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, LGBT, Harry Potter, Gay, M M Romance

2051 pages, ebook

First published May 20, 2015

Reviews

[percy c.]

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.✨

[alexia (hozier’s version)]

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.

[Regina Adeli]

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 🥺

[katiachoo]

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]

Rocked my world
Reading was never the same again

[Grace Malfoy]

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)

[yona!!]

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)

[Encarni]

||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.

[Malena Oriana]

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)

[Evely]

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

[amihihi :)]

I am deeply hurt by this.

(In a good way)

(I think)

[Dilara]

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

[meg]

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]

drarry isnt for me 😩

[sofia]

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

[Hayley]

Well that was painful
This broke me in half
Seriously I did not know what I was signing up for

[Lucka]

i loved it sooooooooo much omg! its so so good.

[Corbin Bleu]

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 🤭

[arjin (regulus’ version)]

This was my first long Drarry fanfic, and I finally understand why people love this ship so much. Is it my favorite Harry Potter ship? No. For that, I would at least need multiple five star fanfics of them. But I still really enjoyed this one.

First of all, this fanfic made me realize just how dear Harry is to me. Even before I discovered all the different ships and the multiple sub fandoms, Harry was always one of my favorite characters just from reading the books. I think what I love so much about him is that despite everything he went through, he never became bitter. He experienced so much trauma and was treated horribly, especially by the Dursleys, but he still remained incredibly empathetic.

And I think that is also one of the biggest differences between Harry and James. I love James with my whole soul, but I genuinely don’t think Harry could ever have become a bully. He already experienced some of the worst things a child could experience himself. He knew what it felt like to be the person on the receiving end of that kind of behavior, both from the Dursleys and from his Muggle schoolmates.

So reading this fic made me realize how much I still care about Harry as a character, and also how much his trauma gets overlooked. Obviously, I already knew all those sad canon details, but seeing them again in this context still really hurt.

I also really loved how the author explored Harry having an eating disorder. It made so much sense considering what we know about his upbringing in the Dursley household. And as someone who has always struggled with having a healthy relationship with food, I really connected with his thoughts and behaviors surrounding it. That part of the story felt really honest to me.

Then there is Draco. I really loved watching him grow from this childish, bitter bully into a teenager who is actually developing his own opinions, becoming kinder, and learning to let himself get close to people. I liked that his character development wasn’t just about becoming nicer for Harry. He was also slowly learning to stop seeing people through the lens of their family, blood status, or supposed importance and actually see them as individuals.

I also really enjoyed the author’s characterization of Draco and all the little headcanons we got. His rich hair and skincare routine haha, the way he apparently worshipped Harry when he was younger, the drawings he made for them. I ate all of that up.

And the premise itself is honestly hilarious and so perfectly petty Draco. His original plan is basically to win Harry over so that Harry will be distracted enough for Draco to eventually kill him in the tournament. Like, what the fuck 😭

But from that ridiculous premise, we actually got a really deep exploration of their relationship. I loved watching them discover what teenage love means to them, not just emotionally but also in terms of their own identities, their bodies, and how they see themselves in relation to another person.

I especially liked that Draco’s feelings for Harry also forced him to confront his own morality. He knows Harry would never willingly date someone who is a bully, so if he wants Harry, he has to actually become someone Harry could love.

I really enjoyed fourth year because so many of their conflicts were petty and honestly so easily solvable. It was the typical ya love story progression. Then fifth year became much more emotional, especially with Draco helping Harry through everything with Umbridge and then Sirius’s death.

But sixth year definitely takes the cake for me. The angst was incredible. The headcanon of the Dark Mark fighting against the soulmate bond with Harry was insane in the best way. And then obviously the Sectumsempra scene.

Yeah. Incredible.

I also liked the war portion, but I was surprised by how short it was. I genuinely blinked and suddenly the war was over. I would have loved more exploration of that part. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting the fic to retell the entire Horcrux hunt because that isn’t what the story was trying to do. The canon plotlines were mostly brushed over because the focus was on Draco and Harry, which I understand. But I still expected the war itself to have a little more weight.

The two aftermath chapters were also really good. I loved seeing them actually deal with what had happened and begin the recovery and healing process. At first, I found that part really important and heartfelt.

But then the fic started to drag. More and more conflicts were introduced purely to separate Draco and Harry, and eventually I was just tired of it. I kept thinking, okay, can we please just let them be happy for five minutes?

Especially because, by that point, Draco and Harry were basically the only part of the story I still cared about.

Hermione and Ron were honestly pretty boring in this one and, dare I say, really bad friends. Blaise and Pansy weren’t much better. There were so many moments where I just wanted to shake them.

The side characters and their relationships also didn’t do much for me. And that was probably one of the biggest differences for me compared to the Marauders. With the Marauders, I will happily read about their friendships and relationships for hours. Here, I mostly just wanted to get back to Draco and Harry.

And towards the end, it also got really cringe. At some point I was honestly just ready for the fic to end.

Which is why I kind of mourn my reading experience of fourth, fifth, and sixth year. That part of the fic was genuinely perfect for me. If the entire story had maintained that level, this could have been an easy five star read.

Still, I definitely got enough Drarry from this fic for now. But it also made me want to read more famous long fics, which I honestly didn’t expect. So I guess it did its job because now I’m actually motivated to explore the Drarry fandom properly.

And I really did love the relationship between Draco and Harry. Their love was incredibly tender at times, sometimes toxic, but I think most of the toxicity came from their circumstances and everything they were dealing with rather than from a lack of love between them. I also really appreciated how honest the fic was about the eating disorder, trauma, family tensions and healing. Those parts made the relationship feel much more human to me.

So no, this didn’t turn me into a full Drarry shipper just yet. But I finally understand why people are so obsessed with them, and I definitely understand the appeal now.

quotes:

The last thing he did was write to her. He told her to look up at the sky because he would paint it every morning and night for her, just so she knew he was alright."

"What's it like? Being an orphan."
"You're constantly aching for something you'll never have. And you think that when you grow up, it'll go away, or at least not be as bad. But no. It's just as intense of a need as it was when I was four years old, six, eight, eleven, fourteen. It never goes away. You never not want to tell your parents something, it's just an instinct that I hate sometimes, but other times it reminds me they were real."

"I'm so lost."
Potter backed off of him, just a bit, so they could look each other in the eyes, but Potter was still holding him. "I'm going to find you. That's a promise."

There's a genuine risk is letting yourself live a hidden life because of it. There is damage that comes from living an inauthentic life. It's exhausting."

"I'm home," Draco smiled, snuggling closer into Harry's chest as Harry rubbed his back.
Harry's heart couldn't be more warm.

Because that's what grief felt like: force. You don't get an option to participate in it. You don't control it. It walks in when it wants to. It takes you to your knees when it feels like it. It was a thing that alienated you and took away your normalcy with no chance of returning. The life you lived before does not exist anymore. You can only build a new one, which takes months and years. And even when you do, you'll always feel empty. You will never feel full again.

"Me," Draco said. "Safe is with me."


"Where did he go? Is he at peace, at least? Is he with my dad? They were best friends when they were kids. Did he make it?"
"I bet they had the best reunion ever," Draco said. "Could you imagine that? They must be so happy up there."

"I guess that it's a privilege to feel pain like this," Harry swallowed. "Because it means I loved him. And he's worth the pain of losing him."

"You're allowed food when things are bad. And when they're not. And when it's your fault, and when it isn't your fault. You deserve food all the time. And that's a fact that is nonnegotiable."

“[…] You’re my happy place. When I think about you, the troubles go away.”

"You're just like James, you know. You look just like him after his first kiss with Lily."
"Sirius said that, too, when I told him." Harry's heart stung at the thought of Sirius.
"Yes, well Sirius and I thought very similarly, as two close... people do."

'Anything' isn't a very romantic word, actually. It's a cruel one."

Grief is a tsunami that is rude enough to drown you, but not kind enough to kill you.

I love him. I really do. I can't stop smiling. This is why the world spins.

"I didn't even get to have a happy place, but if I did, it would have been you."

They locked eyes yet again, staring, gazing, examining them as if they were deciphering constellations within galaxies that they could only decipher themselves.

"I didn't know my body had the physical capability of feeling this good with how bad it feels all the time."

Harry laughed, and just as they were when they were fourteen, it was Draco's favorite sound in the entire world.

"I wish they would tell you that when you sign up to love someone, you also sign up to grieve them. It's a package deal."

"What would happen if he never smiled outside of when he was you. The dementors only feed off of happy memories, and you're his only happy memory."

Of course you were the first thing I thought of when I woke up. You always are. I love to have mornings to think of you and how much I love you before the day starts. It's something I always look forward to.

"I just feel like... my body is a physical manifestation of the abuse I endured. That's why I hate it so much."

[Ruby]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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)]

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]

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]

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

[Sune]

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?)

[Jullie Turque]

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]

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