An unlikely crossover based off a fanfiction written about Harry Potter – with a dash of The Handmaid’s Tale – resulted in one of the most anticipated books of the year.

The debut novel by author SenLinYu is set to be released in fall 2025, and the author’s popularity comes from a cult following of a Harry Potter fanfiction called Manacled.

The fanfiction takes place after the fifth book in J.K. Rowling’s series, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, and focuses on a dark romance between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger.

The 77-chapter creation takes place in a world where rather than the Order winning, Harry Potter is dead, and the wizarding world has succumbed to evil Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

As per SenLinYu’s Substack, Alchemised doesn’t have anything to do with Harry Potter, but is a ‘standalone dark fantasy set in a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy, in which a healer with amnesia is taken as a prisoner of war and must fight to protect her lost memories and the secrets hidden among them.’

‘It will grapple with themes of trauma and survival, legacy, and the way that love can drive one to extreme darkness, and it is, as you may be able to tell, a reimagined version of Manacled,’ the author noted.

‘I’m thrilled to be working with Emily Archbold, my visionary editor at Del Rey, along with Rebecca Hilsdon at Michael Joseph in the UK, to polish this novel for publication in Fall 2025.’

According to Penguin Michael Joseph, who will be publishing the novel, Alchemised is a novel with a gripping enemies-to-lovers romance that is ‘by turns tender, toxic and all-consuming.’

‘Grappling with themes of trauma and survival, legacy, and the way that love can drive one to extreme darkness,’ PMJ said, as per The Bookseller.

Editorial director Rebecca Hilsdon, who acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Suzannah Ball at WME, added: ‘Alchemised is a beautiful work of fiction which explores an undying love and an endless sacrifice.

‘Sen’s characters are ones that are so beautifully drawn and will stay with readers long after they’ve finished the last page.’

Manacled was published across Archive Of Our Own, a non-profit open source repository for fanfiction and other fan works contributed by users, across 2018 and 2019.

In the 370,000-word piece, Hermione is alive post-battle against Voldemort, but has been kept captive in a dark room for more than a year by Dolores Umbridge and has no memories of what happened before she was held captive.

She is unable to use her magic as she’s being held in copper handcuffs, so is unable to escape.

Due to the ongoing magical war, the wizarding population has significantly declined, with Voldemort and his followers desperately trying to repopulate, similar to the plot of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Hermione is forced to be a surrogate for Voldemort’s second in command, who is not known to the public and named the High Reeve. But it turns out to be Draco Malfoy – the childhood enemy of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s.

It is also revealed that Malfoy and Hermione had a romantic relationship, which comes back to her as parts of her memory return.

The fanfiction was wildly popular, with an average pf 4.55 out of 5 on GoodReads and more than seven million hits on Archive Of Our Own, however was controversial as it depicted rape, torture, and can be violent in parts.

SenLinYu assured fans of Manacled the online novel is ‘not going anywhere at present,’ and will remain online throughout 2024.

However, it will be removed from online platforms from 2025, when Alchemised is set for release.