Fic Rec: Break Them by leontina

[tdcat]

Title: Break Them

Author: leontina (Leontina)

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3986

Author’s summary: After Harry is violently gang-raped and beaten, Ron and Hermione are driven to drastic measures to cope with the ensuing feelings of rage and loathing.

Thoughts: I write full recs for a small fraction of the Drarry fics I read – which is not to say that there are not dozens, nay hundreds of amazing Drarry stories out there that for some reason or another didn’t resonate with me.  I choose the fics I rec based on the overall emotional experience that connects me to the story.

This is all to say that Break Them is not the kind of fic I would usually rec. First and foremost, it’s not a Drarry story. It was written for the LJ Dark Arts Horror Fest, and the summary is clear about what kind of horror we’re dealing with here. I usually prefer exploration of psychological rather than physical violence in dark HP stories. However, this fic is just so chilling that I had to write about it.

The plot revolves around the rather epic revenge that Ron and Hermione rain down on Harry’s attackers. The unconditional love that binds the three friends is heart-wrenching. Ron’s vulnerability in particular is crushing, as fanonical Ron and Harry don’t usually express their feelings for each other outwardly.

For me, though, the emotional heart of the story is Harry, even if he is not central to the plot’s action. Leontina’s Harry is a survivor of a brutal sexual assault. He feels broken and vulnerable in the immediate aftermath of the attack. When Hermione asks Harry if he remembers the perpetrators he says:

“I remember,” he hisses. “I remember everything they did and everything about them. What is there to tell? How stupid and naive I was to leave with one of them? How weak I was to not be able to fight them off? How much of a fucking slut I was, just lying there and taking it?”

This hurt my heart because Harry’s words would likely resonate with many rape survivors. It cannot be repeated enough: Sexual assault survivors are not to blame for what happened to them – and society at large must stop blaming the victims of these crimes.

It is worth noting that the victim of the catalyzing crime in Break Them is a canonically male character. Rape is an underreported crime generally, and scant data exist pertaining to male-on-male sexual violence. Kudos to leontina for drawing attention to an underacknowledged and stigmatized dimension of sexual assault.

Ok, that’s enough of me politicizing this very compelling, dark little fic. Obviously I found it thought-provoking despite the discomfort it engendered. I love running across these kinds of HP stories that draw me in despite (or because of?) the oncoming train wreck. As readers we are supposed to applaud Hermione’s and Ron’s take on justice, overlooking the reality of violence meeting violence.

May I suggest: Pairing with What I thought by @bafflinghaze – Drarry with unambiguously moral Hermione and Ron.