Rat’s Alley by Fabula Rasa (NC-17)

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Severus Snape/Sirius Black (plus some other peripheral pairings)
Author on LJ: fabularasa
Author Website: Fabulae
Why this must be read:

Snape/Black (or Snack, as it is sometimes referred to) is one of my top three pairings in HP. Right now, at this moment, it could be my favorite.

I like them because, well, I’m a massive Snape ho, and I love Sirius to bits (actually something I can pretty much credit Fabula with- she writes him so well). They’re both so deliciously flawed, and they have such a great backstory in canon that you can do so much with. Besides which, I’ve always been a sucker for the we-hate-each-other-but-we’re-screwing-but-we-definitely-hate-each-other-right? kind of pairing. Also I personally think that Snape and Sirius have much more of a spark than other older generation pairings like Remus/Sirius and Remus/Severus.

Writing them together well is very difficult, however, which is why fabularasa deserves major props. Because not only does she write Snape/Black better than anyone else out there, she’s also extraordinarily prolific. I think she’s penned over 15 Snack fics, and all of them are worth reading, let me tell you. And oh, how I agonized over which one to rec. Even writing this, I’m still debating over whether I picked the right one.

Rat’s Alley is generally agreed to be the best out of all of Fabula’s wonderful stories. It’s beautifully yet tightly written, and what’s more, it has T.S. Eliot, chess and vampire!Snape in it (and if you cringed right there, trust me, it works, and what’s more, it’s hot). What’s not to love? This is perhaps a bit longish to introduce someone to this pairing (for a shorter taste I’d recommend Fabula’s Epistula Ultima or Eight Times), but it really exemplifies what I love about Fabula’s fics- tense, compelling dramas (with plenty o’ smut) that will keep you glued to the computer.

Rat’s Alley starts off with a fairly common premise in HP fanfiction: two characters, Snape and Sirius, captured by Death Eaters, locked in a cell. For a hint of what happens there…

When he was certain the booted steps were gone, he got up and studied the trays. Lamb again. A powerful, heady smell. Calculated to sicken Snape, no doubt. He picked up a knife and examined it, testing its edge against his thumb. Malfoy must be fairly confident, to allow them such sharp knives. Or maybe hopeful. He drew a bead of blood on his thumb and watched it. He tapped the knife against his lips, considering.

With catlike tread he stepped to Snape's bed and sat down, shaking him gently. "Snape. Sit up."

"I said, get away."

"Snape. If you start, can you stop?"

Whatever Snape had been expecting to hear, that wasn't it. He turned startled eyes to Sirius and slowly sat up, his eyes on the knife. "What are you talking about, Black?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Don't waste time. Answer the question."

He blinked rapidly, swallowing. "I. . .I don't know. Last week, yes. Now. . ."

"I understand. But it's our only chance, isn't it, so I guess I'm going to have to trust you."

He extended his forearm, scrutinising it. He felt Snape's trembling beside him. Deliberately he sank the knife in a quick horizontal cut across his inner elbow. The blood gushed in a hot fountain upward, and he gave an involuntary cry. The next instant Snape's mouth was on it, clamping the wound, sucking it, sucking it, draining him with desperate force, and he was sinking backward, dizzy and giddy and something he couldn't name felt oh so good, like lips sucking on his cock only better, deeper, powerful lips were wrapped around his heart sucking the deeper pulsing there, and his head fell back with a groan as his eyes slid shut.

Gah...can’t think of anything else coherent to say (not that what came before was particularly coherent) except read this. Right. Now.

Rat’s Alley