RECS: "The Medicamentarius" and " Transformation"

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Two fics featuring Kingsley Shacklebolt:

Title: The Savour of Thy Good Ointments; or, The Medicamentarius
Author: rinsbane
Pairing: Severus/Kingsley, (Snape/Minerva, past implied)
Rating: NC-17
Author's Summary: During the war, McGonagall was hit with the Wasting Curse. Now, ten years later, she is wasting. Kingsley goes to find a potions maker who can create a cure. He finds The Medicamentarius.

Gorgeous and nuanced and rich with layers. An excerpt:

Sometimes he stands in the doorway of the room and watches Severus out of the corner of his eye. He tries to distract himself as he does this so that his eyes do not see clearly. At night, when he is away from Severus, he believes that he knows this man and knew him before. But when he sees him at the start of each day, his eyes deny it, and his mind follows suit. When he’s least expecting it, there will be a certain move, a sudden twist, that will make it all snap into place. But the next instant, what he sees – what he knows is real, not hidden by any false images or deceptive potions – shows him only the Medicamentarius, and he is left frustrated, with only the scent of myrrh and spikenard to soothe him.

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Title: Transformation
Author: arsenicjade
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: RL/KS (plus several side pairings)
Author's Summary: Remus is still in a cycle of starting over. Kingsley's been pining for quite some time.

As with a number of Arsenic's other fics, this has become a comfort reread for me over time. I'm honestly not sure whether I would enjoy it as much if it were new to me now rather than a year ago, both because I've hit my limit on "wizards clueless among Muggles" fics and because my own issues with canon vs. fanon Lupin seem to keep expanding rather than resolving the more I play in fandom. But perhaps I would -- the story is flavoured with sweetness and humour and bite, and the pet shop owner remains one of my favorite OFCs.

An excerpt:

Kingsley sighed. "Do you remember when I came to Hogwarts?"

Remus thought for a moment until a picture of a tall twelve year old with ears too big for his head and sharp eyes came to mind. "You were three years behind me. Ravenclaw, right?"

"As Ravenclaw as they came. I'm not sure I knew anything but books existed until my fourth year."

Although he dreaded the answer, Remus was compelled to ask, "What happened your fourth year?"

"I was being picked on by some Slytherins. Younger Slytherins to boot, and a Prefect came around the corner and put an end to it right quick."

Hopelessly, Remus asked, "A Ravenclaw Prefect?"

"Remus."

Ashamed, Remus admitted, "I don’t even remember."

"It was probably something you did all the time. But I wasn't used to getting rescued, and I fell completely head over heels for the cute seventh-year Gryffindor Prefect with gold-brown eyes and floppy hair and his nose always in a book."

"I've changed a lot-"

"Not in the ways that matter. Have dinner with me again. Give me a chance."

Kingsley was so imploring it occurred to Remus that for once, it was somebody else who was the charity case, even if that somebody was the one doing all the paying.