#this is absolutely how i imagine these boys in mirror of ecidyrue

[reliand]

Happy Horny Valentine's Day

[dracomort]

Your fanfic has converted me to shipping Tom/Raco. I was wondering what other rare pairs interest you and why?

Mine is Draco and Dudley- there are lots of parallels between the two of them- both were bullies who were awful to Harry, spoiled by their deeply prejudiced parents. There's something about them intimately knowing what is like to be cruel and grow up in a toxic environment where your parents love you but they are awful to others and failed you in some way. I would love to see a fanfic that explores those themes and the long difficult path towards redemption.

I also like Tom Riddle/Ron- I think that there are dark elements of Ron's character would let him be drawn and potentially seduced by Tom and both share a desire to stand out and I found it really interesting that Ron's Mirror of Erised- he sees himself being Head Boy and Quiddich captain. I think that Tom can understand the desire for recognition and to have accolades. I also found it really cool that Ron could minick/speak Parseltongue well enough that the Chamber of Secret opened for him. It's fun imagining Tom teaching Ron phrases in Parseltongue. My personal headcanon is that Parseltongue can be learnt but it's extremely difficult and it would require a patient native speaker and I imagine that historically native Parseltongue speakers would prize its rarity and status and makes it easier to keep secrets within the family so they would have no incentive to want to teach others.

Sorry for the rant

Hello!

I can see the appeal of Draco/Dudley. I do think they're two sides of the same spoiled-rotten coin. And I'm always interested in more nuanced portrayals of Ron. One thing I like about him in canon is that he still has so much growing, maturing and changing to do post Book 7.

As for my own favourite rarepairs, tbh I will give any Draco or Tom ship a fair go

I suppose some particular faves are:

Draco/Neville: I think Neville's steady, down to earth nature would balance Draco's... everything. Also I think Draco is the type to complain to the manager when they make Neville's order wrong.

Draco/Sirius: Spicy 🔥

Tom or Vee/Gellert: I support this & have two fic ideas for it. Just gonna add it to the ever-mounting pile of plot bunnies.

Tom/Cedric: this is the crackiest of crackships, but I read @duplicitywrites's fic and was converted.

Snape/Lockhart: I read Draco Malfoy and the Mirror of Ecidyrue and found Lockhart's crush really funny. As a Lockhart fan, I support this.

Lucius/Bella: I ship this platonically as much as anything (how i feel about most het). Their dynamic, especially in the First War, is so amusing for me to think about. Absolute polar opposites. Was reading Order of the Phoenix recently and realised how much I like Lucius. He's perhaps the most 'reasonable' and sane of the Death Eaters, yet so casual about murdering children. You just know he's done absolutely abhorrent things.

Draco/Ginny: is this a rarepair? I feel like it was popular at least once upon a time. Anyway I like the idea of their dynamic. I think she'd crush him like a snail.