The Draco Trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Complete.

[amanuensis1]

There will be no headlines in newspapers, but it's the end of an era all the same. epicyclical posted the last chapter of Draco Veritas today, third and last book of The Draco Trilogy.

I think a lot of HP fandom types can remember their first discovery of Cassandra Claire's stories in the same way that people remember where they were when they heard that man first walked on the moon, or when famous people died. Me, I found Cassie's A Season In Hell first off, early on in my discovery of HP fanfiction, back in late 2002. I remember I was on vacation and in a hotel, and read the thing cross-legged on my hotel bed, using dial-up and a hotel bible for a mouse wrist rest. I was writing my first HP fanfiction at the time--Other Chambers, Darker Secrets--and was poleaxed. Literally (as in, well, literally fell over, not literally hit with a poleaxe. Heh). Lay there across the garish hotel bedspread, breathing shallowly, wondering why on earth anyone should bother trying to write anything else after that. And I read Draco Dormiens the next day, and had to stop writing OC, DS for three days because I had to write fanfiction for her fanfiction before I could go on (that was Because of Who You Are--total fluff, but I was in LOVE, man). I'll never forget how sweet and gracious she was when I sent that story to her, asking her if she'd mind if I tried to archive it on restrictedsection.org.

Draco Dormiens, Draco Sinister, and Draco Veritas are, someone's calculated, almost one million words of fanfiction. The stories and characters within them mean almost as much to me as Rowling's series itself.

There's a big fat ache in the center of my chest for the end of this one. I'm sure I'll be having a cry soon.

*epicyclical is letting us know that at some future date her fanfiction may/will be removed from web archives, so those of you who want to read it should save copies now. Pdf files of the three parts of the Draco Trilogy (with pictures!) are available at the bottom of the DV epilogues page here.

Comments

[beck-liz.livejournal.com]

Damn. I'd stopped reading Draco Veritas a long time ago, but I'd always intended to pick it back up again when she was really and truly finished. Guess I had better go do that, hadn't I? I can't believe it's finally done. Wow.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

It's done! I wasn't going to read DV until she finished it, but I caved wayyy back when I realized it was more important for me not to get spoiled for it. ^_^

[mieronna.livejournal.com]

So... it's finished finally. I suppose this means that i should actually read it all now, I gave up a year ago, because I stopped reading WIPs.

I think the DT was *the* fic that got me to read in English - the translation I was reading was still somewhere in DS, while Cassie was in the middle of DV and I didn't want to wait for the translation to catch up. And it was *the* fic that got me to look for fanart...

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Yup, DV is one of the few WIPs I've followed, mainly because I didn't want to be spoiled for any of it. ^_^

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that link. I read what there was of the series back when I was reading a lot of stuff in HP fandom, a couple of years ago. I haven't read much recently besides your stuff and Isis's occasional HP story but I still enjoy HP fanfic and I'd have been sorry to miss the completed version of the Draco trilogy. I'll need to start over from the beginning when I get back to this, oh whoa. [grin] I think this'll be a good series to take along on my laptop next time we go on a cruise, when I'm trying to keep myself away from the thirty-cents-per-minute internet lounge. :D

Angie

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of words there! And good story. Yeah, that could keep you occupied, a bit! ^_^

[naatz.livejournal.com]

I never thought I'd live to see this day. *blinks* Draco Dormiens was just about the first HP fanfic that I read in English. Never looked back.

|Meduza|

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

It's kind of hard to believe, isn't it?

[sorion.livejournal.com]

Interesting how many people like the series... It never impressed me, and I stopped reading it a long time ago.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Not everyone likes everything. ^_^ Be a boring old world if that was the case!

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

You know, I've never read any of the Draco trilogy.

Suppose I could start, now that it's done.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Same here. My first HP fic was "Brave New World" by theatresm, who's largely gafiated, followed by "Wicked Game" by scribbulus_ink. I think I read the stuff over at the Parapet next (including "The Skull Beneath the Skin," and man did I freak when I realized you'd also written "Riverside"), and after that, well...:)

[florahart]

Never read it. I suppose if I'm going to, I should, except ...a million words? Do I really want to put in that much time?

...decisions, decisions.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Take a look, I'd say; if it's not your thing, you can cut-and-run. Or you might find you're glad you did look!

[snegurochka_lee]

Oh wow, I thought that story was abandoned. I read the first parts years and years ago - probably the first fanfic I ever read (like so many people, it seems!) Thanks for the notice.

*runs off to download*

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

No, never abandoned--the updates to the last part came more slowly these past two years, but they did come! ^_^

[nufaciel.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the notice. I'd never bothered reading them before, but I'm going to save them, now that the last story is done.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! Yeah, that's how I've found some excellent stories--waiting until they were finished. DV was one of the few WIPs I allowed myself to follow, since I wanted to avoid spoilers.

[lucilla-darkate.livejournal.com]

I never started it because, even unfinished, it was a lot of damn words and I wasn't sure I really wanted to get caught up in something like that. I went over and took a look, and it's still really scary-long, but I'm a fast reader. I can do it *takes deep breath*

Oh, and Other Chambers, Darker Secrets is probably my favorite of your fics, or one of them. I don't mind telling you that it's really intimidating to find out that that was your very first fan fiction ;)

Off to read...

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Giggle! *hugs*

Take a look--see if you like it!

[virginie-m.livejournal.com]

My fan fiction journey went like this...

Discovery of random Snape/Other female character NC17 story.

Oh my freaking god this is hot!

Frantic googling.

Read Rhyssen's famous story.

Changed the way I saw everything.

The read 'A Season in Hell'

Discovered my spiritual home.

Tee hee. Anmyway thanks for the pointer to this, for some reason I thought she had dissappeared and it would go unfinished.

[virginie-m.livejournal.com]

whoops. I can sometimes spell, just not when I'm excited :)

[thegraybook.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. Thank you. I've always appreciated your reviews, your thoughtfulness, and your insight.

It's odd, I put the pdfs up thinking people who'd read the stories before might want them in the future and it seemed rude to yank the stories with no warning. But it never occurred to me that finishing the damn thing meant new people might read it. Just putting it together for the pdfs myself and looking it over, I thought how jarringly out of sync the oldest parts are with current canon and fanon. But I suppose it could be a history lesson of sorts!

[wickedelf.livejournal.com]

I think it's really nice of you to warn people before you pull them like that. And the PDFs are a wonderful touch - thanks for making that an option. :-)

[wickedelf.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info! The first part was one of the first HP fics I read - long before I actually stuck my toes into the fandom or knew any of the sites to go to or authors to watch for. I thought it was a fun read and decided to try other HP stories because of it. Months(?) later I stumbled across the second part and read that just as eagerly. I hadn't even started the third part though, as I don't like to read WIP stories, so I've just been waiting.

The PDFs are a great idea.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Yeah, DV is one of the few WIPs I've allowed myself to follow! (Because I didn't want to risk being spoiled for 'em. ^_^ )

[veryshortlist.livejournal.com]

Years and years ago, when I was a fandom newbie, that series first got me hooked on fanfic. It's sad to see it end, in a way.

Oh well. C'est la vie. [I may have written that wrong]

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

It is sad! It's still hard to believe that it's done.

Harry & Draco Forever!

[nico1908.livejournal.com]

I had never heard of fanfiction (Harry Potter or other) until December 2005, when I happened to rent a DVD about LotR fans in which a young woman who was dressed up as Jack Sparrow mentioned CC's "Very Secret Diaries". So I googled "Cassandra Claire" and found not only the Diaries, but also her Draco Trilogy and her one-shots. "Something Impossible" was what got me interested in Harry/Draco slash. ::sighs nostalgically::

Re: Harry & Draco Forever!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I love hearing these stories. ^_^ And welcome to the fandom!

[lilmissclassy.livejournal.com]

God, I feel... a bit shaky now. Like if someone were to walk into my room right now and speak to me, I might burst into tears. Which would be a bit difficult to explain to non-fandom people.

I've been following the story for about four and a half years - which was difficult at times (trying to remember details of a story that hadn't been updated in over half a year, having read so much in the meantime). But I remember exactly how I got into DT (through the shared website with Rhysenn, I read Irresistible Poison first); and I vividly remember staying late at the office I was working at as a summer intern, to sneakily print off some obscenely long chapters of DV using their printers and paper and getting caught by my boss, who was "deeply impressed" by my dedication to the job... *blushes* (I only felt slightly guilty about my bonus at the end of the summer). But gosh, what a journey.

I feel like I'm a completely different person now to the girl who started reading that story. And I do feel that the writing changed with me to a certain extent. If that makes any sense. Probably not, I'm just emotional! Sorry. This is turning into a DV chapter.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

It's potentially an emotionally life-changing saga for the reader, it really is. If you haven't encountered long plotty well-done Harry-Draco friendship stories before that one, it's gonna stay with you. Sure did me. *hugs*

[samena.livejournal.com]

The first Cassandra Claire story I ever read was also my first ever Harry/Draco story, and, like with you, it was 'A Season in Hell.' I do remember exactly where I was (I had just moved house) and I have very fond memories of reading that story, and the sequel, 'After the Flood.' I haven't read the Draco trilogy yet, but I'm sure I will.

A practical question: do you happen to know if 'A Season in Hell' and 'After the Flood' are still archived anyhwere on the web? I looked on RestrictedSection and they weren't there anymore?

[samena.livejournal.com]

Strike that last question. After looking around on the web a bit I've found out they're not available online anymore, and I now understand why that is, too. So, my new question is: is there anyone who has these two stories on their computer who would be willing to send them to me by email? I'd really love to be able to read them again, and to have them somewhere where I can find them (I know I have printouts somewhere, but I haven't beeen able to find them so far <-<). I'd be very, very grateful. :)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I KNOW. *clings back*

[harvest-blue.livejournal.com]

Oh. my. god. It's finished? Wow. I read that for the first time as a ... freshman in high school That would be about six years ago now. I can't believe that it's finally finished. I guess that I should reread it. Weird. ~Harvest

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Really, really hard to believe, isn't it? And I wasn't even there from the beginning!

[kissed-by-fate.livejournal.com]

The stories that made my favorite author pause? Holy words, to be sure.

I just read the epilogue, and now I must go d/l and read the entire series. Damn you, Amanuensis... *sighs* I did so want to have a life someday...

BTW, "Other Chambers..." was your first foray? It remains my favorite of yours... sheesh. I will never write another word...(not that I ever have in the HPUniverse.)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Nope! No life for you! Or for me. ^_^

And, heh, yeah, that was my first HP fanfic. That's so sweet that it's your favorite, awww!!

[idlerat.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you weren't literally literally poleaxed! :D

And I remember my first encounter w/C's fic vividly also. *raises glass to her!*

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Okay, not LITERALLY literally! But, y'know, lyin' there all shaky and semi-conscious. ^_^

*toasts with you*

RIP, noble WIP. lest we forget the waiting

[aiji-yuywell.livejournal.com]

I recall stumbling across pretty artwork for the trilogy back in the day. I was so drawn to the story I'd sneakily read it during my computer classes at school. Even my friends who fated fanfiction were interested in reading it.

We owe this series a lot, actually. It defined most of our fanon!canon and the way we write most characters. Cassandra deserves, no, demands our respect! *raises a glass* I toast to her and her glory!

Re: RIP, noble WIP. lest we forget the waiting

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

For the depth of Draco-development alone, I salute her and her stories. Though I love her Harry and her Hermione not one whit less!

[amorettea.livejournal.com]

Um, didn't she lift large parts of her stuff from other sources? Quotes, whole scenes, line of description taken word for word from someone else? I have never read her stuff because Draco in leather trousers makes me gag but I also have a problem with intellectual property theft.

Yes, I know her fans will rip me to shreds but I don't approve of direct plagiarism.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

The controversy that has arisen about the Draco Trilogy didn't prevent me from enjoying her stories. Hasn't. That's as much as I plan to say, because it's a topic with enough material on it as it is without my contribution. And you're of course entitled to your own feelings on the matter.

[fenixcaliz.livejournal.com]

This is a gorgeous overview of DT. I'm about to have a cry myself.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

*hugs you*

[eeyore9990.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, a million words? *looks at tbw pile and wibbles* Maybe I can sneak it in by Christmas. *g*

Ohh, and just wanted to let you know that all the sorting has been done on hp_mentoring. Your newbies are *drumroll*: so_severus, billywiggy, and aillen. And I have been messing these usernames up all night, so if I come back three times to fix something, you know why. *head desk*

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, thank you! I hope the four of us fans can connect soon and I can learn what they're eager for.