Blood Magic

Fanfiction
Title:	Blood Magic
Author(s):	GatewayGirl
Date(s):	19 June 2003 – 20 September 2004
Length:	337,748 words (combined with sequel, 362,030)
Genre(s):	Severitus, gen
Fandom(s):	Harry Potter
Relationship(s):
External Links:	Blood Magic (AO3 series link) Blood Magic (Potions and Snitches, archive link) Blood Magic (FictionAlley, archive link) Blood Magic (The Archive at the End of the Universe, dead link) Blood Magic (FF.Net, up to 65/84)
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Blood Magic is an epic Harry Potter story by GatewayGirl. It was written for the Severitus Challenge. A sequel, Blood and Choice, was posted in January 2011.

Summary: "Blood magic was supposed to keep Harry safe, but his relatives are expendable. Blood magic was supposed to keep Harry looking like his adoptive father, but it's wearing off. Blood is a bond, but so is the memory of hate - or love."

Recs and Reviews

2000s

[Beren]
In my opinion GatewayGirl is a fantastic writer. Her characters are rich and believeable and the situations into which she places them are well plotted and gripping. This story is an answer to the Severitus Challenge where Snape is Harry's father. I have seen this done badly, but this one is outstanding and well worth a read. GatewayGirl shows us Harry's world changing beyond his control and how he copes with this as well as a conflicted, worried Severus Snape. I have no qualms in recommending this fic.

[ntamara]
I discovered this fic last Sunday afternoon, and could not stop reading it until I'd read all there was. What to say? Well, first off: JKR is going to have to give us Canon R-rated Snarry to top this. I'm used to reading romantic relationship fic, that is, fic that centers around the sexual relationship of two characters. Sure there's plot, but in the majority of what I read that is the plot or the plot is subservient to that aspect of the fic. This fic has plot, and subplots, and is more fic than fanfic. A Severitus premise, and done incredibly well. There's background to the Lily-James-Severus going on, there's a well-thought out spell. And Severus is Severus, nasty and bigotted, but coming around to his son. Read the first three chapters, and if you're not hooked by then... Running in the background (or the foreground) are Voldemort and an organisation of werewolves standing up for their rights, and attacking (and infecting) high profile members of the community to give their words power. Remus caught in the middle, and the Snupin background is wonderful. As for the pairings, there's Harry/Hermione but don't let that scare you away; and there's definite Harry/Draco UST, not to mention Marauder era Snupin.

The only problem I have with this fic is that it's a WiP. Gatewaygirl has assured that she will finish it (which I do believe, considering she's already written and finished a full-length H/D fic, Snakes and Lions), and that we are now 3/4 through. So those of you who rather not read WiPs, I'd recommend to wait until she's finished it (keep an eye on my journal and I'll definitely let you know the minute it's completed). In the meantime, the perfect fic for a cold, December day (and the same goes for Snakes and Lions).

R - Angst/Drama warnings: het/child-abuse/WIP

[painless_j]
This fic is 84 chapters long, but I wish it were 184, or even 284. I guess that’s saying something. If I were to choose one fic to compete with canon, this would be it. Despite its length, I read it four times, and every time I discovered something new that took my breath away.

This is a Severitus fic. No! This is the Severitus fic. In my opinion, however well other fics that answer Severitus’ challenge might be written, Blood Magic has no rivals. I don’t know how many people out there haven’t read it, but if you happen to be one of them, go read!

This is the fic of fics; whatever you look for in fanfiction, you’ll find it here (except sex, but taking into account everything else, it’s no big loss.) A whole world appears before you. The author follows the canon lead, adding new, unique things as if engrafting carefully cultivated shoots into the canon trunk. It makes the story look very integral. It has fantastic, unique potions and spells, wizarding traditions and customs; you’ll see family life and education, legal proceedings and balls, ah, you name it. The main characters are deep, complicated and believable; they seem as genuine as real people. And the plot! Harry’s appearance changes, but it must be kept hidden. Under the pressure of the new discoveries and developments his personality also can’t stay unaltered, but nobody can notice it either. Hermione thinks Harry behaves strangely. Lupin also suspects something, but his own behaviour is highly suspicious. And something involving werewolves, something dangerous and sinister happens outside of Hogwarts.

Incredible, excellent story! Go read already!

Severitus with a bit of HP/HG and SS/RL

[Bratling]
I'm thinking that, due to the general hatred of Severitus stories here, that this will garner flames. However, Blood Magic is considered a classic in this genre, and I was mildly shocked that it wasn't already in the library. It was one of the first stories I read that made me take a different look at Severus Snape and see him, not just as a bastard Death Eater teacher, but as a real, flawed character. It's also one of the few that managed to explain how Snape could be Harry's father in a believable manner. It's a bit slower paced than I normally like, but it has a lot of politics, wizarding culture, and even Dark Arts. It's better written than even the average story, and 100% better than the average Severitus. Nothing that Gateway Girl includes is by chance, and everything becomes important at some point. I think one of the best things is that it has no real pairings as Harry doesn't end up with anybody. It was long ago completed, and is quite long. There are fewer technical errors in it than there are in many published works. If you're going to read any Severitus story, this should be the one.

[jane_elliot]
Harry finds out that Snape is really his father, but they both must hide this fact so that Snape can continue to spy for as long as possible. Around the same time the Dursleys are killed, which means the Minstry's trying to adopt Harry. Plus there's the whole Voldemort rising thing. Set during Harry's sixth year, AU after book five.

Very minor quibble first: the romances in this fic (aside from Severus/Remus) are very true to high school romances. In other words, not very interesting. Fortunately they only make up about 1% of the fic as a whole (hence the 'gen' classification).

Which leads me to the gushing: I've read a lot of Snape is Harry's father and Snape adopts Harry fic over the last few months and this is one of the very best. Snape is perfectly in character and yet still manages to grow into a good (if conventional) father figure, the plot is detailed and interesting (and features lots of very interesting magics, including some of Fred and George's which are thankfully fun, rather than cruel), and the non-romantic relationships are fascinating. My favorites are probably the burgeoning Harry/Draco friendship, the troubled Ron/Hermione/Harry friendship (lying about Snape's relationship to Harry was bad enough and then Harry *told the truth*), and of course, Harry's relationship to Severus (my absolute favorite and the focus of the story as a whole).

Full of realism, relationship angst, adventure, love, and family, this is a truly great offering for anyone who would like to see a thoughtful, fascinating interpretation of the Harry is Snape's son genre.

2010s

[Gavia Baker-Whitelaw and Elizabeth Minkel]
“Blood Magic” by GatewayGirl. 335K words, rated Mature.

Fandom: Harry Potter; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Poetry
Backstory: This is a Severitus fic, where Harry and Snape find out that Snape is secretly Harry’s father. Neither of them react well to the news.
Rec: This fic delves deep into the complexities of what a father-son relationship between Snape and Harry might look like without ever trying to excuse Snape for his bastardry or smooth over his harsh edges.

Content warnings: Snape being Snape, non-explicit torture