RaMverse Fics Recommended Reading Order

For an up-to-date, easy-to-read version of this post, go to the page “Resolving a Misunderstanding Universe Stories.”

The Resolving a Misunderstanding Universe Fics

With the number of fics in the Resolving a Misunderstanding universe (“RaMverse”) growing, here’s a “reading order” list that might help you sort through which ones to read first or to find those you haven’t read yet.

Naturally, anyone can read the fics in any order they like, and skip things and come back to them later if they want, but some people like to read things in their natural order and like to avoid spoilers for earlier stories.

The RaMverse fics can be divided into three sets. The second and third sets can easily be read without having read the primary set first, however.

The first group of fics is the sort of “foundational” set. They’re primarily ADMM with a heavy focus on Minerva.

The stories in the second set are short, side stories.

The third set consists primarily of Snape-centric fics written around the story Death’s Dominion. There’s a lot of Minerva in them, too.

Any of the one-shots can really stand alone, although a few, such as  “Enter, Peacetime,” do contain spoilers for other fics.

For links and descriptions: go here for brief descriptions or here for more extended descriptions and story banners, or go directly to my author’s page on the Petulant Poetess (titles below are linked to the fics on the Petulant Poetess site).

Edited to Add: All of my completed stories are now also available on An Archive of Our Own (or will be shortly), and do not require membership or login to read. WIPs may eventually be posted, as well.  My Author’s Page on AO3. Title links lead to the stories on the Petulant Poetess, but at the beginning of each list of links below, there is a link that leads to each set of fics on An Archive of Our Own (AO3), where they are collected together as three individual series. Edited 11 March 2013.

Set One Reading Order

Go to Set One on An Archive of Our Own

1. Resolving a Misunderstanding, rated T/M (mostly T-rated content, some MA content in later chapters; very long, chaptered fic in 19 parts; MMAD friendship-to-romance, with a lot of plot along the way; also available on SH Lumos)

2. “The Unsentimental Arithmancer,”  rated T (Can be read at any point after “Chapter LVI: A Conspiracy of Witches” in Resolving a Misunderstanding, or can stand alone; features young Gertrude Gamp and Albus Dumbledore; one-shot. Events of the story predate Resolving a Misunderstanding, so it may also be read first as a “prequel.”)

3. “A Spree with Albus,” rated T (an out-take from Chapter CXXXV: A Spree in Resolving a Misunderstanding, not a new, separate story if you’ve already read RaM; one-shot)

4. “An Unexpected Shower,” rated MA (a “missing scene” set after the chapter “CXXXV: A Spree” in Resolving a Misunderstanding; a Gertrude Gamp/Malcolm McGonagall fic; lemony fluff; one-shot)

5. A Holiday with the Headmaster, rated MA (can stand alone, but set between chapters “CXXXVII: The Silent Knight’s Tale” and “CXXXVIII: Back to Hogwarts” in Resolving a Misunderstanding; 12 chapters; chapters combined into five parts in the T-rated fanfiction.net version, A Little Holiday; ADMM)

6. “Obliging Minerva,” rated MA (one-shot, pretty much a PWP; ADMM)

7. “Invisible Lover,” rated MA (one-shot, ADMM)

8. “A Christmas for Aberforth,” rated K+ (one-shot, ADMM)

9. Charming the Scottish Garden, rated T (Johannes Birnbaum and Siofre Tyree; chaptered fic; characters are from Resolving a Misunderstanding and appear in other RaMverse fics, too, and include Malcolm McGonagall, Aberforth Dumbledore, Hagrid, Minerva McGonagall, and others)

Set Two Reading Order

Go to Set Two on An Archive of Our Own.

1. “Now is Perfect,” rated T (FFPS, one-shot)

2. Cheering Charms, a series of humorous Flitwick-centric drabbles and one-shots; posted as separate stories everywhere but TPP.

*“Trunks,” rated K+ (FF & PS, short one-shot)

*“Up a Tree,” rated K+ (FF, short one-shot)

*“Snow,” rated K+ (FFPS, drabble)

*“Awkward,” rated T (FFPS, short one-shot)

*“It’s not the heat . . .” rated T (FFPS, longer one-shot)

3. “The Cornish Pixie Prank,” rated K+ (Poppy Pomfrey, Professor Penhurst, the “Marauders”; short one-shot)

4. “The Sunshine of Kindness,” rated K+ (Lupin & Black friendship fic set in Grimmauld Place; short one-shot)

(“Trunks,” “Up a Tree,” “Snow,” “Awkward,” etc., are all a part of “Cheering Charms” on TPP, and are also posted individually on fanfiction.net.)

Set Three Reading Order

Go to Set Three on An Archive of Our Own.

1. An Act of Love. Chronologically first of Set Three, taking place in September HP Yr 6, but possibly better read AFTER Death’s Dominion; rated MA (chaptered fic; Snape-centric; ADMM, quasi-SSMM; can be very easily skipped and then either read last or after Death’s Dominion, like a prequel)

2. Death’s Dominion, rated T/M (long chaptered fic; drama; AU HP Years 6 & 7; Snape-centric, with Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, Poppy Pomfrey, Hermione Granger, and others; foundational; available on both the Petulant Poetess and fanfiction.net)

3. “Enter, Peacetime,” rated T (one-shot; Snape-centric, featuring Alastor Moody, with Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Aberforth Dumbledore, and others; set toward the end of Death’s Dominion)

4. A Long Vernal Season, rated T/M (long chaptered fic; Snape-centric sequel to Death’s Dominion; read Death’s Dominion first if you care about spoilers; Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, Poppy Pomfrey, Hermione Granger, and others; some later chapters rated M & MA)

5. “The Sorting of Suzie Sefton,” rated T (very short, light, chaptered fic; can be read at any point after Part One of A Long Vernal Season, but can stand alone, though there are spoilers for Death’s Dominion and Part One of A Long Vernal Season; Severus Snape, Rubeus Hagrid, Poppy Pomfrey, Draco Malfoy, and others.)

6. “Minerva’s Mistletoe,” rated M/MA (one-shot; companion fic to A Long Vernal Season, but can stand alone; Humor, Romance, Fluff; features Minerva, Albus, Severus, and several others; MA-rated version on the Petulant Poetess; M-rated version on ffnet.)

7. Draco’s Heart, rated T/M (short chaptered fic with short chapters; overlaps with A Long Vernal Season, set in spring 1999, but can stand alone; features Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and others. DHGW.)

My personal favorites among the RaMverse fics are Resolving a Misunderstanding, A Long Vernal Season, Death’s Dominion, and “The Sorting of Suzie Sefton,” and I think that Death’s Dominion is probably the best of my chaptered fics, though it’s darker, and a denser read, than most of them, but it’s still a hopeful “Light” fic.

Other HP Fanfics

Of the non-RaMverse fics, I suppose that, based purely upon my personal preferences, I would recommend the following reading order.

1. “Heat,” MA-rated (Snape-centric one-shot)

2. “A Momentary Madness,” T-rated, w/ one chapter rated MA for a few paragraphs in the middle of the final chapter (Minerva-centric; ADMM, Drama, Humor, Romance, short, five-chaptered fic)

3. “A Light at Dusk,” T-rated (Minerva-centric; ADMM, Drama/Romance one-shot)

4. “Falling for Pomona,” T-rated (humorous Flitwick-centric one-shot)

5. “Minerva in Hogsmeade,” T-rated (Minerva-centric flashfic, no pairing)

6. “Trevor and the Queen,” K+-rated (one-shot, no pairing; Humor)

7. “Budding Charms,” T-rated (Flitwick/Sprout series of fluffy drabbles)

8. “Impressing Filius,”T-rated (the other side of “Falling for Pomona”; one-shot)

9. “Lovesick,” T-rated (humorous one-shot flashfic with a short “prequel”; features Ron Weasley)

10. “Circadian Rhythm,” T-rated (four sets of five drabbles each, various characters)

11. “Lemon Drabbles,” MA-rated (set of unrelated experimental drabbles; various characters)

I think that my favorite short fics are “Heat,” “The Unsentimental Arithmancer,” and “The Sorting of Suzie Sefton.”

~*~ Reviews are very welcome! ~*~

Notes

The version of Resolving a Misunderstanding referred to here is the polished version available on the Petulant Poetess and Lumos. The T-rated version of RaM on fanfiction.net is chaptered differently and edited for mature content. There is also a T-rated version of A Holiday with the Headmaster on ffnet, A Little Holiday. It’s essentially the same story, but with the mature content cut out and the chapters combined.

For fics sorted by genre, length, ‘ship, character, etc., see this list of fics sorted by type.

“Read Fanfic Now”: A number of the shorter stories are now available here on this site.

Important: Any fics with MA-rated content are archived only at sites requiring log-in and membership, such as the Petulant Poetess archive and the Our Mirror of Erised Yahoo! Group, which has fanfic available for download in the “Files” area. The Petulant Poetess site allows anyone, members and nonmembers, to read and review stories rated K, K+, and T. Stories rated M or MA require membership and log in to read.