Summary: After the war with Voldemort has ended, Hogwarts resumes its normal year, except that the Ministry has decided that the wizarding world is severely lacking in Fine Arts education. This prompts a musical theatre competition between the Tri-Wizard Schools to see who will have funding for the following school year to implement the new program. When Severus Snape is cast as the Phantom and Hermione as Christine, they learn how much like their parts they really are. Throughout the school year, their relationship grows and they have to use all of Snape’s spying prowess to not get caught. At the same time, Snape learns how to relax for the first time in his life.
Status: Fantastic
Opinion: While the writing in this fanfiction start off very shaky (Severus’s point of view is first person, while Hermione’s is in third person), it does even out a few chapters in and become not only more detailed, but has the thought processes of the characters increase as well. The introduction of Fine Arts in the wizarding world was a good premise, as the original series always felt lacking in that department. The Phantom of the Opera was a wonderful backdrop for the relationship building as the characters in each story matched very well. Hermione and Severus’s relationship did seem a bit rushed in the beginning, but that was rectified throughout the story. This story is a guilty pleasure because of the theatre aspect, but that does not mean that the story was not well developed. Severus’s growth throughout the story was well-handled.
Length: 653.984 words
Pairings: Severus Snape/Hermione Granger, Harry Potter/Hermione Granger, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley/Susan Bones .
Warnings: Mildly explicit in the later chapters, student/teacher relationship
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/188358/chapters/276942