The 6 Most Famous Harry Potter Fan Written Stories

The six most famous stories about Harry Potter that weren’t written by J.K. Rowling

1. My Immortal by Tara “XXXbloodyrists666XXX” Gilesbie

Via knowyourmeme.com

My Immortal isn’t so much famous as it is infamous on the internet. Affectionately called “the worst fanfiction ever written,” it tells the story of 17 year old vampire, Ebony “Enoby” Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way, and her goth-punk adventures at Hogwarts. Known for its plethora of misspellings and grammatical errors, as well as random gratuitous sex scenes, most readers thought the story was so bad it had to be deliberately written by a troll. The story has spawned its own set of fan reproductions including a web series, several dramatic readings , and even its own meme.

2. Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer “Less Wrong” Yudkowsky

Via hpmor.com

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality just might be the most widely read piece of Harry Potter fanfiction to ever exist, with over 23,000 reviews on fanfiction.net. In an alternate universe where “Petunia married a biochemist, and Harry grew up reading science and science fiction.” Thus, it is a rationalist Harry Potter that embarks on a journey to explain the magical world through scientific reasoning. Yudokowsky’s work has been featured in The Atlantic and even has its own active subreddit.

3. The James Potter Series by George Norman Lippert

Via goodreads.com

The James Potter series follows the adventures of Harry Potter’s oldest son, James, during his time at Hogwarts and the American wizarding school, the Alma Aleron School of Magical Humanities and Spellcraft. Over 40,000 people read the second book on its launch date, and the series is being produced into an audiobook by Living Audio, U.K. The series got even more press when J.K. Rowling herself threatened legal action if the books were published, until she read an advance copy and gave the series her blessing in 2007.

4. The Shoebox Project by Jaida Jones and Rave

Via shoebox.lomara.org

The Shoebox Project serves as a prequel to the Harry Potter series, focusing on the tale of the four Marauders and Lily Potter with a romance between Remus and Sirius. Over 8,000 people subscribed to the LiveJournal where it was originally posted. The project was featured in the Wall Street Journal discussing the growth of fanfiction, and one of the authors was even interviewed live on CBS .

5. The Draco Trilogy by Cassandra Claire

Via goodreads.com

The Draco Trilogy is both famous and infamous among Harry Potter fanfiction enthusiasts. Starring Draco Malfoy as the main character, the story deviates from the books after The Goblet of Fire and has Draco and Harry fighting over everyone’s favorite bookworm, Hermione. One of the most popular early fanfics, it caused a huge stir in the fan community in 2001 when it was discovered that large parts of the books had been plagiarized from TV shows and lesser known fantasy novels. It was also directly responsible for creating the Harry Potter fanfiction trope, Draco in Leather Pants.

6. Irresistible Poison by Rhysenn

devilette / Via devilette.deviantart.com

“Poison doesn’t always bring death – Draco learns that there are other ways to suffer and live.”

This work in progress caught the attention of the San Francisco Gate for an article about the pornographic nature of the Harry Potter slash fandom. Slash refers to fanfiction that pairs two or more male characters together in a romantic, and often sexual, relationship. The article included this little snippet from the story.

“He just kissed Harry Potter, that's what happened. The thought of it made him nauseated, even though at the very same time an entrenched part of him yearned for the perverse, forbidden pleasure of it all over again.”