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auctrasinistraTitle: This Thing Of Darkness
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: some violence (not graphic) and of course, smut
Story Link: here
"This Thing of Darkness" is sequel to Auctra Sinistra's "Scratch" and "The Holly and The Ivy" (links on the Master List). One of the things I liked very much about the first two stories was their pragmatic, open-eyed approach to how problematic this relationship would be, in several contexts. In some other stories, Dumbledore looks the other way (a twinkle in his eye) or even encourages the lovers. But this Dumbledore fires Snape as soon as he learns of the affair in "Scratch," as any school head in fact would be forced to do. And this series of stories bluntly accepts that Snape would find it very difficult to believe that the affair had any long-term future, along with the fact that a cross-gen relationship has its own inherent tensions and limitations.
Those sets of problems were very present in the first two stories, and contributed to their interesting complexities. Those threads are brought to fruition in "This Thing of Darkness," which also has a compelling, taut plot of its own. Harry has to decide what he wants to do now that he's done at Hogwarts, and Snape must decide whether he will accept Harry's emotional investment in him. Both must deal with surviving supporters of Voldemort's, as well.
There's a pronounced thread of darkness here, too. Harry has been changed by killing Voldemort, and the story explores this in a way that is persuasive, without going over the top to a Dark! Lord Harry. And the emotions are very powerful: eroticism, affection, and also anger, anxiety, estrangment, and deep need. The story is entertaining throughout, but it's the ending that really made the story, for me.
There is a resolution (in a superficial sense, in terms of plot) but also a lack of complete resolution, on an emotional level. Not every loose end is tied up, here. The lack of a smooth ending makes the relationship they end up with feel gloriously IC, a tad edgy, and deeply satisfying. This is an thinking woman's happy Snarry ending.