A dark romance novel that began life as Harry Potter fan fiction about a BDSM relationship between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger has been snapped up by a movie house in a deal worth more than $3 million (£2.2 million). The race to get “Alchemised” to the big screen reflects the soaring popularity of rebranded fan fiction in mainstream publishing.

It ‘always comes back to Pride and Prejudice’

“Alchemised” started life in 2023 as “Manacled”, a 77-chapter work of Potter fan fiction in the “Dramione” genre, which focuses on forbidden love between Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Written initially in the Notes app of author SenLinYu’s phone, it soon racked up 10 million views on fan fiction platform AO3, and spawned a mini-fandom of its own.

Decades after the first “Harry Potter” n

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