The Devil Will Drag You Under

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Fanfiction
Title: The Devil Will Drag You Under
Author(s): DementorDelta
Date(s): 31 December 2003
Length: 20,069 words
Genre(s): Chan, AU, first time, romance,[1] slash
Fandom(s): Harry Potter
Relationship(s):
External Links: The Devil Will Drag You Under, Part 1 and Part 2 at hpchan on Livejournal
The Devil Will Drag You Under and Just Like Breathing on Walking The Plank
The Devil Will Drag You Under and Just Like Breathing on Skyehawke (archive links)
Fanart for the story by Lunulet (2004)

Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

The Devil Will Drag You Under is a Harry/Snape story by DementorDelta. It contains explicit chan (child/adult) content.

It was written for the HP Chan Fest Challenge #10: "One of the requirements for entering Hogwarts is a sexual 'coming of age' ceremony, which must be performed with one of the staff prior to school starting."

Author's summary: "Harry Potter must marry Severus Snape for his own protection. Only a legality for seven years, of course."

DementorDelta wrote "Just Like Breathing", a "smutlet" set in the same universe as The Devil Will Drag You Under, as a thank you for Lunulet's fanart for the story in January 2004.[2] Both stories were beta read by Venivincere.

Fanart and Related Works

Lunulet created fanart for The Devil Will Drag You Under in January 2004. DementorDelta said of the artwork:

"...it's dreamy and beautiful and absolutely made me cry when I saw it! She's reached into my brain and drawn every sweet fantasy I have, channelled it through Snape and Harry and presented it to the world."[3]

Lunulet's artwork in turn inspired a remix by gredandfeorge for HP Art Remix in August 2004.

DementorDelta wrote that she was "powerless to resist the lure of trying to work [Lunulet's art] into the story," and it thus inspired "Just Like Breathing", a 2,000-word PWP set "somewhere in the midst" of The Devil Will Drag You Under.[2]

Meredith Bronwen Mallory also created art for the story in 2004:[4] "The Care & Feeding of Young Boys"

Translations

Reception

painless_j wrote in 2007 that "The Devil Will Drag You Under is in my top-3 HP fics ever, still, after all this time."[7] She previously recced the story in 2005 for the theme "Harry asks an older man to teach him":[8]

If to ask me what my favourite HP fanfic writer is, DementorDelta is among the first to come to mind. Her stories are a blessing, so warm and humane they are. And this fic is my most favourite of hers.

It's chan, but if you don't read it because you don't read chan on principle, you'll lose much more than you'll gain holding on to those principles. If you don't read chan because it squicks you, this is your chance of reading a non-squicky chan, because I can't imagine a more non-squicky fic in general.

This story is loving, warm, amusing; this is my ideal comfort reading that lets me believe that everything's all right with the world when I'm depressed and can see no light in the end of the proverbial tunnel.

As for our theme (Five fics where Harry asks an older man to 'teach' him), of course Harry asks. Repeatedly. And of course Snape doesn't comply. He's Snape, what would you expect! So all the initiative comes from the curious imp Harry. But in the end, who could withstand the charm and insistence of such a child. So, of course, Snape teaches him, cursing his own weakness.

Amazing fic, sexy and sweet. Go [re-]read!

painless_j's review was also posted to The Essential Snarry Reader.[9]

Other reviewers write:

This is every single wet-dream of mine condensed into a wonderful chanslash story. --OK, not every wet-dream. But close enough. Harry as the curious pre-pubescent boy with a penchant for sexual exploration, and Severus as his not-quite-unwilling guardian... YES. Oh my God, YES. Severus is a tad milder than I usually like him, and Harry's a tad too precocious, but with smut of this brilliance I hardly have cause to complain. And it's DementorDelta, of course, which means that the writing is delicious.

– switchknife, 2004 [10]

This is blatant chanslash. It's Harry/Severus, but definitely not squicky chanslash. Yes, Harry's young, but it's explained really well and even though the idea of the ages in this story is weird, it works. Read it pleeeese. Don't let the chan factor turn you away.

– Ashley, 2004 [11]

This has so much that I like--bonding, forced marriage, consensual chan (if there is such a thing), and a slow-growing romance that's just so darn...cool. Harry's brought to Hogwarts as Snape's ward and, because he no longer has the blood protection of the Dursleys, they go through a marriage ceremony to establish his safety. Sure, it sounds like it's been done, but trust me--it's done beautifully here.

– Amanuensis, 2004 [12]

Uh. Oh man I should not be reccing this but it's. Well hell, if you like this pairing you'll probably be okay with the fact that Harry is incredibly fucking young in this story. Even so it's fucking good and definitely worth reading.

– theantimodel, 2005 [13]

This fic is so different from other "Harry has to marry Snape" stories. The plot develops slowly and beautifully, and the young Harry in the story is so believable.

– wan, c. 2005 [14]

You can always trust DementorDelta to write something fun and kinky! This story, while not one of my favorite, was still very fun to read. The idea of Snape picking up Harry from his relatives before his first year is not the most orginal idea, but this is story does that theme much more justice than any other story I've read. I also love that Harry and Snape get along from the very beginning, it makes the story a fun and relaxing read. The sex is hot, I love that harry is the aggressor, Snape is so seduced!

– riversprite7, 2007 [15]

My first rec was quite innocent and very PG, but this is anything but! In this fic, Harry is not allowed to go to Hogwarts unless he has a guardian of some sort, and the only bonds recognized by Hogwarts are familial and matrimonial. Since the Dursleys give him up completely Harry is forced to marry -- at the age of eleven. Naturally, he chooses the man who saved him from the Dursleys, Professor Snape. As you can imagine, this is a chan fic, so if that squicks you I would steer clear of this. However, it's written by DementorDelta, one of the most prolific Snarry writers out there, so it's not only hot and sexy but sweet and romantic and oh so satisfying.

– stereosymbiosis for crack_broom, 2008[16]

This. Is. Crack. Seriously. Harry is a little minx that’s constantly trying to get into Snapes pants. Snape is the noble husband trying to protect Harry’s virtue, despite Harry’s best efforts to seduce him.

– K for snarryrecs, 2012 [17]

References

  1. ^ Stories by DementorDelta, Archived version on Walking The Plank. Header information for "The Devil Will Drag You Under": "Genres: AU � Magical, First Time, Romance ... Warnings: Chan 11-12"
  2. ^ a b dementordelta on LiveJournal. Slow But Steady, Archived version, posted 25 January 2004.
  3. ^ dementordelta on LiveJournal. Art And Fic Links., Archived version, posted 15 January 2004.
  4. ^ Serpensortia: Fanart, archived 10 June 2004 by the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ juna_5 on LiveJournal. ¡¡Traducción X 2!!, Archived version, posted 2 February 2008. SlasHeaven :: JuNa, archived 14 October 2009 by the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ fengshuoye on FC2. 夜夜看HP同人, Archived version, posted 14 September 2009. Links to the translation on silvergreen.org (银青), now offline.
  7. ^ painless_j on LiveJournal. Snarry Games and Favourite Author: DementorDelta, Archived version, posted 29 May 2007.
  8. ^ painless_j on LiveJournal. 600. 5 fics where Harry asks... for Nimori, Archived version, posted 21 February 2005.
  9. ^ snarry_reader on LiveJournal. The Devil Will Drag You Under, by Dementor Delta, Archived version, posted 27 September 2006.
  10. ^ switchknife. Switchknife's Slash Recommendations: ...severus/harry..., Archived version. Last updated 9 August 2004.
  11. ^ Ashley (ashleyisbest). fairy lights: Recommendations, archived 27 October 2009 by the Wayback Machine. Site c. early 2004.
  12. ^ Amanuensis. despoiling harry: Fanfiction Recommendations, Archived version. Rec added in September or October 2004.
  13. ^ theantimodel in anti_recs on LiveJournal. recs: stargate atlantis and harry potter, Archived version, posted 29 November 2005.
  14. ^ wan's hp slash recs: severus/harry, Archived version. Last updated 5 July 2005
  15. ^ riversprite7 on LiveJournal. (no subject), Archived version, posted 1 October 2007.
  16. ^ stereosymbiosis in crack_broom on LiveJournal. Snape/Harry - "The Devil Will Drag You Under", by DementorDelta, Archived version, posted 6 September 2008.
  17. ^ snarryrecs on Tumblr. Fic Rec: The Devil Will Drag You Under, Archived version, posted 11 March 2012.
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