Rectober - Post No. 1 - It's Magic

[nia_kantorka]

banner by capitu

Title:Sparks from the Fox’s Tail
Author/Artist: khalulu
Pairing(s) Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 17.247
Warnings: none
Tags: Finland (Country), Magic, Finnish Magic, Bees, Finnish Mythology and Folklore


Summary: Draco is frustrated with his career as a travel writer, when a mini-tirade from Mrs Weasley and an encounter with the portrait of an intrepid great-great-great-aunt lead him to Finland to study wandless magic. Harry is – just being contrary and following his sweet-tooth, or taking the subtle route to saving the world?

Why I loved it:
I need to speak verbosely here. I read Sparks from the Fox’s Tail for the first time when I had the ambition to read all of this year’s Summer Fan Poll Award stories. It had been categorized into Drama-Angst which was imo, sorry to say that, rubbish. This story was not a typical drama or angst fic (no wonder, it didn’t win a price though it should have). It’s a fic about Draco coming to terms with his life, his past and what he wants to do with himself.

I loved it so much because it’s beautifully written. The words are tender and soft but oh so powerful. My imagination ran wild while reading it. I saw this place where Draco lived with Mielikki, Antero, Aamu and Tuisku literally before my eyes. The green woods, the lake, the sauna, their guest house.
Then there were the side characters. They were warmhearted, very straightforward and Draco, who became Kauko Lohikäärme- the dragon from far away, could only love them. While Draco fell for Harry when he found his way to Finland too, I fell for Finland and its mythology and its traditions.

I’m sure most of you have read Sparks from the Fox’s Tail already but if not, go and have a look. It’s so worth it. Whenever I’m in the mood for something dreamlike and mystic, I re-read it.

Excerpt: How could he have forgotten Harry’s scar? Even with the Dark Lord dead and gone all these years, the scars remained. And then Draco was angry. Angry at the long reach of evil, that stretched from beyond the grave to cast its shadow over their youth. He began the incantation to send it far away:

Thee I conjure away into moaning hills, into sighing firs, to the top of a copper hill, to a copper mountain peak, where the clouds surround the hill, a steam rolls over the stones, into an iron mountain rift, into the space between two rocks.

Wrath powered the words of command:
Tormentor, shriek, O Nightmare, howl, in the deep valleys of the hills, in the fine mountain cleft, whence all thy life thou won't escape, wilt never extricate thyself.

His words rang in the air. When his eyes focused again, he noticed that he was shaking. Harry was staring at him, wide-eyed.

Comments

[lauren3210.livejournal.com]

Do you know, i have had this fic in my To Be Read list for months, and for some reason, whenever I think about reading it, I find something else to read instead. And it stops now, because if I'm seeing it in a rectober post, then that must mean it's about damn time I get around to this story, lol!

Thanks for the rec, I needed the push to finally getting round to this fic!

[nia_kantorka]

Oh, it's lovely to return the favour. :)
Hope you'll like it.

[birdsofshore]

Oh, I Britpicked this, and it's so absolutely lovely! \o/

Yay for Rectober! \o/

[nia_kantorka]

Yes, it is.
And all the yays for Rectober!

[candamira.livejournal.com]

That sounds so right up my alley (beautifully written, dreamlike, mystic, "the dragon from far away"). I'm sorry, I think I have to abandon Sin and Boyd for a while to read this. I so have a thing for the 'Nordics', for everything you mention: the beautiful landscapes, the mythology, the languages with all these beautiful, long words with a lot of ä and ö and aa which all look and sound like a spell. Thank you, my highly appreciated private counsellor for anything literature-related ;-)!

[nia_kantorka]

Oh no, oh yes, argh, you are killing me. Now I'm torn between two of my favourite pairings. That's not fair. LOL
Ok, do as you like but you'll have to go back to Sin and Boyd. Otherwise I... need to think about a horrible threat *nods* ;)

[candamira.livejournal.com]

Ok, calm down, breath! I've got only 8% left with Sin and Boyd, maybe I'll manage to finish them (er, the book) over the weekend. Though, Finland!!!

[nia_kantorka]

breathe in, breathe out...

Ok, but you are aware that 'only 8%' means around 100 pages. You are lucky that you aren't reading Afterimage. You wouldn't want to stop when you've managed to finish that. :)

But Sparks is really worth a read. So just do it. *pouts just a little bit*

[candamira.livejournal.com]

I read it over the weekend and I LOVED IT! It is really special and has it's very own kind of magic that bewitched me in the most charming way. The beautiful incantations, the landscape, the references to finnish sagas and the way magic is used in Finland made this an extremely beautiful and joyful reading experience. It's safely tucked away in the FAVOURITES-collection on my Kindle. Because that's where it belongs. Thank you so much for reccing this fic-gem!!! <3

[nia_kantorka]

Great, you loved it as well. :)
And I agree, it's magical atmosphere is very unique and charming.

[capitu]

I remember loving this fic! Lovely, so lovely. :)

[nia_kantorka]

Oh yes, it is. <3

[khalulu]

Thank you so much for your lovely rec of my fic, and for helping it find a few more readers! I'm honored!

Researching it was really interesting, I fell in love with Finnish incantations and so many other things I learned.

(I was very grateful that someone nominated it, even though I was a little puzzled by the category at first. But then I tried nominating some of my favorite fics, and you can only nominate one in each category. So if you really want to nominate two romances or two comedies you might end up putting one in a category where it only partly fits, just to add it in somewhere.)

[nia_kantorka]

It is one of my favourites, therefore it was a pleasure to write a rec. :D

Actually, that explains a lot. I asked myself on more than one occasion why they were categorised here or there.

[daleah.livejournal.com]

I can't believe I have not read this story ... Thanks for the rec.
:: take a cup of coffee and prepare to enjoy a great story ::

[nia_kantorka]

Oh, I hope you are going to love it.
Yay, coffee and reading are always a good match. :D