Top 20 Epic Slow Burn Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Each fic is tagged with slow burn and falls in the over 100,000 words range.
All the Young Dudes
by MsKingBean89
LONG fic charting the marauders' time at Hogwarts (and beyond) from Remus' PoV - diversion from canon in that Remus's father died and he was raised in a children's home, and is a bit rough around the edges. Otherwise canon-compliant.1971 - 1995This IS a wolfstar fic, but incredibly slow burn. Litera
Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love
by isthisselfcare
Hermione straddles the Muggle and Magical worlds as a medical researcher and Healer about to make a big discovery. Draco is an Auror assigned to protect her from forces unknown – to both of their displeasure.Features hyper-competent, fiery Hermione and lazy, yet dangerous, Draco. Slow burn.
Evitative
by Vichan
In the summer before his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is drawn to a room in Grimmauld Place. Like the Gryffindor he is, he enters the room without fear. The room is a library, and Harry is surprised to find that he’s eager to learn.Then he gets the bad news: he’s been accidentally expelled from Hog
talk to me dirty; talk to me sweet
by thesweetestdream
Will and Mike accidentally overhear a couple talking dirty over the walkie, and start repeating some of the filthy phrases to each other for shits and giggles. What starts as a joke, soon turns into something they can't stop doing – and can’t tell anyone about. Or: Mike and Will start talking dirty
Viridian: The Green Guide
by Clouds (myheadinthecoudsnotcomingdown)
After his dream is finally crushed, Izuku isn’t quite sure there’s anything left for him to live for, but...he can’t exactly kill himself either, not without hurting the people he cares the most about. So, when he realizes that the quirkless can’t technically be vigilantes, it seems like the best of
The Way You Used To Do
by edema_ruh
"We're really sorry," his father says, in a teary-eyed, wobbly way. "But your friend, Izuku, he's... He's gone, son."Katsuki can do nothing but blink up at them for moments that feel like an eternity, eyes darting between both his parents in obvious confusion, disbelief, and, more than anything, ind
From The Sidelines
by suffocatingspring
When long-time enemies, Bakugo Katsuki--the all-star athlete and rascal of Ise--and Izuku Midoriya, the town sweetheart, are paired together for a long-term project, the quiet beachside town of Ise suddenly gets a bit louder.In which, Katsuki is an asshole pole vaulter, Izuku is going to fail psycho
The Cadence of Part-time Poets
by motswolo
“They’re… chaos,” Remus said firmly. “And chaos is—”“Rock and roll.”He looked at Sirius sharply, and for once, matched his grin. “Yeah.”“Maybe that’s my excuse then,” Sirius said. “I cause a bit of chaos now, and maybe one day, it’ll turn into rock and roll.”After losing his mother at age eleven, Re
Cheat Code: Support Strategist
by Clouds (myheadinthecoudsnotcomingdown)
After All Might gives Izuku a much needed reality check, he has to find a new dream. When he learns that the support course at UA offers an emphasis in Intelligence and Analytics, it sounds like the perfect new passion for him to throw himself into.Who knew? Maybe Hero Analysis for the Future was ne
The Shape of Me Will Always be You
by MissDisoriental
A post-canon Hannigram fix-it fic.Fan videos here and hereAnimations hereFanart masterpost herePodfics here, here and hereFan playlist hereTranslations in Deutsch | 中文 | Ελληνικά | Magyar | ไทย | Русский | Polski | Cymraeg | Español | Українська
The Songbird and the Sea
by maia_archives
In a world where dominance of the sea is an endless battle between pirates and mariners, Park Jimin is content living in his little village on a small, uninteresting island by the eastern mainland. He wants nothing to do with the bloodshed of good and evil, the heartless killing of both innocents an
All the Young Dudes - Sirius's Perspective
by Rollercoasterwords
this is an ATYD fanfic first!!! and a harry potter fanfic only by necessity. this is literally just me rewriting each chapter of atyd but from Sirius's perspective bc i love this story so much and can't get enough of it. all credit for the original work goes to MsKingBean89 and if for some reason yo
Entirely Out of Spite
by Bgtea
"Welcome to a new user experience! You have triggered this interface with the keywords, ‘Stupid game! Stupid devs! I want my f*****g money back!’ You are now bound to the character Tartaglia, the Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui, codename: Childe! We hope you have an enjoyable user experience and we
Harry Potter and the Shadowed Light
by WritingbyAnnie
After the final battle Harry learns some unsettling truths about himself and those who he trusts the most. Forced to come to terms with the revelations, Harry decides to get even with those who've wronged him and embrace who he his by going back to when it all started.
Harry Potter and the Greatest Show
by shadowscribe
The last real thing Harry remembers is standing across from Voldemort and watching the killing curse fly at his face.Then he visited a fluffy white limbo that somewhat resembles King Cross Station and instead of choosing to move on or go back he does something else entirely.And wakes up in his cupb
Wolfbird
by OpalApparition
Shane Hollander is hockey’s closeted golden boy with everything to hide. Ilya Rozanov is a professional Dom with everything to lose and an expired visa. Through their arrangement at a discreet Montreal kink bar, where NDAs protect secrets and sessions are charged per hour, they discover the most dan
Written on the Heart
by who_la_hoop
Harry doesn’t mind that so many Slytherins from his year have returned to finish their NEWTs, really he doesn’t. It’s just – do they have to be so friendly? He’s not prejudiced, really he’s not. It’s just – they’ve got to be up to something, right? Unnerved by the attention he’s attracting from ever
Measure Of A Man
by inadaze22
To truly know someone is to differentiate between who they once were, who they are now, and who they're capable of being. Hermione realises the duality of one man as she rectifies what she knows of the past and begins to understand the pieces of who Draco Malfoy is now: a father, a son, and a man.
Quiet Rapture
by lalazee
That A/B/O fic where cocky Alpha Bakugou falls in mate-love at first scent, while Midoriya is just a poor bookstore-owning Omega who got his nose punched in is a kid and can't smell a damn thing. Also known as: That time an Alpha had to use his actual personality to woo his mate instead of relying o
I Was Screaming Your Name Through The Radio
by ElectricSplatter
“Four months from now will be the seven year anniversary of when you and Osamu Dazai released your hugely successful first and only album Double Black and its diamond single Corruption. After performing with Dazai earlier this year, are you planning anything special to celebrate?”“Corruption is insa
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About Slow Burn
A romance that develops gradually over time, with tension building across chapters or the entire story.
Readers love the anticipation, the meaningful character development, and the eventual payoff of a well-earned romance.
Common scenarios: Characters who are oblivious to their feelings, lots of almost-moments, friends realizing their feelings over time.
About This List
This list of 20epic Slow Burn fanfics spans 7,255,288 total words. Kudos range from 35,031 on the newest entries to 314,072 on the most established. Nearly all (80%) are complete, so you can start any of them without WIP anxiety. The most common rating is Explicit (9 of 20 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Slow Burn · Marauders · Romance · Slytherin Harry Potter · Friends to Lovers.
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