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odogoddess (odogoddess) wrote in snapelyholidays,
@ 2009-01-05 20:10:00

Entry tags:

19k, fic4:severed_lies, snape/draco

36th Snapely Holidays entry 'Illuminations de Noël' (Snape/Draco)
tea mice
Fic for: severed_lies
Title: Illuminations de Noël
Author: femmequixotic

Pairing Snape/Draco
Rating NC-17
Warnings Semi-epilogue compliant
Summary The streets have changed little in the past few years. The storefronts are different, I suppose, and traces of snow outline their windows at the moment, but the Société Générale Bank still dominates the corner, Muggles still crowd the kerb, and one of Paris's ubiquitous artists still kneels beneath the centaur, sketching its shadow onto the asphalt.
Disclaimer Never owned them, never will.
Word count approx. 19,000
Author Notes Much love to my betas B, D and J for all their suggestions and corrections and to the mods for their wonderful patience with me. Happy holidays to severed_lies!

Illuminations de Noël

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(Post a new comment)

	lilyseyes 2009-01-06 12:54 am UTC (link)
	You drew me into a pairing I normally shy away from and utterly delighted me! I very much liked your Snape, but your Draco was absolutely wonderful! The richness of your writing, from the descriptors to the terrible toddler, was divine. (Reply to this)

severed_lies
2009-01-06 01:37 am UTC (link)

This was utterly captivating. Your descriptions made me feel as if I were there with them, witnessing every movement, every interaction, every nuance of the atmosphere.

I love the back story, the capable way in which Severus interacts with Scorpius and the deep attachments of the Malfoys. You made each character come alive, gave Astoria and Narcissa such maturity and confidence and Severus and Draco such tenderness despite their pain.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I adore this. It is perfect in every way. Thank you so very much!

(Reply to this)

	gingertart50 2009-01-06 09:42 am UTC (link)
	Gorgeous! Fabulous! LOVED your Draco, your Snape, your Narcissa, your Scorpius and Astoria and Pansy - brilliant! (Reply to this)

	red_day_dawning 2009-01-06 10:36 am UTC (link)
	Heart-breakingly beautiful - this is absolutely brilliant. I don't have the words to express how wonderful this story is - there aren't the words. So, so beautiful. (Reply to this)

	senjy 2009-01-06 12:28 pm UTC (link)
	such an adult story. I loved the tone of this and found Draco incredibly in character, and appealing for the growing up he has obviously done. Your description of Severus when Draco first sees him at the flat was amazing. I could see him in my mind so clearly and ahem lusted after his scholarly disarray -- a moment in which I really felt Draco and I were on the same wave length (Reply to this)

	viverras 2009-01-06 07:15 pm UTC (link)
	So sweet, so romantic! Boy, Severus was sure an idiot and an ass, but I suppose everyone has some flaws, and he did make up for quite a bit with that entrance. Great read! (Reply to this)

westernredcedar
2009-01-06 09:52 pm UTC (link)

This is GORGEOUS! Honestly, the sense of longing and history is dense. There were so many great moments where Draco's reaction to something surprised me as well as himself, and I loved going on that ride with him.
The incredible sense of place was a character in this as well, and GOD, Severus's cigarettes, and how well he fit in Paris, just floored me.
What a wonderful piece of writing.

(Reply to this)

whitecotton
2009-01-07 02:22 pm UTC (link)

This pairing is one that normally has me pressing the 'back' button, but it was recommended to me so I duly prepared myself to wade through it. And I am so glad I did. No wading needed; your words grabbed me by the hand and held tight while the story wrapped around me. Such lovely descriptions and characterisations, and the tenor was pitched just perfectly for a slow and romantic sojourn. But I think it was your attention to detail that made it so beguiling. From the cigarettes and the snot-soaked sleeve, to the whisps of hair and smudged cheeks, I walked alongside Draco and Severus. Wonderful!

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	themostepotente 2009-01-07 08:19 pm UTC (link)
	I'm looking at the comment count here thinking, 'Jesus, what a fucking travesty, this fic is beautiful.' I loved this. So much. I wish I had more coherency. I'll be reccing this for sure. (Reply to this)

	secretsolitaire 2009-01-07 08:31 pm UTC (link)
	swoons Gah, so beautiful. If you are who I think you are (and I think you are! g), you have done what you always do well, which is to create an incredibly vivid sense of place. I can picture each setting so clearly. Loved your Astoria, particularly the friendship between her and Draco. And the Severus/Draco was very, very satisfying. (Reply to this)

torino10154
2009-01-08 11:24 am UTC (link)

I've just rec'd this-absolutely gorgeously done. I adored Draco's relationship with Scorpius, very real both the complete love and the times of irritation. Narcissa was lovely, making things work the way she wanted them too. Clever woman. Personally I have a real kink for working Lily into fic and I think you did a marvelous job of making Severus's love and mild obsession very real, with Draco feeling he could never measure up. I loved both of the first times Draco saw Severus-at the flat in Paris and then again at Narcissa's ball-I could really feel Draco's emotions then, and throughout really. Exquisite work.

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	irena_candy 2009-01-08 02:13 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, lovely, lovely!! Not a pairing that I usually care for, but the characterizations are perfect and you have done a wonderful job with it. I am absolutely enthralled. It works so well, and Draco's issues with his wife and son are woven into it perfectly. A beautiful job! (Reply to this)

Illuminations de Noël

slashpine
2009-01-08 10:42 pm UTC (link)

Mmmmm, this was so lovely. The writing, the characters, were all so carefully, beautifully, vividly clear. And I do mean all the characters, for Astoria, Narcissa, Essy, Scorpius, Pansy, even the downstairs neighbor with her immaculately coiffed curls and cantankerous crup, were drawn in such detail, I loved every moment with them.

I love a *good* Draco/Severus story, and this is one of the best ever. (Bad Draco/Severus gives me shudders. This - such a delight.)

So many scenes in this were memorable. They seemed to me to be painted with the same combination of deliberation and assurance that marks a good film. Nothing was forced, yet everything held meaning, every detail was clear, from the fairies on the tree to the smell of Severus's cigarettes, the child's teacup, the sign on Hugo's house, the feel of the carpet scraping Draco's tender parts when they fell into each other's arms on the stairway.

I loved that in the last scene -- as grand as only Narcissa could plan it -- you gave the same attention to each detail and each person, as throughout rather than short-changing them by making them simply a build-up to Severus' entrance, which truly did make it a surprise. More than that, though, I felt at the end that your careful writing gave the whole story the timeless, deep-focus quality of a grand film, a Merchant-Ivory production perhaps, or a well-done Jane Austen.

I'm thinking it's because of your measured, thoughtful portrayal of characters and events. Your characters are all complex, nuanced adults (aside from Scorpius, obviously - but his toddler personality is certainly not a simple one), who neither expect life to be simple, nor lie to others by claiming it is. What happens, in this story and before it, has never been black-and-white either. Draco, Severus, Astoria and Narcissa have the maturity to accept things as they are, enough sweetness to hope for the best, and to help each other out when they can, and apologize when they didn't. Life, in this story, simply plays out - and with luck, friendship and some work, it turns out well.

OK, I'm totally rambling here ... caught in the afterglow! I should mention that the sex was also exquisitely hot, and I love Draco's watching how much Severus adores having his fingers in him, and how he cuts him off because "he'd let me finger him for hours if he had his druthers, and I damn well know it." That kind of intimate detail - like Severus loving to taste himself on Draco's lips - really *puts* the reader in the scene. Also, just picturing it? a;sdlkfasdf!!!

In short, I will totally read this again and again. Beautiful writing, beautiful story, brilliant pacing, great characters, and awesome Severus/Draco romance, complete with all its rough spots. And three women - no four, counting Essy ...or rather five, given the lady downstairs - pushing and prying and soothing and scolding them along. What could be more fannish, or more real?

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snegurochka_lee
2009-01-09 11:50 am UTC (link)

This is just brilliant, and if you are who I think you are, that is no surprise. :) I love what you've done with this pairing, giving us a fresh take on it while still maintaining a canon-complicity that makes the pairing so appealing (to me, at least) in the first place. I love Astoria and Narcissa and even Scorpius, anchoring Draco the way they do. I love Paris, and the fact that Snape won't come back to England. And most of all, I love how you slowly revealed the backstory between them. My heart literally clenched to read about the shop girl at last. Oh, Snape. But it fits him perfectly, and I also love that you (or he!) didn't offer trite excuses or explanations for it. It happened; that is all. A very mature take on the trauma of infidelity, I thought.

I was also perversely pleased to find top!Draco here, and to find it worked. I'm not sure I've ever seen that for this pairing before. It's not something I usually pay attention to in fic, but for this pairing, I thought it was a really interesting way to explore a further dynamic to their relationship. The paragraph about Snape's submission in the bedroom was beautiful and made so much sense.

Fantastic story!

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	meri_oddities 2009-01-09 07:35 pm UTC (link)
	This is not my pairing. I'm not even sure why I started it, but man, I'm glad that I did. The story drew me in and held me tight. Wow. I loved Draco and Severus in this. It totally worked. Very well done. (Reply to this)

	sookail 2009-01-10 07:38 am UTC (link)
	sigh This was beautiful! (Reply to this)

	janus 2009-01-12 12:56 am UTC (link)
	This is beautiful and the style has a certain pleasing fragility somehow. Perhaps it is Draco's vulnerability. I love the first person view and the fullness of the characters. They are all so complex and finely drawn. (Reply to this)