The Harry Potter Franchise Is About To Get Its Own Fifty Shades Of Grey Moment

When it comes to popular fantasy book series, fandoms can get quite passionate about the characters involved. Naturally, fanfiction (or fanfic) is an outlet for fans to write original stories based on their favorite characters, crafting new scenarios to satisfy their imaginations. Sometimes, fanfic serves as an opportunity for writers to modify the canon of their series of choice, perhaps changing the fates of certain characters due to their dissatisfaction with the author's decisions (Stephen King's "Misery" is very much an allegory for this).

However, one of the more, ahem... infamous examples of fanfic can be traced back to E.L. James' "Fifty Shades" trilogy. Originally written as a fanfic based on Stephenie Meyer's "The Twilight Saga," James' "Fifty Shades" is an erotic romance book series that topped best seller lists and spawned a trilogy of films that have grossed over $1.32 billion at the worldwide box office. Now, the best-selling book series of all time is about to get its own "Fifty Shades" treatment, and let's just say that wands are at the ready in more ways than one with this.

Swish and fanflick! Formerly respected and now woefully disgraced author J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books are not only getting a peculiar new HBO series, but they are also getting the "Fifty Shades of Grey" treatment. A number of fanfics based on the books are being rewritten and published as their own novels, with a particular emphasis on one pairing: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, otherwise known as "Dramione." Accio, aggressive sigh...

Many of these fanfics begin as stories picking up with the characters of "Harry Potter" years after they graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In particular, these stories follow characters' romantic entanglements to varying degrees of explicitness. Some novels have already been released to much success, including "Rose in Chains" by Julie Soto, which serves as the first entry in "The Evermore Trilogy" and is based on the fanfic, "The Auction." Another recent novel is "The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy" by Brigitte Knightley, based on the fanfic, "Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love." With that in mind, 10 points to Knightley's Hogwarts house for mirroring the same cadence of the "Harry Potter" book titles when titling her fanfic.

However, to those readers eager to venture into the next Dramione fanfic-turned-novel, you only have a month to wait for the release of "Alchemised" by SenLinYu, which is based on the fanfic, "Manacled." This fanfic mirrors the content of "Fifty Shades of Grey," featuring explicit sex scenes, but also explores more mature themes such as consent and trauma. Author SenLinYu claims that the story is inspired by Margaret Atwood's novel, "The Handmaid's Tale," which was adapted into an Emmy-winning Hulu series of the same name and recently concluded earlier this year. Goodreads' shamefully enticing description for this upcoming novel reads as follows: 

"In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy ― and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past."

What is perhaps most impressive is that "Alchemised" boasts 1,040 pages and, according to The New York Times, will have an initial print run of 750,000 copies. Regardless of how you feel about the practice popularized by the "Fifty Shades" trilogy, there is clearly a market for these novels that were formerly fanfics. Ultimately, what is even more perplexing than the fact that these "Harry Potter" fanfics are getting the "Fifty Shades" treatment is the fact that there are fans out there who actually ship Dramione. Talk about being disrespectful to both Hermione and Ron! 

To these fanfic writers' credit, these novels are at least something new that is inspired by the "Harry Potter" books. After the disappointing run that was Warner Bros. Pictures' "Fantastic Beasts" film series, the fact that we are going back to the well with what from the looks of it, appears to be a pointless television remake of the original films, epitomizes how creatively bankrupt that J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World has become. 

"Alchemised" is expected to be published on September 23, 2025. Meanwhile, all eight films in the "Harry Potter" franchise are available to stream on Peacock.