Dramione: From AO3 to Published Books

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Vic chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

It is well known that Ali Hazelwood’s novel, The Love Hypothesis, began as a Reylo (Kylo Ren and Rey from the Star Wars sequels) fanfiction (fanfic) and became a best-selling novel. Just like how the After series started as a Harry Styles fanfic. However, 2025 is the year of Dramione (Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger from Harry Potter) fanfic being adapted into traditionally published novels. These pieces were originally published on Archive of Our Own (AO3), a free online website where fanfics on every topic imaginable are published. As of when this article is being written, there are over 41,000 published Dramione fanfics, and that number will only continue to grow; so, it was only a matter of time before some started to get published. Within only these past few months, three of these fanfics have been turned into traditionally published books, and their popularity is starting to soar.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy (Dearly Beloathed #1) by Brigitte Knightley:

Originally titled Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love, The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy follows Osric Mordaunt (Draco Malfoy), an assassin in desperate need of healing, and there is only one healer who is up for the task: Aurienne Fairhrim (Hermione Granger), a preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and a member of an enemy Order. As Aurienne is desperate to receive funding in order to help heal those in need, she accepts Osric’s bribe to help him, even if she can’t stand anything about him. This slow burn enemies-to-lovers contains wit, but also violence and torture on the page. The banter between these two is electric, and the yearning coming from Osric lies just below the surface in the interactions between him and Aurienne. With that said, though, the original fanfic is rated much higher on Goodreads, as it appears that through reworking the fanfic to make it more original, the new world-building fell flat. As it is the first part of a duology, be sure to keep an eye out for the second book. Hopefully, the world-building will be expanded upon to truly bring this world to life.

Rose in Chains (The Evermore Trilogy #1) by Julie Soto:

Content Warning: sexual slavery, human trafficking, non-consent, and sexual violence. Rose in Chains is a rework of The Auction, a dark romantasy (romance-fantasy) fanfic in which Voldemort has won the war and Harry Potter was defeated. In Rose in Chains, Briony Rosewood (Hermione Granger) is captured as her castle is overrun, and she is quickly stripped of her magic and freedom. Briony and the other survivors are auctioned off to the highest bidders for various purposes, most of which are incredibly dark. As the sister to the heir, Briony fetches the highest price and is sold to Toven Hearst (Draco Malfoy) to be used as his heartstring. This is the first book in a trilogy; it is a slow burn book that truly encapsulates an enemies-to-lovers trope. Told within two timelines, we learn about the world and the two competing magic systems: heart magic and mind magic. Soto has created a new world for readers to immerse themselves in. This book does lean more into the romantasy genre than just fantasy, so some of the magic or worldbuilding might not be fully fleshed out on the page. It ends on a cliffhanger, and I will be looking forward to the second book coming out, most likely next year.

Alchemised by SenLinYu:

Content Warning: rape, violence, death, trauma, suicidal ideation, self-harm, medical torture, assault. Based on Manacled, a fanfic inspired by both Harry Potter and The Handmaid’s Tale, Alchemised does not shy away from the horrors of war, torture, and the concept that neither side is inherently good all the time. Helena Marino (Hermione Granger) is a prisoner of both war and her own mind as her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her alchemist abilities are suppressed, and the world she knew was destroyed. Helena’s memories are blocked, and the new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers wonder if her hidden memories might hold a vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit. To recover the memories that are buried within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve. Kaine Ferron (Draco Malfoy), one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers, is given the task of prying open her mind and revealing her secrets and memories that even she can’t access. It is a haunting book that explores how war shapes people and how power corrupts and affects people as well. With a richly built world and complex magic system, Alchemised has truly become its own book and truly stands so well on its own away from the original fanfic it was adapted from. SenLinYu has created a world that feels vastly different from Harry Potter and truly takes on a life of its own with alchemy and necromancy as the two main forms of magic.

All three of these books have been greatly changed from the original fanfics that the authors wrote to become their own worlds and characters. Keep an eye out for these three books in the fantasy (or romance) genre next time you visit your local bookstore! Be ready to laugh, cry, be emotionally devastated, and see how many characters you can recognize are various Harry Potter characters, even if they have been renamed.