Things We Say In The Dark

by rubber_soul02

“I think we’re more alike than either of us care to admit, Granger.”

This is met with silence at first; the rise and fall of her breathing, the sounds of the city in the distance. But he feels her eyes on him.

“I think that’s what’s scaring me the most.” Dark academia slowburn but banter filled.

Genres: Fan Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Enemies To Lovers, Harry Potter, Fiction, Magic

256 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Aviva’s Library]

Dnfing (for now?) - the writing style is throwing me off

[elly · Rating 2 out of 5]

great premise and idea, i feel like this had a lot of potential… however im sad to say that it was badly executed…

the story and characters felt very bland and flat to me. i didn’t see any development in the ship, that i would refer to as a “slow burn”. it was pretty linear and they’ve basically liked each other from the moment they met again. the conflicts were unnecessary and just a lot of miscommunication overall.

there was no character development either… coming to think of it, they really didn’t have any memorable character traits, since this is solely focussed on their romance i guess? their entire monologues and thought process was centred around the other person…
just a very lifeless storytelling.

however i rlly did enjoy theo’s and harry’s relationship, aswell as theo’s and hermiones friendship a lot!

[Manon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad but not my favourite, the other two fics by this writer are some of the absolute best out there though ⭐️

[Molly Blue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretentious and without substance, the prose though has potential.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was a lot of telling instead of showing in this fanfic. Endless internal monologue and description of the other. I believe the dual pov was a bad decision, we had too much information at times. We saw how Hermione felt and then how Draco reacted to her feelings from his pov. It bored me.

This passage was my breaking point: ”she met his teasing, lighthearted insults with witty, perceptive responses and relaxed him when his mood was sour. (…) When he was in a mad mood she was there to argue him out of it. When he was playful, she let him tease her and made him laugh with an equally enthusiastic remark. She didn’t push him to be more open about his emotions, and he didn’t expect her to hide from hers, as she did in front of the rest of the world…”

It goes on and on and on but we didn’t see any of this before, so why are we being told this as if it has been shown before? As if it were a continuation of things that have already been shown?

Also, neither Hermione nor Draco had any personality except liking each other. I love the pairing and Can read them in random professions and points in time and even the most random AUs, but I need them to be fleshed out. Even if they don’t exactly act very canon.

In the end, it was not worth the read.

[sylx · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6/5. Decent read and nice premise, but couldn’t really immerse myself in it.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok this is really a 3.5, but marked it as a 4. it’s pretty good, not as good as rosemary for remembrance that the author also did. the ending felt a little rushed, and i feel like once the characters got together it was pretty predictable at the end of what would happen. i’m not sure why this is private on ao3, but regardless glad i got to enjoy this.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And as they spin around the ballroom, as the orchestra plays the steady, melodic music of their waltz, as she holds tightly to him and follows his lead, Hermione understands that loving Draco is the easiest thing she has ever done”

I would kill for Albie Gibson

[ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

MIND YOUR BUSINESS! a cute short read I needed!! sweet nice draco is after my heart

[steph_readssometimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this! We have Headmistress Hermione Granger and Potions Master Draco Malfoy in a wonderful slow burn (and I mean SLOW burn). I loved OC Albie and his role in bringing out Hermione and Draco's best qualities through teaching.

I feel like I related to this Hermione's struggle with perfectionism and presentation to the world while I really felt connected to Draco's struggle to make the daily decision to be a better person.

I 100% recommend it!

[Cortney Paege · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this fic. Professor Draco is 10/10 and let’s be real….. Theo was the best in this one 😂 I did not expect this fic to hit on the topics it did but it had me tearing up multiple times while reading. The tension was palpable and you can just feel in your soul how much they loved eachother. I slowly becoming a HUGE rubber_soul02 fan.

[Victoria Herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve got the hots for professor Malfoy daaamn, he is smart and hot as always. Harry as bi? whattt didn’t see that coming but I really loved seeing him with Nott, he was much more fun and a better friend. Was not a fan of the miscommunication plot but all the banter and flirting made up for it. A Draco who falls first is my fav Draco.
Oh and Albie’s letter had me legit crying.

[maité · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐
-
it started with a good slow burn and pining but then they got together so quickly and their relationship started out/progressed very quick, which I thought was a bit weird. but I got my angst part at the end!

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

*audiobook

I liked the story, but the ending felt a bit rushed.

I loved Albie and Theo!

[Hollie Charlebois]

help I’m still at the restaurant*

*incessantly reading dramoine fan fics instead of published books lol

[Brina]

Rating: 3/5

[Borislava G.]

Cute

[Christina Beebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it so much!

[Erica (EricaEreads)]

DNF mid-way through chapter 4. I'm bummed because the premise and characterization is spot on, but one of the tags is "Not Beta Read" and...boy is that a shame because beta-reading was desperately needed from a grammar standpoint. Shifting tenses and incomplete sentences in particular kept throwing me out of the reading experience and...it is just too frustrating for me.

[Gloria Mundi]

I was prepared to love this one. Professor Malfoy? In glasses? Wet dreams are made of this. Alas, it was not meant to be because Hermione spoiled it all with her dithering and all of their misunderstanding and reasons for staying away from each other were just too contrived.

[Becca Severin · Rating 3 out of 5]

IM SORRY I GOT BORED

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5. I enjoyed this but something was missing for me. This could be because it was short and I’m used to meandering through 800+ pages of angst for Dramione. Writing was good, though!

[Giulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prima di tutto, una premessa doverosa.

Le fanfiction nascono come atti d’amore: scritte nel tempo libero, gratuitamente, senza alcun obbligo verso il lettore. Non sono “prodotti” da giudicare con il righello dell’editoria tradizionale, e valutarle come se lo fossero rischia di essere profondamente irrispettoso.

Detto questo, recensirle può anche essere un modo per riflettere su ciò che ci hanno lasciato, su cosa ha funzionato per noi lettori e su cosa no — non per giudicare l’autore, ma l’esperienza di lettura personale.

E questa è solo la mia.

📚 Tag / Tropi

Post-War Hogwarts • Dark Academia • Enemy to Friends to Lovers • Colleghi Assurdi • Mutual Pining da manuale • Banter accademico • Lenti da vista bollenti • Slightly Redeemed Draco • Hermione Headmistress Icon™ • Slow Burn (con una lentezza che neanche i treni in ritardo) • Harry x Theo 👀 • Caring with Consent™ • Fluff + Light Angst + A+ Smut • Nerdosità potente ma elegante • Albie is baby

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ – Lento, consapevole, estremamente consensuale e al servizio della storia

⚠️Trigger/Note etiche: lutto e stress post-bellico, reputazione/condotta professionale (capo-collega), miscommunication moderata; consenso entusiasta ben esplicitato

📏 Solo 20 capitoli e 128.892 parole: per chi, come me, di solito vive intrappolata in fanfiction da mezzo milione di parole, questa si divora velocemente.

Se Rosemary for Remembrance era una carezza sul cuore, Things We Say in the Dark è un piccolo lume acceso nei corridoi freddi della Hogwarts post-bellica.

Qui, gli adulti che siamo non ritornano a scuola: la ricostruiscono. La abitano di nuovo. La osservano come si guarda un trauma superato... ma mai dimenticato del tutto.

Ed è così che Hermione Granger, stanca di essere un simbolo prima ancora che una persona, diventa la nuova preside. Rigida, severa, elegante al punto da far sudare i ritratti sulle pareti.

E chi chiama a dirigere la nuova classe di Pozioni?

Beh… un ex compagno di scuola con un passato problematico e un paio di occhiali che finiranno nel baule dei manufacturer of fetishes™: Professor Draco Malfoy.


La trama si svolge tra ore di lezioni, passeggiate notturne nei corridoi silenziosi, tè bevuti con educazione e parole trattenute come bombe. Hermione e Draco si osservano, fraintendono, si temono, si studiano… e alla fine, inevitabilmente, si scoprono.

Il titolo non mente: certe cose puoi dirle solo al buio. Le altre devi viverle — col cuore aperto come una finestra, mentre fuori, la luna riflette il volto di chi non vuoi più evitare.

💥 Personaggi & Dinamiche

🔹 Hermione Granger – Preside, sì. Ma prima di tutto donna.

È la versione post-war che volevamo: ideale e severa, ma con un’interiorità tremenda che si svela piano. “Funziono meglio se non mi guardi”, sembra dirci — ma poi guarda Draco negli occhi, e qualcosa si spezza (in lei ma anche in noi). La sua lotta è tutta contro l’immagine che il mondo si aspetta. Un personaggio vivo, e lo senti in ogni monologo interno: mai noioso, mai ridondante. Solo... necessario.


🔹 Draco Malfoy… anzi Draco Malfoy con gli occhiali - Patrimonio dell’Umanità (UNESCO ⚜️ arricchisci il fascicolo).

Re degli scorbutici educati, patrono dei grumble-softhearted™. È lui che si scioglie prima, che ama in silenzio, che si sente indegno ma va oltre ogni giorno. Uno di quei casi in cui l’autrice non forza la redenzione: semplicemente la mostra, un gesto, un silenzio alla volta.


🔹 Theodore Nott & Harry Potter

È la ship che non sapevo di volere. Harry versione post-eroe (più adulto, più arrabbiato, più vero), e Theo che ride, finge di non curarsi di niente e intanto ama come pochi. E soprattutto: Nott is a little shit™, ed è così che lo vogliamo.


🔹 Albie

Se questa fic avesse un premio “Miglior NPC dell’anno”, sarebbe suo. Piccolo eroe con libro e sguardo vispo. È quello che si accorge di tutto prima degli adulti. Ed è giusto così.

🔍 Cosa funziona (tanto)

✅ Scrittura intelligente, con POV alternato che non appesantisce mai: il monologo interiore scivola, il ritmo è calibrato, la prosa è elegante ma non altezzosa.

✅ Draco e Hermione non danno fuoco ai corridoi… ma fanno tremare le fondamenta nei sussurri. È slow burn da manuale (a volte un filo frustrante, ma con metodo).

✅ Romance adulto, sensibile, rispettoso. Nessun gioco psicologico cringe, solo desideri trattenuti e scambi di sguardi che fanno più di mille carezze.

✅ Altri punti bonus: Harry bisessuale scrittissimo benissimo, Flitwick adorabile custode.

🪫 Deboli di cuore avvisati: ci sono degli "mmm…"

🚫 Le incomprensioni e l'evitarsi sono a volte prolungate un filo troppo.

🚫 Alcune scene chiave si chiudono troppo presto (e noi volevamo soffrire ancora un po’ lì dove faceva male).

🚫 Certe parti del finale — pur emozionanti — potevano meritare uno sviluppo ancora più piano e soffice. Ma perdoniamo tutto.

🎯 Per chi è perfetta

✔️ Ami le Dramione slow burn ambientate a Hogwarts in versione adulta

✔️ Vuoi un Draco che non ha bisogno di redimersi col monologo epico

✔️ Pretendi smut accademico senza tossicità né manipolazioni

✔️ Hai sognato almeno una volta di vedere Harry lontano dai Ron-centrismi con qualcuno che lo capisce

🧨 Per chi no

✖️ Cerchi trama molto fantasy e con major plot twist

✖️ Vuoi un Draco crudele, o Hermione passiva

✖️ Zero pazienza per fic che sposano il banter al “ti evito perché sennò ti tocco troppe volte per sbaglio”

💌 In conclusione

È una fanfiction che parla di chi prova a credere nell’amore dopo la guerra, dopo Hogwarts, dopo se stessi.

Una storia che prende due icone letterarie… e le guarda negli occhi. Le rende fallibili. Umane. Desiderabili. Toccanti.

“We are not the things we said in the dark.

But gods, how deeply they move us.”

E come avrei potuto resistere?

Spoiler: non ho resistito.



🌟 5 stelle su 5 — perché sì, Draco Malfoy con gli occhiali mi fa rivalutare tutta la mia scala di giudizio estetico e letterario. E perché Hermione Granger è ancora la strega più potente che conosciamo: e adesso lo sa anche lei.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Ran out of steam about 60% of the way through for me. You knew the inevitable ending. And you called the miscommunication fights that were going to happen. And they suited each other a little TOO well. But still. Cute.

annotations:
"Just because I'm not a bigot anymore doesn't mean I'm not still an arse, Headmaster Granger."

-and the cologne he is wearing smells expensive. She makes a point to breathe from her mouth around him from now on.

-hunched over Albie's cauldron wearing a pair of black horn-rimmed glasses, and she curses the patriarchal powers that loom over her conscious for shameless dangling the forbidden fruit.

-She meets his stare, and he's doing that thing where he looks like a kicked puppy-it's a tool he uses to guilt-trip her, Harry too, and it's working.

-"You do realize he'll kill me for this, right? I'll die a slow, painful, Malfoyesque death, and he'll throw my body to the cows until I'm nothing but a pile of bones."

-He thinks that he had wanted-maybe needed-an excuse to be mad, to put distance between them

-It had been like a reflex for him, an old habit, to present a front of anger, of bitterness, in order to push away all of the other things he was feeling.

-So he had been unfair to her because of it, used this new information as an excuse to push her away.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of the shortest fics I've read recently, and I used it as a palate cleanser before launching back into the lengthier ones. I really enjoyed the premise of it; this made me want to find other fics where Draco becomes the Potions professor and Hermione another teacher or headmaster. I adored that rubber_soul02 made her headmaster after Minerva, it's something I haven't seen or thought of until that point, but to me it, it made perfect sense to her character; whereas I've always felt fics where she works for the Minstry just doesn't click right.

As for the story itself, the start of the fic read that it would be for mature audiences only, so I presumed some spicy content. There was absolutely none until maaaaybe 80% through the novel. Nothing bad about that, I know not everyone enjoys that, but the author's note did make me feel as if it would be a recurring plot device. (LOL). The novel itself was just too short for me in the end to ever want to read again. I think this is great for people just stepping into Dramione or who enjoy shorter fics in general, nothing about the book was inherently bad. Just not up my alley.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot: Several years post war. Hermione steps in as Headmistress at Hogwarts. Draco, colorful past and all, has earned a solid reputation in potions, prompting her to personally recruit him to fill her old post. She’s afraid of what people will think of their romance due to his dark past and he’s very sad she won’t choose him.

Tone: Fluffy and sweet.

Characters: Classic perfectionist Hermione. Understandably worried about her image and filling the shoes of former Headmistress McGonagall. Draco is maybe too sweet and apologetic. There's a nerdy student, Albie, who facilitates bring them together. Theo lives in Draco's cottage and offers comedic relief.

Magic: I mean, there's an overnight excursion where Draco and Hermione take students out to harvest a flower that blooms under the light of the moon. I don't really remember other special magical world-building.

Sex: Slow burn, banter and bickering. Hella affirmative consent.

Final Thoughts: Simple and sweet. Slow burn and miscommunication.

[Tessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.3⭐️ I am not an author so I won’t try to pretend to understand the amount of work and talent it must take to creatively put words on paper and make a story..however one of my biggest pet peeves -in both FF and published books- is when a story is being explained to me instead of being shown. It happens a lot, where instead of their being any inner or outer dialogue happening where experiences could be happening and allow the reader to feel the emotions of the story..it’s explained through text. Again im not a writer so im not even sure if im able to correctly explain what I mean here. —this wasn’t even the worse FF I’ve read that the author does this, but for how short this story was it made it overwhelming noticeable. Despite all that, the parts of the story that didn’t overly explain unnecessary details where great. And I think I’ll always get heart palpitations when reading about my two favorite people to ship over 🥰🥰

[Mariam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

I absolutely adored this! We have Headmistress Hermione Granger and Potions Master Draco Malfoy in a wonderful slow burn (they didn't get together until the last few chapters). Totally loved Albie and the letter he wrote made me tear up. I'd kill for that kid. And Theo's character and sense of humor was perfect. Also, I feel like I kinda related to Hermione's struggle with perfectionism, and how much it killed her inside to never be able to be "her". The way she thought that she didn't deserve love and then Draco showed her how very wrong she was. The tension between them was palpable and you can just feel in your soul how much they loved each other. This fic wasn't the best, but it was really wholesome and short.

[Gabriela M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dramione.

I hate the miscommunication trope, even in fan fiction.
Hermione is the headmistress and hires Draco as potions master. Draco lives with Theo in a cottage, in a muggle town.
These two spent half of the story dancing around each other, not understanding their motives but not talking about it either, all while being crazy in love.
I don’t mind slow burn, but having miscommunication every 4 chapters it’s too much.
They end up together, thankfully, but we don’t get to see it because even the last chapter is full of missed chances of saying stuff. Ugh.

[Aisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this fic!!! It was soo warm and fulfilling. Perfectly captured emotions of draco and hermoine and i loved this version of draco! He was contemplative, kind, and just a perfect man who knew his imperfections but wanted to be a better person for the future.
He complimented hermoine soo well in this fic, their banter, attraction, and love developed soo naturally!
If you are looking for a light, happy and warm fic , this is the one! The traumatic past of both characters is not soo traumatic , if you are concerned about trigger warnings fyi :)
😍❤️