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Starts With a Spin

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Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy fanfic
It started with the spin of a bottle, and now Harry and Draco have gotten themselves so far into their own game there's almost no way out again. Except to keep playing.
Words:119852 complete

252 pages, ebook

First published February 21, 2012

13 people are currently reading
184 people want to read

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5 stars
78 (24%)
4 stars
107 (33%)
3 stars
100 (31%)
2 stars
19 (5%)
1 star
18 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Vivian ♪(┌・。・)┌		.
628 reviews66 followers
March 9, 2013
I read fanfiction from Fandoms I'm not even part of. That is probably one of the most absolute facts about my existence. There's something about fanfiction that is just really really enjoyable I suppose, and I like reading good writing without having the stress of it being a 'official' book (which probably doesn't even make sense).

Reading Drarry Fanfiction was never really about me supporting Draco and Harry, but just about enjoying the story itself and the hilarious fact that I was reading fanfiction about Malfoy and Harry (for which I get endlessly teased about by Tinka). Anyway, somewhere along the way (don't ask my why, how or when), I ended up actually liking and supporting Drarry.

Yepp, and here I stand today with a 4.5 star rating and the intention of spamming the Update Feed of my friends with Drarry fanfiction reviews in the future.

The whole premise of Spin the Bottle is admittedly something that a light, trashy 3k fanfic would be based on, but I adore how it was executed here. It was slightly childish, though them being 16 or so, I forgive them. However, I like the idea that the saturday parties in which they took place on was something to bring all the houses together and slowly dissolve the house rivalry.

The story took place somewhat follows the original Harry Potter timeline, being after Sirius died, and, I'm not sure about this, but after Dumbledore had died as well? Anyway the plotline itself pretty much followed the base idea of Voldemort being the big bad enemy and all, but it went on a slightly different tangent of it's own (which, fit well with the story).

This is a pretty solid HEA, especially for the romance, though the plot itself was rather unfinished (which makes a lot of sense, considering that she'd probably have to recreate the final battle again.)

Overall, there's really nothing else to say besides I bloody loved this fanfiction.

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Profile Image for Irina Elena.
722 reviews167 followers
May 20, 2013
Around 3.5, I think.

I really, really enjoyed this drarry fic. I needed a pick-me-up after having HBP rip my heart to pieces, and this worked perfectly.
It has sex, bickering, relationship and communication issues - which is delicious imo - and, since the characters are basically kids, a general lightheartedness that contrasts a bit with the last third of the story. This is the main problem for me: despite all the Muggle and half-blood killings, Voldemort and the Death Eaters are treated more like a gang of bullies than a deadly faction of crazy-ass wizards. Which makes no sense, since Pansy, Draco and Blaise spend so much time talking about how he's in the wrong.
My worst personal pet peeve raised its ugly head too: I can't stand stories where a character is called the Gryffindor, the dark-haired man or the green-eyed boy when a simple pronoun would be enough to avoid repeating their name. There is more: awkward expressions like "sticky essence" - I'm sure you get what that one is supposed to mean - don't make your story more well-written or interesting; they just make me cringe.

I did love the relationship between Harry and Draco. They kept needling each other until the very end and I'm sure they'll keep doing that until they die, but frankly it looks like they're having a lot of fun, so who am I to complain?
The sex scenes felt natural and awkward and I had quite a lot of fun watching Harry and Draco argue and pretend to be unaffected by the situation even then.
They had some tender moments, too, and even though their relationship would have been believable enough without them, they made me like it even more.

All in all, I almost loved this fic...

Now I need some angsty drarry though.
Profile Image for karlakolumna.
502 reviews46 followers
April 29, 2012
3.5 stars.

Oh boy, this book was what I'd usually refer to as pornographic because of the ridiculous amount of sex. It really is rather ridiculous and unrealistic often enough.

But then again, despite myself, there were so many LOL moments in this piece of fanfic that it managed to be not only ridiculous, but ridiculously funny as well. This Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy set up had me smirking or outright laughing more than once. It was hilarious. The snarky comments, the indignant comments were just too good sometimes.
And, IMO, especially Ron's character was very fitting. The author really managed to capture his sometimes slow-witted and in the process funny personality.

And reading about Malfoy throwing around insults and disgustedly saying: "Potter" was highly amusing, too.

I certainly had fun with this story. It's sweet, although the way their friends are setting Harry and Draco up is definitely over the top and not totally believable.

But overall, it was worthy its time. Whoever is interested in Harry/Draco fanfic should certainly give Starts with a Spin a try.
Profile Image for Bitchie.
1,464 reviews75 followers
December 28, 2014
I totally loved this! Based on the reviews that I had read, I was expecting porn with very little plot, something similar to Big dick, come quick, but this was so much more.

Sure, there was a good amount of sex, but there was also a really sweet relationship that grew out of their old rivalry. Also, I think this fic had some of the most realistic first time sex and guys realizing they were gay that I have ever read. Their sex started out awkward and painful, it wasn't all wonderful and easy from the first, they weren't instant experts, and I appreciated. Also, how they both took a while to realize they were gay, in spite of their enjoying what they were doing together, also felt real. They've both been so hung up on the war that I understood why they never really thought of it until they were forced to. I particularly loved Draco's realization when Pansy kissed him.

So yeah, this fic had a lot of sex, but it had a lot more that made it great, and is going on my favorites list.
Profile Image for Kat.
939 reviews
perhaps
March 10, 2013
Darn it, why can't I refuse Ian anything? Drarry scares me. Unless there are Dementor sandwiches involved.
Profile Image for Julesmarie.
2,504 reviews88 followers
October 19, 2018
Second Full Re-Read 28 September 2018
Some New Favorite Quotes:
"Oh please," Pansy chuckled, "don't tell me you think Potter has done something to him!" Blaise paused and frowned.
"'
Something' is a very vague word..."

"You both topped
and bottomed?" Seamus cut in again. He looked a little surprised, and then laughed slightly. "Only you two would do that. What, were you fighting over who got to fuck the other first?"

First Full Re-Read 12 May 2016
This is one of the fics I've gone back and re-read recently. I've re-read parts of this over the years, but never the whole thing all at once, and I love that I love it even more now than I did the first time through.

Yes, I did still find the extent to which the games went startling, but I was much more able now to enjoy and appreciate the rest of the fic as a complete story.

The character development as the boys come to trust each other is delightfully well-done. Wonderfully entertaining fic. So much so that I'm increasing my original rating from 4 to 5 stars.

Some New Favorite Quotes:
"If I back out, Malfoy wins."
"Wins what?"
"Wins... well... just
wins. It's a competition, just like everything else we do."

"How do you feel about Malofy, Ron?"
"Malfoy?" Ron spat questioningly. Then he caught sight of the dark look Hermione was giving him and quickly rethought what he was going to say. "Oh! Malfoy. Um, well, he's not exactly my favorite person in the world but I guess if any of my best friends were interested in him in a more than platonic way, I certainly wouldn't mind and I'd only hope that they realized what they were getting themselves into because I wouldn't want them to get hurt," he said in a rush. Then he frowned slightly. "But they'd have to also understand that if they did get hurt, nothing would stop me from turning Malfoy into the ferret that he is- was- and feeding him to Crookshanks." Hermione grinned and nodded in approval, turning to Harry.
"See?" she said cheerfully. "Ron has no problem with it."

"They're having a fight already?" he said excitedly, plopping himself down on a nearby chair. "I should have gotten popcorn."


Original Review 28 February 2013
Holy Harry Potter Porn! I stopped thinking of myself as a prude quite a while ago. But this? Woah. I wanted to cover my own eyes a few times. The stuff in private I have no issue with, but having Truth or Dare get to the point of oral sex in front of whole groups of classmates, apparently my inner prude comes out of hiding.

Fortunately, the games tamed down a bit after that, and I do understand that they needed to reach that point in order for Draco to make the choices he did. But, whew!

Okay, so once I got over that, I did totally love this story. I even appreciated Hermione and Pansy's reasons for trying to hook Harry and Draco up. Having Hermione say that Draco is the only one who can get any sort of emotional reaction out of Harry totally made sense.

And I really did like the relationship between Draco and Harry. Once they got over their excuses and were able to admit, both to themselves and to each other, that they really did care about each other, their relationship seemed very healthy and supportive and mature. Heh, well, as mature as a relationship begun because of Truth or Dare can be, I suppose.

Great good fun.

Some Favorite Quotes:
"I'd part ways with my father, if it came to that. I said I'd go with the other side... your side.... So you'd better damn well win, understand? Don't ... don't make me regret choosing."

"I didn't do it for you, Harry.... I need you to understand that. I did it for me; it's a choice
I want to make."

"Harry, I think I already do."
Profile Image for Pam.
994 reviews36 followers
May 30, 2021
Oh my god, this was so TRASHY!! A lot of it felt unrealistic -- or at least I hope it's unrealistic??! Yeah, I don't know, but I read the whole smutty thing anyway :) No regrets
Profile Image for Emily Bizarre.
44 reviews17 followers
April 5, 2017
Dnf-ed it some month ago and picked it up again because of... reasons!? Now I am rather happy about this fortuity, since I enjoyed this one. Although a few unlikely and cringe-worthy things happened (Really? Such things are supposed to be done in a casual truth-or-dare game?), in the end I was surprised and pleased with all the slowly formed relationships and especially the way Draco was written. No insta-love, no sudden changeover and no artificial problems. Well done.
Profile Image for yaishin.
903 reviews115 followers
July 23, 2021
t was good. The truths and dares could've used some creativity. I was actually surprised I got till the end with this one. The last few chapters were not as good but most of the middle ones were really good.
Profile Image for Baylee Beattie.
673 reviews41 followers
Read
July 1, 2025
dnf @72%

mostly just smut tbh. and after 350+ pages, I’ve realized I need a real story between these two in order for this pairing to work for me lol

Will be trying another drarry fic in the future for sure!!!
Profile Image for TT.
2,018 reviews5 followers
July 18, 2017
This fic started off very strong, and held my interest for the first 50-60% of it...but then it dropped off and honestly I felt this was about a 150 pages too long. Man, at the start it was Very Sexy, a bit contrived believing that both Harry and Draco would be willing to allow themselves to be manipulated to do something they both claimed they didn't want, but if you suspend disbelief it makes for a quite steamy story! The second half of the fic felt like the author changed their idea midstream and decided to make it a romance instead of a PWP story with an HEA. Sludging through H&D trying to work through their relationship was BOOOORING...I considered quitting many times. I finally skimmed through to the last 15 pages and got my HEA payoff. Overall a good fic-quite entertaining and some parts were very realistic! o.O Those poor boys-first times can be painful!
Profile Image for Finnegan.
1,246 reviews60 followers
January 6, 2016
This is 3.5 stars rounded up. I liked most aspects of this fic, it is just the games that the SCHOOL KIDS play in the beginning that made me uncomfortable. I know it is fanfic, and my disbelieve was completely suspended, but if kids played such games in real life there would be counceling and maybe lawsuits involved.

But beside that, I enjoyed the progress of Harry and Draco's relationship, how they matured during the course of the story. They are just so right together.
Profile Image for Ivka_s_knihou.
1,807 reviews37 followers
June 4, 2015
i was a bit disappointed. i expected something different. at least a bit more plot. there was soooooooo much sex. yes, it was hot (sometimes) but sometimes it was too much for me. like nothing happened except one party after another, one sex scene after another and it was like this 80% of the book.
Profile Image for Evelina.
98 reviews
October 7, 2024
i love this fic so much
_________________
update: i read it again, this is my forth time im reading it
_________________
its not okay how many times ive read this fic, its my comfort fic🥲
Profile Image for MaelleMaud.
778 reviews2 followers
July 25, 2017
Drarry
I really liked the beginning even though it was sometimes absurdly unbelievable (I mean, they are 16 and they have public 'almost' sex?!...). It was absolutely funny and insanely hot.
And then, it grew longer...
Although it was nice to enter the relationship building and characters insights, the global story felt a bit boring to me at one point. But then I am a somewhat fickle reader with some difficulties to read over 200 pages long books! ^^
Profile Image for meg.
Author 3 books64 followers
August 19, 2024
Starts with a Spin: ★ ★ ★

Maxine-Chan

Tropes:
– Draco/Harry fanfiction
– Enemies to lovers
– 6th year rewrite
– Hooking up as "practice"

Not the best writing, but this 6th year rewrite was smutty and cute. In order to not look like inexperienced idiots as the whole class plays Spin the Bottle every weekend, Harry and Draco run off to the Room of Requirement to practice hooking up. I liked the story and the awkward fumbling around but during school rewrites are hard for me and this felt so light compared to the canon Voldy coming back to power storyline that it was confusing. Very spicy though!
Profile Image for emk.
245 reviews
September 8, 2024
3 ⭐️ for some reason i pictured pansy as michelle from derry girls. i am fully aware that this is a fan fiction so it isn’t going to be incredibly realistic and some circumstances may be odd, but, i would NEVER do a majority of these dares in front of my classmates. no matter what’s at stake, i would genuinely rather die. besides that though i really enjoyed this.
Profile Image for Emma.
153 reviews11 followers
September 8, 2019
This could have been a good slow burn but was actually quite alarming in how blunt and graphic it was. Did not finish. Jeez.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for mimi.
45 reviews1 follower
December 24, 2021
De hecho, 3.5

Muy entretenido, es para echar unas risas.
Profile Image for Grace💜.
156 reviews
January 30, 2016
I legit suck at reviewing things, but like how could I not give this all 5 stars? It's Drarry!
Anyway, now that we've got that out of the way, I'd like to say a few things. The first being that when I first began to finally start the HP series in 2013, I'm pretty sure at the time I despised Draco's character just as much as I do the characters known as the Dursley's *shudders*. So yeah, just thought I'd make that clear... Really, truth be told it was not until almost the end of last year that I got into 'all things Drarry-related' and merely by accident. At first, I was I hate to offend any of you die-hard, hard-core Drarry shippers that have previously existed, appalled by the very thought of Harry with someone like that, someone who practically harasses him for no apparent reason at all, if only because said individual refused to be his friend in the first book. But, you know how it is, once you actually start looking at the fanart, the fanfics, the cosplays and going on the Tumblr tag for it, eventually it all just becomes a sort of second nature.
So, that is why I am writing this today inform you all that anyone can change their opinion about something if they just...try.
I would also like to note that my initial repulsion to the pairing was purely due to the ethics of it and NOT because I am in any way homophobic or against the idea of two boys/men being together. Cause, I AM NOT!!!
The first gay couple I ever shipped obsessively was Klaine and I have loved them ever since. Not only that, but TONS of others have been added to that particular list over the years. A few of the, being: Destiel, Pernico, Sebaciel, Malec, etc...
Well, that's about it. If you love Drarry as much as I seem to now or if you still have yet to explore the realm of Drarryness further, give this fic a go! It has everything you could possibly want when it comes to the Boy Who Lived and the Slytherin Prince, plus Pansy and Hermione are like BFFs and of course...THERE'S LOTS OF SEX!!! (No, like really, and it's great XD)
That's all people, hope you enjoy this story as much as I did! :D
Keep Calm & Drarry On! <3
Profile Image for Djenifer.
285 reviews1 follower
April 4, 2015
Peer pressure. That's the term I think of when I think of the first half of this book. I have never been a fan of it. When I was a kid and to some extent as an adult, I love giving people what they don't want. If you want or are expecting me to be one way, I revel in giving you the exact opposite. Petty? Maybe, but who cares.

After Harry and Draco finally admit to their mutual lust, things settle down to a story I enjoyed. I really wish the author would have added some Voldemort confrontation or a mystery or something. It seemed a bit long to just be Draco's awakening. But it was well written nevertheless.
Profile Image for kay :).
33 reviews
June 13, 2023
okay i only started reading this because of a tiktok i saw, and tbh the second hand embarrassment was so real. i did laugh a lot, which is good; but the smut was like A LOT. i know it’s a smut book, but there was so much ahahaa. though, i did like the idea of the plot. (edit: i had to delete me trying to deny that i’m not that into harry potter or drarry and i have to stop lying)
Profile Image for Daniela.
214 reviews3 followers
May 11, 2017
Si! leí esto! No me juzguen :( , es que amo Drarry TnT
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