Theme: MWPP Get-TogetherTitle: As Red as Hearts and AutumnAuthor:
rosemaryandrueWord Count: 46,890
Alternate Links to Fic: here @ author's LJ
Rating: PG-13
Contains: No warnings applyAuthor's Website/Masterlist: here @ AO3, or
here @ author's LJ
Summary: It's the autumn of Sixth Year, there's a flu epidemic at Hogwarts, and the Blacks want their heir back.
Why I'm recommending this: There are so many things to love within this fic. It was written in 2005 for
scarvesnhats, the autumn edition of the seasonal fic-a-day challenges that used to run in R/S fandom, so it has a gentle and steady day-at-a-time pacing that works well for a fic about two boys in the 1970s gradually coming to realise they fancy one another. It's gorgeously written, and being seasonally-inspired, it's full of the most beautiful of autumnal imagery: harvest fruits, falling leaves, snagging scarves, the nip of frost at the windows.
rosemaryandrue's prose style is lean, lyrical and full of warmth, infused with humour and wit and moments of introspection, and a plot surprisingly engaging for what is in essence a 47K character study of all the Marauders. Oh heavens, her characterisation is to
die for: long-suffering Remus and his hatred of his prefects' meetings, and Sirius' obsession with Remus' ankles! 'Tis this above all else - the characters and the author's obvious affection for them all - that keeps me coming back to this fic and
the 'verse it's part of. I cannot recommend them highly enough!
Excerpt: ( excerpt from chapter three, First FallCollapse )