I’m sure I’m not the only person who felt an insatiable thirst for more after reading the series and watching all the movies. Moreover, I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought the Golden Trio was, well, rather overrated after a while. The most interesting characters to me were the ones who were talked about in canon, but never fully explained. Some of these characters were mere ghosts that the Golden Trio never have a chance to meet, albeit not literal ghosts like Nearly-Headless Nick or Moaning Myrtle!
For this reason, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite fanfiction stories that acknowledged and embodied the potential of elusive or mysterious characters (re: Sirius Black and pre-Voldemort Tom Riddle).
**Disclaimer: My exposure to the online world of fanfiction was only a brief period of time in my pre-adolescent and adolescent years, so this list not as comprehensive as it could be. I was not exposed to very many website platforms and also didn’t have the critical literary eye I’ve now attained through academic writing, so bear with me on this, pals.**
10. Our Time to Fly (by blueskies)
Complete [ ] Incomplete [x]
Setting: Marauder era
Pairing: Sirius Black/OC, James Potter/Lily Evans, etc.
Originally posted on quizilla.com, but after Nickelodeon bought the site, much content was deleted (my childhood!!!), including this fic. The author re-posted the first two chapters on HPFF (http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/viewstory.php?psid=257373), and a “co-writer” “re-wrote” the story on FF.net, though I’m not completely sure of how much is truth and how much is just overt plagiarism: (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6801658/1/Girls-Quidditch-and-Other-Things-We-Love). Either way, this was the first “good” fic I read, back when quizilla was still very active for the online community. It takes place during the Marauder Era, or during Harry Potter’s dad’s time. The OC is named Evelia Reinhardt and is extremely humorous, and the story showed her relationship with Sirius Black blossoming into something more than friendship. This fic is still Googled constantly because at some point, it had almost 70 chapters and thousands of people reading it.
9. Life and Limb (by bucky barnes.)
Complete [ ] Incomplete [x]
Setting: Pre-Hogwarts
Pairing: Tom Riddle/OC
Another incomplete story, I know, but this one haunted me after reading it. I would go as far as to say that although it is incomplete, it was still fulfilling. The story explores Tom Riddle during his sixth year at Hogwarts, which is when the Chamber of Secrets was opened for the first time. The OC is Marie Fugazi, a student that had been studying abroad at Beauxbatons, but is now returning to Hogwarts. A push-and-pull relationship sparks between the two wherein the extent of human evil and the nature of evil itself is explored: http://www.mibba.com/Stories/Read/178204/Life-and-Limb/.
8. Riddle’s Phantom (by Kalia Clyde)
Complete [x] incomplete [ ]
Setting: Hogwarts -> Pre-Hogwarts time travel
Pairing: Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger
So, I lied! 1/3 of the Golden Trio is in this fic. Truly, this is a very interesting pairing that has sometimes been abused, but makes for great stories when done well. Hermione Granger is thrust back to Tom Riddle’s time: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2603725/1/Riddle-s-Phantom.
7. Riddles in the Dark: Tom and I (by MyPhoenixLament)
Complete [x] Incomplete [ ]
Setting: Pre-Hogwarts
Pairing: Tom Riddle/OC
This fic was originally posted on HPFF, where it accumulated thousands of reads and hundreds of reviews. An OC named Danielle, not to be confused with that of the trilogy that makes up numbers 4-6 on this list! This Danielle recounts the memories she has of her and Tom Riddle to none other than Dumbledore himself! https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3073333/1/Riddles-in-the-Dark-Tom-and-I.
6. An Exquisite Pain (by Not Enough Answers)
Complete [x] Incomplete [ ]
Setting: Pre-Hogwarts (Time travel)
Pairing: Tom Riddle/OC
This OC is Danielle Bailey, a fifteen year old girl who finds a time-turner and accidentally sends herself seventy years back to Tom Riddle’s time. Her character is not the most compelling, but the author’s depiction of Riddle is. The author is a skillful writer as well, weaving a long, multidimensional tale. Through the characters’ relationship, Tom’s inner world is revealed: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6279309/1/An-Exquisite-Pain.
5. Dancing With Time (by Not Enough Answers)
Complete [x] Incomplete [ ]
Setting: Pre-Hogwarts
Pairing: Tom Riddle/OC
The author of the previous fic remarkably wrote a completed TRILOGY, so here is the sequel to An Exquisite Pain! I don’t want to spoil the first, so suffice it to say that Danielle is still trying to figure out the consequences of time travel. More than that, however, she and Tom continue to explore their own relationship, his ability to love (if any), and his continuing desire to become Dark Lord: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7638550/1/Dancing-With-Time.
4. The Fate’s Illusion (by Not Enough Answers)
Complete [x] Incomplete [ ]
Setting: Pre-Hogwarts
Pairing: Tom Riddle/OC
The last installment of the trilogy, and perhaps the best one of the three. Loose ends are tied up, new conflicts are introduced and resolved, and the ending is fulfilling. All three of these stories garnered a lot of attention on the website, accumulating thousands of reviews and hundreds of comments: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9013025/1/The-Fate-s-Illusion.
3. Stray (by Molly Raesly)
Complete [x] Incomplete [ ]
Setting: Marauder era.
Pairing: Sirius Black/OC
{{The first chapter is set on my birthday, but several decades before my birth year, so of course I loved this fic!}} A teenage, angsty Sirius Black meets a charming Muggle girl, and they have a sweet summer together. The ending was sad, which made it even better: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6235718/1/Stray.
2. Lovers in a Dangerous Time (by xfireflyx)
Complete [x] Incomplete [ ]
Setting: During the rise of the Dark Lord.
Pairing: Lord Voldemort/Bellatrix Lestrange.
One of the best fics that succeeds in dramatizing Bellatrix’s earlier years. The author really does justice to Bellatrix’s character and appropriately fills in the blank bits of information and details we aren’t given by J. K. Rowling. This fic is rather smutty, but not for the sake of self-indulgence. Unlike other fics that romanticize Tom/Voldemort into a person capable of love and interested in sex (the former something that was addressed by Rowling herself), this story explores Lord Voldemort’s use of sex as a power tactic, and how Bellatrix came to be his most loyal follower: http://www.mibba.com/Stories/Read/401115/Lovers-in-a-Dangerous-Time/.
1. The Memory Box (by Bella_E_B)
Complete [x] Incomplete [ ]
Setting: Marauder era.
Pairing: Sirius Black/OC, James Potter/Lily Evans, etc.
Last but definitely not least, my absolute favorite HP fic. I cannot begin to explain how phenomenal this piece was, still is, even after all these years. This is barely a fanfiction: it takes Rowling’s most obscure characters and toys with them, creating whole characters and forming relationships between them that are so realistic, you become invested in even the most minor characters. This story’s primary focus is on the OC, Isabella, and Sirius Black, but the entirety of the Marauder group and other characters are so present that it doesn’t feel like self-indulgent adoration for any particular character. The plot is detailed, original, and the author successfully creates loopholes and twists that don’t seem contrived. This story, because of its wonderful character and world-building, still feels like an old friend to me: http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/printerfriendly.php?mode=story&object=254130. The author also began writing a sequel, The Never Forgotten, but only got a few chapters in before disappearing from the fanfiction community: http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/viewstory2.php?chapterid=414873&i=1.