hd_hols ([info]hd_hols) wrote in [info]hd_holidays,
2007-12-09 08:17:00
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Happy H/D Holidays, empress_jae!

Author: [info]rickey_a
Recipient: [info]empress_jae
Title: A Good Man
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Summary: Harry’s not sure what he wants to do with himself after the war. Making Draco Malfoy into a good man sounds like a promising idea, but the truth is that it’s a journey for two.
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Deathly Hallows compliant? yes, except EWE
Warning(s): a bit dark but it evolves, non-con/dub-con w/remorse, slavery and lemon bars
Word Count: ~27,500
Author's Notes: Huge thanks to my betas and gammas, you know who you are and shall be credited after the reveal. [info]empress_jae said, I've always wanted a well-written story that shows Harry's unknown dark side.... As you know this was a redirected gift. Still, I think it hits upon quite of few of your likes and kinks. While I wasn’t able to custom tailor it for you, I’m much happier see this fic go to someone who has respect for the intent and purpose of these fic-fests. I truly hope you enjoy this.

( A Good Man )

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[info]raitala

December 9 2007, 14:43:13 UTC 4 years ago

This story was pretty hard core - well done for taking on such a difficult idea. Harry's mental state was really well depicted and believable. Great job Mystery Writer!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:49:26 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you for sticking it out. I truly appreciate your comment.

[info]outofthisplace

December 9 2007, 15:55:44 UTC 4 years ago

I do love how almost right off the bat, we see domineering!Harry, which is so totally understandable given his feelings towards everything and towards Draco... he seems to fall into the Master role quite easily :-D And then he just becomes a delicious evil bastard. God, I love dark!Harry, and you do it soooo well.

And it all turned out so wonderfully! great fic!!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:49:59 UTC 4 years ago

Thanks so much for reading and commenting.

[info]whispers_of_me

December 9 2007, 17:47:08 UTC 4 years ago

OMG that was a beautiful, tragic, happy ending love story. Totally captivated me from the beginning

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:50:49 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you what a lovely comment.

Anonymous

December 9 2007, 18:31:15 UTC 4 years ago

Absolutely fantastic.

This story was well written, and I really enjoyed reading it.

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:06:29 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you who ever you are:)

[info]prettyhairs

December 9 2007, 20:33:41 UTC 4 years ago

Wow! Great story! Really, truly moving and sometimes even scary:)
Beautifully done=)

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:51:45 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you, I know it was dicey there for a while.

[info]melmoe1

December 9 2007, 21:13:14 UTC 4 years ago

Wonderfully emotional. Thank you for sharing.

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:52:23 UTC 4 years ago

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment.

[info]red_rahl

December 9 2007, 22:28:10 UTC 4 years ago

GUUH!!! This one was a great story!!! It was very hard, people were in really dark places, but you made it work for me and I'll admit it. I cried like a blubbering fool and yet you didn't leave me devastated at the end. It was at turns dark and scary and peaceful and healing and I felt the entire journey along with Harry. And your characterizations were really believable. I particularly loved Draco's and I loved Ron and Hermione and all the other characters in this as well.

So beautifully and carefully done and now I'm emotionally overwrought in a good way. This story is definitely work a second (and third and...) reread through to catch all the nuances. Bravo!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:55:15 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you for your generous comment. This story nearly killed me and it means a lot to hear that you bought the story and that it seemed real to you.

[info]ivichsartre

December 10 2007, 01:46:06 UTC 4 years ago

Wow. Just - wow.

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:55:29 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you!

[info]ladyagnew

December 10 2007, 02:43:09 UTC 4 years ago

“Well I don’t have sex with you because you’re my slave.”

How much do I love it that in the context of this story, that statement counts as faintly romantic? Your Harry is well and truly messed up and I like the dynamic you have between Draco and Harry, who are tentatively master and slave -- victim and hero -- but learn to become so much more than that. And the sex? Hot as fire. Very well done, indeed.

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:57:51 UTC 4 years ago

Thanks for reading and commenting. It means a lot. The line you quote is from one of my favorite scenes.

[info]ravenqueen55

December 10 2007, 02:43:16 UTC 4 years ago

I thought this was fabulous. Truly, truly fabulous.

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 04:59:45 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you, thank you.

[info]empress_jae

December 10 2007, 03:20:24 UTC 4 years ago

well...

this was a monstrously AMAZING story! for a second, i thought it might be a little too dark for my taste, but that quickly changed and it was truly delightful. you were able to make harry dark the way i've always wanted to read, and still keep him human and compassionate...even with his mistakes early on with draco. i loved draco's strength and determination, and cracked up at the idea of kreacher possibly being a voyeur!

this was a wonderful read, and i thank you so, so much for this. although it origianlly wasn't intended for me, i'm happy to have been the recipient for this, and i hope that others enjoy it as much as i did!

thanks again sweetie and happy holidays! :D

Anonymous

December 10 2007, 03:59:47 UTC 4 years ago

I'm relieved and thrilled that you enjoyed it. I knew when I was assigned "dark fic" that it wasn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I took it as a challenge to do something different and go against the standard fandom dark fic cliches. I aspired to write it as a psychological romance and have the aggressor (in this case Harry) be sympathetic and maintain much of his "good side" as well as have a victim who wasn't destroyed but still fighting and trying to navigate the relationship to somewhere that would be better for both of them. I like to think that despite all their serious issues and the impossible situation that the two of them actually discovered each other and fell in love. I'm so glad that it worked for you and you weren't disappointed. Happy holidays to you!

[info]rickey_a

4 years ago

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[info]empress_jae

4 years ago

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[info]aerisdracoharry

December 10 2007, 05:14:48 UTC 4 years ago

I don't usually read slave!fics, but I took a chance with this one and I'm glad I did! It was very enjoyable. =D

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:02:52 UTC 4 years ago

Thanks for taking a chance on it. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thank you.

[info]piratesmile331

December 10 2007, 05:49:51 UTC 4 years ago

This was very, very intense, but I enjoyed it very much. It was really uncomfortable reading the rape scene, but I'm so happy that Draco was somehow willing to forgive Harry for that. And Harry's devastation upon reliving that and seeing it from Draco's point of view was very believable. Excellent fic!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:04:32 UTC 4 years ago

Obviously, this was meant to be a difficult fic, so I'm thankful that you stuck it out and found it believable. Thanks for your comment.

[info]theheartless69

December 10 2007, 06:29:06 UTC 4 years ago

Loved this so much!! Can't wait to print it out and put it on my shelf ^_____^!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:04:54 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you very much.

Anonymous

December 10 2007, 07:00:48 UTC 4 years ago

Wow. That one certainly had my stomach in knots. They were both so screwed up and for most of it my mind was just screaming Stockholm Syndrome! But I think I kinda loved it. Makes you think, and for some reason it just seems to work. You did a fantastic job with a storyline that could have ended up so wrong in so many ways.

Lillans

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:06:04 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you.

[info]hergunfight

December 10 2007, 15:47:43 UTC 4 years ago

Best HD fic I've read in a really long time!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:05:30 UTC 4 years ago

That's a huge compliment. Thank you so much.

[info]abovethestars

December 10 2007, 17:34:53 UTC 4 years ago

oh wow. Amazing. I was so worried about both boys at the beginning of this. But you treated them so well!

The journey that you took with this story is so believable. Harry was so broken and you dealt with his demons and moved his character to a man we could love again.

Ron and Hermione were perfect. I enjoyed how they were always there for him when he needs it.

I love the thought of Harry and Draco in their blue room living happily together!

oh and the sex was so hot! Especially when Harry finally gave himself over to Draco.

excellent job!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:08:01 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you so much. This fic nearly did me in and it means a lot to hear that you found their characterizations and relationship believable.

[info]oboros

December 10 2007, 19:28:41 UTC 4 years ago

I really liked how you swapped the summary on us. I think it was Draco that helped make Harry into a Good Man. Thanks for sharing this story with us!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:09:48 UTC 4 years ago

Yes, Harry was A Good Man, but even good men are fallible. Thank you for reading and commenting.

[info]sulky_rhino

December 11 2007, 01:08:29 UTC 4 years ago

Great fic! I really liked the last line where Harry calls him Malfoy. It was such a small thing, but it made Draco so happy. :D Thanks for sharing this with us! :))

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:10:58 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you. Coming up with a last line is always tough, but when the idea to call him Malfay popped in my head, I knew it was the way to go.

[info]oldenuf2nb

December 11 2007, 04:56:57 UTC 4 years ago

This is a beautiful thing. You took really difficult subject matter, and a scene that literally made me teeth clench, and managed to turn it into something I will read again, and again.

The rape is a painful read the first time through, but the second time, when Harry is watching it, is when it is truly devastating. To see it through Harry's eyes as he realizes just what he was capable of is heartbreaking. There are experiences that leave us like that, with holes in our lives. Grief is one, and Harry had certainly had enough of that in his life. To put him, in that emotional state, with someone who had spent years torturing him was a recipe for disaster, and yet in your hands, for hope as well.

They are both so very real here. Draco's broken-ness and fear at the beginning are painful to read, the knowledge of what he must have gone through in Azkaban chilling. But Harry's darkness and depression are also so real, so very hurtful. Their slow journey towards understanding, and towards one another, is handled so gracefully. I love Draco at the end, forcing Harry to see what he'd done, to accept it, for the absolute truth is that we cannot forgive ourselves the unforgivable until we've face our own humanity, and come to understand that none of us, not even the hero's, are perfect.

Lovely. You should be very proud. It is masterfully done.

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:12:46 UTC 4 years ago

Wow, thank you for your generous review and rec. This story took a pound of flesh from me and to read your comment put some of that back.

[info]dragenphly

December 11 2007, 22:41:03 UTC 4 years ago

A very interesting insight to Harry Potter. I didn't quite understand why he didn't seem to remember the start of their 'relationship', but in the long run, it didn't really matter. I loved how fragile Harry was, even though he was the aggressor, and how strong Draco really was. I guess you could say topping from the bottom *grins*. A lovely, well-worked out piece with lots of cameos from everyone. A lovely addition to the fest!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:14:07 UTC 4 years ago

Thanks for reading and commenting. I really appreciate it. I posted some story notes on my journal that might answer your questions if your interested.

[info]carlatron

December 11 2007, 23:39:08 UTC 4 years ago

Wow. That was probably the darkest novella I've ever read the whole way through. I'm glad I stuck with it! It was chilling yet warm. Does that make sense? Haha!

Cheers. :)

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:15:45 UTC 4 years ago

Thanks for giving it a chance and sticking it out. And yes I understand and am thrilled by your comment because as screwed as they both were I wanted the feeling of them finding each other and falling in love to come through.

[info]worn_words

December 13 2007, 05:34:25 UTC 4 years ago

I've got to admit, that scene with Harry drugging Draco and raping him, it really pissed me off. it was very hard to read.
the fact that he completely forgot about it made me confused.
But I was happy when he learned what he had done, and was actually sad/angry about it.

thank you for writing and amazing story.

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:17:08 UTC 4 years ago

thank you for commenting
yes the rape scene was supposed to be painful but I'm glad that the healing afterwards worked for you

[info]ladymorgana13

December 13 2007, 06:42:15 UTC 4 years ago

This was amazing. I loved watching Harry fight his dark side, Draco return from almost being broken and the " if you love somebody set them free" feel. Well Done!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:18:32 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you so much. I didn't want a completely over to the dark side Harry. I wanted one who was sympathetic and could come back. Glad it worked for you.

[info]rehsipus

December 15 2007, 10:52:24 UTC 4 years ago

Oh my... I'm not even in the exchange, and you wrote MY wish for a story!

The whole concept of Harry's mind being fucked up after everything is just so believable. And I have always meant that Draco belongs to Harry, but that they are equals in the end.. The whole set up made me feel that we're still set in cannon and that this is a very logical way to start book eight. You have effectively dissolved those few pages at the end of book 7 that are best left forgotten. THANK YOU!!!!

[info]rickey_a

January 7 2008, 05:19:37 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you so much. The fact that you found the story believable truly means a lot to me.
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