Minerva McGonagall, an Unspeakable and ex-Hogwarts professor, undertakes a mission to 1979. Thanks to the Time Department’s sophisticated time travel methods, de-aged nineteen-year-old Minerva finds herself at a bar, revelling in the spontaneity of youth with her former students; Lily Evans and her friends. Travel of any kind tends to shift one’s perspective, and time travel is no exception.
Minerva’s grey soulmark identified her as alone in this world. But after living through three wars she was done with waiting for fate to take matters into their own hands.
Daphne. It appears to me that you become more and more beautiful with every day passing. It all begins with an encounter of Andromeda Black and Daphne Greengrass at a dinner party, and several letters.
HSS Rare Pairs 2024 is over. We are so thankful to everyone who participated: our creators, readers, commenters, pinch-hitters, proof-readers, beta readers, cheerleaders, tag-checkers, and beyond!! We had a total of 87 participants create 178 works, which is actually an insane number when you think about it. Here are some STATS if you’re curious about the breakdown of works!
HSS will be taking a break for 2025, but we will be back in 2026!! If you’re looking for more rare pairs, check out our sister fest @hprarepairfest which will run in 2025. The HP Rare Pairs Discord Server is also open all year long with rare pair events and fellow rare pair enthusiasts just hanging out.
So, thank you everyone. We love you and we will see you all soon 😘
Happy rare pairs, Lani (@lumosatnight) for the HSS Mods 🍐
Gather ‘round, everyone, it’s time for some pretty graphs and some big numbers. We gave out 178 gifts for this year’s secret santa exchange! So many!! See our masterlists for a full list of works or check out the collection on AO3.
The masterlist for Creative Mediums other than fic that were gifted through the exchange. We had so may wonderful mediums submitted including: art, craft, remix art, audio, translation, meta, and other writing. For more works, check out the other fest masterlists!
The masterlist for Femslash & Poly Fic that were gifted through the exchange. We had an amazing 27 F/F fics and 19 Multi fics with lengths ranging from 220 words to over 12k words. For more works, check out the other fest masterlists!
The masterlist for Gen & Het Fic that were gifted through the exchange. We had an spectacular 4 gen (no ship) fics and 40 F/M fics with lengths ranging from 200 words to over 28k words. For more works, check out the other fest masterlists!
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!! Today is our Week 4 Roundup, our last one for the fest. We’ve had a truly amazing range of gifts this week. From fics to art, podfic, moodboards, and even a ship guessing game! Creator Reveals will be on Dec 30 with a Masterlist released at the same time. We can’t wait!
Ship: Regulus Black/Barty Crouch Jr. Rating: Explicit Length/Medium: 1.6k words Tags: Smut, Secret Relationship, Bondage, Black Family Angst, Pain and Pleasure, Trans Regulus Black Summary:
Regulus is all for anything pleasurable and that goes against the family wishes. Being tied up by the boyfriend no one knows he has and fucked between bets falls under that category.
Ship: Sirius Black/Hermione Granger/Harry Potter/Charlie Weasley/Blaise Zabini Rating: General Length/Medium: 670 words Tags: Fluff, Polycule, Soulmates, AU, Drabble, The Grim Lives Summary:
No Summary because Blaise doesn’t want to share the summary, he feels it gives to much away like the title just kidding. Blaise has trouble waking up two of his bond mates.
Ship: Fleur Delacour/Narcissa Black Malfoy Rating: Teen Length/Medium: 340 words Tags: Seduction, Infidelity, Minor Fleur/Bill, Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Implied Sexual Content, Implied Smut Summary:
Mrs Malfoy visits Gringotts. Fleur can’t help but take notice.
Ship: Sirius Black/Kingsley Shacklebolt/Severus Snape Rating: Teen Length/Medium: 900 words Tags: Second Wizarding War, Implied/Referenced Torture, Spy Severus, Hurt Severus, Angst, Loneliness, Complicated Relationships, Secret Relationships, Implied Sexual Content Summary:
There, on Sirius’s neck, just beneath the cut of his jaw is a bruise, fresh, still purpling. The perfect size for a pair of lips to have latched on and sucked in a moment of ecstasy.
Ship: Lucius Malfoy/Arthur Weasley Rating: General Length/Medium: Digital Tags: Fluff, Digital Art, Old Man Yaoi, Rubber Ducks, Idiots in Love Summary:
Lucius kindly did not point out to Arthur that the thing in his hand is an abomination (He’s a simp). Arthur is just happy to yap about his lil rubber ducky.
Ship: Narcissa Black Malfoy/Ron Weasley Rating: Mature Length/Medium: Digital Inspired by:take of my fruit by @emilyrickman Tags: ubious Consent, Lust Potion/Spell, Auror Ron Weasley, Pie, Fantasizing, moodboard, Smut, Banners & Icons, Made on Canva Summary:
Auror Ron Weasley gets more than he bargained for when he answers a call from Malfoy Manor. Moodboard for take of my fruit by AlihotsyTotsy
Ship: Pansy Parkinson/Ginny Weasley Rating: Mature Length/Medium: Digital Inspired by:Greenteeth by @schmem14 Tags: lktales, Horror, Creepy, MCD, The Black Lake, Murder, Angst, Banners & Icons, Made on Canva Summary:
Pansy might be in love with Ginny, but she’s afraid of the menacing presence that threatens to ruin it all. Ginny might be in love with Pansy, but not enough to stay where it’s safe. Banner for Greenteeth by Schmem_14
Ship: Surprise relationships! Rating: General Length/Medium: Ship Guessing Game Tags: Metafiction, Ship Names, Headcanon, moodboard, Made on Canva, Guessing Game Summary:
Welcome to “What’s that ship?” where I, your very sleep-deprived and possibly deranged host, show you some pictures and ask you one simple question.
Harry and Ron agree that their dear friend, Hermione, is in need of a new love. So, what happens when they both invite someone to dinner to be her date?
Ship: Astoria Greengrass/Luna Lovegood Rating: General Length/Medium: 350 words Tags: Fluff, Romance, Domestic Fluff, Winter Summary:
Luna returns from the store with frozen hands, a nonchalant explanation, and cake. Astoria’s concern outweighs her exasperation. Established relationship fluff.
The following stories were selected by our Discord members as their favourite works they’ve created in 2024! It’s been great to read the reasons these stories were chosen, and while we won’t share the specifics, under the masterlist you’ll find some stats on just why we all loved creating sapphic fanworks this year.
“Which run is this?” Luna asked, sliding in front of her, because somehow, she always knew, and Cho - head down against the table, trying to not think of Cedric on the table behind her, laughing at some joke - tried to recall, then gave up after half a minute, groaning.
Having fled a stifling life and built something better for herself, Minnie pours all her love into the orphanage she’s just opened with Poppy. Little did she know that one of the children they forstered would become her son, and some more would follow over the years.
Hermione wants more than just the white picket fence with Ron; she wants to make a difference. She always thought she’d be doing that in the Ministry, but finds instead that she wants to become a Healer. She doesn’t believe in soulmates, but when she discovers that Luna shares her dreams, literally shares her dreams, her foundations are shaken. The war exposed Luna to her father’s lies. When she’s named co-Head Girl with Hermione Granger, she never expected to fall in love with her. When she discovers that Hermione shares the same dreams, literally shares the same dreams, her foundations are shaken. An 8th year, Head Dorms story with dream sharing. After one early chapter partially from Harry’s POV, all the rest will be from Hermione’s POV. All the scars are on the inside I’m not sure if there’s anything left of me -Blue Oyster Cult-songwriters Michael Moorcock and Eric Bloom
Minerva McGonagall, an Unspeakable and ex-Hogwarts professor, undertakes a mission to 1979. Thanks to the Time Department’s sophisticated time travel methods, de-aged nineteen-year-old Minerva finds herself at a bar, revelling in the spontaneity of youth with her former students; Lily Evans and her friends. Travel of any kind tends to shift one’s perspective, and time travel is no exception.
“Bellatrix Black Lestrange was survived by her husband, sister, nephew, and me, whatever I could be considered, if I could even be considered someone who survived her.”
Newly appointed Prefect Hermione Granger is steadfast in accomplishing the long-term goals she’s set for herself. She’s dating her best friend Ron, is very busy preparing for O.W.L.s and completing Prefect duties, and certainly doesn’t have time to be bullied by Pansy Parkinson, who is clearly determined to make her life as difficult as possible.
The Aurora by SnarkyGranger1 @snarkygranger1 - (Narcissa/Minerva, E)
Minerva was surprised to see her at the hot springs but by the end of the weekend, they were grateful for the time well spent.
Walburga wanders the moors, bottle in hand, and comes across a woman in the grassy fields. What is the woman, anyway, if not another person, another possibility, that she can never have?
“Oh my désirée, you get me the most beautiful gifts.” Fleur flipped her tail as Angelina approached their secluded cave, braids cascading down her back and her captain’s hat casting a shadow across her face. Her hands were full. One hand was dripping in gold chains, strands of pearls, and beautiful gems. The other was dripping in blood, a human heart resting in her palm.
🎁 The stats
We had 17 (!!!) works submitted as your favourite stories, and we loved reading the reasons you chose them. we categorised themes for *why* you loved these works, and here are the stats:
25.53% were selected because you explored a new pairing or character
5.88% were chosen because it was your favourite ship
29.41% were chosen because you explored a new genre, theme, or dynamic
47.06% (almost half!) were chosen because you were proud of the finished product
35.29% were chosen because they were fun to write
11.76% were chosen because they received positive feedback
and finally, 29.41% were chosen because of the personal impact they had on the creator
Muggle Coffee Shop/Bakery AU. Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey, partners of 20+ years, run The Tabby Teapot, a cozy bakery and cafe in London that serves nearby uni students. They’re known for their coffees, teas, pastries, and their uncanny ability to matchmake among their employees. When new hire Seamus Finnigan comes aboard, the women decide it’s time to work their matchmaking magic once more.
It’s the end of our third week! This week we had so many wonderful fics, art, a comic, a podfic, a translation, a ship manifesto, and a DIORAMA! We are so thankful to all of our creators and readers. So much enthusiasm and creativity for this fest that we are in awe. It wouldn’t be half as amazing without all of you <3
