First, Some Definitions:

Button Categories: (Yes, some categories are split into more than one group to make the full menus accessible)

HOGWARTS, A HISTORY: Stories which take place prior to the late 1960s. Yes, I know, this covers a lot of territory. But I still haven’t come across so many fics (finished fics, that is) set earlier than the 20th century to be particularly worried about that.

IN THE TIME OF THE MARAUDERS: Stories which take place from the time that James Potter, Severus Snape, and the rest of the usual suspects went up to Hogwarts until the first defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort. If I run across any really enjoyable ones set between VoldWar I and about 1990, they will be here as well. This is Hogwarts before Harry.

ROADS NOT TAKEN: Not taken by J.K. Rowling, at any rate. And not likely to be. Stories set during the 7 years of the official canon.

WHERE DO YOU GO AFTER HOGWARTS?: Speaking of roads not taken by J.K. Rowling (who used to claim that she was NOT going to be following Harry and his friends’ adventures once they have left Hogwarts) Stories set after Harry has finished school. Or, conversely, stories set after the end of VoldWar II. Or something like that.

Regarding Canon Compliance:

The Harry Potter fanfic community took off like a rocket after the release of ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ (July 8, 2000), although there were already quite a few fanfics written and posted before that date. Much of the reason for this sudden influx of fanfic was that the first four books of the series were released in very quick succession, and the majority of the readers (although not all) had been content to wait for the next official volume in the series, rather than attempting to “roll their own”. The release of Goblet of Fire, however, was followed by the “3-year summer”, which served as a veritable invitation for the writing of Harry Potter fanfic.

With the release of ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (June 21, 2003), many of these works were rendered instantly AU (Alternate Universe). This had no effect upon their entertainment value as stories, but it made them ineligible as viable extrapolations of J.K. Rowling's possible intentions. (Which a rather surprising number of fanfic writers sincerely believed they were making.)

It was inevitable that the majority of fanfics written after the release of Phoenix would be similarly served by the release of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ (July 16, 2005). To the point that it had become advisable to add some form of notation to these projects to alert the reader as to just how canon-compliant a given fic might reasonably be expected to be. The icons described in the sidebar are posted prominently on the pages of the individual fics.

As stated on the main Publications Opener page: you aren’t going to find anything anywhere on this site that is any racier than a mainstream, doorstop-style Historical Romance. That includes this collection as well.

Note: I did not ever take active part in the ’shipping wars that used to periodically break out across the Harry Potter fandom. But I’ve been a subscriber of WIKtT since 2001 — so you can consider yourselves warned.

	Any fic with this symbol was begun back in the 20th century. This is the symbol for fics which were begun or posted before the release of Goblet of Fire. The author may have gone back and attempted a retrofit later, but the patches may show.
	Fics with this symbol were produced after the release of Goblet of Fire, and were either complete, or nearing completion at the time of the release of Order of the Phoenix. Typically, the author did not attempt a retrofit. Compliance with later canon is variable.
	Fics with this symbol were produced after the release of Order of the Phoenix, and were either complete, or nearing completion at the time of the release of Half-Blood Prince. Again, these fics may not necessarily be contradicted by material in Prince, but could be.
	Fics with this symbol were released after the release of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’. This was the point that a lot of people just up and abandoned their WiPs. Given how much of the material in Half-Blood Prince contradicted everything else in canon, this isn’t surprising. Much of Half-Blood Prince’s new material was immediately contradicted in turn by Deathly Hallows.
	Fics with this symbol were produced after the release of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. Even so, they may not be fully canon-compliant. Many such fics choose to ignore the epilogue, or other elements.
	Fics with this symbol are so thoroughly AU that it doesn't make a lot of sense trying to determine just where in the chronology they veered off from the source material.