A GUIDE TO DRACO MALFOY FANFICTIONS

MADAM UMBRIDGE HOME FOR WAYWARD GIRLS

Madam Umbridge Home for Wayward Girls by LovelyVillain originally on ao3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15176684/chapters/35195090

Plot- 10/10

Readability- 10/10

Smut- 6/10, not a lot

Banter- 9/10

TikTok breaks- 10/10

Slow Burn- 10/10

Do I recommend? YES

Summary by LovelyVillain:

Hermione's life takes a dark turn after the death of her parents, leaving her at the mercy of a tyrannical Matron. Her new home is more prison than sanctuary, haunted by ghosts bearing terrible, bloody secrets. And though she is surrounded by troubled young women, it is the men in her life who teach her that freedom comes at the greatest price of all.

Victorian AU, Tomione, Dramione, no triad

Review:

Okay so I lied. I said I was only reviewing Draco fanfiction, but here I am with a Tomione recommendation. BUT Y'ALL. This has to be the best fanfiction I have ever read, no joke. I was definitely apprehensive before reading, because I'm not a big fan of Tomione. Like at all. But LovelyVillain does their relationship in a way that works so beautifully and has me wondering why I only read Dramiones in the first place. I think that their dynamic works because the fic takes place in an au where they don't have magic, and Voldemort isn't a thing. Tom Riddle is just Tom Riddle (lowkey a murderous sociopath, but that's a given). It doesn't feel weird or forced, which is a pitfall that many Tomiones fall into. Tom reminds me of Kaz from Six of Crows, which is why I literally fell in love with him from the get-go. This also has to be the best rendition of Hermione out of every hp fic I've ever read. Harry too. Besides those two, the other relationships that are formed between supporting characters are unconventional but work so well. It also features one of my favorite ships also found in HtWFaIP. I've brought up how other fics are so unique that they feel like an independent novel in my other reviews, but this reeeaaally takes the cake in that aspect. It's a mix of a murder mystery thriller horror kind of vibe, and it's actually sick. All of the characters are perfectly characterized and follow their canon personalities, which is really cool to see in a different universe. This kind of leads to some parts of the fic being predictable, like the main villain. They go under an alias when we first meet them, but it's easy to surmise their identity when you know all of the characters from the original series. Personally, this didn't take too much away from the experience. I love Draco to death in this one, which is why it brought me so much pain to read a fic in which his feelings for Hermione are unrequited. The ending didn't really help in this aspect, but I won't go too into it to avoid spoilers. Honestly, it's a small price to pay to read such an epic piece. Oh yeah, did I mention it's literally the length of the mf bible? Being so long, there were obviously a few points where I kind of fell into a reading slump, especially towards the end. Shit gets really weird in the end. But that's such a small portion of the story that it doesn't really matter. Bottom line, this is such an underrated masterpiece that more people need to read, regardless of who you ship.