It Was All Just a Game

by write_me227

Harry Potter
Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Pansy Parkinson/Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
--------------------------------------------------
When Draco comes up with an idea to mess with Harry during the Triwizard Tournament, will he be the one who will get burned in the end?

Genres: Fan Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Harry Potter, Gay, M M Romance, LGBT

2284 pages, ebook

First published May 20, 2015

Reviews

[percy c. · Rating 5 out of 5]

No seriously, you could’ve just come to my flat and tear my limbs and therefore heart (and most probably the rest of my organs) apart. It would’ve been much easier to take it that way.

This fanfiction is a novel. I mean come on, it is longer than the longest Harry Potter book. It’s the whole series summed up in Rainbow Rowell style, the gayer the merrier. (shoutout to lovely chai who came up with this line <3)

People say fanfictions are just fanfictions — but when I say that I haven’t read anything as perfect as this book, yes book, in a while, I would be sugarcoating.

People who have read this already would understand me when I say: The plot twists.

You have no idea, heck, even I have no idea how many times I kept repeating “Nothing worse will happen now for sure, right? ... right??” — But it did. Every. Single. Time.

This book is a wreck.. it is pain, torture, a monster in disguise — but one thing it isn’t, is bad. Nope. The text? Amazing. The plot? Astonishing. Character representation/development? Magnificent.

“Safe is with me.”
then my heart bleeds, so does yours.

Believe me, if I could find a way to print this whole fanfiction out — just to re-read it whenever I get the opportunity, I would. I’ve tried for Merlin’s sake! But as I mentioned, the book is longer than 1000 pages, my hands AND my eyes surely won’t stand a chance copying and printing all that out.

I’ll keep re-reading and updating my review each time for longer, because this book deserves so much more attention that even the whole Harry Potter fandom and FB fandom summed up wouldn’t be enough.

I just want to add one more thing..

“Hey you,”

✨BYEE I’M GONNA GO CRY OVER THIS AGAIN.✨

[Regina Adeli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though reading it felt like someone kicked my heart and ripped it into pieces, it was still one of the best fanfictions i’ve ever read .
Characters were so close to the cannon ones and The writing was so beautiful that I could feel the pain through words , One of the rare stories i cried over .
It had so many beautiful sentences the soulmate bond between drarry was so complete and powerful .
All drarry shippers should definitely read this.


Safe is with me 🥺

[alexia (hozier’s version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes this is a fanfic BUT I spent so much time reading this so it should to count as a book.

It was also beautiful. I don’t usually read drarry but this made me an emotional mess and I don’t regret reading it at all.

[katiachoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Перечитувала і ридала напевно ще більше ніж перший раз, бо знала шо далі буде так же боляче…. Водила дитину в садок з розпухшими очима і ні про шо не шкодую!
Да, я не дуже вдоволена стилем написання, можливо воно навіть затягнуте, але всеодно хочеться ставити 5 зірочок, бо я з отих мазохісток де чим болючіше і чим більше ридаєш, тим вища оцінка🌚

[Isabele J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rocked my world
Reading was never the same again

[Grace Malfoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay umm HOLY SHIT.

this is literally the most incredible, amazing, heartwarming, heartbreaking book, fanfiction, story, plot, everything i have ever seen or heard and honestly the amount of times i want to read this is unhealthy. i just finished it and whats that? not me about to read it again because HOLY SHIT. this BLEW MY MIND and the amount of people i have annoyed and bothered and begged to read this story is annoyingly large. i even got a giant harmione shipper to agree with me (after a long rant/cry session) that this sounds incredible and amazing.

but honestly some of the lines, uhhhhhhhh

"Hey, you"
BREAKS MY HEART IN THE BEST WAY

"You're one of them"
oop there goes my heart and my life and my entire being, i mean what was that thing for anyways?

"Safe is with me"
excuse me while i go violently sob in a corner

this story was life-changing, it will be something i carry with me for a long time and will never forget unless i somehow get amnesia (even then i would still remember this). if you get anything from this review, it should be 1) you better be shipping drarry and 2) you better be on your way to getting this story (but warning bring lots of snacks and lots of tissues)

[Encarni · Rating 3 out of 5]

||I mean it. With everything in me. You're my favorite person and you're the most important person in my life. If you weren't in this world, I'd be so lost. You mean so much to me||

3'5

Ha sido un fanfic largo, lleno de angst, que me ha tenido súper enganchada la mayor parte del tiempo. Tenía bastante abandonados los fanfics drarry, pero con este me han vuelto las ganas de leer más. ES QUE LA TENSIÓN Y EL ANGST DE UN BUEN ENEMIES TO LOVERS DRARRY ES SUPERIOR.

Ahora sí, no os voy a engañar, de 82 capítulos los 30 capítulos de después de la guerra me han sobrado muchísimo. He pasado de estar súper enganchada a desear que acabara de una vez porque solo era alargar el sufrimiento por alargarlo.

Igualmente muy recomendado.

[Evely · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally like drarry fanfics but I LOVE THIS STORY.

[amihihi :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am deeply hurt by this.

(In a good way)

(I think)

[yona!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purée 2 semaines que je suis là dessus et j’ai ENFIN FINI!! +de 600 000 mots ce qui équivaut à un peu plus de 6 fois mon propre livre Le ballet des requins MDR WOW! Et alors sacrée lecture… je m’attendais pas à ce que ça retrace une aussi grande période de temps? Ça m’a replongée dans une phase Drarry et a cassé mon rythme de sommeil mais ça en valait la peine…! C’était SI BIEN ÉCRIT!?? Mais c’était aussi monstrueux que c’était adorable vraiment quel enfer cette fanfic MON DIEU?? Le nombre d’émotions par lesquelles je suis passée olala ça faisait longtemps que j’avais pas vécu ça!! Tu penses que ça peut pas s’empirer?? Eh si!!! Mais ouais incroyable, je sais même pas quoi ajouter tant c’était extraordinaire… (juste que je suis enfin libérée et je vais pouvoir arrêter de me coucher à 4h du mat parce que j’étais addict et que je voulais lire la suite)

[meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

It Was All Just A Game: ★ ★ ★ ★ . 2 5

write_me227

So reading this basically went like this: rude???, swoooon, saddddd, swoooooooooon, sad sad sad, swoooooon, sad, hot!, sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad, swoooooon, happy crying and I loved that so much for me! These two kids could not catch one single break but their happiness was so worth it in the end.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

drarry isnt for me 😩

[sofia ؛༊ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ve read this maybe three times over the past year and a half THEY NEVER GET OLD. a good drarry fanfic never misses.

[Malena Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

No me importa que sea un fanfic, si toma mas de dos semanas terminarlo debería contar como libro. La primera mitad hasta quinto año fue HERMOSA, después fue demasiado sufrimiento pero fui feliz por eso (como Harry)

[Corbin Bleu · Rating 3 out of 5]

the cover 💀💀

hear me out tho, like sure no other characters than draco & harry had any outside lives and the last twenty chapters were so painful (excluding the last few cause it def got better) (they pulled the amnesia trope though 😭) BUT i was hypnotized !!!!

their romance was fr so soft but angsty like this is what i needddeddddd this past week. i am but a girl. can you blame me.

⋆° 𐙚 ₊⋆𖦹 ⋆｡✩
xx

600k+ words munched and digested 🤭

[Dilara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay. I think it could be ended sooner.
And also angst wasn't that much strong.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5✨

Holy shit, where do i even begin.
This book was recommended to me by one of my friends ( you know who you are if your reading this💀) and i’m so glad that she did.
After finishing this book I honestly think it has altered my brainwaves. I have cried, laughed, shouted at my phone, and so much more while reading this and i loved every second of it🤭I adored the characterisation of both Draco and Harry. I also love a golden trio era fic with 8th year 🙌 plus the marauders cameo at the end gave me my james potter fix💀
I seriously do not regret devoting my time into this 600,000+ word book cause it was absolutely PHENOMENAL😩🙏🌷

[gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

the most beautiful drarry version of the canon. took forever to read it, mostly cause it has many tw, but also cause I wanted to feel and enjoy every moment. I cried so much and wished many times to fall in love. it's an amazing love story, with its ups and downs, but genuine and amazing. the way harry and draco love each other is the most beautiful thing ever, I'm so sad I've reached the end. I'll keep this story in my heart

[El · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book made me feel things i've never felt before. i read it once and cried multiple times and i just started re-reading it after so much of contemplation. my mind cannot take the emotions i feel but i love it. the author has written it so beautifully and it makes me feel butterflies because of the intricacy and fluff.

[Anna Kļaviņa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harry/Draco
4th-7th Hogwarts, 8th year and after Hogwarts

After reading these glowing reviews I was disappointed. This story is not bad, especially since the author started writing this in her teens (and I hope she continues to write) but in the end of a day It was all just a game is too fanfic-y.

Two stars = OK

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best fanfictions i’ve ever read. I loved the characters, the plot, the details, etc. but Harry? Oh my god, Harry. His character was extremely well written! The trauma, the suffering, it was all so realistic for someone who was passing through that much stuff. The author grabbed the Harry Potter Saga and made it their own. This is canon in my head now lmao

[blu (regulus’s version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fic is so worth every tear, it felt like i was on a roller coaster!!! I’ve never cried this much in so little time!!! I feel so attached it felt hard finishing the story I didn’t want to let go, I’ll re-read it soon of course !!!! I wish i just can read it for the first time again

[Warre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I literally think about this day and night (It’s been a year since I’ve read this, it’s insane)
I wish I could give it an infinite amount of stars

[Gracie Meek · Rating 3 out of 5]

• DNF • story was good but after awhile it started to drag on :( has really good potential maybe just needs an edit <3

[Sune · Rating 5 out of 5]

let me take you back to 2 weeks ago. It was merely 5 or 6 days after i finished reading Manacled (don't talk to me about that. it's still too soon) I was scrolling through tiktok when i got the recommendation to read this book. was that a mistake or my saving grace? i still don't know.

flash forward to me screaming into my pillow, crying so hard i could barely breathe. tears were streaming down my face and i probably looked like someone just died, which isnt entirely false because this book broke me in so many different ways and killed me all the same.

Then, it had me giggling at 3 in the morning, blushing at 4 in the morning and laughing so hard i thought my heart would burst from the delight i was feeling at 5 in the morning.

but that wasn't enough for the author was it? no. how could it be? everything was going so well but i was only halfway through the book. and thus, more heartbreak ensued. i was shatted into a million pieces, broke down in the bathroom at 2 in the morning because of the utter depression this book put me in.

but then.. oh but then.. the book turned and twisted again, making me feel the highest of highs but then the lowest of lows. over and over and over again. it was like i was being killed a million times over, but every single time the author was shoving the resurrection stone so far down my throat that i couldn't die even if i tried.

i dont think I'll ever be able to read "safe is with me" without feeling the emotional torture of those words hanging over me ever again.

this book broke me, healed me, damaged me, saved me, killed me and wrapped me up in the warmest blanket under the sun all just the same.



!!! SPOILERS !!! (kinda - song recs linked to moments in the book)

to all those who already read the book and want to be even more emotionally scarred for life, here are some songs that broke me even more whilst reading the book.

- belongs with you by munn (Harry's pov at different parts in the book)
-- in my blood by shawn mendes (i imagine this as Draco's pov as a death eater)
- why can't you hate me? by munn ( i cannot stress this enough, THIS IS SO DRACO ENCODED WHEN HE WAS TRYING TO MAKE HARRY HATE HIM BUT HARRY JUST COULDN'T)
- the night we met by lord huron (could be seen as both Ferret and Scarface's povs and i was imagining 'the night we met' were all of their cozy nights in the forest)

and last but not least:
- it'll be okay by shawn mendes. (Draco's pov in the hospital with the whole memory fiasco - need i say more?)

[Cataws · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creo que el amor que desarolle por este libro es mas fuerte que yo, la verdad. No puedo explicar el cariño que le tengo, sin embargo nunca lo termine.

Si no recuerdo mal lei este libro tres veces, la primera vez lo deje en algun punto del quinto año por que era demasiado angst mezclado con mucha miel y fue demasiado para mi. La segunda vez que me encontre con el fue cuando me aparecio en Ao3 y recorde lo genial y perfectamente elaborada que habia sido la parte que habia llegado a leer de esta historia asi que decidi darle otro intento, aunque a pesar de mis esfuerzos no llegue mas lejos que el sexto año, tuve que dejarlo por lo mucho que me dolia leerlo, era tan triste que se me achicaba el corazon y decidi dejarlo por un rato, nunca lo continue luego de eso.

Finalmente la tercera vez, este año, logre aguantar mas en la historia, relei todo como la primera vez, decidida a superar la parte fea y poder terminar este fic que habia llegado a mi corazon tan fuertemente. A pesar de esto no lo logre tampoco, llegue hasta un poco pasado el octavo año, nunca considere que esa "parte fea" sencillamente no acabaría, eso me destruyo. Me meti tanto en la tristeza del libro y los problemas de cierto personaje en esta estancia del libro que me empezo a afectar en mi vida personal, empeze a sentir que estos mismos pensamientos y emociones que tiene este personaje se replicaban en mi y ahi fue cuando tome la decisión de frenar su lectura por una buena salud mental personal.

Por mas que ame con todo mi corazon este libro (o fanfiction si preferís decirle, sin embargo yo considero que se merece algo mas que eso) no puedo con el, me hace sentir tan fuertemente las cosas que termina hiriendo mi vida cotidiana, me ha hecho conectar tanto con los personajes que sus dolores pasan a ser mios y sus alegrías tambien. A pesar de esto, no permitas que mi experiencia personal con el no te permita disfrutar de esta creacion literaria, es algo que merece de tu aprecio fuera de su brutalidad emocional.

Sin embargo te deseo tanto a vos como a mi poder terminar este libro (en algun momento de mi larga vida) sin deshidratarnos del llanto y específicamente en mi caso poder leerlo desde una postura mas sana que cuando lo lei por tercera vez.

[Jullie Turque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestamente? Não sei por onde começar, porque tenho muito a dizer!!!
Comecei essa fic em janeiro de 2024, eu tava sem nada pra fazer e resolvi passar um tempo lendo uma fanfiction enorme de um ship que nunca me interessou sobre uma série de livros super cancelada e escrita por uma transfóbica.
Essa ação teve consequências.
Como em uma novela, várias tramas acontecem e a história nunca fica estagnada. MUITOS conflitos e MUITOS MUITOS obstáculos. Fiquei fascinada rapidinho, porque os personagens são interessantes e a história é clichê.
Até o momento que parou de ser.
Eu lembro exatamente do momento que tudo virou de cabeça pra baixo e, mesmo eu sabendo que ia dar ruim, eu não tinha imaginado que eu ficaria tão impactada e me importaria tanto com os rumos de uma fanfiction!
Foi no meio desse caos todo que minha avó morreu.
Foi esquisito e, pela primeira vez, consegui entender esse tal de yearning e longing que esses falantes da língua inglesa tanto falam.
O final é feliz, assim como toda boa fanfiction. Demorou (a fanfiction é bem longa), mas preencheu o vazio do meu coração por uns bons meses.
Agora, um ano depois de tudo isso, consigo ver que nutro um carinho por essa fanfiction justamente porque me trouxe um conforto quando mais precisei.
Amar vai doer em algum momento, mas no final quem vence o jogo é quem se arrisca a perdê-lo.

Ps.: 7 HORAS?!

[Bubu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't just write a long-ass review for it to be deleted >:-(

Anyway...
First, when I started to read this book I didn't realize that apparently it is longer than Atyd. However, every second of free time available, I spend reading this masterpiece and enjoyed it very much.
[update: I discovered it's 600,000+ words 😊😍]

Second, I was delulu. Chapter after chapter with trigger warnings, the title itself "It was all just a game. Rewrite, mature version" and still I was like 'nah, how bad can it be?'
Bad Lilly, very bad.

This book literally destroyed me.
I didn't cry but truth only, I didn't let myself cry. Cause I knew if I did, I would have never stopped.
Probs to the author though, for this beautifully written and authentic trauma that comes with war and loving someone who the entire universe tells you not to love that made the experience 7 times (if ykyk ;)) more authentic and enjoyable. Although, I'm not sure how I am still holding up.

In my opinion this book deserves 5 stars (although I'm usually very picky). But I also think I'm giving it so many as a reward to myself for finishing it and to find closure with this heartwrenching and at the same time heartwarming story.

safe is with me <3

[Caroline McGaughey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My partner was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 66.. His symptoms included excruciating calf pain, muscular aches, tremors, slurred speech, frequent falls, loss of balance, and trouble standing up from a seated posture. After six months on Senemet, Siferol was given to him in place of the Senemet. It was also at this period that he was diagnosed with dementia. He began seeing hallucinations and became detached from reality. With the doctor's approval, we stopped giving him Siferol and chose to try the Natural Herbs Center PD-5 protocol, which we had already looked into. After three months of therapy, he has made significant progress. The illness has been completely contained. There are no symptoms of persistent twitching, weakness, tremors, hallucinations, or muscle soreness. The PD-5 Protocol was obtained from natural herbs centre. com. Though you still need to determine what works best for you, I thought I would share my husband's story in case it could be helpful. Greetings and prayers

[Moony Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Alch no puedo decir que recomiendo esta historia, me metí porque una relación falsa aunque no me gustan mucho dije es Drarry a ver como lo hacen, además que el tropo de relación secreta y basado en 4to año uff, debo de decir que los 80 capítulos me espantaron, no entendía si iba más por la comedia o por el angst, pero se fue por lo feo, me destrozo, no puedo encontrar otra palabra para ello, tiene muchos TW así que oj0 ahí si se atreven a leerlo, es interesante y te muestra un poco de una relación dependiente y dolorosa pero que va sanando poco a poco, alcanzamos a ver hasta 8vo año e incluso un poco más, claro al inicio todo es jiji pero conforme vamos siguiendo la historia, todo se está convirtiendo en un poso se oscuridad, es bueno pero no lo leería nuevamente, fue un poco difícil de soportar algunas escenas y estuve apunto de dejarlo pero mi corazón quería saber si ellos por fin eran felices.