Virulence

by three_piece_suit

Hermione Granger, well, sorry, Deputy Headmistress Hermione Granger, has picked up the pieces after the Second Wizarding War and established herself as a respected faculty member at Hogwarts. But that doesn't mean that the world didn't come out of the War unscathed. A strange virus was released by the Death Eaters just before they were captured that is leading to declining magical abilities of witches and wizards and its gradually getting worse. Hermione was tasked with running a lab to determine the cause and cure for the virus, but is struggling with limited Ministry funding and resources. That is, until a former Death Eater, who now sits in Azkaban, is given to her as a lab assistant since he might have information about the virus-he was, after all, there when it was created. Court ordered to her lab against her wishes, Draco Malfoy and Hermione must try to work together. But it's not that simple. In fact, everything they thought they knew about each other becomes even more complicated than they could have imagined.

Genres: Fan Fiction

325 pages, ebook

Published October 21, 2023

Reviews

[Adrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 - I truly loved and enjoyed this fic. So many moments had me giggling and blushing, but the wrap up at the end was so rushed :(

[Sidney Headley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost DNF this several times. I held out because Draco was written so well. Hermione was written absolutely terribly. She was annoying and portrayed like she was too emotional and weak. Also, it was like a ton of stuff was going on but nothing was going on. Like they all of a sudden just knew what to do to reverse the curse after them made no progress at all in the lab. Honestly, we never once saw Hermione actually research. Like why would she be grading papers instead of actively researching when she was in her lab? Idk this one was a disappointment to me.

[Lou Wit · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

If you have a feeling for sarcasm then this is the one for you. I was giggling my way through some chapters.
It had me hooked! Oh lord it’s been a long time since I’ve been this hooked on a book.
I did feel like the end was rushed, but it was still a fitting end.

[Hannan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fear I’m being generous I was so confused at times

[Baylee Beattie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️

was really confused for most of this tbh. the way it was written was not easy to follow. also there were lots of inconsistencies in characters, events, plot lines, really everything 🤷🏼‍♀️ there was a lot going on that didn’t make sense and at the same time I felt like nothing was happening?? truly can’t explain it lol

[PA T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set a few years after the Second Wizarding War, Hermione Granger (now Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress and researcher) leads a poorly funded lab tasked with finding a cure for a Death-Eater engineered virus.
With the Ministry dragging its feet, the court punishes Draco Malfoy, sentenced to imprisonment in Azkaban for murder, by assigning him as Hermione's reluctant lab assistant, hoping he'll have insider knowledge of the virus' creation
The story never shows her doing meaningful research. Instead, we are told how she feels and not shown what she does, reducing the payoff at the end
The overall narrative of the fic is jarring and instead of being transported back into the HP fantasy, I feel like I'm in someone else's head and hearing their thoughts. Hermione, as the main character, feels like another person.
To me, this was a poor and loose depiction of the "brightest witch of their age" in both introspective narration and in dialogue and banter.
There's a cruel narrative imbalance: -80% of the fic builds tension, world rules, romance, and moral dilemmas, then-just as it crescendos-it explodes and dissolves in a few short scenes. The emotional payoffs feel arbitrary.
The lab-meets-virus structure becomes hollow near the finale when the
"cure" appears fully formed, without visible struggle, experimental progression, or setbacks.

[Catherine Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The major issue with this fanfic is that we are told how the characters feel and we are not shown. The writing style is jarring and difficult to follow because of the confusing use of italics. It isn’t well laid out. The smut was well written but was a victim to the poorly developed plot outwith the smut. It didn’t feel like hermione or Draco at points. Other characters were not utilized properly and many of their decisions were confusing at best. Ron could have appeared far more, as should Ginny. It was just all round quite confusing. Especially the random scene where Draco ditched hermione to play quidditch at a crucial point in planning the finale of the whole story. It just felt a bit ridiculous and stupid. She’s hermione and her safety was at risk - why the hell is he playing quidditch if he supposedly loves her and wants her to be safe? Just bleh.

[Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, I will say that I didn’t really like the way Hermione was portrayed she was annoying and very aggressive I understand the war changed her but somehow it felt like this wasn’t how she truly would be after the war. Besides that I understand everyone who writes fan fiction portrays these characters how they want so I just took her being a b*tchy betch not to heart. I loved the chemistry between her and Draco some parts of their story just didn’t flow but I was entertained and that’s all I cared about. This was a great little entertaining story nothing life changing but stories should be entertaining and take you into the world and for me it did just that.

[Joanna K.]

I really loved this one!! I hope it gets the attention it deserves! Like most reviews the fast wrap up at the end was disappointing especially given the magnitude of the fight had right before, it left me a little unsatisfied. BUT I still loved it and would recommend overall for anyone interested in a post war dramione fanfic!

[Tyra Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

just want you all to know im currently reading another dramione ff but it's not on here so it won't count towards my challenge even though it's 136k words :/

anyway peace love dramione i'm so thriving rn :?

update: i finished it, 4.5 stars sooooo good

[Marissa Thoma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh not my favorite fanfic

[Barbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had so much potential

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It kind of just…… ended? Not the best fic I’ve read but also not bad!