geri_chan | Snupin Santa rec: A Clock That Never Strikes

Title: A Clock That Never Strikes, for kirasha
From: Your Secret Snupin Santa
Summary: Remus and Severus are dead, but the crow will not let Remus rest until he has had his revenge.
Rated: Coal and Switches (NC17)
Prompt: A retelling of James O'Barr's "The Crow".
Warnings: Dark AU, violence, substance abuse, character death, dark themes, aaaangst!
Notes: Happy Holidays, kirasha! First off, I have to apologize to you. I loved your prompt for The Crow, but I simply could not get Snape to take Eric's role- Remus kept stepping in and taking over as I worked on this. Eric really reminded me of Remus. I hope you will not be too disappointed. Also, many thanks to the patient and wonderful mods, and to my fabulous beta.
Word count: 5053

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I didn't include this in last week's Snapedom recs because the story is told from Lupin's POV and Snape is offscreen for most of the story, although his presence--or rather, absence--is felt throughout and is the driving force behind Lupin's desire for revenge. However, this was simply too great a story not to share, so I'm reccing it here in case any of my F-list missed it or were scared off by the "character death" and "dark themes" warnings.

Let me just start off by saying that it is dark, violent, and often grim, but without giving too much away, there's also an element of hope to balance out the darkness and I found the ending very satisfying. It's based on the movie "The Crow," with Remus in the role of Eric (the character played by the late Brandon Lee), and while the story resonates more if you're familiar with the original, you can still understand and enjoy it even if you haven't seen the film.

The premise is that Lupin and Snape were murdered by Death Eaters, and as in the movie, Lupin returns from the dead to take revenge on the ones who killed his lover. One by one, he tracks them down and kills them, while Aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and Ron Weasley investigate the series of murders. The story is dark but beautiful, told in an almost poetic, dreamlike manner, with Lupin's grim killing spree periodically interrupted by poignant memories of his past life with Snape.

Honestly, my words don't do this justice--for all that it's dark, it's one of the most beautiful Snupin stories I've ever read. Even if that's normally not your cup of tea, I urge you to give this a try, and I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed.