None of the Harry Potter books are good books, and JKR is not a good person. I read all of them when I was twelve, and even then, I was not impressed. It's a shallow story with shallow characters in a shallow setting written by a shallow person. I can't, in good conscious, recommend it to anyone but the most easily entertained children. And even then, I'd worry they would internalize all the racism.
The draw of HP fanfic, for me, comes from what people make of the trash, I think.
In this fandom, I mostly read Tomarry and NottPott, though I can be persuaded to try other ships. I especially like rarepairs; of which, Blaise x Harry is my favorite. I also read some Marauder ships: mainly Jegulus or Snupin. I wish desperately there was more Moonwater out there.
As for tropes, I prefer canon divergence over time travel, though I do read the latter since the fandom is full of it. I tend to be drawn to fics with extensive worldbuilding.
ao3 link | no shipping (yet)
A reincarnation fic where Harry dies and wakes up as Nathan Ciro in the 1940s.
I really like the characters in this one. There's a drama to them that I enjoy. They're not OOC or melodramatic. They're just... rooted, I guess. I understand them intuitively. It's a great feat of writing. The story, of course, is excellent as well.
ao3 link | NottPott, Snupin
A series where Severus Snape is Harry's real father featuring a lot of politics, magic, and drama.
This is what you'd call an epic, I believe. It has a fantastical lore element throughout and it is
ffn link | various Hermione ships
Hermione sorts into Slytherin and a prophecy chnages her destiny.
This is both kind of silly and fun while being very serious at times. It made me wonder why Hermione isn't in Slytherin because it actually fits her character so well. There's politics, and cleverness, and lots of magic worldbuilding.
ao3 link | Tomarry
When Voldemort sends him dreams of corridors and doors, Harry sends him pieces of hell in return.
I like the depiction of Tom in this one as the smooth and elegant mastermind. No act from him ever serves a singular purpose. I like Harry's fascination with rune work as well. There's so many silly little worldbuilding details that I love obsessing over, like the parseltongue grammar.
The fic is based in a very intricate web of lies told by both Harry and Tom. You get this precarious feeling of danger every time they add another one to the web.
ao3 link | Tomarry/Haryymort
Voldemort chases Harry for years. He never quite manages to catch him.
This one has a sexy vibe ngl, even though I feel strange saying that when the story starts when Harry is like 14. The story is drawn-out game of cat-and-mouse. Harry lays a trap, Voldy chases him right into it. As it goes on, the tension beomes less "mortal peril" and more "catch me if you can". It's kind of fun watching Voldy slowly go through the process of becoming a hardcore simp lol.
Of course, it wouldn't be me if there wasn't some really cool worldbuilding in here. It has to do a lot with magic and myths and mythical magic. Just really cool magical history. And some courting too.
ao3 link | Regulus Black/Kingsley Shacklebolt
In 1979, Regulus Black doesn't die in that cave. In 1981, Sirius Black is placed in Azkaban. In 1982, Regulus Black returns home.
I said I like rarepairs; here's my proof. This pairing make no sense, but ridiculously, it works. I love Reggie in general, and pairing him with the strait-laced Kingsley was a stroke of genius. Their friendship in the beginning is very sweet.
Also THE BABIES. There's an itty bitty Harry and Luna (and Draco too but who cares about him) and I love them. Regulus is the best godparent and I will die on that hill.