Manacled
Manacled was first shared on online fan fiction websites in April 2018. [12] It was written in a piecemeal format and chapters were posted serially until the final chapter was released in August 2019. In total Manacled had 77 chapters, including three epilogue chapters and 370,515 words. [13]
The story is set in a dark alternate universe following the events of the Harry Potter series up to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where it diverged from the established canon. In this alternate narrative, Draco successfully kills Dumbledore at the beginning of Sixth Year leading to a period of war during which Harry Potter is killed by Lord Voldemort and the Order of the Phoenix is defeated by the Death Eaters. [4] SenLinYu has described drawing inspiration for the fan fiction from the pilot episode of The Handmaid's Tale TV adaptation. [6]
The work garnered attention throughout the Harry Potter fandom community during 2018 and 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Manacled gained new popularity on TikTok leading to the development of its own distinct fandom, including the creation of fan-made language translations and its own fan fiction. [14] The work was featured in an Oprah Daily article on a list of the best Harry Potter fan fictions, and the fan artist Avendell created companion illustrations. [6]
The works internet popularity resulted in an increase in unauthorized publishing, sale and other forms of monetization of Manacled and other fanworks. [1] Following continued online misuse by third parties , SenLinYu sought advice from the Organization for Transformative Works as well as consulted with other lawyers before deciding to rework Manacled into an original story to gain control of its distribution. [6] [15]
Manacled was removed from the web on January 1, 2025, in preparation for its release as a reworked traditionally published novel. [15] On the day of its removal, it was the second-most-read work of all time posted to the fan work archive, Archive of Our Own, a site that at the time hosted over 13 million works. It was also one of the highest-rated works on the site with over 84,000 kudos (likes). [1] [14]
Alchemised
SenLinYu signed to literary agency WME in 2023. [15] [9] [1] In February 2024, rights were acquired to traditionally publish the novel Alchemised, a rewrite of Manacled set outside of the Harry Potter universe. [6] [8] [9] [10] The standalone dark fantasy novel is set to be released in September 2025, published by Del Rey at Penguin Random House in the United States and Michael Joseph at Penguin Books in the United Kingdom. [6] The book includes an illustration by the artist Avendell who has also created further pieces to be released separately.
The official synopsis of Alchemised reads:
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. In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia's new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers – whose vile, undead creatures helped bring about their victory – holds Helena captive. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena's fight – to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self – is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own, secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost. [16]
Anticipated demand for the novel is high, with Del Rey ordering a first print run of 750,000 copies of the book ahead of release, with translations in 21 languages. [11] [17]
