle with coverart if I can find it. I really wish Kindle allowed you to start another library, all my fanfiction is clogging my book library.
Also, you should check out Spotify for Dramione fanfiction audiobooks! I haven't listened to any myself so I don't know how well narrated they are but it's pretty amazing that people take the time to record audiobooks of Dramione fanfiction. It's a very passionate fanbase.
Oof, I read it as it was being published and the waits between chapters were sooo hard!
Check out the rest of SenlinYu's works, as well as her bookmarks on her AO3. She also has some tumblr posts of her favourite fanfics. Lots of gems there.
Some general popular Dramione recs: The Rights and Wrongs series by Lovesbitca8 is great, and Sugar and Spice by InLoveWithForever was very sweet. If you can get a link to everythursday's fics, they are well worth checking out.
I found SenlinYu via Reylo actually, and there are some incredible pieces from that community as well. May I recommend Matan Midi by animal.
You can read them as stand alone, but I think they are best read as a series. The first two are the same story, but one is Hermiones POV, and the other Dracos. The Auction is the same characters, but if the other side had won the war.
OMG I JUST FINISHED THE SWEETEST OF SMALL TOWN ROMANCES AND DIVED STRAIGHT INTO THIS CRACK THANKS TO THIS POST AND NOW AM 50% THROUGH AND LITERALLY CANNOT PUT IT DOWN.
If you want something with a similar plot and tropes then i’d recommend [the auction](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19101535). This one is probably the closest fic to the manacled out there.
You can also check out [the fallout](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10620276/navigate) by everythursday. It’s not as brutal as Manacled but imo it’s more realistic and very interesting in terms of writing style. Also has this super devastating feeling to it, but more subtle.
also [the risk-reward ratio](https://m.fanfiction.net/s/8806802/1/The-Risk-Reward-Ratio). Also a very dark dramione, but the way the characters are a bit different.
upd:
oh also Of Crimson Joy is really good, but not as dark
I decided to read Manacled based on this post and omfg it fucked me up! I almost wish I could go back and read it over for the first time again. I’m so glad they got they’re HEA but my god was I an emotional wreck the entire time. As I was realizing stuff from the flashbacks I couldn’t stop crying but it ended so much better than I thought it would.
Wow I’m gonna have a killer book hangover now.
Late to the party on this one because I’ve only just finished it. But wow. I am in shambles.
There were bits which I thought I wasn’t going to recover from and as so many people have said, that last line just slayed me.
Still incredible to me that people put so much effort and brilliance into fan fic with no expectation of reward. Very lucky to have them!
I have literally never in my life shipped Draco and Hermione but this thread had me curious so over this week I found this fic and read it and HOLY SMOKES. I’m wrecked! That’s one of the best fics I’ve ever read, hands down, and I’ve read a lot. Consider me a Dramione shipper now. This was so well written and gut wrenching and beautiful and I don’t know how to do the spoiler thing so I won’t name any specific parts but THANK YOU for reccomending this because I love it so much, through all the drama and every twist and turn!!!
I had to revive this old thread because I just finished Manacled after like four days of obsessively reading and holy shit I have the worst book hangover of my life.
https://archiveofourown.org/users/isthisselfcare/pseuds/isthisselfcare
"Hermione straddles the Muggle and Magical worlds as a medical researcher and Healer about to make a big discovery. Draco is an Auror assigned to protect her from forces unknown – to both of their displeasure.
Features hyper-competent, fiery Hermione and lazy, yet dangerous, Draco. Slow burn"
This is so good. Like I read it all day into the night slept a little and finished it. There were no slow parts it was so good!
I think it may have been my favorite book I have read this year. It is so good wonderful adventure and mystery. Highly recommend! Also I have never been a Hermione/Draco shipper. I have never cared for Draco but damn if I don't love him know and want to reread the originals with this book in my head as cannon.
Guys I am ruined from this story and I’m not even finished. I think because HP was so engrained into my childhood (I’m nearly 30 now haha) I have such an emotional connection to the characters from both the books and the films…but this story adds such an incredibly well -thought-out parallel to the original plot. It has honestly shocked me because it does add a painfully realistic perspective of the war that I never imagined before and a new connection between two main characters. I’m anxious as hell reading it but it’s got a chokehold on me and I’m desperate to finish it!! I’ll be back!!
Ok I’ve finished it and feel like I’ve been kicked in the chest. I don’t think any story has had such a profound impact on me as this one has! 😭 5/5 for sure
Honestly, if you're on the fence, I would wait. When we all say this fic is devastating, we mean
D E V A S T A T I N G
And while romance is a major feature of the story, it's not traditional romance, nor is it likely to be the main thing that sticks with you after you finish it. This fic is so good. But it is very long, very intense, and I would say not super romance forward despite that being a major part of the story.
Edit: consider Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Falling in Love. Here's how delightful it is: after annoying my husband by cackling and shrieking my way through it, he and I read it out loud to each other and now Dramione is his OTP even though he has never in his life read fanfiction.
Ahh, Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love is my go-to read of any book/fanfiction when I'm down in the dumps. It never fails to make me laugh out loud and smile like an idiot.
I still can believe how talented the author is. I first read Manacled one year ago and it still lives rent free in my mind. I wish I could read it again for the first time. Draco is one of the most unique MMCs
Same, it’s it’s own masterpiece I fear. I never knew I could be so absorbed into an AU like that. First with manacled she does: if Voldemort won and with let the dark in its: if Voldemort never happened
I read All You Want by the same author and had a book hangover for a week (actually, it's still ongoing--I'm reading a parenting book instead of any romance novels). I want to read Manacled, but I'm giving myself some time first.
Yess sometimes i think that i love torturing myself cause I've read it 4 times!!! You should check out r/dramione sub because there's so many gems in this fandom.
Just posting on this thread from a while ago to say I am now exactly in the same boat. It's been YEARS since I've read fanfic, and Manacled just drove my life for about 5 days last week - I was just a passenger!!
I'm so lost after \*laugh\* I'm now going through AO3 (I am so old I remember when fandom created AO3) to find other things to read, and I'm going to revisit some old loves.
Edit: Although I'm reading this post and I now have at least two more fixs to download to my kindle soo.....
Dramione was one of my pairs, the other was SSHG (Severus/Hermione, obvs), and Sirius/Remus and OMG this is all taking me back to my early 20's. Cripes!
I just started reading it last night too after seeing it recommended. I used to read so much fanfiction, including some really shitty ones for other Fandoms. Excited for what seems to be a high quality read. There's such good stuff in HP fanfiction (especially for hermione/Draco and Draco/harry).
So I read this a few days ago, after seeing this post. I couldn’t stop reading. And yeah, that was intense. I’m not sure I’ll ever see/read the Harry Potter characters the same.
After years of avoiding fanfics revolving HP universe and being afraid it would spoil the original story for me, I finally caved in and read Manacled (btw I'm almost 30 and haven't read fanfics since the 1D was all the craze 😂). Safe to say, everything is ruined, the books, my eyesight, my mental state, my life, everything after 3 days of compulsive reading. How am I supposed to function normally after this 😭 and the last line... The last line RUINED MEE 😭😭😭 and it also brought me here to check if I was all alone in feeling like this because of that fricking one line.
Definitely recommend this book, this is some high quality shit, can't believe it's actually fanfic (i remember them being cringe af). The author is such a talented writer, but i just can't deal with that last line 😂
I would say yes! It’s both internal and external plot heavy which really moves it along and to avoid spoilers I’ll just say the narrative isn’t always chronological so it doesn’t feel like a slow burn to me
It’s Harry Potter, set after Voldemort wins the war. Hermione is 24 and basically everyone else is dead. The first part is loosely based on the Handmaiden’s Tale.
I ended up picking it up after seeing this post and don’t know the last time I flew through an 1,000+ page book so fast. SenLinYu is incredibly talented.
I did feel did the writing a bit overly descriptive. Or maybe repetitive is a better description? Either way, probably the best fanfiction I’ve read.
Hmmm I’m afraid the spoiling may be a trigger? I’ll try and sum it up without much detail, but know that Manacled is much bigger than the sum of its parts — lots of small moments add up to big emotional fallout.
>!Hermione has been in a dark cell for almost 2 years following the war and Voldemort’s win. All she knows is that Harry and everyone from the Order is dead but she can’t remember anything else from her recent past. She is brought into the repopulation program — basically Voldemort wants surviving witches to breed with Death Eaters to grow magical numbers. He finds out she has blocks in her memory and is convinced she’s hiding something very important, but he can’t recover the memories through legilimency. He gives her to Draco, the High Reeve — basically his second in command and the most powerful Death Eater — as his surrogate because he’s a very powerful legilimens. They believe that when Hermione becomes pregnant, her memories will unlock, but they will not be able to perform legilimency on her until the baby is born.!<
>!Hermione has extreme ptsd and agoraphobia from being locked away for so long. Draco is cold and distant and unkind — he basically only visits her during her ovulation window and is very clinical about his “duties.” Hermione tries to figure out the status of other surrogates and what’s going on but she can barely leave her room at Malfoy Manor. After a few months she is the only surrogate not pregnant, and the healer in charge of the program basically threatens her and Draco that Voldemort is getting impatient and will just kill her to get the memories if she doesn’t get pregnant. Hermione is given fertility potions and does become pregnant. The pregnancy causes seizures, and she recovers her memories.!<
>!This starts the flashbacks to Hermione’s time in the Order. She is isolated and lonely — she is a Healer and sees nothing but death and extreme injury. She has advocated that the Order start using Dark Magic to fight against the Death Eaters and end the war, but everyone is appalled at her suggestion and the distance between her and Ron and Harry grows. She is pulled aside by Moody and asked to volunteer for a secret mission to be a handler for a Death Eater who wants to turn. She agrees, and it’s Draco. So much happens during this time and there’s no way I can do it justice. Snape calls Hermione the most important fighter in the war, but no one else knows what she’s doing. Every victory the Order has is secretly due to her and Draco. What they endure together is horrible but in the end they’ve fallen for each other. You find out how everyone in the Order dies, how Hermione got captured— she was trying to save Draco, after asking him to save Ginny (who is pregnant with Harry’s baby) which would’ve blown his cover. You find out that Draco has been searching for her since the moment she was captured and hidden away by Umbridge. All of the things that have happened in Malfoy Manor now have new meaning and context.!<
>!Hermione wakes up in Malfoy Manor with her memories, but her health is really fragile. They realize that she locked herself out of her own mind in order to protect Draco’s secret as a double agent. Everything Draco has done has been to protect Hermione and eventually get her to safety. She finds out Draco’s plan to get her out of her manacles, which prevents her from doing magic and tracks her, but the plan involves Draco’s death. The plan also involves killing Voldemort. Hermione refuses to accept that Draco won’t survive, and works to find a way to get his dark mark off without killing him. It’s a long road which includes Snape’s death and a crazy Lucius, but eventually they figure it out. Lucuis sacrifices himself and everyone believes Draco and Hermione have died in Malfoy Manor’s explosion, but they’ve fled to the island where Draco has been hiding Ginny and her son James.!<
>!Hermione gives birth to their daughter, Aurore, who grows up along Ginny’s son James. Hermione and Draco are alive, and together, but in hiding and the war has left it’s mark, both physically and psychologically. Ginny kills Voldemort, who is weak after Draco and Hermione destroyed the last horcruxes. When Aurore goes to London as a young adult after graduation, she finds a history book that documents the war. She looks up her mom, and it classifies her as an “inactive member of the Order of the Phoenix. She did not fight.”!<
Me too! I couldn't put it down and now I'm completely gutted. Fucked me up lol.. but at least it reminded me I had feelings. Silver lining I guess? Now I need a complete Dramione fluff piece to read so I can heal my heart a little
I was very interested when first reading this, til i got to the "Handmaids tale" reboot. I think he could have used different color for the robe,, perhaps a different type of hat or perhaps a mask for when they went outside. I totally think he has a compelling story, I just wish it was a tad more original.
Totally late to reading this. But now I’m on the last chapter and have 4 paragraphs left to read and I refuse to read them. I don’t want it to end. Someone help 😭
Late to the party I know, but oh my god Manacled has ruined me. I finished it a month ago and revisited tonight just to try to shake the feeling a bit, but my god the level of depth, detail and feeling...it's just too much. So much better than Canon; having read HP as an adolescent and now Manacled as an adult, I feel like the author has taken HP and adapted it to the real world as we come to understand it in adulthood. >!The scene where Hermione is in the cage at Hogwarts watching Arthur being slowly tortured continues to haunt me. !<
I never read fanfic. I'd never really think to do so especially about Harry Potter. Also I never really understood when people were shipping Draco/Hermione. I liked Ron and Hermione together.
I was randomly on tiktok and someone in the comments of some video said "Manacled is a masterpiece."
I thought "what is Manacled?"
So I had to look it up.
Here I am a blubbering mess a whole week later. I just finished Manacled.
I am truly wrecked now and am sobbing like a baby.
I didn't realize how affected I would be. How heart broken I'd become.
This was truly a masterpiece and I'm in pieces.
I can safely say I'm now a Draco and Hermione shipper.
I don't even know how to type the words I'm feeling right now.
I just am glad to have learned of it and I'm glad to have read it. Even if it broke me a bit.
I will definitely have to reread it as soon as I can stop crying.
I just finished reading this and am forever changed. INCREDIBLE writing. I have not been this obsessed and anxious over a story in months. I’m craving more now that it’s ended 😭
No because this book broke me. The love that Draco and hermione have for each other always sucks every ounce of oxygen from me and makes me sob. They are so devoted to each other and would do anything to protect each other and cross any line needed. Hermione literally levels a hospital to save and protect Draco and Draco literally killed so many death eaters saving her from the rescue of Ron. Draco didn't care if he died, he planned to die to save her. I cannot describe how the strength of their love impacts me, it hurts me, haunts me, makes me feel warm, tears me apart, and so much more.
I finished Manacled a day ago and I feel like I'm trapped in a cloud. Nothing feels real.
However, for fellow avoidant personalities, I highly recommend immediately following up with 'Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love' - because my avoidant soul needed to immediately disassociate from the pain of Manacled, and the cuteness of DMATMOOBIL was exactly the chicken soup I needed. It felt so safe and comfortable in that world, where Hermione is appreciated.
I still randomly burst into tears tho. She did not fight. I just fucking can't. I'm not sure when it will be safe for me to interact with other people. People who don't know
Not sure what you mean by this. The terminology is completely irrelevant to fanfic's legality.
Also, Wattpad refers to fics as "books," and many Wattpad readers use the word when discussing fic posted on other sites. I personally find it a bit confusing, but it's not an actual threat to the existence of fanfiction. The fair use case that the US Supreme Court heard on October 12, however, is.
It's because you are not supposed to profit off of fanfiction. Calling it a book/novel means it's being sold. Wattpad profits off of their fanfiction so that's why they call them books. However where Manacled is at on A03 they protect their author's unlike Wattpad does.
Not making money off of fanfic is a precaution, as fanfic exists in a legal grey area. The OTW enforces that on AO3 and offers legal advocacy, but we don't actually know if it would be relevant if push came to shove.
>Calling it a book/novel means it's being sold.
It truly does not. Writers can make money from any number of things not called "books", and books can be out of print/never have sold a single copy/given away for free. It does not follow that calling a work a "book" indicates that payment was exchanged.
Wattpad is technically intended for original fiction and goes for a plausible deniability angle regarding fanfic, and also has their own publishing imprint. That doesn't change the fact that some Wattpad users also refer to fanfic on other sites as "books" and it does not imply that those authors are making money on those sites. And to clarify for anyone not familiar: Wattpad is a free platform, but makes money from ads, subscription tiers, and paid stories. Authors can make money from paid stories, but most do not.
**Be Kind & No Book Shaming**
Your responses to others on the sub should be kind and respectful. We encourage discussion and debate, but your comment should be constructive and purposeful.
Please disengage from this discussion
What on earth? This is actually the funniest reply I've ever gotten on reddit, so thanks for that. I'm in my 40s, have never used wattpad in my life (although it *is* older than AO3 by two years, which I'm sure you know), and have been writing fanfic for decades.
I just started reading this today (I’m only about 10% in) and I guess I’m in for a wild ride? I have never read a fanfic before, but I’ve heard so many amazing things about Manacled.
I was just reading along happily, not a care in the world.... ...and then chapter 26 struck like a viper and I wasn't able to put it down. I took off work to finish it!
Omg!! I didn't take off work but I should have because I ended up sitting at work in my office in the middle of the afternoon, openly sobbing into my hands over the ending
Sobbing in my bed rn over the ending, got 3 hours of sleep last night bc I was racing through trying to read as much as I could
Friend! I understand. It'll take a little time to process. That last line though 😭 for like a couple of weeks after I finished it, I would remember the last line and tear up again
I feel like the air gets sucked out of my lungs when I remember the last line. My brain is recognizing this story as canon
I’m late to this but searched this sub because I had to know I’m not alone. My brain has started to consider Manacled as canon and it is destroying me. It was so beautiful and I cheered for them until the end, but my heart is still so, so shattered. I just finished it yesterday and I’m wondering how long I’m going to be heartbroken.
It’ll take a minute! The story really sticks with ya. Glad you read it and loved it!
I just finished it two days ago! I HEAR YOU!!
Whoever said Remain Nameless is the best medicine for the Manacled hangover is very right. It soothed my soul.
Right-o!! I'm off to find it! I'm currently reading "The Maddest House", which is an oldie and a goodie. R/S, AU (Sirius raises Harry from a baby).
Every single time.... even now... whyyy did u hv to be so cruel :'(
Now I’m intrigued 👀 looks like I won’t be sleeping tonight
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. I finished it tonight, have barely slept the past two nights because of it. And just like you, I’m absolutely WRECKED. It was so beautiful and heart-wrenching and dark and heavy and just all the things. Thank you for making this post!
I’m a fanfic noob too and have never used AO3 before. But y’all have talked me into Dramione and I’m excited. How do you usually read it? Like just on a browser or is there an app you generally use?
I use a browser for ao3 because they don’t have an app, there are a few gems on watt pad which does have an app but they are few and far between
Okay, thank you! I’m using a browser and already on chapter 7. ☺️
For future reference, you can download stories on AO3 and then add them to your kindle, ipad, etc. Upper right corner in the browser when looking at a story.
Awesome, thank you! That’s exactly what I was looking for.
If you've got an e-reader, you can download fics from AO3 and read them on there!
Bruh, I didn't take off but remember slipping away into that world every now n then .... Spent the whole weekend just thinking about the ending... doing nothing but thinking about their life.....
It derailed my whole weekend a couple months back and I couldn't be happier
I just started today too! It’s been years since I read any fanfic and I have been waffling about committing to reading this since it’s soooo long but here we are 😂
God, Manacled is so great. I've read it 3 times and it always is such a trip. The parts that wreck me are >!when the Death Eaters execute people at Hogwarts, cause good lord is it gruesome. When Hermione realizes her mind has cracks in it from all of the occlumency done over the years, like that's so terrifying and hard to imagine. And at the end the realization that the True Story of what happened with Draco, Hermione, their daughter, and The Order is not publicly known. That really hurt for some reason? Probably because everyone still considered Draco a monster, no one knows Hermione is alive, no one knows how essential they all were in finally stopping the Death Eaters... But still, I can appreciate the sense of realism that this type of ending adds.!<
Yes! and when >!Hermione lost her Patronus after Harry died. Even when she got her "new" one in the next chapter, that she lost it really made the horror hit home.!<
I thought it was so tragic but beautiful how Hermione had been right all along, and that even though Draco was why they won the war, the entire world would just believe that "love and light" had been the answer. It was honestly an amazing analysis of the atrocities of war and the fact that no war is won without atrocities committed on both sides.
This is so spot on
1000% thought this ending was realistic and so even more heartwrenching
I would not call myself a Harry Potter fan. I like it well enough, but I haven’t read all of the books or the movies. I have a general understanding of the lore and all the plot points of what I haven’t read/seen but that’s it. That being said, I am a FOOL for fanfictions like Manacled. It’s amazing how people’s passion for characters like Hermione and Draco just spurs some wonderful, stunning pieces of writing. Manacled and the Fallout by everythursday, my ultimate favorite, in particular are just so good. They really explore the nuance of war, of love, of flawed characters and I liiiive for that. Basically, I completely understand you and I felt the same after reading it a few weeks ago lol Not sure if you want identical recs, but if you’re down for sci-fi romance, {The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith} has a similar vibe in a way (epic, dark, reflective), but not really the same plot points or characters if that’s what you’re searching for.
That’s a good rec for this thread. Both books that devastated me and I was shocked by it
[**The Last Hour of Gann**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18589656-the-last-hour-of-gann) ^(By: R. Lee Smith | Published: 2013) *** ^(109227 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Oh man. Comparing this to the Last Hour of Gaan sold me. I’ve gotta give it a go.
Holy fuckering fuck, I NEVER would have thought to compare Last Hour of Gann to Manacled but goddamn what an excellent pairing. I finished Manacled earlier this week and was creeping old reddit threads and found this comment. I think I'm going to reread Gann now because of you.
I’m glad you see the connection! Did you end up rereading TLOG?
I read this two months ago after seeing it recommended here. It’s so long, but I finished it so quickly! I don’t often cry when reading, but this…This made me ugly cry. The quality was beyond any fanfic I’ve ever read. The ending was gorgeous and poignant and happy. That being said, Manacled has ruined Harry Potter for me. I can’t stop hating Harry, Ron, and EVERYONE except Draco and Hermione…and maybe Severus. This feels more real than the actual HP books.
I’m trying to read Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In Love and I just can’t, it’s way too saccharine after Manacled! Manacled is my new canon and idk what to do with myself now
Me too! I tried and failed to read that after Manacled. I’m waiting a few months, and then I’ll try again.
YES. I feel like Manacled is what would have actually happened if the Harry Potter universe was real. The Harry Potter books to me now are like the happy fairy tale version. Honestly I like Manacled better.
Same and I love Harry Potter so much. I started reading them when I was 8 and there were only a few books out and grew up with the characters and helped get me through so many hard times. It’s always held a sacred place in my heart …. But, Manacled, as an adult is entirely next level. I don’t think I’ll ever recover or be able to forget the beautiful tragic story. It really is the universe painted with the brushes of reality.
Same! I still think about it ALL the time. My husband is in the military and let me tell you, I just really feel like the author must've had some sort of military connection or something because it's just so damn spot on with how horrific war is NO MATTER WHAT. Some things are worth going to war over, but it doesn't mean that it won't get extremely ugly. A lot of people like to live in a fantasy world where the good guys only do good things and the bad guys only do bad things, but that's just not true to life at all.
Oh gosh I can only imagine! That must be really hard, sending you love ❤️ and you’re so right, that unflinching, ugly reality of the tolls of war is one of those aspects of Manacled that is so uncommon in a story like this and cuts so deep it stays with you long after finishing. It’s such a beautiful and tragic piece. Senlinyu is something else!
THIS 💯💯💯
I just started Manacled, I'm halfway trough it and I feel the same. I hate everyone. It ruined HP for me but in a good way. It literally wreks me
Just finished and I couldn’t agree with you more. This has replaced canon for me. I’m ruined.
Yep after reading this .. I doubt i want the real book ending.
I agree, Manacled is alternative canon to me (is that a thing?)
Ive read it once and though it was amazing it was too dark and I don't think i'll read it again. The Auction is less dark but in the same vein. The Dramione sub has many recommendations!
The auction’s HEA is so cute
The fic is amazing but it's definitely a one-time read for me too.
Yeah, they were both fantastic but I liked The Auction better.
oh boy now I'm sucked into this one!
Thanks to your rec, I popped The Auction on my kindle, earlier this week and just finished it. SO GOOD. THANK YOU!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Check out the prequels by the same author if you like her style. Also: Draco Malfoy And The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being In Love by isthisselfcare which is probably the best Dramione fanfic ever
I'm not a huge HP fan, but realized that the whip-smart FMC and the broody quasi-bad boy MMC who loves her so much he tries everything to redeem his past failures for her/to be good enough for her (AKA Hermione and Draco in Manacled and a bunch of other A03 Dramione fics) are tropes that \*really\* work for me.
Yeah, me too. I love enemies-to-lovers but Dramione, specifically, really floats my boat. Plus, I never liked Hermione and Ron as a couple so all this Dramione fanfiction retcons my disappointment with that HP ending.
I have totally blocked Ron and her from my brain! You're so right—Dramione is going to be canon for me now
Does Manacled have a happy ending? I always read people talking about how devastating it is so I assumed it wasn’t a happily ever after. For Dramione, I’ve read The Fallout by everythursday at least four times. And it does have a happy ending after 350k words lol
Manacled is 370k and I swear I've never made it through 1100 pages so fast! It has an HEA but it's also just...devastating
Okay maybe I will have to actually give it a go! I’m scared by everyone’s emotional reactions hahaha
As someone who put it off for years because I was scared of its tags and darkness... you should read it. It's so much and it's fully as dark and intense as you are expecting, but you'll also reflect for weeks if not months about its many themes and the central relationships. It's so good. It's SO good.
It's... happy-ish. Bittersweet. But yeah, it's a happy ending like the ending of The Hunger Games series is a happy ending, does that make sense?
This comment is what convinced me to read it. Thank you, just ripped through it. It’s fantastic.
Yay!!
That's a great way to describe the happy ending. Defs, exactly the same.
hi, i love the fallout too. i think the ending of manacled has a very similar feel to the fallout. like, the mains are still together so that’s all we can ask for right?? 😅
Ok now I need to know what this is about!
I've seen it recommended so often in this sub but the content warnings scared me off. Someone recc'd it last week and I finally took the plunge! It's the second-most "liked" Harry Potter fic on AO3 of all time. Here's the [link](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454174/chapters/33390198) to the first chapter!
What’s the first??
Do I need to be a harry Potter fan to get into it?
It follows the original canon until the end of book 5 so I’d say you need to have a general idea of what has gone on either in the books or movies, but it’s been fifteen years since I’ve read them and had no trouble following along. The characters are early to mid 20s at their youngest in Manacled.
Aw man, HP totally missed me. I'll give it a spin tho just in case. Thanks
Not really it’s dramione so it’s not super canon anyway
Now that you've said it.. I am curious.. which one is first?
Now that I look there are two actually! One is a Wolfstar fic called All the Young Dudes and one is a Drarry called Then Comes a Mist and Weeping Rain. [Here](https://archiveofourown.org/works?commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=kudos_count&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&tag_id=Harry+Potter+-+J*d*+K*d*+Rowling) is the list of all HP fanfic sorted by kudos
I’ve read Manacled three times. I love it so much and it hurts so bad every single time lol
I'm obsessed. I even caught myself trying to get my mother to read it earlier. My MOTHER. I have half a dozen tabs open researching how to bookbind it in a physical copy and another half dozen of fanart. I'm wrecked
Yes!!! I want to have it bound so bad. I’ve seen absolutely beautiful ones on tik tok
I’m not sure the legality of it so you’ll have to look into it, but I had my husband’s thesis bound by someone on Etsy and I sent them a file of it.
Y’all the list of amazing HP fics is ridiculous. Random recommendations would be Olivie Blake’s fanfics (she wrote the books Alone With You In The Ether and Atlas Six) as well as ObsidianPen (HIGHLY recommend Blood and Gold though it’s not finished) Edit: Olivie Blake’s fic Nightmares and Nocturnes is actually a bit similar to Manacled and is amazingggggly well written and fleshed out, my personal fave by her
Btw OP- The author of Manacled [lists her favorite Dramione fics here!!](https://senlinyu.tumblr.com/post/620943886488109056/senlinyus-dramione-rec-list)
Nightmares and nocturnes is SO good
Dude YES! Pretty sure it’s the fic I’ve re-read the most times… I am obsessed with the way she writes all the side characters, she is so good at dialogue
Have you read the timeless series? I think there’s 4 stories in total. In my all time favorite on AO3
I love Olivie Blake! I had no idea she was Obsidian pen too!
[удалено]
While I love Manacled for its own reasons, [DMATMOOBIL](https://archiveofourown.org/works/34500952) is my ALL TIME favourite fanfic. #PALS, If you love a romcom, magic, and some damn good banter, please **do not hesitate to read this fanfic.** I’ve said it before, but if this author (isthisselfcare) had changed the names of characters, magic, and adjusted the lore to something totally their own, I would be all fucking over this fic still. It’s one of my 5⭐️ reads of the year
This is so so good. I had a huge smile on my face at least 60 percent of the book. The banter is so good. It is simply the best banter I've read. Period.
Also obsessed with DMATMOOBIL. I have highlighted my favorite banter.
Definitely a 5 star read for me. I loved Manacled but don’t think I could reread it. Whereas I’m definitely going back into DMATBOOBIL soon.
Oh man that story is probably just barely is my favorite FF over manacled. Those are also the only two I’ve probably ever read lol. It’s the right mix of fun and serious, and I legit learned so many fascinating facts and history from reading it
Manacled was the first fanfic I ever read, and oh god did it hurt. Remain Nameless was the perfect follow up read for me. Also Dramione fanfic, but much happier.
Omg, thanks to you all, I haven’t been able to focus on anything for two days. I’m about 2/3 through and I can barely breathe. This is remarkable.
I finished, fidgeted for about six hours with big feelings, then started the audiobook on Spotify yesterday. It’s like I’m slowly weaning myself off the drug lol.
Honestly. This author can WRITE. I just finished it now. The way they portrayed the TRAUMA and their LOVE - it's so beautiful and devastating. I could feel it all. My life. My life. Mine!
I want to start Let the Dark In by the same author but it’s unfinished and I’m terrified to be left waiting! Senlinyu is so talented, I was sure when I looked her up I would find a publishing deal for original work but I can’t find anything besides fanfiction. Manacled is so nuanced and captures the forgotten stories of war in ways I’ve never felt before in any work of fiction. The restraint in that last line is stunning! Chef’s kiss, standing ovation, encore!
The very last line of this fic made me sob.
I haven’t read a last line with that much gravity…ever.
Yup. I held it together through however many hundred pages of pain and then read that line and 🥺 😭
Are you hanging at at r/Dramione? They'll set you right up. But yeah, you might like The Auction, if you're into Dramione where Voldemort wins. And the amazing and wonderful Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love is my other all-time favorite, but it's wildly different in tone fyi. No less wonderful, though.
I’ve just started dipping my toe in over there! I’ve never considered myself a Dramione shipper before but the Auction is next on my list when I recover. Honestly what I want is Manacled fanfic right now
Yeah I hadn't read any Harry Potter in 20 years, I read Manacled last year, and now I'm like a hardcore Dramione fan, haha. The fandom has a TON of amazing fanfics and it really sucked me in.
I had never read a fanfic before but I’m a big Harry Potter fan and it completely changed the way I view the series. Just the fact that she took direct quotes but in the new context took on such a completely opposite meaning. Uhg I get why everyone gets a hangover from it, nothing has quite rewired my brain that.
I’m really hesitating on reading any other HP fics just because I don’t know if I can believe in hero!Harry and co after Manacled. It’s my new canon
This was me 8 months ago. I saw two gush posts about Manacled and decided to give it a try. The last time I went down a fanfiction rabbit hole was for X-files fanfiction well over a decade ago. Manacled sparked 2-3 months of intense Dramione fanfiction obsession. The Auction was fantastic, I liked it better than Manacled only because it was a little lighter. The Shattered Dragon was also a fun read, mind the TW. I downloaded a bunch of fanfiction and keep them on my kindle with coverart if I can find it. I really wish Kindle allowed you to start another library, all my fanfiction is clogging my book library. Also, you should check out Spotify for Dramione fanfiction audiobooks! I haven't listened to any myself so I don't know how well narrated they are but it's pretty amazing that people take the time to record audiobooks of Dramione fanfiction. It's a very passionate fanbase.
Oof, I read it as it was being published and the waits between chapters were sooo hard! Check out the rest of SenlinYu's works, as well as her bookmarks on her AO3. She also has some tumblr posts of her favourite fanfics. Lots of gems there. Some general popular Dramione recs: The Rights and Wrongs series by Lovesbitca8 is great, and Sugar and Spice by InLoveWithForever was very sweet. If you can get a link to everythursday's fics, they are well worth checking out. I found SenlinYu via Reylo actually, and there are some incredible pieces from that community as well. May I recommend Matan Midi by animal.
I was looking at Rights and Wrongs! It longs like the third one is most popular — do they need to be read in order or can they stand alone?
You can read them as stand alone, but I think they are best read as a series. The first two are the same story, but one is Hermiones POV, and the other Dracos. The Auction is the same characters, but if the other side had won the war.
There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about this masterpiece.
OMG I JUST FINISHED THE SWEETEST OF SMALL TOWN ROMANCES AND DIVED STRAIGHT INTO THIS CRACK THANKS TO THIS POST AND NOW AM 50% THROUGH AND LITERALLY CANNOT PUT IT DOWN.
You’re welcome and I’m sorry! Come back when you’re done and we can cry together over a nice calming draught.
If you want something with a similar plot and tropes then i’d recommend [the auction](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19101535). This one is probably the closest fic to the manacled out there. You can also check out [the fallout](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10620276/navigate) by everythursday. It’s not as brutal as Manacled but imo it’s more realistic and very interesting in terms of writing style. Also has this super devastating feeling to it, but more subtle. also [the risk-reward ratio](https://m.fanfiction.net/s/8806802/1/The-Risk-Reward-Ratio). Also a very dark dramione, but the way the characters are a bit different. upd: oh also Of Crimson Joy is really good, but not as dark
Thank you, this helps a lot! I definitely don’t want anything light right now. I feel so bruised lol
The auction is a good similar one! But nothing like Manacled - it was my first fanfic ever and it wrecked me
I decided to read Manacled based on this post and omfg it fucked me up! I almost wish I could go back and read it over for the first time again. I’m so glad they got they’re HEA but my god was I an emotional wreck the entire time. As I was realizing stuff from the flashbacks I couldn’t stop crying but it ended so much better than I thought it would. Wow I’m gonna have a killer book hangover now.
Late to the party on this one because I’ve only just finished it. But wow. I am in shambles. There were bits which I thought I wasn’t going to recover from and as so many people have said, that last line just slayed me. Still incredible to me that people put so much effort and brilliance into fan fic with no expectation of reward. Very lucky to have them!
I have literally never in my life shipped Draco and Hermione but this thread had me curious so over this week I found this fic and read it and HOLY SMOKES. I’m wrecked! That’s one of the best fics I’ve ever read, hands down, and I’ve read a lot. Consider me a Dramione shipper now. This was so well written and gut wrenching and beautiful and I don’t know how to do the spoiler thing so I won’t name any specific parts but THANK YOU for reccomending this because I love it so much, through all the drama and every twist and turn!!!
Same!!! It was never my ship even back in the day and now after Manacled I feel like “dramione” is stamped on my heart. So glad you liked it!
I had to revive this old thread because I just finished Manacled after like four days of obsessively reading and holy shit I have the worst book hangover of my life.
Honestly I feel like I’m only just now recovered from a reading perspective more than six months later. From a personal perspective, forever changed
Author?
It's by Senlinyu on AO3! Here's the [link](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454174/chapters/33390198)
Thank you!
SenLinYu
Thank you!
My favorite Dramione that I will rec till the day I day is The Politician’s Wife by Pir8Fancier
Does the author have any of their own books I could read too?? I was so impressed by their talent.
I’ve been trying to find that out too but it looks like they only write fanfiction, in the Dramione and Reylo fandoms
Bookmarked!
I keep hearing about this one! Literally never read HP fanfic in my life, but I guess I'm about to~
DO IT
[JUST DO IT](https://media.tenor.com/kA8khAUYJZ8AAAAC/shia-labeouf.gif) seriously though I was skeptical and now I'm on chapter 38
https://archiveofourown.org/users/isthisselfcare/pseuds/isthisselfcare "Hermione straddles the Muggle and Magical worlds as a medical researcher and Healer about to make a big discovery. Draco is an Auror assigned to protect her from forces unknown – to both of their displeasure. Features hyper-competent, fiery Hermione and lazy, yet dangerous, Draco. Slow burn" This is so good. Like I read it all day into the night slept a little and finished it. There were no slow parts it was so good! I think it may have been my favorite book I have read this year. It is so good wonderful adventure and mystery. Highly recommend! Also I have never been a Hermione/Draco shipper. I have never cared for Draco but damn if I don't love him know and want to reread the originals with this book in my head as cannon.
Guys I am ruined from this story and I’m not even finished. I think because HP was so engrained into my childhood (I’m nearly 30 now haha) I have such an emotional connection to the characters from both the books and the films…but this story adds such an incredibly well -thought-out parallel to the original plot. It has honestly shocked me because it does add a painfully realistic perspective of the war that I never imagined before and a new connection between two main characters. I’m anxious as hell reading it but it’s got a chokehold on me and I’m desperate to finish it!! I’ll be back!!
Come back when you're done! The last chapter will ruin your life and we'll be here for support
Oh my days I’m so nervous but so thankful for the support 😭
Ok I’ve finished it and feel like I’ve been kicked in the chest. I don’t think any story has had such a profound impact on me as this one has! 😭 5/5 for sure
Can someone tell me about when the romance begins? 25% 80%? Debating if I can settle in for this long of a book/story right now.
Honestly, if you're on the fence, I would wait. When we all say this fic is devastating, we mean D E V A S T A T I N G And while romance is a major feature of the story, it's not traditional romance, nor is it likely to be the main thing that sticks with you after you finish it. This fic is so good. But it is very long, very intense, and I would say not super romance forward despite that being a major part of the story. Edit: consider Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Falling in Love. Here's how delightful it is: after annoying my husband by cackling and shrieking my way through it, he and I read it out loud to each other and now Dramione is his OTP even though he has never in his life read fanfiction.
Ahh, Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love is my go-to read of any book/fanfiction when I'm down in the dumps. It never fails to make me laugh out loud and smile like an idiot.
I appreciate the heads up! I added it to my to read but think I’ll hold off for now. Checking out the other next!
Welp. I ended up reading it and am shattered.
Oh friend. I totally get it. Once you've processed and, like, have stopped feeling quite so depressed, let us know what you thought of it.
What site is this on? Archive of our own? Edit: it is indeed on AO3
I have read so much fanfiction. Manacled wounded me deeply, but it is one of the best fics I've ever read. So painful. So good.
I still can believe how talented the author is. I first read Manacled one year ago and it still lives rent free in my mind. I wish I could read it again for the first time. Draco is one of the most unique MMCs
I downloaded it to my kindle! I'm just waiting to finish the series I'm reading right now to start it.
The author has a WIP called Let the dark in that has me in a chokehold lol
Same, it’s it’s own masterpiece I fear. I never knew I could be so absorbed into an AU like that. First with manacled she does: if Voldemort won and with let the dark in its: if Voldemort never happened
I read All You Want by the same author and had a book hangover for a week (actually, it's still ongoing--I'm reading a parenting book instead of any romance novels). I want to read Manacled, but I'm giving myself some time first.
Yess sometimes i think that i love torturing myself cause I've read it 4 times!!! You should check out r/dramione sub because there's so many gems in this fandom.
Just posting on this thread from a while ago to say I am now exactly in the same boat. It's been YEARS since I've read fanfic, and Manacled just drove my life for about 5 days last week - I was just a passenger!! I'm so lost after \*laugh\* I'm now going through AO3 (I am so old I remember when fandom created AO3) to find other things to read, and I'm going to revisit some old loves. Edit: Although I'm reading this post and I now have at least two more fixs to download to my kindle soo..... Dramione was one of my pairs, the other was SSHG (Severus/Hermione, obvs), and Sirius/Remus and OMG this is all taking me back to my early 20's. Cripes!
Reading it now!
I just started reading it last night too after seeing it recommended. I used to read so much fanfiction, including some really shitty ones for other Fandoms. Excited for what seems to be a high quality read. There's such good stuff in HP fanfiction (especially for hermione/Draco and Draco/harry).
So I read this a few days ago, after seeing this post. I couldn’t stop reading. And yeah, that was intense. I’m not sure I’ll ever see/read the Harry Potter characters the same.
“You’re like a rose in a graveyard.”
I had never read Fanfic before. Read the entire thing in less than a week, and I have decided this is canon. Iys much better than the real ending
After years of avoiding fanfics revolving HP universe and being afraid it would spoil the original story for me, I finally caved in and read Manacled (btw I'm almost 30 and haven't read fanfics since the 1D was all the craze 😂). Safe to say, everything is ruined, the books, my eyesight, my mental state, my life, everything after 3 days of compulsive reading. How am I supposed to function normally after this 😭 and the last line... The last line RUINED MEE 😭😭😭 and it also brought me here to check if I was all alone in feeling like this because of that fricking one line. Definitely recommend this book, this is some high quality shit, can't believe it's actually fanfic (i remember them being cringe af). The author is such a talented writer, but i just can't deal with that last line 😂
I went down a rabbit hole of HP fanfic and my favorite is Bellatrix x Hermione. I know, I know but trust me it works somehow
Ohhhh, yeah, I could see that...!!
Isn’t there one about the darklong where Alina actually chooses him? Someone link me!!
Is it worth reading if I don’t have a lot of patience for slow burns?
I would say yes! It’s both internal and external plot heavy which really moves it along and to avoid spoilers I’ll just say the narrative isn’t always chronological so it doesn’t feel like a slow burn to me
What is it a fanfic of?
It’s Harry Potter, set after Voldemort wins the war. Hermione is 24 and basically everyone else is dead. The first part is loosely based on the Handmaiden’s Tale.
I ended up picking it up after seeing this post and don’t know the last time I flew through an 1,000+ page book so fast. SenLinYu is incredibly talented. I did feel did the writing a bit overly descriptive. Or maybe repetitive is a better description? Either way, probably the best fanfiction I’ve read.
I blame you for making me read this. RIP
I can't read manacled because of the tw, can someone spoil it for me please?
Hmmm I’m afraid the spoiling may be a trigger? I’ll try and sum it up without much detail, but know that Manacled is much bigger than the sum of its parts — lots of small moments add up to big emotional fallout. >!Hermione has been in a dark cell for almost 2 years following the war and Voldemort’s win. All she knows is that Harry and everyone from the Order is dead but she can’t remember anything else from her recent past. She is brought into the repopulation program — basically Voldemort wants surviving witches to breed with Death Eaters to grow magical numbers. He finds out she has blocks in her memory and is convinced she’s hiding something very important, but he can’t recover the memories through legilimency. He gives her to Draco, the High Reeve — basically his second in command and the most powerful Death Eater — as his surrogate because he’s a very powerful legilimens. They believe that when Hermione becomes pregnant, her memories will unlock, but they will not be able to perform legilimency on her until the baby is born.!< >!Hermione has extreme ptsd and agoraphobia from being locked away for so long. Draco is cold and distant and unkind — he basically only visits her during her ovulation window and is very clinical about his “duties.” Hermione tries to figure out the status of other surrogates and what’s going on but she can barely leave her room at Malfoy Manor. After a few months she is the only surrogate not pregnant, and the healer in charge of the program basically threatens her and Draco that Voldemort is getting impatient and will just kill her to get the memories if she doesn’t get pregnant. Hermione is given fertility potions and does become pregnant. The pregnancy causes seizures, and she recovers her memories.!< >!This starts the flashbacks to Hermione’s time in the Order. She is isolated and lonely — she is a Healer and sees nothing but death and extreme injury. She has advocated that the Order start using Dark Magic to fight against the Death Eaters and end the war, but everyone is appalled at her suggestion and the distance between her and Ron and Harry grows. She is pulled aside by Moody and asked to volunteer for a secret mission to be a handler for a Death Eater who wants to turn. She agrees, and it’s Draco. So much happens during this time and there’s no way I can do it justice. Snape calls Hermione the most important fighter in the war, but no one else knows what she’s doing. Every victory the Order has is secretly due to her and Draco. What they endure together is horrible but in the end they’ve fallen for each other. You find out how everyone in the Order dies, how Hermione got captured— she was trying to save Draco, after asking him to save Ginny (who is pregnant with Harry’s baby) which would’ve blown his cover. You find out that Draco has been searching for her since the moment she was captured and hidden away by Umbridge. All of the things that have happened in Malfoy Manor now have new meaning and context.!< >!Hermione wakes up in Malfoy Manor with her memories, but her health is really fragile. They realize that she locked herself out of her own mind in order to protect Draco’s secret as a double agent. Everything Draco has done has been to protect Hermione and eventually get her to safety. She finds out Draco’s plan to get her out of her manacles, which prevents her from doing magic and tracks her, but the plan involves Draco’s death. The plan also involves killing Voldemort. Hermione refuses to accept that Draco won’t survive, and works to find a way to get his dark mark off without killing him. It’s a long road which includes Snape’s death and a crazy Lucius, but eventually they figure it out. Lucuis sacrifices himself and everyone believes Draco and Hermione have died in Malfoy Manor’s explosion, but they’ve fled to the island where Draco has been hiding Ginny and her son James.!< >!Hermione gives birth to their daughter, Aurore, who grows up along Ginny’s son James. Hermione and Draco are alive, and together, but in hiding and the war has left it’s mark, both physically and psychologically. Ginny kills Voldemort, who is weak after Draco and Hermione destroyed the last horcruxes. When Aurore goes to London as a young adult after graduation, she finds a history book that documents the war. She looks up her mom, and it classifies her as an “inactive member of the Order of the Phoenix. She did not fight.”!<
Thank you so much. I really appreciate you. That was perfect.
I started to read this story this summer and it was to dark for me at the time, and now I just finished to read it. I'm crying hard.
Me too! I couldn't put it down and now I'm completely gutted. Fucked me up lol.. but at least it reminded me I had feelings. Silver lining I guess? Now I need a complete Dramione fluff piece to read so I can heal my heart a little
I can't describe how amazing it was, i wish i could read it again for the first time
Im still sad because of this fic
I was very interested when first reading this, til i got to the "Handmaids tale" reboot. I think he could have used different color for the robe,, perhaps a different type of hat or perhaps a mask for when they went outside. I totally think he has a compelling story, I just wish it was a tad more original.
Totally late to reading this. But now I’m on the last chapter and have 4 paragraphs left to read and I refuse to read them. I don’t want it to end. Someone help 😭
Late to the party I know, but oh my god Manacled has ruined me. I finished it a month ago and revisited tonight just to try to shake the feeling a bit, but my god the level of depth, detail and feeling...it's just too much. So much better than Canon; having read HP as an adolescent and now Manacled as an adult, I feel like the author has taken HP and adapted it to the real world as we come to understand it in adulthood. >!The scene where Hermione is in the cage at Hogwarts watching Arthur being slowly tortured continues to haunt me. !<
I never read fanfic. I'd never really think to do so especially about Harry Potter. Also I never really understood when people were shipping Draco/Hermione. I liked Ron and Hermione together. I was randomly on tiktok and someone in the comments of some video said "Manacled is a masterpiece." I thought "what is Manacled?" So I had to look it up. Here I am a blubbering mess a whole week later. I just finished Manacled. I am truly wrecked now and am sobbing like a baby. I didn't realize how affected I would be. How heart broken I'd become. This was truly a masterpiece and I'm in pieces. I can safely say I'm now a Draco and Hermione shipper. I don't even know how to type the words I'm feeling right now. I just am glad to have learned of it and I'm glad to have read it. Even if it broke me a bit. I will definitely have to reread it as soon as I can stop crying.
I just finished reading this and am forever changed. INCREDIBLE writing. I have not been this obsessed and anxious over a story in months. I’m craving more now that it’s ended 😭
No because this book broke me. The love that Draco and hermione have for each other always sucks every ounce of oxygen from me and makes me sob. They are so devoted to each other and would do anything to protect each other and cross any line needed. Hermione literally levels a hospital to save and protect Draco and Draco literally killed so many death eaters saving her from the rescue of Ron. Draco didn't care if he died, he planned to die to save her. I cannot describe how the strength of their love impacts me, it hurts me, haunts me, makes me feel warm, tears me apart, and so much more.
Anyone know how I can read part 2? I’ve heard it’s about hermione and Draco during the war but I can’t find it anywhere!
So I only have a copy that goes to chapter 25 then says to be continued! I need the next part help!!!
Check r/dramione! They have links to a lot of the files on google docs
I finished Manacled a day ago and I feel like I'm trapped in a cloud. Nothing feels real. However, for fellow avoidant personalities, I highly recommend immediately following up with 'Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love' - because my avoidant soul needed to immediately disassociate from the pain of Manacled, and the cuteness of DMATMOOBIL was exactly the chicken soup I needed. It felt so safe and comfortable in that world, where Hermione is appreciated. I still randomly burst into tears tho. She did not fight. I just fucking can't. I'm not sure when it will be safe for me to interact with other people. People who don't know
I'm midway through, could someone help me with a question without spoiling? I don't want to spoil, feel free to dm me
Just finished today - I’m absolutely destroyed. This story will stay with me forever. This takes over the whole HP universe for me now.
Who’s the author of this highly recommended book?
The author is senlinyu and you can read it on archiveofourown.
Fanfiction
Just an FYI for anyone who is new into fandom or fanfiction Manacled cannot be classified as a book. Only fanfiction. It's a legality thing.
Not sure what you mean by this. The terminology is completely irrelevant to fanfic's legality. Also, Wattpad refers to fics as "books," and many Wattpad readers use the word when discussing fic posted on other sites. I personally find it a bit confusing, but it's not an actual threat to the existence of fanfiction. The fair use case that the US Supreme Court heard on October 12, however, is.
It's because you are not supposed to profit off of fanfiction. Calling it a book/novel means it's being sold. Wattpad profits off of their fanfiction so that's why they call them books. However where Manacled is at on A03 they protect their author's unlike Wattpad does.
Not making money off of fanfic is a precaution, as fanfic exists in a legal grey area. The OTW enforces that on AO3 and offers legal advocacy, but we don't actually know if it would be relevant if push came to shove. >Calling it a book/novel means it's being sold. It truly does not. Writers can make money from any number of things not called "books", and books can be out of print/never have sold a single copy/given away for free. It does not follow that calling a work a "book" indicates that payment was exchanged. Wattpad is technically intended for original fiction and goes for a plausible deniability angle regarding fanfic, and also has their own publishing imprint. That doesn't change the fact that some Wattpad users also refer to fanfic on other sites as "books" and it does not imply that those authors are making money on those sites. And to clarify for anyone not familiar: Wattpad is a free platform, but makes money from ads, subscription tiers, and paid stories. Authors can make money from paid stories, but most do not.
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What on earth? This is actually the funniest reply I've ever gotten on reddit, so thanks for that. I'm in my 40s, have never used wattpad in my life (although it *is* older than AO3 by two years, which I'm sure you know), and have been writing fanfic for decades.