Fic Rec Fridays 2019 - part 42

All the Earnest Young Men (29469 words) by Tepre
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Ron and Hermione make an appearance, A whole new cast of Aurors!
Additional Tags: Sharing a Bed, Hypothermia, Sharing Body Heat, Sort of a case fic?, Brief dub-con kiss (one of the characters has a fever), Intercrural Sex, mention of a blowjob

Summary:

All over London portraits are disappearing from their canvases.

Auror Harry! Expert-in-Magical-Art-Theory Draco! There's running, dancing, falling through ice, what’s this paper giraffe doing here? A great time was had by all.

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First, a warning: if AO3 had physical pages, this one would be a page-turner. So be ready to devour it on one go.

Or, "it" might be the wrong word, since there are in fact two stories intertwining. One is a gripping tale of mystery and suspense, unfolding on two different timelines, never revealing more than is absolutely necessary to keep the reader hooked and guessing. (Hint: this is one of the page-turner elements.) A great part of its charm comes from a rich background of magical theory and history, and Draco as a hyper-fixated, over-enthusiastic expert of his field is a pure delight to read (even when he's being impossible).

But in the end, it's a side plot, only a vehicle for the main thing. Which is, of course, the romance. From a characteristically wrong-footed beginning, it advances in delightful fits and starts, through action rather than words - and not without some gut-wrenching dramatics (where the cliffhanger-potential of the alternating timelines is used to good effect) - before coming to a conclusion that's satisfying in every sense of the word *winkwink*.

TL;DR - a riveting tale of mystery and romance that won't be interrupted for the mere conveniences of rest and sustenance; excellent reading right up to the hot-and-sweet finish.