"Just because Will is going to confess his feelings to Mike doesn't mean Mike is going to reciprocate."
So do you want Will "I'm not going to fall in love" Byers, gay boy in the 80s who canonically mentioned that he sometimes feels like a mistake for being different to be rejected on national TV? Woah
Erised 2023 reveals have finally come and, in addition to finding some new favorite authors and artists to follow, I get to claim my own work written for @kbrick!
This was an incredible fest and I’m so lucky I got to participate for the second year running (and in the last year for the outgoing mods and the first year for the new ones!). It’s really the end of an era (and I’m seeing clearer🎶). I enjoyed writing this work immensely and, even though I wish I hadn’t run out of time to properly polish it, I don’t think I’d have finished the fic without the structure & timeline of Erised there to push me. So I’m forever grateful to this fest.
Without further ado:
Martyred
Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Rating: Explicit
Wordcount: 80,000 Approx
Summary: Harry Potter only wants one thing: to take care of the people he loves. After Teddy’s abrupt departure from his role as Andromeda’s caretaker, Harry decides it’s finally time to step up and handle the job himself.
Castoff Manor, an old Black family estate, has never seemed as sinister as the stories make it sound, but it’s there that Harry stumbles upon ghosts, haunting family secrets, and a familiar, snarky blond gardener hell-bent on chasing him out. Maybe if Harry sticks around long enough, he’ll finally learn why all of Andromeda’s previous caretakers have fled without looking back.
Fair warning: prepare yourself for horror (written by a scaredy-cat), ghosts (of the ancestral variety), ogling (of the excessive, ‘is Draco Malfoy actually wearing Muggle clothes?’ variety), and a 55 year old, adrift Harry Potter diving headfirst into a bunch of ancient trauma. Full tags on AO3
Read Martyred HERE on AO3
Kbrick, you were a joy to write for. Your prompts were engaging and I was absolutely absorbed by every one of your fics (including this year’s fest fic, before I even knew it was you—whoa!) I’m so glad I got to write this, perhaps mostly because I ended up enjoying the story more than I ever expected.
Big thank you to use_it_well for the beta read. I know we both worked faster than we thought possible to get this done.
Thank you most of all to the commenters, both on the official Erised Header and on the fic itself. You left really touching, encouraging, hilarious things. You’re all fantastic and I thank you for giving my fic a shot.