Olivie Blake’s Archive of Awesome: Start with Dramione. Become International Author Superstar.

Before Olivie Blake became the superstar best-selling author of The Atlas Six, she had written and published dozens of Harry Potter fanfics. I have read almost all of them and enjoyed so many of her works. The fun part of Olivie Blake’s work is that every fic tackles a different writing style, different trope, and different situation. It’s like she used the opportunity to write about familiar characters and familiar settings to blow it all up and stretch her skills as a writer. There are so many of her fics to love that you will spend weeks upon weeks reading her work on Archive of Our Own. Here’s my overview of my fave picks from her backlist.

Clean

Draco & Hermione (Dramione) Romance. 6th year at Hogwarts. Draco and Hermione are paired together in Potions class to make an advanced potion together. Enemies-to-lovers trope. Draco’s mission for the year complies with Half-Blood Prince. How does Hermione factor in if/when she finds out what his mission is? This story is probably very similar to other 6th year fics where Draco and Hermione somehow overcome their prejudices and get together. This one stands out as my favorite of the 6th year fics because of the depth of their relationship and what Hermione is willing to do for Draco.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Marked

Draco & Hermione (Dramione) Romance. Follows the events of Clean. Draco is presumed dead and joins the trio in the Horcrux hunt. Things take a dark turn both at Hogwarts and on the hunt. Hermione has seemingly broken down psychologically. How will our heroes recover from their situation and ultimately defeat Voldemort? It may look bleak, but keep reading.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Paradox

Draco/Hermione action-adventure romance. In this one, we find Draco and Hermione thrown into a parallel universe and having to team up with their alternate selves. We spend time in both the Potterverse (canon, as we’ve known it) and the Grindelverse (a world where Grindelwald defeats Dumbledore and sets up his militaristic regime) and follow the adventures there separately. This fic is heavy on the plot and light on the smut, but you can tell how witty and clever the writing is. It’s a fun one, but will make your brain spin.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Nightmares and Nocturnes

I meant to re-read this one before I made this post, but I know I’m not going to get to it. This one is war-time and Hermione is emotionally scarred in many ways. Somehow she’s at Malfoy Manor and remembering bits and pieces of her time in battle as fairy tale allegories. This is a complicated and emotionally wrenching fic. It was fun to try to identify the fairy tales being referenced and how they play into what actually happened to Hermione and what the current war status is. This one will keep your brain engaged.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Post-war, Draco/Hermione romance, ensemble characters. Hermione runs away from her wedding to Ron and sees Draco at a bar. There’s a cute little exchange between them, but then Hermione is basically off the grid for many years. I’ve forgotten most of the details, but I think she and Draco had sometimes crossed paths along the years, but very briefly. Years later, they’re both back in England and Hermione is an underground fighter and Draco (and his friends) are hired assassins. There’s also an interesting plot connected to the Peverell brothers. I’d consider this one an action-adventure story with a good bit of humor.

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Divination for Skeptics

Draco/Hermione compatibility spell romance. The Weasleys have invented a charm to let users identify the percentage compatibility with their friends and partners. In her quest for the perfect mate, Hermione checks her score with everyone and ultimately lands on Draco as the highest scoring partner. It’s been awhile since I read this one, but I think it’s more lighthearted romantic comedy.

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The Commoner’s Guide to Bedding a Royal

This one is a Muggle alternate universe fic where Hermione is an American exchange student and Draco is a Royal Prince. Multi-year ensemble epic story with romantic comedy vibes. Treat this one like a multi-season sitcom. There’s a sequel to this one too, but I haven’t read that yet.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Modern Romance

Multiple Pairings. Post-Deathly Hallows. Witch Weekly publishes a romance (*cough*sex*cough*) diary column from an anonymous person each week. We get to follow our favorite characters as they tell their romantic adventures in diary entries. Since it’s an anonymous column, the identity of the writer (and all their friends) is unknown. One of the most fun things in this fic is to identify the writer, the cultural reference for their choice of codenames, and the characters they interact with. It’s a massive tangle of characters and you almost want to build a crazy web of red string to keep it all straight. The other awesome thing is how true-to-character the writing for each chapter/POV feels. Expect infidelity, cross-generational romance, and triads. Even though each chapter is technically standalone, the overarching plot advances from chapter to chapter, and you will see recurring characters (with different codenames) and their romantic progress.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Want more Harry Potter fanfic? Here’s a spreadsheet of my all-time favorites.

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